Sunday 24 June 2018

NZ to TONGA - Day 11 - Land Ho!

Hello!

We have arrived at Tongatapu, where we are anchored with our "Q" flag flying before clearing in on Monday morning.

The end of our passage was in line with the rest of the passage - good conditions and favourable winds :) It is such a relief to arrive here with no major dramas during the last ten days.

After Max took over the watch last night, the wind continued to back, so he was able to hold our course down the rhumb line simply by continuing to sail closer to the wind. At one point, we were worried that we were sailing so fast that we would arrive at the pass before daylight, but the skies cleared to stars (marking the end of the trough?) and the winds conveniently eased in the wee hours, so we arrived just at the right time: shortly after sunrise at the pass.

Victoria woke for her last watch of the passage at 0430 and I was back in the cockpit by 0600 to give Max some much needed rest before we were all awake for the pass and the 10 nm transit across the lagoon. We sailed right up to the pass, then we furled the genoa and motored the rest of the way, giving our batteries a top-up. We have hardly seen the sun for the last few days, and with the wind behind us, the apparent wind has been minimal, so the wind generator hasn't been contributing very much. We could have deployed the water-towed generator, but up until the last day, we didn't want to give up any boat speed that it would cost us.

We arrived just before 10am, which gave us just the right amount of time to put the boat to rights and cook our first at-anchor brunch of the season (it was a bit of a fusion meal: pancakes, fried eggs, sashimi, maple syrup, wasabi, and juice!)

I thought you might like an update on our fridge: we are running it manually after we have had the engine going for a while by opening one of the engine compartment covers, lashing the cool blue USB fan that we got from Max's sister when we were all together in January (Thanks Sarah!) in front of the pressure sensor, concurrently running the water pump, and then when everything is cool enough, reseting the pressure button, and making it go. There seems to be an issue with one of the thermostats (separate from the hot engine compartment) that will need addressing now that we have arrived.

All is well on board, and we thank you for journeying the last ten days with Fluenta Cruiselines! We are grateful for the emails and messages we received while we were at sea. We will let you know when we are on the move again; we are hoping to do a quick check-in and re-provision in here in Nuku'alofa (Tongatapu) and then head to one of the other Tongan island groups.

Love to all,

Elizabeth

PS - In the day delay of sending this we found a bad wire between the control box and the thermostat for the fridge. We were concerned that we would have to replace the thermostat, so it was nice just to splice in a new connection where an old butt connector had corroded away :)
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At 2018-06-24 10:21 AM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 21°07.69'S 175°09.65'W

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Saturday 23 June 2018

NZ to TONGA: Day 10 - Rollicking downwind

Hello!

It has been a vigourous day of sailing. The sky is covered in a dark grey blanket of clouds (related to the trough(s) passing over us) and blue sky and sunshine or twinkling stars seem like distant memories. The wind is blowing in the high teens, and we are making efficient progress towards our destination.

I am learning that there are many variations of sailing downwind! On a broad reach, the motion of the boat is reasonably steady, depending on the wind and the swell. Today, we are deeper on the wind than that (true wind angle is set at 150 degrees) and our main and genoa are out on opposite sides (wing on wing). It is hard to describe the motion of the boat, but it seems necessary to try. We have most of the swell behind us, which is good, so there is a constant and steady back and forth motion as the crests and troughs pass beneath us, then every so often, we either get a bigger set of waves or the wind shifts to put the swells onto the quarter (corner) of the boat and we find ourselves rolling from +20 to -20 degrees of heel and back again several times in a row. The good thing is that anything that was going to fall to the floor probably did so earlier this morning, and the forces on the rig are much less than they would be if we were sailing upwind in these conditions (as we were when sailing from New Caledonia to NZ last year); the boat is making a lot fewer scary noises (banging, slamming, creaking, groaning) today than on that passage. On the other hand, it is distracting to have to hang on for dear life every couple of minutes so as not to be tossed off the benches! I just keep reminding myself that, all things considered, things could be worse :)

Victoria and I were on the lower end of the wind scale early this morning; in fact, the wind dropped to the point that starting the engine might have been in order (about 7 kts). The sails were trying to stay filled, but the boat speed was down to about 3 kts, and with each roll, the sails were rippling loudly from side to side because there wasn't enough pressure to keep them steady. I decided to try putting both sails on the same side so I could come a little harder on the wind. Since Max was off-watch, I chose to gybe the main, as I figured that Victoria and I could do this with only two of us. The thing I forgot was the alarm-clock effect of winching in the main and unfastening the preventer - Max was upstairs as the third person before we were even finished the gybe! As it turned out, his presence seemed to magically bring the wind back, and the next thing I knew we were back up to 12+ kts of wind, so we gybed the main back where it had been originally, and started galloping down our rhumb line. We haven't seen anything resembling the calms of this morning all day. While I was off-watch the wind built into the mid-teens/20s and I came back up to a boat speed higher than our windspeed had been in the morning. So it goes.

Now that I have described the motion of the boat, you will imagine the fun I had preparing dinner. With two fresh fish in the fridge, the first task was to move some of our catch to the freezer. I pressed the ziplock bags into a big bowl of water in the sink to evacuate the air (I consider this the at-sea-manual-vacuum sealer), and then put four of the six bags of fish into the freezer. That put peas on the menu for dinner, as they no longer deserved the freezer space they were taking up (although I didn't apply the same logic to the coconut rum that I left on the top rack for safekeeping; I didn't think putting it on the menu would do much for our at-sea judgement!) I took a vote in the cockpit, and the selection was a starter of sashimi (raw sliced tuna) followed by pan-seared tuna with rice and peas. With those choices out of the way, all I had to do was trim the fish and cook it. Did I mention that the galley was swaying from side to side on a constant basis, with wild rolls every couple of minutes? I put rubber mats under anything that could potentially slide off the counter, lashed the pots on the stove, and got to work. I have to admit that I didn't have much appetite by the time dinner was ready, but everyone else seemed to enjoy the offering of fish, rice, peas, and fish, topped with a mix of soya sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar; in fact, Benjamin even had seconds :) (For the record, I wasn't ill, I just wasn't hungry ...)

One of the most interesting things to write about today actually happened yesterday. We saw a boat! This is the first vessel we have seen since we were a couple of days out of NZ (other than a handful of cruisers at Minerva Reef). The surprising thing about this boat was that we (Max) spotted it with our Mark 1 eyeballs, but did not see it on AIS, even though it was a large commercial fishing vessel. This was a good reminder that there are still vessels working the South Pacific which either don't have AIS or don't choose to transmit (we have been told that they don't want to share their position). Victoria looked at it on the radar for us, and we were about 2.2 miles away at our closest point. I could see the coloured markings on the vessel with the binoculars, but I couldn't see a name or a flag. Needless to say, we were glad we have a habit of scanning the horizon every 15 minutes while we are on watch!

That's about all the news of the day. I'm about to wake Max for our first sail change since this morning: time to harden up a little, gybe the genoa over to join the main on the port side, and broad/beam reach our way to Tongatapu.

Love to all,
Elizabeth
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At 2018-06-23 8:48 AM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 21°07.68'S 175°09.65'W
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At 2018-06-23 8:48 AM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 21°07.68'S 175°09.65'W

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Thursday 21 June 2018

NZ to TONGA - Day 9 - Souvenir of Minerva - in the fridge!

Hello,

We have been sailing all day under the grey skies left over from last night's trough. Winds were forecast to gust up to 30 kts, so we were glad to be at anchor. I don't think we saw that much wind, but we certainly saw rain that came on all at once, as if someone had opened a faucet over the boat. We had closed all the hatches before sleeping, but we leapt up to close the windows, which we had left open for a little ventilation. This was the big driver for our stopover at Minerva, as it is nice to be at anchor if there is going to be a big blow. As it turned out, the trough didn't affect us as much as it did some other areas, so we just had a nice rest.

We woke in time to listen to Gulf Harbour Radio, a volunteer-run weather service that is broadcast on YouTube and HF radio out of NZ for folks travelling in the South Pacific. As ever, we were grateful for David's detailed analysis, not only of the weather we could expect, but also the factors driving it (over and above the computer weather models). I was a little surprised to hear that there were currently 40 kts of wind and 5m seas off NZ, where we had had such a benign passage last week: this is exactly why we waited so patiently for a gap in the heavy weather to head north!

By 0830, we were weighing anchor and heading towards the pass. We weren't even through to the deep water when we had a fish on one of our lures (the same one which seems to have caught all our fish this passage). I took the helm, and Max landed what we believe to be a Bigeye Tuna. We were pretty excited because we haven't had a Bigeye since the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, and they have delicious meat (four big bags, which will probably do us for eight meals). It weighed in at just over 30 lbs. Just after lunch, we hooked our second fish of the day, a smaller Bonita (another type of Tuna). Our fridge is pretty full, but I can always make room for more fish!

