Aug 18-22

Red sky filled my view as I sat tied to the dock. I felt helpless and frustrated by my circumstances, yet the amazing sunset calmed my restless soul. Frustrated and anxious I awaited rescue. My boat was down, again.

It has been a rough week for mechanical problems. I watched the deep red sky hover over the Okanagan Lake as I waited for the owner of the rental boat to come see what the problem is with his craft. Serendipity went down last Saturday and now there I sat, broken down on the water. It was a helpless feeling when the red light indicating a problem with the oil pressure started to flash. I was hopeful that it was something simple. Somehow when there is a mechanical issue on a boat it usually isn’t simple.

I was in Alberta last weekend when the first call from Captain Rob came. There was a code 181 on the boat and he was limping our beautiful vessel to the dock. It was fortunate that I never got the message until Sunday. When I rolled out of the camper after a late night saying a heartfelt goodbye to my wonderful Aunt Dicky I saw the message from home.. Rob called Saturday night, he also texted. I am glad that I left my phone in the cab of my truck, there was nothing I could do from Alberta anyway. Except flee home early.

Our Campion Biltmore with the Etec 200 has been very reliable for its 1400 plus hours of life. Until it wasn’t.

Monday dawned on my family and I as we navigated the traffic and the mall in Calgary. We didn’t think we could get the boat worked on until later in the week. Until our buddy the service manager at Dockside offered to help. I called my friend and neighbour Jeff and asked for his help. It is super awesome cool to have friends that will help on short notice.

Jeff ran out right away and picked up the boat trailer and drove the twenty-five minutes to the launch. He and Rob took our sickly boat to the shop; the shop without the right software. Gone are the days when any shop could work on any motor. Now it is all proprietary and if you aren’t a service rep for the engine builder you are unable to repair that motor. Dockside marine is not the rep for Evinrude. Jeff’s effort turned out to be for naught. An effort I fully appreciated.

We left Calgary at 3 pm Calgary time and pointed our nose west, homeward bound. Thoughts of having a few days in Alberta exploring vanished like the sun setting behind the Rocky Mountains. One minute it was there shining bright. The next minute it was gone dropping below the horizon, like our spirits when we found out we were on a return rescue mission from the prairie.

We spent seven hours on the road returning home. Tuesday was to be a big day; I needed to offload the camper and move the boat to Martin Marine. They had arranged to get our vessel in; they had the right software.

Tuesday morning came, I had a friend that had booked our boat in anticipation of taking her son wakeboarding. They were booked for that evening at 5 pm. I was looking forward to getting our vessel back on the water and pulling them behind for an exciting ride. With some rearranging and hard work, the dealer got Serendipity fixed up and out the door. I hooked up to the trailer and excitedly drove to the launch. I was on time and we were going to have blast. I thought.

My guests, on board we cruised off the dock. The boat felt a bit sluggish at first and the service reps words haunted my brain. We need to get back in for some service; there were some more codes on the motor. My rep assured me he thought the boat would be fine; famous last words.

I pushed down on the throttle, my group excited to get out on the water. Suddenly alarms rang out. My stomach sank and anxiety pulsed through me. Breakdowns on the lake are never fun. My boat started a piercing noise and the display read “code 54 injector malfunction see dealer.” Whenever alarms go off I know to shut off the motor and try to figure out why. We drifted in the sunshine and tried to make the most of it. My friend had sushi and we tried to relax and enjoy a meal.

I could not relax. Tension surged through my veins. Why was the alarm going off? Could I fix it? I so wanted to make my client and friend happy. I so wanted to pull them on the wakeboard. Instead, it was piercing alarm bells and the boat was left to slowly idle to shore. I sat with my own disappointment, I felt distressed, I knew it was a first world problem. It still felt pretty awful, floating peacefully in front of the dock.

We limped back to the launch and promised to try again once the boat was fixed. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. This didn’t seem like an easy fix.

The next day it was back to the dealer and in for repair. In my head, I know many people have things much worse. I still could not help feelings of stress, anxiety, and regret. There are two more weeks of summer and my main source of income was parked at the dealership, awaiting repair.

We scrambled to find another boat and ended up renting from the nice folks at Mach boats. I briefly looked to see if there were any boats for sale that we could use, or even a new one straight from the dealer. Reality struck home and we resigned ourselves to covering our tour with a patio boat and a speed boat from Mach. It looked good; we could still take people on the water.

I kept my distance on this new boat. I tried to ensure people were safe, hand sanitizer all around we set off from a beach on the shores of the amazing Okanagan Lake. The boat worked great, everything would be fine. Until the alarms went off.

I dropped off my intrepid group of people that had been connecting on the tube. It is fun pulling kids around the lake, weaving them side to side, some kids laugh with glee. Some kids react in fear. In the end, everyone was satiated and satisfied and I dropped them off, excitement all around.

Saturday evening was another glorious evening on the lake and all I needed to do was return the rental boat to our slip and park it for the night.

I was on the phone updating Captain Rob on how the boat was working so well and that he should have a good day. When it happened.

A red light started to flash on the dash of the boat. A warning light, something no boater likes to see. Alarm bells started buzzing and my stomach sank. The oil pressure light was going, instinctively I shut down the motor. When a warning goes off it is important to pay heed to them. The reason we have warnings is to prevent further damage.

I called Don the owner of Mach boats and reported my condition. He asked me to check the oil and said he would come by boat to top it up. It should be fine, there were less than sixty hours on this boat. I kept running through my head if I had done anything wrong. I knew I had not. The alarm continued when I tried to start the boat again.

I got out the paddle. Paddling a patio boat is no easy task, fortunately, I was close to shore. I dug the oar in deep. It snapped in half. Chagrined, I reached for the other paddle. I looked into the weed-filled waters and contemplated jumping in and pulling the boat to the dock. I chose to use the paddle as a pole and pushed myself to the safety of someone’s dock.

I checked the oil and it seemed fine. There was nothing to do but sit and wait. My buddy Lee lives a short distance away and he paddled over to help. His assistance was greatly appreciated as I was in dire need of sustenance. The smoky tasted amazing and I regained my energy as I waited for Don to come figure out his boat. I sat and did my best to enjoy the deep red sky above. Soon I would be on my way home.

Sunday Morning dawned on the Okanagan Valley. I had a hard time sleeping, my dreams were haunted by breaking down boats and by alarm bells ringing in my head. I knew it was a first world problem, no one was hurt and I had made it safely home. Three hours late but I was home. I woke up to an unintended day off, something I needed, something that has not occurred for quite some time. Covid slowed us down for a while, but then things went crazy. I could not stop wondering what happened, why did the basically new boat have an issue with the oil? Why did our boat incur problems? How can we prevent this from happening in the future?

Questions kept circulating in my head. I knew the answer, sometimes shit just happens and all we can do is accept it and carry on.

The call came late in the morning, Don found out the issue with his motor. The Suzuki dealer set an alarm on the boat for the first oil change. It turned out there was nothing wrong with the boat. I couldn’t believe it, we wasted all that time and canceled our tours for Sunday because the alarm was for an oil change. We didn’t even need to tow the boat, Don didn’t need to drive in the dark at night across the lake. So much time and effort wasted reacting to a warning bell. Yet Serendipity had alarms go off and we saved much grief by paying attention to the warnings.

I can’t help but acknowledge the irony of the situation. I can’t help but compare it to the situation we are in with Covid19. The alarms are going off, we must pay attention. It could be catastrophic if we ignore the warnings. Or it could be nothing. Yet we can’t afford to ignore the warnings. The price of inaction is far too high.