Category Archives: Failure

Something broke or failed.

The Inverter Failure

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Monday, January 9, continued... When we went inside, we noticed that the refrigerator/freezer was off. Eric realized that the inverter had shut down. He started the generator and realized there appeared to be something seriously wrong.

The inverter reported that there was 1.6 volts in the battery connection; but the battery said it had 13 volts. Eric measured the voltage at the inverter and the 1.6 volt reading was correct. He measured the voltage on the other side of main fuse and it registered at 13 volts. It appeared the main fuse was blown. 

Eric tried the inverter by-pass switch so we could power the inverter circuit with the generator, but it didn’t work. This created a new set of questions: was the by-pass switch defective or wired wrong? Or was there a bigger problem with the inverter? 

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Playa Pichilingue, Day 2

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On Wednesday (November 23), Christi was awoken at 0400 to the noise of big rig trucks, ships and pangas. We realized that in addition to the ferries, container ships and cruise ships also utilized this terminal. Here is a photo of the terminal in the early light of dawn.

Sunrise over the campsite

Oceananigans had rented a car yesterday. They called us in the morning and invited us to go into La Paz with them. We each tied up our dinghies to the end of the dock in front of the big restaurant. In this photo, Eric was throwing out a stern anchor to keep the dinghy from crashing into the dock.

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San Evaristo to Ensenada del Candelero on Isla Espiritu Santo

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Sunrise on Monday, November 14

We left at 0800 for Ensenada Candelero on Isla Espiritu Santo. We were frustrated to find that the exhaust leak is back. 🙁 The sea conditions were smooth overall, though there were enough small waves that we ran stabilizers. It was a 5.25 hour trip. To give you a sense of distance between the islands, here are two photos that we took shortly after leaving San Evaristo. They could almost be knit together into a panorama. The first photo is of the southern tip of Isla San Jose on the left and Isla San Francisco to the right (the rocks in the middle are the hazard we mentioned that Eric had manually entered into the chart). The second photo is Isla San Francisco on the left and Isla Partida in the back, middle. Isla Partida is so close to Isla Espiritu Santo that they almost touch.

The anchorage was stunning, with beautiful aquamarine water contrasting dramatically with the rugged hills and rocks.

We were the second boat in anchorage, but a steady stream of boats came in behind us. By sunset there were at least eight more boats in the anchorage with us. Shortly after we anchored, the wind did dramatic change and we instantly turned 180 degrees. It may be the most dramatic wind change we’ve ever seen.

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San Evaristo, Days 3 and 4

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Sunrise on Friday, November 11

Our plan was to do our chores, go snorkeling, and then go to shore for dinner. Somehow, the day disappeared. By the time we were ready to go snorkeling, it was so late in the day that it was already time to go to shore! The wind was still strong, and it It was chilly enough that we needed long pants and long sleeves for warmth (as opposed to bug protection, which is why we’d sometimes worn long sleeve or pants on warm/hot days). Here was the sunset, taken from the beach in front of the restaurant.

Sunrise on Saturday November 12

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Isla San Francisco, Day 2

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The first thing that Eric did when he got back up on Tuesday (November 8) was to go check the dinghy for damage. He was horrified to see that there were two large holes in the side. Fortunately, they were up high enough that no water got in.

He saw there was also damage to the seat in the middle of the dinghy.

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