I loved our downwind leg out of NZ, as we were in the lee of the shore. Leaving Minerva, we entered straight into a kind of mixed sea, with swell coming from more than one direction. One we got away from the reef, we headed downwind and poled out our genoa, but it seemed pretty rolly, especially after the relative calmness of Minerva (where we only needed our sea legs a few times per day: when the water poured in over the reef at high tide, it was a bit like being back at sea, but otherwise it was calm and flat). The seas steadied out as the day wore on.

We were back into our watch rotation before lunch time, and Max and Victoria capably sailed the boat all afternoon, gybing the main as necessary to maintain our course, and ably handling windspeeds into the low 20s. I was half-awake in the saloon (having given up my usual spot on the aft bunk to Johnathan and Benjamin, who were feeling rather flat but playing well together) and I really enjoyed listening to them work together, exclaiming as the speed over ground went over 9 kts at times :)

Everyone had their sea legs by dinner time, so we put the 'lazy lasagne' into the oven, and there wasn't much of it left to put back into the fridge at the end of the evening!

We are now officially into the tropics, and the air is noticeably milder: the breeze actually feels a little warm as it wafts through the boat, and this is the first evening since we left that I haven't been totally bundled up with layers of fleece, jackets, and blankets in the cockpit (although I am still wearing two layers of leggings and wool socks! Tigers don't change their stipes that fast...) What a nice change!

On that note, I will wish our Northern Hemisphere family and friends a happy summer solstice - here's hoping that you also have warmer temperatures in your future!

Love to all,
Elizabeth
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At 2018-06-06 12:52 PM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 22°39.27'S 177°57.02'W

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Wednesday 20 June 2018

NZ to TONGA - Day 8 - Holiday at Minerva

Hello,

We have totally enjoyed our impromptu stopover at Minerva Reef :)

We had a little swim this morning, and (rare occurrence) the whole family was in the water. Benjamin had gone with Max for some swimming lessons at the highly recommended wave pool in Whangarei, so he was eager to jump into the water (or at least climb down the ladder) to join us. Benjamin's favourite trick was to do the count down for Max, Victoria, and Johnathan to jump in (Mom was on camera duty), which they would happily oblige from the side of the boat. The water temperature was 24 deg, so he was a little shivery before long, but he kept asking to go back into the water. I know a couple of big kids who used to be like that!

We moved a little in our anchorage this morning. We are already on the windward side of the lagoon, but since the forecast was for squalls overnight potentially to 30 kts, we moved over a little to be sure of having plenty of swing room, regardless of the wind direction. It was a little tedious to find a new spot, as the hazy blue shapes I could see under the water (coral bombies) were just close enough together to make it hard to find a good spot to lay out our chain. We replaced it in NZ, so I feel rather protective of its lovely, uniform grey (high-test galvanized) finish, and we want to avoid anchoring where the chain will get scraped on the coral (and of course, we want to avoid damaging the coral as well!). Our previous chain had had a hard life, and it was getting pretty rusty by the end of last season, despite being only 4 years old.

Having been to Minerva twice already, we purposefully kept our routine very simple this afternoon, and didn't even bother to launch our dinghy for only one day. This left time for a couple of quiet hours when the whole family was reading, writing, or playing peacefully; this is a surprisingly rare occurrence.

The one chore on my list for today was to soak and scrub my hemp Tilley hat. It went for a bit of a swim yesterday when we were anchoring. Thanks to Victoria's quick eye to spot it, and Max's careful Hat-overboard maneuvering (and to the little foam bit inside that kept it afloat), we were able to scoop it back aboard with a boat hook with minimal drama. I have learned that salt water and hemp fabric, for whatever reason, do not play nicely, so a thorough cleaning was necessary in order to keep it from becoming totally overcome by black spots. Thankfully, I had plenty of time for this task!

The forecast is for a trough to pass us tonight and then south-west winds to fill in which will take us to Tonga starting in the morning. We have food for the journey in the fridge, the rest of the boat is asleep, and it is time to wish you a good day.

Love to all,
Elizabeth
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At 2018-06-06 6:56 PM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 23°37.21'S 178°54.70'W

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Tuesday 19 June 2018

NZ to TONGA - Days 6 & 7 - Wind! and Minerva Reef !

Hello,

As expected our wind filled in yesterday, and I had loads of moments in my mind that I wanted to share once I sat at the chart table during my evening watch; however, by the time I sat down, I didn't feel much like writing!

We are now anchored at Minerva Reef, and I have a little more enthusiasm for bringing you up to date.

I mentioned in my last letter that Max and the big kids showered the day before yesterday while I was off watch. This meant that it was my turn yesterday morning. The wise person, waking up to no wind, would have showered straight away. I, believing the forecast, which was for the winds to fill in during the afternoon, assumed that I had time for coffee and breakfast first. How wrong I was! The wind filled in ever so gently while we were having breakfast in the cockpit, so we unfurled the genoa and silenced the engine, and heeled gently in the few knots of wind that were pushing us along. I must say that a person hasn't really showered until they have done so bracing against the lower wall of the shower and filling a little squirt bottle with a kettle over the sink!

We sailed throughout the day as if we were in a sheltered harbour, rather than crossing the open Pacific: the seas were absolutely flat calm, and there was barely a splash on the deck.

Benjamin decided early in our passage that we were doing the Volvo Ocean Race. Ever the optimist, and since we couldn't see any other boats, he determined that we were in the lead. It became a bit of a fun game for all of us to ask him if he had seen any other boats and if we were still winning. I can safely say that we have seen no other competitors on the water all week!

One of the things that can be hard to coordinate is an afternoon off-watch for Mom with supper being on the table before the 5pm sunset: there just aren't enough hours in the afternoon for one of me to do both. This conundrum has become immeasurably easier on this trip, as I have been able to leave instructions and ingredients with Victoria and Johnathan, and luxuriously wake in time to eat. On this particular occasion, we ate very well: I had left cooked potatoes and a bowl of carrots and onions available, and mentioned that some of our apples might best be used in a baked dessert, and between them, Victoria and Johnathan turned all of this into Shepherd's Pie and Apple Crisp, ready for the table as the sun was going down. I love listening to their teamwork and cooperation as I surface from under our new NZ duvet (which we still need), and appreciate the independence with which they get on with the job.

By evening, we were beginning to see changes in the cloud patterns behind us (wispy strands of high cirrus and cirrostratus were forming, like brush strokes in a painting), and the wind began to pick up and back around so we were sailing on a close reach.

By late evening, we were hard on the wind (close hauled), in 10 kts and short choppy wind waves, but not making our course for Tonga. We knew we had a couple of hard days ahead of us as a trough of bad weather passed over, and planned to sail about 30 off-course before tacking towards Tonga for the last couple of days as the wind was forecast to back significantly. At the midnight watch change, we took another look at the forecasts, our advice from Met Bob, and our overall progress, and decided that we didn't always have to do things the hard way: we could bear off, head for Minerva Reef to sit out the trough, then ride the SW winds to Tonga a couple of days later. Originally, we hadn't wanted to lose the time from our season in Tonga to stopping at Minerva, but we gave our heads a shake - after all, we are cruising - and pointed towards Minerva, which was a much more comfortable (and faster) close reach.

Max shook me at 5am for some of the fastest sailing we have ever done in Fluenta. The wind had picked up from the 10 kts I had to 14-20 kts on Max's watch, and steadied out at 12-14 kts in the morning. We decided that it was a bit unfair to ask Victoria to take this watch by herself! She and I sailed together as the mother-daughter team, keeping a close eye on the boat speed, the wind angle, the wind strength, and our ETA for Minerva Reef (having decided to go there, we needed to arrive in daylight). At one point, we turned downwind to furl some of the genoa (our standard practice is to go down to 120 deg of apparent wind to take the pressure off the sail while we furl), only to find that the wind had dropped to 11 kts by the time we were back on course, so we had to ease it out again immediately. When the wind built to staysail territory (17+ kts), we banged on the aft cabin hatch in the universal wake-up call, and Max joined us in the cockpit to reef the main (this started out as one of his jobs back in 2012, and somehow now it is always his turn). As the wind was no longer climbing, we elected to stick with the reefed genoa, as we were doubtful we would get the boatspeed we needed with the staysail. It was exhilarating, to say the least, to see our normally sedately sailed (ie max speed of about 8.0 kts) home cruising along at 7.5-9.0 kts of boat speed. Our friends on Totem (fantastic mentors on a sister ship) had a crossing where they averaged 7.5 kts, and we got a taste of it today!

Max and Victoria sailed the boat for the rest of the morning, and I headed off-watch for some much needed deep sleep (this one day reminds me how grateful we are that Victoria can generally take these dawn watches by herself!). A few short hours later, we were rounding the perimeter of North Minerva Reef, at 1330, with plenty of daylight for our entrance. With two knots of current boiling against us, we entered the lagoon for our third visit (we had also stopped here with a big group of kid boats on our southbound trip in late 2014 as well as going north in 2016). While not as benign as our first entrance, nor as grey and lumpy as our second (5m seas off-shore after we arrived), we had good visibility to enter at the pass and transit to the NW anchorage. We are one of a small handful of boats here (about five in total).

