Saturday, November 26, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Repairs Needed!
1. SSB Radio won’t transmit.
a) Took radio into Victor and it now transmits fine.
b) He also programed cruiser net freq. in.
2. Auto Pilot control box installed, but turns boat in 360* to port.
a) Call Chris at Alpha Marine...1-800-257-4225
b) Sent Chris e-mail..His response was...
Message body
Dear Mr. Reese,
We are sorry you are having difficulties. We checked our records and confirm that, yes, we did rebuild your Alpha 3000 control unit in June of this year.
We do not see that any component other than the main control unit was sent for testing however.
If you have a volt/ohm meter I would suggest that you go to our web page
http://alphamarinesystems.com/tech_talk.htm
and run the first listed diagnostic where you measure the output at terminals 6 and 7 with all five drive unit wires disconnected.
This will allow us to further help you.
Please advise if you have any remote helm or Auxiliary control items connected.
One last item, does the pilot truly go in circles or does it try to steer a reciprocal heading?
Chris Gade
Customer Service
Alpha Marine Systems Inc.
206-275-1200
3. 110V electrical short (starboard side). Breaker off until repaired!
4. Dinghy pull ring broken, needs to be replaced.
a) New ring purchased (to be installed)
5. Repair Roller Furling.
I removed the control line drum to expose the bearings and bearing holders in the bottom of the tube that
the sail rolls up on. One of the bearings that is made from a synthetic substance had sheared off the tab on the bottom and slid up into the tube. This allowed the tube to slide down, which in turn allowed the metal bearing holder to make contact with the Norsman cable end conector, causing it to bind up. It also caused the stop tab on the bearing to be sheared off. I noticed the ID of the bearing to be 1/2" but the cable has an OD of 5/16". This is a lot of slack it seems to me, so I will call the manufactuer to check on it next Monday. I think I will have to replace the bearings. I also need to find out if one set screw is enough to hold both bearings in place.
BLACK PIECES ARE THE BEARINGS......SILVER PIECES ARE THE BEARING HOLDERS.
NOTE TAB ON BOTTOM OF LEFT BEARING SHEARED OFF!
BOTTOM OF RIGHT BEARING WALLOWED OUT!
BOTTOM OF BEARING HOLDER ON RIGHT SCORED FROM CONTACT WITH CONE ON NORSMAN CABLE CONECTOR!
BOTTOM VIEW OF BEARING AND BEARING HOLDER
BOTTOM OF TUBE WITH ONLY ONE SET SCREW!
CONE ON NORSMAN CABLE CONECTOR WITH SCORE MARKS!
Contacted manufacturer and was refered to Pirate Marine Hardware in Cozmel MX.
His e-mail response....
Sorry for the confusion with the email, I was hoping you were going to call back.
I have spoken with Martina and she has them in stock. I have to be honest, this part only retails for $15.02usd, the shipping and importation is going to cost more than the cost of the part. I have listed the breakdown below.
bearing # 1320 - $15.02usd
shipping and importation to me in Cozumel - $38.00usd (estimated, is the typical cost for an overnight letter size envelope.)(which can take 5 days to get to me.).
shipping from me to you in La Paz - $20.00usd
Total for everything - $73.02usd, the national exchange rate today is $13.95 peso to the usd, total in peso you would need to deposit into my account is $1,018.63 peso.
I would need your confirmation and payment to place the order for the part. My account info is;
bank - HSBC Mexico
acc. name - Jack Gary Dlugitch
acc. # - 4039729892
Sucursal - 978
Please send me a copy of the receipt.
Regards,
Jack Dlugitch
President
Pirate Marine Hardware
http://www.cozumelboatingsupplies.com/
My e-mail response...
body
The 1,018.63 Pesos was deposited into your account this morning for the ProFurl bearings pluss shipping to La Paz.
Please ship to;
Jay Reese S/V Wind Raven
C/O Marina De La Paz.
Calle Topete/Le Gaspy 3040
La Paz BCS MX. 23000
6. Remove, clean and service aft bilge pump.
a) Completed
7. Replace valve cover gasket and rubber grommets and special washers on Perkins. a) I replaced the specialized washers and gromets on the valve cover and the leak seems to be stopped. At $60 for four 3/8 rubber gromets and two washers it ought to be!
