FRIDAY 17th SEPTEMBER 2010 (DAY 4)
00.00hrs Two ships passed us going in different directions, Its always nice to see traffic at night, even if they come close, as one of these ships did....................She passed 1 mile astern heading north, posssibly going to Singapore.
The refrigeration system is very slow to cool down, despite the new pump. There is always something to keep us busy if not stressed out. But thats boats, " cruising down the river " remember that !
06.00hrs Dawn was very faint, Of course as we go west along, the clock needs to be adjusted to match Dawn and Dusk, we will have to do this over the next 24 / 48 hrs. So each day , dawn gets later and later. and dusk gets earlier and earlier. Bali was + 8hrs. Coco's + 7hrs
08 .00hrs We put up our wonderfull KITE and off we went like a rocket.
09.00hrs RADIO CALL We were holding our position in the fleet, but then we had a lot of engine hours during the night, so that will get us a nice penelty. Mind you, most other boats had some engine hours as well.
We spoke to Thomas on " Destiny" regarding the fridge, and they think we may have an air lock. We tried all the tricks we know to get rid of it, but failed, anyway, the thing is still working, but not at its max.
13.00hrs. An Interesting thing, This boat has done 59,507 miles since it was built in 2002, and we have put up more than 25,000 of those miles since May 2007 As they say, a bit of usless information.
15.00hrs We spied another yacht on the horizon, they eventually crossed our bow about 5 miles ahead and went north of us. We assumed it to be " Kallopie "" but failed to raise them on the radio.
We also discovered a loose connection on the battery bank. Another bad job done in Tahiti by NautiSport.
15.30 We had a roast leg of lamb for dinner, and included creamed potatoes, roast potatoes, and green beans, no sauce. No drink, other than Water.Coke, or Tonic. we will be known as the healthy freaks after this week at sea.
The KITE is still hauling us along at a nice steady pace of 8knots + Neil, ohhhh Neil is so sun burnt that we will not need any navigation lights tonight, we can just stand him him on the bow or stern and he will glow for miles around.
We had a few " Boobies roosting on the top of the sock for the KITE, thats untill something happened to the auto helm and dept sounder and before we knew what was happening, there were alarm bells ringing and lights flashing all around the cockpit and next thing , the boat gybed and the KITE. , our lovely Kite , was in shreds again and the boobies just took off to find another nest for the night, Thats birds for you , the same the world over.
So the three musketeers had to do a rush take down of the bits, and pack the thing away..... ohhhhhhhhhhh booo hooo,, this is terrible. The skippers favourate sail in shreds again.......
The skipper was mad,, mad enough to make a Sheppard kick his dog.
Well, thats enough for one day.
Signed :- Stephen Hyde ( skipper )
Night watches :- 10.oohrs / 00.00hrs................................Skipper
00.00hrs / 02.00hrs ..............................Aileen
02.00hrs / 04.00hrs.................................Neil
04.00hrs / 06.00hrs..................................Terry
06.00hrs / 08.00hrs..................................Skipper