In my head I am debating whether I am well enough to leave knowing our plan takes us 50 miles downriver to anchor out without civilization. I am feeling worn out but okay. I make a fast trip to Walmart for Gatorade, saltines and a thermometer (the one we brought to the boat didn’t work 😜) while Alan finishes prep for departure including pump out of waste water tank, check engines, oil, etc. We leave the slip and head to the fuel dock in heavy wind. Alan notices he is unable to control the port engine. This severely complicates control of the boat. Clearly an aw 💩 moment. “What’s wrong with the Engine?! Oh no, we can’t proceed with planned departure” and our thoughts are all over the place searching for possibilities and impact to our plans. Suddenly a memory tickled. We learned of a “synch” button when we moved the boat from New Orleans with help from a captain. The switch basically allows both engines to be controlled by one throttle. Yes! That is exactly what we are experiencing. Now, which switch was that? Of course it’s not labeled. We are searching through the owner’s manual which is severely lacking, no diagram of helm controls OR a useful cross reference! We used trial and error, found the switch and SCORE! that fixed it. Whew. Okay we finish topping off fuel and head out of the marina which is just north of the first lock we need to pass through. The Lock Master estimates were always light and we lingered doing loops for 90 minutes awaiting permission to enter the lock. Two other pleasure craft joined us during the wait and all three of us took the water elevator down. We were a bit rusty skills-wise since it had been a year. Alan was at the helm with me throwing the line around a bollard, we guided Nauti Nerds safely to the lower water level. It’s chilly out but our Helm Station is like a greenhouse with the sun warming us. I am shedding layers and still on Gatorade and saltines because I am afraid to try eating more.  Cruising down river is beautiful and we don’t encounter much traffic. There were a few slow-moving barges headed north but we were able to give them space and not encounter water depth issues. While underway, Alan asked me to lift the engine room hatch and see if there was water in the bilge. Being the good first mate and Admiral that I am 😊, I report back the bilge looks good but I see water spewing from what turns out to be the generator. He takes a look 👀. This could be as simple as a hose clamp ($) or as complicated as a cracked engine block ($$$$$). 😳 Alan uses our new wet/dry vac and pulls out 6+ gallons of water then repeats the process every few hours. We get to our chosen anchorage and drop the anchor before dark. It is getting very cold and we are glad to stop for the day.