Mechanical
problems, weather conditions vs weather forecasts, reefs-in-reefs-out and
sails-up-sails-down. Sounds to me like a bit of the same-old-same-old. You would
of course be right. But the challenges always have a different flavour and new
solutions have to be found.
All was going
well yesterday afternoon. The wind was doing more or less as the weather
forecast had promised. The wind was up and down between about 15 and 20 knots,
and more or less from north of east, or sometimes south of it, so on we sailed,
gybing once in order not let ourselves get too far north of our intended track.
Not long after taking over at midnight a commanding cry came down into the main
cabin. 'I need some help up here!'. It was clear that the Francesca-the-Mate
meant business, and deep in slumber though he was, the Skipper was immediately
awake, and dragged himself towards the cockpit, clipping up his lifejacket as he
went. 'Wassup?' he mumbled into the cockpit. But it was pretty obvious. The wind
was gusting up beyond 30 knots, and we needed to get sail off Cleone pretty
quickly. Despite the gusting wind and the lurches caused by the confused seas
all around us, this was soon done. The Skipper retired back to his bunk in the
saloon to try and catch up with his sleep. At 3am during a lull, the watch let
out the third reef to try and power up the yacht. That was asking for trouble,
and shortly afterwards a 30knot squall forced them to put the third reef back
in, and thereafter to summon the on-coming watch early in order to take the
mainsail down altogether.
Comparative
peace reigned for a bit, but having started the main engine in order to charge
the batteries, Kaya and the skipper were jolted out of their separate reveries
by a piercing bleep from the engine panel, and an amber light indicating that
the beast was overheating. They stopped the engine in time to be able to
reassure Francesca that yes it was an alarm, and we had not only stopped the
engine but also were about to investigate the cause. Warily the Skipper began
his work. The engine bay was stifling and the engine itself was clearly showing
signs of heat stress. There was nothing blocking the cooling water intake, and
the inlet-water strainer was clean. Next stop, the Raw Water Pump. Situated at
the front of the engine, this can easily be accessed through a removeable panel
behind the companionway steps. As the Skipper removed the cover, salt water
flowed out; all quite normal. But the simple but magical metal-and-rubber
impeller that actually does the business was clearly damaged. Unusually, this
was easily extracted along with its broken vanes. And in a box full of like
things, there were not one but 2 brand-new spare impellers in pristine cardboard
boxes with Yanmar and the correct part number stamped on them. Given that it is
most unusual for the Skipper to be able to find anything easily, it was even
more remarkable that his run of luck continued, and that the 90 minutes spent
fitting a new impeller seems to have done the trick. Despite a successful
test at the end of the watch after the engine had cooled somewhat, fingers are
still crossed. If the repair has not worked, the alternative is a powerless sail
to St Lucia. We can sail on, cooking on the gas stove and navigating with the
emergency GPS, but we won't be able to communicate, show lights or use the usual
instruments.
All on board are
well, if a little bit personally overheated (you are in the tropics. You
shouldn't be surprised if it is hot! - Ed), which we are treating with copious
quantities of drinking water. Don't be surprised if we stop blogging and
emailing. You will still be able to track us on Yellow Brick, and you will know
when we arrive - there are only 792 miles to go!
With very best
wishes and love to you all,
James,
Francesca, Louisa and Kaya
Yacht
Cleone
At
sea
Position at
1200UTC on10Dec 2024:
N18deg28min
W047deg59min