Free Spirit - Day 3 Saturday 19th October

Priority number 1 - where has all the water gone? Could there be a leak? Investigation under boards and tests on valves and pipes revealed that the starboard tank was still full but the water not being drawn whilst the port tank was empty. The decision was taken that we could manage on one tank + water maker to Gran Canaria by directing water from the water maker to the port tank and drawing water from this tank only. Job done we all breakfasted together - Dorset Cereal and orange juice (very healthy) followed by bacon and egg ( not very healthy). The sea was calm after a very rolly rocky night and there was no wind so we gently motor sailed all day. As we came closer to the Balearics we picked up a mobile signal. So we were all busy trying to make calls. I hit the jackpot because I was able to speak to my three sons on the same call as they were all together with family and friends for David's Birthday Currie. I used the 'Wonder Bag' for the first time on board to-day to make pork chops in BBQ sauce. It works well because you can do all the preparation in the morning and leave it to cook in the bag to be ready for the meal in the evening. It was still calm and no wind in to the evening watch. Peter and I listened to my Nana CD ( a compilation made for me by Robert) as we watched the moonbeams jump out from behind the clouds and dance on the water (personification for Olivia). Nothing else to see but horizons - just beautiful .
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> Day 4 Sunday 20th October
> To-day was another very calm windless day so motoring all the way with a little help from the sails but lots of activity on board ! To-day we fitted and tested the water turbine. Success! The storm gib was taken out and deployment undertaken. Success! The genoa pole was taken out and the most efficient method of using it was worked out. Success! Finally we got Internet access. Success! And thank you everyone who wished us well. We should now be able to get our blog up and running. Today was also a chicken fest because we found we had lots of fresh chicken which needed to be eaten. It was chicken salad for lunch and chicken curry for dinner. Just before dinner we were visited by dolphins but they did not stay to play today.
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> Day 5 Monday 21 st October
> Becalmed ! We all went for a swim this morning. Saw one dolphin swimming by and spent the morning enjoying the sun, catching up with emails and preparing dinner for the wonder bag. Chilli con carne this evening. Three stripey fishes swam along under the bow for a time and a pied wagtail dropped in for a while. The guys spent 2 hours before dinner trying to sort out the never ending problem with the holding tank........enough said......showers all round !
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> Day 6 Tuesday 22nd October
> Wind to-day - lots of it - but blowing the wrong way for us! And as the day went on the sea got rougher and the wind grew stronger and the waves got bigger and bigger.......oh dear......so we battled all day and all night against a strong head wind (peaking to 40 kts ). No coq au vin tonight. Pot noodles were the order of the day.
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> Day 7 Wednesday 23rd October
> The sea has calmed and the sun is shining but what drama lies in store for us to-day? Well today is all about the prop shaft which seemed to be making much more noise than the engine last night. Inspection this morning shows it is leaking sea water in to the bilges! This seems like an urgent problem which needs to be fixed before we set out into the Atlantic. After making several phone calls the decision was taken to go in to Port Benalmadena some 60 miles from where we are now, as Gibraltar does not have a shipyard which can lift the boat out of the water if necessary. So now it is a matter of getting there as quickly as possible. Engine on, straight line, no tacking - Yes!! My kind of sailing!!
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> Day 8 Thursday 24th October
> Can it get any worse? We were hopeful that tightening of the valve and packing around the drive shaft would resolve the problem. Impossible! Carlos tells us that it is not safe to leave it like that but today is Thursday and this is Spain. The weekend starts tomorrow and it will not be possible to lift the boat out of the water until Monday. The job has to be done. Today I am asking what we have been paying maintenance charges for, for the last five years?
> Right now we have to pay again for Free Spirit to be lifted out of the water (3x in 6 months) but we have to be safe!
> Today also we must buy gas bottles. Of the three supplied to us, two are completely empty.........
> To-day I am asking what am I doing here?.........
> Is it ever going to get better?.......
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