Day 18 North Atlantic Ocean
13 February 2015
Gina and Paul
As we came up to the equator, the wind naturally died and we started to motor as the wind died. Occasionally it would come back and we would sail, conserving all the diesel we could. About then was when Hal (Furuno autopilot) went on sabbatical. Not sure where he went but he was not cooperating. Paul spent a few hours trying things out but finally he changed out Hal and put Wilson on (Robinson Autopilot). Wilson was not working all that well either so now it was down to changing out the linear drive. This seemed to fix the issue and once again our 3rd crew member was steering the boat for us. We left Wilson connected as it is very difficult to work on the boat when it is rolling around in no wind conditions. Unfortunately the spare linear drive we put on is a little noisy and it sits under our bed. We decided that we needed to change rooms so we made a bed for ourselves up in the forward cabin, along with all our gear we put there for storage. Still, we had enough room and it was comfortable. We didn�'t get off the boat for the equator crossing because it was dark and squally and we were not going back. Never the mind, we still paid our homage to King Neptune. After the equator, we were approaching the ICTZ, a zone of unsettled weather. It certainly lived up to its name. We didn�'t mind the weather so much as we were able to miss all the lightening. But the winds were very variable in this area. We would go from no wind to 30 knots in minutes and it rained. Actually, it was buckets of rain and it didn�'t stop. The rain managed to find its way into the boat in places we never thought it could. As a result, we had a couple of wet spots in the boat. One of them was the cavity I use for the �"linen Cupboard�". All the linens had to come out and be rinsed and dried. As it was still raining, this wet laundry just piled up in the boat. After a day and the odor that disseminates from such a pile, it was better put out on the deck in buckets, where the rain could do its job again and provide rinsing water. What was even worse is we had stored a laptop in here and it was now wet. Not sure if it will ever go again but it will have to wait till it stops raining. What was disheartening was this was where I stored some of my needlework and some of the patterns got wet. So now I am also trying to dry out sheets of paper as well in the boat. It was really starting to look a little trashy. Now that Paul had said he was little bored, things start to go wrong so he can spend some of each day fixing stuff. After the autopilot change out, the generator still isn�'t really fixed. For some reason it is sucking in air and will occasionally shut down. He then has to bleed the air out and restart. At least he is getting good at it and it doesn�'t take him too long now. It also overheated so, after everything was checked out, the heat exchanger was changed out. Still not sure if this is really the issue. It still doesn�'t shut down and after a very delayed response from Fischer Panda, we decided it must be the fuel solenoid. One spare we don�'t have so it gets shut down with the emergency shut off lever. But still, the motor was working up till the alternator decided not to work. Paul spent another day replacing it out with our spare. Unfortunately that worked for all of one day then decided not to work. After going through 2 alternators and 2 regulators, we finally gave up and will have to rely on our not so trusty generator for power generation and battery charging. We have cut down on our power consumption and will probably do so some more. After suffering the weather of the ICTZ, we are now, supposedly, in the NE trade winds but it is just miserable weather. It is beyond squalls and it is like fronts pass over us and linger. The wind is variable in speed and direction and we go through multiple sail adjustments all day and all night. It makes for poor sleep as things shake, rattle, and roll. About now, we would appreciate any piece of guano encrusted rock to step foot on. We are having to motor intermittently and will look at stopping at Suriname if we need to for more diesel. After reflecting back on the Pacific Ocean ICTZ, this ocean is vastly different. The last week has not been very enjoyable and we are hoping for the next week to improve.