Archive | January, 2016

Doing Nothing Becomes Busy

January 25, 2016 by

We rejoined the ARC fleet three days after our unsanctioned early departure. We had missed the awards dinner for Leg 1. Two Fish grabbed a trophy – third for the catamarans. The day after we left, Port Control of Santa Marta shut down the

sunrise

sunrise

port. The rally organizers tried to change Port Control’s decision; I found this to be curious. Another curious decision was to make the leg to the San Blas a “racing” leg. It is a leg with heavy wind and difficult reefs. Enough of me judging things with imperfect information. Two Fish made it safely and that is the end of my job.

Our sister-ship Kristal had a great ride downwind, testing her new third reef in the main sail in 30-40 knots of breeze. With a tiny main and tiny genoa, the boat was sprinting along at double-digit speeds. They passed a racy monohull who responded with hoisting more sail area and then a few minutes later the monohull had a dramatic broach (tipped on her side).

We had fun helping a fellow ARC boat come into the harbor. They arrived just as the sun had set. We turned on every light on the boat. We radioed them to let them

know there was plenty of room to anchor off our stern. I then watched their AIS path on the chartplotter and offered assurances. They were very appreciative of the help and the electronic tracks we had given them back in Santa Marta. We now have an open bar awaiting us on another boat.

Paddle Express

Paddle Express

The morning in Swimming Pool anchorage started early as I boarded the paddleboard to greet every ARC boat and invite them to drinks aboard Two Fish. The anchorage is large so it took almost two hours to reach all of the boats. My speed was slowed by the wind but the real speed killer was my need to catch up with each boat. I do not mind a good chat. My paddleboard attracted a ray as I passed over shallow water.

James has been doing many great things for Two Fish during his stay. His Antares claim to fame is that he built the deck mold. His Two Fish claims to fame are many but today he was after a noise in the guest cabin that sounded like shrimp eating. Gail overheard the conversation and was concerned as she took it literally. It was a bit of the core rubbing.   At first this was mis-diagnosed as delamination. Good news it was nothing of the kind. When James and Jackie are not trying to make Two Fish the best Antares ever built, they spend time swimming, spotting turtles and eating potato chips. Gail and I made another repair to the boat. The autopilot had been making small unnecessary turns. The owners forum reminded me of the bonehead move we had done. The extra Volvo Oil and Fuel filters were too close to the fluxgate compass and were confusing it. Filters moved and our autopilot’s behavior was back to normal today.

While I was out paddling, there was plenty of adventure on Two Fish. Jackie was adjusting the cushion on the lounge chair and found a 5 foot snake underneath. Since the first telling of the story it has grown to 6 feet. She quickly exited the area and summoned James. He also decided to summon some help and walked over to Gail at the bow. “Gail, we have a situation”, she heard, wondering what it could be. “We have a snake aboard”, he said. It took a few second to digest this information as she walked forward. They pointed out where it was and waited for some action. Fortunately, the boat brush

Stowaway

Stowaway

was out of the locker so Gail asked James to grab it. Jackie went to get the boat hook. With James standing by on broom duty, Gail flipped the cushion off the snake with the boat hook. The snake raised its head and stuck out its tongue. Gail shoved it towards the stern and James joined in with the brush. A few minutes later the snake was off the boat via the stern steps, but not before Jackie took a parting photo. The snake seemed to sink to the bottom, but we are not one hundred percent sure. The conversation afterward mourned the snake. Gail thought she should have put it in a trash bag and had me paddle it to shore.

A bunch of theories have arisen as to his provenance. Did mister snake sneak aboard via the dinghy when we visited the Southern San Blas? Or, did the snake board while Two Fish was on the hard in Grenada? Is there a family of snakes living in the guest cabin? We think we have checked everywhere. When I returned to the boat, I was chided for not being appreciative of the gravity of a snake visit. In the past week we have caught 8 flying flying, 2 sardines and snake without taking the pole out of the locker. We also will be eating fresh sword fish, a gift from another rally boat.

