Back in Marigot and the great fridge controversy
Persephone... Cruiser/Racer
Nigel & Karen Goodhew...
Mon 17 Apr 2017 17:18
A supermarket dash, and some delicate re anchoring for W2W....her aluminium anchor is one of those which comes out top in the seemingly annual magazine articles on the best anchor, but in practise, is a little fussy about the kind of ground it is sent off to work in.
After re stocking the boats we set off for a little visited anchorage almost at the northern end of St Kitts, in the lee of the hill known as Brimstone hill...Sandy Bay. There was next to no wind, so we motored down there. W2W persevered with the sails, but Persephone had been struggling of late with engine starting, so I had changed filters and wanted to put them all to the test.
The anchorage was very still from a wind perspective but rather rolly from a sea state one, and there was nowhere to go ashore. A black beach, graced by unscalable cliffs, so we stayed put on board. W2W came alongside briefly but we all felt the risk of rigs clashing was palpable, so after sundowners, they set their own anchor.
Next morning, the conditions were just lovely. We set about running all the spinnaker gear for a downwind sail....to Anse Colombier in St Barths, and indeed, initially got the kite up and pulling well. But, as we came out of the lee of St Kitts, the wind clocked hard left and we could not hold the angle. So down came the spinnaker and up went the trusty white sails! Interesting work, dousing the spinnaker with the dinghy upside down on the foredeck! In calm conditions I can simply pile the spinnaker on top of the dinghy and bag it there, but this time, with 17 knots of wind, we opted for an old fashioned drop into the companionway hatch....something we have not done for nearly 10 years! But it worked well and the kite stayed dry.
With Persephone sailing the "wrong way", Win2 Win got some distance in front of us, so the remaining sail of 30 miles or so was interesting, as we worked to catch upand then pass her. We arrived in Colombier a couple of miles in front, to find a space big enough for the two of us. There were rays swimming across the sandy bottom in this delightfully calm, if busy stopping place.
Next morning, and a quick flit in breezy conditions down the northern side of St Maarten to Baie Marigot was fun. More downwind, but we kept the kite in the bag as we were trucking at hull speed with white sails.
And now the fridge. I became suspicious about the way the fridge was working. Working, it was, but sitting here in Marigot, it seemed to me that it was working very hard, with far more time spent with the compressor running than at rest. This is important, as cruising (living) on a small boat is all about power....charging batteries, minimising electrical consumption, solar panel efficiency and wind power....all this becomes hugely important and it's not unusual for one to become more than a little obsessed with it.
So I went to get some advice, and became convinced that our 10 year old fridge might benefit fron a health check from a professional, and even a top up to the refrigerant. There's an establishment here called Shrimpys, and he put me in touch with a French fridge guy, who came immediately and after loading his bags of tricks into our dinghy, I ferried him back to P riding calmly at anchor in the bay. The diagnosis seemed convincing...yes, a top up would be helpful. So the fridge gas was topped up. Also, we might benefit from insulating the fridge pipework....and again, advisors told me where to get the stuff I needed. That was a long dinghy ride away, across the famous lagoon in St Maarten, away on the Dutch side.
That night, our fridge was wonderful, except it would not stop running at all! Confounded, I waited until dawn, then set off as late as reasonable, but before 9 to get fridge man back. Hmmm....this time it seemed we had too much gas, and that possibly the thermostat was the weak link....so the new gas was let out, and a new controller fitted, and it seems now that we are back to square 1. Minus, of course, about 100 euros. Still, the fridge shows future potential, as we have it turned up to 3 on the thermostat now, not 6, so maybe, when power is not such an issue, it will be even colder in there!
And I haven't mentioned our charging anomalies yet.....
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