Challenges that make us stop, and finally solve them
Our boat has a bunch of issues
May 5 Wednesday. After leaving Cape Canaveral, we continued to push northward. The aggravating sound of the overtemp alarm was extremely irritating.
As we passed into the night, obstacles continue to plague us. We drove into a thunderstorm without warning tonight. Not really visible on the chart plotter. Poor Carlos had to push through because we didn't have any thing planned for a stop. Also during this overnight the multifunction display (the axiom) started chirping about "no heading" and "no pilot" (which we already knew…). At this point it was decided to head for the closest port, St Augustine. Arrival expected at 6am - total mileage 2107, traveled mileage, 657 nautical miles. Got a slip reserved at the municipal marina in St Augustine and managed to get two emails out to Raymarine Tech's in the area.
Our (my) confidence is shaken
My stomach hurts so bad and I am so terrified (shaking) with these conditions. Carlos and David don’t really show any signs of concerns - is it just me? The suggestion was floated to get a captain through our contacts to finish the trip. We listed out and reviewed potential repair vendors, additional tasks to try on the instrumentation, and kept pushing into the night.
Getting to work as soon as we land
We passed the first buoy into St Augustine around 11am. I was able to get an appointment with a Raymarine technician, Billy Balcom tomorrow, May 6 at 5:30pm. Due to weather and his schedule, we will probably stay two nights. We spent time today assessing the multifunction display situation, agreed to get a new SD card and download new software. Traveled to the closest Target, however we bought the wrong card. Sad, we’ll have to go back tomorrow, but will combine with a grocery run. Met Kathy and Ralph on their ship, CBlue, very next boat next to us, a 42 foot Lagoon 2019 - beautiful boat. They have been living on board for a year, after retirement, due to COVID. Great tour of their ship, good people, exchanged numbers. They actually had a business card. They are from Chicago, but go up and down east coast a lot.
Need to come back to see more of this spot
St. Augustine is a great little historical spot. Built by the Spanish, the architecture and the layout reminds you of a European city. Several historical Landmarks and a cool restaurant/shops/tourist area right next to the Marina. The municipal marina is well equipped - restaurant, shop, showers, transient boaters space, and very clean. Saw several folks with bikes, scooters or skateboards to get around. Enjoyable enough to plan for a trip back.
Carlos got both AC's working so we had a nice cool night. Spent time on the blog but got distracted and not much accomplished. Crossing our fingers in anticipation of a technician tomorrow!
Doing the routine stuff
May 6th The plan today is to put an end to the false overheat alarm in starboard engine, travel back to Target for correct mini SD card, and eagerly await our technician. Cleaned the boat, the bathrooms, washed sheets and remaining clothes. Spent time on the blog, washed my hair, went for a walk around the shoreline. Ate all the leftovers and do some reading. At 530 Billy Balcolm, should be coming to the boat. Sent him a text message to confirm our appointment., and he was OK!
Doing the non-routine stuff
After getting back from Target (and a long wait for an Uber) we downloaded the latest version of Axiom software, and also an update on quantum radar, all processed successfully. Moved to version 3.13.103 of Axiom software. The download and restart was successful, but this did not change the AutoPilot error. Carlos cleaned the contacts on the over temp alarm for the starboard engine and that seemed to end the chirping. That would be a big score because the chirping is very aggravating. Got to do a little shopping at Target. Getting Uber drivers are hard to come by, because of a gas shortage and also Uber drivers in general are not working post pandemic. Eventually, we would like to secure a DST 800 or DST 200 (hardwire). It's a combined paddle for speed calculation and depth transducer that Raymarine makes, and we feel like that would be a good addition to the boat's instrumentation.
Finally, a bonafide electronics technician!
Bill arrived promptly at 5:30. Hallelujah! After a bunch of troubleshooting, taking apart, putting back together, he was dumbfounded and suggested that we may need to replace the entire system (OMG!) After a small comment that “it was working when we plugged it in by itself (the EV-1 brain)”, Bill found that the five way connector strip was bad. After rewiring the devices to the new one, everything came back up. Thanks to Billy Balcom, he persisted and charged us $190 for two hours (well worth it!). The key is, start with a good connection, and build up with additional instruments. With the autopilot repaired and the engine overtemp alarm sensor wiring fixed we will make our way to Brunswick tomorrow - early morning take off. Great Cajun meal at Harry's with Oreo Beignets. What a relief!
A fitting celebration for getting back on track with a healthy ship!
