Progress with Electronics Problems

Maritime Electronics was able to repair the Raymarine ST60+ depth and wind displays whose connectors had been heavily damage from corrosion.  The charge was $120 which I thought to be reasonable, considering the alternative of purchasing new heads. 

New connectors for ST60+ displays

I managed to spend some time on the boat yesterday (Saturday) morning had taken one step back with the Seatalk network: whereas on the previous visit the C120 chart plotter had begun to report the position of the boat, during this visit it knew nothing beyond where the cursor was on the chart. 

We are in the middle of an early heat wave and the temperature today is expected to go above 41C (106F) so I was up shortly after 5 AM and was at the boat just after 6 AM to get as much work as possible before the heat set in.  Conditions were very good and I managed the delicate work of fitting 7 new connectors for the instruments with no problem.  I then tested the units and was pleased to see that I was getting depth readings but wasn't surprised to find that I still had no wind data.  Worse, the autopilot head was still reporting "Seatalk Failure" and the the C120 was getting to data from the various instruments.

With my new confidence with those tiny Seatalk connectors I decided to have on last look at the connections into the Autopilot head at the binnacle, and just as well I did because the middle connector had not been properly inserted.  When I repositioned that connector the Seatalk network came alive and the C120 was reporting boat position, speed, heading, and depth.

At this point I think that I have gone as far as practicable with the electronics.  The radar is not working, and my strong suspicion is that the problem is in the upper part of the cable which was repaired in situ up the mast in Argentina.  The wind system is not working and I suspect that the problem is also up the mast at the masthead unit.  I commented during my passage around the Horn that the wind masthead unit has the toughest life of any component on the boat.  It had to endure day after day of gales and heavy rolling with heaven knows the strength of wind surges.

I then 90 minutes going through the boat's spares and materials and removed 7 plastic containers and buckets of material for storage in Darlington.

I will contact Maritime Electronics this week and arrange a visit to the boat in the new year.
 

Work on Electronics

Pachuca's Raymarine electronics system is not working very well.  The components that are not working are:

- Radar
- ST60+ depth sounder
- ST60+ wind instrument
- Autopilot (even with the new head that I brought back from the USA
- Flux gate compass

The only thing that is working is the C120 multifunction display, which can display charts but no position or wind and depth data.

I am pretty sure that the problem with the radar is the cable, which was heavily repaired with soldering while we were in Argentina.  That leaves the other components.

YUK!

BLAH!

BARF!

Fortunately I began my investigation by removing the panel above the companionway that houses the ST60+ wind and depth displays and I was shocked at what I found.  During those months of rough sailing from La Paz onwards salt water had found its way behind the panel and heavily corroded the connections to the displays.  The connectors were corroded into the posts and is several cases the connectors held and it was the wires that broke.  In one case it was the post that gave way.  The photos tell the sad story.

I immediately took the displays to my old friends at Maritime Electronics for cleanup, assessment, and possible repair.  I certainly hope that they can be salvaged.  When the instruments are back in place - be they the repaired originals or new ones - I will try the system again.  I will also arrange a visit to check the radar system.  When everything is working again I will put a rubber seal between the wind instrument panel and the companionway bulkhead to prevent a repetition.

I marveled at how quick and easy was to deliver the displays for repair after a 10 minute drive, in contrast to the weeks and sometimes months of waiting for repairs while in foreign ports.  It will be a long time, if ever, before I take this easy availability of parts and services for granted.

The house renovation is taking priority over the boat but I plan to spend time on the boat whenever I get the opportunity in order to get her ready for sea again.  I have removed bags of clothing from the boat so that I can wash everything - including the bags - and return only a modest amount of it.  I have also begun removing unnecessary equipment, materials, and tools.  The electronic repairs is a lead time item that I have already started.  There is some urgent varnishing and stainless steel polishing that I want to finish by the end of January.  The hull is in good shape and I might get by with sending a diver to clean it in the water.  The rigging, sails, and engine, and communications system are in top condition. 

Replaced the Oil Pressure Sensor

I haven't been able to give Pachuca much attention because my efforts are currently focused on the house renovation project.  Every week or ten days I visit the boat to have a look around and depart with a cart load of material to take to Darlington for storage.  However, this morning I gave the engine some attention because it had not been run since shortly after my arrival in Fremantle last April.  My first task was to swap out the oil pressure sensor that Mark Jochems had ordered for me during my visit to Port Townsend.

The faulty sensor had caused me a lot of worry during my passage from South Africa because during engine runs the oil pressure alarm would begin to sound at random times.  The big question was whether there really was low oil pressure or the sensor was faulty.  Until that question was resolved I was forced to shut down the engine whenever the alarm became active. 

Ready to unscrew faulty sensor

Replacement sensor above

Fortunately Mark continued to provide his outstanding support from half way around the world and through days of interaction with him via Sailmail and performing various maneuvers on the engine under his instruction he concluded that the problem wasn't real and the fault lay with a faulty sensor.  The ultimate responsibility of running the engine with an active oil pressure alarm was mine and I had enough confidence in the investigation that we had done to go for it and simply ignore the alarm.  My safe arrival in Fremantle after many hours of engine runs vindicate the decision.

Today I had a look at the placement sensor (Part ID VOP 21250645, Product No. 262567) and was relieved to see that the existing wire harness would fit nicely into the new unit.  I then used a 23mm spanner (wrench) to remove the faulty sensor while using a 15mm spanner to hold back the fitting that it was screwed into.  Fitting the new part was straight forward, though I was wary of over tightening the part with the large 23mm spanner.

I then went through the engine starting sequence that is so engrained in my head that is second nature: (1) Check the oil level, coolant level, and belt tension (all good), (2) Ensure that the raw water inlet and exhaust valves are open (they were), (3) Turn on the engine master electrical switch, (4) At the cockpit activate the engine panel and wait for the two "beeps" informing me that all is well, (5) Set throttle to neutral, (6) Hit the starter button.  The engine burst to life on the first try with the starter.  I set the control to "reverse" to give the engine some load and ran it for about 30 minutes at 1000 rpm, until the temperature was at a steady 196F and the volt meter was running at a healthy 14.5V.  Afterward I checked the oil pressure sensor for leaking around the joint and found no problem.

The V berth section had been smelling a bit musty for a while so I removed all items of clothing stored in about 6 bags and eventually took them to the car so that I can wash everything, including the bags.  I will store the clean clothes and bags in Darlington and decide later what I will return to the boat.  On the next visit I will remove all of the wool blankets for washing.

