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Larry's LogThat night was pleasant with a nice breeze but the boat was uncomfortable because of the motion. Especially in the v berth where we sleep, the boat felt like it was underway rather than at anchor. I slept OK but Diane eventually tried sleeping in the main cabin where he motion was easier. We left to go back to the eastern bay near Isla Sur but as we passed the Blue Hole, we decided to go back there for a day. It was a little too early to get into the first bay anyhow, only 10:45, so the light wasn't perfect to see the reefs or read the different water depths getting in, so we figured, why not. We anchored in about the same spot as before, in 18 feet of water and just relaxed and read while we ran the watermaker. After lunch, of course, we went snorkeling again. The snorkeling was pretty good and we saw lots of interesting fish, some squid and enjoyed the coral scenery. It might be the last time we visited that spot. Friday morning was a slow one for me, waiting for enough light to move to Isla Sur. However, we had noticed yesterday that it would be a nice picture with the boat behind the blue hole and the beautiful water colors in the foreground so I went out in the dinghy about 11:30 and took some shots - it was a little difficult since the dinghy was moving and bouncing on the short chop but I think they were pretty good. We left as soon as I got back at about noon and got to the island in 30 minutes. We thought about going into the easternmost bay but anchored just short of it in about 30 feet of water. There were reefs all around but easy to see but there was a problem though when we anchored. Because I was using so much scope in the relatively deep water, I reached the end of the chain rode (120 feet) and got to the rope splice. Not that the splice was a problem but the chain had twisted and because the line didn't weigh enough to pull the chain down and let the twists come out, the windlass tried pulled a large ball of chain through the chainpipe. Of course, this twisted ball wouldn't fit so it jammed completely as the windlass tried to pull it out. At this point, the chain would neither go out nor back down. Fortunately the anchor had already dug in fairly well since there was a reef about 150 feet behind our stern. I tried to free the jam but eventually had to go below, take off the chain locker door, peer in from underneath and free the jam with a large screwdriver by untwisting the chain. All this took about 30 minutes since I had to go back and forth between the bow and below decks in the chain locker. Diane tried to help but eventually just stayed on deck to make sure we didn't drag. Once I got the chain freed, I continued the anchoring process, backed down on the hook and we were set. We ate a nice lunch of taco salad and homemade tortillas - Diane had been busy in the morning. She had somehow hurt her back though so after we went to shore briefly, she elected to stay on the boat. I went snorkeling near a reef about 200 yards in front of us. It was really pretty good and although I saw nothing new, the coral was pretty and there were lots of fish. I told Diane later that she missed her favorite, a Queen Angelfish. There were also some things that were uncommon, like 3 Porcupinefish and several Black Hamlets. Saturday morning we did some chores like running the watermaker and going to the island to burn more garbage. Not the most pleasant task but at least we made sure it was properly burned and disposed of - most eastern Caribbean islands simply dump it all in a heap or shovel it into the sea. Anyway, we finished up by around noon. We went snorkeling in the afternoon at the small reef just behind the boat. I went and looked at the anchor first and it was securely dug in. The reef was pretty but nothing special - maybe we're just getting too used to great reefs. The water clarity was very good though and the general color was now blue to turquoise - it was a little green-tinted when we first arrived. I suppose the increase in wind had increased the water flow through the lagoons and cleared out any excess algae growth. We were also very impressed with the clarity of the water in the middle bay went we went to shore - it was exceptionally clear. The next day was a pretty slow; after the morning SSB net, I spoke to someone in La Blanquilla who needed some help on their new pactor modem and after breakfast, I tightened the alternator belt, checked the engine oil and generally looked over the engine. The belt was a little loose but everything else looked good. I like to just 'look over' the engine every so often just to make sure things are OK, things like tightening hose clamps, making sure the raw water strainer isn't clogged, etc. In the afternoon, we went on the reef demarking the first bay of Isla Sur and it was very nice. We saw 3 different species of angelfish and I saw a small school of barracuda, just 16 to 18 inches long each. Usually we see one larger individual. I also saw a species of snapper that I hadn't seen, or at least hadn't recognized before - a Tomtate. Not very exciting but still better than average. Later, we figured we would snorkel tomorrow morning and maybe move to Isla Oeste, a small island to the west of Isla Sur, in preparation for leaving for Sotavento in a day or so. Well, we stayed at Isla Sur the next day - we just didn't feel like moving. We also got up a little later than normal since we were awakened at 2:30 by a brief rain shower. It lasted only 10 minutes but was enough to get us up to remove the hatch covers and close the hatches. We left the small ones closed but opened the main ones before going back to bed. The rest of the morning was slow for me - I worked on the logs but Diane did some things around the boat. The afternoon was mostly occupied with snorkeling the reef in front of the boat that marked the eastern bay at Isla Sur. It was a pretty reef but I didn't see anything really special. Back at the boat, we just showered, relaxed, read and had a nice dinner of shrimp wrapped in bacon. Another boat had moved up from the second bay so there were now 3 boats here. I guess its time to move. Tuesday we moved today to the little island just to the west of Isla Sur, called, logically enough, Isla Oeste. Before that though, we took the dinghy along the shoreline in the bay we were in to look at the birds some more. Although not quite as many as the large bay just to the west, there