Thursday 13th Cid Harbour
Great sail from Mackay to Goldsmith Island. Spinnaker most of the way, tide with us also dolphins, whales and turtles. No fish of course but you can’t have everything. Where would you keep it?
This is where I take up my argument with Richard Dawkins because once again we prove the existence of a jealous and vengeful God. Find a nice calm anchorage in Roylen Bay with no other boats and proceed to discover why. By midnight we were being tossed around like a cork. Rolled out of our bunks stuff. Couldn’t wait to get out of there so fired up the engine at first light and clouds of white smoke belched forth from the exhaust filling the bay. Less all bran please mother.
Shut engine down.
Sang ‘for those in peril on the sea’
Used the dinghy to get us out of the bay until we had breeze. Started engine again and this time no smoke so we put it down to slopping about all night, less viscous oil in the tropics and some imaginative physics.
Dropped anchor on the south side of Thomas Island. Highly recommended. Life’s good again. Played bocce on the beach with some local characters and coconuts. The coconuts won.
Checked the oil level. Didn’t look like oil, looked like suntan cream. So the problem hadn’t gone away. Water in the lubrication oil.
So yesterday morning was spent flushing out the sump and cleaning the filter as best we could (having built a strap-wrench) and gingerly edging out of the bay and sailing to Cid. Have made arrangements with Airlie to see the diesel doctor on Friday. Hope Eric is working hard.
You’ve probably spotted the next issue. Can’t run engine, can’t charge batteries.
It’s now a battle between the solar panel and the fridge. I spend my time holding the solar panel at the best angle to the sun. I think this is how Tai Chi started.
So, sailors, today’s lesson involves carrying all the tools and spares you need. This includes several oil filters, at least double the capacity of your sump in oil and about the one tool which we don’t have. A strap wrench.
More rum.
Pam’s fishing notes…we did hook another great Mackerel, but again it was not having anything to do with becoming a sailor and disembarked just as we were hauling it up over the gunwhales. Saw lots of Whales, some breaching in the distance, and then coming into Cid Harbour a mother cruising along with its little baby carvorting all over the place…..sooooo cute. And looking around this morning are lots of turtles surfacing near the boat in the oily calm waters. Oh!!... and Nick forgot his success at Goldsmith the evening before the smoking engine .He was using the jiggler to get some bait fish and managed to hook five yellow tail on the six hook jiggler, whoops of delight and lots of flapping fish…so now were after the big one but will now be in a marina for the next ? days getting the engine seen to so no fishing.
Great sail from Mackay to Goldsmith Island. Spinnaker most of the way, tide with us also dolphins, whales and turtles. No fish of course but you can’t have everything. Where would you keep it?
This is where I take up my argument with Richard Dawkins because once again we prove the existence of a jealous and vengeful God. Find a nice calm anchorage in Roylen Bay with no other boats and proceed to discover why. By midnight we were being tossed around like a cork. Rolled out of our bunks stuff. Couldn’t wait to get out of there so fired up the engine at first light and clouds of white smoke belched forth from the exhaust filling the bay. Less all bran please mother.
Shut engine down.
Sang ‘for those in peril on the sea’
Used the dinghy to get us out of the bay until we had breeze. Started engine again and this time no smoke so we put it down to slopping about all night, less viscous oil in the tropics and some imaginative physics.
Dropped anchor on the south side of Thomas Island. Highly recommended. Life’s good again. Played bocce on the beach with some local characters and coconuts. The coconuts won.
Checked the oil level. Didn’t look like oil, looked like suntan cream. So the problem hadn’t gone away. Water in the lubrication oil.
So yesterday morning was spent flushing out the sump and cleaning the filter as best we could (having built a strap-wrench) and gingerly edging out of the bay and sailing to Cid. Have made arrangements with Airlie to see the diesel doctor on Friday. Hope Eric is working hard.
You’ve probably spotted the next issue. Can’t run engine, can’t charge batteries.
It’s now a battle between the solar panel and the fridge. I spend my time holding the solar panel at the best angle to the sun. I think this is how Tai Chi started.
So, sailors, today’s lesson involves carrying all the tools and spares you need. This includes several oil filters, at least double the capacity of your sump in oil and about the one tool which we don’t have. A strap wrench.
More rum.
Pam’s fishing notes…we did hook another great Mackerel, but again it was not having anything to do with becoming a sailor and disembarked just as we were hauling it up over the gunwhales. Saw lots of Whales, some breaching in the distance, and then coming into Cid Harbour a mother cruising along with its little baby carvorting all over the place…..sooooo cute. And looking around this morning are lots of turtles surfacing near the boat in the oily calm waters. Oh!!... and Nick forgot his success at Goldsmith the evening before the smoking engine .He was using the jiggler to get some bait fish and managed to hook five yellow tail on the six hook jiggler, whoops of delight and lots of flapping fish…so now were after the big one but will now be in a marina for the next ? days getting the engine seen to so no fishing.
1 comment:
Cap'n Sparrow and "Curvy Screw,"
Appologies for the delay in dispatches.
Sorry to hear of dodgy deisel. I have had a few problems with lubricants over the years too if the truth be known.
Reminds me of the newlyweds who confused the vaseline with putty; apparently all their windows fell out!
I know it's older than your engine but it amused the chaps in the mess don't you know.
Cid Harbour, very nice! great place to catch crabs or was that around The Entrance?
While you were doing a remake of 'The African Queen'I spent the day riding motorcycles some hundreds of Klms. with the fabled'Wink' who you'll both remember no doubt from our Twin Spirit delivery trip this time last year. Wink has spent the winter in The Kimberlys as a deisel engineer on John David of 'David's Holdings' gentlemans motor yacht. He asked to be remembered to you; as a matter of fact as I type this note he has phoned to wish daughter Rosie all the best with her HSC Music 2 Live performance tommorrow. I told him of your difficulties and read him your description of the symptoms. Wink feels certain you've blown a head gasket in the venerable Perkins and that the water in your oil is crossing over from the cooling system to the oil supply through said hole. I realise this information is the last thing you want to hear but I felt it best to let you know ASAP as running the motor if Wink's diagnosis is accurate would be ill advised!
If there's enough breeze sailing to Airlie is a doddle , if not maybe you can organise a tow?
I'll be thinking of you both. Please keep me informed of your progress.
By the way "Barry Atkins Late of Hamilton Is. marketing just rang and asked for your contact details which I happily furnished. I imagine he will have spoken to you by the time you get this.
Best of luck. If there's anything we can do this end don't hesitate to ask.
The Admiral
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