Das Boot
The Merry Fortune is a C&C 35 Mark I.
The Captain and Mrs. The Captain with the Merry Fortune in Bartlett Cove.
The C&C 35 was designed in 1969 by George Cuthbertson, a mechanical engineer, and George Cassian, an aircraft designer (hence "C&C"). It was built by George Hinterhoeller of Hinterhoeller Yachts. The boat type was originally known as the Redwing 35, but acquired its current name after Hinterhoeller Yachts merged with C&C. Its design was revamped once, in 1973. Accordingly, C&C 35s are known as "Mark I" or "Mark II" models, depending on whether they were build to the first or second design.
What I'm saying is that the Merry Fortune is nearly as old as I am. She was built in 1972.
For a forty-two-year-old, the boat is in remarkably good condition. (Certainly The Captain, who acquired her just a few years ago, takes good care of her.) However, like any middle-aged creature, the Merry Fortune is susceptible to those unexpected breakdowns that arrive with the advancing years.
For example:
On the approach to Prince Rupert, where I boarded, her fuel pump failed. Without diesel, her engine soon died; without wind, she was adrift. The Captain put out a call for help on VHF channel 16. Eventual rescue by the Coast Guard seemed the most likely outcome until The Captain, who is a resourceful fellow, realized that he could hand-siphon diesel to the engine from the jerrycans lashed to the bow stanchions (seen in their protective blue jackets in the photo below).
The Captain replaced the fuel pump in Prince Rupert, just before I arrived. But this was not quite the end of the story.
On June 4, we left Prince Rupert and crossed Chatham Sound. This was an open water crossing in rough weather, and with the wind right on our nose, there was no possibility of sailing. We had no choice but to motor through the high waves and chop.
I soon developed a crushing headache. At first, I put it down to motor noise and vibration (the motor is directly beneath the companionway, where I'd stood for the entire crossing). Then I noticed the smell of diesel, and realized I must have been huffing diesel fumes under the dodger all day. The Captain raised the companionway and discovered that the new fuel pump was working only too well: under its stronger pressure, the fuel injector had begun to leak, and there was diesel in the bilge.
After The Captain tightened the injector, we had no further engine troubles. As for the spilled diesel, we neutralized it with a reagent before pumping the bilge.
I like to think that I brought good fortune to the Merry Fortune: except for the leaky fuel injector, and some trouble with the furler − which we fixed in Wrangell − she performed admirably. And while we never hoisted the mainsail (because we would have had to take down the dodger, which when you're sailing in a chilly temperate rainforest climate is not an appealing idea), we had many opportunities to motorsail with the genoa, and on occasion, we even had enough wind to kill the motor and proceed under sail alone.
Those times were sublime.