Of course we were there – with the Dinghy and towing our friends from the Kira, we’ve watched the ships of the ARC leave the harbour of Las Palmas to sail across the Atlantic. We had beautiful weather and a constant breeze – perfect conditions for a nice ride. Here are a few pics:
Slowly we’re feeling at home here in Las Palmas. The personnel of the local chandlery knows us by name, the kids have plenty of friends and the days pass by in an instant. Today at 13:00h, the ARC will start across the Atlantic and then it’s gonna be much quieter in the harbour. We’ll commemorate that by having a beach party in the afternoon. Hehehe.
Unfortunately, the Express Crusader also left Gran Canaria this morning. This beautiful, history-charged ship is inhabited by an argentinian family with three kids – despite sailing under the english flag. We’ll gonna miss them and look forward to meet again in Cabo Verde or maybe in the Carribean. Bruno was really very sad today.
Yesterday I built the mount for our tiller pilot and thus managed to remove one of the last items from my ToDo list. After that there was a big children farewell party on board the Express Crusader with 11 (in words: ELEVEN !!) kids. Afterwards Bruno and Viola still had energy left to do the long planned restaurant evening. The kids created a menu and Bruno took the orders with pen and booklet and passed the wishes of our guests towards the kitchen. Viola mixed Mojitos and Bruno and Gui made the Cheeseburgers. It was a wonderful evening with Klaus und Tim from the Kira (where the restaurant was actually planed – therefore the name…)
And now we’ll have to get into the Dinghy to see the start of the ARC 2011 . We wanna shoot a couple of pictures. We have a steady breeze and I guess at lest the racing division will use that to start under spinnaker. We’ll see…
I’m trying not to get political on this site but sometimes I can’t resist. Regarding ‘Occupy Wall street‘ I found this neat little sentence (translation by me):
Right ! Ban the demonstrations !
“In Syria you can’t demonstrate against Assad, in Libya you couldn’t demonstrate against Gadaffi and in the U.S. you can’t demonstrate against Wall Street.”
And some thing else to think about: “Beginning in 2010, JPMorgan Chase donated technology, time and resources valued at $4.6 million to the New York City Police Foundation, including 1,000 new patrol car laptops.”
Here’s the site as PDF in case it’s taken offline.
Huh ? No update in three days ? That’s unusual. But of course that only happened because we’re sooooo busy. Hehehe. This monday we rented a car and crossed the island towards the south. It goes waaaaay up on the mountains and it really IS a street as you expect it to be, meandering up the steep slopes of the rocky center of Gran Canaria. On the summit we had a little rest, cool air, a nice view, the driver had a beer and the kids had a donkey-ride.
Then it was downhill for quite a while, passing strange plants. I was just saying to Gui: “Look at that strange trees, they have yellow leaves.” When it came to me. Aaah ! There still is that thing with seasons. – It’s autumn !! *Pfew* Somehow we already ARE a little disconnected with central Europe, it seems. Then we saw another strange thing: A paddle-cactus-tree. Never saw such a plant – and actually I learned that it’s a highly endangered species and ususally only to be found on the Galapagos Islands.
Having arrived in the south, we payed a visit to the Hitch-Hike-Heidi which we last saw in Aveiro (Portugal). The kids had fun without end and the grownups had an endless chat. It was wonderful but way to short. We hope to meet again in Cabo Verde.
Yesterday there wasn’t much happening – but we got a visitor: Klaus from the Kira arrived to meet his parents. And since it was logistically better, he used the ferry to come over from Tenerife. He’ll spend two nights on board the Rancho Relaxo after which Tim will arrive with the Kira.
Today we had big construction works on our ship: five kids were playing Lego. Unfortunately I forgot to document the creations – but I was just too engaged.
Sorry for the downtime on our website. The server was broken after a software update on the SAN. Now it seems to be working again.
Today the crew the Rancho Relaxo participated in the much anticipated dinghy race. – And we think we won. Or actually nobody knows. We didn’t even realize when the race started or when it finished. It was all just splashing water and throwing balloons filled with – or old bread soaked in water… yes – we got dirty and wet.
After the race we met a lovely argentinian family with three kids of which two are the same age as Bruno and Viola. And they’re on long term cruise with next stop in Cabo Verde. Yay !
In the evening there was a big gathering on the beach – so to say a little afterhour to the dinghy race. Many really interesting and lovely people.
It’s three o’clock in the afternoon and we’ve already been quite hardworking. After breakfast, Bruno went immediately to work with pre-school and today’s subject mathematics. After that the kids and Gui tried a new muffin recipe, decorated the pastries and immediately ate them.
