Fuel and filters. 43◦03'.888N 086◦14'.110W

So the subject for today is fuel filters. Our boat has 5 tanks for Diesel. 4 X 100 gal tanks which rest on either side of the boat and then 1X 175 gal tank which rest dead centre of the boat between the two engines. The middle tank, which we call the day tank is what supplies the engines and it is attached to two filters called Raycors. The fuel passes through the filters then into the engine. These tanks are old and there is a ton of sediment in them. All of this rocking and rolling around lake Michigan has caused a lot of this sediment to be churned up and the filters clean this stuff out before allowing it into the engines. Why am I telling you all of this? Well to set up our lovely story for today of course!

   We got up late this am because the weather was supposed to be bad and we thought, well, why rush? We are on holidays after all!  Somewhere around 9:00 am Jeff and Susan started up the engines and where going to peek their nose into the lake to see what it was like. We were 3 miles into the lake so it took a while to get out there. When Jeff lifted his anchor there was a ton of weeds on it. We kind of laughed at him. Jeff and Susan's anchor is smaller than ours though and you know the old adage, he who laughs lasts? When we lift our anchor we occasionally snag things. Once it was a tire, this time is was a Christmas tree! (see PIC) it was incredibly heavy. It took us about 10 min both working at it to get it all off. 

   When we finally got into the lake, it was a treat. Not quite calm sailing but the waves where rolling and manageable. There were no crashing dishes or flipping coffee tables or toppled BBQ's today! About 1hr into this trip, the starbord engine quit. Jim quickly realized that it was the fuel filter. We have two filters and we can divert fuel from one to the other, so quick fix. He ran down to the engine room and flicked the switch or turned the taps or whatever it is he does and ran back up to start the engine. Presto whammo, no worries. Not so fast! Within a few minutes the engines started sputtering again. Is it possible to clog another filter so quickly? Apparently yes! So the first decent day of sailing for a week and we have to stop early because our fuel filters are clogged. Ah well, apparently Michigan wants us to see every nook and cranny of this beautiful state.

   We are now 30miles short of our target in the nice port of Grand Haven. It actually is a nice town. When we got here we dropped our bikes off the top deck and biked over to a plaza where we found the Verizon store, the West Marine and the Home Depot. We picked up all the stuff we needed and did our part to support the town. At Verizon however we found out that they did not sell the burn phone we were looking for, so we had to go to a Walmart to buy a Verizon phone (I know). The Walmart is 3 miles from the Verizon store. Jim unfortunately picked up 10 lt of motor oil while he was at West Marine so now we biked our little buts down to Walmart with Jim carrying the heavy load. We got the phone and got it home only to find out we also need a chip which we can buy at the Verizon store! Anyway, the 7mile bike ride and the shopping done was all good. The dock we are staying at is free and it has power. This is a double bonus. Most Marinas are costing us about 91.00 per night so this is quite nice. Jim cleaned up the Raycore filters and installed some new ones. He is now running our fuel polishing system which he started at 4pm and will let run overnight. While we where waiting to leave for shopping, this large ship came out of a comercial area (see Picc) it was a tight fit in this little bay, but her got our alright. 

   We ended up going out for dinner with Jeff and Susan and were met there later by some friends of theirs, Leeanne, Chad and their 2 year old son Hobart. It was a lovely evening. The bar we were at allowed people to sign their name wherever you wanted, but there was not a free brick anywhere. So Jim signed out name on the metal beam. Tomorrow we hope to make it to Benton Harbor which is past Saugatuck. The day after, we hope to make it to Chicago and off this big lake.  Only time will tell. Night all