Boats and plans don’t always mesh in the way we expect. Instead of ending up in Honolulu, HI, as I had hoped, I have landed in Eureka, CA instead. Not exactly the plan I had in mind but it’s turning out just fine. In order to enjoy the cruising life I think you have to be willing to allow for the unexpected. So, that’s what I have done.
About three days out of the West Entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, located on the NE corner of Washington state, my autopilot ram began making unhappy noises. The conditions were unkind to say the least. Quartering seas with an intermittent crossing pattern had the boat rolling 45-50 degrees for almost the entire three days I was headed towards HI. The winds were up and down and I was reefing and furling every few hours which was great fun. It’s like trying to walk while riding on a sadistic carnival ride. It looked like I was in for at least several more days of this carnival ride and was resigned to it, having adjusted to the constant motion and banging of items in every locker in the boat. The clatter is so load that sleeping is not easy and sleep is the one thing a solo sailor needs to do often because they’re really just naps.
At some point into day three I started noticing the ram was having a very tough time of it. It was leaking oil past the seal and from what looked like a relief vent. The worst sign was the groaning sound as it tried to arrest the rudder and reverse direction. It became apparent to me that the ram was having trouble coping with the loads being placed by the conditions we were in. After a phone call to my go to person on shore (thank you Bob and Starlink) it was decided to try falling off to run with the swell, drop sail and motor to see if that relieved the stresses enough to save the ram from complete failure.
As promised this tactic worked. The autopilot and ram were now working far less hard but I was now headed to South American not HI. After more discussion and some soul searching I decided I could not risk continuing to HI with this piece of equipment on the possible edge of failure. My boat has no wind vane (a deliberate decision) so the AP (autopilot) is a go no-go item. It is essentially my “crew”. In retrospect I should have replaced the when I replace the rest of the AP system before leaving. I did so many other things but thought I could rely on the ram (rebuilt a few years ago) and have never had any issues previously. However, this is what can happen with older equipment. When pushed hard failure is more likely. Lesson learned, again.
On the plus side I landed in Eureka where I was extremely fortunate to have friends to support me. I was provided with a home to stay in, a car to use, and wonderful company to dine with and have interesting discussions about all things great and small. The boat is ready to go again with a new B&G ram sized for the boat and mounted far better than the old one was. Other items that needed attention after six days of open ocean abuse have also been attended to.
Now I have over a month to spend seeing the coast between here and home because I feel it’s too late to relaunch for HI. The return trip from HI would end up in mid to late September and I don’t like my odds as a solo sailor in the NE Pacific then. I will be hop between ports and no doubt do some motoring while bashing upwind but in the end this will still be a memorable and great adventure for me and Kinetics!