1945 Thursday, August 11
Yes, the engine parts are all installed and the engine is back on the mounts in the boat!
Annie and I have completed our mad dash by car back to St. John's, Newfoundland. The photo above is the narrow channel in to Port Aux Basques that our 650-foot ferry slipped through upon arrival in Newfoundland from Nova Scotia. From there it was another nine hours of driving to reach St. John's.
To make a long story short, the needed engine parts are now all installed in the engine. It was then run for an hour in the shop on the test bench to make sure all was working well. Then, Jesse, my mechanic, used a boom truck to transport the engine back to the wharf where Tazzarin is at the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club. This morning the engine was hoisted up, then lowered down into the cabin and raised up onto the engine mounts. By 3:00 the engine was aligned and the process of connecting everything was started. By noon tomorrow Jesse anticipates having the engine ready for a short sea trial!
This will be a huge relief to me; more than I can express.
Tonight, in celebration of the engine being aboard, Annie and I went to our favorite Newfoundland restaurant, Mallard Cottage, in the little outport of Quidi Vidi adjacent to St. John's. You can see two happy faces in the photo below. The only spaces available were at the bar. The food was delicious and all the staff are amazingly friendly.
Chatting with the wonderful bartender we were reminded that all of my boat/engine troubles are small in comparison to bigger world events. The bartender left Ukraine a month ago, hoping for a better life in the welcoming county of Canada. He hails from the south of Ukraine where some of the worst of the war has raged.
So, I will say a small prayer that the engine is fully working tomorrow. I will say a bigger prayer for the bartender's family and all of Ukraine.
Bill
