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Lexington - Captain Bob: 5*. 49' north. 59* 54' west. 800 miles from Granada



We are doing well. We have been in very consistent winds of 16-22 knots from the east for a few days. We are averaging about 175 miles a day.
This post is to point out how you need to be on top of things and always be aware of the functions of the boat. Our energy and refrigeration worked great crossing from Africa to Brazil. In Brazil we began to notice that we were having to run our generator much more often. Refrigeration takes the majority of our energy. The water was warmer. The refrigerator was running more often. I actually looked at it every hour for 8 hours, it was always on. The freezer would be off (not running) occasionally. We think we have a slow leak in our refrigerator compressor gas. We ended up turning the freezer temp down and opening the small connection to the refrigerator. We then turned the refrigerator off and cooled both with the freezer. We had also noticed that the Watt and Sea (a towed generator that creates electricity) did not sound right. When we are full of electricity it makes a dull hum. It was making this sound off and on. Luckily Sam asked me to unplug the connection of the Watt
and Sea to the boat's electrical system. The sound went away. As it turned out, the connection was loose and causing the off and on noise. Since correcting this we have been much better on energy. We still need to charge our refrigerator in Granada, or at least check it.
The point being made is that you are all alone out here. You have to be very aware of the sounds of the boat. You have to know enough to analyze your problems and experiment with solutions. I would definitely advise anyone on such a trip to have as many manuals as possible and to have been very active in any work done on the boat. A shake down cruise , living aboard in the area where previous work was done is a great idea if possible. That way your vendors can get feedback on their work and make needed corrections.
May fair winds fill your sails with all you senses to keep the pointed end up and headed on the proper course.
Bob

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