Major Failure At Sea
Life at sea always presents new challenges. And as sailors, we expect to weather cyclones and battle big waves but those forces can be anticipated. It's the unforeseen that tests our resolve the most. Like getting a huge hole in our boat mid-passage or having armed men jump aboard at midnight. It's impossible to prepare ourselves for all the scenarios we've had, could have and will inevitably encounter.
But this passage was a real doozey, and may have knocked our huge hole in the boat moment out of first place for our scariest day at sea. Because navigating a sea full of debris with dying wind, no propulsion, sizzling batteries, and toxic fumes might take the cake. Spoiler alert, we survived.
All things considered, we were sooo incredibly fortunate it all happened on a calm morning, in a protected bay, during normal business hours, and just hours from our planned port of call. Had it been the middle of the night with rough seas and mid-ocean, this all could have been much, much worse.
The overcharging event should not have happened and it took us all by surprise. But, the team at HH Catamarans was on top of it the moment we called them. Thank you Paul, Ricardo, Chris, Jerry and the rest of the team for your swift and unwavering support at such a critical time. HH has assured us they are working on a solution that will ensure the same event does not happen again.
Heaps Learned
Every passage teaches us something new and this one was chalk full of takeaways.
- Rotten Eggs? Everything we've ever read about warning signs that a battery is being overcharged, says to be aware of a rotten egg smell. But those fumes we experienced were just straight toxic burning chemical smells. They didn't remind us of rotten eggs at all. But now we know! And according to Jason, it smells like burning hair with too much hairspray. 😆🤷🏻♀️
- Engine (and battery) Inspections When at sea we do regular inspections and keep a log of engine temps, pressure, hours...and for the batteries we note the state of charge. But now, I will add a temperature check to that list. And you better believe we will install a battery temperature sensor that can be setup with an audible alarm.
- External Regulator? HH believes they understand what caused our overcharging event, and they are working on a solution. In the interim, we spoke to several electrical engineers that specialize in marine systems. After we explained the situation, 90% had the same answer: You need a smart external regulator attached to the alternator. Both Wakespeed and Balmar were mentioned as good options. But, we need to wait and see what HH's solution is first.
- Face Masks Typically we have some good face masks on board for sanding projects and such. But, because it's a new boat, we hadn't stocked up on any yet. They would have been helpful in this situation and we will make it a part of our standard tool kit.
- Carbon Monoxide Detectors Overcharging batteries don't emit Carbon Monoxide, however most carbon monoxide detectors will detect hydrogen fumes from batteries. We have smoke detectors and we purchased carbon monoxide detectors while in Cebu. BUT, we never thought to put one outside in the cockpit. We will now, because that is where the fumes hit first. Without any breeze, the fumes were being vented out of the engine compartment, caught in a wind eddy, then circled back into the cockpit!
Good Friends Are Priceless Piece of Mind
We never feel alone, even when we're hundreds of miles out to sea. And knowing someone is watching our backs, on standby and ready to jump into action is a massive confidence boost.
We know our Curiosity Crew is watching our tracking map and reading our real time updates. If we needed anything, you guys would be all over it. Thank you!🤗
And then there is Kent from Just Catamarans. He is the guy that helped us find, buy, sail and refit our first catamaran. He is a rare and exceptional human we are fortunate enough to call our friend.
He has been our at sea emergency contact since our very first ocean crossing (which makes mom happy). He is the kind of guy that never turns his phone to "do not disturb" mode and always answers unknown numbers. Why? Because it could be us or one of his other sailing friends calling from a sat phone. He and the team at Just Cats have helped us through almost every major, and minor, boat emergency we've been faced with. Both Kent and Raf were both ready and waiting on standby should we need them. We don't say it enough: Thanks for being there for us guys. 👊🏼
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