In the mean time, I was up the mast to repair the remote compass and took measurement of our antenna mount where the active radar reflector should be rigged. The electronic compass is now finally working. And since yesterday our ships main compass has working illumination again and Bruno and me installed the last missing part for our desalinator. We’ll check on our way to Cabo Verde whether it really works.
Instead of writing about our ship’s ToDo list and the advancements made on our little projects, I’ll rather show you a few pictures of some nice (and big) sailing yachts that were in port today:
The Cinderella IV is quita a nice little boat. The on board dinghy (!!) has an 115hp engine – which is roughly three times the power of our own ship’s inboard Mercedes. Heh. She’s 128 feet long – that’s nearly 40 meters but has accomodation only for eight ‘guests’ and five crew. So I guess, you have plenty of room on board. A funny little detail: She pulled up at the gas station and before filling up their tanks, the skipper was requesting a sample of the fuel in a crystal glass to look at. When they got onboard the fuel hose, they put snow white towels over every part of the ship that could get in contact and while three people pulled the hose across the deck, one was continously cleaning it !
More beautiful because of her classic design is the yacht ‘Signe‘ with her 115ft (35m). And the ship doesn’t only look classic but despite her rather young age of only 21 years it’s actually made out of wood – which is not so common nowadays. A real beauty. I would have shot a few more detailed pictures but they left the anchorage today.
Then ther was that bright orange colored boat: The rescue vessel ‘Salvamar Nunki’. Thanks to Gui’s efforts we managed to get a guided tour by the Captain of the vessel. Of course the kids wanted to know EVERYTHING and – were shown everything. From the winches to the crew’s quarters, the engine room and of course the cockpit with all it’s electronic gadgets. Quite fascinating ! A few details about the ship: it’s maximum speed is 36 knots and it’s not driven by propellers but by jet propulsion (like a gigantic jet-ski). The draft of this 21m ship is only 80cm – so it can go quite close to the beach. Nice !
“Papi, what are we gonna repair today ?” – this is how Bruno wakes me up nowadays. And every morning I have a different answer. Actually we only wanted to stay a day or two (I know, I repeat myself…) but it’s just soooo convenient to have all shops and toolstores around the corner, so today we said, we’ll stay for another week. Yes, a week because I also ordered new optical sunglasses and they’ll not be ready before that. We also will get a new battery and tank monitor from the U.S. that somehow got wrecked during yesterdays battery replacement. Now the only thing it shows on it’s display is that it’ll like a new firmware to be uploaded – or to say it differently: It’s broken.
Because it doesn’t cost much, I sent an Email to Blue Sea Systems and immediately got an unbelievably friendly email back in which they announce to send us a new (refurbished) unit ! WOW, that’s customer support ! Companies of the earth: take this as an example !! Ah, and to stay on the subject: I also sent an email to our battery supplier and got an answer back. But there’s not yet any concrete development, I’ll post later on this very subject.
As you can see on the pictures: Today was sewing day. Gui made beds for the children’s puppets the other day and now of course they needed a bedding. Viola didn’t hesitate and took the needle and sewed away. Bruno and me were doing the covering for the newly installed fridge and mounted the still missing switch for the same. We repaired the pump that get’s the oil of the ship’s engine out (when it’s to be changed) and we also got the last missing parts to install the saltwater pump for the watermaker. So that will probably be tomorrow’s project. We’ve also been on the beach and right after discovered a Bio-Burger restaurant nearby. Yummie !!
The power is back !! Yeyeye !!! Electrical light – without cranking the dynamo-lantern constantly. No fumes of our petroleum-lantern… No. Nice, warm LED-light from the ceiling on the push of a button. Great !
Today I talked with the guys from the shop here and although they don’t have a concrete idea why our batteries died, they still told me that I’m not alone. In fact only a few weeks ago a norwegian yacht passed through and had all six (!!) of their five month old AGM batteries replaced ! So we too now have old school lead-acid batteries. Today I spent a lot of money and got four mainenance-free Vaetus marine batteries with 108 Ah each. Replacing the batteries took the whole day because of our fantastic ‘battery-cistern’. Now my back hurts but there’s again power running through the veins of the Rancho Relaxo !
Many thanks to our readers for all the helpful tips and advices that came in via comment function, facebook and email !! But still, we don’t know why the batteries died…. Today I wrote an Email to the manufacturer. We’ll see if they answer – actually it should be covered by the guarantee…. But who knows…
Did I mention that Bruno with his five years is already a good dinghy captain ? He loves to drive us to the harbour – although even more so when we are only two (because it’s faster !) Hehehe. Also in the pics: Bruno and Viola are amazed by an shop window with slide and snow made from styropor (and both hold an ice cream in theyr hand).
