The list grows
The morning of our departure on the 2500nm passage from Antigua to the Azores, Brian decided it would be a good time to clean the depth/speed transducer. This involves basically pulling the plug of the boat, rapid ingress of water and quickly staunching the flow with a blank plug. It is always a stressful activity even though we have done it successfully many times. But the morning of our departure? It turns out it was the right call. Barnacles had started to encroach on the surface and impeded the signal. Now we could collect all the data from the transducer, and start our trip with a truly fully functional boat.
The first day we sailed north, past Barbuda in the lee of the island. The sailing was good as Barbuda is basically a sand bar, and has no mountainous peaks to deflect the wind. We saw our one and only whale of the trip, most likely a humpback whale. We set off in the company of SV Frogs Leap, however within 24 hours they were out of sight and not to be seen again until we got to the Azores.
As we headed offshore Helen picked up the crochet hook and started another project to pass the time. By the end of the first week a new crew member was welcomed onboard.
As night fell we set up the boat for overnight sailing. We turned on the navigation lights and radar so we could be seen and we could “see” other vessels around. All large commercial boats have AIS (automatic identification system) these days, which we monitor, but not all fishing or pleasure craft. Radar sees all and makes night sailing much safer. The lights came on…. But not the radar. An error message indicated it was off line. A little googling and Brian determined a $4 drive belt was most likely the culprit. We would have to make this passage without radar and get a replacement sent to Horta. Start a list.
Once clear of the islands and we were in deep water the fishing lines went out. We do not normally like to fish around the islands as the chance of encountering the neurotoxin ciguatera is significantly increased. A dose of that would quickly put a stop to our big adventure and it is just not worth the risk. Having said that one has to wonder at the safety of the fish we occasionally consume in restaurants onshore. I digress.
Brian has a rail mounted reel which we troll with and it passes the time, switching lures and watching the fish attractor-called a bird- bounce through the waves. On day 3 of our passage the reel raced out and two nice Mahi were successfully landed, dispatched, filleted and popped in the freezer. Good eats for passage and beyond.
Mahi are a beautiful golden color with bright blue spots when first out of the water, however this quickly fades upon their demise. So sad. Still we got over it, and enjoyed our dinner.
Despite all the work and predeparture preparations there are always issues to deal with on passage. The boats systems are being used far more intensely than when cruising between islands; running 24 hours with no breaks as opposed to short day sails with multiple days at anchor. The second issue came on day 4 when we switched on the engine as the wind faded. Brians ear is tuned in with all engine sounds and there was a strange knocking sound we could hear in the cockpit, through the binnacle. Even Helen admitted it sounded weird. A rapid run through all the potential spots where disaster could occur (shaft issues, propeller issues, engine issues) revealed nothing. In checking the transmission fluid we noted it was rather low (Brian had not put the whole bottle in when changing it a few weeks prior as he thought he had not removed all the old fluid, and did not want to overfill). We put the rest of the bottle in and got the level back up to acceptable range. Still the sound was there. Engine off. Engine on. Sound gone. We decided a) we might be feeling a little jumpy and b) the rpm we had been running at while motor sailing was a little lower than usual. The vibrations on a metal boat transmit and spread all over, so we think maybe it was just an anomaly of the shaft rotating at a different rate than normal. We monitored closely to make sure it did not start again as it was still not too late to make an emergency stop in Bermuda.
Our first three sunsets at sea.
The next issue occurred just a day later, day 5. As we scrolled through the screens of onboard data that we enter into the boats log, we noticed the newly set up bilge alarms indicated that the bilge pump for the main sump had recently run twice. Most unusual and unexpected as we generally have a very dry boat. Upon looking under the floorboard, we found to our horror a significant amount of water lapping up the walls of the sump. We determined it was fresh water, so we were not sinking. We then went and inspected our water tanks to see which of the two was leaking, and how/where. We have installed tank indicators to tell us how much water is in each tank, unfortunately the monitor on the 60 gallon tank works intermittently, possibly due to corrosion from storing chlorinated water, and chose now not to work. The 40 gallon tank was still full so we knew that one was OK. There were so many places where water could leak, the hoses that snake beneath the sole of the boat, the hot water heater, the pumps that move the water around and provide water pressure, the tanks themselves. It was daunting. Still, one step at a time to isolate the issue. We turned off the main water supply pump and waited to see if water was still seeping into the bilge. We turned it back on…… and nothing. It would not come on. Concern flitted across Brian’s face, was this a repeat of our previous transatlantic passage where we had failing water pumps, and the “spare” turned out to be a dud? Before diving into the deep storage to pull out a replacement pump, we switched the water supply over to the foot-pump we have installed at the galley sink, we could conduct the test using this. It is part of the water system redundancy and allows us to manually (well by foot) pump either fresh water from the 60 gallon tank or sea water into the galley sink. Brian was pumping away at the foot pump and no water was flowing into the sink. Now this was becoming a real concern. Was it the foot-pump that was broken as well, or was the 60 gallon tank that it draws from empty due to the as yet unidentified leak, and had the bilge pumps pumped it all overboard? Next thing to do was to take the top of the water tank off and actually look in to see if there was any water there, or was it empty? Fortunately we found the tank was nearly full, at least 50 gallons present, so that was not the issue. Still worried about how we were going to get water from the tanks if both the electric pump and foot pump were not working. We dove into the spares locker and pulled out the replacement pump just in case. Visions of collecting rainwater in buckets briefly became a possibility, until Brian determined the pump had blown a fuse, a simple replacement and the pump was working again.