By 1530, we were anchored, the cockpit and saloon were tidied, and the kids were ready to go swimming. Even Benjamin was keen to give it a go, although with dark approaching, he got as far as dipping his toes from the ladder, and decided to leave it for another day. The big kids, on the other hand did a few good leaps off the side for the benefit of the paparazzi (me) before heading to the (hot) shower (no squirt bottle this time - we had run our furnace, which started without incident after being shaken and stirred at sea, so we had hot water in our 'summer loop').

Supper was our first meal of fish for the season: we caught several small-ish tuna in the first couple of days, and kept the only meal-sized one that appeared on our hook. This little fellow was just the right size to feed us with no leftovers. Marinated in soya sauce and seared on a hot pan, it was quite tasty with our standard rice and carrot sticks. With a little bit of leftover apple crumble to chase it down, it seemed that our first meal together in the cockpit had gotten our cruising season off to a good start. .

It looks now like we will spend a full day at Minerva, then head to Tonga the next morning.

Much love to all,

Elizabeth
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At 2018-06-06 12:50 AM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 23°37.22'S 178°54.75'W
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At 2018-06-06 12:50 AM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 23°37.22'S 178°54.75'W

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Sunday 17 June 2018

NZ to TONGA - Day 5 - Father's Day Sail on the Pacific Millpond

Hello,

We broke up our many hours of motoring today with a three-hour sail this morning when our winds built to 6 to 10 kts. It was nice to be reminded how well Fluenta sails in light airs, especially with new bottom paint and minimal seastate. It still looks like we will be motoring until sometime tomorrow, but that we have made enough northward progress that we can start sailing as soon as the wind fills in (even if we are slow) rather than waiting until we can maintain our average of 5.5 kts. This probably equates to sailing in 6-7 kts of wind, rather than waiting for 8-10+ kts we have needed with the wind so far aft and to keep up the average speeds required to keep ahead of the forecast unpleasant winds. All the kids migrated downstairs, and it was lovely to spend some time in the cockpit, actually sailing Fluenta together, the light winds necessitating regular trimming and course changes to keep the sails drawing.

It was Father's Day in this timezone, so we celebrated Max with brunch in the morning and maintenance in the afternoon :) Fried eggs and French Toast were on the menu, along with some of the maple syrup my dad brought us from Canada.

After lunch Max found a minor diesel leak in the engine compartment while doing engine checks; I looked up from my off-watch snooze in the aft bunk to see him crouched on the galley floor with a roll of Rescue Tape in his hands, and knew that something was up. There was a minor leak at another injector on the engine side (similar to the problem we had in Noumea, but in a different location) and we will deal with it further in Tonga. For now it is taped. [Lessons learned in the past from compression fittings - it is tempting to tighten it "just a little more" but they are easy to overtighten resulting in a worse leak. I have the correct spare so I will fix it when safely at anchor. Max]

Our fridge continues to operate in a very manual mode: we open the engine compartment panel, lash a fan next to the high pressure cutoff, run the water pump using an auxiliary switch we installed (ie without the compressor) and once the whole thing seems cold enough, push the overpressure reset button, and the system whirs to life. We run it for a long while (90 minutes) and repeat the process on the next watch. On the bright side, we have cooling, and our fridge full of meat is at a record -11 degrees and even the top layer is frozen solid. [for the folks that are worried it the compressor itself overpressuring, the big compressor never actually runs in this scenario but rather the refrigerant gets warm sitting statically in the engine compartment which increases its pressure and the overpressure cut off switch opens the electrical power circuit to the compressor stopping it even starting. The system is water cooled so once it is running the engine compartment temperature is not an issue. Max]

Max and Johnathan further cemented their father-son relationship today by transferring the last of the diesel from our jerry cans into our main tanks. I was off-watch, but I understand that they got most of it in the tanks and only some of it on Johnathan :) Given the calm seastate, you can imagine that he was thrilled with the 'opportunity' to take a squirt-bottle shower when they were finished. [Aside: this is a trick we inspired by our friends on NAUTILUS a few years ago - we boil the kettle, but a little water in the bottom of a ketchup bottle, fill the rest with tap water, and shower. We get 'clean enough' with only a few bottles each, and it is easier than using the furnace or the generator to heat our domestic tank. The heat exchanger to restore our ability to heat our water tank when we run the engine is already on our "Phase 2" list for the heater installation; it just didn't make the cut when we ordered the rest of the system from the US earlier in the year.

Victoria has been documenting our position every day at noon, so today she took advantage of the calm conditions to transfer all the marks to the chart. It was a good learning opportunity (that few North American students get) to use a chart on which the date line (180 meridian) runs up the middle: she learned that East and West are important distinctions, as the first time she drew all the dots they didn't actually form a straight line. It wasn't long before she had all our daily positions accurately marked. Our sextant hasn't quite made it out of the cupboard in quite awhile, there is always tomorrow ... or the next passage ...

Once again, we are motoring under a clear starry night. The winds are gusting to 2 kts. In a few days, this location will see 20-30 kts, with commensurate seastate, so I am delighted that we have a reliable engine to take us through these calms, and on Father's Day especially, that my kids have a dad who keeps all the systems going (and that Max and I have dads who inspire us and support us as we take this journey with our children).

Big hugs to everyone at home on Father's Day,

Love,
Elizabeth
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At 2018-06-06 1:41 PM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 27°01.17'S 178°49.86'W

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Saturday 16 June 2018

NZ to TONGA - Day 4 - Fridge Maintenance, fueling, and shooting stars

Hello!

I was gearing up to write about an uneventful day of sitting lazily in the cockpit with the engine running, less than 5 kts of wind, and minimal seastate, with the biggest decision being whether to read a book or a magazine, when Max asked shortly before lunch time if I could hear water running for our fridge. I couldn't. It turned out that the pump was leaking a little, and it wasn't pushing enough cooling water around the system to keep the refrigerant below its cutoff pressure so the fridge was cutting out while we were motoring.

This seems like a good moment to mention that our freezer is filled to capacity with several hundred dollars' worth of NZ beef, chicken, and pork, enough to do us until we reach Fiji and then some, and also to mention that it will be at least another 24 hours, if not longer before we will get sailing winds again (and the engine compartment will be cooler).

We had talked about getting a spare pump for our fridge while we were in NZ, but given some of the other pressures on our budget, and the fact that we could always rob the pump from our heating system (where we had used our spare fridge pump as our auxiliary pump), we had put it on the 'next season' list. Max was about to get out the vice-grips to break into the heating system when he remembered that we had a very rusty pump from our friends' boat, where he had removed their heating system back in New Caledonia. I had intended to stow it behind a cubby, but it had ended up in an open compartment instead, so I didn't even have to look very hard to find it!

We decided that as with all maintenance, fridge reparations would be best on full tummies (and I already had the meat and cheese out getting warm at room temperature), so we had sandwiches all around, and then Max and Johnathan went to work. As I went off-watch, he had just put power to the pump from the cubby and found that it worked (this is not a given for an aging piece of kit that has been in storage for a while, so it was a relief that it could create suction). By the time I surfaced in time to eat the dinner that Victoria had cooked, they had the fridge running happily again. We have decided to keep it in a manual mode for a few days so we can watch it, but it looks like we are back in business (thanks HONEY!)[Update fridge still working on the second manual run but takes some coaxing as appears engine room maybe is hotter than normal even with the engine temp itself normal. Max]

The other fun-cruise-line activity that occurred during my off-watch was refueling the aft tank from our jerry cans. We brought several jerry cans with us, filled with diesel (normally some would also be gasoline, but this time we maximized our ability to motor) and as we use up fuel from our internal tanks, we transfer diesel from the jerry cans. This used to be an especially onerous undertaking, as the fill hole is in the floor just aft of the binnacle, surrounded on all sides by the cockpit benches, and we had no easy way to make the transfer, but the purchase of a simple siphoning handpump has made all the difference. We still try to move fuel only in calm conditions, and to have a second pair of hands available to hold hoses and spouts steady, but it can now be accomplished without necessarily spilling any of our fuel on our cushions or floor [or me or Johnathan. Max]

This evening I grabbed to chance to 'make memories' with Johnathan and Benjamin, my night-time crew, both of whom have a fondness for hanging out down below playing video games. The sky was perfectly clear, and the outside temperature has warmed up to the point that we weren't shivering under quite so many layers anymore, so we took a couple of cockpit chairs and snuggled together on the aft deck 'watching for shooting stars' (which is actually Mom-code for sitting chatting and listening to the ideas that are never quite important enough to air during the busy day). It is so easy to live in five parallel solitudes, even on a small boat, now that everyone has independent books and games that occupy them. I realized that if I didn't initiate these moments, then they wouldn't happen by accident. We even saw a few shooting stars!

That's about all the news of the day. We are in the surreal situation of motoring across an absolutely placid Pacific, knowing that heavy weather is anticipated for this location early next week. We still have hundreds of miles to go before we are north of the expected system. All is well at the moment, but we are keeping an eye on the forecast and our diesel tanks, balancing the need to cover distance with fuel supplies. We think we have another day of motoring, and then hopefully we can start sailing again.

