The excitement for the day was twofold; from a sailing perspective, we were still sailing, in decent winds and sea-state and still enjoying a SOG (Speed Over Ground) of 7.5 to 8 Kts. From a sea-life perspective, it was raining flying fish and much larger ones than we’ve seen before. What we weren’t expecting, though, was for one to come flying through one of the saloon portholes and land on the saloon sofa. It was the funky smell that alerted us to something being amiss, only to discover the fish, which fortunately had landed on a towel, flapping widely. Seconds latter another one came flying into the cockpit, landing just outside the saloon doors. Luckily enough, they were returned from whence they came still alive and kicking, or rather, flapping!
We, of course, had another encounter with a fishing vessel, when this particular bright spark decided to cut across our bow with less than a nautical mile to spare and just ignored our hailing on the VHF radio. Fortunately they weren’t trailing any nets, but we were forced to slow down significantly to allow them to pass, when they just as easily could have passed us astern. When we’re under motor, encounters like this don’t have the same dilemma as when we’re under sail and flying along.
We’ve been luckier, though, than one of the other yachts sailing with us, Morgane (Noelle and Daniel). Yesterday they got caught in a fishing net which wrapped around their rudder, taking a significant amount of time to cut it away.
We’ve had a few of our own niggly issues to contend with, however, specifically an intermittent problem with the generator, which started before we left Thailand and has continued, regardless of what troubleshooting Roy has undertaken; one minute it works and the next it doesn’t. Then an issue materialised with the port engine, but we’re not altogether sure if it’s the new battery we added in Thailand or the starter motor that has decided to give up the ghost at the most inconvenient time, as did the starboard side just before we left Thailand. Either way, we have spares for both, so it may well be a repair job for tomorrow. Fortunately, Roy can jumpstart it, so it’s not urgent. More infuriating, though, is discovering a small water leak in the new starboard hot water tank, which was only replaced in Australia. Fortunately it’s not a major leak, but another repair required nonetheless. Lastly, this afternoon Roy noticed the clutch on the main halyard had started to slip, not a major issue as the halyard is always secured around the winch anyway when we’re under sail, but some maintenance will be required on that as well, no doubt.
Guess none of this should be surprising, given the lack of use over the past two years, never mind the harsh climate of SE Asia that the yacht sat in. Frustrating, though, given the time and effort spent in keeping Paw Paw in top notch shape for that period. Guess that’s the joy of owning a yacht; fixing it in exotic locations!
