Sunday, May 6, 2007

Day 67 – Watermaker, Mako Shark

6 May, 07 – 11.58    
15.3737N,48.3427W
24 hr progress: 18.2 Nautical Miles (1 nm = 1.85 km)
Distance left to Antigua (straight line): 764 Nautical Miles (1413 km)
Distance completed: 2334 NM (4317 km)
Wave height: 10-12 ft, Winds: 15 knots ENE, Bearing: 290-300 degrees.


Its been an exhausting week and I was looking forward to some calm weather today, to get some some Sunday-style rest, by reading a few more pages from my book on deck. Unfortunately, the Atlantic had other plans. It felt sluggish rowing this morning through the grey sea and occasional rain. As if rowing thru molten steel. Its amazing how much of a psychological impact the color of the water can make to the effort.
Not a single atom of progress in fixing the water maker.
The water maker is a high pressure positive displacement pump that is powered by a motor (using electricity from the on board (solar panels). The pump pressurizes input sea water to approximately 800 psi thru a semi permeable membrane to give fresh water.
I reserved today to fix the water maker. and as such I spent all morning going back and forth between the machine and the manual that says “remove the large o-ring (8012588) from its groove in the side of the pump back plate that faces the pump body. Remove the wiper block and spacer from the pump back plate. Replace the two large o-rings (8012947) and the two smaller o-rings (8013006) on the membrane tube plug with new o-rings from the RSK. Insert the small end of the membrane tube plug into the exposed hole of the membrane element and press the plug into the housing” ...
I've checked the electrical connections, the plumbing, cleaned the membrane (with Acid cleaner), applied grease, checked the seals. No luck. So I've decided to use the Manual water maker from the emergency bag for now.
I spotted the thin sharp fins of a beautiful 6-7ft Mako shark in the water in the afternoon, just as I was finishing off work. A very welcome change of scenery. They are a lot sleeker than the Great White and and are super fast swimmers. It circled around the boat a few times, like an F1 car on first gear, before going off.
Other minor tasks crossed off the list today - padding the corners of the light near the hatch entrance that I've been banging into and scrubbing the damp growth off the ceiling of the cabin.
Small tasks such as the above keep cropping up. One of the many reasons I look for things to fix or modify is to keep the mind mentally occupied and it adds a bit of variation to the routine. Its a well known fact of nature however, that the longer you live in a space, the more you customize it to your needs. Perfection after all is a moving target :)
Off to get some Sunday rest now and its back to the world of rowing and sleeping tomorrow,
B
To send me an SMS message (160 chars) via my satellite phone 8816 315 826 92 go to http://messaging.iridium.com/
Or you can post me a longer personal message via my webpage which will be forwarded to me within 48 hours.
http://www.bhavik.com/crossatlantic/messages.asp
Otherwise email me: mail@bhavik.com

md-070506_1damp

Mould in the cabin caused by dampness

md-070506_2light

Masking tape and padding on the light just above the hatch entrance on which I've hit my head a zillion times

md-070506_3watermountains

Water mountains

No comments: