Patching things up in Natal
Author: Shirlz
Sunday, 27 May 2012
The anchorage off the Yacht Club of Natal is quite tight and with the strong tidal current it’s necessary to put out two anchors. There’s no room to swing as big ships come rumbling up the channel with attendant tugs. The club people are friendly but at R$50 a day it’s a bit pricey. I’m hoping to negotiate a long-term deal.
I emailed Brian in Jacaré explaining my predicament. To my delight he replied that he had a second-hand Navik paddle in his ‘jumble’. How lucky is that?! The boom repair should also be no problem. So next week I’ll take the bus down to Jacaré to fetch the stuff and we should soon be on our way again.
I spent Friday morning getting the sail off and removing the boom. It was sunny and dry so I was able to fold up the sail and stow it below. As things were drying out so nicely I decided to check the tiller pilot to see if it had recovered. When I plugged it in it started squealing again and refused to cooperate. Nothing for it but drastic surgery. Against all bold-type warnings in the instruction manual I got out my screwdriver and opened it up. As it came apart, water literally poured out. It wasn’t just damp. No wonder it was complaining. I tasted the water. Hmmm… not salty…maybe it will be alright. I dried it off as well as I could and left it out in the sunny breeze with its innards exposed, bringing it back inside for the night. Next day I checked very carefully for signs of crusty dried out salt using a magnifying glass but it looked clean. So I put it together again taking great care with the sealing gasket. Plugged in, and it’s back to normal. I’ll have to remember to put a plastic bag over it next time.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
On Monday I took a long sightseeing stroll through town aiming to end up at the bus terminus to find out about getting to João Pessoa the next day. Brian had said he would be able to help me. It was a long walk but I took it slowly meandering up interesting side streets, stopping here and there for a refreshing cóco gelada. Mostly a bit run down but also some interestingly restored buildings. Small green praças with stalls selling baskets and fruit. As I approached the rodoviaria it became more industrial. Garages and repair shops, paint and hardware. All rather attention grabbing. I bought a new screw-on weight for my pressure cooker. At last I reached the big bus terminus and found out that there would be a bus to João Pessoa every two hours starting from 05:30.
Next day I made an early start. The 3 hour bus trip was interesting enough, but mostly farmlands – coconut and sugar cane plantations stretching to the horizon. One enormous ploughed field with an army of workers scattering seed by hand.
When I reached João Pessoa I walked over to the train station as I thought it would be easier getting to Jacaré by train carrying the bulky remains of the Navik, but sadly the railway workers were on strike. So a slow hot trudge to the bus stop. I slightly guiltily made use of the convenient seat on the bus reserved for old folk and the physically challenged.
When I eventually reached Jacaré after walking from the bus stop at Intermares, Brian showed me the paddle that he had found and it was definitely usable. Sylvia joined us for a quick lunch and then we set to work planning a rebuild to make the gear fit Speedwell. It was decided to replace the shaft which was too long. I had brought the complicated fitting that attaches to the top section and after cleaning off the ragged remnants of the old one it would be possible to weld the new shaft to it.
Early next morning the driver was sent off to João Pessoa with a shopping list and came back with the necessary odds and ends to put it all together again. Amazing things were done with lathe and welding machine. I watched in wonder. Brian was unstoppable in between constant cell phone interruptions by other needy souls. With help from his faithful team of workers it was ready to go by 3pm and a speedy drive to João Pessoa got me and my gear to the 3:30 bus back to Natal with 6 minutes to spare.
It was dark by the time we reached the Rodoviaria on the outskirts of Natal so I indulged in the luxury of a taxi to get me back to the yacht club. Sinbad was relieved to see me again as his bowl of tuna was long gone and the kibble was getting low. Drinking water had not been a problem as I’d set up the rain catcher to run directly into a bucket which was already full of rainwater. He likes the macho touch of lapping straight from the bucket.
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Next day I had to go through the rigmarole of clearing back into Brazil, at the club’s insistence. Customs, Immigration, Port Captain. The immigration (Policia Federal) office is a long way from the port, but they sent an official with his uniform, clipboard and date-stamp to process me at the club, which was very helpful. All very simpático.
Monday, 4 June 2012
This morning Zeca, who is repairing my boom, drove me to his workshop in Redinha on the other side of the Potengi river. Looking down from the dizzy height of the spectacular bridge as we drove across, I had a wonderful view of the fort at the entrance to the port and the protected lagoon behind the reef. I must find time to do some exploring before I leave.
The boom repair was progressing well and I had brought the cleats for the lazy jacks with me which need to be reattached. The patch still needs to be riveted on to prevent the same thing happening as did with my repair attempt.
Back on Speedwell I carried on painting and beautifying the precious new paddle. Also fashioned a new support for the Tillerpilot as the old one had developed a bad wobble.
Also repaired the solar panel regulator which had shorted out. Again I wondered how people on big complicated boats coped with the ongoing maintenance.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
I’ve just spent a sweaty and frustrating hour battling to get the split pin that holds the paddle to the shaft properly fixed in and bent back to allow the paddle to rotate freely. Just a tiny space to work on it which made it nearly impossible to grab it properly with a pliers. I had to take a short break at one point to let off steam. At last it was done. Now we are ready for sea trials. Quite amazing!
Tags: Boat maintenance, cruising, Natal