The end is in sight... leading to new plans

We got a certified Volvo Penta mechanic to check out the engine on Tuesday the 28th and he confirmed that we have a problem with the turbo. He ran all sort of computer updates and diagnostics (modern marine diesels are not the simple mechanical devices they once were as they are now run by little computers) and will submit a warranty claim for us. It's good that the engine is still under warranty (830 hours and 30 months versus 1,000-hour and 60-month limits) because a new turbo will be expensive. The big question is now timing, which will depend on how quickly they can get the necessary parts. I said I would pay for overnight shipping, and the turbo arrived this morning (Thursday the 30th) and repairs should be completed tomorrow. So we are hoping for a Saturday departure -- but not counting on anything given our recent experiences.

We ran the boat yesterday from the Naples City Dock up to the Sweetwater Marina in Fort Myers, which is where the the Volvo Penta dealer is located that we're working with. The marina is on the Caloosahatchee River a couple miles upstream of the I-75 bridge. We know this place because it is where we picked up the boat when we first bought it, and where we had it dropped off after our trip last summer. It's a good operation, but kind of out of the way. It took us a little over six hours to make the 59-mile trip because we were running at only 10 mph. It was a nice run along the coast and up the Caloosahatchee. The sea breeze was welcome relief from the hot and humid days we've had the last couple of weeks. 

This picture shows the I-75 bridge with an FPL gas-fired power plant in the distance upstream. Our Florida friends will recognize this as the power plant where the manatees hang out in the winter in the plant's warm water discharge area. And our friends who have visited Boca Grande might appreciate a bit of history that connects to this power plant. Back in the previous century this plant was oil-fired and the oil was delivered from FPL's terminal at the southern tip of Gasparilla Island. Big ocean-going tankers would unload fuel oil at the Boca Grande terminal and then barges would haul it from there down through Pine Island Sound and up the Caloosahatchee to this plant. 

Besides being more convenient for the mechanics, taking the boat up to Sweetwater Marina gives us a head start in our revised travel plans. Given all the time we have lost, we're going to skip The Bahamas and take the Okeechobee Canal over to the east coast. If we get underway on Saturday we'll have two weeks to get to Norfolk, which should be fine. 

Now we repack the boat.