8th day at sea

NORDLYS
David and Annette Ridout
Wed 9 May 2007 00:33
8th Day at sea.  Good progress.
 
14:26S  107:12E
0200hrs Wednesday 9th May 2007
 
 
We have now had two days of very good progress.  The trade winds are cycling between fifteen and twenty five knots and we have run off just over and just under 170nm in the last two 24hr periods.  We have also been eco friendly as we have given up our unproductive fishing and put out the tow generator.  This device consists of a propeller on a heavy steel shaft that is towed about 30 metres behind the boat.  Connected to a waterproof alternator hanging on a bracket at the stern this covers our use of electricity.  Fridge, auto pilot, lights, instruments etc.  As the boat accelerates and decelerates up and down the waves the alternator gives a series of wheezes.  When the boat hits eight knots the propeller breaks the surface and gives a loud noise that could only be compared to a farting sound.  While all this is going on the cross swells give the boat a fairly violent motion.  This in turn causes the halyards to slap inside the mast so really our progress could be described as an endless series of  hiss, roar, slap, wheeze, fart. Hiss, roar, slap, wheeze, fart.  I would not want you to think that trade wind sailing in the Indian Ocean is all romantic sunsets and starry nights.
 
On top of this endless motion and noise we have also had a little drama.  For the first 24 hours the automatic bilge pump went off rather more than I wanted.  I put this down to the wet foredeck and the fact that I had forgotten to plug the hawse pipe.  With the windlass under the well lashed dinghy the problem was not solvable in the short term.  When the wind went light and aft the problem went away.  However it had recurred over the last 48 hours and the foredeck is now nearly dry with the wind behind us.  With some trepidation I crawled head first to the foot of my bunk, removed a cover and shone a torch into the dark area where the stern tube is situated.  To my delight the rudder bearing was not leaking but there was water everywhere.  Half an hour later and the cockpit piled high with the contents of the stern locker I inserted myself head first into this cavern.  All the while we are powering along before the strong breeze.  The end result after much searching was to find that the pipe that was connected to the bottom of the aluminium gas locker was pouring water out of itself.  This pipe was there to vent overboard any escaping gas but whenever the boat heeled the exit went underwater and back filled.  This explains why I had often found the gas locker to be damp and the gas bottles to tend to rust at the bottom.  I could not find if the leak was due to a lose connection or corrosion of the box over 25 years.  However with the pipe removed, its end blocked off and pulled well above any waterline the problem of the running bilge pump has gone away!
 
So 'life on the ocean wave' continues.  We have 253 miles to run and God willing will make it into Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island just before dark on Thursday.  My next report will hopefully come from there.
Happy times from us both
David