With the excitement of the snake wearing off we spotted new adventure on the horizon.   A non rally boat had put her self on the reef. The skipper had told me he looked away for a moment. The folks on the bow were pointing to turn but all too late. The first 10 feet of the boat were high and dry.   The bow thruster was out of the water. We were the first dinghy on the scene. I had brought a 200 foot line along as well.   They were dumping their water tanks but this not a solution.

Grounded Boat

Grounded Boat

The small tide was going out and this only made the situation worse. I spoke to the skipper and proposed that we help him heel the boat over using and anchor attached to his mast. His crew tried to get out their kedge (secondary anchor) but it was deeply buried in the locker. In the intermin 6 other dinghies had arrived. Some with 40hp engines and eager to use their rpm’s.   The crowd convinced the skipper that shoving him off the reef was the right call. Swimmers in the water scurried away in fear and the boat was shoved.   More digging of coral by the swimmers and more shoving and he was free. Some cosmetic damage to the rudder but otherwise the boat seemed ok.   Hint do not buy a used Dufour 50 from Los Angles.


At 5 pm the ARC rally folks started arriving at Two Fish for the party. It did not take long to realize the fellow ralliers are awesome. They came with such kindness, great gifts and super conversation.   These are going to be great folks to spend the next year with. We broke the record for the most people on Two Fish at one time: 51.

Some cruisers stay anchored in the San Blas for months. They make their own water, eat food from their extensive stores, but have no home for their trash. A social event is the weekly trash burn.   This was announced on the radio yesterday. One of our friends radioed in and asked for details. Immediately thereafter, someone interrupted the announcement telling us in a stern voice that rally boats do not burn trash. No more comments.

 

 

Day 16 – San Blas Procedures

January 25, 2016 by

1) A bunch of rumors were stirring on various chat forums about fees for the San Blas. Here is what we paid.

205 USD for a 1 year cruising permit.
125 USD per person (20 of which is for Kuna Congresso)
20 USD per boat (Kuna Cogresso)

2) We entered in the south at Mamitupu. The South is much nicer because there are fewer boats. However, one should NOT use C-map charts. They are useless. The Bauhaus chart book is the way to go. Better yet, scan your own Bauhaus guide and use it in SeaClear II with an external GPS puck on your PC.

3) We checked into Panama/Kuna Yala in Porvenir. It can get crowded in the anchorage, but we had good holding in 13 meters. You need to spend time with four government departments. They are all in the same building. There is a dinghy dock nearby. You need to bring your passports, three copies of your crew list, an original and a copy of your Zarpe from Colombia and your ship’s registration papers.

a) Cruising Permit: They take only cash (US dollars) and there is no ATM. They will give you a fist full of papers. They will also stamp a bunch of these papers. Cruising permit, 2 Zarpe forms, 2 receipts.
b) Kuna Congresso: Quick process to pay the $20 per person and $20 for the boat. They give you one receipt.
c) Immigration: They will stamp your passport into Panama. Check to make sure they have done the stamp correctly. (i.e. dated, signed, your boat name, duration of entry and a tick in the tiny box). They gave me two receipts.
d) Police: They seem to write your passport numbers down but do not demand any money. No paperwork given.

The process can take one hour but you might need to wait longer if there are other boats checking in.

We have a more fun post written with plenty of photos but waiting for big lights and wifi of the canal in order to post.

Jason
www.twofishcat.com

Mamitupu Morning

January 22, 2016 by

The calmest times on the boat, whether on a passage or not, are the early morning hours. Nothing beats having a cup of warm coffee and watching the night disappear. At Mamitipu, just before dawn, I thought I was the only person on the water until I saw the outline of a canoe being rowed from the island village to land. Shortly thereafter, as the sun began to appear, another canoe and another glided past. It was morning rush hour at Manitipu, except this one was distinctly not the usual rush hour as everyone had a smile and a wave for me.