I also removed the storm jib that Victor had sent to me and Brenda lugged in her baggage when she joined me in Argentina.  In the afternoon Stephen and I visited Victor and I returned the storm jib to Victor, explaining that I had not been able to have it up on my staysail when rounding the Horn because the staysail at the time was jury rig with bulldog clamps, but at least he could say that his boat Chiquita's storm jib had been around Cape Horn.

Continuing the Blog

I have decided to continue this blog because I need a repository of activities with Pachuca, and rather than starting a new blog I may as well maintain the continuity of this one.  The original scope of this blog was the preparation and hopefully a successful circumnavigation of the world.  I will now extend that scope to include an open ended chronicle what happens to Pachuca after the circumnavigation.

So let this entry of 24 November 2013 be the demarcation between the circumnavigation and post circumnavigation eras.

Presentation to Fremantle Sailing Club

Cruising Section Topic Night
A Circumnavigation After Retirement By Robert Morales
Thursday 17 October 2013 at 7.30 - 9pm in the Wardroom
Dinner: Please join the FSC Cruising Section for dinner in the Galley from 1800. Bookings are appreciated by the Restaurant Staff 9435 8800.

The presentation evening went very well.

I met Kim Klaka, head of the Cruising Section at 5.30 PM and he was very helpful assisting me in setting up my laptop in the presentation room.  Once we were sure that the projection and sound were working OK we returned downstairs to the dining room for the traditional pre-presentation dinner of the members of the cruising section.  Brenda, Coral and I were seated with Kim and his wife Annette  on one side and Jim and Margaret Putt on the other.  It was great to see Margaret again, for the first time since my departure in 2008.  Dinner for Brenda and myself was generously provided by the Cruising Section, which I appreciated very much.
 
For my talk I was honoured by the presence of Bob Kucera, the commodore of the club, and was surprised see old friends.  Victor had driven down from Kalaroo, Bob and Jean Porter had driven from Darlington, and one of the men who had accompanied me on my sea trial of Pachuca had driven all  of the way from Dwellingup on just a few hours' notice.

Kim introducing Robert

Robert Showing Video

I was allowed a full 90 minutes for the delivery, and that extra 30 minutes over the time allocated to me at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival allowed me to proceed at a more relaxed pace. 

After the presentation Kim presented me with a gift of two beautiful drinks glasses with the FSC on the sides.  These solid impact resistant glasses will be part of Pachuca's inventory for special occasions.

One of the highlights of the evening for me was meeting Sue and John Rogers.  John had helped with the building of Pachuca in 1983 and I was hoping to keep in touch with him and learn as much of the history of the boat as possible.  Better yet, he told me that Frank, the mining engineer who had Pachuca built is returning to Perth from New Zealand and I am very much looking forward to having a few sessions (and perhaps sails) with him.  John, by the way, confirmed that Frank had invented a device for extracting gold without the use of arsenic and that the name "Pachuca" was probably related to the city of Pachuca in Mexico.

On the Board

I discovered today that the Fremantle Sailing Club put my name on the list of the club's world circumnavigators without any fanfare.

Fanfare or not, for me it was an ambition realized.  I like to think that long after my time the names of myself and my boat will still be on that board.  I feel humbled to share the space with the incomparable Jon Sanders and friends Jim and Margaret Putt, the epitome of cruising couples.

Presentations and New Blog

On 8 September at the 2013 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival I made a presentation titled "A Circumnavigation After Retirement."

 My biggest problem was reducing the amount of information to fit in the one hour allotted to me.  The first outline was 7 pages in length and in my first rehearsal I ran out of time after covering our stay in New Zealand, with 4 more years of sailing to go.  I was eventually able to present a comprehensive and coherent story by relying heavily on projections from my laptop computer, with its efficient displays of slides, routes, photographs, video clips, spreadsheets, etc.

The presentation was well received with standing room only, but I had the advantage of having the audience packed with friends and relatives too numerous to mention.  I'll never know how many people glanced into the packed room and decided to move on.

For me the invitation to speak at the 2013 PTWBF, which I consider the world's mecca of wooden boat activity, to be a singular honor and privilege that is one of the jewels in the crown my circumnavigation effort.

Two more jewels will complete the crown.

On 17 October I will give a presentation to the Cruising Section of the Fremantle Sailing Club. That presentation will be easy given the material that I prepared for the PTWBF and the fact that this time I will be able to speak for 90 minutes with a following 30 minutes for questions and discussion.

The other jewel will be the placement of the names of myself and Pachuca on the surprisingly short list of members of the Fremantle Sailing Club who have completed a world circumnavigation. This list is on display at the club foyer.

I have started a new blog to cover the renovation of my cottage in Darlington, Western Australia.  This will be a topic very different and much more prosaic than a circumnavigating the world and I do not expect there to be much interest in it.  However, the motivation is the same as that which drove me to starting http://pachucaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/, which is to keep my relatives and friends informed in an efficient and non-intrusive way.  And as I learned from the first blog, it is a great way for me to document information that will be useful and valuable to me in the future.

The new blog is http://roberthomerenovation.blogspot.com.au/.

BWB, PTWBF, and Visits

It is a strange feeling to make my first blog update in many weeks but there is some relevant post circumnavigation information to be presented.

During my brief stay in Fremantle I was asked by the Fremantle Sailing Club to produce an article for their quarterly publication, the Blue Water Bulletin.  The three-page article, titled A World Circumnavigation, has been published in the current July-September issue, which can be accessed from the club's web site at http://www.fsc.com.au/home/. On the left side of the home page there is a hot link to the BWB .  In the issue are three interesting articles on the Bali Race which I may enter as a "rally" participant in 2015.  A perusal of the issue will give an indication of the vibrancy of the Fremantle Sailing Club both in scope and depth.

I have been honoured with an invitation to give a presentation at this year's Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival and have been scheduled to speak at 9.30-10.30 AM on Sunday 8 September at the Maritime Meeting Room West.  I have titled the presentation A circumnavigation after Retirement.   The PTWBF web site is at http://woodenboat.org/festival/ but the schedule of presentations does not seem to have been published at this time.

I've been based in Kingston, Washington for the last month enjoying the hospitality of my brother Arnold and his wife Sandra, and  have made regular visits to Port Townsend to catch up with friends.  On 24 July I will fly down south to visit La Paz Mexico, San Diego California, and Prescott Valley Arizona visit more friends from the circumnavigation. 

Track of the Circumnavigation

The following are screen shots of the OpenCPN software showing the track of the circumnavigation.  Stopping points are symbolized by blue squares.

The first one covers our departure from Fremantle on 3 May 2008 around the south of Australia to New Zealand then north beyond French Polynesia.