Love to all,
Elizabeth
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At 2018-06-06 2:16 PM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 29°05.64'S 179°55.46'E

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Friday 15 June 2018

NZ to TONGA - Day 3 - Clear sunny skies

Hello!

A quick note tonight as I am about to go off watch. We had a lovely day on the water today - clear skies, minimal sea state, and sunshine. We caught a couple of fish, neither of which was very big, but we kept one as it died on the way in, and threw the other back to keep growing. Johnathan volunteered for the filleting job, and now two tidy fillets are sitting in the fridge awaiting their turn in the frying pan (after we finish the fresh food that we took from NZ ... they may find themselves in the freezer tomorrow!)

Benjamin is quite keen to be the 'helper-guy' - whether it is handing over the (sheathed) kill knife when we catch a fish or watching for uninhabited islands that Capt Cook missed, he is our man :) He is at the age where he takes most things literally: at one point, Max, Victoria, and I were securing the spinnaker pole for the night and Johnathan was filleting a fish, and we told him that he was on watch in the cockpit. He immediately stood on the combing (the outer edge of the cockpit) with 'one hand for the boat' on the dodger roof. When I suggested that he would be safer sitting on that ledge, he explained that he couldn't sit because he was 'standing' watch.

Today has seen a combination of wing-on-wing sailing and motoring, as the wind worked its way down in strength. We have been motoring most of the evening/night, and we expect at least another 36 hrs like this before the winds fill in again. It is warming up slowly, slowly: I even spent some of tonight's night watch sitting on the back deck watching the stars (in stark contrast to sitting well inside the rain enclosure two nights ago bundled up in multiple layers of fleece and blankets!

Love to all,
Elizabeth
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At 2018-06-06 1:31 PM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 31°24.29'S 178°25.90'E

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Thursday 14 June 2018

NZ to TONGA - Day 1 & 2 - A beautiful start to our northward migration

Hello!

It is months since I have sat at the chart table, on watch, and updated you on our daily doings. We are back at sea, and our cruising season has officially begun. Starting this trip from New Zealand yesterday felt like a bit of a milestone, as it marked what we believe will be the beginning of our trip home to Canada. Over the next 18 months, we expect to continue northwards through the tropics to Alaska, and then down to BC. I am somewhat hesitant to put this in print, as all our plans are 'subject to change' but this is the current scenario.

We had a beautiful sunny day on which to clear customs yesterday morning. Weeks of preparation and weather delays had finally culminated in the only departure window for the whole month of June; if we had missed this window, we would likely have been staying in NZ until July, so we were pretty motivated to stow the last of the groceries, lash everything into place, and get going!

I find it a bit like playing the children's game of "Whackamole" when it is time to be ready to go, as every last bit of surface clutter that our family accumulates need to find a secure home for the passage (while making sure that important items are not stashed away in some obscure location never to be seen again). "How long does it take to be ready?" can be a tough question to answer!

Nonetheless, we moved to the fuel dock shortly after it opened, took on more fuel than we ever have at one time (we left carrying a total of 170 gallons, including our jerry cans), cleared customs at our assigned time (1100), stowed the last few things and had a quick lunch (I have learned not to leave when everyone is on the verge of an empty stomach), and left through the dredged channel at 1300 (exactly at low tide). It was rather surreal to have a beach close enough on either side that we could have judged a sand-castle contest as we motored by!

Once we were out of Whangarei Harbour and the sails were set, we went right into our watch rotation. Setting our sails seems to merit a bit of a mention, as we are going DOWNWIND. We can hardly even remember the last time we needed our preventer (the line which runs forward from our boom to the rail to steady the sail, and help to prevent an accidental gybe). We had almost forgotten how pleasant it could be to run downwind in a minimal seastate in 15kts. Even the kids commented on how much more uncomfortable it would have been to be doing what had become our usual close reach. This is why people go sailing!

Victoria was the chef for our first dinner :) We discovered simple grocery store meat pies when we were on the hardstand in Tauranga, and I put several trays in the fridge before we left, so all she had to do was turn on the oven and heat the required number. Everyone's tummy was cooperating, so we all enjoyed them at the evening watch change.

I came on watch after supper. What a dark night it was! We have a brand-new moon, so we had nothing but stars for company. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, so I had a spectacular view of stars and galaxies whenever I ventured out of the warmth of our enclosed cockpit (which I must admit took some motivation!). By midnight, I was getting foggy, so Max took the watch. This is pretty typical of our first couple of nights - we each stand watch as long as we are safely able, and over the next few days the night watches (and therefore the off-watches) get longer and longer.

The luxury of having growing children is that they begin to take watches themselves! Victoria is an early-bird, so she volunteered to come watch at 0500, which meant I could doze beside her in the cockpit. As dawn approached, she remembered to deploy our fishing lines, politely asking me if I could wake up long enough to watch her as she was out of the cockpit :)

Once we had enough light to see what we were doing, it was time to pole out our genoa, in order to point more directly downwind. We generally try to do our foredeck activities in daylight and with at least two people available; it was ideal today that we had three to set up the pole. It might be a little hard to picture it, so I will explain: we keep our spinnaker pole fastened to our mast when we are underway, and we can either use it for the spinnaker or the genoa. It has a line fastened to one end (the uphaul) and the other end is fixed to a track on the mast (with a pulley system to raise and lower it). Poling out the Genoa does the same kind of thing as putting the preventer on the main - it keeps the sail in position so it stays full of air, and minimizes the slatting and banging as the boat rolls. Victoria was in the cockpit controlling the uphaul and 'foreguy' (the line from the pole to the bow). I was at the mast lowering the fixed end with the pulley. Max was at the bow with the business end of the pole making sure that all four lines (fore guy, after guy, uphaul, and running genoa sheet) were routed through its jaws and clip points correctly. When everything was set, the pole ended up pretty much perpendicular to the mast and in line with the mainsail. Once the pole was in place, we unfurled most of the genoa to fly it in the space we had created. It took some patience (and re-work) to get the lines all routed properly, but we were much quicker when we gybed the pole to the other side just before sunset.

The main excitement this morning was the realization that we were not the only ones migrating north. Victoria noticed the water spouts of some whales at a distance. We believe she and Max saw Humpback whales, making their way north from Antarctica to have their babies in Tonga. We hope to see them there :)

We often joke about the 'tv' stations we have onboard: eg AIS TV lets us watch for other boats, FISH TV lets us see fish under the boat with our fishfinder, etc. We have added a channel back into our selection this season: TEMP TV lets us monitor the water temperature under the keel, and we have it on our display for the first time since Mexico (we replaced the speed/distance sensor this season). It has been great fun to watch the temperature climb since we left yesterday (so far we have gone from 14 deg to about 19 deg in 0.01 increments).

Sometimes the tricky thing about being a mom on watch is figuring out how to handle the bedtime routines. Last night, Benjamin played downstairs until he was tired then came up to the cockpit, arranged himself (wearing his harness and tether) under a blanket, and fell asleep on the floor; tonight, he insisted on doing his 'list' with me even though I had been off-watch for a couple of hours and wanted to be sleeping. Oh well, it is always interesting!

I'm about to go off-watch; I will wake Victoria for her 0430 start, and Max will be the duty parent in the cockpit. We are cruising along at 5-6 kts now; the wind picked up about an hour ago when I threatened to start the engine :) The forecast is for the wind to drop off sometime today, and then we will have to start the engine to motor for what could be a couple of days of calms. This is not the place to dawdle and wait for the wind to fill in, as another system is expected to move through here early next week, and we want to be well north of it!

All well on board - I hope this first-in-a-long-time note finds you well too.

Love to all,
Elizabeth
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At 2018-06-06 6:00 PM (utc) SV Fluenta's position was 33°10.75'S 177°08.44'E

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Monday 11 June 2018

How to Track Fluenta On-Line - PredictWind and YIT

As we prepare to head offshore again, a reminder that you can generally find our location on-line in two spots.

The first is http://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Fluenta provided through Predictwind and our Iridium Go device we purchased through them two years ago.  This is updated automatically approximately every hour.  A quick note to say that the service from Predictwind has been amazing - perhaps the best customer service we have seen in the marine industry.   Long on my "to do" list has been a blog post on how to look at weather data and generally communicate when we we are "off grid".



The other way to track Fluenta is the Yachts in Transit website run by David and Patricia of Gulf Harbour Radio.  You can our see our posts at https://www.yit.nz/yacht/fluenta. This one is not automatically updated but I generally try to update it every day on passage and when we change anchorages.  Beyond the location details I usually add a note about the weather and what we are up to (and the fish report).   David and Patricia provide an amazing service to the fleet with their daily weather discussion. Once it is fixed, these updates will link to my Facebook account again. 






As in previous years, a reminder that if you notice that the tracking is not working do not revert to "panic stations".  There are all sorts of technical and operator issues that could cause the systems to not work.  If we do have an actual emergency we will activate the EPIRB or PLB(s), use the SOS buttons on the Iridium Handheld and/or call RCC directly.