Yesterday, an older man paddled by the boat. After some back and forth, we realized he was requesting payment for staying in their bay. He had with him an official looking pad with an old piece of ditto paper. After thumbing through the pages, I figured out the cost was USD 10. I filled in the form,in duplicate, and gave him the money. Then he offered up some embroidered patches for sale. We bit.

We had read that the remote villages have nightly congressos, led by the village chief, so that the people can discuss and debate the matters of the day. I wonder whether anyone brought up the presence of the foreign boat as a news item? We certainly discussed them during our nightly meal, wondering what they do on the mainland and reflecting on how content the people of Mamitupu seemed.

kuna (31 of 37)

Day 11 – Hanging with the Kuna

January 21, 2016 by

Kuna, pronouced Guna, are the inhabitants of a chain of islands off the coast of Panama. Generations ago, when the Spanish invaded, they fled the mainland. Kuna Yala (aka San Blas Islands) are an obvious stop for canal crossers. We did a bit of research and decided to go 60 miles south of the main anchorages. We would face more difficult navigation in an area known for boat-eating reefs and useless charts. The Bauhaus guide of Panama is an amazing resource to navigate this area. To make his charts easier to use we cut out and scanned the charts. Then using a free application called Map Cal I made them into raster charts. This is a must for the southern San Blas Islands.

We walked onto the island of Mamipitu and fell back in time. The small lanes, communal kitchens and lack of utilities are signs that this island life is a world apart from life on Two Fish. Many of the residents are bilingual (Kuna and Spanish) but we found that the women are better Spanish speakers. We had a hard time communicating with some men who were relaxing at their fishing port. There was plenty of boat traffic; all were dugout canoes powered by stubby paddles. The passing canoes were transporting a few coconuts, a log, of which we were unsure of its purpose, jungle fruits and a pair of rubber boots. The boots seem misplaced but they may be used on the mainland or in the rainy season. The kuna people are small in stature with a deep brown skin and very white teeth.

The village has a few solar panels but no electric grid. There were a couple of stores that had a tiny inventory of lollipops and sugary sodas. Kids were playing a form of tag in the village lanes with laughing as a key element. Gail invited some of the locals to play in our dinghy as we were leaving. One kid borrowed Gail’s glasses and pumped up his chest in a macho pose. I wonder if the little guy has a headache now. They would have stayed with us until dark when non-kuna must leave the island. After dark they have a meeting led by the chief and issues are dispatched. We gingerly navigated the dinghy away from the island avoiding a few hazards and thinking how lucky we were to see another culture. We were still excited by the experience as we ate Gail’s tasty tofu stir fry and watched the setting sun from the cockpit.

Before we anchored here, the second day of the passage to Kuna Yala was much like the first. It became a fun game to control the boat speed for a sunlight arrival. At one point we were down to 4 reefs in the Genoa. The winds are usually light this close to Panama but the 35 knot winds in Colombia are creating havoc. The World ARC fleet have been held up by the Port Captain in Santa Marta. They hope to leave today. The Coast Guard chased down one boat and forced them to return to port. I am happy we snuck out early.

A couple of folks have asked why the photo quality has dropped on our posts. We are now posting using our Iridium Go; this is as fast as the formation of coal. So please bear with the low quality – at least we don’t have to wait weeks for wifi. As an aside, I am very happy with the Iridium Go. I can get text-only email and weather with little effort while lying in bed. In super rough conditions sitting at the nav station is headache-inducing. Also the Iridium GO consumes almost no electricity versus the KVH. The ARC Rally gave us Yellow Brick tracker, which does a bunch of things from email to tracking. After a bit of beta testing we like it but I prefer the Iridium Go. May be a future post on our extensive communication strategy.

Off to play.
Jason
www.twofishcat.com

Day 10 – Passage to San Blas

January 19, 2016 by

Last night, while heading to the cockpit to respond to a large wave, I felt something squishy underfoot. I was shocked to find it was a live sardine in the middle of the salon (aka our living room). The fish had come into cockpit via a wave and then jumped inside the salon to relax for the evening. I tossed the live fish back into the sea and laughed that I had never seen that one before. Plenty of flying fish land all over the boat only to be discovered as dried out relics in the morning. But a live wingless sardine in the salon is a new record. Now I have to clean some fish scales off the floor.

