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Moondancer - It's all better now



Hi All
Current position: 17 37'.366N 029 16'.444W

We had better day yesterday fixing the boat instead of breaking it. Spent the morning with my head in a cupboard trying to work out why we had lost most of the electronics on the boat. After spending 2 hours testing and rewiring the main Raymarine board I’d managed to achieve a big fat zero. In fact I’d appeared to have made the problem worst. The original problem would blow a fuse after about 30 minutes. It was now blowing them instantly. With three blow fuses and only one 5amp fuse left Paul was starting to give me the look (you've made it worst you fool). With only one fuse left the pressure was on. If I blow this one we'd have no auto-helm, wind instruments and speed information, none of which are life threatening but with 2000 miles to go, it would put a strain on us all and make an already slow crossing even longer.

After a conversation with Paul in (engineer in Hamble UK), who is a top guy, I was back in the cupboard with the multi-meter and I finally had a lead, dead short on the GPS… now I just had to find out where? After some more head scratching and more concerned looks from Paul I had an idea of what had happened.
On Saturday with all the high winds, a cover on one of our throwing life buoy was hanging off. As I’m head of maintenance, it was a normal reaction for me to lean over the guard rails to reattach the cover, as I completed this act, Chris (head of catering) was on the helm and the boat pitched (I blame catering)sending me flying across the boat into the fishing rod which was in the rod holder. I knocked the rod and holder flying and in doing so it nicks the GPS cable that’s clipped to the guard rail. Anyway, after investigating the cable I find the damage, repair the cable put the fuse in and with fingers crossed turn the system back on, BINGO back in the game.

The day was a good one, sitting in shorts with a cold beer and the sun going down, the wind blowing nicely and it was Chinese for dinner tonight night, sweet and sour Pork…Marvellous.

Till next time
R


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