I don’t know whether we’ve been a partial failure or a partial success. I’m leaning toward the latter, but when you’re doing this full-time – it gets hard to differentiate. There was a partial watermaker success, a total watermaker failure, and a partial spearfishing success. We were between waves of friends in the anchorage so it was Luke and I. And in between those waves of friends, we got bored with Yansaladup.
Escaping Watermaker Hell
I did it. I escaped Watermaker Hell. Not exactly as planned, though. Long story short – when I hooked everything back up the other day, it became clear I had a problem. Basically the watermaker has two strokes, if there is a big difference in PSI in each stroke – you have a problem.
With everything together, I noticed a wheezing sound on one stroke and a large difference in PSI in the strokes. That means something wasn’t right. But I was so beat, so sick of dealing with it – that I gave up and had a beer. Then I took an interview with Sail Loot. Then I cooked a mean fish and lemon spaghetti dish.
In the morning I started immediately with the watermaker. There was an issue with one of the high-pressure fittings on the Clark Pump: mainly that it had been stripped. This was clearly something that happened before I got ahold of it, but the last time I took it apart I was able to get it back together and to hold pressure. This time, no dice. So I’m completely watermaker-less. After so much work, it’s a bummer.
On the bright side – I know that watermaker inside and out. I also fixed the problem which initiated me taking it apart originally – it was a faulty O-ring around the piston inside the Clark Pump. When it was inside, it was very difficult to see the fault – but after removing it, it’s pretty clear. In fact, under pressure the whole thing falls apart.
Well – the other good news is that it *appears* that Spectra has a Clark Pump exchange system – which, if correct, is exactly what I need to do. Fingers crossed. Of course, that doesn’t help me with my immediate freshwater need, but there’s only so much I can realistically do about that right now.
Generator
The generator appears to be overheating, initiating an auto-kill switch. We know there is coolant, we know she’s pumping sea-water through her. I just cleaned the heat-exchanger. We’re pretty stumped, but I don’t really need the generator unless I’m making water. So.
Throttle Controls
One of my throttle control cables (a Telefax cable) was sticking, and after looking at it – I realized I needed to replace it. Which means I might as well change all of the throttle cables and keep the old (working) one’s as spares. I only had one spare long enough for the starboard side, so I only replaced one there – but on the portside I’ve now replaced both. So that’s one less problem to worry about, at least in the immediate future.
Of course when I got into the engine controls, I noticed a missing pin. I couldn’t find it. It was essential. So I made a 75% fix with a cotter pin. Good news, it’s working and doesn’t appears to be just as sturdy as the original pin. A little MacGyver and we’re all set again.
Fuel Problems
There is an intermittent problem with my portside fuel system. One of the first things to do is to establish that it’s not an air leak. The two easy ways to do this are: tighten all filters and hose clamps in the fuel line and install a clear tubing behind the fuel-return line. That last part allows me to see into the fuel line when my engine gives me trouble – if there are bubbles in that part of my fuel line during said intermittent problem: I have an air leak. If there are not bubbles – I have another issue.
One World Returns
One World got in, bringing meats and a bit of cheese. We bought a little, and but we still had a shortage of freshwater and vegetables. We had a beach-sunset party, then a dinner party, and then went to sleep. The next day we (Luke, Oliver, and I) took a whack at spearfishing outside of the reef. We had 3-4 foot rollers coming in, so it wasn’t a dry dinghy ride and there were a couple of iffy moments. Actually, when we finally got to the spot we were trying to dive – it was too rough to drop anchor, so we just headed back and spearfished another channel. We largely struckout, but came home with enough lobster to make a killer lobster/fried rice dish. We’re eating like kings, though we have an ongoing rum and beer shortage.
Heading In
With both of us being bored in Yansaladup, the anchorage beginning to fill up (and sound like middle-America, with all of the dogs barking all night) – we decided to head to an inshore island to top up on water and groceries. And a bit of diesel too. We opted to make a couple days out of the trip, stopping back in a favorite anchorage along the way. I’m glad we did.
Spearfishing, Really, Finally
We have been shooting fish. We have been eating lots of fish. Those are good things. But, I would be hard-pressed to say that we’ve been having any “real” spearfishing success. It’s been mediocre most days and downright poor others. So when we pulled into this little anchorage we weren’t expecting much. But we were pleasantly surprised.
After a few failed attempts at getting directly to our desired spot, we took the long way around and arrived. I jumped in, checked the anchor and started some diving in the 30 foot range along a wall. Nothing doing, so I came back and began exploring a channel. There was a current ripping through the channel, and everything was out feeding and swimming in the current. Several kinds of Jacks, a few decent Schoolmaster Snapper, Triggerfish, Spotted Eagle Rays, and Nurse Sharks.
I spotted a flounder, and since I haven’t eaten this variety – I put a spear in it. We’ll try it this evening. Then I spotted a Black Grouper and chased him to his hole. While there I spotted a Channel Clinging Crab. Then a very large Ocean Triggerfish, whom I took. I returned to the dinghy to offload the flounder and triggerfish. Then Luke and I chased the grouper around for awhile before being distracted by lobster and crab – both of which we took home. Then we had a ton of seafood, so we headed back. For being in this anchorage less than two hours – we did pretty well, methinks.
The biggest challenge here is finding the fish. The Kuna are relentless divers, netters, fisherman, trappers, and spearfishermen. It’s a wonder anything survives around here. But as we start moving away from heavy Kuna populations, we’re definitely seeing more fish and underwater life. I’m sure there was a bunch more life in San Blas a few years before. The influx of tourism and cruisers here has provided a market for anything from the sea, of any size. The Kuna harvest anything they can sell – tiny lobster, juvenile fish, baby turtles, etc. As in most parts of the world, the human species is remarkably efficient at destroying the other species – on a grand scale. I fear the only way we’ll really see nature, the way it used to be, is getting as far away from other humans as possible.
Escaping Watermaker Hell
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