Friday May 2, Day 2:
All is well and another good day!!! The winds have shifted to SE and are a little stronger…in the 8-13 kt range and the seas have built to 4-6′ SW swell but long periods….all still behind us….not a bad ride, just a little more rolly than yesterday, but no complaints!!!!
Feeling much better today….started to fish…..caught 2 Mahi….one pretty small and the other borderline so threw both back…..now for some bigger stuff!!!!
I’m still a little stress bucket, Mr Worrywart, stomach just in a knot…..so unlike me….this is usually Kathy’s job and one I wish she would take back. Ever since the transmission gear cooler incident on the Tonga to NZ passage…..broken engine in the middle of the ocean, all by yourself…..you get the picture…..I have been paranoid about something breaking down. I started getting really clinched 2-3 days before we left…..but, I think I’m getting better….it is like Mystic is saying…..sit back, relax, I got this…..whoa….yep, it’s 2:00am in the middle of the ocean and I’m talking to Mystic……hmmmm!!!
OK…..back to the day before we left….the day where everything just was harder than it should have been!!!
Transmission: Since we had the transmission serviced we needed to change the oil….we had 27 hours on the tranny since the service…..wanted closer to 50 but this is all we got. On Mystic, this is an easy job….we have a Reverso oil pump….it pumps the oil in and out…..all I really have to do is cleanout a little metal screen filter. So, I got all my rags in place, a little bucket to catch the residual oil and proceeded to remove the filter. I had to tug a little harder than I wanted and then the whole mechanism just popped out….hit the bucket knocking it over, oil went everywhere and the screen fell out of my hand….ok, no big deal….it just fell on the rags….cleaned up the oil and lifted the rags carefully….no filter…crap, it must have fallen into the bilge. There is the Cummins oil pan under the engine and over the bilge…..2×6′ and maybe 1-2″ off the bilge…..I reached under the oil pan as far as I can and still no screen……crap, crap, crap……yes, there might have been some stronger language than that…..Kathy comes to the ER and asks what is going on….I tell her and she says let me try…..she is the best at finding things and with her smaller hands can reach the tight spots better….but no luck…..so, I proceed to take the oil pan off it’s brackets and lift it 3-4″ off the bilge. We get a long pole and start to probe under the pan….we get all sorts of crap…..many sockets, drill bits, screws, wood pieces, SS pipe et al……whoa, and I thought the bilge was clean….finally I reach under and grasp the screen…..oh, what a relief. We are both covered in oil, grime and dirt…..yuck!!!! What should have taken 1/2 hour took 3 1/2 hours……arghhhhhhh!!!!!
Fueling: One of the reasons we came into the marina is they allow you to take on fuel 24 hours before you checkout and still honor the duty free price….they waive the 15% GST. We also wanted to be in the marina and not in the anchor field with a gazillion other boats to be protected from the high winds predicted on Monday and Tuesday (little did we know that the Opua area is well protected from the West and NW winds…we saw maybe 10-15 kts while out along the coast they had 30-40 kt winds)!! When we pulled in we added extra lines in anticipation of the high winds. This is a private slip and the owner had his own custom made lines for a perfect fit. We noticed that one of his bow lines was a perfect fit so we decided to double up by using his line. The eye was just a little small but with a little muscle I was able to get it around the hawsehole horn on Mystic…..great, all lines secure, we are ready!!!!
After the transmission incident, I took a little breather but soon needed to go to the fuel dock to get our 3000 liters. We proceed to take the lines off….but wait….we can’t get the owners line off the horn….it is short maybe 2″….WTH…..Kathy has the bright idea of wetting the line and I go get the largest screwdriver we own….we proceed to pull, twist, muscle and finally we get it off…..what should have taken 5 sec took us 15 min……arghhhhhhh!!!!!
OK…..I take some deep breaths and say got to be cool….no fuel spills…..so, I proceed to back out of the slip…..the fairway is narrow so I’m taking it slow and bam…..I hit the piling w/the bow sprit….OMG…..now, I have hit the dock a few times but very rarely…..luckily no damage but still…..now I’m really paranoid…..we proceed to the fuel dock and Kathy says can we go port side….I say that is a really tricky maneuver and she says well, I have all the lines and fenders on the port side….I say ok…gulp…..this requires a perfect 90 degree spin and in 15 kts of wind…..gulp….and, I do it…..make the turn and use the wind and Mystic smoothly saddles up to the dock….oh, thank you, thank you Mystic and TG for thrusters!!!!
We then proceed to fuel…..this is a self service dock….you use your credit card….but wait, we have a USA card with no pin….that won’t work….you need the newer, more secure card with a pin…..so, the marina sends a guy to use their card….ok, but the pump stops every 600 liters…..so the guy just waits the entire time and keeps using his card……the marina charges us $15 for his time. We get the pump going and I notice the nozzle lever to hold it down is broken….so, I have to hold the handle down myself for all 3000 liters….like 1 hour+…..I use a screwdriver to hold it down which is easier but still…..
And, no drips, fouls or errors…..time to go back to our slip….no, we do not use the owners line again…..and then the weather fiasco starts 🙂 ))))
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Stats:
Position: 29 32S 175 53E
Traveled: 188nm today; 358 total; 791nm to go; ETA to Savusavu late Tuesday afternoon 5/6
Course: 356M COG
Wind: mainly 7-12 kts; SSE
Waves: seas building to SW swell 4-6′; <1′ wind chop; still a fairly smooth ride; maybe a SE swell developing too
Speed: current speed is 7.5 SOG; found that countercurrent 🙁 (((; has varied 7.1-8.3 kts; avg is 7.9 kts; 1600 rpm
Weather: 90% cloud this am; maybe some squalls around but nothing close; sea temp getting warmer @ 73 deg F; air temp is 70 deg F
Boat sightings: 1 today; Kathy saw a cargo ship 17 nm away on AIS
Fishing: yep; 2 small Mahi which we threw back; the new rod and reel are sweet…thanks Wayno!!!
Sail: down
Fuel burn: 1.66nmpg…..that is excellent and too good to be true…..we will check again tomorrow!!!!
Hope all is well!
John
Mystic Moon
