Day 2

Sunday, January 30, 2022

A lot has happened since yesterday’s entry. We departed Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain at 3:41PM into 10 foot swells, not breaking, with about 20 knots of wind.  Steve and Victor were there to see us off, there was even a band playing on the opposite shore, which I will tell myself that they were there to send us off in style, most likely it was a wedding reception.

Just before departing, I called Colleen and the kids. I was able to talk to them individually, it was great. We talked about how I am quite “nervecited”, It’s a long trip, a lot could go wrong, as well as I will probably have many exciting experiences to share. At the same time, it’s a long trip and I am going to (already do) miss them very much. We also talked about the “nor’easter” that they were dealing with, expected 18 inches of snow. I’m somewhat glad I don’t have to deal with that, at the same time I wish I was there to enjoy the experience of a couple of snow days with them, shoveling, a fire in the fireplace, some great food, a nice bottle (or two) of wine and my pretty awesome family, I’d be digging that too.

~

After a bit of shaking down, getting acclimated, we were sailing a very respectable average of 6.5 knots. Unfortunately as the day progressed the wind regressed. 

~

About an hour into the sail John checked on the seals on the starboard midship diesel tank which he had the boat yard in Puerto Calero replace. They were leaking like a sieve, copious amounts of diesel were flowing into the bilge. Below decks smelled like a fuel spill. Not the way I was hoping the trip would start.

As usual, John jumped into action doing dealing with initial clean-up, while figuring out the best way to deal with the situation. He found a tube of Flex-Seal (thanks Phil Swift) and with some effort, by globbing a ton of Phil’s black sealant around in the area where the new seals were supposed to be working, he was able to turn the flow into a dribble. Keep in mind we filled the tanks just before departure, so they were full, to the point of expanding, which will hopefully mean that as we use fuel the likelihood of leaking will diminish to nil.

John and Jens syphoned and sponged out the bilge while Dennis and I sailed the boat.

~

It was pushing 8PM when they finished cleaning up the diesel mess, I’m sure it will have to be done again later today, as well as another application of Flex-Seal. That combined with running the engine for a few hours in an effort to empty the tank a bit, will hopefully keep this problem to a minimum and John can address it in Guadeloupe.

~

Jens, who had been below breathing the fumes for the past several hours decided it was time for dinner. At this point I would have passed up a few bags of chips and said “have at it guys”. Not Jens, amongst the cloud of diesel mist Jens cooked us meatballs with curry powder, Basmati rice and sliced dressed cucumbers. His effort was very appreciated.

~

We started our watch schedule Dennis and Jens went from 8PM to 12PM, John and I from Midnight to 4AM and then back to Dennis and Jens from 4AM to 8AM. I was able to sleep for most of the 4 hour break between watches. I’m sure we will switch watch times tonight and after a while switch watch partners.

With a gentle nudge, Jens wook me up for my watch at 11:55PM. I had set my alarm, which went off at 11:45PM as it was set to. I was just sluggish getting my ass out of my bunk (diesel fumes?), currently, the V-berth that I have been “hot-bunking” with Dennis. Don’t get the wrong idea, Dennis and I are sharing a bunk only when the other has vacated it. I love my little brother, but not like that. 

~

During the first hour of our watch John decided to start the engine so that we could charge the battery. It started right up and ran perfectly for about 5 minutes before it sputtered to a stop. FUCK!!! It sounded like a fuel issue, with tank seals being replaced, I was thinking what could have possibly gotten into the fuel to cause the engine to stop? Can we drain, clean or replace the filters? I didn’t know. John had just gotten a bunch of work done to the engine at the same Puerto Calero boatyard that did the faulty repairs to the fuel tank. Which made me think, what else did they mess up?

Meanwhile, the GPS display starts flashing on and off. Double FUCK!!! 

John and I sat in the cockpit contemplating our options, to start making repairs right then, even though we didn’t know what we were doing, head towards Grand Canary Island and abort our trip or keep going without an engine? Going without an engine would be difficult, not only because of the obvious- during the times that you need to propel the boat through the water without sails, you were out of luck. Also, it’s the main power source for the boat, sure Avocet is equipped with solar panels, a wind vane and even an auxiliary gas powered generator. The wind and solar by themselves don’t produce the energy needed to run all of the boat’s systems. The biggest draws of power being the refrigerator, if needed the water maker and also the much needed and lauded autopilot. 

Adding the generator would help, but the generator is not a built in unit, we would have to pull it out of the “pit”, the large stowage area beneath the port cockpit seat. We would have to lash down the generator, pull start it and attach it to the boat’s electrical system. This of course would be a royal pain in the ass, not only could it only be done weather permitting. We would have to run it for about an hour, charge the batteries that power the electrical systems for the boat, we would have to do it twice a day, and to top it all off we would have to stow it back in the pit after each use. Otherwise it would be in the way and there would be a chance of swamping it with seawater.

~

While we were sitting there stressed to the gills, John said, “I think I know what it is” and he did. When he was swabbing out the bilge cleaning up he had to shut off the valve leading from the fuel tank to the engine. Remember that he did this. John went below and opened the valve, we were back in business.

As for the GPS display, we don’t know the cause of the blinking, but it seems to only happen right after shutting down the engine. I’m guessing that it’s some sort of change in voltage problem that settles down after a few minutes.

~

The rest of the watch was uneventful, serene, there was a beautiful star lit sky somewhat hidden behind the Sahara dust fog.

During the night we could see a distant lighthouse on the east coast of Fuerteventura, another one of the Canary Islands. It may be the last land based light we see until we arrive in the Caribbean.

~

At watch change Jens made a pot of coffee for us, he used some of the Guatemalan coffee that Steve brought for us, it was really good. Breakfast was more of Steve’s coffee and a store-bought premade Spanish Omelette, it was also quite good.

Hopefully we will settle into some smooth sailing tomorrow.