Indiana Jones and the Trough of DOOOOOM

Well this is another interesting passage. With incidents a plenty.

We left in 30 knots of wind, hammering along in rough seas. As that died away we approached the "Trough of Doom". The boats ahead crossed it earlier, glad we missed that bit. However we had the anticipation. This trough was for us a shift from 10kns breeze from the north east to 20 knots from the South West in about 5 minutes. Radical.

Miss Tippy hit it and lost both Main and Yankee. They're short of fuel with only the jib left. they had a 180 degree wind shift with 45 knots in only a minute. That's enough to wreck the day of even an Oyster 57. Others had similar experiences. The trough was moving at about 15kns in an easterly direction so with an all day radio chat we had a pretty accurate picture of when it was going to hit.

As I say for us it wasn't too bad.

We had our share of incidents.  Yesterday morning about 12 hours before the "Trough of Doom" the wind dropped and I started the engine. I remember it well it was about 3:40am. alarms shrilled throughout the boat. Bilge alarm. This is not entirely without precedent. Every time we run the genny we have to pump as it leaks. We fitted and tested a new automatic switch to pump it for us. Doesn't work, in this case that was a blessing. A jubilee clip had given out on the engine and was pumping salt water all over the place. It looked bad but in the end it was no biggy. New clip and some quality time in the "hobbit hole" an oily salty rubbery smelly area between the engine a fuel tank and the genset. And we had the engine running again.

 Boat Alternators:
Boat batteries are frequently deep cycle
or Gel based and sensitive to over charge
in addition they're often depleted. Cars
are always thin plate start batteries. Usually
just in need of a top up.
Therefore we and many others have a BIG
alternator, to charge the batteries. But it
would cook them if it ran for 2 long.
Therefore are alternator can vary its output,
kicking out loads of power at the start and 
then cutting back when the batteries are full

We dried off the nobby external regulator for the alternator. It was in a puddle of salt water.

No electricity bad, and yes though it came to life it stopped charging almost immediately.

Given that there's going to be a new Generator fitted in Mackay, you can see how little faith we have in the old one. And the main battery charger (used to charge the batteries off the mains, or genny). Also got splashed we were concerned.

After much cleaning and polishing we were about to give up and hot wire our alternator to  just run unregulated. When we cleaned some extra salt paste of the gap between the unused battery temp pins and the earthed casing. TTL logic, If I remember rightly is default high but is easily pulled to a 0. Thus making the smart regulator think the batteries were overheating and backing off.

3 1/2 hours late fithy and exhausted I got off watch and went to go to bed. Self prescribed medicinal rum administered.

If you wonder what the hell the Indiana Jones reference was about, well wonder no more. I've often intended (read wished) to do a little animation, like the air travel sequences of the Indiana  Jones movie, but with a boat moving over the map. I tried it for a new feature length video I'm working on (coming to a Christmas stocking near you, or possibly youtube). Working title "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Ocean". Its comming along quite nicely if I do say so my self....

Yes I know its not finished.... Its a work in progress. You'll have to "da da daa daa, dur dur" along to it in your head till I get hold of the music.