1. Australia-NZ-Fr Polynesia

The second one covers the track through Hawaii, the Seattle/Vancouver area, down the west coast of the USA and Baja California to La Paz in the Sea of Cortez, then south toward Cape Horn well west of the Galapagos Islands.

2. Hawaii-Seattle-West Coast-Mexico-Toward the Horn

The third one covers the Horn, Argentina, Brazil, then Cape Town.  The red "x" marks my noon position on the day I rounded the Horn.  The abrupt change of course NE of the Falklands follows my last-minute decision to make for Argentina for repairs.  The black smudge at Brazil is due to the enormous number of labeled waypoints in the Angra region.

3. Rounding Horn-Argentina-Brazil-Cape Town

The fourth one covers the final leg, from Cape Town back to Fremantle where I arrived on 29 April 2013.  Note the abrupt shift to the north on 25-26 March after I encountered the two icebergs.  The diamond symbol marks the midway point of the leg,  The circles mark the islands of Amsterdam and St Paul.

4. Cape Town-Fremantle
 

The following is a closeup of the Angra region of Brazil, showing my track to the marina at Bracui and part of my departure track.

Angra Region of Brazil, With More Than 200 Islands

Message from Victor

 I can't bear to see good writing go to waste.  The following is from Victor without his permission but with my profound thanks.


Captain Robert not only teaches us geography,

 but also describes  his life in foreign climes,

 his elation and the tribulation being wafted by the temperamental fluids of the Heavens and the Great Waters.

His submission to the divine master plan.

His resolute  fortitude in the face of adversity at the very precipitous edge of the world.

His prudent caution, and meticulous attention to detail. 

The thorough preparation for the perilous journey. 

The command over setbacks and damage.

His balance of rest and action, and  anticipation of seriously threatening tempests, riding out  ultimate storms. 

Dancing around mountainous icebergs and between ice floes.

The maintenance of the life support systems , the engine, power supply, food preservation, communication is not for the faint hearted  innocent novice.

Occupying his time and mind, resting,  studying a language, indulging in reflections,  at peace in solitude, sobriety and realism.

"... nourishing  his youth sublime, with the Fairy Tales of Science and the long Result of History..."

That  splendid ship came home virtually intact , triumphantly  flying heroically  the colours.

It was commanded  every moment,  mile by arduous  mile.  Tellied every noon . A no simple task.

We who never missed a day's blog, have virtually vicariously sailed with Robert in the comfort of our home. ( at times in that other little ship rocking gently in her pen )

There is a compendium of valuable practical experience worthy to be immortalised on paper..

So what if there are moments of humour, the expansive grandiloquence of the poet.

Would I read such musing in that modern monosyllabic style of teenage " texting"?

Sesquipedalianisticalifragilisticexpidaliotious  ..   to boot and bring it on.

A rich vocabulary is the vehicle of human thought.

 Variety of exotic words enriches the mind and human souls.

It is the music that accompanies ideas.

".... he who would dare defy the Omnipotent to power,

     him the Almighty hurled headlong

     flaming down

     to bottomless  Perdition 

     there to dwell in adamantine Darkness 

     and eternal penal Fire....    "

We of the sailing fraternity solute you

Future of This Blog

Now I have to face the question of what happens to this blog of the circumnavigation of the world now that the circumnavigation is completed.  But first some history and background.

During the planning of the circumnavigation I expressed dread at the prospect of keeping my relatives and friends informed of my progress through email.  I envisioned repetitions of the same messages and long CC lists.  It was Stephen who suggested a blog, which to me was little more than a word that I had seen and heard.  He explained how blogs worked and I immediately saw it as the ideal vehicle for my requirements because  I would write things once and people could have a look whenever it suited them.  Stephen then helped me get started with Google's blogging facility.

It didn't take long for the blog to take a life of its own.  Because of my predilection for writing and the way my mind works I began to use it as a vehicle for personal documentation as well as communication with others.

In spite of limited success with reining in my garrulous and  sesquipedalian tendencies (There I go again.) interest in the blog began to spread beyond those who knew me personally to those who were simply interested.

A few months later the site meter was introduced and I was able to see the locations of visitors which to my amazement covered every continent, and many locations far from the ocean.  Rightly or wrongly, I felt a responsibility to these readers and tried my best to justify their interest.  But given the variety of interests, what aspect of the adventure to write about?   In the end all I could do was to write about things as I saw them.

As of this date the site meter (found by scrolling down to the bottom of the blog) reports that I have made 1866 postings over the last 5 years.  There have been 96,124 visits and 168, 074 page views.  If we include the 4,425 site visits that had been made before the site meter was installed the total number of visits to the blog is over 100,000.

The blog has been very rewarding to me, as a valuable personal history, an outlet for my inclination to write, and most of all whatever information and enjoyment the blog may have provided to others, particularly those far removed from the sea and boating.  I know that there were people who began their day by checking on the blog.

Writing the blog has become a major part of my routine of daily living and it will be difficult to wean myself from it, but there is no point in keeping it going artificially.  Having said that, it could be many months before the blog is finished because the aftermath of a circumnavigation is a relevant part of the story.  My suggestion is to take an occasional peek into the blog.

Many people have suggested that I produce a book and my typical response is that there is already a lot of sailing material out there and besides, it is all in the blog.  However, it is possible that one day I may do a massive editing job and reduce the blog material to book length which I would publish privately.  But if I do this it will have to be sooner rather than later because with the rapidly changing technology of boating much of my experience will become dated very quickly.

Finally, I give my thanks and appreciation to all of the people who have taken an interest in the blog.  I will be happy to answer any questions on the circumnavigation from anybody anywhere.   Questions can be sent to: pachucaman@gmail.com.

Best Wishes to All,

Robert Morales
Fremantle, Western Australia

Last Seconds of the 5 Year Circumnavigation

Stephen took this video of the final moments of the circumnavigation as I approached the Customs jetty.  It is best seen with the sound turned up high.

Pachuca in Her Pen

Last Sunday three of us moved Pachuca from the Customs jetty to her pen numbered D81, which is on the club side of the western most jetty that runs along the sea wall.

I met Ken, the father of Jeremy, one of the co-owners of the Bavaria 40 to be moved from D81 to the adjacent D79 in order to make way for Pachuca.  We worked well together preparing the lines for the move, and soon Dan, another co-owner, arrived, and being younger and more nimble was very helpful by perching on top of posts working on the big rusty shackles with a large adjustable spanner.   Soon we had their boat safely berthed in her new home then the three of us went to the Customs jetty to motor Pachuca to her pen.