I’ve used the last remaining battery power together with the fast WiFi connection to upload a sh..load of new photos. There’s everything. From the coasts of Spain and Portugal, Santiago de Compostela, the crossing to the Canaries, Lanzarote, Teneriffe, the Loro Parque and even a little of Gran Canaria. Enjoy !
Thanks to the answers of our readers, today I’ve done more tests on our batteries. I’ve tested all batteries while disconnected from the ship’s circuitry U1 is without load. U2 is with a 40watts load, measured after 30 seconds. Here come the facts:
Battery | U1 | U2 | ---------+----------+----------+ Main 1 | 12.62V | 9.19V | Main 2 | 12.72V | 9.62V | Main 3 | 12.71V | 10.70V | Main 4 | 12.52V | 11.39V | Start | 12.30V | 11.79V |
The main batteries are of the type: Effecta BTL-100 (specifications). These are 12V, 100Ah AGM batteries. The label says: cycle use: 14.4V-15V standby user: 13.6V-13.8V
The starter battery is a Vetus ‘marine’ battery of type lead-acid.
Our chargers were set as follows:
Windgenerator: off at 14.34V
Shore power: off at 14.40V (setting: ‘AGM’)
Solar charger: off at 14.30V, standby: 13.8V (setting: ‘GEL’)
Alternator: off at 13.80V, secondary regulation: 13.90V
For me this means that the chargers were set correctly and even a little too conservative. As the batteries say cycle, max. 15V – I could’ve set the solar charger to ‘AGM’ with a peak voltage of 14.70V. Hmmm. Any more input before I run off in search for new batteries tomorrow ?
I’ve got 56 minutes left, then my laptop will shut down. And I cannot recharge it, because the ship’s batteries are DEAD. Dead ? You say. – Well, yes – it seems so. Today I disconnected every single of our 6 months old AGM batteries and measured the voltage. It was between 12.8 and 12.7 Volt. That’s not much but it doesn’t mean they’re dead yet. The thing is: If we charge them, the voltage goes up and down as if there’s no battery connected: If the sun shines, we’ve got 13.5 volts, if there are clouds, we’ve got 12.6. If I try to connect something power-hungry the voltage goes down from 12.6 or whatever it is to 10.5 volts in a few seconds. This doesn’t look too good.
What I cannot understand: How can those 4x 100Ah AGM batteries that are just six months old already be dead ? We were connected to shore-power many times and the batteries have never been ‘used’ much. – Our battery monitor NEVER showed a charge less than 60% – and this maybe one or two times. I really don’t get it. If any reader of this blog has an idea how I could check the batteries or do anything about this situation – all input is very welcome !!
Today at breakfast we decided to stay for a few more days. Senegal would have been really nice – but I don’t and we actually can’t leave in a hurry. Even IF we would have made it in time, we still just would’ve seen Gui’s friends for one or maybe two days. But probably not at all… It’s better to use the last european city to stock up, repair what’s broken and get fit for ‘the crossing’. And we still will go to Cabo Verde but only in a few days.
Yesterday we said goodbye to my parents. And as this was the last time my parents will come to visit us for quite a long time, we were all a bit depressive. The best to do in such a situation ? Change of location.
We started the engine in the last sunlight and crossed over to Gran Canaria during the night. There was no wind and we were running under engine for the whole trip. But that’s ok since we wanted to meet friends in Las Palmas and the wind usually blows from NE which would make that trip rather unpleasent anyway. The night was quite chilly and for the first time in about a month I had to use a fleece vest. We arrived at about 10 in the morning on the 2nd November and woke up our friends from the Kira.
We had a wonderful day (and night) together with Tim, Klaus and their guest Andreas. But next day we already had to say goodbye again as they are off towards the west coast to meet other friends. We’ll probably see each other again in the beginning of December on some island of Cabo Verde.
Our day was quite busy going shopping in the supermarket, getting supplies and parts for the ship, doing our laundry, etc. But now we’re pretty much set to leave Europe. We hope we can start tomorrow in the early afternoon after filling up our tanks with water and diesel, going to the post office, drug store and a few other errants. We’ll see. I for myself would rather stay another day or two and get everything really finished – but friends of Gui are waiting for us in Dakar. And they’ll leave on the 12th ! That doesn’t give us much time…
Anyway. The place here is actually quite nice. We’re at anchor beside the big marina where all the spaces are booked for the ARC ships. The anchorage is crowded with friendly neighbours and we’ve met many ships that we’ve seen somewhere else in the past weeks and months. There are plenty of good shops to get last minute parts for the ship and in general I think it’s a good place to start across to the Carribean or wherever.