Another new experience is Cartagena Port Control’s AIS warning messages. The messages instruct the large ships to contact port control but they make a startling noise on Two Fish’s chart plotter. Another modern feature of Colombia is their use of virtual buoys. They are created using a GPS broadcast message via AIS and show up only on our chart plotter. Cool.

This leg has been safe but not the most comfortable. The wind has been 27-32 knots and the seas have built over the last 24 hours. But I have used the opportunity to learn more about sailing Two Fish. First lesson was stow the main early. We dropped her 10 minutes into the 2 day trip. Second lesson is when the autopilot oversteers keep adding reefs and comfort will follow. At one point last night we were on the “4th reef” in the genoa. At dawn we returned to 2 reefs. Nice to know the genoa furler is in great shape after James and to a much lesser degree I improved the bolts retaining the foil.

Food service has been suspended as there are no takers of my fine reheated Gail cooking. In preparation for the canal crossing I have been listening to the book Path Between the Seas. I am enjoying it as the author finds no detail too small.

The water temp has risen 5 degrees as a welcoming clue the San Blas islands are near. I hope the winds abate as reef crossing in this weather is not a good idea. We snuck away from the rally a couple of days early because I wanted more time in the San Blas and less in Colombia. We were chided by rally control for missing the fancy dinner but the trade off worked for our goals. Looking at the weather the rally boats may hold back a day or two in Santa Marta as the breeze is forecasted to be 35 knots with 3 meter seas.

Two Fish Guest Report

January 19, 2016 by

Well it’s been an experience and a half traveling on Two Fish. Jason and Gail have been great hosts and we are enjoying our time together, both onboard and ashore. Our adventure started at the Toronto airport.  We ran into Bert, who saw our foul weather coats and asked if we were destined for the ARC rally like him. Turns out he is from the same town as Jackie in Cape Breton and even knows who her Dad is! What’s yer faders name?
St Lucia was beautiful with its lush tropical mountains, balmy breezes, and friendly people. We spent a few days prepping the boat and shoved off at noon for the start of the ” race ” to Santa Marta Colombia. The start was 35 cruising sailboats beating to windward in the opposite direction to our destination, all in all an exciting start. This leg gave us following seas and winds from 15 to 35 knots. We quickly fell into our routine of 2 hour watches with 6 off and scheduled on-board cleaning duties. Jackie and I ran our watches together as we found it more enjoyable to have company, either in the helm chair or snoozing in the cockpit, especially during our 6 to 10 pm and 2 to 6 am night watches. Skies were clear the whole time with blue skies by day and a blanket of stars at night from horizon to horizon. The North Star reminded us of home, although it was much lower in the sky. Two Fish performed well and we were able to finish ahead of the other two PDQ/ Antares in the fleet. Pretty sure this was a result of Jason’s many sail changes; when there is nothing to do, change out a sail!
The approach to Santa Marta, Colombia was spectacular with impressive mountains and cliffs dipping into the ocean and a spirited sea with 35 knots of breeze. The marina is surrounded by mountains and is quite modern and very peaceful ( peaceful as in calm water, maybe not the salsa bands that usually shut down around 5 am ). There is definitely a large social and economical gap here between the have and have-nots. Although everyone seems happy and content with a devotion to Family.
Our plan is to shove off soon and head for the San Blas Islands for a week or so. I am told they are amazing with rich culture and world class diving. From there our next stop is Colon Panama where Jackie and I will sadly depart the good ship Two Fish and make our way to Panama City for a few days of sight seeing and then make our way back to Florida for the rest of the season. This trip has given us some destination ideas for the next cruise aboard our beloved sailboat Cheemaun. Thanks Jason and Gail for this opportunity!!
Btw…that port forward cabin sure is quiet!!
Jackie and James Power ( the two new crew fish aboard Two Fish)

