Taking time out for Maintenance, repairs and upgrades.
Today is the September Equinox marking the first day of spring here in Brazil. Only 3 months until the start of summer, when we want to be heading into the deep south.
Deliberately we haven't moved very much in the last month. It's 2 years since we left UK and time to both give Velvet Lady a good dose of TLC and continue our preparations for sailing in Argentina and Chile.
We have spent the past 2 months scouring chandleries for bits we might need. We already have most things to pass the Argentinian safety check - we just needed a fire axe which we bought in Buenos Aires. In Parity we bought 120m long floating mooring lines and fuel containers, but we haven't been able to find 12 strand dyneema or netting.
Preparing for Chile we made some really big upgrades. Before leaving UK we installed a new heater and a new watermaker. It is disappointing that these are the things that have given us most trouble. Despite making sure we bought 'international' brands, we are getting exasperated at how difficult it is to source particular spare parts. We realise now just how much we took for granted in Europe. A quick Internet search, click for a card payment and a package would arrive within a week.
We are well stocked up with consumables, but there are a few crucial parts we need. To have these items shipped from Europe the import tax would rapidly bring the cost up to more than an international flight - so we shipped Richard off to UK on a shopping spree instead!
Only Richard went, I stayed in Brazil. Rules are complicated here to leave a boat and for such a short time it was easier for me to stay. I still joined in the shopping spree. Amazon, click. Force 4 Chandlery, click. Jimmy Green Marine, click. The lists went on. We made the most of an opportunity. Everything from fridge parts and water pumps to sail needles and anchor chainmarkers. All the items were ordered online and had been delivered in UK even before Richard left Brazil.
We took a big chunky mooring buoy in Marina Frade whilst Richard was away so I didn't have to worry about an anchor dragging. Before he left we had serviced the engine, generator and watermaker as we knew Frade had a place to dump dirty oil and filters
I stayed aboard in Marina Frade working through a list of other jobs and was entertained every morning by this little chap below singing to me!
First, I played the gas game, getting our foreign bottles filled. A very friendly taxi driver drove me around for a day to get it sorted. Sandro was proving a bit elusive but we met up with him in the end. The gas was about 15 Reais a Kg.
There is a 24 hour service boat in the marina so I didn't need to launch the dinghy and had help ferrying the bottles.
Next - after 2 years a sort out/inventory check was in order. I went around emptying every cabin (which we use for storage), counting what we have and throwing old stuff away. We have lockers full of emergency tins, but how many were left?
And of course, cooking, shopping, laundry and dealing with the unexpected. The shower drain pump blew it's fuse and stopped. This needed immediate attention. Into the cupboard under the sink I went with spanners and screwdrivers. With the pump out I could see there was nothing wrong with the impellor, but the spindle was stuck. Hence the blown fuse. A quick wiggle with some lubricant, a new fuse and it was away again. I needed a shower by the time I was finished!
The time flew by and almost immediately Richard was back with 2 very full bags of goodies. All the items were properly declared online in advance and we had no tax to pay as they were waved in as goods in transit.
We are cracking on now with the 'fix/improve' list. We need calm water and a gentle breeze to work comfortably, so have chosen to anchor in a beautiful bay north of Angra.
No traffic, no wash and no jet skis. Occasionally we have to move to the other side of the bay to be sheltered from the wind but it is only 2 miles.
We still have to keep up with routine boat chores like laundry, cleaning and go ashore for shopping so although the jobs list gets shorter, time is racing by.
With the goodies Richard brought so far we have:
Replaced the cold plate in the fridge.
Replaced a corroded circuit board in the heater.
Rebuilt the floor in the heads - the wood had gone soggy so there was new wood in the bag.
Changed the screen on the laptop (half of it used to be pink)
Made new soft shackles from the dyneema. ( for anchor snubber)
Made 3 Netting Bags - We need 4 long floating lines for Chile. It's easiest to stow these in a netbag. I was given one bag in Uruguay so had it to use as a pattern.
The netting and netting tool came from Jimmy Green.
Richard has used his electric wizardry to change Starlink from 240v to 12v. This will really help our power consumption.
He's also built a new gadget to remotely lift/lower the anchor.
Next on his list - install a gadget he brought to improve battery charging.
For me - time to get the sewing machine out and also continue with the endless task of cleaning bird poop off the deck and canopies. Its a bit like painting the Forth Road Bridge. The Brown Boobies love to sit on the masthead or spreaders.
Take off and landings seem to create the mess.
Despite our feeling of making great progress, there has been a set back. Almost the instant we got our heater running with a new circuit board it stopped again. Now it needs a new pump. I wrote to the Webasto dealers in Argentina and Brazil and local chandleries 2 weeks ago, but still no replies.
Fortunately other sailors will be our saviours, bringing one for us from Italy. Thank you so much Katja and Fabio. They are heading north shortly as we head south. Now all we have to do is organise a meet up on the high seas.
It hasn't been all work and no play. In the evenings we have been glued to you tube watching the challenger series for the Americas Cup. GB are now finalists in the LV cup. Go Ineos Britannia. Go Ben. First to 7, starting 26th September.
Watch this space
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