Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

The last 24 hours saw us slow down considerably – something we’ve needed to do for some time. Helen had re caulked the surround to the sinks so we wished to avoid using the kitchen area. We went ashore and ate at the local shore side food area. Helen had fish and rice while I had chicken curry on rice. We ended up chatting to a chap from Oregon who fished commercially out of Alaska. He was down here on vacation. At this time of year the weather is somewhat different here than it is in Alaska.

This morning Eddie dropped off his vacuum cleaner (ours is somerwhere) so we cleaned up all the dust from the recent work. Later in the morning we climbed up to Fort Louis and took picks of the bay. In the afternoon, once it had cooled down we went for a walk on what we hoped would be a mountain trail. After following many animals trails we found our way back to the main road and decided to negotiate a barbed wire fence rather than continue looking for a proper way out. That’s about it. Rest of the day been chillin’. This blog will probably not be sent on Monday as the internet has been down all day. Not just here but all around I hear.

Yesterday I found the source of the leak discovered a few days ago. After a night of heavy rain the evidence below the aft bunk was more pronounced. Furthermore, the places where the evidence of slight water flow were evident were collecting find dirt. This told me a couple of things. The main thing was that the source of the leak must be somewhere that collected dirt/dust. Given that the boat was left cleaned up by CatCo there were not too many places this could be. In fact, the most likely source was the cabin floor drain. Looking there I could see dirt packed into one corner of the join between the floor of the drain well and the pipe leading down. I went below, cleaned the a section of water trails, went back up and chucked five buckets of sea water into the cabin train. 30 mins later I saw new water down below. Result. Now all I need is a couple of dry days then the good old 5200 will be out and a repair performed.

This morning I was woken to the most concerning combination of the bilge alarm and the water pressure pump running. The immediate conclusion was that a pipe under pressure had come undone and they were both working to overcome the result. In the end it turns out there is a very slight leak in the tee join we put into the pressurized cold water line which feeds the fresh water flush circuit of the watermaker. As luck would have it, they both just happened to go on together. Maybe a passing vessel had given the boat a shake and triggered both together. My reaction had been to immediately wake Helen (in case I needed help) and go rushing to the probable source of the problem with much concern. The source of the problem was easy to identify and for now all I had to do was turn off the water pump – something I really should do each night anyway. For now, it is fortuitous I left it on as we may not have discovered the leak so easily.

This morning we tried something new. About 6:30 I dinghied over to the dock and picked up fresh (and I mean French fresh) croissant and bread for breakfast while Helen prepared coffee. Heaven was repeated.

Today will see the first trial of the watermaker. About 2 hours of work remain before we’re ready for this. I’ve completed connecting all the hoses I can. I have a couple of problems I’m leaving until I can discuss with Eddie but neither are too complicated.

In the end I’m glad our gear wasn’t cleared yesterday. I want the get the watermaker sorted before we start chucking stuff into our starboard cabins. Also, it turns out the French canal bridge broke down yesterday. At the same time, the Dutch side is undergoing a weeks maintenance. Everybody in the Lagoon is consequently stuck there until one or the other is made operational. We of course can’t get into the Lagoon which is where we were due to have our gear delivered. Eddie says he has a plan B in case the bridge is still out of action on Monday.

…. came this morning when we went ashore.  We had separate tasks, Helen to the supermarket and I to obtain the internet subscription.  First we went to the bakery and each had a fresh croissant.  We’re on the French side so they know how to do it.  Heaven.

Then things played out in Caribbean style.  I walked the half mile to the place I could buy a months internet.  Turns out they only take cash and I didn’t have enough.  So it was back to the dinghy, back to the boat, you know the rest.

Once on the net I tried getting more information on our shipping.  No emails from them despite providing them ours.  No responses to the emails I have sent them.  I have tried calling several times both by Skype and using Eddie’s mobile phone.  Never picks up on either of the numbers we have.  So it’s probably another ride on the local bus to the other side of the island this afternoon.

I have discovered a burnt out fuse going to the fans that cool the motors so I now have to troubleshoot that.  Am getting some help from the techs at CatCo which is making this manageable.

Eddie is progressing on fixing in the watermaker.  Once all the components are fixed in, I will connect all the hoses to both save some money and to learn more about the system.  He’s also progressing on cutting the hole for the chartplotter.