Cheemaun

Cheemaun

Dreaming of a Dry Bilge

January 18, 2016 by

A bone dry bilge is my dream and here is what I have learned:

1). Bilge pump cycles on and off.
Few things are less comforting during a night passage than having the bilge pump turn on and off. Up come the floor boards with no conclusive evidence of imminent sinking. The only real cure is to make the water collection pit bigger. Here is my logic. The pump fails to send the last bit of water overboard. This last bit is the amount from the pump to the loop of the loop. Let’s say that is a liter. The liter then returns to the tiny bilge box and becomes a centimeter of water. This volume of water confuses the trigger and restarts the pumping process. Add a bit of a rolly boat and you have an endless loop. Now imagine a much bigger box and the liter of water is only a film. I am not ready to start cutting but this would be a great solution. Newer boats have larger boxes. Lucky ducks.

2. Transmission oil cooler (Volvo feature)

The first photo is of a broken plug, a spent plug and a new plug.  After two happy years, my plugs were dead. Too many marinas? The Volvo engines do not have zincs. So parts can get gobbled. My plugs on both engines were leaking slowly;  this could have resulted in  a dramatic fail, as it would open a fairly large hole in the raw water loop.

I am considering installing a plug that has a screw-in zinc. I found one in St Lucia, but want to email Volvo first.
While on the topic of oil coolers. Mine were both cast poorly and I will swap them out at some point. The output hole is blocked partially from original production. Volvo you are lazy.

3. Hot heater overflow water valves.

Pressure relief Valve routing

Pressure relief valve routing

After giving up on the Quick Water Heater support desk, I followed the advice of the

water routed back to tank

water routed back to tank

forum (thanks Paul and Jeff). My pressure relief valves are now putting water back into the tank. I am very happy about this as we were losing quite a lot of fresh water to the bilge. I still need to track down weather our hot water heaters have zincs. The photos show the install. 1/4 inch hose most of the way and then a barb to convert to 15mm NPT and then joined at the water maker tank inlet hose. Not too tough, but it makes me wonder why I have hot water heaters. If you need them, you are too far north. Okay, clean dishes are nice. Most of my bilge water was from the hot water heater but I was still on patrol.

4. Cam screw on raw water pump.
Dissimilar metals are hell. I found a small leak from the raw water pump. It was not from the face plate or the hose, but from a screw on the

water pump cam

water pump cam

raw water pump

raw water pump

side of the pump that holds the cam. This screw had been eaten by stray electrons in only 9 months. Turns out my new pumps that were all covered in sexy green Volvo paint hid the fact that Volvo did

not use a brass screw. It was eaten and started to leak. The screw broke off in the cam so I used the perfectly good cam from my old pump. Brass screw spares are on order.   By the way Volvo will no longer sell the cam separately. I assume it was hurting pump sales?
You can see I have the speed seals as impeller covers. Still like them. As a safety measure, we cut off an inch of the hose attached to the feeder side of the pump to have a cleaner fit.

5. Clean the shaft

Shaft Seal

Shaft Seal

Underneath the elephant nose (aka Tides Marine Shaft Seal) is a home to hearty sea creatures. With the bilge pump on, we removed the black ring and pushed back the baffle revealing some barnacles. Wet sanded them off and new shaft ready for another 1000 hours of dry bilges. Also moved the entire unit forward a centimeter to have the lip seal touch at a new point of the shaft. Our shaft alignment is good, so the seals are in good shape. The second black ring is our back-up seal that allows for changing at sea with shaft removal.

 

 

6. Leaky head solenoid.
The solenoid has a small anti siphon loop that was leaking. Swapped it out for new and no more drips.

7. Years ago we had a leaky sump from the shower, but this has been fixed.

As Two Fish is a catamaran, we got to do most of the jobs twice.

