Captain Blaine’s Blog

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Lat/Lon Position
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N  26 degrees 44 minutes
W 072 degrees 18 minutes
645 nautical miles to Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Course 140 True @ 6+ knots motorsailing
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Hello Family and Friends,

The smell of homemade banana bread is swirling around the interior of Jalan Jalan as I write to you this evening.  The sun has just recently set over a very blue ocean that has been rolling under the boat in long, lazy swells throughout the day.  And with the last light of the day, our crew is settling in for another night at sea: Jean has taken to her bunk, Wayne to his berth in the salon, Kristofer on watch and me – well, this is the time of day when I write to you. 

But let’s start with that banana bread.  One thing that every boat should have is a good banana bread recipe.  Not because banana bread is a requirement on a boat, but because bananas have a very short shelf life in these hot, humid conditions. And even though I love bananas, I have sat quietly and watched the bananas – day after day – as they slowly went soft, not touching a single one and hoping nobody else saw them going bad.  Why?  Because I LOVE banana bread and was hoping to pass on the recipe we’ve used aboard Charbonneau (my Island Packet 40) for years while cruising.  And finally, today we baked!

Like everything on a boat, it was a team effort.  Jean was our baker while I read the recipe and looked over her shoulder from the companionway stairs.  Wayne kept watch from the cockpit and Kristofer, well, he slept so he’d be ready for his 6pm watch.  This was Jean’s first baking attempt at sea and let me tell you folks – it was a huge success!  I may have to take a break in a minute and have another slice. 

If you want the recipe, you can find it at www.SailCharbonneau.com under the recipe section.  And if you’re asking yourself why I’ve devoted three paragraphs to a loaf of banana bread, you’ve probably never gone to sea.  Treats like homemade bread are the perfect way to boost crew morale.  We’re not camping out here – we’re on passage  The food you offer your crew can truly be the difference between putting up with the passage or enjoying it.  Today, we’re enjoying it thanks to Jean’s extra efforts.  Of course, our club sandwiches for lunch and spicy fried shrimp for dinner didn’t hurt either.

But baking bread wasn’t our only project or success today. Our other big success is the jury rig repair to the boat’s steering system that was damaged in the squall two nights back.  That’s right – we now have the ability to drive the boat from the helm and not just with the autopilot!  Of course, we’ll let the autopilot drive until we actually have to hand steer.  We’re lazy like that. But having that option for storms and docking when we arrive is a huge safety item.

What surprised us was the damage we found when we finally dismantled the autopilot and removed the cover from the rudder post and rudder steering arm.  An aluminum rudder arm is attached around the rudder post.  The steering linkage is attached through a hole at the very end of that arm with a bolt and a swivel joint.  When you turn the wheel, the steering linkage moves and pushes the arm – and the rudder – in the direction you’ve turned.  At least that’s how it is supposed to work.

The bolt on our steering linkage had completely sheered through the aluminum rudder arm.  It actually looked like it had exploded under the pressure and tore the linkage pin right through the 1″ thick aluminum rudder arm.  I’ll admit that I was surprised to see an aluminum rudder arm used in a place where so much pressure is applied while steering in offshore conditions.  And we’ve already heard from another IP485 owner that this also happened to them while they were underway.  Luckily, in their case, they were only an hour from shore and used their emergency tiller to return for repairs.

I’m no engineer, but I would have thought that bronze would have been a better choice for such a critical part of the steering linkage.  That’s exactly what the beefy rudder arm for the autopilot is made from.  But then, I’m just the delivery captain.

Anyway – there was a second hole in this aluminum rudder arm.  It was about three inches closer to the rudder which would limit our turning radius if we could get the steering linkage to attach there.  But – a smaller steering radius was better than no hand steering at all.  So, with Wayne at the helm and Kristofer helping me leverage the rudder into the right position, we were able to connect Jalan Jalan’s steering linkage to this closer hole.  We gave it a test and, voila!, we had steering again.  Not perfect, but good enough to get to Tortola.

We’re working with Island Packet now to get a replacement sent to the islands for our arrival.  Hopefully, we’ll get good news tomorrow that the part is on the way. 

I think that’s it for tonight folks.  I know you’ve probably gotten used to an extra dose of drama and excitement in these notes each day.  I – speaking for our entire crew – am happy to send this note even if it is boring and devoid of adventure compared to the last few days.  But don’t give up on us.  I’m sure there’s another action-packed story just around the corner.

Photo of the day :  Jean – Banana Bread – Snider 

With the sweet aroma of banana bread in the air,

bp, Kristofer, Wayne and Jean

Captain H. Blaine Parks
USCG 50 Ton Master
Parks Marine Services
P.O. Box 12006
Charleston, SC 29422
(843) 870-1424
www.parksmarineservices.com