Tahiti 12,13 Nov

12 November 2008

In the morning we visited another boat shop and were disappointed in what we found. The stock was spotty and inconsistent and the prices were much higher than we are used to in Australia and the U.S.A. We were looking for material for moving the

Our advice to any yachts planning to cruise the South Pacific is to carry as many spares and materials as you can because it is much easier to go with what you've got than to spend hours searching for something that you will never find and if you do find it you'll pay big-time. Ten meters of light 2-core wire was going to cost me over $40 AUD, and we could not find the switch that we could could have used for the planned relocation of the Lifetag system (see below).

In the afternoon Arnold and I got into our stocks and discovered that we had 13 meters of 6-core wire left over from the B&G wind vane, so we began the project of moving the Lifetag man overboard alarm base station from inside the cabin next to the mast to above the companionway with the other cockpit instruments. We had been plagued by the alarm going off while we were seated at the stern steering the boat, waking everybody up in the middle of the night. Eventually we stopped using the system in the middle of the night when we were alone steering, just when we needed it the most. It was our hope that the above-deck location would give good coverage from the steering station hopefully all of the way to the bow. We also moved the audible alarm the the bulkhead inside the cabin, beside the companionway.

13 November 2008

In the morning a large catamaran arrived at the Jetty and Arnold and I helped them tie up. It was “Morry” and Irene, just in from a 25-day passage from the Galapagos. Then had left France for the East coast of Australia to deliver the new boat.

After some last-minute glitches Arnold and I finished the relocation of the Lifetag system, which took more time than the original installation. Enclosed are photos of the repositioned base station and audio alarm.