October 23, 2013
Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos
Of course I’ll blame it on the bananas! We didn’t leave on a Friday, so it had to be the green bananas. Not that we didn’t argue over the banana issue: should we or should we not have green bananas on board; it’s only superstition; we’re motor yachties, not sailors; let’s be mature about this. In the end, we loaded the bananas on board, dropped them in the fruit basket with the papaya and coconut, and forgot about them.
Still, we needed to run the watermaker since our water tanks werealmost empty. We usually don’t make water while in port because the harbors are often polluted. We’d much rather run the HRO offshore. With the engine alternators out of commission, JP fired up the Northern Light genset. Within minutes, the genset stoped. “What now?” Out came the Northern Light manuals and JP dug into the technicalities. Up and down the workshop, finally he claimed victory. Three words: “Genset voltage regulator.” The genset, indeed, was putting out more power (140v) than the Magnum inverter-charger could take (120v), throwing the Magnum in “overload.” JP adjusted the voltage regulator on the genset and fixed yet one more problem. The watermaker ran another 2 hours to fill our tanks.
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| JP works on the watermaker |
That’s the thing with yachting. There is always a problem. Sometimes you can fix it, like adjusting the genset’s voltage regulator, and sometimes you can’t, like re-spooling your alternators.
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| Easy with the Quickline system |
We made it back to Santa Cruz before night and this time aced our anchoring maneuver between the big charter yachts, dropping “Big Bertha” on a short scope, testing the hold, and securing the bridle. Then, we took the time to call for a water taxi (CH 14) to help us with the stern line. I grabbed the end of the Quickline Flatline, jumped on the water taxi while JP let the flat line roll out, secured the end to the big mooring astern, and let JP winch DOMINO back. This is the best use we’ve made of the Quickline Flat Line and the maneuver was a cinch.
Well, we’re still stuck on board this morning, waiting for our agent Johnny Romero to check us in with the Capitania. Yes, we must report our trouble to the Capitania, have them inspect our damages and grant us emergency status. But until Mr. Romero attends us, we’re prisoners on board.
No matter. Early this morning, Captain Rodrigo of “Queen Beatriz,” a luxury charter cat anchored next to us, sent us the best electrician on the island. Claudio Silva took one look at the alternators that JP had already taken out on deck, and decided to send them to Guayaquil for repair. It’s all arranged, the alternators are already on their way to the airport and we should have them back within a week.
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| More belts... more belts... |
Of course, we must think of a fix to avoid overheating the Balmar alternators in the future. Some systems come with an optional alternator temperature sensor that will decrease alternator output by 50% until it cools down. The Ample Power alternator regulators that we have installed do not have this safety feature. Balmar does and we will improve the system in the near future, but not here in the Galapagos. This will have to wait until we get to Tahiti. Meanwhile, we promise not to run a watermaker that draws about 140 amps on engine alternators that only provide about 140 amps each. That was our mistake: if one fail, the other will fail soon after.
Hopefully, our Agent can deal with these unexpected events and make time in his busy schedule to accommodate our administrative needs. We’re off to his office to make a full declaration of what happened and why in the world we returned to the Galapagos after leaving for the Marquesas. Why indeed?
Till next blog… when hopefully the stench of burnt electrical wire will have cleared up. Till then…
dominomarie