Total Miles sailed so far=23,801nm.
Miles sailed the last 3-days=301nm.
Distance left to go to finish=1124nm.
Top speed so far = 14.1kts.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
Day-190.
24hr.Run=66nm. Pos. Lat.20*54’S. Long.90*29’W. Weather:Wind-NNW 4-10kts. Seas:4-6ft.W. Cabin Temp=72*-80*Bar=1010mb
Wind is up a little today, yet still very light.The good thing is I can almost steer the desired course, a big improvement.
I have received many great ideas from many of you out there, on how to help elevate my water shortage problem. I will name a few just for every body’s benefit.
1-A quick and easy one is a 4-quart sauce pan on your stove with a cup secured in the middle of it and salt water poured in around the cup[not over the cup], then place the pot lid upside down on the pan and boil salt water, and then the steam condensing on the lid will run down to the knob and drip into the cup.
2-Another great idea is take your pressure cooker and either by removing a pop up or drilling a hole in the top attach a copper tube and coil it as a condenser so that steam is cooled and converted to fresh water that runs out the end of the tube. Plastic tube could be substituted for copper as long as it didn’t taint the taste of the water.
3-A solar still comprised of a pop or beer can with top cut off filled with sea water than take a 2-liter plastic pop bottle with top on cut hole in bottom for can and roll bottom of pop bottle up inside creating trough around the inside of the bottle and set in the sun, its suppose to work.
4-Use hand operated water-maker to pump salty tainted water in tank through water maker to yield more fresh water quicker and save discharge water for other cleaning uses on boat.
Of course the first two ideas require that you have enough propane to boil the water, I’m not sure I do, but as a last resort I will give it a go.
The water maker one is a good idea but my water-maker refuses to produce any product water from any source at this time.
John from the yacht Nakia reminded me that the hot water tank has a back flow preventer on the bottom of it, and the only real way to get the water out of the tank is to remove that back flow device at the bottom of the tank. So I logged that good info.
I’m going to make it in ok and I checked the specifications on my life raft and there is 3-liters of 17-year old water inside of it that could be used if need be.
Day-191.
24hr.Run=104nm. Pos. Lat.19*31’S. Long.89*30’W. Weather: Wind=NNW4-12kts. Seas =SW 6-8ft. Cabin Temp=75*-79*Bar=1010mb.
Today winds are up just a little and sailing on course.
I decided to build a 6-volt battery for my water salinity tester, as the factory battery had died and I didn’t have a replacement. I taped 4-AA-batteries into a bundle, placing every other one + end up. On the bottom of the battery pack I soldered two separate parallel bare copper wires connecting the negative ends of two batteries to the positive ends of the other two batteries creating two 3-volt batteries. On top of the battery bundle I connected the negative of one three volt battery to the positive of the other one, and that gave me 6-volts at the two remaining terminals where I soldered Two wires and connected them in the meter where the normal 6-volt battery would hook up, and of course the meter turned on.
This enabled me to fill a cup with the salty water from my tank and read the salinity. According to my “Pur” water-maker manual any product water over 1500 parts per million should be discarded. My meter read 1480 parts per million making the water just barely yet still drinkable.
So for now I’m still drinking coffee with extra sugar as long as water lasts in tank???? I feel much relieved to have this additional water, and we will see how long it lasts.
Day-192.
24hr.Run=131nm. Pos. Lat.17*43′ S. Long.88*23’W. Weather:Wind NW 8-12 kts Seas=W. 4-6ft. Cabin Temp=75*-78*Bar=1010mb
Sailing along nicely picking up favorable current, and it is most likely the outer edge of the Humboldt Current.
I can see the trade-winds getting closer and should start to get into them within 24 hrs. Once I pass through the transitional area where I will be slowed for at least 12-hrs. I can get moving again.
Debbie is reporting in from Bahia Caraqez, Ecuador where she is sleeping out in the yard of our friend’s house in a 3-man tent. She says there are people sleeping in tents on the streets of Bahia. She also mentioned that they tried opening the Tia store in the down town section and the people all went in and looted it. So now it is closed until security is beefed up enough to reopen. Debbie says there are lots of soldiers on the streets making things pretty safe and a few stores are open with lots of security.
There were deaths in Bahia when some large buildings collapsed.
Tripp has sold the marina and it is open under new owner and management with most of all the old employees still there. The Puerto Amistad restaurant should be open by the time I get there.
This is a pretty good example of what I eluded to several months before the earth quake ever happened, how hunger is our strongest driving force and very few people are provisioned to last more than a few days before they become desperate and will take what they need at what ever risk
We should all learn from this example as this was an unpredictable natural disaster, and they do happen in most places. I know its hard when you know there is a store two blocks away stuffed full of what ever you might want on a normal day, it’s those other days when that store becomes an ” illusion”, I’m talking about.
I had provisioned Sailors Run for approximately 7-months, and when all those lockers were jammed to the tops with goods it seemed almost ridicules that I should take so much stuff, but now I’m down to just about the same place in provisions as many people in Ecuador and from this perspective it causes you to think “sobering thoughts”.
Fortunate for me I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Watching the light grow larger and brighter as the Jefe’ gets “saltier” day by day.