Author: mtashby

Current Position: 33 01.608’S 17 597.628’’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG:0; COG: N/A; TWS: 10; TWD: 006; Current Speed: 0.7 kt; Current Direction: 199; Distance to Waypoint (Saldanha): Moored; Total Miles Sailed: 16600 nm; Engine Hours: 409; Estimate Fuel: 54+11+50;
Comments: I woke up in the middle of the night and figured out what went wrong with the engine. When I overfilled the main tank it pushed unfiltered fuel into the day tank via the vent line. I need to drain the day tank. The problem is I am at capacity and don’t have anyplace to put the fuel. I ran the engine for 408-393=15h. I probably used 8-9 gal of fuel. However, the main tank was overfilled by maybe 3-5 gal, so I need to find capacity for perhaps 10 gal of fuel to drain the tank. The only way I can think of doing that is to give away the fuel in two Jerry cans. The good news is the injectors may be fine. If I can clean up the fuel, I will test the engine before pulling the injectors. After soaking the old injector nozzles in PB Blaster overnight, I was able to separate one of the pintles from its nozzle. I returned the others to the bath to soak. This means I gave at least one backup if I end up pulling the injectors from the engine and find one is fouled and cannot be cleaned. After thinking about it a bit, I realize I had already anticipated the problem of emptying the day tank into the main tank. I just had to turn two ball valves. There should be just enough room in the main tank to do it. While the fuel was pumping, I decided I needed to look at the injectors. Just as I did in Dawin, I broke the fuel return manifold while getting the injectors out. I bought a spare, but only one. When I install it I will not have a backup. It was good that I pulled them as they were fouled. More significantly, the second from the front came out with its heat shield because I had accidentally used two copper washers in Darwin. This means that cylinder was probably not firing as well. I was able to get the heat shield off without damaging it. I had an important decision to make. Should I two to take the injectors apart and clean them while risking damaging one. It seemed unlikely I would be able to get the pintles out, and the rest of the inside of the injectors were probably fine. I decided to soak the ends of the injectors for half a day and reinstall them. I dare not risk pulling them out again without getting another fuel return manifold. I changed the oil, but remarkably I did not have a spare oil filter. That is very surprising because I thought I had plenty of them. I was so sure I had them, I didn’t check before I started changing the oil. I thought perhaps I put the “extra” spare air and oil filters somewhere else, but I do not think so. I have decided I cannot go without these filters, so I am taking a Uber to a local AutoZone. Before going, I checked the day tank and it had still not been emptied after several hours. I changed the Racor fuel filter and the back pressure dropped significantly. I can hear the fuel dropping into the main tank. I visited two auto parts stores, but neither had either filter. I can back, reassembled the engine, and pumped fresh fuel into the day tank. The engine runs smoothly but it still smokes. I tried removing the air filter to make sure enough air was being delivered, but that did not help. I put some additive in the day tank that is supposed to clean injectorsand ran it for an hour, but that did not help. My choices are to pull the injectors again or just leave. I can try to take the injectors apart, but given my experience with the other set, that probably is not going to happen, so I would have to find a place that can service them locally. That probably means moving the boat. Also, I am certain I would have to check out again. If I pull the injectors again, I risk break the return line. It could take weeks to get a replacement. I am going to sleep on it, but I am inclined to leave. If I do, it means only using the engine when absolutely necessary (in and out of ports, etc.). Just fire it up every few days to keep it lubricated. I found the name of a person in a nearby town who cleans and calibrates diesel injectors. I contacted him and tomorrow is the last day his shop is open until they close for the holidays. He said he could service the injectors tomorrow. I managed to remove the injectors without damaging the fuel return manifold. I spoke with the marina office about not being able to leave tomorrow. They said don’t worry about it … even if I cannot leave until Monday it will be fine. I am Going to pump the fuel back out of the day tank, remove the fuel drain line, and empty the last little bit that the pickup tube misses. I will also replace the fuel filter (thereby removing the last of the fuel in the engine.

