Anika had repeatedly expressed her preference for lots of wind and clouds and rain over too much sun. And while that are more unusual conditions here, she got what she asked for. And fittingly, the day after her departure the weather flips back to sunny. More than sunny, there are big lows way north that disturb the trade wind pattern, resulting in very light winds with a strong southerly components, high humidity and hazy skies. And it is hot and sweating is the new (old) normal again.
With all repairs done, I get up early on Wednesday, skip the swim and instead get JACE ready for sea. I want to take advantage of the early morning light winds and motor around the southwestern end of Martinique and then to the southeasternmost point. I want to anchor there and then use that as the best jumping off point for the passage south to St. Lucia. With the wind being ESE, this eastern position gives me a better angle to the wind.
There isn’t a lick of wind but it slowly builds as I motor to St. Anne. Just before noon I reach the anchorage. By now the wind is just about 10-12kn and I can see boats sailing south on the open sea. I make a quick decision, set sails, and change course for St. Lucia’s northern point and go there today rather than spending the extra night here.
It is a great decision as the wind holds steady ay 10-12kn all the way and the angle is just on the beam. In these light conditions that is the best you can ask for and since the sea is quite calm, JACE is comfortably cruising along at 5-6kn.
I am happy. And hungry and go below to fry some plantains with ginger and chili – yum!
That’s when I notice the sails getting unsteady and the motion changing. Up above I realize we have fallen way off course. What is up with the autopilot? I do some testing and soon realize it is not doing anything. The electronics are looking fine but the rudder is not being turned. Strange. Oh well, another day, another problem. And my destination, Rodney Bay, is a big charter base and has all sorts of experts to help. So I laugh it off and enjoy hand steering the rest of the way. And my plantains were done anyway and taste great.
Once anchored and after a quick swim and cup of coffee, I dive below the master cabin bed where the autopilot lives. It only takes a minute to find the issue: the metal rod that connects the autopilot’s hydraulic cylinder to the steering quadrant (the black triangular piece behind me, mounted on top of the rudder shaft and serving as attachment point for the steel steering cables coming down from the wheel, in case you wondered) snapped clean in the middle and the cylinder is dangling uselessly in mid-air.
As a mechanical engineer I am strangely excited about this problem. After dealing with so many electrical problems, this one is right up my alley. I dust off the old engineering skills and make a to-scale drawing of the replacement part I need. Tomorrow I will find a machine shop to make it for me. Hardened steel, turning lathes, metal chips on the floor and the smell of coolant in the air. What is not to like about that?
I wake up to a beautiful sunrise with no wind and glassy water. That calls for a swim.
Today I go for the long lap and all the way to the beach: 2km. Feels great. I even throw in a run later in the afternoon, but now I am getting ahead of myself.
After breakfast I set out in search of a machine shop. I ask a few folks at the boat yard and it doesn’t take long to find “Chinaman”, as he is known around here and even gets mentioned in my cruiding guide book. He just looks at the two parts in my hand, “autopilot, huh?”, and explains he sees that often. His recommendation is easier, faster, and cheaper than making a new part: just weld the two parts together.
Even though his shop hurts my Germanic need for order, I trust the expert and a couple hours later retrieve the rod looking like new. Let’s see if and how long it holds. He claims it is now stronger than before.
What else? I clear into St. Lucia (and get yelled at for not coming to customs first thing in the morning), go shopping (and find out there is an island-wide sugar shortage, oh my, me and no sugar?), adjust the Cunningham (moving the attachment point outward on the boom to allow for more downward pull on the main), take a couple dips to cool off, and go for said run in the late afternoon just before sunset.
Finally, I take advantage of Rodney Bay’s variety of restaurants and treat myself to Indian food. What a great day! Tomorrow I will continue to journey south.