The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson
Sailing Yacht Truce
Upon entering the clinic I was met by a gentleman behind a desk, the receptionist I assumed. I explained my problem to him, he came around the desk and had a look in my mouth. Oh yes, he said, I can fix that, he led me to another room, sat me in the dental chair and said he would be back in a couple of minutes. Now I had to assume that the receptionist was in fact the dentist even if he didn’t have a white coat on.
Over the last few months I have been noticing a slight trace of diesel around the top of the injector pump where the fuel lines come out and up to the injectors. I had that nagging feeling that something was not right. Engine problems don’t heal themselves, they only get worse.
For my upcoming trip I have bought four large Jerry cans to carry extra diesel. I dislike carrying Jerry Cans on deck and certainly would not do so on an ocean crossing. But, in the equatorial latitudes there are fickle winds and more motoring than usual can be expected. Having a larger reserve of fuel on board reduces the chore of running a dinghy ashore to find fuel and fill jerry cans.
Gove anchorage in Inverell Bay is mostly a peaceful place. With the easterly and southeasterly winds there is no sea or swell intrusion. The wind when it gets up is only a minor disturbance. So that’s good. The downside is that Truce is becoming a dirty red colour, the same as everything around here. It’s the windborne bauxite dust that settles everywhere.
At midnight I started the engine, we had no wind and there seemed no prospect of wind as a thick wet mist had descended on us. Unfortunately, at 02:00 the engine spluttered and then stopped, the silence was deafening. I tracked the problem to air in the fuel system and once it was bled, we... Continue Reading →
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 