8. Clean and paint bilge.
a) The bilge is clean for now! When cleaning it I discovered my dripless shaft seal is leaking. This morning I checked the bilge and discovered engine oil in the bilge. This oil leaked out when the engine was not running. I am afraid it is a hole in the pan where it touches the bottom of the bilge. I was hoping it would last until we got to the mainland, but no such luck it seems. Will investigate further today.
9. Install secondary 1000 amp battery for Capstan.
10. Make a new Windsock.
11. Clean out Perkins Raw Water Intake Screen.
a) Done.
12) Remove corroded stanchion support screws, retap holes and replace.
a) Done
a) Took radio into Victor and it now transmits fine.
b) He also programed cruiser net freq. in.
2. Auto Pilot control box installed, but turns boat in 360* to port.
a) Call Chris at Alpha Marine...1-800-257-4225
b) Sent Chris e-mail..His response was...
Message body
Dear Mr. Reese,
We are sorry you are having difficulties. We checked our records and confirm that, yes, we did rebuild your Alpha 3000 control unit in June of this year.
We do not see that any component other than the main control unit was sent for testing however.
If you have a volt/ohm meter I would suggest that you go to our web page
http://alphamarinesystems.com/tech_talk.htm
and run the first listed diagnostic where you measure the output at terminals 6 and 7 with all five drive unit wires disconnected.
This will allow us to further help you.
Please advise if you have any remote helm or Auxiliary control items connected.
One last item, does the pilot truly go in circles or does it try to steer a reciprocal heading?
Chris Gade
Customer Service
Alpha Marine Systems Inc.
206-275-1200
3. 110V electrical short (starboard side). Breaker off until repaired!
4. Dinghy pull ring broken, needs to be replaced.
a) New ring purchased (to be installed)
5. Repair Roller Furling.
I removed the control line drum to expose the bearings and bearing holders in the bottom of the tube that
the sail rolls up on. One of the bearings that is made from a synthetic substance had sheared off the tab on the bottom and slid up into the tube. This allowed the tube to slide down, which in turn allowed the metal bearing holder to make contact with the Norsman cable end conector, causing it to bind up. It also caused the stop tab on the bearing to be sheared off. I noticed the ID of the bearing to be 1/2" but the cable has an OD of 5/16". This is a lot of slack it seems to me, so I will call the manufactuer to check on it next Monday. I think I will have to replace the bearings. I also need to find out if one set screw is enough to hold both bearings in place.
BLACK PIECES ARE THE BEARINGS......SILVER PIECES ARE THE BEARING HOLDERS.
NOTE TAB ON BOTTOM OF LEFT BEARING SHEARED OFF!
BOTTOM OF RIGHT BEARING WALLOWED OUT!
BOTTOM OF BEARING HOLDER ON RIGHT SCORED FROM CONTACT WITH CONE ON NORSMAN CABLE CONECTOR!
BOTTOM VIEW OF BEARING AND BEARING HOLDER
BOTTOM OF TUBE WITH ONLY ONE SET SCREW!
CONE ON NORSMAN CABLE CONECTOR WITH SCORE MARKS!
His e-mail response....
Sorry for the confusion with the email, I was hoping you were going to call back.
I have spoken with Martina and she has them in stock. I have to be honest, this part only retails for $15.02usd, the shipping and importation is going to cost more than the cost of the part. I have listed the breakdown below.
bearing # 1320 - $15.02usd
shipping and importation to me in Cozumel - $38.00usd (estimated, is the typical cost for an overnight letter size envelope.)(which can take 5 days to get to me.).
shipping from me to you in La Paz - $20.00usd
Total for everything - $73.02usd, the national exchange rate today is $13.95 peso to the usd, total in peso you would need to deposit into my account is $1,018.63 peso.
I would need your confirmation and payment to place the order for the part. My account info is;
bank - HSBC Mexico
acc. name - Jack Gary Dlugitch
acc. # - 4039729892
Sucursal - 978
Please send me a copy of the receipt.
Regards,
Jack Dlugitch
President
Pirate Marine Hardware
http://www.cozumelboatingsupplies.com/
My e-mail response...
body
The 1,018.63 Pesos was deposited into your account this morning for the ProFurl bearings pluss shipping to La Paz.
