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.

Washington State Back Through Oregon

We crossed the incredibly high Astoria-Megler Bridge that stretches over four miles across the Columbia River from Astoria to Point Allice Washington. The bridges main truss is the longest continuous truss in the US. The area boasts super high tides that uncover huge mudflats at mean low tide uncovering a multitude of tasty razor clams.

The Astoria-Megler Bridge

We worked our way to Olympic National Forest and stopped at Ruby Beach to get a view. Desolation Island sits off the coast. The area is incredibly beautiful yet quite harsh. The name Desolation Island fits the area perfectly. It is a place to get away from it all.

Desolation Island

We continued on to the Hoh Rainforest and hiked through a trail leading to the Mossy Maple Grove. It's amazing to see the rich life cycle that exists in the shady, wet environment. We wish we had more time to explore Olympic National Forest.

Hoh Rain Forest

Rain Forest Creek Video

We attempted a drive out to Cape Flattery, the western most point in the continental United States. The roads were marginal, even washed out in spots. We made it to the entrance of the Makah Indian Reservation at Neah Bay and were stopped. Signs indicated no further travel was allowed due to Covid. Disappointed, we made the long, slow trek back and arrived in Port Angeles around 7:00 pm.

Cape Flattery Map by Wave Run 500

Neah Bay map by Alltrails

Our hotel was on a hill above downtown Port Angeles. We took an early morning walk to explore finding a waterfront park, shops and restaurants as well as gorgeous views of Mount Olympic. The tide runs high at 13-14 feet. It was very quiet in Port Angeles. It seemed like the town was still a bit shut down from covid. We met a local gal who told us the ferry to Victoria, BC had been closed for a year causing tourist traffic to decrease tremendously. 

Steps to downtown Port Angeles

Mural Art

Mount Olympic

Port Angeles Wharf

Waterfront Park Art

Octopus in the park

Super low tide

Barge traffic between the US and Canada

Mount Olympic

Low tide showing off high tide line

The most direct route from Bremerton to Eugene Oregon is over the Hood Floating Bridge. It sits on concrete pontoons divided into sections and is the longest floating bridge in the world. The floating section is 1.2 miles long. In 1993, sustained winds of 80 mph, gusting to 120 mph with 15 foot seas sunk the bridge. It is in constant need of repair. We had to wait about a half hour to cross due to road work but the wait dramatically shortened our drive.

Hood floating bridge traffic

We left Washington behind and headed for Columbia Gorge and Multnomah Falls. Our internet search indicated we would not be able to park at the falls but that proved to be untrue. The falls are visible right from the highway. To get close up, we had to walk under the highway, then take a path up to a viewing station where the mist of the falls reached us. We climbed up 866 feet to the top on a 1.25 mile trail that was only about 3 feet wide. The inside of the trail was mountain, the outside a drop off. I had to keep my eyes on my feet and the trail. At the top, we walked down to a viewing platform that was at the very top of the falls. The sound and sight of rushing water was confusing and unsettling but it also gave us a rush of excitement. It took us a good hour to go up and only 20 min to come down. Our legs were rubber at the bottom!

View from the parking lot

Water cascading down

View on the way up

View on the way up

Dave making his way UP

Just above the top of the falls

View at the very top

Which way? Lot's of trails to choose from

Following single file down

Our red Expedition is in the middle

Falls View from the bottom Video

View from the top of the Falls "Oh my God" video

We had to get back to Reno by Friday the 15th. We chose the gorgeous Willimette River Scenic Byway to get there. We stumbled upon the beautiful Lowell Covered Bridge just above the dam. We met a man from Minnesota who retired in Lowell. He said it is a wonderful place to live! We have to agree, it was very peaceful! 

Poppies growing wild along the dam

Willemette Dam

The Willemette River is rugged and fed by a lot of water rushing down off the mountains. We passed O'Dell Lake where there are a ton of fishing boats. It's near Willamette Pass, one of several lakes in the Cascade Range in Central Oregon. It's full of bull trout, mountain whitefish, rainbow trout, lake trout and sockeye salmon. 

We enjoyed beautiful views of Diamond Peak Volcano along the highway. We were surprised to see a lot of garbage alongside the roads coming off the pass. The Collier River section had a huge wildfire area just before Chiloquin and Klamath Lake. We drove through a town named "Madeline", my legal first name. The population is 60! We wanted to stop at Crater Lake but we ran out of time! What we learned on our trip was that you need a lot of time to thoroughly experience this area of America. We hope to get back one day.

We'll head home to Minnesota in the morning. We are excited to get back to our lives! We plan to spend a couple weeks at home, settling affairs and packing up our boat gear. We will head back to our America's Great Loop adventure in June! S/V Mystic is waiting for us at Frank Hall Marina in Avondale, Rhode Island. It's time to get back to the water.