Thom san

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Mon 21 Apr 2014 13:20

Alongside Fukuoka
Weather: Overcast, cleating, mild

I have continued cleaning Sylph up and we are starting to look a little better. Thom san paid me a visit this morning. He had found a second hand Hydrovane for sale in Japan but unfortunately when we rang up about it it was already sold. Now that I am connected to the internet again I have done some research on a replacement and unless something pops unexpectedly I think my best option is to buy a new Hydrovane. To this end I have emailed the company and am awaiting a reply. Hopefully the quote won't be too painful. I am trying not to think about it.

Thom has also been helping me fix the electronics. As previously mentioned, it would appear that the sat-phone is working OK, a major relief, and I have managed to get one netbook going, but for some reason the USB to serial adaptor which allows the sat-phone to talk to the computer, isn't working. I do not think it is due to moisture but rather suspect that its failure at this time is simply coincidence. So Thom is going to source one of those for me, as well as attempt to save the data off some external hard drives, and also make a new ''Watch Commander”. The WC has been living on borrowed time for at least several years now, and the small tsunami that went through the boat finally delivered the death blow.

I also attempted to salvage the SSB receiver, pulling it apart, cleaning it up, drying it out and putting it back together again, but when I installed the batteries this afternoon it refused to show even a glimmer of life, so that too must rest in peace in the recycle bin. Once again I cannot complain. The radio is fifteen years old now and has quite a few battle scars on it. It has served me well.  Another piece of electronics that received a salt water dousing was the printer. That too has been disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled, but I will let it dry out a bit more before plugging it in some time tomorrow.

We enjoyed a mostly sunny day today, which pleased me, as apart from being a pleasant day in its own right, it helped dry everything out, especially the settee cushions that are sitting out on deck.

All is well.