Up the creek without a paddle!

May 30th, 2016

01°46.319 S

99°15.828 E

What a terrible two days!  I think it would be easier to mention what didn't go wrong which would start by saying that we caught a really nice big 14kg wahoo, one of our absolute favourites.  Sadly, that's it for the good stuff as everything else was a nightmare.

We left Pasti's on a fairly innocuous morning to start a 110nm overnight trip down to Siaimu Island further south.  We were motor sailing as the wind, which for once wasn't right on our nose, was too light to move more than at a snail's pace so we had the genny out but no main.  The main would have just flogged in the rolly sea.

All was well but we could see rain off to the west and the seas were picking up.  All in the matter of a second, Calypso almost broached and all hell broke loose.  The wind, which had been a pathetic 5 to 6 knots was now a howling gale in the high thirties gusting to the mid forties and no matter how we revved up the engine, we simply could not turn into the wind to furl in the genny.  Eventually Paul, with a great struggle, managed to winch it in but not before the entire UV strip had shredded.  For over four hours, we battled on, having to rev the engine at maximum to avoid being hit side on by the massive six metre waves which would surely knock us flat. 

Eventually the winds died but the seas remained hectic for many more hours.  A trip down into the saloon revealed a mess of objects that had been flung from pillar to post, things that had never even been dislodged during our episode with the tropical storm leaving Fiji a few years back.  Even some of the ceiling fell down.

It was many hours before we could hand the job of steering back to George (our auto pilot) and start clearing up and, by this time, we were thoroughly exhausted, soaking wet and hungry but we managed to get back on track, have an exciting dinner of bread and peanut butter and start to relax.  

The following morning broke with fair weather and slightly more favourable winds - we were sailing with a double reefed main and staysail but that luxury was not to last!  The wind died again, we had to switch on the engine.  It started to make a noise but that was just at the stage where we had caught our wahoo so we were both at the stern dealing with our prize when there was a sudden ppffffed and then a much quieter engine.  Investigating, Paul quickly switched off; the water pump was spraying steam throughout the engine compartment but we weren't in a position to thoroughly assess what had happened but we knew then that it was serious.

Our destination was through a reef strewn passage which wasn't too much of a problem other than it was getting late and to throw another little spanner into the works, the charts were so far off as to be rendered almost useless.  However, the weather hadn't finished with us yet as another almighty squall was suddenly upon us.  We had to drop the staysail but kept the main deployed to maintain some semblance of control just praying we weren't getting too close to the thundering reefs nearby.

We had tried the radio earlier to get some advice on the anchorage but despite trying most channels, not a single reply.  However, now things were getting really serious so for the first time in our lives, we put out a 'pan pan' call and miracles of miracles, we were answered.  Pelagic, an Aussie surf charter boat replied.  They were 6nm away and changed direction to come out to us - what a welcome sight!

The skipper swam out to bring us a line after several abortive attempts to pass one across to them, seriously bending our bow rollers in the process.  With this secured, they took off with us in tow at eight knots, far too fast in those violent seas!  It wasn't long before it ripped out our entire Sampson post on the foredeck leaving a gaping hole by the windlass.  If we hadn't been so shell shocked with all that was happening, I think we would have just sat down and cried but there was no time for that.  They then launched their huge tender with its big outboard to tow us the rest of the way at a very much slower pace.  For several hours, we had to deal with the enormous swells that had developed but they eventually got us up a river, a safe, well protected anchorage where we were able to drop the anchor and sit back to take stock, downing a double whiskey to calm our nerves.

The water pump attached to the front end of the engine had sheared; we weren't going anywhere in a hurry.  Our safe anchorage was in the middle of absolutely nowhere, no town, no cell coverage, certainly no internet and about 80nm to mainland Sumatra to the town of Padang where there may or may not be a chance of finding someone to weld the offending part.  First however, that part had to come off and there lay the next problem - one screw was right behind two pullies making it impossible to remove without removing those first.  But naturally, that wasn't going to be a walk in the park.  In order to remove them, Paul would have to remove all the batteries and cut a hole though the back of the battery compartment into the engine room!  How bad could this get?!  It took us half a day just working on the pullies but success at last.

Even should things work out within a reasonable time which is unlikely, Cocos Keeling is now out of the question.  We had more or less realised this anyway before all this happened so, if we are lucky and we somehow manage to get the part to Padang and get it repaired, we will head straight for Rodrigues instead.

In the meantime, no engine means no charging so we can only hope the wind and sun plays fair.  It also means no water maker so again, we can only hope that the massive amount of rain that we've been experiencing won't suddenly come to an end in order for us to keep our tanks topped up.

Now to find someway somehow to get the part to Padang and just pray we can find someone who can weld aluminium, not a promising prospect.  All this when we've already checked out of the country, have no Rupiah left and a debit card that requires a certain ATM which is almost impossible to find.  However, on the positive side again, we're safe and sound and we have sufficient food and drink.  Just looking for that magic wand to give us a slight helping hand.

Most of all though, a tremendously HUGE thanks to Pelagic, her crew and her guests for giving up their afternoon to rescue us in those conditions.  Sometimes we learn, there really is a guardian angel nearby when so desperately needed, thank you so very very much.