Maamalni - Leg 12 - #2 The Coral Sea Does MaaMa!

We battled against the wind for three days taking copious amounts of green water over the bow and through the hatches. The old saying "Gentleman never sail to windward" just doesn't capture the wet that has descended on us. The winds aren't bad, it just that we have to beat into it. Every minute or two there is a loud thunk and crash of water. Most of the water just goes down the deck and into the drain. But every 15 minutes or so, a wave from a different angle catches MaaMa by surprise, and
whoever is at the helm gets a saltwater bath. It is with the great burst of water pounding on the plexiglass hatches that stresses the seals, gaskets or hinges, but whatever it is, about 2 quarts of water pours in... not drips, POURS in like a waterfall. By now we have the navigation station wrapped in curtains of plastics and the table covered with towels to soak up the excess saltwater... you know, the corrosive stuff that computers and all things electronic are attracted to. Well one little
swallow and their little circuits go "transistors up" or "tits up" for short.

We had wanted to go to Mackay Australia at the south end of the Great Barrier Reef to have some work done on MaaMa's undersides but it was looking less probable with the wind and sea conditions. As the seas got rougher and the more we tried to maintain the 18 degree south latitude, the worse the ride and Suzan was turning green again. Finally, we are forced to turn northwest for an easing of the sea conditions and head for Cairns. MaaMa rewarded us and relaxes... fortunately we don't take much more water through the hatches.

As we approach the 16 degree south latitude the seas calm. The next day the sun shines down on sparkling seas with just a ripple of wind skirting across, yet with a breeze fair enough to continue sailing for another day. News from the fleet behind us is that the wind is slackening and vessels are having to motor again and recalculating their fuel capacity. After a great start of wind, the fleet is now pondering the wisdom of giving up their fuel, but all are confident that they can sail to Cairns.
One boat, Strega of Germany is having engine problems. Strega had delivered 100 liters of fuel to Wizard the day before, but now it is Wizard's turn to offer help. "Can I give you a tow?" they inquire.

What a fleet! Each and every one of us would stop, go back and help. That is the unwritten rule of the sea. This is what great friendship is made of... and this is what a good sailor does for another, even if they have never met. Each and every one of us knows that it could just as easily been you encountering troubles. It is not "if", just "when". We try to be vigilant with maintenance, repairs and monitoring of systems, but no one, not even the commercial vessels can catch each and every
issue before it becomes a problem. Strega has a problem similar to the one we have had with our engine exhaust. Although Andreas, owner of Strega speaks fairly good English, he doesn't understand the technical terms. So we call Gerry of Northern Sky, a Canadian boat to discuss Strega's predicament. Gerry who has a great command of German, French and Spanish, having worked and lived in Europe for many years while with the Canadian military is able to then to translate and give some thoughts on how to affect a repair. Stega's problem is that the elbow to the exhaust has failed and has a substantial breach causing the engine to overheat. They don't have a replacement, but who would. This is not a typical spare that you would consider carrying. They had tried using a tin can but couldn't get enough of a seal to effect a repair.

Our suggestion is first you start with a sheet of tin foil and fold it in multiple layers to make a bandage or a pad that is much larger than the hole. Then take some tape, preferably a high temperature tape and make another smaller pad just a little larger than the hole to put on top of the aluminum foil. This is then secured around the breach with ideally a temperature resistant self-annealing tape and our tape of choice is "Rescue Tape". What is self-annealing tape? It is a tape you stretch as you wrap it and the tape surfaces will then adhere to each other creating pressure which helps to hold things together. The purpose of the aluminum foil bandage and then the tape bit on top is to provide something to mold itself into the breach with the pressure of the outside wrap holding it in place to make a seal. As exhaust systems have a fair amount of pressure we then suggest a protective wrap of several layer of aluminum foil to create a band or pad over the tape and then a large hose clamp over the whole mess to be sure the patch is held in place. Well this is what we did 6000 miles ago when our exhaust mixing box blew a hold in the side and we have yet to be able to get a replacement box and the repair has worked. We don't know the outcome for Strega yet but we sure hope that they can get some use out of their engine to give them the maneuverability they may need to get through the reef.

It just another example of when you sail small boats across large oceans, you have to be a plumber, an electrician, a diesel mechanical, a rigger, a carpenter, a navigator, a cook and bottle-washer and let's not forget, a sailor too!