Odd jobs all over again.
17 August 2011 | Suwarrow Atoll
Bill Hudson
As with most cruisers, odd jobs crop up as you sail along. Hopefully not big jobs but things that need attending to. Tracy had noticed that the navigation lights at the top of the mast no longer were lit when we were underway. The nav light at the bow that we normally use has a short some where in the line that I haven't found yet so we rely on the LED light we have at the top of the mast to let other boats know we are out here. It also functions as our anchor light and a flashing strobe if we are needing assistance. Last night, we looked up at the top of the mast after dark and saw no illumination. Tracy got in Puff and motored off a bit just to make sure it wasn't working. I went below and flicked the switch that switches between functions and still no light. I pulled open the cabinet door to check the back of the switch panel and found that the 2 amp fuse had blown sometime in the last few days. Out came my "spares" box and I pulled out a replacement fuse(I have 5 of them) and once installed, we now have a nice bright light at the top of the mast. Problem solved(easy one).
During our trip to Suwarrow, we had a slight malfunction in the rigging that holds the mast up. The "running" backstay for our forestaysail came off the mast as I was about to hoist the sail. This is a piece of high tech line(rope) that is as strong or stronger than steel that our rigger had installed while we were replacing the rigging in Port Townsend almost three years ago. The end of the stay had come out of the slot in the mast that keeps it attached. This morning, I put on a safety harness and started climbing the mast. When we were in Puerto Vallarta, I'd installed 32 folding mast steps to make it "easier" to get up the mast. So far, every time I tried to use them, Zephyr was rocking so badly that it was just about impossible to unfold and hang on the mast at the same time. Today, being at anchor in a nice lagoon totally surrounded by a coral reef, it is like being on a lake in the mountains. At least a calm lake. I put on a safety harness and with it attached to the main halyard(pulls the main sail to the top of the mast), up I went. Step by step. The fitting goes into the mast just above the top spreader so it took a while to get up there. Tracy tightened the halyard safety line as I went up. If I should fall, at least the harness would keep me from going to far. Once there, the end that had slipped out fit nicely right back where it belonged and I slowly came back down, inspecting the rigging as I came. I've been up the mast numerous times in the last few years so it's not as terrifying as it used to be but it still gets the adrenalin running.
With the two jobs done and with Tracy feeling better, we checked in with the Park Rangers and paid our fees and got the lay of the land as far as what is allowed and what is not. You are NEVER to dump food scraps over the side of your boat. In the times that I have dove down to check the anchor, I have been greeted by numerous black tipped sharks. All about 2 to 5 feet in length. They aren't aggressive but I don't want to encourage them. Yesterday when we put Puff in the water, we were immediately surrounded by about 8 sharks all looking to see what we had for them One cruiser, while trying to get a fish out of the water that he had caught, had the inflated tube of his dingy bitten by one of the sharks!!
This afternoon we are taking off in Puff to one of the reefs around the atoll to snorkel to see what it's like here at Suwarrow. From what James(Park Ranger)told us, any reef at the atoll is great for snorkeling and diving. I guess we will see this afternoon. We can also fish all we want as there is no problem eating any of the fish in the lagoon.
While Tracy was sick, she sat at the table in the main salon and did one of the jigsaw puzzles we have on board. It didn't take long and once done, we offered it to one of the boats in the anchorage that has kids on board to give them something to do when the weather gets rotten. And they will pass it on to another boat once they are done with it I'm sure. That's the way it is out here. We swap books, magazines, dvds, games, what ever you have on board. When we went in to get checked in by the rangers, we took them some eggs as well as several cans of fruits. We will also be giving them 5 gallons of gasoline to help them run their out boards and generator. They rely on cruisers to bring them what ever they can. We asked one of our friends(Periclees) what they needed as they were here at the time(we were still in Bora Bora) so we stocked up on some of the thing they needed. Soggy Paws, another boat, is bringing some potatoes and Dream Away is bringing some mayonnaise. Apparently, John makes a great potato salad and needs these ingredients to make it. If we are going to any small island that get supplies at long intervals we always try and find out what we can bring to help the folks on the island out.
We'll let you know how the snorkeling goes this afternoon.