Ushuaia Update
Spindrift
David Hersey
Fri 1 Feb 2008 14:48
1/2/08
We’ve been very busy the last few days with preparations which were
hampered by the presence of a raucous gang of French sailors next door who
insisted upon keeping my crew up till 5AM most mornings. Fortunately they
have left to spend a few days at Cape Horn. The Navigation area on the
boat has been completely upside down and I haven’t been able to get to the
computer.
I’m still battling with Raymarine. We rewired the NEMA (network)
distribution as per Greg the wiring wizard’s advice and created a
situation where the PC would work with the Raymarine system being on, but
the Raymarine would only get its GPS position if the PC was on. I have
now split the VHF NEMA feed to the Pilot as well and it all seems to work
in whatever combination we desire. Most importantly the PC is independent
from the rest.
The Raymarine system had been quietish for a few days but yesterday
started acting up again. I found that The FWD Cabin Data Display is
cabled all the way back the Aft Cabin. So I've unplugged that cable. I
had to move the terminator to the aft cabin as it was the only place I
could plug it in else I would have unplugged the aft cabin as well. For
good measure I have just unplugged both helm instrument pods and we'll see
if it settles down I did notice that while the helm pilot controllers were
complaining I was able to operate the pilot from the nav station. The
error messages at the moment are "Custom Pilot Error" "Push any Key to
Silence" and when I do it says "Pilot Calibration required" and then any
button push clears it and it starts working again. The next step is to
try a different combination of plugged/unplugged instruments and or change
the course computer itself. We tried that one before and it didn’t seem
to make any difference so we put the original course computer back.
We’ve replaced the speed log transducer which also has a temperature
sensor which had failed and now we know just how cold the water really
is…currently about 11 degrees C.
Engines/generators have been serviced.
Remaining jobs are to mount the aft rope reels properly and to
weatherproof the spray hood and the bimini. I bought some stuff in Port
Stanley, I bought all they had and just hope its enough. You can see in
the attached snap Steve fixing the forward reels in position, it may look
a bit Rube Goldberg but he’s done it without putting any holes in the
teak deck. The rope itself will be removed and stowed when we cross the
Drake Passage. Other pictures attached show the view from our position on
the dock and an Australian alloy boat being careened for repair. There is
well over a meter of tide here, he hit a rock in Antarctica and the welder
fixed the damage. This boat is typical of many boats we see here which
are purpose designed to function in the polar environment.
The Foreign Office have come back requesting further clarification on
several points and given me a lot more homework, so we’re still battling
with the permit. They are asking for a health and safety risk assessment
and there’s no way I will get it out before Sunday evening.
The Italian couple Mariolina Rolfo and Giorgio Ardrizzi authors of the 700
page Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego Guide are here on the dock. They have
been based in this part of the world for 12 years most of which was spent
writing and up dating this extraordinary Nautical Guide, a real act of
love. Gabriele of course began chatting with them immediately and it
turns out they know Paolo’s (who arrives Sunday) father. Marioilina give
us their sketch charts of Antarctic anchorages for me to copy. Some of
them are based on ones we already have but with added detail. There is a
lot of information in circulation down here, all the yachtsmen helping
each other out. We look forward to more advice on the Chilean Canals which
most people say are a better experience than The Peninsula...
We were planning to leave for Port Williams on Monday afternoon. BILLY
BUDD, an Oyster 74 bound for The Peninsula just got some weather advice
which was basically don’t go anywhere for a week. Hmmmmmm…
And while preparing this e-mail I´ve just had one from our UK Weather
Router who says :
“I have started to have a look at the weather. It looks as though there is
a nice window at the back end of next week for you to leave on Friday. A
Thursday departure could also work but you could find you have 30-40
knots for up to 12 hours after clearing Cape Horn. Wednesday departure
does not look good, with tough conditions for about 75% of your passage."