Sunday 10 June 2018

10 Month Maintenance Summary - Vanuatu to New Zealand




It has been ten months since I posted the last maintenance summary in Vanuatu.  The output from my spreadsheet is at the bottom of the blog post but here is the summary of the more significant items.

Improvements:

Maintenance on a cruising boat is pretty relentless but it is nice to be able to do some improvements rather than just trying to tread water.

- New 12 kW (41,000 BTU/Hr) Eberspacher hydronic diesel heater to heat all three cabins, the saloon and the domestic water.  Yes, you heard correctly, hot water ! Very luxurious.  We have it partly installed now - we have heat to the saloon, the aft cabin and to the domestic water.  The rest we will put in before we leave the tropics again as well as adding details like thermostats in each cabin.   Interesting installation.     We bought it from a company that does not normally deal with boats and their recommended installer had never put in any type of heater before.   The installer were experienced boat builders and good folks but it would have cost a fortune to pay them them to learn how to install it and really it is all within the DIY level if perhaps tedious. Ironically, the two companies that were the most help were the ones that logistics made it impractical to hire.  Malcom of Aquaplumb in Auckland was a great help.  Over coffee one morning on Fluenta he talked us through the design and then showed me through an install he was putting into a big motor boat over at the Viaduct.  The other great resource was Cliff of NW Marine Air.  He also helped us a lot with the design and we look forward to being closer to his operation when we get over to his neighbourhood to have our heater looked over.

- New to us Honda 20HP Four Stroke.  Friends of ours upgraded and were days away from leaving New Zealand for French Polynesia and it still had not sold.  Our old 15 HP could now longer get the tender up on a plane with the whole family onboard and was 16 years old.  My epoxy repair of the carburetor bowl had held for two years but I was starting to look at replacing the carburetor and other expensive parts.  A newer outboard started to look very attractive ... As a bonus, it is so much quieter, fuel efficient and pollutes less.  Also more complicated so I have bought the shop manual for it and made sure I did the annual maintenance myself here in NZ in case I had any problems.

- Mostly connected with the heater installation, but we also added a thermostatic valve to the hot water tank so the hot water coming out to the taps is below scalding.  Previously the "hot" water was either cold if we had not run the engine recently or about 80C (scalding time of 1/4 to 1/2 a second depending on which reference you use) if we had run the engine.

- Battery watering system:  not a big project but nice to have.  Rather than topping up each of our eight flooded batteries individually, I can now fill them at one of three fill spots without having to pull the vents apart.  As half of our house bank is under our bunk this is a nice improvement.

- 40 Amp 240 Hz 50Hz battery charger.  Again, not very exciting at first glance but it is really nice to be able to plug into the shore power on those rare dock visits.  It is "dual power" so it can also work on 120V 60Hz and as such provides a backup to our 100A charger that we use with the Honda generator.

Larger Maintenance Projects

Hard to define what is "larger" rather than just maintenance required to keep us operational but here are some of the bigger or more expensive projects:

- Easy but expensive: the three year service of the liferaft.  Nothing was wrong but holy cow is that expensive.
- Easy but also expensive: replaced our 300 ft of anchor chain.  The previous chain was only four years old but was flaking so badly we did not feel comfortable just regalvanizing it.  Considering we are at anchor more often than not by a large margin this seemed like a good investment.  A specialist chain and rope company was able to import some imperial size chain from Italy to avoid us having to change the windlass gypsy too.
- Replaced six thru hulls and sea cocks with Tru Design reinforced plastic ones.  These are not going to corrode !  A reminder if you use their thru hulls you need to add the reinforcing collar for them to  ABYC compliant.
- Had all of the cockpit and dodger canvas restiched.
- Had all of the sails surveyed and repaired as required. Twice in fact as the first time they only did the survey and forgot to do the repairs. The sailmaker was very apologetic, came to where we sailed to,  and did the repairs personally.
- Liz used a borrowed sewing machine to put new covers on our cockpit cushions and completely restiched our dingy chaps.  The old cockpit cushions had been ripping for about three years and the material was so shot the patches had nothing to attach to anymore. The old dingy chaps were hilarious before the repair - almost every seam of the finest Mexican thread had let go - and flapped like a threadbare ghost as we (tried) to zoom by.
- Liz and the kids reskinned the bottom of our old rhib.
- The Torrid hot water tank had developed a small leak.  Wendall and I were able to wrestle it out iof its mounting location and get it into the boatyard's DIY workshop.  With a really big impact driver we were able to finally remove and replace the anode, clean out the gunk that had accumulated over 14 years and even put it back into the boat without leaks.  Sounds easy but ... it wasn't.  We had great support from Torrid during the whole process.
- My seven year old Spinlock was falling apart, and using some birthday money, I bought a two year old but unused Spinlock lifejacket with a AIS MOB unit.

New anchor chain.  The old chain did not only look bad it had flaked so badly I could measure a difference between the link diameters.  Certainly not worth trying to regalvanize.
Liz recovered our cushions.  Our old ones were so tired the patches had nothing to attach to.
Here is the output from my spreadsheet.  I have cleaned it up a bit by removing some of the less interesting columns.  Some of these items are quick jobs - check the engine zincs for example - whereas others such as the heater installation took weeks.

Date Item
Category
23-Aug-17 check autopilot bolt torques 3 mon autopilot
23-Aug-17 aft water tank sensor
electrical
23-Aug-17 new dingy stern line
Rigging
27-Aug-17 Yamaha 2hp - 20 hr/3 mon maintenance - gear oil, greasing points, water from tell tale,
outboard
27-Aug-17 Yamaha 2hp - annual service 12 mon outboard
27-Aug-17 Yamaha – prep for storage
outboard
27-Aug-17 lock for small outboard mount
outboard
27-Aug-17 Pressure water filter 4 mon plumbing
27-Aug-17 locktite lifeline gate
Safety
28-Aug-17 replace bilge float switch
plumbing
28-Aug-17 replace hose for gulper bilge pump
plumbing
28-Aug-17 clean bilge and bottle storage

29-Aug-17 check alternator belt tension 50 engine
29-Aug-17 galley tap leak – Moen Legend 7300
plumbing
29-Aug-17 RHIB hoist lines – replace lift rings
Rigging
29-Aug-17 stove sparker
electrical
02-Sep-17 icebox drain filter 3 mon plumbing
02-Sep-17 plugged reefer drain line
plumbing
02-Sep-17 adjust reefer temps higher
reefer
03-Sep-17 adjust aft lower cotter pin
Rigging
08-Sep-17 engine water strainer 60 days Engine
08-Sep-17 Engine zinc 60 days Engine
08-Sep-17 Oil cooler zinc – replaced 60 days Engine
08-Sep-17 check fuel filter bowls Monthly Engine
08-Sep-17 clean watermaker sea strainer 2 Mon watermaker
08-Sep-17 clean watermaker pleated filter 2 Mon watermaker
08-Sep-17 clean reefer strainer and bowl 2 Mon reefer
10-Sep-17 adjust alternator regulator to 14.8V: Bv+14.8, Av=14.7
electrical
11-Sep-17 Corrosion preventative for ignition key and engine kill knob 6 mon Engine
11-Sep-17 aft head u/s – replaced joker valve
plumbing
11-Sep-17 adjust fridge temp cooler – back to index mark
reefer
12-Sep-17 aft head overhaul 12 mon plumbing
18-Sep-17 dingy fuel tank lid leak
dingy
19-Sep-17 defrost freezer
reefer
23-Sep-17 Battery water and clean battery top - aft - 60 days – check and levels fine 45 days battery water
23-Sep-17 Battery water - start battery - 60 days – levels fine 120 days battery water
23-Sep-17 hull/Prop clean Monthly
28-Sep-17 Test SSB/Pactor and weatherfax 3 mon Electronics
28-Sep-17 Watermaker product rate drops to zero on Clark pump shifts – test flow rate
watermaker
03-Oct-17 reflective tape – dodger top
Safety
03-Oct-17 reflective tape – additional – outboard
Safety
20-Oct-17 Grease autopilot rod end bearing 6 mon lazerrete
21-Oct-17 vacuum/clean wind gen controller 2 Mon
21-Oct-17 check fuel filter bowls Monthly Engine
21-Oct-17 Oil Filter Change 250 engine
21-Oct-17 Oil (100 hrs) - 7.95L of oil 125 engine
22-Oct-17 update AIS Coastal CPA settings
Electronics
22-Oct-17 replace chafed end of staysail halyard
Rigging
23-Oct-17 replace shock cord on SUP

24-Oct-17 modify outboard hoisting straps
outboard
24-Oct-17 replace preventer shock cord
Rigging
24-Oct-17 add turning block for genoa furler when flying staysail on port tack
Rigging
24-Oct-17 Trickle tiller bracket repair
Trickle
24-Oct-17 Trickle rudder pintle
Trickle
24-Oct-17 varnish Trickle rudder and tiller
Trickle
25-Oct-17 Autopilot - check bolt torque 3 mon autopilot
25-Oct-17 rudder stops – check and replace rubber 12 mon lazerrete
25-Oct-17 autopilot brush and hyd fluid check 3 mon autopilot
25-Oct-17 Steering cable tightness - check quarterly 3 mon Lazerrete
25-Oct-17 check and lubricate steering cable 6 mon Lazerrete
26-Oct-17 Service max prop – Aug 2017 12 mon haulout
27-Oct-17 lube mainsail track
Rigging
27-Oct-17 upmast rigging check
Rigging
27-Oct-17 reflective tape on mast – 2' section on each side
Safety
29-Oct-17 top up coolant – approx 1L
Engine
29-Oct-17 replace mainfurl line
Rigging
29-Oct-17 top up of compass

