June 8th 2020
Position: 02° 00.2320' N 045° 31.0388' W
Boat: All good here and we had to motor for 19 hours because the wind took leave from us and the weather says it will only come back tonight after dark
Our water in the water tanks is going to be treated today then we have to leave it for 10 hours before we can use it again. We found a bottle of treatment silver ions and will dose the water as a trial and then see how that goes
The water isnt hurting us its just the smell which is strange and it tastes like an overdose of chlorine
wind We have zero winds so we are motoring at 6 knots and then every 24 hrs we stop to check the engine and we start again
People: we are both ok
Boat Speed: 5 to 6 KTS
Wind: 0 kts from anywhere
Distance 145 miles in 24 hours miles sailed and motored with a total of 885 miles sailed so far and approximately 1145 miles of the 2020 miles to go until we arrive
Course: true ,Directly to Grenada
Conditions: flat like a lake on a still summers morning
Comments:
I am sure most of you reading my updates know about the problem of Sarghasm weed in the ocean between the coast of Africa and the Caribbean but for those that dont here is a brief story. The weed starts somewhere in Africa and drifts across the ocean using the currents to move and it grows as it drifts forming patches all over. then the patches join and form islands growing as they head west. When the patches pass over debris they collect it and bits of rope and bouys and and are collected so that becomes a problem
This yellow weed floats along the surface and carries all sorts of flotsam and jetsam trying very hard to engage the propeller and the keel to try and slow us down. THen as the islands grow in size you sail towards then and get caught in this island of weeds that can bring the boat to a complete stop and you have to switch off the engine very quickly so that the seeds dont go up into the water separator and clog it or if it does there is a big job to clean the separator and start up again
Anyway as we sail towards the Caribbean we are encountering more and more of the weed and its really painful because when the propeller gets stuck in it the engine revs go down and it struggles so we have to switch the engine into reverse and slow the boat to get it off the prop (yes it works putting the engine in reverse to clear the propeller) and then put the engine back into forward gear and motor again
With us hitting a lot of the weed its a pain especially at night because you dont see it and it takes a while to sail through it so i hope we dont get too much from here on in. Just a note that when sailing in more that 15 knots of wind its not that bad because the engine isnt at risk and all that happens is you are slowed down for a while and then it picks up speed when you are through it. I remember one time with Nicholas on Board Opela we hit an Island of the weed and it stopped us completely and we took quite a while to sail through it because it was an island
Our weather looks like we will get wind again tonight and if the weathermen are correct we should be able to sail all the rest of the way and that will make me very happy
Over the last two days John has spent quite a bit of time sweating in the engine room sorting out issues with the water pump and right now the stern gland plate which I tightened but seems to have come loose only on one side but he will tell me how it goes after he completed the job
We are also having a few issues with the selector on the gearbox when selecting forward gear but cant look at that until the engine is cool and hasnt been running for a while. i am a little worried the clutches are worn as its a 40 year old motor and i expect the gearbox is the same age
ok so enough from me and I wish you all a great start of your week
Kevin
Position: 02° 00.2320' N 045° 31.0388' W
Boat: All good here and we had to motor for 19 hours because the wind took leave from us and the weather says it will only come back tonight after dark
Our water in the water tanks is going to be treated today then we have to leave it for 10 hours before we can use it again. We found a bottle of treatment silver ions and will dose the water as a trial and then see how that goes
The water isnt hurting us its just the smell which is strange and it tastes like an overdose of chlorine
wind We have zero winds so we are motoring at 6 knots and then every 24 hrs we stop to check the engine and we start again
People: we are both ok
Boat Speed: 5 to 6 KTS
Wind: 0 kts from anywhere
Distance 145 miles in 24 hours miles sailed and motored with a total of 885 miles sailed so far and approximately 1145 miles of the 2020 miles to go until we arrive
Course: true ,Directly to Grenada
Conditions: flat like a lake on a still summers morning
Comments:
I am sure most of you reading my updates know about the problem of Sarghasm weed in the ocean between the coast of Africa and the Caribbean but for those that dont here is a brief story. The weed starts somewhere in Africa and drifts across the ocean using the currents to move and it grows as it drifts forming patches all over. then the patches join and form islands growing as they head west. When the patches pass over debris they collect it and bits of rope and bouys and and are collected so that becomes a problem
This yellow weed floats along the surface and carries all sorts of flotsam and jetsam trying very hard to engage the propeller and the keel to try and slow us down. THen as the islands grow in size you sail towards then and get caught in this island of weeds that can bring the boat to a complete stop and you have to switch off the engine very quickly so that the seeds dont go up into the water separator and clog it or if it does there is a big job to clean the separator and start up again
Anyway as we sail towards the Caribbean we are encountering more and more of the weed and its really painful because when the propeller gets stuck in it the engine revs go down and it struggles so we have to switch the engine into reverse and slow the boat to get it off the prop (yes it works putting the engine in reverse to clear the propeller) and then put the engine back into forward gear and motor again
With us hitting a lot of the weed its a pain especially at night because you dont see it and it takes a while to sail through it so i hope we dont get too much from here on in. Just a note that when sailing in more that 15 knots of wind its not that bad because the engine isnt at risk and all that happens is you are slowed down for a while and then it picks up speed when you are through it. I remember one time with Nicholas on Board Opela we hit an Island of the weed and it stopped us completely and we took quite a while to sail through it because it was an island
Our weather looks like we will get wind again tonight and if the weathermen are correct we should be able to sail all the rest of the way and that will make me very happy
Over the last two days John has spent quite a bit of time sweating in the engine room sorting out issues with the water pump and right now the stern gland plate which I tightened but seems to have come loose only on one side but he will tell me how it goes after he completed the job
We are also having a few issues with the selector on the gearbox when selecting forward gear but cant look at that until the engine is cool and hasnt been running for a while. i am a little worried the clutches are worn as its a 40 year old motor and i expect the gearbox is the same age
ok so enough from me and I wish you all a great start of your week
Kevin
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