After a completely problem-free Biscay crossing this year we thought our
luck had changed; nothing broke, nothing even gave slight cause for concern.
Even the weather Gods smiled on us with lots of sunshine, never too much
wind (often too little -never satisfied!), clear skies for most of the time
and calm seas.
It couldn't last.
The weather got its own back in Bayona. Lots of squally showers, strong
winds from the south and threats of big waves kept us in port for two extra
days. The forecast for today was benign, the reality? There is no wind, no
waves and very limited visibility but, looking on the bright side, it isn't
raining.
We were within about half a nautical mile of entering Portuguese waters when
we heard a bump. We both looked around - bump- concern was rising, bump!
Then a heavy wooden pallet bobbed up behind us. At about the same time,
John pulled the engine control into neutral. The engine sounded a bit rough
so he pushed the control forward to increase the revs and NOTHING happened,
then the engine died. Drifting at about 1 knot in 5 knots of true wind in
roughly the right direction would mean missing the dinner in Povoa.
Fortunately John is practical. Lack of forward propulsion could be caused
by losing the prop, losing the gear linkage, losing the throttle linkage or
getting tangled in fishing gear. Optimistically he decided to check the
throttle linkage because the engine revs wouldn't increase, supported by the
fact there was no resistance in the throttle lever when I moved it. The end
of the throttle linkage rod is attached to the throttle lever by a captive
nut which is secured by a lock nut. The captive nut can rotate - and did,
right off the end of the rod because the lock nut had come loose. 15
minutes later we were motoring again. Welcome to Portugal.
The throttle problem had nothing to do with the pallet, but it did cause
some concern at the time. It also led to a brief discussion - how many
boats in the Solent would have immediately called up Solent Coastguard or
SeaStart?
Joyce