Underway
Trip Start
May 07, 2007
1
17
28
Trip End
Jun 15, 2007
The Atlantic,
Florida,
United States
Saturday, June 2, 2007
So far, I have focused mainly on the good times and the sea. But there have been issues and there still seems to be one fairly significant one. Our vessel has been nearly flawless and I feel fortunate not to have been swept into some sort of engine room repair task. All of us do engine room checks every hour around the clock. This involves putting on protective 'ear muffs' and descending the short steps to the engine room while dragging your head under the low ceiling at the same time. Once inside, there is about 5 feet of headroom so for short guys like me, it's workable. It's the width of the vessel and continues back some 25 feet or so. This is home to the main engine, wing engine and two generator engines of different capacities. We normally run not only the main engine, but also one of the generators as the boat consumes a lot of power in various ways.
Doing an engine room check begins with a good look around. I have to be careful when I am down there as the coolest anything is around 120 degrees and goes up from there. I put a big burn on forearm last week when I was not looking closely enough. Had it not been for the 4 massive cooling fans which bring fresh air in from the outside, it might be 180 degrees. Of course the engine would not tolerate this more than I would so the cooling fans run continuously.
There is a chrome protective bar around the massive engine which is good to hold on to. But its also pretty hot, so I normally put a rag in my hand as I make my way carefully around the throbbing machine. Keep in mind the boat it pitching and rolling while you do this. Then I look carefully for anything odd: a drip of oil, a water leak, discoloration, spray, etc. Normally all is well.
I also check fuel filter pressure to assure the big Raycor filters are not getting full and need replacement. Finally, I use a laser heat gun to assess the operating temps of various things. On returning to the wheelhouse, I enter this info into a log book along with various aspects of course and environment.
The only real burp we have had mechanically was a clogged fuel transfer filter yesterday. It was not mission critical, but the skipper and John got it fixed in a few hours of work. This kind of thing is par for the course on these big trawlers. Something always needs work.
I heard one report that was not so innocent. Apparently there was a electrical failure in one of the electric heads on Mona Kuawa which caused a fresh water intake value to stick in the open position. This resulted in 300 gallons of fresh water coming into the main cabin. No word if anyone was on the thrown at the time of the massive gusher. This could have been the first Nordhavn to have implemented a makeshift bidet.
The crew quickly disabled the head and the water was stopped. This gave me a new appreciation of how a full water tank can be an empty water take in a heartbeat. Muena Kueva has two water makers to the tank can be replenished in a day. Personally, I'm glad my boat is much simpler. On our boat, you go, you pump the handle, its over. Simple is best.
Moana Kueva is a nearly new Nordhavn 55 which the captain Kristine brought over from Dana Point California. Sue and I heard second hand stories how she got hit hard in a 50kt storm in the eastern Carribean after leaving the Panama canal. Her captain is a former Air Force Colonel who is very disciplined and has hired a full time crew to accompany her to the med and around the world. We have met her and she is one determined lady.
My biggest worry is little Beso the Nordhavn 40 (like ours). Beso managed by skipper Chip and his wife have had continue overheating problems. As mentioned, this gave me some consolation as I've had similar issues with First Forty. But we are now in the middle of the Atlantic and this is no place to be when you have need to shut the engine down. So far, he has had to balance speed with engine temp. Today I overheard a tense discussion on the radio about how is 'keel cooler' may have blockage. A keel cooler is like a radiator on car except that it is on the underside of the boat. The cooler ocean water helps cool the engine. There was some discussion of a possible towing situation. I hope this does not happen.
To make matters worse, the sub-tropical storm in the Atlantic if moving our way. We will have high wind warnings overnight and we are already planning to make ready for storm conditions. If we get in as planned tomorrow morning, we should beat the really bad to stuff. But, I am sure Beso is feeling a lot of pressure to keep his vessel moving.
Last night the crew of Beso expressed some frustration and displeasure on the radio after they read an email that their boat had been deemed the "hold-back vessel" in a note back to PAE. This was interpreted by Beso as demeaning and a slap a their hard work to keep up with a much bigger and faster fleet. Some in our group said they were taking it too seriously, but I know I would not have liked it had it been directed at my boat. But Beso is still here and that is quite an accomplishment in itself. We are proud of her and her 2 person crew that made the voyage.
The good news is that the GPS ETA is no 1000 tomorrow morning. If all goes well this will be our last day at sea. While in some ways it has gone fast, both Sue and I are ready for time on land.
