Breakages on Passage

Tuesday, 24th January 2023 (Day 10)

We started into our second week on sea with a squall which brought a lot of rain and drenched us through. Just before this wet encounter we tried to fix our Watt’n’Sea Hydrogenerator. On day 3 the pin to fix it down into the water with had broken, so we used the alternative fixing method with a line instead. But this line broke yesterday as well, as a result we couldn’t generate any energy by our movement through the water anymore. Unfortunately, our attempts to use another pin to hold the Hydrogenerator in place failed as it was too thick for the hole. But after lunch Michael had another go when the wind and waves quieten down a little. Now a screwdriver acts as a fixing-pin held in place with string and duct tape. It works! We hope it will hold fast for at least the next two weeks as it generates vital energy especially during the night when the solar panels are asleep.

Beautiful sunset on day 9

Talking about broken things. It is a known thing that material breaks during crossings because the pressure and strength on it is immense. If you break down the continuous sailing of a crossing by typical day sailing days of six hours, a passage of three weeks compares to 84 days of usual cruising. That is probably an equivalent to about four to five years of weekend and holiday sailing.

We take turns to check lines and blocks on the foredeck

We obviously try to prevent these breakages by checking and taking precautions. But we had a few things going faulty during the first week. Day 3 and 4 were ‘breakage days’. The screws of a D-ring on deck wasn‘t able to hold the load anymore and broke. In hindsight, it was our own fault as we put too many blocks on it. We managed to rearrange them and we can handle the lines all fine again. The same day we also realised that the Watt‘n‘Sea wasn’t generating enough energy anymore because of the broken pin. It just wasn‘t our day and our mood was down as we were just a few days into our adventure.

The next day, day 4, continued with mishaps. Michael wanted to treat himself to a cooked breakfast after a tiresome early watch. But then he realised there was no gas anymore. First, he thought we ran out, which would have been far too quickly, but then noticed that the magnetic solenoid switch didn‘t work anymore. So, we have plenty of gas but aren’t able to get it out of the bottles into the galey to the cooker. Because of the big seas, we didn’t want to try any repairs in our gas locker. First, I started to go through our menus to see how and what we can eat without cooking. I kicked myself that I didn’t do this before the start. But luckily, we have a small IKEA induction plate we normally only use in harbour if on shore power. Michael had the great idea to fix the plate onto our gimbled oven and to use a silicon mat so that our pans wouldn’t slide off and, as it is induction, the silicon doesn't heat up or melt. We were able to cook again and just need to manage our energy carefully.

Fixed induction plate on our gimbled stove. On top a silicon mat so that pots and pans don’t slide.

And then a thing happened that could have ended up tragic. We got all excited about a big squall approaching, got all dressed for the occasion and closed the companionway with washboards behind us. After the wet encounter, when we wanted to go down to get the wet gear off, we had a shock. With all the swaying motion, the newly installed, solid sliding-locks ran so smoothly that they slid and locked our hatch shut. We realised we both were locked out and there was nobody inside to open the hatch! We tried to get in with a knife but no luck. We knew now from own experience that it will keep intruders out. After the first paralising feeling, we laughed about ourselves as we recognised the fact that we were able to easily get in through one of our three skylights. We always make sure our skylights are not locked on passages for escape reasons. This incident proved to us that this precaution is also important for getting back into the boat. Furthermore, from now on our companionway lock-holes are blocked with red tape while on passage, so the locking pins aren’t able to slide in by themselves.

This morning a seabird circled our mast just after sunrise – about 1000 nm into our crossing

Altogether, we have to say how amazing it is to be out here on the open ocean. The blue sky and blue water around us. Beautiful starry nights and luminescence in the water making the waves sparkle. We have all we need with us in our floating home, and we are happy.

Ahoy!