The foot-pump is a different issue. We do not use it under normal circumstances so had not been aware there was a problem. It was installed, of course, over 8 years ago, as the boat was being built. The rubber seals and gaskets all decay with time and especially in heat. Time in Memphis during the build and the four years in the warm waters of Pickwick Lake, the Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas and more recently the Caribbean have likely done some damage. Replacement parts can be sourced, but it will have to wait until we are back in civilization. Add it to the list.
Now we still had to work out what was leaking and from where. The water system hoses all pass through a master manifold under the bedroom floor. One by one, we turned off the various sections; Hot water system, cold water system, galley, water heater, head, and looked for the pressure pump to start running indicating the pressure had dropped due to the leak. We finally identified the issue was likely the hot water tank. Isolating and turning off that circuit, and the problem resolved. We spent the rest of the passage, and the forseeable future, turning on hot water when needed, then turning it off at the manifold when not in use. A replacement hot water heater is a serious problem, and something we are not yet sure how we can resolve. Heading to Europe with the different electrical system makes getting a replacement there an issue. In addition Brian installed the heater early on in the build, and so much has been built up around it, getting it out and a replacement reinstalled will entail some unpleasant demolition. Another one for the list. Our list was growing.
The wind was light and the seas became glassy smooth. It was 3pm in the afternoon, the sun was shining and the swimming pool was open! We turned off the engine and drifted for 30 minutes while we enjoyed our last swim in warm waters. It is truly a surreal experience to swim with over 20,000ft of water beneath you. So clear. So blue.
One morning the sunrise was cloudless. As the glow developed just beyond the horizon I wondered if there was a green flash at sunrise, as the sun first emerges, in the same way you can sometimes see one as it dips below the horizon at sunset. Guessing where the sun would appear, I took a number of photographs as the sun rose, and YES, there is the same green flash.
Two headsails out, the genoa held with pole. Our preferred set up for down wind sailing.
The winds were generally lighter than when we made the same passage three years ago, however we managed to keep the sails full and moved gently along. There were a few times however when the engine simply had to be turned on and we motored for a day and a half at about day 13. During engine check after 24 hours with the engine on Brian noticed what had been an occasional drip from the engine raw water pump, was now a steady drip, and there was a significant amount of salt water sloshing around under the engine. We had addressed the slight leak, or so we thought, while in Antigua. Brian had changed the raw water pump with the spare. However, as with the gaskets for the galley foot pump, this pump and spare were both purchased at the same time, more than 10 years ago, and the seal was now not sealing. We drifted for an hour, grateful for the relatively calm seas, and Brian replaced the seal with a new O-ring, and when that made no difference, he took the seal off the spare and put it on the installed pump. That seemed to do the trick, but another item has been added to the ever growing list of parts and jobs to be completed when we are once back in the land of plenty.
On day 14, as the sky lightened in the morning we were surrounded by a pod of small Atlantic Dolphins. They stayed with the boat for 30 minutes as the sun rose above the horizon, playing in the bow wave and jumping and spinning alongside. It was an absolutely magical moment and one that we will remember for a lifetime.
Pick your favorite….. I obviously could not!
We sailed on, the wind picked up for the last part of the voyage and the waves increased too. We often found flying fish on the deck in the morning and one day some squid. We must have passed through a train of them as there were four or five on deck, each in an inky mess. A first for Helacious.
Our last night at sea and at watch change (2am) the mainsail suddenly slumped as the first reef line broke. We had not noticed the line chafing and were caught by surprise. Brian lowered the main to the second reef and we continued to Horta. It was a little frustrating as now the winds were perfect, but we could not use the full capacity of our sails. A final item to be added to the list.
We were now approaching land. We did not see Faial until just 10 miles away. Not even a peak of Mount Pico, the highest mountain in Portugal. But then the clouds lifted and the green fields and terracotta roofed houses were a feast for the eyes.
Approaching Horta on the island of Faial we were welcomed by a pod of dolphin.
The final list; 20 days at sea, 2528nm travelled and a list of jobs to keep us busy until the next passage.
