A Few Hiccups...

...or the best laid plans of mice and men

Did I say we were whittling down the chore list and were “on schedule” for our departure? Did I really say that … out loud? Shame on me. I know better. Neptune was obviously listening and as a result, we've had a few hiccups over the last day or so.

The life raft was sent out for certification and though it might do for another year, it was in rough shape and marginal. We've never needed it, but we'd hate to find out it was on the wrong side of “marginal” as we were climbing into it. We bought a new one (ouch!) and it was just delivered. It fits in the current mounting cradle, but needs a new harness. Put that on the to-do list.

The ditch bag is ready to go, but the handheld watermaker didn't operate properly, so we sent it out for repair. Bad news … it's fubar'ed … new one on order. (double ouch!) Waiting to get confirmation of the shipping date, but it won't hold us up as a friend in Port Lincoln is going to accept delivery for us. It hurts the budget, but not the sched.

Ah, but the biggie … after all of David's hard work re-insulating the fridge and re-doing the galley … the compressor on the fridge/freezer gave up the ghost yesterday. It's a goner. Adler-Barbour is no longer making that model and getting replacement parts is a challenge. It does not appear they're available in Australia, so we're looking for alternate solutions including the possibility of a small 12V camping type fridge/cooler that will get us by for a few months. We need to be somewhere long enough that we can have parts delivered and David has the time to work on the replacement fridge. Right now the schedule to go across the Great Australian Bight is more time critical than refrigeration. We don't have an extra month to spare.

Okay, Neptune, you win. We will go with the flow. We will work hard and get ready, but we promise not boast about anything. We will get things repaired and prepared. We will be patient (as if).

Man, you'd think we lived on a boat or something!!

A Pink View of Blue Projects

 

Just wanted to give you an idea of how blue's projects affect pink's day(s). Even big boats are small when there's a project going on. Floorboards come up. Supplies and tools emerge in great quantity. Every flat surface is occupied. Settee cushions are thrown aside and locker doors remain open. Some parts of the boat are totally inaccessible … the head, the galley, the saloon (sometimes all of them) for some indeterminate period of time. You can only pray it's not overnight and if it is, perhaps not too many overnights.

Now, I do appreciate that projects and chores require doing and David is always willing to do them. I'm not a whinger … really. I'm a realist … we wouldn't be floating if the chores and projects didn't get done. I used to be a bit OCD … a place for everything and everything in its place … all the time. But now ... this is how it is when David works on a project below decks and I've learned to deal with it.

Sometimes there's more than one project in progress at a given time. This makes sense when you consider primer has to dry here, paint has to dry there, epoxy needs to kick, etc. and you might as well start another project while waiting to continue on the current one.

Actually, even if he's working topside, the mess below grows and grows because it's not only a hassle putting everything away if you're going to need it all again tomorrow, it's also very time consuming. And when it comes to boat chores and getting ready to leave … who's got extra time?

Once in awhile, things are all neat and orderly, but it's rare... usually only when someone comes for a visit. Otherwise, there's always something to work on and the boat always seems to be in some sort of upheaval. Once we leave the marina and we're on passage, everything gets stowed properly … till we're on a heel or get caught up in a squall, that is … then it finds its own space.

Ditch Bag Inspection

 

Once a year, usually at the beginning of our cruising season, I inspect our “ditch bag”, the bag we'd grab if we ever had to abandon ship for any reason. We're starting the countdown till we leave Port Adelaide and so it's inspection time. Our Revere Survival Products ditch bag has been on the boat for nearly a decade and when we're at sea, it sits nestled on the saloon settee ready to be grabbed if the need occurs. Thankfully, we've never had to use it.

The ditch bag itself is made of waterproof material, the seams are waterproofed and the zipper is water resistant. Despite that, everything in it that is supposed to be kept dry is kept in a drybag or ziploc bag. Revere's newest design bag has an external pouch for an EPIRB and lots of inner net pockets for stowage of smaller items. It is buoyant to 40 lbs/18 kg loaded capacity, i.e. it will float when it's all loaded up. Though it would be nice to include everything you could possibly need if you abandoned ship in this one tidy package, it's just not possible, so the selection of contents has to be whittled down to a manageable size to fit into the bag.

My goal each year is to unpack the bag, review its contents, make sure everything works and has current dating and then repack it again, hoping we'll never have to use it. I unpack the GPS, for instance, put in fresh batteries and turn it on. It works. I remove the batteries, close it up, include a pack of fresh batteries, make sure the little screwdriver is with it (also used for the VHF for getting into the battery compartment) and repackage in its dry bag … hopefully till next year. I do the same with the VHF. I un-pickle the handheld manual watermaker, make some fresh water from sea water, re-pickle it and pack it away. I check dating on the few meds we carry in our mini-med kit. I insure that copies of our passports and boat docs are current. I make sure we haven't “borrowed” anything from the bag since the last time I inspected it and then forgotten to return it. I consult an inspection list we have, just to make sure I don't forget anything and then update it if we change anything. We try not to leave safety checks to random memory recalls … or lapses. The ditch bag inspection goes on our calendar as a to-do item every year.

From time to time over the years, we've upgraded or replaced things in the bag. We switched to a wind-up LED flashlight, for instance, instead of a battery-operated one, to eliminate the need for carrying extra batteries. We added a mini-fishing kit at one point and a space/survival blanket that's silver on one side and orange on the other, figuring the orange would serve as a make-do distress flag in case of emergency. We attached a long rope tether to the handle of the bag, so it would be easier to tow, if needed, or we could tie it to the side of the dinghy, or boat or life raft or whatever, if we had to.

Because this is an annual safety check, we decided that whenever we do the ditch bag inspection, we'd do other safety checks as well. And so, I've just completed an inspection of our five fire extinguishers aboard to make sure they're all full and ready for action. This is also a good reminder of exactly where they are in case they're ever needed. Our PFD inflation cartridges, bobbins and strobe batteries are in date and the PFDs are hanging on hooks in the wet locker, easily accessible. The life raft has been scheduled for re-certification before we leave Port Adelaide.

There have been several articles written over the years as to what individuals consider the essentials for a ditch bag. If you'd like our list of contents, leave a comment or send an email and we'll gladly send it to you.

Please note: We carry other safety equipment aboard, e.g. lots more flares, a horn, SOS strobe, etc. and there is additional safety equipment stowed inside the liferaft. This blog post provides an overview of the actual contents of the ditch bag itself.