Current Position: 33 01.608’S 17 597.628’’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG:0; COG: N/A; TWS: 10; TWD: 006; Current Speed: 0.7 kt; Current Direction: 199; Distance to Waypoint (Saldanha): Moored; Total Miles Sailed: 16600 nm; Engine Hours: 408; Estimate Fuel: 55+11+50;
Comments: As the sun goes down, the wind is veering. It is 20:00 and it is still light enough to see I am surrounded by rain showers. The wind is still due N and single digits. The swells however are to the berm, and the rocking is causing the sails to slat at any course that makes progress. Since the wind is supposed to die down for the next six hours, I have furled the jib and am motoring directly towards the waypoint. I tried to drop the main, but the boat rolled violently. When the wind picks up again around 1:00, it will be coming from the S. It is almost midnight. The wind is only 5 kt. The glasses I wear offshore have broken at the hinge and cannot be repaired. I am wearing my “good” glasses. I will have to try to cannibalize the glasses to make another “offshore” pair. I am passing Dassen Island. It is midnight. I have 24 miles to go to the channel into the bay. I’d like to be there no later than 6:00, 6h from now, so I need to average 24/6=4 kt. I have only been averaging about 3.6 with the sails down. However, I am starting to pick up a current and I expect some wind in a couple of hours, which should allow me to motorsail 5 kt or so the last 4h. Speak of the devil … it is 15m later and the 10 kt wind has suddenly shifted to the S. I unfurled the jib and am making 4.3 kt. It is 2:30 and I am 15 nm away. It is 4:00 and I am 8 nm away. The chart plotter says I will arrive at 5:45. I will stop early, drop the sails, and contact the Port Captain on VHF 12 to request permission to enter the harbor and proceed to Yachtport (which will be about 5 nm away. I should be approaching the docks around 7:00. It is 4:45 and the wind has dropped to lo single digits and veered, rendering it useless. I furled the jib. I am about 5 nm from the channel into the harbor. I lowered and lashed the storm staysail and the mainsail about 5:15. I reached the entrance channel at 5:45 and request permission to enter the harbor and proceed to Yachtport. The dolphins showed up to welcome me. The wind is blowing 14 with gusts of of 19. It was blowing about 12 at the dock and I had no problem securing the boat. I informed Yachtport that I had arrived. They gave me paperwork to fill out. I met with Immigration at 10:30. It couldn’t have been easier. I have cleared out. I am required to leave within 48h. I did not sleep at all last night, so I was going to take a nap, but decided to get to work on the injectors. I wanted to start by cleaning the old injectors, I had no problem finding them and the carburetor cleaner I needed. I understand how the injectors work now … they’re the pintle nozzle type. There should be no problem cleaning them. I’ve left the originals soaking overnight. In the morning, I will drain the day tank back to the main, pull the injectors and clean them, change the oil and filters (air, fuel, and oil), reassemble everything, and polish new fuel into the day tank. I plan to leave Friday morning. I am not going to spend much time exploring Saldana. Most of the stuff is too far to walk to.

