Autopilot and Chartplotter

Marita3
Mark & Helen Syrett
Fri 24 May 2013 19:27

This afternoon we left the marina at 1345 for an overnight sail to Ustica, approximately 100 miles away. Two hours later we were back in the marina as the new black box for the autopilot malfunctioned in that the NMEA connection kept making the chart plotter lose its position. The seas were big, the wind was on the nose and we were in an area on the edge of a gale warning....so there was not much choice. The autopilot and chart plotter have now been disconnected from each other with the help of an Italian Raymarine expert and his two sons, so we will sail on when the weather improves. Both now function independently.