Driver Stop

DRIVER STOP  

 

Position 15D29.184s 144D41.299w

Approximately 40 nautical miles left to sail

 

Monday, July 25 - at 9am this morning we are slowly making progress towards the atoll of Kaeuhi.   We are under time pressure to arrive there before 3pm or it may be too late to enter the atoll safely due to the tides.  If we don't arrive in time we will need to spend another night at sea which neither of us are looking forward to. We were doing 8.5 knots during the night but had to slow down when our auto pilot failed twice.  Ian and I were both settling in for the night watch when all of a sudden I heard the sails flapping violently.  I knew we had gone off course then the auto pilot beeped in protest and a message appeared on the screen flashing 'Driver Stop'.  Oh great we had all our sails out and no automatic steering. Ian sprang up and took the helm steering manually to keep the wind on our beam.  I wound the genoa in on the winch to slow the boat down while we figured out what the problem was.  We managed to reset the autopilot but as soon as we gained speed it failed again.  We looked up the auto pilot manual and deduced that the steering system was unable to cope with the load we were putting on it. We made the decision to run all night at a steady 6 knots to prevent another failure but this decision may result in us missing our entry to the lagoon later today.  Ian and I are both pretty exhausted and are looking forward to some relaxation time. It has only been a short crossing but the cummulative effect of lack of sleep and nausea seems to take its toll on the body eventually.  Yesterday Ian spent the whole day working on the watermaker which now has many serious issues.  This morning we woke up to low batteries so he is also trying to fix that problem with limited resources.  It's also very difficult to work and concentrate down below when the boat is moving unpredictably with the wind and swell.  With a bit of luck we will arrive at Kaeuhi today as planned and take a well deserved swim.