Wet, Wet, Wet!
Vega
Hugh and Annie
Sun 21 May 2017 15:43
The anchorage at Fatu Hiva was as beautiful as we had read but extremely wet and windy. One gust was enough to strip the teeth off the gear linking the wind generator propellor to the alternator drive shaft. Fortunately we had a spare gear; a couple of hours and a load of gear grease later we were back in action. In fact after the repair and washing down the unit with fresh water and the application of silicone lubricant the Duogen is smoother than previously and swings as the wind changes direction or strength much better than it used to. More routine tlc required from now on.
Good news with the watermaker also! After another period of it not working properly I took the machine apart again and replaced every conceivable seal and washer as well as re-checking the valves and replacing the seawater intake plug. It is now working properly again and as I am getting to know its foibles I am determined to keep it running for enough time each day to cover our now carefully managed water usage; this includes a deck shower which we agree is one of the best ways of keeping morale high.
Another concern has been the dribble of water running down the channel under the floorboards to the sump. The obvious suspects are water from the engine or water from the stern gland. I checked the engine when running and couldn't find a leak anywhere and there is no drop in the level of freshwater coolant. The stern gland seems to be ok and no water ran to the sump when we motored today. However, it occurred to us that the water appeared when it rained and we have found that in torrential rain water gets into the rear cockpit lazarette and it could be this running down to the sump that is the source.
Now, you may wonder why I am writing about such matters when I should be describing our experience of these wonderful islands. The reason is that we are now acutely aware of the need for ongoing routine maintenance and for which we don't ever seem to have the time. Without this maintenance things break or go wrong but our schedule is more concerned with visiting, sight seeing and socialising. Furthermore we always seem to be in a rush. There are so many places to visit, things to do that we never take time out to attend to the mundane unless things break. For example, we need to be in Tahiti within three weeks if one or both of us is to be able to get back to the UK for a visit. This immediately puts pressure on to visit as many islands as possible on the way down. So, it has occurred to us that less may be more, as it were, and we need to attend to the mundane even if that means visiting fewer places. Or, when we do visit, we don't necessarily need to be ashore the whole time. We have now arrived at the fabulous Baie Hanamoenoa on the island of Tahuata - white sand, palm trees, lush green hills rising behind. We are going to take a day to clean the hull that is still filthy after three weeks on passage (as well as snorkel with the manta rays that are reputed to visit the bay). I have lost count of the times I have vowed to polish the rusting metalwork but that may be deferred until Tahiti. The sprayhood does have a tear that needs patching.......
In Fatu Hiva we ran out of cooking gas. We got through one and a half 10lb cylinders after leaving the Galapagos which was much more than we might have expected. When the gas ran out we discovered that if you put pasta in boiling water the heat can be turned off (or the gas run out) but the pasta will continue to cook beautifully in the hot water. Maybe the oven doesn't have to be pre-heated for half an hour before baking bread (or anything else for that matter). Better gas management from now on but the practical consequence was that, having replaced our European butane bottles with American propane ones after crossing the Atlantic, we found of course that French Polynesia is back on butane and uses different bottles and connection for the regulator. On Hiva Oa you have to use one of their large steel cylinders and you cannot get bottles refilled. We did find a new regulator that meant we could lug one of these large cylinders on board and use that for the next six months. A more practicable solution was provided by Chris, an English guy living on his yacht Sagacious in the small yard while repairing and refurbishing. Chris has a length of pipe with a Polynesian connector on one end and an American on the other. With this pipe liquid gas can be drained from the large cylinder into the smaller, which is just what he did for us. There is a refundable deposit on the local cylinders so for less than the cost of refilling a small gas bottle in the UK we were able to fill four twice the capacity bottles. Chris is in great demand by visiting yachties facing the same predicament.
Until today it has been wet. Unseasonably wet. A couple of nights ago I was baling out the dinghy at dinghy at 3am, worried that it might swamp and douse the motor in seawater. Annie rigged her raincatcher that feeds into the water tanks; in a short period of time we had collected three gallons just in a bucket placed to catch runoff from one side of the cockpit awning. Fatu Hiva and Hiva Oa were shrouded in thick misty cloud and waterproof jackets were required whenever we were off the boat. Nevertheless in the rain-free interludes we were able to walk up into the hills for stunning views, to swim beneath a spectacular waterfall, and to visit Gaugin's grave on Hiva Oa. These are wonderful islands and things have brightened up today with a forecast of a better week to come.
