Still in Cape Town
08 October 2011 | V and A Waterfront, Cape Town
John
You most likely thought we had departed Cape Town and were "on the high seas". And that is just where we would have been if we had not found a serious problem with the water maker on board. On Friday we cleared out with customs and emigration and returned to the boat to prepare for the Saturday morning departure. We started up the water maker and noticed a leak on one of the valves. An hour later the Spectra agent, Bruce, was on the boat to tighten up the valve and noticed a leak on the high pressure pump. He stripped down the pump and found a serious break on the pump casing.
So, the long and short of the story is that a new casing is being flown to Cape Town by Spectra in the US and should be ready for installation first thing on Monday. The moment it is fitted and everything re-checked, we will cast off our lines and head off towards St Helena Island, a passage of 1699 nautical miles.
However, due to the delay, we may have missed our weather window and not be able to get far enough north before the next front approaches the southern African coast. If we see we will not be enough north and will be affected by the frontal system, we have the opportunity to head for the port of Luderitz in Namibia to wait out the front for a day or two and then continue to St Helena Island.
Due to the delay we also put off getting our final perishables on Friday. So, today being Sunday, the Davies family have been out doing the final perishables shop. Pat and I have been changing diesel filters on the engines and doing some last minute checks on the systems. We are now just waiting for the water maker to be properly commissioned and checked and we should be off on the first leg of our journey.
So, until we do cast off our lines, greetings from all aboard. John.