As for my other bilge dripper, the air conditioning condensation, we will be on anchor more from now on, so this should not be an issue.

And so completes the tale of my dry bilge experiences to date. One can only hope it works.

 

Day 6 – Back to Colombia

January 14, 2016 by

According to our chart plotter, we are 39 miles from our return landfall in Colombia. Earlier this year,we traveled light. This time we brought our floating home. We have to keep all sails out and our speed up so that we arrive before sunset, while being aware of any wind shift in this area that is legendary for strong breezes. Other boats have shared their experiences which included puffs up to 38 knots. I was active on deck during the night in what from space must have looked like a sailor inspecting his inventory. Full main, main with 1 and then 2 reefs, Full genoa, genoa with 1 and 2 reefs and screecher. Some sails made multiple appearances. The spaceman must be puzzled – why not just turn on the engines? Gail was in agreement with him. We have been stingy with engine hours because I find the engine noise like living inside a washing machine. The old trick of turning on only the port engine is off the menu with friends living in the port hull. During her nighttime watch, Gail grabbed a blanket for warmth, despite our proximity to the equator.

The nighttime reefing is slow and I always fear tearing the sail. I need to upgrade our halyard and reef point markings. The complex term refers to marking the lines with ink bands on the winch at the point you should stop raising them. Also, I should just move the topping lift out of the way for periods when the main is powering the boat.

Plenty of boats coming down the coast for Jackie and James to avoid. They seem to get stuck with all the annoying traffic. Their great job not hitting any ships at night was noticed by the captain but I was too busy tweaking lines to comment. No comments or complaints from their side when I was doing my 100th sail change of the trip.

We did not have a party for Two Fish’s 13,000th mile of traveling. We will have a huge party at 25,000 miles. Everyone is invited.

We have tallied up our chores for Santa Marta and the list should not stop us from enjoying the activities ashore. I am looking forward to both the city tour and the BBQ in the national park. Maybe also a run or two onshore?

To all our readers, Happy Thursday. Pre-arrival process has begun. Colombia courtesy flag and Q flag hoisted. Off to shower and don my Colombia Football Club shirt.

Jason
www.twofishcat.com

Day 5, What happened to Day 4

January 13, 2016 by

13 Jan Offshore from the Colombian / Venezuelan border

The days are blending together faster than margarita ingredients in a dive bar. We had a fire drill on board. The spinnaker halyard goes through a block at the top of the mast. This block is attached by a single screw as it expects only a downward load. We luffed the chute a few times too many and the bolt sheered. James heard the ping noise as the sheared screw hit the deck. He grabbed the binoculars to sight any damage and quickly announced that the bracket was amiss. I then began to lower the sock that snuffs the spinnaker. It would not budge. The damaged part was impeding the progress of the sock. So we did it old school and dropped the billowing 1,300 square foot sail in the lee of the main. I had half of it under control and Gail charged forward to get the other half pinned to the deck. The chute did not get wet and there was no shrimping. Shrimping is when you drag your chute through the water like a shrimp fisherman. In port we will use the extractor to remove the sheared bolt from the bracket and then reinstall. Gail has spares of this bolt in inventory since another boat had a similar failure. We had even checked the bolt prior to setting sail. The chute had been running for over 2 days before it failed. All streaks must end.

We will also replace a leaky shaft seal when we get to port. I am obsessed with a dry bilge and I hope this is the last leak. The operation is easier since the spare seal is stored on the shaft, avoiding having to detach the shaft from the transmission.

I forgot to mention we are having a blast. The sailing conditions are near perfect. The night skies wipe away any cynicism I have about rally brochures. The reality is much better than the press. I continue to enjoy the SSB check in. I dutifully write down the other boats positions and listen to their updates. The group is very kind offering help and good wishes on every call. I thought I would not like traveling in a pack, but the pack spreads out very fast. And it is nice to hail a friendly boat for a quick chat about the seas. We also get weather data from the faster boats to help guide our sail plan decisions.

