Great Barrier Island

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Tue 16 Mar 2021 06:12
Position: 36 12.82 S  176 19.88 E
At anchor Smokehouse Bay, Great Barrier Island
Wind: calm   Sea: calm   Swell: nil
Weather: overcast, mild
Day’s run: 40 nm

We got underway from Great Mercury Island at 0905 with Great Barrier Island our destination for the day. The forecast was for light winds and that proved to be the case. We had a light breeze around 1100 and I tried sailing for a while but it proved but a ghost of air that came and went in less than an hour.

While we drifted for a bit I checked the engine and to my dismay discovered a fine jet of water emanating from the cooling system. It proved to be a pinhole in the stainless tube leading from the water pump to the heat exchanger. As it was on the sea water side of the cooling system the water was only under low pressure so I was able to repair it temporarily with some self-annealing tape. This will obviously bare further investigation when I get to Whangarei. I can only assume at this stage that the hole  is due to electrolysis which, if so, is a bit of worry. With the engine back online and the wind offline, I flashed the BRM back up and continued motoring.

It remained calm for the remainder of the day so we have motored all the way. We passed through the narrows of Man-of-War passage at 1713 and came to anchor in Smokehouse Bay at 1730. Now the engine is shut down and all is peaceful.

We will stay here tomorrow with a view to getting the laundry done and then continue on to Whangarei on Thursday.

All is well.