Saturday, July 20, 2019 - Bound for Louisburg
The morning is cautiously optimistic. We drain the fuel filter of water, fire up The Ceilidh and set off in full, glorious sunshine. She purrs up the dirt road, slides onto the pavement and waits for traffic to clear at the top of a short, steep hill. She leaps onto Highway 7, turns left, rides the bridge over the St. Mary's River and motors through Sherbrooke at a sedate 50 km/hour. Outside town we bring her up to cruising speed.
Twenty minutes later, after the appropriate sputters and gasps, I pull The Ceilidh to the side of the road on a steep hill a couple hundred meters past a long, slow corner. Not the best place to stop but not the worst either. Check filter. No water, its air. Crank, crank, crank. No start.
Sven dons the coveralls, we pull out the tools and begin the process of swapping out the new fuel pump for the old. It takes a couple of hours in the boiling sun. Once completed The Ceilidh starts and we motor on toward Antigonish, hoping to make it there rather than crap out again. She splutters a couple times but I find a pull off short of town.
Another hour waiting in the hot sun while Sven, Larry and Betty head into town. Sven gets 10 feet of 3/8th copper tubing. Gonna replace the fuel line. I phone two local campsites. Both fully booked. The next closest is the Linwood some 25 km away. Taking backroads is less stressful. Less traffic, more places to pull off the road if necessary. The Ceilidh gasps a few times on the way but we manage to pull into the campsite and set up.
Sven's under The Ceilidh. Pulls the steel fuel line out. It takes time. In goes the copper line. Reattach rubber hoses at the appropriate joints. All tied up we crank the engine. As usual she starts with ease. Shut her down and hope for the best tomorrow.
A poor day of travelling. Less than 90 km.
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