" A LADY TRIP" AROUND THE WORLD ( presently in the Dutch West Indies or Antillies )

A Lady
Stephen Hyde
Thu 14 Jan 2010 20:45
WEDNESDAY 13th January 2010
 
07.00 We woke up to rain , and lots of it, half an hour later we rang " Louis" who was stuck in traffic with his children, ( twin Girls aged 16 )
          He would call us when he got back to the dock which he did at 08.30hrs
         We decided that we would go every piece of the watermaker and check the water flow at each point, starting at the gate valve through the hull,
         We opened up and cleaned the filters at the gate valve and used concentrated 80% vinager to kill and eliminate any barnicles in and around the pipes
          at this point. then checked the manifold, which services the watermaker, the fridge, and the airconditioning.
          on from there we checked the main filters, and then the high pressure pump and its output, plus all the copper piping around the back of the
          engine and up to the control panel in the starboard cabin.  everything is working up to this point and producing the water its supposed to.
          So the problem has to be in the control panel by the process of elimination, all this took hours of sweat and sometimes Blood.
 
15.30 We cracked the problem, seems the pressure control release valve was jammed half open, causing half the water being made to be dumped
          overboard, As soon as this was rectified, the water production jumped from 40 litres to 80 litres per hour, FANTASTIC.
          now ,at worst we have an extra 15 litres per hour and no leaks  .  Ohhhhh are we pleased
 
Later , we went ashore and got some extra provisions and had lunch with louis and his twin's
FAT's ( Donal Mc Clement) jumped off the side of "A  LADY" and according to the LOVE's back home, the resulting wave was responsible
         for the earthquake in Haiti  !
 
Later we had avacado and prawns for starter , prepared by the skipper
and a corned beef hash , prepared by Fat's
 
By the way, We forgot to mention that Kevin Dwyer very proudly presented a " past presidents badge" to the skipper as a gift from the
Glanmire and District Rotary Club.  THANK YOU VERY MUCH... and new years greetings from Myself and Kevin to all in the club.. 
The Skipper was one of the seven founding members of the club and at one stage became PRESIDENT for a term....
 
We decided an early night was in order ,as we were leaving early thursday..
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 
 
THURSDAY 15th January 2010.
 
06.00hrs  All up and about and got buisy preparing for departure,
06.45hrs  We lifted the anchor ( which was burried so deep , it took all the windlass it could do to extract it from the bottom)
 
07.00 We cleared the harbour entrance and set a course for the San Blas Islands, approx 650 miles away
         Our first waypoint was 120 miles and this entailed a broad reach in moderate seas with 28  /  30 knots of wind.
         the weather was brilliant and with a 1knot current with us , our speed over ground is 10 knots
13.00  All well, reading books and taking naps.
 
15.00  Donal is zzzzzzzzzzzzzz and the rest are enjoying the sunshine,, we have covered 85miles and going well.... 
( to be continued Tomorrow)