We now know a lot of things that aren't wrong with that motor

And finally, about 4:50 the day before Thanksgiving, as the sun was setting, with Junior and Steve waiting around to put the boat back in the water, Eddie and Joe were able to determine the problem. Something in the lower unit has gone wrong. It was diagnosed via a compression test - head one had 0 lbs, and head 2 had 169. On a new motor, both should have over 200. I may have gotten that totally wrong. Bottom line - it looks like it's under warranty. Bad news is that Yamaha needs to know exactly which piece is cracked before they are willing to ship the replacement motor. That would mean we'd be waiting until at least Monday for the guys at Gregory Poole to disassemble the motor, and then another 5 - 6 days for the motor to ship. We instead had the guys pull the motor, will continue on with only one, and once the new one comes in they will ship it to us and we will find someone else to install it. Until then, Ben will look a little less glamorous docking, and our top speed will be considerably decreased.

We cannot say enough about the guys at Gregory Poole in Southport. They have been extremely helpful and have stayed after dark two nights in a row, right before a holiday. They are true professionals and knowledgable in what they do. In fact, we've been lucky on that front both times we've had to stop to have work done during this trip, (unlucky though since we have had to stop twice).

Stuck in Oriental, NC

On a sailboat standing rigging stabilizes the mast and is under incredible loads while sailing. In other words, it's important, so before we left, we had it inspected right before leaving Deltaville. Unfortunately, we did not get the report until yesterday. Luckily we were able to find a rigger and yard in Oriental, NC who would be able to work us in, but we are losing a day of progress waiting for the work to get done.

Last night we met up with the Roberta and Larry Jones, who are friends of Ben's parents from Illinois and are now living in Oriental, NC. Last winter they sailed their catamaran Symmetry to the Bahamas. When Ben was growing up in Illinois the Jones' had a lake house on the same block as Ben's parents, and Larry's ski boat was the first boat Ben ever drove. That early practice must have been useful because Ben has gotten some compliments docking the boat recently. Part of it is probably Whisper's layout - the motors are slightly forward from what you'll see on other catamarans, and with one in forward and one in reverse she will spin 360 degrees almost in place. The dockmaster at Coinjock's marina said Ben docked the boat better than anyone that day, although apparently by the time we got there the current was not as strong. Ben attributed that docking to his sailing class in the English Channel where strong currents are the norm.

The Jones' has a lot of advice for us last night as well as somethings they considered must haves for the boat - two Skipper Bob ICW books, the Bahamas Explorer charts, Trader Joe's Lentils, and Purex Complete 3-in-1 laundry sheets. It was great to hear from those who have been here before. They also came by this morning and took us to the grocery store, West Marine and a really neat marine consignment shop where we purchased a ham radio receiver which hopefully works.

Just got word from the rigger that the work will not be completed tonight. It's disappointing, but our next stop is not far so this should not put us any more off schedule.