Where Is The Far Reach--Part III

[John Stone]

The sun is up and rising over Water Island. Solar panels working great. One of the advantages to having them in on flexible power cords is you can move them around and keep them in the sun. They are wired parallel so one panel in the shade does not affect the other. Still getting sorted out here.

[John Stone]

I received an email from Yves Gelinas, designer/builder if the Cape Horn Windvane. He said he had some trouble with vane detachment in the Sargasso Sea as well. He suggested more tension (which I have done with the four loops) or filing the notches the pins fit into a little deeper. Going deeper with the notches would probably be the most assured way of preventing premature detachment. But, Yves also warned me filing deeper notches might make it harder for the oar to detach if a hard object is struck. I'll probably take my chances and go deeper with the notches.

I added a few pictures for anyone interested in better understanding how the oar is attached.

[John Stone]

Boat work never stops. This morning a piece of the teak grate for Sweet Pea cracked off. Hauled out the tools and sawed a little, drilled a little, glued a little, installed wood plugs. She'll be fine till we can do a more extensive refit on her grate when we get home.

[Sea Hunt Video]

There is not much in this world that is prettier than a tall Guinness.

John, I hope you had one of your Guinness "for me". One of these days, on my bucket list, I hope to be granted permission to board by the commanding officer of S/V Far Reach when she is back in her home port.

[John Stone]

There is not much in this world that is prettier than a tall Guinness.

John, I hope you had one of your Guinness "for me". One of these days, on my bucket list, I hope to be granted permission to board by the commanding officer of S/V Far Reach when she is back in her home port.

Yes. Yes I did Roberto. And you are welcome aboard the FR any time mi amigo.

[John Stone]

Well, it's Christmas Eve. I spent the morning repairing the line that connects the mooring ball to the pendant. I purchased some 1" line and spliced it into the riser. This is the same mooring I was on three years ago. There are four huge helix screws in the bottom (26' of water) all spread out and then chained together. The last time I was here I replaced the pendant and swivel with a domestic one and in the next few days I'll replace the shackles with some 7/8" domestic ones. The mooring is loaned to me by a good friend. I try to leave it in better shape than I found it.

I spent about an hour in the water just snorkeling around the the FR and a couple friends boats. I am happy to report there is nary a barnacle or any type of marine growth on the hull. Pristine. And the FlexOFold prop is clean as a whistle. Of course we have only been back in the water five weeks. LOL.

After lunch I rowed Sweet Pea about 3/4 of a mile to a sea wall near French Town and then walked a mile to a small grocery store to pick up a few things. The wind has really dropped down and veered to the SE--ideal conditions for making the 100 mile run to Sint Maarten. I had a nice quiet row back to the boat. Very peaceful.

Now if St Nick can only find us tonight....

Merry Christmas to you and all those you protect, love, and care about.

[John Stone]

The 115' Stays'l Schooner Eros arrived this morning. There goes the neighborhood.

https://sy-eros.com/the-yacht

[gonesail]

a beauty .. for sure.

[John Stone]

I was in the water earlier today with the go pro. Took a couple still photos of the prop and a swim-around-video of the hull. I am so happy to see the darn FlexOFold in the water doing what it's supposed to do vice seeing it on land in the boat yard. I'm interested to see how the Petit Barnacle Buster galvanized prop spray paint holds up.

[fmueller]

Love reading of your adventures John ... especially thinking of the south seas warmth you are enjoying.

I’ve kept my boat in for the winter again and sailed 7 days in December ... thinking of you every time.

Cheers

Fred.

[John Stone]

Thanks Fred. That's a really nice sentiment. Much appreciated.

A Marine friend flew down last week and we spent a week sailing together. He is a young guy. We had a great time. We beat up to Christmas Cove for the night then on to St John. Had a great run back after 5 days. Wing and wing. Pole out on the stays'l. Tearing along down the coast. He left the Marine Corps after ten years. A Marine Raider. If you don't know what that is Google it. Essentially a special ops operator. A commando. Harder than woodpecker lips. Anyway, he is in grad school now at MIT. Off for Christmas break. He left here and is headed to Patagonia for some climbing with his girlfriend. Need I say more?

