The full enormity of five years worth of “stuff” stored in every nook and cranny is now apparent. A combination of rats, heat and humidity does at least ensure obvious candidates for chucking out. The remainder is filling up the cockpit, saloon and forward cabin and around which we clear a space depending upon which bit of the boat needs access for maintenance. Having guys on board for engine or electrical work is not conducive to emptying and cleaning lockers at the same time. From time to time we need a particular piece of equipment, tool or product. Accessing these was always frustrating when everything you need is almost invariably at the bottom of its locker - it is doubly so now when you can’t even remember where it might be!

After we got the engine going and partially serviced at the Boat Yard we just had to replace the exhaust/ seawater mixing elbow as recommended by Yanmar, change the cooling freshwater and gearbox oil to complete the job. The good news is that it turns out we have a bronze mixing elbow and not a standard steel one and no replacement is required. The bad news is that our new seawater pump added in Singapore appears to be leaking. After only three months of use this is surprising but maybe sitting idle for two years has taken its toll. It’s gone off for refurbishing.

The mast was removed two week ago but the replacement rigging parts from Selden weren’t dispatched from Sweden until a week later. This means at least four weeks here rather than the planned two and marina fever is setting in. However, Annie is also having dental work undertaken and that is extending into this week also so we just have to hunker down, keep sane and carry on with the clear out. An added incentive was that there was no available accommodation from 10th December so we needed to be reasonably shipshape by then and move aboard for the rigging work. As of this morning we have a mast again!

We had to replace the spare spinnaker halyard which was in the old sheave and cut into where it was chafing on the edge of the sheave. Also the pole uphaul line was too stiff and degraded and has been replaced. The line controlling the vang looks like it has been gnawed away in one place and has been replaced. The mainsail halyard and main sheet have been washed and look usable. I had checked all the lines on the mast but overlooked the reefing lines. Back on the boat we discovered one completely cut through at the boom end with the severed tail on the deck. The two others are in poor condition and so the boom is back in the workshop for the three lines to be replaced.

We agreed a scheme to mount the two solar panels on either side of the pushpit. This would get them off the deck and allow free access across the deck when at sea. The proposed arrangement involves more stainless steel than I had envisaged but will be stronger. The idea was that the panels will hang vertically but can be raised to the horizontal when required. A good idea until it dawned on me that with the proposed hinge arrangement this will only work on the port side. The rail on the starboard side has a vertical pole used for the AIS GPS receiver that will prevent raising the panel. I decided just to do the port side and leave one of the panels to move around the deck to suit (which is the arrangement we had between Panama and New Zealand). When the panel to be mounted was brought back to the boat it looked rather good in its new stainless “picture frame”. Furthermore it has been hinged on the top edge rather than on the pushpit rail so that none will come inboard of the rail when raised - the engineer thought this better to keep access around the stern clear. He’s right of course but seems to have overlooked the fact that this would overcome the problem of mounting the second panel on the starboard side. Although the mounted panel could be easily removed it actually makes a rather neat permanent arrangement and will be sufficient on its own to reduce the need for shore power back in the UK. 

All the wiring other than that to the saloon radio speakers seems to be ok. The gnawed sections have been replaced, we have a new double 12V USB charging socket by the nav table, the saloon light switches have been replaced and the starter motor battery has now been replaced. They have even managed to replace the LED anchor light without having to change the whole masthead tri-colour light fitting of which it is part. The Duogen has been refurbished and now apparently runs silently again with full output (workshop test). The three fire extinguishers have been serviced, as has the outboard motor. The life-raft has had its three year service.

The only other major consideration for us has been what to do about our water making capacity. In the Indian Ocean we are likely to be away from a source of freshwater for a month or more. This could be longer if Covid becomes a problem again and we are limited in the places we can visit. Our tanks hold 400 litres and if we restrict ourselves to 20 litres a day our supply will last about three weeks. We have a small 12V water maker that will provide 5 litres an hour - enough for drinking water to keep us going indefinitely. The latest 12V water makers will produce around 35 litres an hour but are too large for us to install. The portable 12V option draws 30 amps which is too much for our 360Ah battery capacity but there is a petrol engine option for which we could provide storage space at a push. We discussed this with Jon on Hecla (and who has stayed in Malaysia throughout) and who, it transpires, started his circumnavigation with the same small Katadyn water maker as us. Once he reached the Caribbean he found that he was continuously conserving water and seeking a shore supply whilst others with larger water makers were largely independent. This has been our experience also but we adapted to it and have made it this far. However, Jon bought the same portable petrol water maker that we have looked at and waxes lyrical about it. We can buy one for a very good price here (the dealer has four in stock and would like to move them on) and with a view to selling it once back in Blighty this seems to be a better option than a new membrane and refurbishment of the Katadyn.

When we left Vega in March 2020 we disposed of all the perishable food items in the galley and saloon. What we seemed to have forgotten is that we had provisioned for a month of cruising ahead of our planned return to Malaysia. We have now discovered stored away in the forecabin loads of food including packets of rice and pasta, cartons of milk, cartons of orange juice, tins and jars. Amazingly this appears to have been the one part of the boat the rodents didn’t get to! We are now eating our way through some of this food. To our surprise the rice and pasta are weevil free and edible, as are the packets of muesli. The long life milk and orange juice have not survived in drinkable form but anything in a jar or tin or sealed foil packet seems fine, albeit a little discoloured in some cases. I wonder how much food has been wasted since the introduction of sell and use by dates.

With the use of a hire car we have been feeling a little less isolated and been able to better access required services. We have visited old Phuket town and the Big Buddha that can be seen from much of the island. The latter has been a work in progress for many years and appears likely to continue this way for a long time yet. We were blessed by a monk so have good karma. When staying up in Naiang Beach we even had a Thai massage but it is noticeable as you come into the bigger tourist hotspots how the masseuse become younger, more beautiful and enticing. An aspect of Thailand we won’t be exploring. It is very quiet here and noticeable how hard the lack of tourism has hit the economy. Lots of closed hotels and restaurants. However, at the marina all the gin palaces are being spruced up for the dry season and it now looks pretty full both on and off the water. We have to be prepared to be moved around during our extra two weeks. The big change is that the dry season has arrived. It is much sunnier with only the occasional tropical downpour. The downside is that it is also hotter with a daily temperature of 33 degrees and combined with high humidity is really debilitating here in the marina where there is less breeze. We are hopeful of getting out of here by the weekend but this now coincides with a tropical storm coming up from the south. At this stage it looks like we will be on the edge of it but we may be advised to delay our departure until it passes………

SY Vega