30-Oct-17 Outboard 15 hp grease plus corrosion spray on throttle cables 3 mon outboard
30-Oct-17 Windlass - bimonthly 2 Mon Grease
30-Oct-17 mainfurl - Grease the grease nipple on the aft end of the spar. 2 Mon Grease
30-Oct-17 Outboard 15hpsparkplugs 6 mon outboard
30-Oct-17 engine air filter check 125 engine
30-Oct-17 Outboard 15 hpfuel filter 6 mon outboard
30-Oct-17 trickle hoisting - low friction rings
Trickle
31-Oct-17 Outboard 15 hp gear oil 6 mon outboard
31-Oct-17 fix dingy painter for remove chafe spot
Rigging
01-Nov-17 Engine zinc 60 days Engine
01-Nov-17 Oil cooler zinc 60 days Engine
01-Nov-17 engine water strainer 60 days Engine
01-Nov-17 clean reefer strainer and bowl 2 Mon reefer
01-Nov-17 check alternator belt tension 50 engine
01-Nov-17 alternator x 3 and starter - check wiring 125 engine
02-Nov-17 clean watermaker sea strainer 2 Mon watermaker
02-Nov-17 clean watermaker pleated filter 2 Mon watermaker
02-Nov-17 reconfigure Wirie
Electronics
02-Nov-17 Test high water alarm
Safety
02-Nov-17 Test and clean contacts MOB light
Safety
03-Nov-17 Prop/shaft zincs 2 mon
03-Nov-17 Check , clean/sand and grease steering sheave above shaft
Rigging
04-Nov-17 hull/Prop clean Monthly
04-Nov-17 NZ chart – confirm
Charts
04-Nov-17 Tighten alternator#1 positive connection
electrical
04-Nov-17 replace reefer water pump
reefer
04-Nov-17 replace reefer water sea strainer
reefer
04-Nov-17 test Iridium Satphone
Safety
05-Nov-17 temp repair on coolant leak
Engine
05-Nov-17 test Furuno weather fax 12 mon Safety
05-Nov-17 replace TDS meter batteries
WM
05-Nov-17 Polish Dodger

06-Nov-17 temp repair to aft injector nuts
Engine
07-Nov-17 Impeller replacement 250 engine
07-Nov-17 aft cabin stbd fan
electrical
07-Nov-17 Program wx fax for NZ
Electronics
07-Nov-17 fixed leak on aft injector nut
Engine
07-Nov-17 calibrate barometers
Safety
07-Nov-17 fix boat clock

08-Nov-17 anchor shackle - check and replace seizing 3 mon Rigging
08-Nov-17 Windlass Service - preseason service - every 6 mon 6 mon Grease
08-Nov-17 make 240V shore power cable
electrical
08-Nov-17 steering cable – marker tape and grease cable
Rigging
09-Nov-17 Battery water and clean battery top - aft - 60 days 45 days battery water
09-Nov-17 vacuum/clean wind gen controller 2 Mon
09-Nov-17 check battery terminal torques and water levels
electrical
09-Nov-17 Temp repair positive boot on alternator#1
electrical
09-Nov-17 replace ring connector for battery monitor positive
electrical
09-Nov-17 reefer cooling water leak at end of condensor
reefer
12-Nov-17 Replace second from back high pressure fuel line
Engine
15-Nov-17 Clean and lube all blocks, lube mainsail track
Rigging
24-Nov-17 reefer water pump – not getting prime

27-Nov-17 check fuel filter bowls Monthly Engine
27-Nov-17 Chartplotter reset to default all by itself – reloaded data and config
Electronics
27-Nov-17 tighten nut for throttle linkage
Engine
27-Nov-17 Add 2xfenders and replace fender lines x 1
Rigging
28-Nov-17 Battery water and clean battery top- fwd - 60 days 90 days battery water
28-Nov-17 check windlass oil level 3 mon windlass
28-Nov-17 question for Simrad wrt chartplotter slowing down and not seeing AP computer
Electronics
28-Nov-17 contact Navico – charplotter resets to default and goes laggy
Electronics
28-Nov-17 update PW Offshore and provide feedback
IT
28-Nov-17 test outboard gear oil
outboard
29-Nov-17 update triton keypad software
Electronics
29-Nov-17 update chartplotter software x3
Electronics
29-Nov-17 replace Honda generator
Generator
29-Nov-17 replace screws for cct panel

30-Nov-17 Autopilot - check bolt torque 3 mon autopilot
30-Nov-17 autopilot brush and hyd fluid check 3 mon autopilot
30-Nov-17 check alternator belt tension 50 engine
30-Nov-17 Inspect autopilot drive – tightened screws and bolts, replaced one bolt
autopilot
30-Nov-17 plug for end of water towed generator when not in use– dummy plug ?
electrical
30-Nov-17 test Webasto heater
heater
01-Dec-17 replace propane sensor
electrical
03-Dec-17 temp cover for rigid SUP

03-Dec-17 fix oil lamp – check wick and replace oil

04-Dec-17 HF ant wire - renew - SSB GTO15 connection - battery lug to bulldog clamp. Fill lug with solder and cover with heat shrink 12 mon
04-Dec-17 hull/Prop clean Monthly
04-Dec-17 engine air filter check – cleaned in kersonese 125 engine
04-Dec-17 temp kiteboard bag
kite
04-Dec-17 short windlass stick

05-Dec-17 drill eyes in anchor rubbing block for mounting
anchor roller
05-Dec-17 rubber under anchor roller
anchor roller
05-Dec-17 new fire extinguisher for aft cabin
Safety
05-Dec-17 Watermaker – test accumulator pressure – was 20 psi, now 60+ psi
watermaker
06-Dec-17 Rigging check by rigger 12 mon Rigging
06-Dec-17 rebed traveller bolts – 2 from port and farthest stbd
rebed
06-Dec-17 Rigger check steering cables and sheeves
Rigging
07-Dec-17 Outboard 15 hp gear oil 6 mon outboard
07-Dec-17 Outboard 15hpsparkplugs 6 mon outboard
07-Dec-17 repair BCD
dive
07-Dec-17 Diesel leak at injector pump – new gaskets for injector pump
Engine
07-Dec-17 tune up for outboard – compression check – was down to 90 psi – now 100 psi
outboard
07-Dec-17 Outboard – saltwater in gear oil
outboard
07-Dec-17 Rig tune – 1.5 tighter on cap shrouds and aft lower
Rigging
07-Dec-17 clean corrosion on inner forestay highfield lever and inspect
Rigging
07-Dec-17 Re-bed staysail tack padeye
Rigging
10-Dec-17 defrost freezer
reefer
11-Dec-17 update Open CPN
IT
11-Dec-17 hydrofoil for outboard
outboard
11-Dec-17 Rod out flush holes in toilet bowl aft
plumbing
12-Dec-17 Steering cable tightness - check quarterly 3 mon Lazerrete
12-Dec-17 check and lubricate steering cable 6 mon Lazerrete
12-Dec-17 increase clearance between port steering cable and sheave crossbar
Rigging
12-Dec-17 replace Port steering cable – meat hook
Rigging
23-Dec-17 engine water strainer 60 days Engine
23-Dec-17 test engine over temp alarm
Engine
27-Dec-17 icebox drain filter 3 mon plumbing
27-Dec-17 Outboard 15 hpanode 6 mon outboard
27-Dec-17 outboard choke handle
outboard
27-Dec-17 replacement rigid SUP Cover

28-Dec-17 resecure engine over temp alarm
Engine
28-Dec-17 install new leash for inflatable SUP

31-Dec-17 Battery water and clean battery top - aft - 60 days 45 days battery water
31-Dec-17 check fuel filter bowls Monthly Engine
31-Dec-17 battery watering system
electrical
31-Dec-17 pickle watermaker
WM
01-Jan-18 clean reefer strainer and bowl 2 Mon reefer
01-Jan-18 vacuum/clean wind gen controller 2 Mon
02-Jan-18 Engine zinc 60 days Engine
02-Jan-18 Oil cooler zinc 60 days Engine
02-Jan-18 temp cover for stbd aft saloon window
rebed
02-Jan-18 temp cover fwd head
rebed
02-Jan-18 replace gasket for window above galley
rebed
03-Jan-18 Re-epoxy dodger snap – port of centre

13-Jan-18 Honda Outboard - Greasing, Check starter rope, general inspection 6 mon outboard
29-Jan-18 anchor shackle - check and replace seizing 3 mon Rigging
29-Jan-18 ferrites on battery monitor
Electronics
29-Jan-18 fridge crack in gelcoat
reefer
29-Jan-18 Inflatable SUP – glue fin
SUP
29-Jan-18 anchor shackle – replace wire tie