Ken and Dan

Moving to D79

While we were preparing Pachuca for the move an acquaintance of Ken handed over a box with about two dozen bottles of beer in ice water for seemingly no particular reason, and for the rest of the morning's effort we had all of the ice cold beer that we wanted. 

We got Pachuca into her pen with no problem and Ken led the way in setting up my mooring lines with enough flexibility to deal with the rise and fall of the tides, because the Fremantle Sailing Club has fixed rather than floating jetties.

Dan then had to leave and Ken and I sat on Pachuca's cabin swapping yarns over a couple more beers.  It was great to be back in Australia.

I had been very concerned about moving Pachuca to her pen and on this morning everything had worked out perfectly.  I had helped Ken and Dan move their boat, they had helped me move mine, and we future neighbors had become acquainted.  I was looking forward to meeting Jeremy.

Pachuca in Her Pen

Yesterday, Thursday, I was able to visit Pachuca and put on her sail and winch covers, tidied up the ropes, hung a plank off her port side so that now she had protection from both side posts, unblocked her aft vents, and did a few other things to prepare her for my absence overseas.

I also met with Kim, who had installed the original pen lines and "pen pal" harness in 2006 and commissioned him to install new pen lines, which will be done next week.  With the fixed jetties the pen lines must be set up in a special way, with heavy concrete weights hanging from chains at each corner of the boat in order to dampen movements.   The lines must be free enough to deal with the tides but tight enough to keep the boat centered in the pen.  I handed over two concrete weights that I had made in 2006 and Kim will provide the other two. 

The "pen pal" harness will be set up after my return from overseas in September.  It is designed to guide the boat into the pen and restrain her from moving too far forward and making contact with the jetty.  In September I will also have new cushions mounted on the four posts of the jetty.  I have the philosophy of taking every measure possible to help me move the boat in and out of her pen without damage.

Day Before the Iceberg

This clip shows the conditions the day before I encountered the iceberg.  We were moving fast, at 6.5-7 kts, the visibility was poor, and it is unlikely that I would have seen the iceberg in the gray and misty surroundings

Iceberg Images

Here are a photograph and video clip of the first iceberg that I encountered on the passage from Cape Town to Fremantle.  The iceberg is 9-10 miles away because I altered course to avoid it.  I projected my track to the E had I not altered course and I would have passed 0.7 nm to its north.   However, good radar fixes taken 5 hours apart indicated that the iceberg was drifting exactly to the NE at 0.4 kts, so a collision would have been possible if not likely.

Iceberg 9 miles away

First Days Back

Since my return I have been a guest of Brenda and Stephen at their home in Beaconsfield, a suburb of Fremantle not far from the coast and the Fremantle Sailing Club.  After the privations of the boat their comfortable and thoughtfully decorated home in a quiet and leafy setting seemed like a palace where I have been treated like a king.  Brenda and Stephen had gone to the trouble to clear a room for my use as an office and have spared no effort to make me feel at home.

Home.  From the time I approached the marina on the boat I began to feel like someone who had just woken from a coma.  For the last 4 days as I have begun to move around the city my reactions have been along the lines of "I remember that" as though I am recovering from amnesia, which I suppose I have in a sense.

With Peter Sumner of Arrival Day

On the day after my arrival Brenda and I visited the Fremantle Sailing Club and it was great to be back and become reacquainted with its wonderful facilities and setting.  In my travels I had not seen a yacht club that matched the setting, size, layout, and management of the FSC.  We walked along D jetty to see my pen and along the way had an interesting conversation with the skipper of a Dufour 385 who would be participating in the Fremantle-Bali race and rally (http://fremantlebali.com.au/).   We then worked our way to the pen, while I checked out every boat along the way, some old neighbours, some new to me.  At the pen (D81) I had a look at Jeremy's boat and the condition of the rope harness which was designed to guide the boat into the pen.  I also introduced myself to Chris in the adjacent pen (D79) because I knew that they were about to depart on an extended cruise.  On 8 May Jeremy would move his boat from D81 to D79 and I would bring Pachuca home to her pen D81.

During my travels I had been harbouring thoughts of resettling in La Paz but just two days back in Fremantle dispelled all such notions.  Australia is my home and this is where I want to live, but having said that, thanks to the speed and affordability of modern air travel I see myself making regular visits to North America and Mexico.

Two days after than Brenda drove me to Darlington for a very important visit.  We went to the post office where I signed a redirection order then visited the office of the real estate office that has been managing the lease of my house and had a good chat about the property and its future.

By then I had already decided that it was time to sell my house in Darlington and move to Fremantle.  It had not been an easy decision because I had built much of it myself during a time of different visions and dreams of the future, but the 5 year adventure had changed me and it was time to let go to pursue another vision.  To have renovated the house and remained would have been to live in a monument to the past.  The center of gravity of my life had shifted from the hills to the sea and after having spent 29 years commuting between Darlington and Murdoch University 30 km away toward Fremantle I didn't want to face whatever number of active years remaining commuting 40 km to Fremantle.

The best time for selling property in the hills is the spring when everything is lush, green, and flowery, so the plan is to put the house on the market in September at about the time I return from my visit to the USA.  I'll then look for a secure and low maintenance place in the Fremantle area where I can rely more on travel by foot, bicycle, and public transport and less on travel by car.

We then drove around the corner to the house for my first look in 5 years.  Fortunately Bob, the father of the teneant was home, and he gave us permission to visit my garage any time.  In that garage were stored all of my household furnishings and the small car (a zippy Barina that I love to drive) that thanks to Reg was waiting for me ready to go.  Reg had started the car and driven it for a complete service, a new battery, and two new front tyres.  One turn of the key and the engine burst into life immediately.  Fortunately I had kept up the registration of the car so there were no licensing issues.

Yesterday I attended to some urgent business.  Club Marine and other large marine insurance companies have stopped providing 3rd party insurance and will sell only comprehensive cover.  After 5 years at sea dealing with all sorts of hazards with no insurance coverage I could see no point in spending big dollars for being forced to under insure the boat.  I had become accustomed to regarding the welfare of the boat as being totally my responsibility.  Also, this boat that had been strong enough to have recently rounded the Horn would have to be hauled out for inspection, and the nearly new rigging that had been installed in Argentina would have to be checked by a professional.  Fortunately Trident Insurance will be able to provide the 3rd party cover that I require, with no requirement to have the boat surveyed.