I did a four hour watch last night in which I hand-steered a large portion since we were wing on wing in some lumpy seas. I was tired and headed to bed. James and Jackie took over and had to play avoid the tankers. It became old school as one tanker had no AIS and the radio officer was rather rude. We are spoiled since we can see targets tens of miles away and we consider close passage a mile of separation. In order to deal with the tough wing on wing sailing James created a new helm seat. Balled up on the deck close to the autopilot he could easily tweak the settings.

The water has the signature blue color even though it is 3 kilometers deep. The water temperature has cooled 3 degrees since St Lucia. The water in the town of Santa Marta is not great to drink so we are making sea water into delicious drinking water as we speak. Sea has visited every day. A large pod of dolphins played by the bows and showed their speed is no match for Two Fish. Jack were jumping out of the water and I assumed it was the dolphins having Jack for supper. The flying fish always bring a smile to my face. When did evolution create a fish with wings? One landed in the dinghy and was not found until a fishy smell had developed.

The usual volatility of predicting arrival time is in full swing. We are fighting a current I did not expect, but are still hoping to arrive in advance of sunset tomorrow (Thursday). We have been lucky as the winds have been mostly under 20. Wish we could email some of the fun we are having. Only 11,700 miles until kangaroos! 800 done (almost).

Jason
www.twofishcat.com

Day Three – First discussion of Landfall

January 11, 2016 by

Location: 500 miles until Santa Marta, Colombia, far off the Venezuelan Island of Tortuga.

We have avoided Venezuela because of its reputation for crime. It is a shame to miss this country as many cruisers have told me of the beauties of the coastal islands. I hope to return some day.

Foolishly, I brought up the topic of landfall and my preferred time of day. This hubris will be punished by the wind gods or their friend the WGM (wave generating machine). Both can be bitter and spiteful. Our case is being heard by the court as we still have grand conditions for downwind sailing. These are the conditions that sell boats and appear in magazines.

Before leaving St. Lucia I tried to share my many navigational gems but have had just a few takers so far. I will mention my offer on the fleet SSB (ham radio) call tonight. For two years, I have bemoaned owning an SSB. It took us a while to be comfortable with the technology, but now I am sold. The fleet is widely dispersed, precluding VHF calls, but with the SSB the fleet can share news. “Take Off”, a Swedish Elan 41, with a carbon fiber rig, broke their boom. All on board are safe and they now are flying only a head sail. A boom is one of the few spare parts Gail did not pack. A few boats have caught fish and one was inquiring about the safety of eating barracuda. When we catch Barracuda, we release them.

Last night Two Fish was the exception in the fleet, as many chose to motor through the light winds. The twin headsail kept us going, but those motoring closed the gap. As we head west the breeze will build but remain light enough to allow Gail to make sandwiches. Tonight is Gail’s famous lentil dish. Everyone loves it or walks the plank.

We have made a couple of strategic choices and I think I choose poorly, but time will tell.

1) The current is not a simple east to west. There are back eddies and I think we may have tripped on one listed in our charts. I should have know better that closer to the coast would be a kinder current.
2) In patchy winds it is fastest to sail under clouds. But yesterday we were under blue skies and had less wind than other boats. It took us 5 hours to reach our first cloud.
3) I have been hugging the rhumbline (direct route) in a decision of indecision. We have been DDW with chute and screecher. It has been a comfortable ride and that avoids mutiny.

Repairs at sea

James fixed so many gremlins before leaving the dock that we have been lucky so far at sea. A few that cropped up were:
1) The pin that holds the hydro-generator began to slip out on Gail’s watch. Gail and I dropped the two headsails and in true McGail-Guyver fashion used her hair tie to secure the pin. I will upgrade this to a proper line in the future. The sail changes went very smoothly.
2) We had a false alarm that our AIS was not working, but it seems fully functional.
3) We need to adjust the screecher tack when in port. Installed 180 degrees off (Jason’s mistake).

All other systems just fine for now.

Jason and the happy crew of Two Fish