It was January 12, 2016 when the HMS Beagle set sail for southern Florida, from its mooring atop the Niagara Escarpment at Flamborough. Captain Fitzroy determined that the tide would be right on the 12th and so we prepared to hoist anchor and begin our journey that morning. As it turns out, hoisting anchor was not as easy as anticipated. All was made ready, all lines had been cast off. It remained only to lower the tongue of the Beagle onto the ball hitch of the truck, but when the switch was thrown, the tongue jack did not answer. A clicking sound told us that the motor had power, but wouldn’t budge.
It had been a mild week before we set out, but the 12th was cold, about minus 10 degrees Celsius. The Beagle had been moored at anchor in storage for a couple of months and so it was clear that the motor had seized up because of the cold.
Inside the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: “Crap, it’s cold up here. Where the hell is my toolbox? Here it is, just where I put it in the truck. Get that motor switch housing off the jack stem before my fingers freeze. Good, now I can see the hex shaft. Heaving away with the socket wrench….Crap, this isn’t the manual override I thought it would be. What to do? Call for service? Put off our departure for a few days? It wouldn’t hurt to try the motor one more time. Clicking the switch…motor’s beginning to lower the jack and tongue onto the hitch. The Force is with me! The wrenching has cleared whatever had locked up the gears. Still, my fingers are aching with the cold. Now re-attaching the switch housing, trying to get all those little screws in place with bare hands. The hitch is secured and we are off!”
Meanwhile the Captain and Mr. Darwin were exploring the area, slipping and sliding on the snow and ice with jolly good humour.
We had lost about an hour but still made the tide and were out of harbour and on the road south, or at least southwest to the border.