Please ship to;
Jay Reese S/V Wind Raven
C/O Marina De La Paz.
Calle Topete/Le Gaspy 3040
La Paz BCS MX. 23000
6. Remove, clean and service aft bilge pump.
a) Completed
7. Replace valve cover gasket and rubber grommets and special washers on Perkins. a) I replaced the specialized washers and gromets on the valve cover and the leak seems to be stopped. At $60 for four 3/8 rubber gromets and two washers it ought to be!
8. Clean and paint bilge.
a) The bilge is clean for now! When cleaning it I discovered my dripless shaft seal is leaking. This morning I checked the bilge and discovered engine oil in the bilge. This oil leaked out when the engine was not running. I am afraid it is a hole in the pan where it touches the bottom of the bilge. I was hoping it would last until we got to the mainland, but no such luck it seems. Will investigate further today.
9. Install secondary 1000 amp battery for Capstan.
10. Make a new Windsock.
11. Clean out Perkins Raw Water Intake Screen.
a) Done.
12) Remove corroded stanchion support screws, retap holes and replace.
a) Done
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
THE END!
It is now the twentieth of November and Judy is back in La Paz. I have not made any posts lately due to being down sick with a virus. It was my fault, as I became lax in taking my daily dose of Echinacea, which has kept illness at bay for the past four years or so. I will heed this “hard knock” lesson in the future. I am on my way to recovery now, I am happy to say.
In the last 40+ posts we have had a total of seven comments, and these were made by three people who are followers. The rest of the followers are obviously in name only. I would like you to know that writing a blog and trying to keep it interesting with photos and details of our experience takes a lot of time and energy on my part. Uploading the photos alone takes several hours on each post, due to the poor internet connections down here. Judy has no interest in contributing to the blog, so it is all up to me, and frankly I am tired of doing this for people who show no interest. Therefore, I will no longer attempt to entertain the people who have not shown interest in the blog. It is just too time consuming and I would much rather spend that time enjoying the area. I do apologize to Stash Gal, Tracey, and my long time friend Coyote, who have been great supporters on the blog with their comments. I thank you and will keep you up to date through personal e-mails.
Due to said reasons, this blog will now be kept as a reference to mechanical repairs and technical data related to our sailing vessel Wind Raven! Basically, A "CAPTAINS LOG"
In the last 40+ posts we have had a total of seven comments, and these were made by three people who are followers. The rest of the followers are obviously in name only. I would like you to know that writing a blog and trying to keep it interesting with photos and details of our experience takes a lot of time and energy on my part. Uploading the photos alone takes several hours on each post, due to the poor internet connections down here. Judy has no interest in contributing to the blog, so it is all up to me, and frankly I am tired of doing this for people who show no interest. Therefore, I will no longer attempt to entertain the people who have not shown interest in the blog. It is just too time consuming and I would much rather spend that time enjoying the area. I do apologize to Stash Gal, Tracey, and my long time friend Coyote, who have been great supporters on the blog with their comments. I thank you and will keep you up to date through personal e-mails.
Due to said reasons, this blog will now be kept as a reference to mechanical repairs and technical data related to our sailing vessel Wind Raven! Basically, A "CAPTAINS LOG"
Saturday, November 5, 2011
ON TO LA PAZ
I awoke to an angry sea with five foot swells on a lee shore, at four this morning. The wind was around 16 knots and climbing. I could see white caps outside of the bay. This is not the best situation to pull anchor in, especially when single handing. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained. I suppose it is just another test to check my competence. By six I was exiting the bay wishing I could sail, as the wind was up. Unfortunately, my roller furling was not up to it yet, which makes the back stay questionable until it is repaired properly. It would probably be okay, but I try to vie on the side of caution/safety. I put out a line hoping to snag a Dorado on the way I, but with no luck.
