10:51.2 n

093:36.8 e

 

currently 77nm se of Port Blair 0900 ist

 

we finally got away yesterday (thursday) at about 1pm. after having arranged for immigration to be at the dock at 0900, they eventually turned up at 1030. we didn’t seem to have much luck with the authorities did we?!

the promised NE wind was very much easterly when we left the harbour and a really nasty sea, but at least we could sail....until we had some rain cloud come over which left zero wind and a real mess of a sea, so engine on.....for a while....it stopped...that left us bucking and rolling and drifting west for an hour and trying to find out what was wrong in the fading light. filters look clear, but no fuel in the priming bulb – it was sucked flat. luckily the wind came back, from everywhere, so we’ve been sailing all night and now making about 112 deg towards the thai coast.

now its light, we can try and find if we have an air leak in the fuel pipes, a blockage of dirt from the tank at the tank outlet -we were really bouncing around, so could have dis-lodged some grunge in the tank.

anyway, lets hope the wind holds

 

noon update:

engine fixed! (keep everything crossed...) the fuel line just before the primary filter was jammed solid with goo – diesel bug? – a grey-brown sludge. strangely, the run off we took from the sump of the tank was not bad, a little bit of dirt, but nothing major and the primary filter was clean too. still jogging along...course has sagged of a bit though