World Wide Wanderings: The Hunt For Red October

Well the football is out of the way and so was the sun for a while, I think we had the tail end of the British summer typhoons here. Rain Rain and more Rain... which leads me nicely on to this next chapter.

It had been raining constantly for about three weeks, so bad and miserable was the weather, I couldn't be bothered to take the boat out at all. As I would drive to my hotels each day, a quick glance in the rear view mirrors would reveal Isabella's bright orange engine bobbing around in the water tied up to her quay. Driving in these conditions was much more preferable than untying the boat, bailing out the rain water, drying the seats and then spending a couple of minutes with the rain being blasted in my face as I zipped across the Fjord. No for now the car would have to do.

Ian (My product manager) had been hassling me to go and visit Eidfjord and the Vorringfossen Nature Centre, I can see his reasons, but the trip was selling well enough without my detailed knowledge of the place. I'd heard enough stories from clients who have been, to build up a mental picture and thus sell it on.

Still, it was something different, and a day out so I booked myself onto the trip. With the ferry leaving at 11:15 I had time to do my hotel visits before getting into civvi clothes ready for the off. As I drove away I did my usual backwards glance but there was no bright engine? I slowed the car down and looked back towards the quay, Isabella had gone!

Strange, maybe she had slipped her mooring and was drifting mid fjord, maybe the kind old gentleman who allows me to moor her there had moved her somewhere else. Who knows, I will investigate after my visits. One thing I was certain about, she hadn’t been stolen. Nobody steals in Norway and besides she is pretty unique, you would find it tricky getting away in a boat with a fluorescent Orange engine!

I made a few jokes with the boys at the hotel about the situation but curiosity was really getting the better of me by now and I just had to go and find out.

I parked up and walked the 10 metres or so to the edge of the quay, the first part of my investigation was to see if her mooring rope was still there or just a fraid piece left tied on. As I looked over into the water the answer was pretty clear. There she was, still tied up albeit standing ‘bow up’ on the bottom of the fjord still tied on by the bow line! – Yes, she had sunk. I had underestimated how much rain we have really had, combine that with the constant battering of ‘wash waves’ from passing ships, she had obviously filled up with water and gloop, down she went.

I could just about make out the back of the seat miles in the distance floating its way to Bergen.

I gave a tug on the bow line and to my surprise she rose to the top quite easily, but that’s as far as I could pull her. I needed to get her to the beach, I was never going to lift this weight straight up. After about an hour I had ‘walked’ her round to the rocky edge where I managed to tie her off. Fortunately for me the tide was in and high so I devised a plan, but it would mean getting wet.

With the bow secure, into the cold water I climbed, Seeing all the fuss the nice old gentleman had popped over and offered me a length of nylon rope with a grappling claw attached. I fixed that to the engine and secured the stern with all manor or ropes I could find. I undid her drain plug and that was that, I just had to let her hang there until the tide had gone out. My plan was that the water would drain out, I would replace the bung and float her once more. What had I got to lose now? With that done it was a quick change and off to Eidfjord for the day. I only just made the ferry.

She was in a very sorry state when I returned that evening but I managed to get her onto some sleepers / rail tracks that had been left to rot & rust for many years on the beach nearby. I stripped as much as I could from her, windscreen, fuel tank, paddles, seats etc until she was a mere shell again with a rather wet outboard on the back. Taking that off was never going to happen, its a complex job connecting the throttle and gears that have been modified to fit this 1963 Westbend as it is, and I figured I would need them attached if I had to test her.

Over the next week, I dried, cleaned and doused the engine with WD40, Talking constantly with my petrol head cousin Kyle on what to do and not to do. The most upsetting thing of it all was having to throw away 22L of petrol. The rest however was a challenge and fun too it has to be said.

I did some research and found out the Westbend 12.5hp engine was built for the US Marine Corp to power their inflatables into battle. Well are you telling me they never got wet before... na these things have got to be bullet proof. or at least waterproof. I soon had her back together and would you believe it, she fired up 3rd pull.

She took some more tweaking & cleaning and I treated her to a couple of new spark plugs from eBay. While she was out of the water I touched up her paintwork and re fitted all of the bits that had been bashed off against the quay. Only the windscreen is now more streamlined, a kind of race fairing if you will.

Using a bit of ingenuity when the tide was out, I swam down to the railway tracks and tied off a length of rope to each side, I then tied these to an empty plastic fuel can. My last piece of magic was to attach a 'bungee' cord to the can and a long length of rope to the shore, supported in the middle with a piece of floating foam sponge.

I can now motor towards the shore, grab the foam which in turn gives me the rope, hook the bungee to the back of the boat, pull myself to shore using the rope, tie off her bow line and let go. The bungee pulls her back out to sea. I even added a couple of 'knicker elastic' straps to the rails that can hook on either side of the boats paddle holders. Now she just sits there 'High or Low tide' safe from concrete walls, safe from boat wash, and hopefully safe from the sea bed.

When I need her, I just pull on the bow line and she comes in, I jump aboard, 'boing' out to the buoy, unhook her and away I go.. I know, I know... Bloody genius! I would agree, but what sort of genius lets his boat sink in the first place.. Muppet!