Current Position: 33 48.800’S 18 08.688’’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG:3.8; COG: 063; TWS: 7; TWD: 006; Current Speed: 0.7 kt; Current Direction,:010; Distance to Waypoint (Saldanha): 46 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 16522 nm; Engine Hours: 393; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: I woke up about 5:30 and washed the deck again. There are some clouds, but it does not look like rain quite yet. The forecast is for rain sometime between 21:00 and 24:00. For Hout Bay, the wind is 1-10 from the S veering to the W until 12:00, so there is no rush getting out of here. The route has me going due W for 10 nm, then due N for about 60 nm. If I leave about 9:00, I should arrive about sunrise while averaging 3.7 kt. I will only see double digit winds to is afternoon until dusk and again early tomorrow morning. The winds will start out from the W and veer to the S by midnight. By then I will be well clear of Cape Town. Because of the light winds and the changing directions, I will use the TillerPilot. The wind will be from the S 10-16 with gusts of 19 kt at dawn tomorrow in Saldanha, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to dock. From the photos, it looks like the docks are very sturdy (intended for big yachts), but will be easy to step onto. Using Sailclear, I submitted my Arrival Notification for Barbados for February 5. I pushed off at 9:00 sharp. Once I cleared the shoals at the mouth of the bay, I set a course due W. There was no wind, so I didn’t bother raising the sails. What little wind there was came from the W, and I was motoring right into it. I need to get out about 10 nm to catch the current. I didn’t bother stowing the mooring lines or the fenders since I will need them again in the morning. One of the screws that hold on the TillerPilot bracket came out again … the same one. Don’t understand as it has a lock washer. I put it back in with some blue Loctite. It is 10:00 and I have some white smoke in the exhausts there is some water in the day tank. I shut the engine off. Fortunately, there is 15 kt of wind from the N. I am making about 2.5 kt SOG against a 0.6 kt current in a close haul. I am circulating the fuel through the filter to try to remove any water. I raised the storm staysail with 90% of thr Yankee and a double-reefed main I was making 3.1 kt. I am going to wait to see what happens with the current before thinking about shaking a reef out of the main. Need to be careful not to go too fast. It is 10:30 and as I expected the current is beginning to rotate. The SOG is now 3.6. It is 10:40. I have not collected any water from the day tank, perhaps because I am heeled over to the port and the take-up tube is on the starboard. I turned the pump off and wait until I tack. It is 11:00 and the wind has dropped to 10 kt, but I do have a favorable 0.6 kt current, so I am still averaging almost 3 kt. The wind is from 038. I expect it to back to the W in 3-4h. I will tack sometime before then. The wind backed to 350 and I tacked at 12:30 only for the 8 kt wind to veer back to 40, so I tacked again. At 13:30 the wind direction was between 010 and 025, so I tacked again (and turned on the polishing pump). The course was parallel to the coast but towards Robben Island. If the wind does not veer, I will need to tack again in a couple of hours. I am making about 3 kt in a close haul. It is 18:00. I have been sailing 9h, but have only made about 20 nm on because the wind has been blowing directly from Saldanha, and I have been tacking back and forth all day. The wind has backed a bit, to 015, but not nearly as much as was predicted. The engine still smokes. I do not believe there is water in the tank. One or more of the injectors must be fouled. I will been to remove and try to clean them in Saldanha.

Current Position: 34 02.971’S 18 20.883’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: 40; TWD: 182; Current Speed, 0 kt; Current Direction, my Distance to Waypoint (Hout Bay): in a slip; Total Miles Sailed: 16487 nm; Engine Hours: 388; Estimate Fuel: 60+15+50;
Comments: I woke up about 2:30 and took care of some business on-line. I was awaken by fishing boats that were running generators for some reason. Don’t know why they just didn’t connect to shore power. I fell back asleep and woke up at 5:45. The generators were still running. I received a notice that my package is out for delivery. I washed the boat again because the birds had a party last night. I settled my bill with the marina. I received instructions and an appointment for clearing out at 10:30 on Wednesday. At 9:00 I went shopping. By 11:00 I was unloading the provisions. I probably have two weeks of food in the fridge. I will have to be careful to eat it in order of most perishable. There some things I need to put in the fridge as I make room (citrus fruit, apples, etc.). Most everything was stored by 11:30. The solenoids arrived at 12:30. By 1:30 it was installed and tested. I left the line pressurized but the bottle turned off while I returned the rental car to pressure-test the connections. I was back from dropping the rental car off by 3:00 and submitted a Passage Plan with the OSASA. The gas line does not leak, so I put the tools away. Everything is stowed and the boat is ready. I want to do a quick cleaning of the cabin, get a shower, and call it a night.

Current Position: 34 02.971’S 18 20.883’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: 40; TWD: 182; Current Speed, 0 kt; Current Direction, my Distance to Waypoint (Hout Bay): in a slip; Total Miles Sailed: 16487 nm; Engine Hours: 388; Estimate Fuel: 60+15+50;
Comments: I woke up a little after 5:00 after sleeping very hard. By 8:00 all the laundry was washed and I started pumping out the main water tank. By 9:00 the water tank and jugs were filled. I “processed” three dozen eggs (coated them with canola oil and stored them in plastic egg crates). The eggs I bought were never refrigerated and they had down on them (had never been washed), so I know these will easily last two months. Another 20 or so ere left in the cardboard egg crates and were not coated in oil. I will use these up in the next two weeks (hard boiled eggs, etc.). The clothes were dry by 11:30 and I put them away.by 13:00 I had cleaned the fridge and put the random food away.

Current Position: 34 02.971’S 18 20.883’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: 40; TWD: 182; Current Speed, 0 kt; Current Direction, my Distance to Waypoint (Hout Bay): in a slip; Total Miles Sailed: 16487 nm; Engine Hours: 388; Estimate Fuel: 60+15+50;
Comments: I woke up at 5:00. I got ready to go for a hike and it unexpectedly began to rain at about 7:00. This was not in the forecast … it seems to be an isolated shower. I took the time to work on details for my departure. I checked the tracking for the propane solenoids and they are already in South Africa. The package just left Joberg, presumably for Cape Town, so it looks like I will indeed receive the package by Monday. I am planning a departure for Saldanha about 10:00 on Tuesday, before the wind picks up. It looks like very light winds for 24h, which is good because I plan to slow my roll to arrive a Yachtport early Wednesday morning. I have scheduled my outgoing formalities for later that day. Depending on when they are finished, I will either leave Wednesday or Thursday morning. I expect the first leg of the passage, the 1700 nm to my first waypoint, St. Helena, to take 15-16 days, so I will celebrate Christmas and New Years during the first leg. It is 8:00 and the rain clouds are still around the mountains. May not be the day for a hike. I am going to run errands and move some supplies (bottled water, etc.). After doing some shopping, the weather improved. I was at the trailhead by 10:00. The hike was grueling (because my legs were unaccustomed to such activity after nine months on the boat), but the scenery was spectacular. I crawled back to the car about 17:00 after having climbed Chapman’s Peak via the long route. I didn’t feel human again until after a long, hot shower.

Current Position: 34 02.971’S 18 20.883’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: 40; TWD: 182; Current Speed, 0 kt; Current Direction, my Distance to Waypoint (Hout Bay): in a slip; Total Miles Sailed: 16487 nm; Engine Hours: 388; Estimate Fuel: 60+15+50;
Comments: I woke up at 4:00. Heavy fog moved into the bay from the mountains after first light. After tea, I started this morning by replacing zip-ties outside that hold various cables and wires. I then put Tef-gel on the outboard clamp. I have not used the outboard since Rodrigues and I probably won’t use it again until Barbados, if then. I know from experience the steel screws of the clamp cause the aluminum bracket to corrode. That is what has happened to the 2.5 hp motor. I will probably have to cut it off when I get back. At 8:30 I went with Richard in the marina’s workboat to fill my Jerry cans. The fuel is now at capacity. The diesel worked out to $4/gallon. By 9:30 I had all of the Jerry cans secured on deck. I then focused on storing the prepped meals. I put about two weeks worth under the map cabinet and the rest (and some other random ingredients) I put in the bin on the sole of the forward cabin. Most everything is put away in the main cabin. I am going to dump out all the water and refill all the tanks and Jerry cans on Sunday. I will also do a thorough cleaning of the main cabin then. It started to rain about 12:30. The wind is blowing hard from the N and it was driving the rain into the cockpit and cabin. I buttoned the cabin up. It will be nice to get everything rinsed off. It is 14:30 and it is still raining. This is the longest I have seen it rain since arriving in South Africa.

