Pilotage and a Visit

Following his mighty success with the watermaker, WW turned his attention to the big autopilot. We have a small autopilot which is grand under relatively mild conditions, but it gets tired if there are big seas and big winds. Anytime it has to work hard to keep us on course, it gets hot and bothered. It governs the big autopilot, but somewhere along the way, the message has been getting mangled. The big autopilot will work for a bit, then take a break. This is inconvenient if you set it, go below to grab a cup of coffee, and return to discover your heading has completely changed.

WW found a man, Cap, who knows vast amounts about things marine and electronic. He was a source of much good information. WW donned his kefiyah and burrowed into Django's innards. After several hours, several conversations with Cap, and more burrowing, he finally decided the brushes on the motor were finished. He took the relevant bit in to Cap for brush replacement. It would take several days for the work to be completed.

Soon thereafter (on January 21), my sister Frisha and her husband Whit arrived for a 10-day visit. Their flight was delayed three hours, so they arrived after 7 p.m., tired but delighted to be back on Django.

WW, KMH and Frisha setting out for provisions

The next morning, we provisioned and headed over to Green Island where we swam, snorkeled and had barbecued ribs for dinner. Whit, once again, proved an able consumer of RPs.