30-Jan-18 window gasket – stbd aft cabin
rebed
30-Jan-18 window gasket – aft head
rebed
31-Jan-18 Heat exchanger flush/clean
Engine
31-Jan-18 leak in propane hose and regulator
propane
31-Jan-18 reefer refrigerant
reefer
31-Jan-18 Dodger repair
Sewing
31-Jan-18 replacement windlass cover
sewing
31-Jan-18 Dodger/rain enclosure/bimini to Peter for restich as required, flaps for running rigging, velcro for side doors
Sewing
31-Jan-18 infill repair
Sewing
31-Jan-18 replace propane regulator

31-Jan-18 replace propane pressure gauge/gasfuse

02-Feb-18 replace genoa uv strip – restiched 4 years sailmaker
02-Feb-18 Genoa inspection 12 mon sail
02-Feb-18 mainsail inspection 12 mon sail
02-Feb-18 staysail inspection 12 mon sail
02-Feb-18 engine water strainer 60 days Engine
02-Feb-18 Reefer – odd noise
reefer
02-Feb-18 reefer motor brushes 24mm of 30.7mm
reefer
02-Feb-18 sail inspections
sail
02-Feb-18 Mainsail – new batten pocket sacrificial layers
sail
02-Feb-18 staysail bag mod
Sewing
02-Feb-18 replace forward dodger clears
Sewing
03-Feb-18 Engine coolant change 13L 12 mon Engine
03-Feb-18 replace exhaust elbow 3 years Engine
03-Feb-18 replace exhaust hose from elbow to waterlift muffler – 60mm ID by 210 cm 3 years Engine
03-Feb-18 replace engine thermostat 4 years Engine
03-Feb-18 coolant leak at heat exchanger
Engine
03-Feb-18 replace rubber hoses for raw water
Engine
03-Feb-18 clean bilge

04-Feb-18 check fuel filter bowls Monthly Engine
04-Feb-18 deck caulking near boarding ladder
deck
04-Feb-18 tighten nut for engine alternator connections
electrical
04-Feb-18 Clean engine pan and replace oil absorbent pads
Engine
04-Feb-18 knife on aft deck
Safety
04-Feb-18 replace pushpit knife
Safety
04-Feb-18 anchor tightening with turnbuckle

05-Feb-18 Engine – slight overtemp – 200F ?
Engine
08-Feb-18 reregister EPRIB/PLB annual Safety
08-Feb-18 leak check propane system 1 mon
11-Feb-18 Prop/shaft zincs 2 mon
11-Feb-18 hull/Prop clean Monthly
11-Feb-18 refit gasfuse

12-Feb-18 replace mainsail tack and clew lines 12 mon sails
12-Feb-18 Run Webasto Heater 2 Mon heater
15-Feb-18 Windlass - bimonthly 2 Mon Grease
15-Feb-18 mainfurl - Grease the grease nipple on the aft end of the spar. 2 Mon Grease
15-Feb-18 Outboard 15 hp grease plus corrosion spray on throttle cables 3 mon outboard
15-Feb-18 test EPIRB annual Safety
15-Feb-18 Watermaker carbon filter 6 mon WM
15-Feb-18 Battery water and clean battery top - aft - 60 days 45 days battery water
15-Feb-18 update AIS Firmware
IT
27-Feb-18 120V leakage into hull ? Isolate one wire from “outlet port”
electrical
28-Feb-18 check bilge pump vented loop annual plumbing
28-Feb-18 check sink drain vented loop annual plumbing
28-Feb-18 Replace 3/8” refrigerant line from thermostats to under floor
reefer
01-Mar-18 vacuum plump and refill refrigerant – approx 1.25 kg
reefer
02-Mar-18 Engine zinc - Replaced 60 days Engine
02-Mar-18 Oil cooler zinc- change next month 60 days Engine
03-Mar-18 convert “tippy cupboard” to bulk storage
carpenter
03-Mar-18 replace vent line for coolant water vented loop
Engine
03-Mar-18 replace coolant hose from vented loop to exhaust elbow
Engine
03-Mar-18 replace vented loop for coolant water
Engine
03-Mar-18 adjust reefer high pressure cut off – 175 psi
reefer
03-Mar-18 Reefer – split hose and lost refrigerant
reefer
03-Mar-18 saloon cushions patch
sewing
10-Mar-18 Vesper AIS – screen issue – also send note about factory visit, kids blog, etc
Electronics
10-Mar-18 grease outboard attachment bolts
Grease
15-Mar-18 fridge thermostat lower - lowered to approx 27F
reefer
20-Mar-18 hand stitch stbd infill door
Sewing
23-Mar-18 hull/Prop clean - full clean with dive tank Monthly
23-Mar-18 clean reefer strainer and bowl 2 Mon reefer
23-Mar-18 check fuel filter bowls Monthly Engine
23-Mar-18 Prop/shaft zincs 2 mon
24-Mar-18 clean watermaker sea strainer 2 Mon watermaker
24-Mar-18 clean watermaker pleated filter - replaced filter 2 Mon watermaker
24-Mar-18 dingy chaps – restiched and patched
Sewing
25-Mar-18 install Honda 20 outboard
outboard
01-Apr-18 5200 rhib tubes
rhib
01-Apr-18 flush/clean rope clutches esp main halyard
Rigging
03-Apr-18 Corrosion preventative for ignition key and engine kill knob 6 mon Engine
05-Apr-18 Autopilot - check bolt torque 3 mon autopilot
05-Apr-18 Grease autopilot rod end bearing 6 mon lazerrete
05-Apr-18 Grease rudder reference bearing 12 mon Lazerrete
05-Apr-18 P bracket bearing - checked by Hutchinson Boat Builders
haulout
06-Apr-18 Standard Horizon portable VHF u/s - motherboard - refurbished again
Electronics
6-Apr-18 fish finder – test transducer - transducer u/s
haulout
07-Apr-18 reskin rhib
rhib
07-Apr-18 fix chip on transom

08-Apr-18 hull/Prop clean Monthly
08-Apr-18 Prop/shaft zincs - okay condition but replaced all 2 mon
08-Apr-18 Service max prop 12 mon haulout
08-Apr-18 polish prop
haulout
09-Apr-18 check fuel filter bowls Monthly Engine
09-Apr-18 Engine zinc 60 days Engine
09-Apr-18 replace DST800 sleeve and valve
haulout
09-Apr-18 replace prop and shaft zincs
haulout
09-Apr-18 replace hose clamps sink to sea cock
plumbing
09-Apr-18 replace hose from wm to to seacock
plumbing
09-Apr-18 replace reefer thru hull/seacock
plumbing
09-Apr-18 replace head discharge thru hull/seacock
plumbing
09-Apr-18 replace head inttake thru hull/seacock
plumbing
09-Apr-18 replace WM discharge/Reefer discharge stbd scupper thru hull/seacock
plumbing
09-Apr-18 replace sink drain/port scuper thru hull/seacock
plumbing
10-Apr-18 Engine zinc 60 days Engine
10-Apr-18 Oil cooler zinc 60 days Engine
10-Apr-18 engine water strainer 60 days Engine
10-Apr-18 install USB charging station
electrical
10-Apr-18 install new DST800
Electronics
10-Apr-18 replace reefer intake grill
plumbing
11-Apr-18 PSS shaft seal – clean/check face and check condition of bellows 12 mon haulout
11-Apr-18 Steering cable tightness - check quarterly 3 mon Lazerrete
11-Apr-18 autopilot brush and hyd fluid check 3 mon autopilot
11-Apr-18 test float switch and high water alarm 6 mon plumbing
11-Apr-18 Battery water and clean battery top - aft - topped up forward batteries, 45 days battery water
11-Apr-18 Autopilot - check bolt torque 3 mon autopilot
11-Apr-18 Grease autopilot rod end bearing 6 mon lazerrete
11-Apr-18 Grease rudder reference bearing 12 mon Lazerrete
11-Apr-18 battery watering system – add red stopper and split into three locations
battery watering system
11-Apr-18 clean port scupper
haulout
11-Apr-18 Replace hose clamps on T piece of WM above shaft
plumbing
11-Apr-18 Reflective tape on 20hp Outboard
Safety
11-Apr-18 watermaker pressure gauge u/s
watermaker
12-Apr-18 install new weather station
Electronics
12-Apr-18 rudder boot seal hoseclamps
haulout
12-Apr-18 manual bilge pump hose clamp x2
plumbing
12-Apr-18 port deck drain hose clamps x2
plumbing
13-Apr-18 repaint and mark anchor chain 12 mon
13-Apr-18 check windlass oil level 3 mon windlass
13-Apr-18 anchor shackle - check and replace seizing 3 mon Rigging
13-Apr-18 replace hose clamps on PSS shaft seal
haulout
13-Apr-18 replace shower head
plumbing
13-Apr-18 replace anchor chain