I also visited Customs with my passport.  I had not been able to find my passports during my clearance procedure and fortunately had been allowed to stay on the strength of my WA drivers license.  However, I had been asked to present my passport for sighting after I found it.  I subsequently spent literally hours searching for those passports with no success.   At 4 AM one morning while I was still half asleep my mind had drifted around the cabin of the boat.  I visited the navigation station and because I had already visited the rest of the cabin I moved my consciousness to aft of the nav station.  I mentally went through the door to the communications closet and zoomed in on the yellow grab bag.  Of course!  After encountering the two icebergs I quietly prepared to abandon ship if I hit an iceberg on my way to the north out of harm's way, and I had moved my two passports from their usual position into the grab bag.  Brenda and I visited the boat after breakfast and the passports were there.  Customs has an interesting setup for telephone contact: if you ring the first number you never get an answer, and if you ring the second one you always get a busy signal.  After 2 days of this nonsense I visited the Customs building, which was interesting because everything inside the building was locked up and there was nobody around.  I rang a buzzer for people inquiring about goods in quarantine and fortunately the officer who emerged was very helpful and soon my passport had been officially sighted.

Then we went to the gigantic Garden City Mall where I faced the task of having my Medibank Private health insurance reinstated without prejudice.  The issue is whether my coverage is continued as an old member or started as a new member.  If my coverage starts as a new member I will have to pay big dollars for the coverage based on my advanced age.  Fortunately the man attending to me was sharp and very helpful and it appears that my coverage will be reinstated.

Brenda noted that this day marked the 5th anniversary of the beginning of the circumnavigation.  She, Arnold, and I had sailed out of Fremantle on 3 May 2008.

There are many things to do and people to see before my departure to the USA in early June, and it will keep me busy, though I'm confident that I'll be able to do it all.

Day 54 , The Last Night and Arrival

We sailed into the night of the 28th in very good conditions, with a fair wind of about 15 kts, relatively calm sea, and good visibility.

Scaramouche leading Pachuca

Morning Tide and Odyssey of Fremantle

As I was approaching the South Passage south of Rottnest Island a ship appeared off my starboard quarter sailing a few degrees more to the east than me, so the gap of our tracks was opening up.  However, I soon noticed that the ship was changing course to port so I made radio contact.  The officer told me that he was aware of me and was just testing his steering. (Huh?)  He continued changing his course and was soon headed almost north no doubt to go around the western end of Rottnest Island.  I tried matching his change but I could not carry the sail so after 30 minutes or so on converging tracks I altered course to starboard to pass behind him but I had misjudged things and was forced to continue through the tack and backwind the fully rolled out headsail in order to quieten it, and used the engine  After the ship had passed to a safe distance I tacked back and continued on to South Pass.  The ship incident had cost me 30 minutes of progress but that was not serious because I had ample time to meet the plans of the coming day.  I was to rendezvous with Jim Putt aboard his boat Morning Tide at 10 AM and arrive at he Customs jetty at noon.

Fortunately the sailing conditions were so good and the wind so fair that I decided that it would be safer to sail through the pass than to motor through it.  I would have Rottnest Island as a lee shore but I didn't expect a serious change in the wind conditions, and if need be I could either sail my way out of trouble or proceed under engine power.  The 3/4 moon was starting to rise which made the passage seem less threatening.

It was by sheer luck that I happened to be working the port winch when I saw two cray pot floats pass by in the dark.  One of the floats was pulled under the water so I figured that I had snagged the line with my propeller.  With the spotlight I was able to clearly see the line and float being dragged behind the boat so I knew that it was now impossible to use the engine for propulsion.

I sailed into Gage Roads, proceeded a safe distance to the north of the "Windmills" leads, the lay the boat ahull.  We were now drifting at about 0.5 kts to the NW.  I spent the rest of the night up dodging ships.  It is amazing the amount of ship movements during the night and I was forced to use the sail several times to get clear of ships both at anchor and on the move.

Starting Turn to Customs Jetty

Almost Home

Home

Greeting Peter Moore.  Jim McBeth Looking on, the Brenda, Pat, and Bob Kucera

I figured that since I had to be up anyway I may as well do something useful so I spent 90 minutes on the deck putting up the courtesy flags of the countries that I had visited as a way of dressing up the boat.  Protocol dictates that the host country's flag should fly topmost on the starboard side and below that were the flags of countries that we had visited in correct order: New Zealand, French Polynesia, USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil.  The large flag of the last country that we had visited, South Africa, was flown on the port side well below the Q flag.

After dawn I tried to snag the line and pull it up but it was too far down to reach.  Then I realized that I was probably dragging the entire cray pot, which explained why the float was below the water.  This was a more difficult situation and I realized that I would need some help.

I  had kept the VHF radio on all night tuned to channel 16 and not long after dawn I heard someone speaking who mentioned "Cockburn Rescue".  I immediately got on the radio and establish contact.  After explaining my plight he got my coordinates and told me that he would send out a rescue boat.  He asked if I was in immediate danger and I replied No because fortunately I was on the north side of the island drifting to the NW.  He told me that it would take some time for the volunteers to get started a I replied that there was no hurry and I was very grateful for their assistance.

The boat showed up about 90 minutes later with two men.  They could see the float, asked me the color of the line (white) and told me that I would have to go over the side and deal with it myself.  They set up a tow line to the stern of the boat in order to stop her drift.  I put the boarding ladder over the side, found my diving mask and a sharp knife, stripped down to my underclothes, and went over the side.  Fortunately the water was not too cold.  I found the that the rope had made a complete loop around the propeller, probably during the violent hobby horsing of the boat as she lay ahull, and there were two floats rather than one.  It took  3 dives but finally the propeller was free of the rope.  I had asked the men what I should do with the rope after I cut it and they said to simply let it go.  After I climbed back on board they asked me to test the steering and propeller so I started the engine and everything proved out OK.  They got some details from me and left with my expressions of gratitude.  This was a job that I would have done had I been forced to far out to sea, but I thought it risky to try the dive alone in particular because with the boat being pushed by the wind one way and the current heading the other way there was danger of not being able to reach the boat after a dive.  And in fact I did have trouble reaching the boarding ladder after one of the dives.

Jim Putt called me on the radio at about that time and I explained the situation and told him that I would need about 15 minutes before getting on the way for the rendezvous but that estimate was much too optimistic.  I remembered that I still needed to prepare the boat for the jetty by putting out the ropes and fenders.  I had a good cockpit bath to wash away the salt water, dressed in fresh clothes, put out the fenders and ropes, made a cup of coffee, then got under way.

Saying Hello to Jim McBeth

A Chat with Neil and Jim

On the way I got my first welcome surprise when Stuart came by in his power boat with Victor and a friend on board. We exchanged greetings and traveled together for a short while then parted because Victor had another commitment.