LOOKING AT LA PAZ FROM OUR ANCHORED BOAT
PHOTO OF SHUTTLE & PALAPA FROM OUR ANCHORAGE IN LA PAZ
I was a bit apprehensive concerning the long narrow channel leading into La Paz, as I had only been through it once before and that was when we first arrived in Mexico. It turned out to be no problem at all with the forward looking sonar. The Interphase system is well worth the price, as it removes all doubt and gives one confidence and “peace of Mind.” I wanted to avoid anchoring by the Malicon like we did before, as the music is very loud and goes all night long. Where I wanted to anchor was across the channel close to shore, where it is more protected and quiet. The problem was getting around a long sand bar that lies between the channel and the anchorage area. Well I very slowly turned out of the channel with my eyes riveted on the depth sounder, when a gentleman pulled up alongside and offered to show me where the entrance was. Great, I had a guide. He led me right into the anchorage area, and gave me some advice as to rode scope currents, tides etc. Once anchored, I headed across in the dinghy to see Lulu on Siempre Sabado, and used her computer to call Judy. It was pretty funny when Judy answered. I said, “I’m in La Paz.” She said, “who is this?” I said, “Jay.” She said, “Jay who?” At this point I thought I might have the wrong number, so I asked, Is this Judy Kinworthy? I received no response. I repeated the question and she said, y…eee…ssss! Who is this? I said I’m Jay, your husband! At this point I’m getting a little concerned. So she says, “You don’t sound like Jay.” So I said, well the last time I looked, I was!” Anyway it took quite awhile to convince her it was really me. I guess Steve and Lulu’s Skype sounds different than ours. Go figure! So to make a long story short, I am in La Paz and Judy will not be down until the 14th, due to plane fares being too expensive until that time. I guess I will work on the boat. Toodles!
LOOKING AT LA PAZ FROM OUR ANCHORED BOAT
PHOTO OF SHUTTLE & PALAPA FROM OUR ANCHORAGE IN LA PAZ
I was a bit apprehensive concerning the long narrow channel leading into La Paz, as I had only been through it once before and that was when we first arrived in Mexico. It turned out to be no problem at all with the forward looking sonar. The Interphase system is well worth the price, as it removes all doubt and gives one confidence and “peace of Mind.” I wanted to avoid anchoring by the Malicon like we did before, as the music is very loud and goes all night long. Where I wanted to anchor was across the channel close to shore, where it is more protected and quiet. The problem was getting around a long sand bar that lies between the channel and the anchorage area. Well I very slowly turned out of the channel with my eyes riveted on the depth sounder, when a gentleman pulled up alongside and offered to show me where the entrance was. Great, I had a guide. He led me right into the anchorage area, and gave me some advice as to rode scope currents, tides etc. Once anchored, I headed across in the dinghy to see Lulu on Siempre Sabado, and used her computer to call Judy. It was pretty funny when Judy answered. I said, “I’m in La Paz.” She said, “who is this?” I said, “Jay.” She said, “Jay who?” At this point I thought I might have the wrong number, so I asked, Is this Judy Kinworthy? I received no response. I repeated the question and she said, y…eee…ssss! Who is this? I said I’m Jay, your husband! At this point I’m getting a little concerned. So she says, “You don’t sound like Jay.” So I said, well the last time I looked, I was!” Anyway it took quite awhile to convince her it was really me. I guess Steve and Lulu’s Skype sounds different than ours. Go figure! So to make a long story short, I am in La Paz and Judy will not be down until the 14th, due to plane fares being too expensive until that time. I guess I will work on the boat. Toodles!
OVERDUE?
It is now November 3rd at 8am and I am faced with a dilemma. I just finished listening to the Sunrisa net and to my chagrin, Wind Raven was reported as overdue in La Paz by Steve and Lulu on Siempre Sabado who are in La Paz. Why? Obviously Judy forgot that I told her that I was going to take my time going down to La Paz, as I had 13 days before she was flying back from the states. As you know I did have some problems with the roller furling, which slowed me down even more, but I am certainly not overdue. Unfortunately, everyone else down here thinks I am and they are probably concerned for my safety. The dilemma is whether to cut my time in the islands short and go into La Paz to inform Judy over the phone that I am okay or try to send a message via another boat. If I do go in I will be stuck in La Paz for the next month at least. I can’t just run in and back out, as it is too dammed expensive to do so. It’s all about fuel and trying to save a dime. I guess that means an extra five days in stinky La Paz while I wait for Judy’s return. Yeah, I’ll go in, it’s the only way I can be sure she gets the message that I’m okay. Wish I had some way to call in, or send an e-mail. Oh well such is life.
