Hi all,
Many thanks for your emails please keep them coming, they certainly help to while away the lonely dog watches and help us keep in touch with reality!!
We are doing well on our passage to Colon , as usual there is always to much or to little wind and at the moment we have the later, however after three hours spent trimming, setting ,re-trimming, re-setting, every rope, pole ,shackle and bit of string we can find we are now etching out every last morsel of speed that Kasuje can muster.
However we are really enjoying this peaceful passage and are all very well. That is apart from my hands that now sport not only a rope burn but three sutures personally inserted after slipping whilst drilling out a particularly awkward screw!! ( I hope Danny at Triplar does not read this because even after his and Mel Early's years of assiduous training I still cut,blister and maimed my hands!!)
On the subject of sailing it has been mentioned by one or two of you in, I must say quite a disparaging manner, that our little trip so far has just been a jolly and not being taken seriously as there has been no talk of sailing and the technicalities thereof, one email even had the temerity to suggest that we had STAFF on board doing the hard bit!!!
So to put the record straight and in a bid to boar you to sleep I will describe below our current sailing strategy.
(For everyone who is already bored I suggest you read no further)
1) Propulsion
We have three means of powering Kasuje.
a) Sails and rig
We have two main rig arrangements for sailing downwind,
a) Twin 135% Genoas bended on the furling gear with one halyard. These are then poled out on extended fixed poles, giving an effect somewhat similar to flying a kite but with the centre of force much lower and therefore much safer.
b) 135% Genoa poled out to windward, with prevented main to leeward. This is more a traditional downwind rig.
We further tweak these arrangements by including a second fixed pole mounted on its own track and totally independent. These two poles are permanently rigged and fixed solid. This allows me to gybe single handed from the cockpit.
We further enhance the rig by setting a storm sail amidships on the inner forestay. This helps reduce the rolling motion when in big seas and also looks pretty.
We also carry a spare new main sail a third hanked on Jib and a trysail. Note we do not carry a spinnaker or cruising chute.
So as you can see we are quite a site at sea and get lots of whimsical glances, with our two fixed poles looking like fishing outriggers and a storm sail permanently set.
b) Diesel engine
Kasuje is fitted with a 6 cylinder 180Hp Volvo Penta diesel engine. We carry approx 900 litres of fuel which in moderate conditions would allow us to steam for approx 120hrs. This is driven by a linked shaft to a folding propeller which neatly folds on itself when under sail.
c) Emergency drive.
If all else fails and when cannot get into port we have been known to strap the dinghy and its 15 HP outboard to our side and drive Kasuje with this. Great fun!!!
2) Navigation and Comms
We carry paper charts for all the cruising areas visited however these are large scale and in practice are only good for passage planning. Our primary means of navigation is with a Furuno Chartplotter and Radar linked to our onboard computer and maxsea software. In my opinion this cannot be beaten brilliant charts of every port in the world. Maxsea weather routing and overlay. Furuno overlay radar to spot those squalls early. You need a degree in computing to get it all up and running but once installed provides very reassuring information and greatly assists in picking the best route. For voice communication we have two fixed VHF sets and one hand held, a long range SSB set and a worldwide iridium phone which is also the email link. We have also been known to broadcast music, daily prayers and the odd explanative from the onboard load hailer system.
3) Domestics
Kasuje is fitted out as you would expect a nice flat, cavernous freezer and fridge for those long passages, gas cooker, microwave, a wine and liquor cellar and enough cigars to bribe our way around the world. Two bathrooms (sorry heads) with hot showers and 6 bunks. We make our own fresh water through a desalination plant and a separate diesel generator provides all the power we need for recharging the bank of 8 batteries. Our total battery power amounts to 420ah and we use between 12 - 15 amps per hour. As we do not like to run the batteries down below 250ah we top them up by running the generator twice a day for approx 1 hour. We also have a wind turbine on the stern which produces between 3 - 5 amps per hour and further tops up the batteries.
4) Entertainment
We have lots of toys and gadgets on board but I'm not allowed to mention them as this is suppose to be a serious technical brief.
So for the techies of you, I hope I have reassured you that we do not have staff on board and that we are running this yacht for good or bad ourselves!!!
One further thing before I close, as those who have sailed with me know, if possible, I like to have a couple of hours on the foredeck at sundown to put the world to right and contemplate.
(Think, I must have been a Buddhist in a former life)
So here's last evenings thoughts.
Why is it that we human beings surround ourselves with man made material goods, getting into debt, causing great stress and suffering, when the greatest pleasures come from brotherly love, fellowship and the God given wonders of the natural world . All absolutely FREE if we open our hearts and eyes!!
God Bless
Love from Skipper Rodders, Suzy & Guy X