Eventually I caught sight of 3 sail boats that appeared to be waiting side by side and headed for them.  It was Jim Putt aboard his "Morning Tide",  Joanna  Pearson aboard her S and S 39 "Odyssey of Fremantle",  and another boat which I later learned was Ian Parker's boat.  As we approached the harbour area we were joined by a fourth boat, Anna Oldfield's "Scaramouche" well decorated with flags and they used an air horn to welcome my arrival.  The four escort boats were hanging back and allowing me to take the lead but after 5 years I was having trouble figuring out the route and I asked Scaramouche to take the lead.

As we entered the Marina I was surprised to see Caroline, Dennis, and daughter Madelyn on the rocks at the right then Stephen at the rocks on the left.  I thanked the escort boats as best I could then made the turn to the Customs jetty and was pleased to see Brenda waiting to take a line and was surprised to see two men prepared to help.  One of the men was Merv from the South of Perth yacht club, who I was very glad to see again. The other was FSC Commodore Bob Kucera. Bob and I had met before but when I realized that he was visiting in his capacity as the Commodore of the club I told him how honored I felt that he had taken the trouble to be at my arrival.  Not many sailors have had the honour of having their line taken by the Commodore.  Edgar Vitte, who had rigged Pachuca shortly after I had purchased her came by, and we agreed to meet later to discuss my experiences with the rigging and sails.  Then colleagues from my Murdoch University days came by, Peter and Sue Sumner and Neil Huck.   Cynthia telephoned to welcome me back,   I met Joanna (Odyssey) and Peter Moore. Pat Fitzgerald was there. She had been following the blog with her husband Bill for years.  Jim McBeth, a fellow member of the club dropped by.   Jim Putt paid a visit to the jetty.  Later I learned that the Chadwicks had been among the rocks on the north side. I met Samantha "Sam", the Assistant Harbour Master, who was to be very thoughtful and helpful to me.  Accommodation for boats at the marina was becoming tight because scores of visiting boats were arriving for the Bali race, and beginning with Tristan Yuswak the club's harbour master while I was still far out to sea, the Fremantle Sailing Club had done a wonderful job of planning accommodation for Pachuca until my pen was free (on 8 May).

All of this happened after a night of no sleep and no food since lunch on the previous day, so I was in a bit of a daze and everything seemed a bit dreamy and unreal.  But it was real and I was getting the warmest of welcome and it was great to be back.

Customs and AQIS (Quarantine) arrived 30 minutes later and both pairs did a very thorough job of inspecting the boat and my paperwork.  It was all quite amicable and although I lost two large packs of top quality almonds I was allowed to keep the raisins, flour, spaghetti, and other items that I thought were in jeopardy.  At first I could not find my wallet in order to pay the $330 charge from AQIS for their service, but I eventually found it at the bottom of the clothes closet.  However, I was not able to find my passports and I started a deep search of the boat for them the following day (today) with no success.  I am not panicking about the passports because I have always been very careful with them and they must be on board, but they are not where they should have been.

With Fremantle Support Team, Chatting with Cindy

Afterwards Brenda and Stephen drove me to their house and I was treated to a wonderful roast chicken dinner accompanied by a great merlot.  After the privations of life on the boat I felt that I was being given 5 star accommodation worthy of a king.

I slept like a log for 9 hours and woke up feeling a lot better.

I have Stephen to thank for the photos in this blog.

They're Here !

Pachuca came in very well to an enthusiastic gathering of supporters.

Thanks to those that turned out to welcome in Bob and Pachuca.

This is a very quick post for those that couldn't make the arrival.

Robert will need plenty of rest, after 2 nights without sleep.

There will be more photos of the arrival to follow :) thanks Stephen Fryc


Photos are:
Bob Kucera, FSC Commodore with Bob.

And Pachuca's mast.

  

Arrival is today ! !

Robert and Pachuca are due to complete their circumnavigation today, Monday 29 April. They are coming via the South Passage. Pachuca has picked up a cray-pot line which Robert will deal with when it is light.

The intention is to enter Success Harbour (Fremantle Sailing Club) just before midday. There is some info on how to see Pachuca come in to her home port that was posted (on this blog) a few days ago on 25 April. It includes a map and some phone numbers. Robert does not have a phone on board.

We all hope for a safe landing..... 

Day 53, April 28 -

At 11 AM local (WST) time I dressed up with sea boots and wet weather trousers to transfer the anchor chain from the V berth area below into the chain locker at the bow and then put out the anchor. Conditions were not too bad, though not ideal. There was enough wind to cause white capping and once in a while a wave would slap the bow sending spray over the foredeck. One problem was that I would have to have the forward hatch open for short periods of time and I did not want any more moisture going into the V berth section. Nevertheless the job had to be done because I did not want to be in the close waters of Cockburn Sound and Gage Roads without an anchor ready for deployment.

The first task was to get the chain into the locker. I opened the hatch and dead lifted half of the chain hand over hand so as not to scour the edge of the hatch base. I then began to feed it into the hawse pipe. Once I had 2 meters of chain dangling into the locker I took the rope at the end of the chain and lashed it to a bracket that I had installed for the purpose. The idea of the rope was that I would be able to knife through the rope it if forced to cut away the anchor rode during some emergency. I then lifted out the second half of the chain and shut the hatch, thankful that no sea water had passed through it.

Then it was time for the 45 lb plow anchor, which was stowed at the base of the clothes locker on top of the disassembled Swarbrick 50 lb anchor. I cleared out the clothes, lifted out the anchor, and placed it on the port (leeward) bunk of the V berth. Then from topside there was no other way of avoiding a one armed dead lift of the anchor up to the deck. The wet deck is wonderfully non-skid for footwear, but is like glass for metal objects, so I had to be careful about putting it into a stable position for the shackle work. In the bag for once I had brought everything that I needed: large adjustable wrench, long screw driver for holding the shackle while worked it with the wrench, stainless steel mousing wire, and side cutter pliers. Soon the chain was attached to the anchor and I worked it forward thankful that I had not put the chain on the wrong side of a sheet or the lifeline. At the bow there was no way around it: a one armed dead lift of the anchor leaning forward, shoulder against the forestay, deck pitching, trying to place the anchor stock on the roller. That went OK and other than a grumbling back the entire job had gone well. I remember surveying the scene while I was on the foredeck working on my knees, of the bright sunshine, blue water, bow cutting smartly through the water, and thinking to myself 'Savour these moments, mate, because your blue water sailing days are about to be over for a while.'

