Lift-out, generator part finally arrived! and the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote
Walkabout has gone Sailing
Andrew and Traci Roantree
Mon 4 Oct 2021 13:29
We packed an awful lot in including meeting up with many of our new sailing friends, eating out in the resort style waterfront village by the marina, having Walkabout lifted out the water for some general maintenance, cycling, jiggedy-jogging and watching the Club La Santa Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote!
It has been so wonderful to meet up with fellow sailors, families, couples and groups of like minded people taking a year or two out from work or the rest of their lives to explore and experience this amazing lifestyle.
We feel so privileged to be apart of such a supportive network of people and friends who sail in such a variety of different sailing vessels. All of which require continuous love, care and maintenance along with the inevitable breakdown of various vital parts!!!
We decided to book a lift-out in Lanza (after speaking to some very experienced friends) to carry out some routine checks, change the anodes - these protect areas of the boat from corrosion, and give Walkabout’s bottom a layer of antifoul - slows the growth of slime, weed and barnacles plus creatures that love to grow under your boat!
Since leaving UK eight weeks ago, we have experienced some extreme sailing conditions with high winds and big seas, so why would it be any different when it came to being lifted out the water here in Marina Rubicon!
We left our berth around lunchtime in 40+ knots of cross-wind with the help from the marina and friends who held lines for us to avoid us being blown on to the boat next to us. A huge thank you to everyone who assisted and we actually left the berth very cleanly hitting nothing which is always a top priority!
The lift out bay at the marina was manned by four of the yard guys who were great and managed the boat from being pushed against the concrete sides with huge balloon style fenders.
Walkabout’s bottom looked pretty clean to be honest having been lifted out the water back in April/May in preparation of this trip.
The anodes needed changing due to the warm temperatures of the water so a good job.
You can see the old and new ring style anodes here where the old has been eroded slightly. We have two anodes to protect the propeller, one each side for the bow-thrusters and one hull anode. We could have left some for another 6 maybe 12 months but as we don’t know when next we are going to be lifted out the water, we decided to change all the anodes giving us a year of clear sailing.
After a few days of scrubbing, polishing and sanding the prop we were lifted back in the water and made our way to a different berth.
Our generator failed on our way to Porto Santo and so Andrew spent a good few hours investigating the issue trying to determine why? It would start, but then shut down with the warning lights indicating low oil pressure. Having spoken to the chaps at SMS back in the UK who have previously serviced the generator, it turned out that it could be a number of things!! Obviously the first check was that the oil level was correct - which it was. After that the focus was on the oil pressure sender. Electrical resistance checks indicated that this wasn’t working properly. The first thing was to order a new oil pressure gauge, fit it, test it, and if that didn’t solve the issue then we’d move on to the next part.
We ordered the part from UK and waited for it to be delivered to the marina. Over three weeks later, customs costs, failed deliveries, misunderstandings and the language barrier, the part finally arrived! Yipppeeeee!! We were so thrilled and pleased that it had eventually arrived, we went and celebrated with a beer!
Here is the old pesky part…
Andrew working his magic in the cramped confines of the back berth (bedroom) for a few hours. After priming the generator with water as we’d been lifted out, we tested the generator and BINGO she was back working!! Phew, the generator is key to our power management when at sea for several days and with the Atlantic crossing less than four weeks away, it’s great to have it back working with plenty of time to test other systems.
One of the many good things about meeting new people is the sharing of recipes. Cooking and preparing meals comes down to a fine art on a boat and is such a powerful motivator when at sea for days or a simple overnight passage.
Helen was happy to share her pineapple fruitcake recipe with me and it only takes 30 minutes in the gas oven. This is my first attempt and I have to say, it was delicious!!
The morning we left the marina, Saturday 9th October we set the alarm early and headed out to see the sun rise and see the start of the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote.
It was incredible to see the the start and finish of the swim which was in the confines of the marina and a short walk into Playa Blanca.
These guys and girls swam 1.2miles, cycled 56miles then finished off with a half marathon, 13.1miles!!! INCREDIBLE!
We were in Lanza in 2019 as support team members for Nick who did the full Ironman! One of the toughest courses in the world!
We headed back to Walkabout after the swim as we had to leave our marina berth by midday. We said goodbye to many friends, slipped out lines with a little help from Julia and Marla from Lady-Blue and headed to the fuel pontoon to top up before heading off.
Our plan is to anchor just outside the marina for a few days at a lovely spot called Papagayo which has an amazing beach lined with golden sand.
After that we head to a small village called Playa Quemada where we came on our bikes back in 2019. It was one of the loveliest, simple beach front restaurants and to be able to anchor opposite would be so wonderful.
So here’s hoping ….