Electrical problems

Brian sent this short message yesterday:

Hi All
 
Reaching towards the NZ Ice Gate, and will be crossing the Dateline in around midnight UTC.
 
Have a problem with the engine charging that have been working on all night with Alasdair and Nick on the shore.
 
Sailing the boat with one eye as the other is in the engine compartment. Have not found the problem yet, but working on it.
 
Currently most things are switched off and the wind generator is almost keeping up. Soon the sun will be up and the solar panels should start to help.
 
Brian


Brian's electrical problems onboard continue, so today's blog comes via the iridium phone! Brian is in full power saving mode with the only power being consumed is by the autopilot and the GPS and all other commodities such as his laptop being used for infrequent but essential weather checks.  Thankfully the solar panels and the wind generator are providing essential power during the day, however as the sun sets and the solar panels become redundant, power consumption is reduced to a bare minimum.  If the problem is not resolved Brian could damage his one remaining alternator meaning he would be totally reliant on his green power.

The sea state and angle of the boat however is not making easy work of Brian's fault finding. Crawling around the boat with a head torch and a multimeter is not proving to be Brian's favourite job so far, but working closely with his shore team Brian is hoping to resolve the problem as soon as possible so as he can return to focusing on the rest of the race.

Apart from these few problems onboard, Brian is making very fast progress across the Pacific in these close-reaching conditions. The wind is fluctuating between 15 and 30knts, so although sail changes are fairly frequent, Brian remains on the same tack and so he is having a rest from the regular maneouvers of late.  The water temperature has risen to a welcoming 10.5°C and with it the air temperature has risen too but with it comes the rain and fog.

I hope tomorrow's blog will come from Brian and from the Pacific, but until then we shall all keep our fingers crossed that Bahrain Team Pindar's electrical problems are resolved.
Hannah
Bahrain Team Pindar