After tidying up I rescued the last 10 beers from their soggy cardboard case up forward, put them in the refrigerator, and started it up. I was getting bright sunshine to help charge the batteries, expected to run the engine during the night, and shucks, why not treat myself and visiting guests to cold beers.

I was pleased with the state of the boat. Other than a bit of last minute tidying up my remaining tasks were to have a bath and change of clothes, which I might well do during the night in the moonlight, and after daybreak putting up the Q (quarantine) and Aussie flags, putting the boat fenders in position, and set up dock lines fore and aft. From photos of the Customs jetty that Brenda and Stephen had sent me while I was in Cape Town I expected to go nose in with the jetty to my starboard, so most fenders would be set up on the starboard side but I would probably set up 2 on the port side, just in case.

At 1PM WST we were 39 miles directly west of Halls Head, 50 miles from Fremantle, and making 4.5 kts. The dream run continued.

At 3.30 PM WST I tried the car radio and received FM stations with crystal clarity. We level with Singleton, 32 miles to the east and coming up on Secret Harbour. Fremantle was 40 miles ahead. I set the ship's clock to WA time.

At 0800 UTC our numbers for the sailing day were:

POS 32S23, 115E07
NND 98 nm (in last 24 hours)
DMG 4880 nm (from Cape Town)
DTG 37 nm (to Fremantle)

We were 29 miles W of Secret Harbour.

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Day 53, April 28 - Early Morning Edition

I put my head down at 1300, 9 PM local time, and the sail immediately began to flog frequently enough to get me out of bed. The wind had died so I put the pole up in the hopes of keeping the boat moving, but by the time I had the new arrangement set up the wind had died to nothing, so I brought in the sail and let the boat drift in the moonlight. I was not worried because good winds were predicted for the coming day.

I was up at 1750 to the hum of the Rutland wind charger and it was time to set sail. I dressed up and went topside and one glance forward revealed the beautiful sight of a ship crossing my bow close, but not dangerously so. This was my first sight of humanity in more than 6 weeks. I looked up and saw that my tricolor was shining brightly and then went down below and saw that the ship was showing up as a target on the chart plotter: the Lucy Oldendorff, a cargo ship bound for New Plymouth, NZ. She was crossing 2.3 miles ahead of me, just outside of the 2 mile safety perimeter that would have triggered an alarm on the chart plotter. Thirteen miles ahead the Zosco Huzhou bound for China had already crossed my bow going the other way and must have passed close to the Lucy Oldendorff. I was in a shipping lane and my AIS system was working fine. I had been broadcasting an AIS signal continuously since Cape Town.

The wind was a good one: moderate but steady. The boat was pointing the right way so all I had to do was to roll out some headsail and alter the airvane just a few degrees, and just like that we were now making 5.5 kts across a calm sea. Down below I saw that we were now well north of Bunbury and 99 miles from our destination. I felt safe from ships because of the clear visibility as well as the AIS, so went back to bed.

I was up at dawn, 2230 UTC, to find the boat still sailing directly toward Fremantle 75 miles away.
There were scores of sea birds of at least 3 different speciens zooming all around the boat. We were 50 miles of the coast, making a good speed of 4.5 kts, and the moderate SE winds would continue until after my arrival at Rottnest Island. This was turning out to be a dream run up the coast.

I was now within the coverage of the set of Navionics charts of Australia on the chart plotter so now I was working with very detailed, recent, and well presented charts. The C-Map charts had done a great job of getting me from Mexico to this point, and in fact they were good enough to get me into Fremantle, but they could not match the Navionics charts. Undoubtedly the modern C-Map charts are to the same standard, but I was using C-Map 93, a much older version. The other great tool at my disposal was of course Marine Plotter running on the laptop because using it I would see the progress of the boat against very detailed Google satellite images. Imagining the ocean bottom from contour lines and spot depth is one thing. Being able to actually see the ocean bottom is another.

I expected to arrive at the holding position between Rottnest Island and Fremantle at about midnight local time. I planned to enter Cockburn Sound through the South Passage and station myself 5 or 6 miles E of Rottnest Island to await the dawn. I did not want to wait too close to Fremantle in order to avoid shipping movements. Once I established the direction and rate of drift I would see about getting a few hours of sleep with anchor alarms and timer set.

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Day 52, April 27 - ETA 29 April

At 1830 UTC still on the 26th (0230 on the 27th Western Australia time) we crossed the 200 mile mark and were now north of Cape Leeuwin.

I had been getting up frequently to deal with a wind shift that I knew was coming, and now I was up to attend to the sail, which had begun to occasionally flog with a sharp snap in the moderating wind. The full sail had been out for about 12 hours so I rolled in half of it in hoping to quiet it, but that didn't work and it was time to put up the whisker pole in the middle of the night. That led to 2 hours of hard work running between the cockpit and foredeck.

Light was not a problem because I had a nearly full moon almost directly overhead, and between that at my head torch I did not even need to turn on the deck light. But the rolling was a problem as always and I had to move carefully. The first big problem with hooking the pole at the bowline knot at the clew is that I've got to pull the flogging sail in with one hand and hook the pole in with the other while standing up. I do this by working with an arm on each side of the inner forestay. That leads to the second problem. I must then go back to the cockpit and loosen the sheets enough so that I can push the pole out far enough to hook it on the mast ring. As soon as I do that the sail starts flogging harder and there is great danger that if the sail spits the pole out it will go over the side. To prevent this I lashed the pole with an independent line which I made off at a bollard so that if the pole went over I would be able to pull it back on board. But now in addition to the flaying sheets there was that third line attached to a pole that could jump anywhere and I saw a risk of getting caught up in a rope so I started carrying a rigging knife in the pocket of the wet weather trousers, something that I should have been doing all along. In fact the pole almost did go over the side. After loosening the sheets I made my way forward and just as my hand reached out to the pole the end came off the sheet and it was headed for the water. I grabbed the pole just in time and saved it by, well, a whisker. I clipped the pole back onto the sail then it was a matter of manhandling the other end of the pole onto the mast ring. This was not so easy because the pole was pumping back and forth violently and I had to control it with one hand. Finally I got the pole onto the mast ring then went back to the cockpit and set the sail.

I've tried to describe what the pole work is like in order to give an idea of how I felt when I looked at our heading and saw that the wind shift had come while I was wrestling with the pole. That meant a gybe which meant that I had to bring the pole down and do it all over again.

I was well rewarded for the effort because the result was that we were moving well again with a quiet sail heading directly for Cape Naturaliste 114 miles away. The forecast was for the wind to steadily back toward the S and eventually the SE, so I knew that the boat would clock around nicely with it and eventually I would be on a beam reach making for Fremantle.

