Packing

It was a work day today. Danny noticed that the propane locker was being pushed open. Further investigation revealed the locker was full of water and the tanks were floating around inside, one upside down, the other on its side. We pulled the sails down and drifted so there was less water rolling down the deck while we worked on the problem. The tanks have never been very secure. It's just not a good design for keeping them anchored in place. I've tried several avenues to strap them down or wedge them in with varying degrees of success depending on the sea state.

The last effort to secure them resulted in Kay's rubber boots, empty water bags, and a large towel packed around them to keep them in place. Unfortunately the towel didn't stay put and covered the drain hole for the locker. That combined with a hatch cover that wasn't well sealed resulted in the locker full of water.

We resolved the problem by repacking the locker and using silicone sealant as a temporary hatch seal. The problem will need more attention after the trip.

The next order of business, as long as the sails were down, was to transfer fuel from the jugs tied to the deck into the ship's fuel tank. That was a nasty job. We considered pouring the diesel though a filter funnel that's designed to exclude water, but decided the wind would spray fuel all over us if we tried that, so we used a siphon pump purchased for the purpose. That did the job, but with the motion of the boat sloshing the jugs and the transferring of hoses we ended up with the deck and ourselves covered in diesel anyway. We had very little wastage though so it was probably the right decision.

Water as precious as it is made cleaning up a challenge, but we managed with damp rags and dish soap. A hot shower will have to wait.

After dinner I settled in for a short nap before my 2-6am shift. The air in my room was hot and stuffy from the engine running next door so I opened the window over my head to let in some sweet fresh air. It felt delicious. I thought to myself that I should close the window in case it rains, but if it did, maybe the rain would wake me and I could close it then.

Half an hour later I was woken with a bucket load of sea water that was expertly launched from the ocean, through the hatch and into my head. Maybe it rimmed down the deck on its way, but regardless: my hair, body, pillow, sleeping bag, mattress were all soaked. Before I could get the window closed, three more entered, the last a direct shot to the kisser. Some evil sea monster was having his fun.

Thankfully, because the room is warm, it should dry out relatively quickly. Between the piles of baggage, the wet places, and the boat movement, it made finding a spot to sleep on challenging. Like a dog circling the mat before lying down, I moved bags, spread things out to dry, and wedged myself into a spot that wouldn't go flying.

Like the propane tank, security was found by packing in.