The One About Losing Our Tranny

We launched our Alberg 35, at Frank Hall Boat Yard in Avondale, Rhode Island on June 23rd 2021, giving s/v Mystic her first taste of water in almost two years. We were certain that we would be leaving our troubles behind as we headed south to return to our Great Loop adventure, but we couldn't have been more wrong! Trouble was brewing ever since we took on hundreds of gallons of water over the winter of 2020.

Sunset in Avondale

Full rainbow over Avondale Farm

Lots of history in Avondale

Avondale Turtle

Mystic at Frank Hall Boatyard

My mom "Nonnie visiting Mystic

Our first day out, we cruised south, past Fisher's Island Sound to Clinton and anchored at Duck Island. It's a lovely sheltered spot behind a v-shaped breakwater. We enjoyed a quiet night on the hook. We left for Oyster Bay early on day two, knowing it would take 10 hours to traverse the 60 miles. The wind was in our face and at times the waves were a bit rough but we got in and dropped anchor in time to enjoy the sunset.

Finally, making way

Sunset off Duck Island

Leaving Duck Island protected cove

Happy to be back at it!

On day three, we pulled anchor and aimed our way out of Oyster Bay through the mooring field; our goal was to make it to Port Washington. I noticed right away that we were not getting power to the prop shaft. Once I went into neutral we lost all forward motion. Luckily, Dave threw out our anchor and waited as I tried shifting in and out of forward and reverse. Somehow, it slipped in gear. Dave pulled the anchor as I aimed back out of the mooring field. Soon we were safe, in a place where we would not harm other boats. 

It didn't take long to realize that our transmission was a goner. First thing Dave checked was the fluid which looked like a strawberry milkshake, a bad sign. We called Oyster Bay Marine Center who told us they were booked for repairs 2 months out. They offered to look for a replacement tranny and damper plate for us and were able to get them within a day. Our Boat US insurance paid for a tow from our anchorage to mooring ball CA5. Beyond this, we were on our own. We kept reminding ourselves how lucky we were that our transmission stopped working where it did. 

Our address for a week in July

Our mooring neighbor and their Escape Plan

Race night at Oyster Bay

Spinnaker Alley

Our boat's transmission is small and weighs only about 23 pounds. The repair should have been straightforward except we were on a mooring ball with storms heading right for us. It rained for 4 days straight and boy was it windy, with gusts up to 60 mph. Dave got knocked around a lot! Our transmission sits low behind our engine in a hard to reach location. The New tranny was not exactly the same as the old one so Dave had to do some extra work to get everything right. It seemed that for every two steps we went forward we were set back at least two. In addition, we didn't have transportation so getting tools and supplies was a big deal. Thankfully, there is a great train system that we quickly took advantage of after walking far too many miles in the rain searching for supplies.

Storms rolling in at Oyster Bay

60 mph winds came in with the clouds

We were both pretty frustrated and very tired. There may have been some swearing and a bunch of tears but eventually Dave got it done; on my birthday! It's the most expensive gift he's ever given me and it made my day perfect!

Our blessings come in many forms. We look hard for positives and realize that the transmission failure could have happened in a more dangerous spot, while cruising or in bad weather. The new transmission is smoother and stronger than the old and it works much better in reverse. We met a lot of really nice people in Oyster Bay, visited a great microbrewery and several of the neighboring villages nearby. We celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary and got one day of adventure after 4 days of stress. Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back, it wasn't a terrible experience, just an unexpected delay in our plans.

July 4th is our wedding anniversary. With our new transmission installed and working, we decided to go ashore and celebrate. We walked to Oyster Bay Microbrewery and grabbed a couple seats at the bar. Our friend from Nobman's Hardware said hello and asked about how the boat repair was going. We had a great chat with Leftie who grew up in town. Everyone was so nice; we felt like we'd become part of the community.

Summer Peach and Summer IPA

Stout and NY IPA

Oyster Bay Marine Center

Captain Gillligan Driftwood

We waved goodbye to Oyster Bay on Monday, July 5th. It was a long stay but we left in a better place than when we arrived. If all goes well, we'll be back on the Great Loop course in a couple days.