I sat at the steering station to cool off and get some rest and it was such a lovely experience with the cool breeze, calm sea, bright moonlight, that I didn't want to get up again. But I have always been partial to moonlight sailing.

I woke up after dawn and found the boat headed NNE. The wind had backed to the SSE much faster than I had expected. The wind would now be on the beam so once again I dropped the pole. While I was at it I removed the staysail from the foredeck and stowed it below for drying later. I needed clear the foredeck in preparation for the task of moving the chain and anchor from the clothes closet below to the bow of the boat.

----- ETA -----
The morning's spot report looked amazingly good, with moderate SE and SSE winds for the next 2 days. I should be able to reach the vicinity of Rottnest Island at about midnight on 28 April. (Yikes! That's tomorrow night !!!!) I will stand off until dawn on Monday the 29th and try to be at the Customs dock before noon.
----- ETA -----

I soon sent a notification of my ETA to Customs, Quarantine, and others.

I spent two hours doing a bit of cleaning in the cabin. The principal objective was to clean out the refrigerator and ice box compartments, throwing out all fresh vegetables and whatever perishables might remain. Overboard went a half dozen very good onions and potatoes that had passed their prime but were still good for cooking. Garlic went overboard too. At the end both compartments were clean and in good order for the Customs official. I also moved the laptop from the main table back to the navigation table. Moving the laptop to the main table had been a great move and probably saved the computer.

The morning's SAMMNet session was not good, at least at my end. After a 90 second wait called out my numbers, saying everything twice. I was confident that Graham had copied me OK. I told him that I would try again at the "lunch" session which would me setting an alarm to wake up.

My nocturnal pole dancing on the foredeck must have paid off because the 24 hour sailing day numbers at 0800 UTC were surprisingly good:

POS 38S32, 113E45
NND 124 nm
DMG 4778 nm
DTG 134 nm

We were on the exact same latitude as Cape Naturaliste 60 miles to the east. Soon we would be passing Bunbury, and perhaps I would detect my first ship on AIS since South Africa.

I ran the engine for 90 minutes because I was now running the chart plotter 24 hours a day. Had I done a 1-hour run I would have been able to boast of a complete engine run with no oil pressure alarm. Alas, in the 75th minute the alarm went off.

Because of the fantastic throughput I've been getting from Sailmail I downloaded my first grib file in many weeks, for 2 days, every 3 hours, and the rectangle between the position of the boat and Fremantle. The wind predictions were very good, and if the wind remained strong enough to allow me to keep sailing throughout the coming night, even at a minimal 2.5 kts, we would be a shoo-in for making the ETA.

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Day 51, April 26

I woke up 4 hours before dawn and things were so quiet that I was afraid that we were close to being becalmed. However, outside under the full moon things looked different. The sea was calm and apparent wind was strong and steady enough to keep us moving well. The occasional flapping of the sail was caused by momentary lulls in the wind when the boat was catching up to its speed. Nevertheless the wind was light and I marvelled how the Monitor could steer the boat so well. As far as the sail and our boat speed goes, the key was that whisker pole that kept the headsail flat and steady. Without that pole we probably would have been drifting all night.

A check of the track showed that we had been averaging 4 kts over the 10 hours since the "noon" report. The wind had shifted 30 degrees in our favor and now we were making for south of Cape Leeuwin. I tweaked the airvane to alter our heading more to the north. Conditions were mild and I went to the airvane barefoot and in my light clothes.

I was looking forward to listening to the radio in the coming day. I was now in a "news rich" environment with a choice between Radio Australia and the BBC. Yesterday I heard a good account of the Aussie ANZAC Day services and from the BBC learned of a fire at the Austal shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

The wind picked up as dawn approached and I was able to make directly for Fremantle at 5.5 kts. The whisker pole had worked well all night and I decided to keep it up in the rising wind because I knew that I could reduce the sail area by half with the pole up.

At 0100 UTC, about 2 hours after dawn, I downloaded a fresh spot forecast and according to it I could look forward to two glorious days of good winds. However, I could expect the wind at 19 kts in only 6 hours. The whisker pole had done a brilliant job but now it was time to take it down. In these stronger winds I no longer needed the pole and I wanted the flexibility of sailing with the bare headsail. It was tricky enough taking the pole down in this lighter wind. Fortunately while I was standing next to the inner forestay frantically trying to pull in the jerking sheet so that I could free the pole the gyrations of the sail and sheet caused the pole to free itself. The safest method would be to roll the entire headsail in but that places the clew of the sail too high and beyond my reach.

After the pole operation we were still headed at 060T, between Cape Naturaliste and Fremantle and we were now under 300 miles (297) from the finish. Things were looking up.

I decided to treat myself with fresh baked bread and I produced three small loaves that rival a professional effort in lightness and crust. I started off by dissolving plenty of butter and sugar in a bowl of warm water. When solution had cooled down to blood heat I added 2 hefty tea spoons of yeast the mixed in almost an entire 1 kg bag of flour. I had just finished running the engine for one hour so I put the bowl with the dough on the engine cover and under a coat and a wool sweater. The residual heat from the engine did wonders for the rising process. This time I tried making 3 small loaves instead of 2 large ones and got much better results from the aged and somewhat flawed oven.

The engine run went well. The oil pressure alarm came on after 24 minutes and from there on it was a cycle of on and off with the alarm.

I had a great morning session with Graham. I got poor copy from him at first but then reception improved and he was able to pass on some valuable information about the winds that I can expect during the run up the coast to Fremantle. Tomorrow morning the wind will be S-SW 10-15 kts all of the way to Fremantle. On Sunday at 0600 the wind will be S-SE 10-15 kts. He will email a more detailed forecast to me. I suggested that since we had a good exchange in this session we skip the lunchtime one because by then it is well after dark on Pachuca. We agreed to skip the session and if we failed to connect tomorrow morning we would try again at the lunchtime session. This will be the first time that I can recall that I miss one of the twice daily sessions. At this point, by the way, Graham and I are over 4500 nautical miles apart.

The starboard water tank that supplies the galley finally ran dry, after 51 days. I switched on the pressure pump so that I could get tap water from the port tank. Normally pressure water is a big no-no during a passage, but we were so close to the finish that I could see no point in carting water in jugs from the hand pump in the head.

At 0800 UTC the numbers for the 24 hour sailing day were:

POS 34S55, 111E44
NND 114 nm
DMG 4644 nm
DTG 258 nm

We were entering the shallower waters of the Naturaliste Plateau and were now north of the latitude of the city of Albany.

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