I talked to a mechanic in Ucluelet at the boatyard, and he agreed that the most likely cause is the freshwater pump. He also said electric temperature gauges are unreliable — he never trusts them — and that I should get a laser temperature gun and test around the engine to see what the actual temperatures are. Unfortunately, nobody in Ucluelet had automotive or industrial infrared temperature guns. The only thing I could find was a body-temperature gun at the pharmacy. It is not meant for this, but it claims to read up to 100°C, so I bought one. I began motoring out of the inlet again, taking temp reading around the engine as I went. The panel gauge is definitely not telling the real temperature. The engine still seems to be overheating, just at a lower actual temperature than the gauge says. It is still getting very hot, and the temperature does not seem to stabilize. I finally shut it off when the outside of the thermostat housing was reading between 90 and 95°C, which is already higher than the manufacturer's 88°C shutoff temperature, and getting close to boiling. At this point it seems almost certain that the problem is the freshwater pump, or possibly air pockets somewhere in the cooling system. My best guess is the freshwater pump. Dealing with that means draining all the coolant, removing the pulleys and belts, removing the chain case cover, and seeing what is going on. I would rather do that with a replacement seal in hand, and while tied to a dock with nowhere to be, in case it turns into a bigger job. My plan now is to try to make it back to Maple Bay. It’s going to be a bit of a dance relying entirely on sail. Getting back past Port Renfrew should mostly be no problem, though there are a few awkward parts, like getting in and out of Port Renfrew Inlet if there is no wind. I’m tempted to sail through the night to get back toward Victoria, but that might destroy me, and I am not sure I have the stamina for it. But I would not mind skipping Port Renfrew if I can. For now I have been bobbing around in a lot of swell with no wind. It’s pouring and grey, very grey. Surprising good visibility though. A little wind has come up now, so I am sailing slowly and making some headway. I’m not sure where I am going to end up; it depends on what I can do with this outflow coming out of the sound. The engine is cooling off, and I probably have about 30 minutes I can run it safely.

I managed to sail almost all the way to Wouwer Island, arriving just as the wind was dying. I don’t think I stopped here last summer, it’s quite nice. I’m sorry I won’t have time to explore it. I plan to leave around 5:30 or 6 am tomorrow morning, and see if I can make it to Sooke Basin, or Quarantine Bay. At 5 knots it’s around 14 hours to Sooke, 16-17 to Quarantine Bay. In the afternoon the current in the Strait of Juan de Fuca will be flowing against me at about 1 knot, and against the wind, which is likely to make for uncomfortable choppy seas. I’ll assess as I go how I’m feeling and what the conditions are like. If I need to, I can always pull in at Port Renfrew.