And sorry that there wasn’t a arrival-message. Somehow the Spot-location wouldn’t get through – but I’ve placed a nice little anchor on the map just now.
Today the kids left their home and stayed with the grandparents in the hotel. They’ll spend the afternoon at the pool, eat together and watch The Simpsons on TV. – And the parents of those wonderful children spend the afternoon…. installing a new fridge !!!
Heh. Well we could have used the time in a better way. But this really was an important item on our todo list. The ancient ‘Combicool’ wouldn’t run on 12V anymore so we were running it via our inverter. That increased the power input again – and the fact that it was running 24hrs/day and the beer still wouldn’t get cold was just enough to get me started. The old unit was quickly deinstalled but getting the new cooler unit inside the fridge took me nearly 3 hours. I could only get in there with my head and one arm but had to drill holes, cut screw threads, mount the evaporator, etc…
But not too much later everything was connected and the new fridge was surring and cooling our precious liquids and refreshments. This will also cut down our power consumption by more than 50% since the fridge was actually using most of the power.
Oh – and I nearly forgot: No, we’re not in La Gomera. After a quick check of the rigging, we WERE sailing out of San Miguel but unfortunately part of the crew was not really feeling well and so we put into the next harbour that was the Marina del Sur. The good thing about that: This place is way nicer than the marina San Miguel and we’ve finally met the SY Nubia !
On our way from Lanzarote to Teneriffe we had something in between 30 and 50 Dolphins circling and playing around the Rancho Relaxo of the Seas. I’ve made another underwater video as well as one from above. Enjoy:
First the dolphins from above:
And the new underwater video:
…sorry for the dalayed post but it took me a couple of tries and endless hours to upload the video.
Today we had to say goodbye to Victor and Oskar who took the plane in the afternoon to get back to Berlin. We had a intensive but really wonderful week together and the farewell was hard for both Bruno and Victor who had to cry a lot. But the tears were soon forgotten as my parents now stay with us on the Rancho Relaxo. We actually wanted to sail towards Gomera today but as it was already quite late and we were in working mode, we opted for tomorrow.
We re-checked the cabling and tubing of the newly installed watermaker and found a broken O-ring, replaced it and everything now seems 100% right. We might give it a try next time, we’re out in clear waters. We also dismounted the windsteering and put a fitting in place that somehow slipped out of the pipe. That probably was the first service in 30 years. Go Windpilot, go !!!
So now we’re pretty much ready for take-off and if you don’t hear from us the next days, we’ll be in Gomera together with my parents, having a good time at the beach. :-)
…and sucess !! I picked up Gui at around 11 in the morning and immediately afterwards went to IKEA and to the sports-shop (again). Then down the freeway towards the city centre to get two important but still missing pieces for our ship: the new liferaft and a replacement for our ancient refridgerator. Our old liferaft was only for coastal cruising and we missed the last inspection date (on purpose), so we replaced it with a new Zodiac 6-person raft for ocean passages. It comes with an additional ‘grab bag’ but nonethless we also have a watertight barrel that is filled with other important stuff. The old fridge is noisy and consumes 120W continuously so it has to be replaced by a more modern one. – This is a project for the coming days.
On the way back towards the south we picked up Oskar who was windsurfing near the beach. Unfortunately we were a little too late and could not see him jumping the waves… But there’s a nice youtube video if you’d like to see what windsurfing can look like.
We were back at the ship in the late afternoon where my parents spent the day with Viola, Bruno and Oscar. Together they collected more wood so we could have a nice bonfire on our last evening together.
Today we were up to the north again to get Gui from the airport. Underway we payed a visit to the old home of Victor’s family which is a nice appartment near the beach and with ocean view. The town is really cosy and romantic, has it’s own small beach and is not yet to be found on any tourist maps. The kids were throwing stones into the ocean while the waves tried to get the kids wet in return.
North of Santa Cruz we spent the afternoon at the beach trying the new watersport gadgets (masks, snorkels, skimboard) while we let the time pass. I was at the boatshop to get my ordered parts and then – well then I got the call from Gui that the plane could not leave Buenos Aires and she’ll try to get on to another plane soon. Hmmm. Ok. Tomorrow we’ll give it another try.
