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Starblazer - Nanny Cay - BVI



There should be a blog or two around. Starblazer or WorldCruising Club.  Try ARC USA, they may have moved our posts from World ARC.

Finally arrived in North Sound Virgin Gorda and entered and anchored under sail.  As usual the engine was overheating and being kept for emergencies.

Now in Nanny Cay which is our ARC USA departure port on the 7th.

Spent part of the last week and most of today chasing through the seawater cooling system.
Impeller-good, impeller turns-good, heat exchanger blocked by impeller parts?-good, oil cooler blocked by impeller parts?-good, syphon stop blocked-good, pipework-good.  WTH??
Give in and replace the water seal in the spare seawater pump.  Fitted spare and works well now with lots of cooling water.  
I can only picture that on the other pump water is passing back along the side of the impeller. Then as I check water flow further long the system by progressively opening hose joints the increased back pressure reduces the flow by increasing the backflow around the impeller.

I think that I have it cracked at last.

Tomorrow up the mast to check the rigging and the DIY LED tricolour light, sometimes it works, sometimes it don't and I have to use 4-5A of deck nav light instead of 0.7A of tri. Not good when the batteries cannot be charged.  Dead engine, dead Honda gen, dead Fischer Panda and not enough sun for fridge, freezer and autopilot.  Batteries down to 27% on arriving here.

Tomorrow we also have our WCC safety check for the ARC USA to Portsmouth, Virginia. Should be no problem as we have been through a few already.  Joyce has recently put ne covers on the horseshoe buoys and today added super reflective tape.

John
Starblazer


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