Days 1 to 3
Day 1
We left Gizo at 8:00 on Tuesday 19th. The Police wanted us to go ashore
& make official statements about the solar panel as well as allow them to
inspect the damage.
This would have required anchoring again plus waiting for the rubber
ducky to dry out again so we decided to just leave. We did email a report and
will send photos from Townsville. Really, the chances of getting it back are
slim. It was only 6 months old, but the smallest panel so things could have been
much worse.
We had a pleasant sail to start with. Then the wind and seas rose and
rose and rose..... We were scooting along way too fast. So, we reefed down to
storm sails but the wind got up more to 30->35kts. Still, we were going too
fast at over 8kts. It might have been okay in a race, but we were getting
drenched in spray. We were doing almost 9kts and every now and then would plough
into a wave.
So, we hove-to for three hours that evening. When the wind died down
again to around 25-30kts, we got going again. Unfortunately, the head broke off
a bolt in the self-steering. More correctly, the bolt holds a block (pulley)
which joins the self-steering to the rudder. Both Penny and I were ill from
sea-sickness, so it was a while before we got out the tools and replaced the nut
and bolt. Finally, we got going again.
Needless to say, all we had to eat on this first day was water. We were
also very wet (but not cold).
Blog for Day 2- Weather improves.
Conditions on day two were better with the wind around 25kts. Still very
rough so no food taken. The wind direction was tightening up so that we could
barely make the course.
Blog for Day three- Coffee Break.
Day three saw the seas drop down somewhat but now we could not make our
course because of the wind direction. To complicate matters, the GPS started to
fail. Initially, it would stay on for 30 minutes then turn itself
off.
The good news was that the mal-de-mer has abated so we are eating again.
In the early hours before daylight, the GPS got much worse and it was hard to
get a navigation fix. We decided to tack out and away from dangerous reefs
around Rossel ISland PNG. Just as we completed a long tack to clear the reefs,
the nut unscrewed from the replaced bolt in the
self-steering!
At this point, we decided to anchor at Rossel Island and effect repairs,
commission the spare GPS etc.
We got in through the reef okay and by 9AM were anchored in a pleasant
lagoon. We had showers and David even shaved. The offending bolt was drilled out
and two of them replaced with larger ones. The broken one had been 8 years
old.
We programmed the second GPS and checked it worked when connected to the
boat's system. We found rust in the battery compartment of the main GPS. A wire
soldered across the suspect area of copper has solved the GPS
problem.
We met some of the locals who came to visit. They wanted us to stay for
Sing-Sing and dancing but sadly we declined (as we have no PNG
Visas).
Penny made a delicious lunch and finally we got under way again at 1430,
feeling much refreshed and happier with
things.
As we skirted the extensive reef, we were surprised at the size of the
modern-looking shipwrecks on the reef. It would be very easy to pile-up here on
a dark night!
A brightly coloured dot sped towards us and turned out to be one of the
fabulous Louisiade Sailing canoes. How we wish these could be introduced to the
SOlomons. They had obviously received dinghy sails from yachties and these had
been stitched together. The people were gay and friendly and had a good look at
us while we photographed them. One of them even had an armchair lashed to the
deck and was fishing at the same time!
Dave & Penny