The Cape Horn Windvane. As Yves suggested, I took a 1/4" file to the notches. Made them deeper by maybe 3/32 to 1/8". I ordered a spare blade with SS head bracket. Gayle has it and is shipping it down. Just in case an Orca bites this one off. .

I ordered two Antal ORF Series 80 blocks to replace the Schaefer block I broke on the way down. I'll secure them to the bronze pad-eyes with dyneema soft shackles I'll start working on. I'll write more on that project later.

Swimming. Cooking. Reading. Sleeping. Chatting with my neighbors. A couple Pain Killers now and again.

Almost every night I stand on deck casting my eyes to the heavens. The stars are bright and reassuring. Trade wind cloud floating past. The tropical breeze wrapping me in her embrace. It's all good....

[Jim Walsh]

Sounds like fun. Cold and crappy here, your polar opposite. The replacement ball bearing block should be up to the task with its 4,800+lb. SWL. and the dyneema strop should give it a fair lead under all conditions. Do you recall which series the Schaefer block was? I’ve never had one fail. Tough as nails normally. Then again you are giving all systems a workout when offshore, no rest for the weary. I’ve replaced some due to U.V. damaged sheaves over the years or just because I felt like upgrading to ball bearings, never due to a failure.
Thanks for the updates, it keeps us armchair sailors amused…..and dreaming.

[John Stone]

Hi Jim. I don't know what Schafer block it is. I tried looking it up but their site's confusing. It's in the photo above. And I'll attach another of the cracked bail. It's pretty old. Maybe even original to the boat. But the loads are doubled when you turn the sheet 180° so I think I was just asking too much of it. I feel that way myself sometimes. It's also looks to me like there could have been some crevice corrosion where the bail fits next to the cheeks.

[John Stone]

Today was supposed to be simple. A single task. Pick up some fresh berries to make jam for the homemade bread I made yesterday.

But, I decided I could quickly add some sein twine lashing around the teak stern light bracket I made last summer. Maintain harmony with other lashings on the boat. But, then I remembered the Vetus SISCO shifter had more friction than I wanted. "I'll just loosen it quickly, knock out the lashing, and be on my way before it gets too hot." Yes, I know many people are suffering in the east coast snow storm but that's not my problem...or so I thought.

Well, the fiction screw did not loosen the shifter. So, you know what happens next. I start taking the darn thing apart. Then I am hauling stuff out of the port cockpit locker. Next, I break out more tools. Then the headlamp. The shifter will hardly budge. It makes a horrible creaking sound like stuck rusty hinges. Before long I have the shifter apart. "There is something seriously wrong with this thing." I shoot some videos with the engine cables attached and disconnected so it's clear it's in the head unit and not the cables. I call Vetus USA in Maryland. Someone must love me because I got right through to tech support. He is at home working remote. He looks at the video. "That's not right. Something's wrong with that thing. Interesting. We will ship you a new one. Can't go out till Monday. Big snowstorm. (I guess the snow storm is my problem.) When you get it, send us that one back." They could not have been more helpful and adamant they would take care of me.

By the time I reinstall the shifter/throttle (In an emergency I think it will protest but still work.) most of the day is gone. Too late to swim. Good time to jam on the guitar and read more Gone With the Wind.

I never had a problem I couldn't fix on my own till I installed an engine. Yes, I know the engine was the right thing to do at the right time. Just saying.

The day is almost through. No worries though. "After all, tomorrow is another day."

[John Stone]

It didn't take long. I called Vetus on Friday and the shifter/throttle remote head unit arrived yesterday. I installed it this morning.

They could not have been more helpful. The whole thing covered under warranty.