September 9 - 10, 2012 Going to Niue

We are having a great ride even though the wind is 20-25 k.  That is because Barry is a really good sailor/physicist.  I wonder if the lady with the husband with a short snubber is having a good sail.

Those of you who know Barry well: If he says he is setting about fixing his whisker pole, do you think it is fixed?  We have not put it to the test but it looks like new to me.  From Barry:  After cleaning up the diesel under the table, I decided that it was not continuing to dribble down there.  So after putting everything back under the floor and on top of the floor, I took everything off the settee cushion, and the cushion, to look at the top of the fuel tank.  No signs of a leak.  Wherever it is, it probably only leaks if the tank is full.  Now that we are back at sea again, with the fuel sloshing around in the tank, we may have some more leak out.  We will see.

Here's the news from Radio Australia: the Prime Minister's father died.  Japan and Korea are having a territorial dispute. Australia has negotiated favorable foreign trade agreements with I think Russia.  There were earthquakes in China and troubles in Iran or Iraq, I forget which. That's it!  That is the only news we know!!  Please send news.

Remember that diesel leak that we sucked up with the vacuum cleaner?  We found the source.  Now it leaks more so we have avoided using that tank but we'll need to use it for enough fuel to motor some on the trip to NZ.  This leak in the aft tank is not to be confused with the leak in the forward tank.

Sept 10 From Barry: I just fixed the 2 non-functioning alternators.  The V-belt on the smaller 70 amp alternator had worn to the point that the belt was riding on the bottom of the sheave instead of the sides.  When it wore to the point of being just a bit loose, it could no longer provide the driving power.  The kluge regulator for the larger 100 amp alternator overheated and the waxy potting compound was melting and dripping off.  It was replaced with another kluge regulator.  The third regulator for this cruising season.  What a relief.  The lack of alternators wouldn't have been so bad but it is a dark and stormy day which means no solar power either.  Now we can go back to keeping the radar on, the frig and freezer cold, using the computer, using Sailmail with the SSB, washing  hair and taking a bath (which uses power making the water) and listening to music, The King's Speech, and trying, mostly in vain, to find news on the radio.  And we can charge the iPad and iPod.

If we kept going 7-8 knots we would arrive at Niue in the middle of the night.  So now that the wind is down to 15 knots we have not shaken out the 2 reefs in the main and we left 1 and a half reefs in the genoa and still we are going 5.5 knots.  We expect less wind Tues-Wed. None of us - Barry, Sunrise nor I like sailing more slowly than we could be, but, hopefully, our strategy will get us there mid morning on Wednesday - just right.