The night is calm and we continue to motor. We normally use the starboard engine more than the port one but as the batteries aren’t charging we use the port engine more, and subsequently have almost scorching hot water.
When Mike gets up he tells me that I have to stay up for a while rather than going straight to bed as he has to sort out the problem with the starboard engine. As this means pulling the bed apart in the starboard cabin and stowing it in our cabin, there is no way I can even get to my bed so I leave him to it, hoping that the solution will be a quick one.
Well, it’s not as quick as I hope but he does fix it. It turns out to be a problem with the fan belt which he replaces after taking a long time deciding which of the many different sized fan belts that are in his spares cupboard it actually requires. What the others are for is a mystery to both of us.
Over an hour later and covered in engine oil and muck, my little pig pen (Mike) has got everything working and the cabin put back together. I just have to provide him with a bucket of hot soapy water to wash himself down with (I think a hose pipe and a long handled scrubbing brush would be better) before I escape to bed and sleep until 1.30 pm. I would have been there longer except Mike gets lonely (hungry more like it) and comes to get me.
I provide him with ostrich steaks and ratatouille (although it’s made with green beans rather than peppers) and then he goes to bed.
It’s lovely in the cockpit in the afternoon. There is just enough of a cool breeze to make the heat of the sun comfortable, and I happily lie and finish a really good book.
As usual, the sunset is beautiful and the sea is so calm that both Mike and I watch it from the bows of the boat. Some time during the night we will be half way to Salvador.
Our position is: 14 deg 35 min S, 22 deg 14 min W
Distance so far: 21133 nautical miles
No comments:
Post a Comment