The Generator died in Paris. It was sad!
No Regrets runs on electricity. Yes, we have 2 Cummins Diesel engines at 450 Horse Power each for the propulsion, but when the mains are off, we need either shore power, or the generator to create 220 volts of electricity, which enables the appliances, heaters and electric plugs to work.
The Inverter (A strange and mystical electrical box) transforms the energy from the 24 volt main house batteries into enough 220 electricity to run the microwave or some small electric heaters until 60% of the batteries have been used, but for running the boat, the generator is the answer. After a night at anchor, or without shore power, 2 hours of running the generator in the morning will run the washer and dryer, operate the dishwasher and recharge the batteries.
Most passage makers like the Fleming 55 have 2 generators, 2 bow anchors and a water maker for redundancy and self sufficiency, but I am still adding cruising gear to my Show Pony.
So when the Genny conked out in an engine room full of smoke, I knew we had a real problem... especially because it was below freezing at night.
The nearest Onan Generator service provider was in Le Havre, France, so we made arrangements for a mechanic to drive the 90 minutes to Rouen to diagnose the problem. After waiting a week for their inspection, the mechanic declared that the problem was with the Mother Board, a 2,000 Euro fix that would take a week to get delivered.
No worries, a 3 week stay in Rouen was relaxing, and sailing down to Honfleur would make the replacement of that electronic card quicker and easier for the repairman. And I didn't even mind when the delivery was delayed another week, because Honfleur is so spectacular.
Honfleur
French Cuisine
My friend and crew from Paris, Gael Couffon and his wife Francoise, drove down to Honfleur for 3 nights on No Regrets as a boating holiday. They love to cook, and insisted on preparing Moules (Mussels).
The Chefs at work!
The meal took about 1 1/2 hours to prepare and about the same to eat. The process of chopping, simmering, cooking, cutting the bread, making hors d'oeuvres, and of course drinking the wine, was as enjoyable as it was to eat the meal. Even dinners at a restaurant in France are enjoyed over 2 to 3 hours time.
We Americans eat to live, mostly while on the run, while the French live to eat. Their meals are to be savored and enjoyed. Meals are not just food. In France, they are treasured as an art form. Ahhh, French Cuisine!
And the seafoods along the coastal towns of Normandy, are so fresh and plentiful.
11 kinds of oysters!
D-Day
It took 2 1/2 hours for us to drive to Utah Beach in Normandy in Gael's car. The site and museum affected me more than I thought they would. Standing at the surf line and looking up the little valley and bluffs that the American stormed on that June 6 landing day, I quickly identified with what those cold, seasick and scared young men must have felt. Many landing craft hit mines and exploded or the men stepped off into water over their heads, while the Germans were spraying the beach with bullets and artillery.
Thankful for their sacrifice, and glad it wasn't me.
Let's get this boat moving!
David Wood, my friend and crew up to Antwerp, Belgium, arrived just as the La Havre mechanics were trying to install the long awaited Mother Board for the generator. But alas, this was not the problem, nor the solution.
The French tend to speak only French, making technical communications difficult. The French, English and Germans are not as bilingual as a people, verses the Belgians, Dutch and Scandinavians who enjoy speaking very good English. So after waving our hands in the air for a while, They took the Mother Board and went home.
After a few phone calls, our best plan for a proper diagnosis and fix would be to stop back at David's home in Ramsgate, England, where an Onan (Cummins) repair shop was in a nearby town. So off we went without a generator, relying go the mains and hopefully shore power.
David Wood, a great crew and a Bilge Rat!
After locking out of Honfleur, we were flying up the coast of France. We originally were headed to Fecamp, but we kept on to Dieppe, 75 miles north toward the Dover Straight. The wind was coming from dead aft behind us, and it was blowing 25 to 30 knots of apparent wind. But since we were going the same direction at over 10 knots, the true wind speed was more like 35+. We touched 14 knots of speed twice on the knot meter while surfing down the following seas.
No Regrets sailed flawlessly, with the auto pilot steering a steady course, the stabilizers keeping us steady and flat, and the long extended keel tracking straight through the seas.
The boat can take far more than the crew can, but we were exhilarated with the ride, our progress and with No Regrets' seaworthiness.
We arrived in Dieppe at dusk and made the tough windy docking look easy... I'm starting to really get the hang of this. Not even the fishing boats in Dieppe went out to sea today!
In France, a Boulanger is always nearby. This one in Dieppe, nearest to the boat, opened at 06:30, and I was their first customer, getting warm croissants and a baguette of bread before casting off.
