Mindelo
Marita3
Mark & Helen Syrett
Sun 20 Nov 2011 11:44
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As the previous blogs have said we had a good
passage from La Gomera although the generator did stop halfway across which
we thought was fuel starvation.
So we set about repairs with the help of Wolfgang
who is sailing in company with us.
We checked the fuel filter on the generator, the
impellar lift pump and also an electrical lift pump. To check all these parts we
rigged up a fuel line from a bowl of diesel and each time the generator started
so, in turn, we were able to eliminate those parts as being the cause of the
problem. We then found that we could not get fuel through the spur pipeline that
feeds the generator although there was fuel in the filter and the engine we
knew, or at least thought, was ok. We tried sucking fuel through using
an extractor pump but to no avail. Calls to the Falmouth engineers did not solve
the problem. We then started the main engine to try and see what was happening
to the fuel------the engine ran for 10 minutes and then stopped!! No fuel coming
through from the diesel tank. We opened up the elbow joint where the pipe comes
out of the tank and found a large slug of diesel bug completely blocking the
line. We cleaned it all out and checked the main tank which showed no sign of
diesel bug so it was confined to the one place.
So what we thought was a generator problem turned
out to be a fuel problem that could have stopped the main engine at any time and
it also answers the question as to why the main engine stopped off The Lizard on
our first day out from Falmouth! All now running well and ready for the crossing
of the 'pond'. Phew!!
Wolfgang was a star and all the references to 'we'
in the above text can be read as Wolfgang
Some photos attached (may be reverse
order)
1. Sunrise
2. Slug of diesel bug
3. Repairs ongoing with 'slug'
found
4. The repair team having a well earned
drink---Wolfgang,Corinna and Helen
5. Mindelo harbour
6. En route to where the butter melts---wet and
cold !! At this stage we were 250 miles from the Sahara desert!
7. Wrecks in the harbour
8. The flying fish.
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