Shakedown Cruise
25 February 2018
Kim
Earlier this week we took the boat out on a 'Shakedown Cruise' to test out our systems and sharpen our skills after a few month absence. At least that's the story we're telling... We were a few days out and all was well onboard. We'd negotiated our way through the coastal fishing boats, tested numerous sail plans and made good headway. Lightening lit the skies at night and phosphorescence lit our wake as we carved through the sea to wards the Maldives. Then we heard a shimmy below deck. Tom found that our 'dripless' stuffing box had started dripping for the first time ever. As we saw it we had three choices. Continue on, as many sailors tolerate drips from their prop without incident. Or we could contact our agent in the Maldives to see if he could help coordinate a haulout for us at a reliable boatyard (if there happens to be one at all). Or we could minimize our risks by turning around and returning to Rebak where we knew we could get serviced. We were still early on in our passage so this seemed like the best choice. Deja vu set in as we recalled backtracking 800 miles from the North tip of Australia to Cairns to get our rudder fixed last year. Here we were again feeling a bit disheartened and somewhat defeated as we motored back into the wind, hobby horsing through the swell to get things sorted out. A couple of days later our issue was resolved. We made preparations to set off again for a second time, and enjoyed one last dip in the pool.