Getting to Mallorca

We anchored overnight in Cala Son Saura then headed for Alcudia in Mallorca (37 miles away), motoring in company with Hilary and Paul (PAX NOSTRUM).

 

Towing B&B to Mallorca.

 

PAX NOSTRUM.

 

Boarding by beetle

In the anchorage in Alcudia we were boarded by an extremely large beetle that walked up the dinghy painter – including the bit underwater – to get to us. I am ashamed to say (out of ignorance and fear), that we sprayed him/her with fly spray. We had a good look on the internet, but weren’t able to identify him/her, so if there are any entomologists out there who know what type of beetle this is, we’d love to know. There is a happy ending – he/she was obviously big enough to withstand the effects of the fly spray, and after a couple of days in a beetle-coma, started walking around again, so we let him/her go in the boatyard.

 

The beetle boarding via the dinghy painter.

 

Getting rid of the Klingons

We had been looking for somewhere to haul out as the seals in the leg (the bit that the prop hangs off) went a while ago (letting water in to mix with the oil there) and we needed to change them – and to antifoul. Come on, the last time CAPE was antifouled was in Pwllheli before we launched her in 2007! As the price for a lift and few days on the hard in the boatyard in Acludia wasn't too bad, we came out on the Wednesday, with a lift back in provisionally booked for the following Saturday morning. PAX hauled too as Hilary and Paul had a problem with their stern gland packing (stops water coming in through the hole where the prop shaft goes out). [Editor’s note: that last bit is dreadful English – suggestions on a postcard please...]

 

We scraped off the barnacles and had CAPE’s bottom power-washed. We did 3 coats of antifoul, getting up before the sun to paint while it was cool. David changed the leg seals, replaced the bolts in the engine mounts (3 had sheared), and changed the prop (again, for a go-faster one). As we had access to fresh water, we washed all the laundry. The generator had stopped working the week before – something to do with the mother board falling over (Karen and Richard on PYXIS had had the same problem with their generator, so we had an idea what the problem might be). As we were not going anywhere for a couple of days, we got the piece for the generator sent out and fitted. Unfortunately we weren’t quite ready for the lift on the Saturday morning, so we rebooked one for the Monday.

 

CAPE’s slimy bottom emerging from the water.

 

Power washing the slime off.

 

One of Bryn’s jobs was being let loose with cans of spray paint to remark the anchor chain.

 

David replacing the generator mother board.

 

CAPE’s very smart and slippy bottom – black is so slimming don’t you think? Just need to remove the masking tape...

 

Who put seawater in the engine oil?

We were ready to go back into the water on the Monday morning when David checked the oil in the main engine and found thick, grey gunge instead of oil. We cancelled the lift. Now we know that the oil had been fine 25 engine hours earlier, so the problem had occurred since we had left Mahon. We were lucky to have found it before the engine seized, and then to have found it before going back into the water. We were also lucky that Paul is an engineer, so while he and David worked through all the potential causes, I transferred onto PAX to help Hilary finish antifouling PAX.

 

The boys ruled out the oil cooler and the head gasket. With no other obvious causes of seawater in the oil, we took out the engine and sat it on the concrete alonside us to let the gungy grey stuff drain out. I can’t believe how small the engine is – to have caused us so much trouble!

 

Taking the engine out and dropping it on the boat next door.

 

“If you put your hand on that wheelie bit on the front Paul, and I poke my finger in here, maybe that’ll sort it.”

 

The boys continued to dismantle bits of the engine, clean them, put them back together and pressure test them as appropriate. The evidence started to point to the seawater pump as the probable cause of the problem. We ordered a new head gasket. The solenoid fell off the starter motor, so we had to buy a new starter motor. Paul remade the dipstick as this got ripped off when the engine came out.

