South Africa or bust?….
12-13 November 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)
Dear F&F,
Okay, did all the last minute checks…THE WEATHER looks good, we\’re off….sort of.
First thing, the port engine won\’t start. It\’s a fuel starvation problem. The filters look awful, so does the fuel. The fuel we picked up in Indonesia and Hellville may be coming back to haunt us. Changing the filters (both primary and secondary), cleaning out the lines with compressed air did not help. We have a boost pump and it doesn\’t seem to be working? So I changed it with two different spares. Same thing. Not sure what\’s going on but I\’ll keep trying to brain storm it and come up with a solution. I would not go into the \”inside\” of the \”hidey holes\” with only one engine. Hope I won\’t have too.
Next we discovered when motoring on just the starboard engine that our house battery alternator is not putting out a charge. This has been masked by the other engines operable one. Good news is we\’re getting closer to South Africa where I can get all this fixed!…:-)
We have a small air conditioner that cools one cabin and can\’t use it now without the generator and it is VERY HOT out here.
So we finally ESCAPED Cape St. Andre which was no small feat! The winds kept heading us into the cape and I finally (again), had to motor out for about an hour to get around the dangers. After that, the wind kept going from NNW all the way to SSE (anti clockwise). We tacked to go straight North West of all directions, but the wind then again continued to go around the circle. In the last 24 hours, we have sailed the boat on every possible wind direction.
We passed the island of Juan de Nova this morning. It looked a lot like Salomon Atoll at a distance. We\’ve used the geneker and the spinnaker today, but as I write, we\’re motoring. The current is giving us a 1/2 to 1 knot push which is good. The wind prediction is to remain light for a few days, but hope springs eternal.
The south swell has been uncomfortable all day long, but it is finally settling down.
Just spoke with Dave and Kathy on Sunflower who just arrived at Baly Bay. They\’ll be a few days behind us. At the rate we\’re going, they may catch us.
We\’ve just about 900 miles to go to Richard\’s Bay. Could take another week at this rate.
KIT, Scott and Cooking Nikki