Phase separation. Man I hate when that happens. I've seen plenty of motors brought down by that, including my own Carver last year when I didn't put sta-bil in the fuel. My own mistake.
Volvo actually issued a statement a couple years ago saying they would quit paying warranty on fuel pumps killed by bad ethanol gas. The high pressure pumps on the injected motors were dying left, right, and center when laid up for the winter without stabilizer in the fuel.
I agree though, I think you'll be OK if you treat the fuel. It won't run the best on that old gas, but it should be OK. Wost case, you might evaporate the fuel out of the carb and have to break it down for cleaning next year, but I say the odds are better than even you'll be fine.
I do tend to agree that pumping the fuel out is the best option, but it's a PITA. I've done with a cheap parts store 12v 'ticker' pump and some hose. Pop off the inspection plate in the floor, hook up to the pick-up with a short piece of hose, then run a longer piece over the side to a jerry can. If the fuel is already old/suspect, I usually try to distribute/dilute it among all my cars/trucks/mower/log spliter/etc...anything that has at least a half tank of good gas and will get used semi-regularly.
Don
'01 22 Classic, 502/B1
And a bunch of other stuff
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough" - Mario Andretti