were still hundreds and we also met briefly the people on Borealis anchored inshore. He had been snorkeling the reef along the shore and said it was pretty good - "better than you would think". We got back to the boat after taking some pictures and started off by about 12. The trip took about an hour and we went into the anchorage on the north side, not recommended in the guidebook because of the coral there. We decided that we would look at it and if it wasn't good, we could go around to the east side and anchor where it was recommended, but we thought it should be OK since Koncerto anchored there last year. We found a sandy patch far enough away from the reefs in about 20 feet of water so we anchored there. It really was the only place we could go since there were reefs further in and further out it was reefs and much deeper. The only problem with the anchorage was that it rolled. The wind was from the east but the swell came in around the eastern tip of the island and curved around, giving us a swell from the northeast. Oh well. The other problem we had, a more serious one, was that the alternator had stopped charging the batteries. Diane noticed it when she turned off the engine (after finishing anchoring) and the low voltage alarm was on. I checked it and the wire leading to the alternator field had worked its way off the connector. That had happened once before and all I did was put it back on and it started charging again. So I did that again and figured it was OK. We decided after eating lunch to take a walk on the island since it had a nice beach. We navigated through the reefs, went to shore, beached the dinghy and walked around and to the northeastern side. There we saw some Brown Booby chicks, some of which were almost ready to fly. I had seen 2 Peregrine Falcons fly over the boat just as we were anchoring and I hoped to see them again but no luck. We also looked at the anchorage the guidebook mentions - there was a boat nearby and he didn't seem to be rolling at all. We walked back to the dinghy, took a quick swim and went back to the boat. I had taken some nice pictures, I hope. Once back, I started the engine knowing that the batteries still needed charging. Unfortunately, the alternator still wasn't charging anything. I checked all the wires and then checked the field wire's continuity thinking that the connector was bad but that wasn't the problem. At that point, I believed that the alternator's diodes were damaged since the voltage regulator seemed to be working. The only way to fix the diodes was in an alternator shop but I do have a spare alternator. I just had to dig it out of the locker underneath the aft berth. I was going to wait until the morning to get it but decided I needed to know that I had it so Diane helped me move everything and I found the new one quickly as soon as I could open the locker. Now I just needed to install it. By the time I finished putting everything back though dinner was just about ready so we ate and by the time we finished it was really too dark to work. The batteries were pretty low already but they should last OK. There was some wind so the wind generator was giving us 1 to 2 amps - not much but better than nothing. The next day I had expected a tough day but not quite as bad as it turned out. After breakfast, I got to work on the alternator again. The batteries were very low although the wind generator and slowly the solar panels started to help. First, I tried testing the alternator again, as described in Nigel Calder's book. (Thank God I had it onboard as it saved the day.) Based on the test I thought that the alternator was bad so I started putting the new one on. It took about 45 minutes to get the old one off and another 2 hours to get the new one in its place. It took so much time since I was also trying to get the spacing correct and make sure the bolts were in the right spot so the belt could be tightened appropriately, etc. I finally finished getting the new alternator mounted about noon so I hooked up the wires and cables and turned on the engine and the voltage regulator. Nothing happened. I tried rearranging some wires but got the same result. Finally, I tried another test from Calder's book and now it appeared that the regulator was bad. Diane wanted to have lunch so I put some things away, cleaned up and put the companionway steps back in. After lunch, I dug out the old regulator that was on the boat when I bought it and connected the wires to that, checking that everything was wired correctly (I had the instructions). I turned on the engine but still there was no charge current. Finally, I used the 'emergency voltage regulation' technique that Calder describes and that finally worked. I think the reason I thought the original alternator was bad was because of the initial load I used to test it - the light bulb's wattage was too low. (You have to read his book to understand.) Anyway, the new alternator was working but only producing 35 amps. I modified the technique to get about 42 amps and that also seemed to work OK. I couldn't control the volts or amps but at least I could recharge the batteries, at least on a temporary basis. By that time, it was almost 4pm - Diane reminded me that I said it would take about an hour this morning to fix the problem by simply replacing the alternator - what can I say, it's a boat. We went into the beach for a swim and to cool down. The wind had been very light all day and it was pretty hot leaning over the engine, especially after I started it a few times to try things and it got hot as well. We didn't stay long at the beach, and when we came back, I started the engine, turned on the 'regulator' and everything worked as it should. I had to remember to throw the parallel switch to make sure the starting battery also got charged, since under the old system, there was a solenoid that closed when the regulator sensed a high enough voltage to charge the house and starting batteries. So while this system was 'manual' and not very controllable, at least we still made electricity. Actually, for the amount of time I ran the engine, we actually got a greater total number of amp-hours than if the old regulator was working. That's also what the regulator bypass devices do but with AGM batteries, I wouldn't want to run that way for very long. So, by the end of the 'hour' (entire day), we had a working battery charging system. Not perfect but at least we'll still have hot food and cold drinks tomorrow. |