Current Position: 34 02.971’S 18 20.883’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: 40; TWD: 182; Current Speed, 0 kt; Current Direction, my Distance to Waypoint (Hout Bay): in a slip; Total Miles Sailed: 16487 nm; Engine Hours: 388; Estimate Fuel: 60+15+0;
Comments: I woke up at 4:30 and got out of bed at 5:00. After my tea, I got to work, taking advantage of the fact there was no wind. I hoisted the mainsail to make sure it was installed correctly and to measure the reefing line for a Dyneema sheath. I installed the sheath and both lines, hoisting the mainsail a second time to make sure everything was working. After breakfast, I got back to work by lifting the dinghy to get aces to the forward hatch so I could cover it in plastic. I then filled the main tank using the Jerry cans. Just as I was finishing adding the tenth 5 gal can, the tank overflowed, meaning I had 10 gals more in the tank than I thought I did. Since I only guesstimate the amount of fuel from the number of hours the engine has run (and fuel consumption depends on rpm and load), I am conservative when predicting fuel consumption. I’d rather underestimate the amount of fuel than overestimate it. I am going to fill the Jerry cans tomorrow. I washed the outside of the boat. The weather forecast has changed. Instead of this weekend, it is now supposed to rain tomorrow. Accordingly, I will work on the interior of the boat tomorrow and plan to go hiking this weekend.

Current Position: 34 02.971’S 18 20.883’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: 40; TWD: 182; Current Speed, 0 kt; Current Direction, my Distance to Waypoint (Hout Bay): in a slip; Total Miles Sailed: 16487 nm; Engine Hours: 388; Estimate Fuel: 2+15+45;
Comments: The weather was unexpectedly harsh yesterday and it blew very hard all night. I woke at 5:00 and it is still blowing. I had planned to put up the jib this morning, but will have to wait. I will cut the new sheets and cover them with the anti-chaffing material. I was supposed to have the hull cleaned, but I am not sure that is happening with the wind rocking the boat. I made new sheets for the jib, covered them with a Dyneema sheath to keep them from chafing, and raised/furled the jib. I started to transfer fuel when the people arrived to clean the hull. The last time I got the hull cleaned was as in Vanuatu in July, five months ago.

Current Position: 34 02.971’S 18 20.883’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: 40; TWD: 182; Current Speed, 0 kt; Current Direction, 0; Distance to Waypoint (Hout Bay): in a slip; Total Miles Sailed: 16487 nm; Engine Hours: 388; Estimate Fuel: 5+12+50;
Comments: IO fell asleep a little after 7:00, before it got dark and slept to almost 5:00. I got up at and reinstalled the propane system, sans the solenoid and with the new regulator. I will turn the main valve on and off until the solenoid arrives. After my tea (I missed it yesterday), I replaced the defective manual fresh water pump. This is the second pump I have replaced. Both were knockoffs. I used the Whale Pump brand this time, so hopefully it will last. There was a leak under the sink. At first I thought it might be the trap that I replaced in Darwin (which would be bad news. Now I think it might have been the pump I replaced. I am going to let the cabinet dry out and figure out where the leak was coming from, or if it was in fact the pump. I moved on to organizing the new provisions. I put about two weeks of meals in the cabinet, which I figure with the fresh food will last about half the passage. The rest (and some random food items) I am storing in the tub strapped to the floor in the forward cabin. I still have not heard from Viking about the raft. I am going to try to take my fouled injectors to be cleaned and calibrated (rather than try to find new spares locally. I have plotted a potential course to Barbados. It will be about two weeks from Saldanha to St. Helena, hugging the coast initially to take advantage of the Benguela current, about a week to a waypoint just past Ascension, about two weeks due E to Brazil, a few hundred miles N of Recife, then another two weeks along the coast to Barbados.