A hole in the boat?

So today we were cruising along the southern coast, a long ways from shore in 51' of the Atlantic Ocean when we felt a distinct "bump." Sally and I were up top. We looked at each other then immediately to our stern because it felt like we hit a small log and they usually pop out behind us. Nothing appeared. I went down below and conferred with John and Jane who agreed that something had definitely happened. I went down below to look in all the bilges and found nothing amiss. I then checked the last one, the one below the v-berth and low and behold, there was seawater coming in!

I'm tempted to leave the next chapter for tomorrow, but I'll first tell you about our outboard which started hitting on only one cylinder yesterday, not a good thing. I swapped out the plugs and it still misses. And it also has had some trouble with the shifter, so we found out a place to get it fixed today, but couldn't get the motor there as it's a long ways away. So low and behold, Mark and Pat Chamberlain from Bloomington, Illinois came along the dock and wondered if we knew Gary and Judy Magnuson, some other folks from Bloomington who keep their boat in Bayfield. (Our hailing port in displayed on the back of our boat.) Well, as a matter of fact we did, and even belong to the same yacht club there. So we chatted for a while and they sat down for lunch right across from our boat. Then I found out about the transportation problem for the outboard and that there were no rental cars available until next Wednesday. So I walked over asked them if they would like someone to pick up their lunch tab and wondered what else it would take to bribe them into taking an outboard for a ride. Well, they took us all the way over there (quite a hike, I might add) and asked only that we gave a donation to our church and to pass the favor along. They were fellow Great Loopers and knew just what a big deal it was to get a favor like this. People are great.

So, that was our day. Oh, wait, I have already started another thread, didn't I? Anyways, so I looked at this half inch hole in the bottom with water coming in. The bilge pump was dealing with it without a problem, so I didn't order anyone to abandon ship just yet. John found my special epoxy stick that I carry for little problems like this and I worked up a batch, shoved it in the hole, held it there until it hardened and it's now dry as a bone. Pretty exciting for a while. We think we must have hit the edge of something sharp like a container and I reported it to the Canadian Coast Guard.

It's Busker Festival here, street performers all over town and the place is jumping. I love this town and we are parked just the right distance from the action. What a day!