YOU GOT IT...ANOTHER SUNRISE!
On the way from San Everisto to Isla Partida I caught a 30# Jack and two Dorado. I gave most of the fillets away to fellow cruisers last night when I arrived at Ensenada Grande, because the refrigerator still isn’t up to par and I didn’t want to let any spoil. If I knew then that I would be going in so soon, I would have taken more to Harley and Stephanie and also to Steve and Lulu. Sorry about that folks, maybe next time!
TYPICAL GEOLOGICAL SCENERY
I have to make a few minor repairs and fire up the water maker to fill the tanks while doing them. In so doing I will not be able to make it to La Paz before dark. That being the case I am heading for Bahia San Gabriel on the South end of Isla Isla Espirito Santo to spend the night. I will go into La Paz in the morning.
YOU GOT IT...ANOTHER SUNRISE!
On the way from San Everisto to Isla Partida I caught a 30# Jack and two Dorado. I gave most of the fillets away to fellow cruisers last night when I arrived at Ensenada Grande, because the refrigerator still isn’t up to par and I didn’t want to let any spoil. If I knew then that I would be going in so soon, I would have taken more to Harley and Stephanie and also to Steve and Lulu. Sorry about that folks, maybe next time!
TYPICAL GEOLOGICAL SCENERY
I have to make a few minor repairs and fire up the water maker to fill the tanks while doing them. In so doing I will not be able to make it to La Paz before dark. That being the case I am heading for Bahia San Gabriel on the South end of Isla Isla Espirito Santo to spend the night. I will go into La Paz in the morning.
GOOD AND BAD!
Yesterday the Monday the 31st, I successfully removed the sail from the roller furling without damage. I also discovered the problem with the roller furling. When rolling in the sail the top stud on the turnbuckle rotates, causing the turnbuckle to loosen, breaking the cotter pins and coming apart. This problem causes the front stay to break loose, which in turn could cause a dismasting. That my friends, is not a pleasant thought!
BACK TOGETHER...SAIL REMOVED!
After reassembling the forward stay, roller, turnbuckle and adjusting the tension on both front and back stays, I decided to motor the remaining 51nm to La Paz rather than sail. Once in La Paz I will have phone/internet access and call PRO-Furl to speak with one of their techs to discover the cause of the problem.
Yesterday morning I slipped on the wet deck and of course landed on my injured left knee. It was doing much better, but last night it was very swollen again and painful. It is still swollen this morning and painful. Guess I’ll take the day off to give it a rest. Why is it that if one has an injury, he always seems to hit it and make it worse?
BACK TOGETHER...SAIL REMOVED!
After reassembling the forward stay, roller, turnbuckle and adjusting the tension on both front and back stays, I decided to motor the remaining 51nm to La Paz rather than sail. Once in La Paz I will have phone/internet access and call PRO-Furl to speak with one of their techs to discover the cause of the problem.
Yesterday morning I slipped on the wet deck and of course landed on my injured left knee. It was doing much better, but last night it was very swollen again and painful. It is still swollen this morning and painful. Guess I’ll take the day off to give it a rest. Why is it that if one has an injury, he always seems to hit it and make it worse?
SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS
10/29/2011
I have in the past, been forever plagued with the malady of having to learn everything the hard way, in that all too well known school of hard knocks. I should have checked the rigging before sailing out of Ensenada Blanca, especially the cotter pins on all turnbuckles. It certainly would have saved me a lot of grief had I paid more attention to Nigel Calders “Cruising Handbook,” where it clearly states to check the pins frequently, especially before sailing to a distant location. It’s “live and learn” for me, I suppose. One would think that by the time he/she reaches retirement age they would know better than to go off half cocked. Now that I have thoroughly chastised myself, I suppose I should get on with it, the repairs I mean.
Today, weather permitting; I will attempt to repair the Roller Furling, which is quite a challenge for me “all by my ownself.” First let me say that I have three major concerns regarding this repair. My first concern is how do I get the long stud up and back into the roller spool, when it is being held down by the sail that is connected to the roller and the top of the mast? I can’t just unhook the sail, as it has a tremendous pressure on it and if I did God only knows what catastrophe would transpire from such stupidity. Being a stepped mast there is always the concern of it coming down if not evenly supported, especially in high winds and a rolling anchorage. My second concern is that the sail tape ripped out of its groove about half way up to the top of the mast. Wish I had a sky hook, Ha! Ha! At my age, the thought of shimmying up the furling is out of the question and using a bosons chair alone is a bit difficult. Assuming I get the stud back inside of the roller, the pressure and weight of the sail, which will most likely still be bound up on the furling, might cause the forestay cable stud to be too short to start the turnbuckle threads.