Give us each day our daily bread!
She bakes 40 different breads and pastries each morning
YUM !!!
We next stopped in Boulogne, France, and set the boat records for Consecutive Dinners. David, a vegetarian, had Moules for the 3rd night in a row, and I hit a dozen dinners consecutively with either escargots or oysters as an appetizer.
18 options for Mussels!
The next day, we sailed through the Dover Straights with calm seas and light winds.
The White Cliffs of Dover
Ramsgate, England
Back in the land of Fish & Chips
A real mechanic showed up in Ramsgate, not just a fitter like the French folk. The problem was a burned out Stater, and they needed to take the generating portion out of the boat and back to their factory to get rewired and to bake on marine varnish to seal it. This would take a week.
Off to get rewired
So with this down time, why not take a bus to London for 4 days and play tourist?
The Cutty Sark, a Clipper Ship from the tea racing days to India was my favorite sight, with the Underground Tube and the Tower of London coming in 2nd and 3rd. I walked by the Tower Bridge on the exact spot, that two days later, a terrorist ran his car into the crowd. But I'll be damned if I will let that possibility make me afraid, or stop the voyage!
Cutty Sark
When I returned to Ramsgate, I got an Email from Captain John Oldroyd to say he was stopping for the night with a 40' sailboat that he was delivering down to Hamble in the Solent. Sure enough, he pulled in just after dark to drop off the computer chips of Sweden for my Chart Plotter.
"John... Is that you?" I asked into the darkness. "Don't hit anything", he softly replied. We drank beers until 01:30 in the morning with John telling stories and pointing out places on the chart to visit in Sweden.
When the mechanics brought the rewired generating parts back, the Genny still wouldn't work. Looks like she also needed a new Mother Board after all. Since it would take 3 more days to get the part shipped in, and because we had already been in Ramsgate for 10 days, David and I took off back across the English Channel for Oostende, Belgium. His son Toby would drive the part over on the ferry and meet us when we reached Antwerp, Belgium.
Back on the Continent
Most Europeans agree that Belgium has the best beers in the world. We went to David's favorite bar in Oostende, where they served over 300 kinds of beer. Hoplessly outnumbered, David settled for a Qwik beer and I chose a Kwak beer.
The wooden handle is used to drink
Another highlight in Oostende is the stained glass in their Cathedral.
So much glass... So light and bright!
At night, they back lighted the stain glass with interior flood lights!
Why don't other Cathedrals do that too?
Two Custom men boarded us as we were tying up in Breskens, Netherlands, just as the Belge had in Oostende. They were very official and had guns on their belts. We gave them our Passports and the ships papers, including the Certificate of Documentation from the US Coast Guard, the Bill of Sale, the VAT Tax paid invoice, my Operating License Certificate, and a receipt for the paid VAT Taxes on the Red Diesel in our fuel tanks, which we had topped off with in blustery conditions in Ramsgate.
The senior Dutch Customs officer asked pointed questions about how many "Spirits" we had aboard and were they duty free, and did we have any guns aboard. I said that I didn't like or have any guns, then he pointed out that some boats carry them because of terrorist fears, but I said no guns here. Then he looked me straight in the eyes and asked, "If we were to search the boat, would we find any guns?" I guess my acting lessons paid off, because he bought my denial... Especially since it was true!
This was our 4th country visited in the last 4 days of sailing... Boulogne, France, to Ramsgate England, to Oostende, Belgium, to Breskens, Netherlands. Then we went back into Belgium at Antwerp and in the next blog, we traveled next to Willemstad, in the Netherlands. That makes 6 Courtesy Flag changes in a row. The flag halyard will wear out at this pace!
Antwerp, Belgium
A days run up the Scheld River brought us into Antwerp. We passed industries, chemical plants, wind generators, nuclear power plants, 1,200' container ships, hundreds of cargo cranes and the biggest harbor I have ever seen. Antwerp is Europe's second largest harbor, bested only by Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Antwerp :))
Toby and Penny Wood arrived by car shortly after we tied up, and stayed the night. I said goodbye to the 3 Woods the next day and plan to cruise with them again in the near future. They love the sea and totally adopted me and No Regrets into their family. Thank you Team Wood!!!
A generator mechanic from Rotterdam arrived the following day and installed the Mother Board. After some fiddling around with the wires, the generator was finally fixed and running again. It took 7 weeks, workers from 4 different countries and $7,000, but now we have electricity again!
The Quest for Power was Over!
