To go or not to go?
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Wed 15 Dec 2010 05:09
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15th December 1017 Local Time 0217 UTC
01:27.10S 107:26.73E
We had another uncomfortable night. The squalls
continue as does the short sharp sea causing severe pitching and slamming which
frays the nerves as well as the boat. We try to take the chop at an angle but we
have to try to keep delivering decent VMG to our destination if we want to get
home for Christmas.
This passage was approx 920 nm. In fair conditions
we could accomplish this is 5 long days and four nights at sea.
Unfortunately I have allowed these excellent passage planning times to become
the norm so expectations of me and crew tend towards these times. This passage
will turn out to be seven days and seven nights. This is half the time it
took us to cross the Pacific!
We have resorted to using the engine quite a
bit as the severe squalls don't allow canvas to be carried and the wind
direction makes for long long tacks upwind which would not finish till after our
flight home has departed....
On the other hand we don't have enough fuel to
motor all the way ...
The night was taken on by motor sailing into 12 -
15 knots of wind and a short sea chop which by motor sailing at an angle to
was not so severe. However just before daylight, to give you a snapshot of what
is going on:
Tish was asleep in bed (I have only been there for
four or five hours total in the last 5 days - sleep is snatched in cat naps with
wakey wakey alarms and radar alarms set). I noticed a huge squall coming towards
us. It was about 14 miles wide by 10 miles deep (140 square
miles!).
So rushing to prepare again I throttled back the
engine, took down the sails closed hatches and took all material from
the cockpit and stowed them away below.
I had been suspicious for some time that there was
something round the prop or more likely the keel exacerbating the pitching
motion. I needed to get under the boat to have a look.
Fuel calculations were happening constantly as I
did not trust how much I got in Bali - the meter was an ancient contraption as
was the deck pump that pumped the fuel aboard from the old tug that supplied it.
Nor did I trust the quality of the fuel.
The huge squall hit. The wind went up to 35 knots
and settled at 30 + for over an hour. All this time we motored carefully into
it. Still we took huge lumps of water over us.
There was water coming in somewhere, I don't know
where yet. This water got into our gas detector sensor and set that alarm off.
As the end of the squall came, along with very
confused seas in the wake of it, I decided to gingerly pick up the revs on the
engine before getting the sail back out. Howver as I was sure we still had about
4 - 6 hours fuel in our starboard tank ( there is always considerable
quantity left when the guages read empty so I work on the basis of engine hours
run - for which I have empiric knowledge). So before getting back under way and
with the gas detector sensor still alarming I switched the tanks over to
starboard again. The engine ran for less than one minute before spluttering
to a fuel starved stop! I knew it - short supplied and or poor
quality.
Quickly I grabbed the neccessary tools and
headed to the engine room to bleed the fuel system which I did. In the
process a spanner flew down below the engine which caused me to burn my arm
while trying to retrieve it. Never mind. I would use the opportunity to top up
the engine with oil which I did after grabbing a filler and the oil from an
aft lazerette.
Then I might as well dive under the boat while
we were stopped to check if all was well. Off with the kit, on with
snorkel, mask and fins and I tied a safely line round my
chest. Trish fed the rope out with me attached while diving under the
boat (nominally stopped but still hard to keep up with while swimming - remember
never fall off because you won't catch up with the boat). All was well
below.
Back aboard and engine bled it was back to port
tank and gently ahead. The wind had built a little and veered while all
this was going on so we could sail again.
However to get any drive I would need to use my
genoa. This however was more or less out of action due to a faulty motor, I
think, and would have to be unfurled manually. This process takes about half an
hour. I rigged a cordless drill with a driver bit in it to unfurl the furler -
at the pitching plunging bow of the boat. There I was with cordless drill
being dunked in and out of the water - drenched, absolutely
drenched.
Mission successful though and genoa out, we layed
our course at about 6.5 knots and off we went heavily heeled. Now the gas
sensor.
I was sure it was water not gas but slithered along
the oft awash side deck anyway to turn off the gas.Having already tried resetting the sensor control unit, I then
got Trish to dry it off with a hair drier and reassembled it. This worked
for a while but then off it went again. So nothing for it but to
disassemble the control panel and disconnect the sensor.
Trish made us tea and toast with the electric kit.
All this at first light and moving from a choppy pitch to being rolled around
while the engine was bled to then being heavily heeled when I got the genny
out!
Just another day at the office! Oh yes I
almost forgot - in amongst all this I had the hydraulics foir the boom vang out
to fix an oil leak.
Why am I telling you all this? I know that many of
you reading this would love to sail round the world. You should. All you need to
do is decide yuo are going to do it and what you are going to have to sacrifice
to do it. It is tough however, very tough at times, it is not a "holiday". There
will be tears. This past five days have actually been some of the toughest times
we have had. But to be expected.
The toughest aspects of what we have set out to do
are: the separation from children family and friends, the frustration of trying
to have meaningful input to a business running at full throttle, dealing with
the issues from attempting this circumnavigation in a new boat which is also a
new model; the relentless pace we are keeping up.
Dealing with these one at a time; separation from
children, family and friends - this is the biggest one and one which you have to
decide on up front as to whether you can make the sacrifice. You either can
or you can't.
Keeping a business running while circumnavigating -
most people who are circumnavigating have sold their buiness if they had one so
that's easy. However we wanted to make this trip while we were still young, fit
and healthy and I want to grow the business strongly on my return.
With good communications and a good management team this can be done and I
beleieve we hace so far overcome this challenge.
Sailing in a new boat and new model. This is one
which many people said to me should not be attempted. However I am able to work
on, understand and repair almost all systems and equipment aboard and I
have taken a yacht from Discovery Yachts who have provided me with full support
and service. I get the back up and they get a boat which has had the most
extensive field testing possible. All findings possitive and negative are fed
back and where any improvements need to be made they can be. This will result in
one of the most robust and thoroughly tested blue water sailing yachts on the
market today. I have been told that the back up that we have had is not enjoyed
by owners of other leading blue water cruising yacht brands. So though
i agree it is not to be recommended to head off round the world in a new boat I
was confident that I with the back up of Discovery could handle the inevitable
issues that arise when you pack ten years sailing into the boats first
year. Future owners will benefit tremendously from this "field
test".
The relentless pace - we chose to allow
ourselves only two years and that has dictated the pace. We have other
things in our lives to. Howver if you do have the time and still want to have a
life at home a good option would be to take three years with a break (from
Tonga) in New Zealand with some time at home to make sure business, family etc
are all fine. Then continuing (back from Fiji) and carrying on
round.
It is all just a matter of choices, compromises
and what you are prepared to give up. Me? You can't have every thing I'm
very happy with the choices we made. Loving living it.
Yesterday we had radio contact with a French guy
who had been at sea for 46 days since leaving Vanuatu and would not get home to
see his 9 month old child for Christmas. He was Zooooo Apppeee! to speak to us.
He could hardly stop talking but was difficult to understand. He was alone and
was great to talk to too, we helped him with some communications regarding
finding a berth in Singapore.. He sailed for six months and worked at home in
Paris for six months.
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