14-Apr-18 aft head floor
carpentry
16-Apr-18 Battery water and clean battery top- fwd - 60 days 90 days battery water
16-Apr-18 tighten connections - windlass bank
electrical
16-Apr-18 update chartplotter software
Electronics
16-Apr-18 hot water tank - clean out
plumbing
16-Apr-18 lanolin prop

17-Apr-18 overhaul aft head - muriatic acid, bowl, replace valves, new piston rings
haulout
19-Apr-18 Anti Foul t haulout
20-Apr-18 MOB light - new D cell x 5 12 mon Safety
20-Apr-18 hot water tank - leak - replaced intake and output tubes and cleaned
plumbing
21-Apr-18 Full charge of house bank Monthly battery
21-Apr-18 hot water tank - anode replacement
plumbing
21-Apr-18 restich infill sides
Sewing
22-Apr-18 aft head - leak at elbow
plumbing
22-Apr-18 hand stitch infill UV cover straps x 3
Sewing
24-Apr-18 thermostatic for hot water - http://www.heatiq.co.nz/cart/basket?rnd=0.4353171
heater
24-Apr-18 check aft head vented loop annual plumbing
24-Apr-18 replace or clean aft head discharge hoses
plumbing
25-Apr-18 check fuel filter bowls Monthly Engine
25-Apr-18 autopilot hyd fluid reservoir - remount
autopilot
26-Apr-18 liferaft re certify 3 years safety
28-Apr-18 replace engine start battery
electrical
29-Apr-18 replace reefer cooling water elbow and hose
reefer
29-Apr-18 bypass switch for reefer cooling pump
reefer
29-Apr-18 Replace 1/2” hose barb to thread elbow on WM intake service valve
watermaker
04-May-18 bimini - water proofing 6 mon
04-May-18 reseal forward nav lights
electrical
04-May-18 check vented loop for aft head - clean valve
plumbing
04-May-18 replace anchor roller
Rigging
04-May-18 Install cotter pin on forestay
Rigging
06-May-18 replace old Benmar box under aft bunk
carpentry
06-May-18 Replace 3/4” elbow on reefer cooling
plumbing
09-May-18 install heater - saloon
heater
09-May-18 rebed fwd head window
rebed
09-May-18 Stbd window above barometers leaking
rebed
10-May-18 Install Heater - boiler and “summer circuit”
heater
10-May-18 repair lower vang attachment - bent eye nut - M12 eye nut and bolt 115mm long through bearing surface
Rigging
11-May-18 check and lubricate deck fill o-rings 6 mon plumbing
11-May-18 Heater - short cycles - bled heater coolant
heater
11-May-18 weather station - batteries dying early - put in new batteries voltage 1.6.3V and expiry Dec 27

11-May-18 replace deck fill o rings

12-May-18 inspect inner forestay swages
Rigging
12-May-18 check engine hoses 12 month engine
12-May-18 vacuum/clean wind gen controller 2 Mon
12-May-18 icebox drain filter 4 mon plumbing
12-May-18 Replace batteries in electric flare 12 mon Safety
12-May-18 portable watermaker – annual maintenance 12 mon Safety
12-May-18 check alternator belt tension - tensioned all three alternators 50 engine
12-May-18 alternator x 3 and starter - check wiring 125 engine
12-May-18 leak on cockpit seat drain port side
rebed
12-May-18 anchor bag zipper
Sewing
13-May-18 replace fishfinder transducer
Electronics
14-May-18 battery equalization 6 mon electrical
14-May-18 PFD - recharge - spinlock 12 mon safety
14-May-18 Windlass - bimonthly 2 Mon Grease
14-May-18 mainfurl - Grease the grease nipple on the aft end of the spar. 2 Mon Grease
14-May-18 check PFD – manually inflate and inspect 6 mon Safety
14-May-18 Windlass Service - preseason service - every 6 mon 6 mon Grease
14-May-18 reconnect bracket for raw water pipe
Engine
15-May-18 Pressure water filter 4 mon plumbing
15-May-18 install beta tester test - environmental data
Electronics
15-May-18 calibrate depth IS20 - -4.3 feet
Electronics
15-May-18 repaint exhaust elbow and exhaust manifold
Engine
15-May-18 lagging on exhaust elbow
Engine
15-May-18 update trip log 25107nm (IS20) or 27021 (Chartplotter)?

16-May-18 new battery cables – forward bank
electrical
16-May-18 reattach dynmea backup for backstay
Rigging
16-May-18 muster wooden dc plugs
Safety
19-May-18 check storm staysail and trysail 12 mon sail
19-May-18 check genoa furler
Rigging
20-May-18 Inspect lifelines 12 month rigging
20-May-18 hot water tank overflow plumbing
plumbing
20-May-18 relash jacklines annual Safety
21-May-18 safety nuts on exhaust elbow
Engine
21-May-18 mainsail cover stiff - rebuilt and lubricated aft boom axles
Rigging
21-May-18 Restitch bimini and redo rear clears chafe guards
Sewing
22-May-18 Honda outboard - replace propeller
outboard
22-May-18 Honda outboard - check starter cord 6 mon outboard
22-May-18 Honda Outboard - spark plug 6 mon outboard
22-May-18 Honda Outboard - Oil Change 6 mon outboard
22-May-18 Honda Outboard - Fuel Filter 12 mon outboard
22-May-18 Honda Outboard - Oil Filter Change 12 mon outboard
22-May-18 Honda Outboard - check anodes 6 mon outboard
22-May-18 Honda Outboard - grease and corrosion control 6 mon outboard
22-May-18 Honda outboard - water tell tail ? Unplugged hose
outboard
23-May-18 replaced batteries on new weather station - battery voltage was 1.62V
Electronics
23-May-18 Honda Outboard - Gear oil 6 mon outboard
23-May-18 program MMSI into PFD AIS AIS MMSI 972606525 S/N 01707065250
Safety
23-May-18 redo sail inspection and maintenance
sails
24-May-18 Honda generator - oil change 6 mon Generator
24-May-18 test Honda Generator and test AC hot water heating
Generator
24-May-18 Generator oil level light
Generator
24-May-18 Honda Outboard - plug gaps in front
outboard
24-May-18 free up and durac saloon hatches
rebed
24-May-18 stbd saloon hatch handle stiff

25-May-18 bend on sails and check repairs
sails
26-May-18 Small leaks in plumbing to hot water tank
plumbing
28-May-18 Oil (100 hrs) - 7.95L of oil 125 engine
28-May-18 reset alternator fault codes
Engine
28-May-18 top up lamp - 1/4 fill

28-May-18 Replace icebox latch

29-May-18 confirm emergency numbers and Tonga RCC in Satphone - https://sarcontacts.info/ 12 mon Safety
29-May-18 Review Ditch Bag contents 12 mon Safety
29-May-18 change solar and wind gen settings to 14.8V
electrical
29-May-18 program MMSI into handheld VHF
Electronics
29-May-18 new gasket for fwd head window
rebed
29-May-18 calibrate barometers

29-May-18 test satphone 12 mon Safety
30-May-18 replace webasto heater switch
heater
30-May-18 activate Iridium Go sim card
IT
30-May-18 charge USB solar battery for ditch bag and find correct wires for go
Safety
31-May-18 Honda Generator - spark plug CR5HSB NGK 12 mon Generator
01-Jun-18 battery monitor firmware upgrade SW009
Electronics
02-Jun-18 PW Offshore on laptop not connecting to Go - revert to Win7
IT
02-Jun-18 Iridium Go stuck in “searching”
IT
02-Jun-18 Set up Iridium Go - plus add sailmail address
IT
03-Jun-18 Battery water and clean battery top - aft - four pumps forward and 1/2 pump each aft 45 days battery water
03-Jun-18 Fire extinguisher – inspect and service as required 12 mon Safety
04-Jun-18 clean reefer strainer and bowl 2 Mon reefer
04-Jun-18 Engine zinc - replaced zinc 60 days Engine
04-Jun-18 Oil cooler zinc - looks good 60 days Engine
04-Jun-18 engine water strainer 60 days Engine
05-Jun-18 remove fwd head fan
electrical
05-Jun-18 Replace port saloon fan
electrical
05-Jun-18 reefer raw water o'ring
plumbing
05-Jun-18 Replace knife on aft deck
Safety
06-Jun-18 Check GEOS SOS function on Iridium Go and Satphone
Safety
07-Jun-18 PW Offshore - Win10 version not working - worked with PW to get a new version developed
IT
07-Jun-18 new shock cord for preventor storage
Rigging
07-Jun-18 inspect drogue
Safety
07-Jun-18 make wing nut bolts for table

08-Jun-18 Clean/sanitize water jerry cans 6 mon Safety
08-Jun-18 tighten connections on windlass bank
electrical
08-Jun-18 Battery Monitor resets to 100 % - Change SOC auto sync
Electronics
08-Jun-18 replace fishing shock cord
fishing
08-Jun-18 new fish hook on big lure
fishing
09-Jun-18 spray anti-corrosion – windlass motor shaft 12 mon windlass
09-Jun-18 paint windlass motor
electrical
09-Jun-18 clean bilge