6 April 2013 - One of those Lucky days….

This was, indeed, one of the “lucky days”…you occasionally have when your cruising…

I’ll explain. We had a late rise this morning…; watched the news until the cartoons came on; breakfasted while charging batteries, making R.O. Water, and moving fuel around (tank to tank).

Last night while browsing through some web pages regarding Formosa 51 Sailing vessels, I noticed a photo of a generator, just like ours (Northern Lights)…and on it they had a very simple catch tank for the “coolant” overflow: a soda bottle, which was wire-tied to the unit… HUMMMM That seemed better than what we had… so I found a suitable bottle, and proceeded to make a catch tank. While installing it at about 2200 hours, last night I noticed that the spring had come adrift from the frequency monitor (speed regulator) on our generator… Good find!. Lucky.

Today, was the second lucky part… After going to shore and asking about a notary…(two in the area), Susan and I walked uptown to Coco-walk and the UPS store; Got the Notary’s signature; then to the P.O. and mailed that document away… Did the CVS pharmacy stop for prescriptions…. OK lunch-time.

We came straight back to AB for lunch… and this is the lucky part… we noticed that the FREEZER compressor was having the same “non-start” issues that the refrigerator compressor did when in Marathon. Damn! Wish I’d have bought that second controller….

OK…quick onto to the internet; I found a firm called “CARIBBEAN BREEZE” here in Miami; ….and called.. Alex was a certified Frigaboat “mobile mechanic (not a dealer). OK ????
But did he have, and could he sell me the Danfoss Compressor Controller(s) that I need ???? YES!!
I mentioned that we live on a sailboat, ( with homeport – Buffalo NY)…. That seemed to change everything… Alex was from Flushing Meadows (where the US open tennis is played)…
He didn’t normally work on weekends, but for me (“New Yorkers got to stick together” he said) he’d bring the controllers to Dinner Key…
He showed up an hour later, with his wife, and child in their Silverado (on their way to a game in Miami); charged me ¾ of what I paid S.A.L.T. for the previous controller… So I bought two (2).

I rushed back to the AB, and installed the new controller, and off she went…. Cooling the freezer… yeah!

The freezer having risen only 5 degrees all day long… by 1700 hours the new controller/ compressor had the unit back down to set point.
As I said… we were really lucky to have caught the problem in time to get hold of the person with just the right controller for the Danfoss BD-50 compressor… and on the weekend, to boot!!

SO… Let’s hope these two controllers last longer, or at least as long as the first ones… fingers crossing!!!!

This morning on the Cruisers Net (SSB-8152kHz) it was announced that the USCG was looking for and engaging the assistance of sailors in finding a blue hulled sloop, named “Salty” that was being used to illegally take two small children from the rightful parent. Weird, but true….. Now, I ask you … who would do an amber alert ride in a sailboat ???? But…on the other hand… It has managed to disappear, at least for now.