Pizza at last.
Last night I finally got some moral support from Chris that allowed me to win the argument in favour of Pizza, which was excellent. The evening was spoiled somewhat by being thoroughly trounced by Chris at table football. There was an exceptionally good table in our restaurant (Venezia Pizzeria) on the waterfornt at Preveza. My humiliation was attenuated by getting a swarm of local kids involved and getting them to take a pole each for a team game, so it was not clear who won.[That's my excuse anyway]
This morning the forward water tank ran dry, a bit earlier than I had expected and I took the opportunity of demonstrating to the rest of the crew how to change over the tanks using the taps under the seats.
Some time later I went to stow a some tins of beer in the bilge to find it deep with water. Oh no! we are sinking???
I recently read an account of an American couple sailing from Florida to Bermuda who found the bilges full of water 100 miles off shore in heavy seas. They could not identify the leak and their bilge pumps failed. They mobilised Search and Rescue services. When the Coast Guard cutter reached them several hours later they finally got round to tasting the water to find it was fresh rather than sea water and worked out it was an internal piping leak, not a water ingress problem.
I dipped in my index finger and tasted it - it was only mildly brackish therefore not seawater - phew.
So I ripped the boat apart to see if I could identify the leak. Everything seemed intact in terms of tanks and pipes..
Then the little grey cells took over. I had commented to Chris and Ebba the day before to be very careful with the hot water as it is truly scalding hot. It then dawned on me that we have been sitting on shore power for the last several days with electric water heater on full blast. Maybe the thermostat is not working and it has been overheating continuously. There is a pressure release valve with a pipe attached taking released water to the bilge. Could this be the source? If it has been sitting boiling away and venting into the bilge this could explain it.It would also explain why there has been such a hot, sticky sultry atmosphere in the cabins. Mark and Chrisy might have a bath in the cockpit of Blue Magic, but we are a floating sauna!
On inspection, I think this is probably what has been happening given that the water is in certain sections of the bilge that the pipe from the pressure release valve lies in and not in others that would be wet if it were a water pipe leak.
Anyway this is the working hypothesis that the little grey cells have settled upon. It also allows me to conclude that the boat is sound and we can go at the earliest opportunity! I have pumped and sponged out all the water and replaced it with what a bilge is really intended for - slabs of Mythos lager.
M here.
well life would be boring if it all went smoothly. Another little domestic crisis was really just what we were needing after all .
We're now raring to go . sun wind and sea await. . In the meantime I'm enjoying a good book and some relative relaxation. Let's hope the bilge problem is sorted...cause I'm not getting into that damned locker again !
This morning the forward water tank ran dry, a bit earlier than I had expected and I took the opportunity of demonstrating to the rest of the crew how to change over the tanks using the taps under the seats.
Some time later I went to stow a some tins of beer in the bilge to find it deep with water. Oh no! we are sinking???
I recently read an account of an American couple sailing from Florida to Bermuda who found the bilges full of water 100 miles off shore in heavy seas. They could not identify the leak and their bilge pumps failed. They mobilised Search and Rescue services. When the Coast Guard cutter reached them several hours later they finally got round to tasting the water to find it was fresh rather than sea water and worked out it was an internal piping leak, not a water ingress problem.
I dipped in my index finger and tasted it - it was only mildly brackish therefore not seawater - phew.
So I ripped the boat apart to see if I could identify the leak. Everything seemed intact in terms of tanks and pipes..
Then the little grey cells took over. I had commented to Chris and Ebba the day before to be very careful with the hot water as it is truly scalding hot. It then dawned on me that we have been sitting on shore power for the last several days with electric water heater on full blast. Maybe the thermostat is not working and it has been overheating continuously. There is a pressure release valve with a pipe attached taking released water to the bilge. Could this be the source? If it has been sitting boiling away and venting into the bilge this could explain it.It would also explain why there has been such a hot, sticky sultry atmosphere in the cabins. Mark and Chrisy might have a bath in the cockpit of Blue Magic, but we are a floating sauna!
On inspection, I think this is probably what has been happening given that the water is in certain sections of the bilge that the pipe from the pressure release valve lies in and not in others that would be wet if it were a water pipe leak.
Anyway this is the working hypothesis that the little grey cells have settled upon. It also allows me to conclude that the boat is sound and we can go at the earliest opportunity! I have pumped and sponged out all the water and replaced it with what a bilge is really intended for - slabs of Mythos lager.
M here.
well life would be boring if it all went smoothly. Another little domestic crisis was really just what we were needing after all .
We're now raring to go . sun wind and sea await. . In the meantime I'm enjoying a good book and some relative relaxation. Let's hope the bilge problem is sorted...cause I'm not getting into that damned locker again !
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