Monday, June 02, 2008

Journal Entry June2 - June 3, 2008 - Freak Wave on the Coral Sea Part 2 - And Then…


Author: Scott

Yesterday morning we decided to heave to for breakfast allowing us a calmer period to take a look around Starship. Smaller issues and repair jobs have kept presenting themselves since our "Freak Wave" encounter the day before. Pam and I were still very tired and a calm morning free of the pounding waves, with time to enjoy a cup of coffee and cocoa seemed like a great idea.

After breakfast we completed our chores and prepared to get moving. Pam asked what I had in mind for a sail plan, and I said "At this point let's just point the boat at Koumac with a main to stabilize us, fire up the new engine and get there." So I turned to the instrument panel and hit the ignition, only to be rewarded with a Click with no purring diesel kitten around. Surely I forgot some minor step in the engine startup routine.

I tried again - Click!

How could this be, our new baby, our new reliable engine!

So I tried again - Click!

Pam asked "Is there a problem?" - Click!

I said calmly, "Um, yes there is a problem, you won't believe this but the engine won't start." But I'm thinking to myself ---K S--- G-D--- piece of ----!!! - Click!

Click! - Click! - Click! - Click! BUGGER!!!!!!!

Here we were floating in the middle of the Coral Sea, overcame a major wave strike, and now the ------- engine wouldn't start. At that second I felt like a weary dog that got kicked just for lying down to rest. Pam dug out the engine manual and I grabbed the sat phone.

You know I think that the Iridium satellite phone company advertises that you can talk on your satellite phone from atop Mt. Everest at 29,000 feet. Well that's just dandy because you sure as ---- can't have a decent conversation at sea level with nothing to block the signal for 500 miles. During the five attempted phone calls that probably cost fifty squillion dollars, I could piece together about one in every three or four words spoken by the mechanic in Newcastle: "Scott …… where? …..need to ………….screwdriver ………………bridge posts ………but remember…………….. be careful not to ………………….good luck mate." Good thing we have the satellite phone for emergencies.

After all the attempted phone calls and a few confusing emails, I came to understand that apparently the engine electronics probably didn't appreciate the wave strike, but I could jump start the engine and that I needed to use a screwdriver to bridge two terminals on the starter motor solenoid. The only problem was that there were three terminals on the starter motor and I could not visually see any of them. I felt like the bomb squad guy on television "What wire do I cut - red - green?" Except I couldn't even see the colors. Had I been the bomb guy, I wouldn't have saved the day with a final second left on the clock; I would have blown the boat to ----! My first attempt to "bridge the terminals" ended up creating a BIG spark and pop, big oops!

Time for some air and a chance to think, we ended up deciding to send a more detailed email to the mechanics and just try to tick off some of the miles by sailing. This immediately reminded Pam and I of our Pacific crossing with no auxiliary engine and very little power, with no engine alternator to make power. The not so funny thing is, Pam and I are real good at operating under these conditions. The battery lantern was dug out, we went into energy conservation mode, and even made spaghetti by lantern light. And so the long night of worrying began for us. What if we have to get through the reef pass without an engine? Why is our new engine broken? What about our thawing freezer and our provisions? What if? What? What? To say the least it was a somber night on old Starship.

I think I do my best thinking when I am asleep. This doesn't say much for my thinking when I am awake, but at least thinking while unconscious is better than not thinking at all. I had two epiphanies during my fitful sleep:
1. There is a magnetic car antenna for the sat phone that may work better than the phone's internal antenna.
2. What if I use a wire with alligator clips to clip on to the terminals, and then I could bridge with posts by feel rather than sight.

When the sun came out, so did my confidence. We did use the sat phone to get a better connection with the car antenna. I learned which posts were to be bridged on the starter motor, and by golly my alligator clip idea worked like a charm. I connected one terminal by feel with the alligator clip and just touched the other with the tip of the clip and "RRRRRRRR-Roar" the beast came to life, without even the tiniest deadly spark or pop. Look out
MacGyver - alligator clip man is on the loose!

I think I actually screamed with joy!

Then Pam screamed with joy.

And just like that, all the worry from the night before of navigating passes by sail and so on disappeared! Our new baby was alive and kicking, and I had acquired a new skill - I could jump start a diesel engine at sea.

The rest of the day was spent in the way I pictured the prior day to be. We continued to reorganize after the wave strike. We rested. We made arrival plans. We calmed down and chilled out. And yes, we motor sailed straight into the wind towards Koumac.

Today I remembered meeting John from the yacht "Western Grace". At the start of our voyage, we were in Turtle Bay, Mexico with different engine and steering problems. John is a very experienced seafarer and he told me then "Scott don't ever despair, you will find a way. On this trip you will face many challenges, but just don't despair". We did find a way out of our struggle in Turtle Bay and we did find our way out of our struggle on the Coral Sea. In my last log-blog I wrote about overcoming adversity to achieve your goals. Today I will amend those thoughts to include John's words "when you are at your lowest don't despair, you will find a way." (Even if you do it in your sleep)

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