Being faced with this dilemma yesterday morning when I awoke with the wind howling through the rigging, I decided to take the day off and let these problems simmer in the back of my head. To occupy myself, I went fishing and read a book. Last night when I went to bed I still had no solution to my problems, but as usual they came to me during the middle of the night. Since it is a cutter rig I have two forestays, one for each sail, dummy. The second forstay will hold the mast up while I release the forward forstay. However to guard against disaster I must release the tension off of the backstay first. Such a simple solution and it can even be done in moderate wind, I hope!
First I must clean and lubricate all of the turnbuckle threads with lanolin grease to insure that they don’t bind and strip the threads. Once this is done I will be able to release the pressure and reinstall the roller furling. The jammed sail might still be a problem, but I will deal with it later. Ihave ten more days before I have to be in La Paz to meet Judy’s flight.
WINCHING IT BACK IN
It is now noon and my repair on the Roller Furling worked out great! I am trying to decide if I should try to remove the sail with the tape bound up in the groove, or wait until I am assured of no wind for at least an hour. Either way I will be sailing to San Evaristo tomorrow morning. The fishing is great here, but one person can only eat so much fish.
I have in the past, been forever plagued with the malady of having to learn everything the hard way, in that all too well known school of hard knocks. I should have checked the rigging before sailing out of Ensenada Blanca, especially the cotter pins on all turnbuckles. It certainly would have saved me a lot of grief had I paid more attention to Nigel Calders “Cruising Handbook,” where it clearly states to check the pins frequently, especially before sailing to a distant location. It’s “live and learn” for me, I suppose. One would think that by the time he/she reaches retirement age they would know better than to go off half cocked. Now that I have thoroughly chastised myself, I suppose I should get on with it, the repairs I mean.
Today, weather permitting; I will attempt to repair the Roller Furling, which is quite a challenge for me “all by my ownself.” First let me say that I have three major concerns regarding this repair. My first concern is how do I get the long stud up and back into the roller spool, when it is being held down by the sail that is connected to the roller and the top of the mast? I can’t just unhook the sail, as it has a tremendous pressure on it and if I did God only knows what catastrophe would transpire from such stupidity. Being a stepped mast there is always the concern of it coming down if not evenly supported, especially in high winds and a rolling anchorage. My second concern is that the sail tape ripped out of its groove about half way up to the top of the mast. Wish I had a sky hook, Ha! Ha! At my age, the thought of shimmying up the furling is out of the question and using a bosons chair alone is a bit difficult. Assuming I get the stud back inside of the roller, the pressure and weight of the sail, which will most likely still be bound up on the furling, might cause the forestay cable stud to be too short to start the turnbuckle threads.
Being faced with this dilemma yesterday morning when I awoke with the wind howling through the rigging, I decided to take the day off and let these problems simmer in the back of my head. To occupy myself, I went fishing and read a book. Last night when I went to bed I still had no solution to my problems, but as usual they came to me during the middle of the night. Since it is a cutter rig I have two forestays, one for each sail, dummy. The second forstay will hold the mast up while I release the forward forstay. However to guard against disaster I must release the tension off of the backstay first. Such a simple solution and it can even be done in moderate wind, I hope!
First I must clean and lubricate all of the turnbuckle threads with lanolin grease to insure that they don’t bind and strip the threads. Once this is done I will be able to release the pressure and reinstall the roller furling. The jammed sail might still be a problem, but I will deal with it later. Ihave ten more days before I have to be in La Paz to meet Judy’s flight.
WINCHING IT BACK IN
It is now noon and my repair on the Roller Furling worked out great! I am trying to decide if I should try to remove the sail with the tape bound up in the groove, or wait until I am assured of no wind for at least an hour. Either way I will be sailing to San Evaristo tomorrow morning. The fishing is great here, but one person can only eat so much fish.