 

With a bit more time and 240 V power, I set up my new sewing machine and restitched the UV strip on the genoa, made more mozzie nets for the hatches, and mended all the tatty flags and ripped shorts. We washed everything on the boat that we hadn’t washed before including all the towels, bedding and cushion covers. With the patch of concrete next to us set up to live on, a tarpaulin overhead as a sun shade, and me hanging washing out to dry on ropes between the boats it looked like the 'pikeys' had arrived! I think we were the only people living on and working on a boat in the yard -- it's very posh here and most people get work done for them. Having said that, the yard and the staff were really helpful and professional. Cambered concrete with gulleys down the side to collect run-off water/antifoul, and a recycling centre the like of which I have never seen:

·         containers for used oil

·         a separate container for the containers that used to contain the used oil

·         containers for paint

·         a separate container for the contaminated tins

·         separate containers for different sorts of batteries, aerosols, scrap metal as well as the usual glass, plastic and paper.

The containers were emptied regularly, and a man with a van sorted the metal and took it away. A far cry from Messolonghi Marina where waste oil is left with the general rubbish, there is no recycling, and all noxious liquids (antifoul and blackwater) are dumped into the “eco-zone” lagoon. Perhaps it is the environment that pays the true cost of a “cheap” marina?

 

Restitching the UV strip on the genoa.

 

Drying the washing in the CAPE ‘pikey’ camp.

 

Working in the boatyard in the heat was tough – it was 32–33°C during the day and didn’t drop below 29°C at night. No sea breeze also meant more mozzies. It was lovely on the boat – the cockpit was covered in oil, we couldn't use the loo (we used the marina toilets during the day and a bucket at night), and everything had to be winched up and down (including the pee bucket) using a pulley and we had to climbing up and down using a ladder (that wasn't quite long enough) – a bit like living in a caravan suspended 3 metres above hot concrete.

 

It wasn’t all bad. We had a BBQ one evening but didn't want the boatyard staff to know what we were doing (we were sure it wouldn't be allowed, lots of expensive boats to go up in flames and lots of flammable liquids around) so we ended up putting the BBQ on a shopping trolley on its side to stop it scorching the concrete.

 

The “Trolley-Barb” (patent applied for).

 

A little night music.

 

Terry and Emma (LIBERTINE) scooped B&B off on a bike ride to the local nature park to see the wildlife – mainly cows and birds, apparently, but including a cow with egret on its back (just like you see in documentaries about wildlife in Africa).

 

B&B were great -- doing boat jobs in the morning then taking themselves off to the beach in the afternoon. They did a physics project on simple machines -- there were so many examples in the boatyard and they had a great time researching the machines and taking photos of examples that they could see around them.

 

We found a bar with relatively cheap beer and live music.

 

Bryn did a solo spot with Country Roads and a borrowed guitar and earned himself free drinks for the duration of our stay.

 

Eventually PAX was ready and she went back into the water.

 

PAX all ready to go.

 

PAX safely back in her natural element (Bryn picked an appropriate T-shirt for boat-bottom work).

 

We played music in the Titanic Bar (conveniently placed behind us in the boatyard) and got the locals involved.

 

In the Titanic Bar.

 

Eventually David worked out what was the cause of the seawater in the oil. The oil/water seals between the sea water pump and the engine had closed up. There needed to be a gap between them to let water out if a seal went, otherwise the water would be pumped into the engine – which is what happened. Paul and Hilary collected a head gasket from the not-so-local auto parts dealer (they have 2 motorbikes on board, so they can reach otherwise inaccessible little places), the head went back on, the engine went back in, and the floor went back down in the cockpit. The engine was reconnected, but we had to wait until we were back in the water before we could test it.

 

The engine going back in.

 

The cockpit with the floor up and the engine back in place.

 

B&B cleaned the engine room up (for a fee).

 

B&B in the engine hole, cleaning.

 

10 days after being lifted out, CAPE went back into the water, the boys finished connecting things and started the engine...

 

CAPE back in the water.

 

This is what is called a cliff-hanger.