14 August 2017
Port Vila
The good ship Chimere is still tied stern to the wall at Port Vila.
One of the jobs we identified was with the anchor winch, the solenoid (a heavy duty remote switch to operate the winch’s electric motor) has been inconsistent for a while now. Jon, being an ex-navy electrical engineer, was keen to investigate and worked out that the solenoid wasn’t making a good electrical contact every time. The time it was making a good contact was getting fewer and fewer. So this morning, after Monday devotions at PCV Health, Jon and I headed off to find a replacement. Fortunately, the bus drivers here know the places, so after visiting five engineering and motor spare parts places all over Port Vila, long story short – Chimere now has a much more reliable anchor winch. Keen followers of this blog will notice that I have had a haircut – one of the things I squeezed in between jobs on board.
Meanwhile, Ray and Grant were busy replacing the earth strap on the diesel motor. An uncomfortable head down stretch into the engine space.
Also, some of the stores were delivered today, these are to be given to clinics on Pentecost Island and Espirito Santo island. Finding space without sacrificing bunk space is such a challenge on a yacht.
As Tuesday is a public holiday for Assumption Day, we were glad to get what we planned done today. Tomorrow we will start re-stowing things, and on Wednesday we will be provisioning (a nautical word for grocery shopping}.
Fair winds and following seas
Mark Stephenson