HERE I SIT
Judy went to our friends house in Loreto Wednesday the 26th to spend the night in preparation to catch her plane to San Jose, CA. on the 27th. I hope all is well and she is in San Jose now. The Memorial is on Sunday the 30th. In the mean time I tried to get a good night’s rest on the 26th in preparation for my departure the next morning. This was to no avail, as I was up most of the night, due to the nagging pain in my elbow and back. One of these is okay but two is a bit much to cope with.
JUST ANOTHER SUNRISE
I left Ensenada Blanca after the cruisers net at 8:30am on the 27th headed for La Paz, via several other stops along the way. The plan was to take my time and enjoy the cruise and visit some new anchorages. Once I cleared the channel between the Candeleros Islets, I deployed my fishing gear. It was a beautiful day, with the wind at around fourteen knots.
A few days ago I finally got around to installing the auto pilot control box that we had rebuilt last June. After installing it I ran it through its paces while at anchor and it seemed to be fine,but the real test would be at sea. We haven’t really needed it, as Judy could take the helm if I needed to do something, or I could tie the helm in place in calm seas. This time I would be the only one aboard so I would probably need it. As soon as I got on course I engaged the auto pilot and the boat started doing 360s. I tried several times in different ways, but the result was the same. During this test a Dorado hit my lure, which I promptly lost due to doing 360s. Oh well, I’ve single handed before without it and I saw no reason why I couldn’t do it again. I tied the helm, but the sea had some pretty big waves at five seconds and it was hard to keep on course, due to it being a following sea also.
I decided to deploy the jib to steady to improve the stability of the boat, not to mention saving on fuel, which is a major consideration in itself. The jib deployed beautifully and the boat settled down for a great downwind run. About ten minutes later I hooked a Dorado on #1 rod. I turned broadside and was reaching for #2 rod to reel it in when another Dorado hit it. Damn, two on, now what? Well I took in the Jib, but by the time I did one fish got off and the other took out all 900 yards of braided line and broke the leader when he hit the end. Oh well, back out with the jib and with the helm tied I deployed the #1 rod only. About fifteen minutes later it was “fish on” again. This time I rolled in the jib first, but it only would come in about half way. I tried several times, but it would reach a certain point and just stop. Yeah you guessed it, I lost the fourth Dorado while trying to roll up the sail.
At this point I had a real serious problem. A half deployed jib and seriously building winds. The wind was at 18 knots and rising. I went forward and discovered that both ring pins were missing on the turnbuckle studs and they had unscrewed. The roller shaft had pulled up and out of the roller with the stud just hanging there. The only thing holding the whole works in the air was the jib sail which had ripped the #6…………..out about half way up to the top of the mast. Of course all this time about 15’ of jib was flapping in the now strong wind. This can be very dangerous as the sheets (lines) are whipping about with great force. These sheets can cause bodily damage as my now vacated sun glasses can testify. One certainly does not want to be lashed with these sheets, but must secure the mess. So I went into the midst of it all and tried to take the end of the sail by the sheets and physically wrap it up. After almost being thrown off the bow when the wind caught the pulled back sail, I decided that somehow I had to get the boat pointed into the wind and hold it there while I was on the bow. I could try to put up the main and lie a-hull, but the jib would be ripped to shreds by then. I didn’t have much time so I had to do something fast. I went to the helm and as soon as the boat was headed into the wind, I ran forward grabbing the sheets and manhandled the sail around the aluminum post and it, completing one wrap. Cool, this might work. After going through this process several times I discovered that, due to the post not being attached it was unwinding itself every time I went back to head into the wind again. I made a lot of trips back and forth to no avail. The next step was to secure the roller from unwinding, which I did forthwith. About this time Heime, who sailed out of Ensenada Blanca after me, caught up and I had him stand by until I got everything temporally secured. He stuck around watching the sail and sheets trying to whip my ass for a half hour or so and then he headed for Agua Verde. I chose to continue on to Bahia Santa Marta, skirting the reefs and then approaching from the South. And that is where I set; waiting for the winds to calm so I can hopefully make the repairs that are needed. The weather man says that could be two or three days. Now that is okay, as Judy won’t be back until the eighth of next month, and I could use some healing time from that wrestling match on the bow in 20+ knot winds.
Oh! I almost forgot. After securing everything and sailing in, I hooked and landed a very nice Dorado. It was the fifth that tried to sacrifice itself to me in about 20 miles. I gave half to a Kayak tour group, who were quite delighted!
JUST ANOTHER SUNRISE
I left Ensenada Blanca after the cruisers net at 8:30am on the 27th headed for La Paz, via several other stops along the way. The plan was to take my time and enjoy the cruise and visit some new anchorages. Once I cleared the channel between the Candeleros Islets, I deployed my fishing gear. It was a beautiful day, with the wind at around fourteen knots.
A few days ago I finally got around to installing the auto pilot control box that we had rebuilt last June. After installing it I ran it through its paces while at anchor and it seemed to be fine,but the real test would be at sea. We haven’t really needed it, as Judy could take the helm if I needed to do something, or I could tie the helm in place in calm seas. This time I would be the only one aboard so I would probably need it. As soon as I got on course I engaged the auto pilot and the boat started doing 360s. I tried several times in different ways, but the result was the same. During this test a Dorado hit my lure, which I promptly lost due to doing 360s. Oh well, I’ve single handed before without it and I saw no reason why I couldn’t do it again. I tied the helm, but the sea had some pretty big waves at five seconds and it was hard to keep on course, due to it being a following sea also.
I decided to deploy the jib to steady to improve the stability of the boat, not to mention saving on fuel, which is a major consideration in itself. The jib deployed beautifully and the boat settled down for a great downwind run. About ten minutes later I hooked a Dorado on #1 rod. I turned broadside and was reaching for #2 rod to reel it in when another Dorado hit it. Damn, two on, now what? Well I took in the Jib, but by the time I did one fish got off and the other took out all 900 yards of braided line and broke the leader when he hit the end. Oh well, back out with the jib and with the helm tied I deployed the #1 rod only. About fifteen minutes later it was “fish on” again. This time I rolled in the jib first, but it only would come in about half way. I tried several times, but it would reach a certain point and just stop. Yeah you guessed it, I lost the fourth Dorado while trying to roll up the sail.
At this point I had a real serious problem. A half deployed jib and seriously building winds. The wind was at 18 knots and rising. I went forward and discovered that both ring pins were missing on the turnbuckle studs and they had unscrewed. The roller shaft had pulled up and out of the roller with the stud just hanging there. The only thing holding the whole works in the air was the jib sail which had ripped the #6…………..out about half way up to the top of the mast. Of course all this time about 15’ of jib was flapping in the now strong wind. This can be very dangerous as the sheets (lines) are whipping about with great force. These sheets can cause bodily damage as my now vacated sun glasses can testify. One certainly does not want to be lashed with these sheets, but must secure the mess. So I went into the midst of it all and tried to take the end of the sail by the sheets and physically wrap it up. After almost being thrown off the bow when the wind caught the pulled back sail, I decided that somehow I had to get the boat pointed into the wind and hold it there while I was on the bow. I could try to put up the main and lie a-hull, but the jib would be ripped to shreds by then. I didn’t have much time so I had to do something fast. I went to the helm and as soon as the boat was headed into the wind, I ran forward grabbing the sheets and manhandled the sail around the aluminum post and it, completing one wrap. Cool, this might work. After going through this process several times I discovered that, due to the post not being attached it was unwinding itself every time I went back to head into the wind again. I made a lot of trips back and forth to no avail. The next step was to secure the roller from unwinding, which I did forthwith. About this time Heime, who sailed out of Ensenada Blanca after me, caught up and I had him stand by until I got everything temporally secured. He stuck around watching the sail and sheets trying to whip my ass for a half hour or so and then he headed for Agua Verde. I chose to continue on to Bahia Santa Marta, skirting the reefs and then approaching from the South. And that is where I set; waiting for the winds to calm so I can hopefully make the repairs that are needed. The weather man says that could be two or three days. Now that is okay, as Judy won’t be back until the eighth of next month, and I could use some healing time from that wrestling match on the bow in 20+ knot winds.
Oh! I almost forgot. After securing everything and sailing in, I hooked and landed a very nice Dorado. It was the fifth that tried to sacrifice itself to me in about 20 miles. I gave half to a Kayak tour group, who were quite delighted!
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