Sat Jul 24 2021
Seawind originally installed magnetic reed switch fuel probes in our diesel fuel tanks. They’re very reliable, but if you really want to understand your fuel consumption they’re a bit useless. Magnetic reed switch probes provide step changes in fuel level, so one moment you look and there are 150 liters remaining, and if your timing is right the next moment there may be 135 or so. Not such a big deal if you’re fat with fuel and don’t worry much about fuel economy at various power settings, but a huge deal if you’re nearing a low fuel state and need to motor a good bit longer to get somewhere safe. Another Seawind owner, Lance Stairs turned me on to a supplier of capacitive probes. We purchased those for our fuel tanks and water tank, and along with Seawind factory supplied drawings of those tanks I was able to create a very accurate fuel and water level calibration curve. I check the fuel calibrations every time we fill up, and I know how much fuel we have to within maybe 3 liters. Now we know when it’s time to panic.
Yesterday as we were motor sailing merrily along we heard a Canadian environmental reconnaissance / patrol aircraft hail numerous cargo ships. Whether they were in Canadian waters or just within observation range we don’t know, but the friendly Canadians were reminding each ship’s bridge crew that it is illegal to dump waste at sea, etc. If you read between the lines I reckon the real message is “we’re keeping our eyes on you and we will bust your ass if we catch you doing something nasty”. Go Maple Leafs!
This morning in the mizzle and fog, I noted on AIS and radar a rather large (900 feet) container ship off our stern quarter and overtaking us. Still about 8 miles distant, I hailed the watch officer over VHF to request AIS and radar target checks. He very kindly acknowledged that he had been surveilling us for quite some time. That was comforting. There are heaps of ships and fishing boats out here. Isabel observed 2 fishing vessels with bright lights last night, one only 1/4 mile distant, neither with AIS. At night with dense fog all we can do is keep a close watch on the radar and hope for a visual sighting. I personally find it challenging to judge distance from a fishing boat at night and have gotten uncomfortably close more than once. Without any target data there’s no real sense of scale until something relatable comes into view. When it’s a lobster fisherman giving you the finger, that’s a bit too close.
Isabel spotted the mountains of Vancouver Island just a few moments ago. They’re tall and have snow caps in places. Looks cold up there. The sky has been intermittently sunny then cloudy, and visibility in various quadrants has been quite different, but suddenly things cleared up and there it was. Canada! Our friendly Northern neighbor! Some of our best friends are Canadian. I used to play with NovAtel precision GPS receivers, the finest in the world. Calgary has NovAtel going for them, along with a pretty good rodeo. We’ve been warned to stay clear of Canadian waters or their Coast Guard folks might not be so friendly right now.
The wind is finally coming behind us just as the ECMWF forecast from PredictWind promised. We stowed the main and rolled out the twin headsail (simbo) rig, and even with only 5 knots apparent wind we were able to reduce engine rpm a good bit and still maintain 6 knots towards the Strait. Our fuel burn is a bit excessive right now as we’re kind of draggy, so every 100 rpm we decrease the throttle improves our safety margin for getting to Port Angeles before we reach a low fuel state.
Between each other we’ve managed our stress pretty well. We’ve been extra kind and thoughtful, trying hard not to get cranky. Stress has other interesting ways of revealing itself, such as eczema on our hands - something neither of us has ever experienced before. Back aches are also rampant. I think we both need a day at a spa, or at least a good therapeutic massage.
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