A day in the life at sea can bring fun, unexpected surprises and sometimes not so pleasant surprises. Heading south along the western coast of South America, the crew of One Ocean has been averaging 120 nautical miles a day, with never a dull moment.
Bilge Alarm. While sailing nearly 300 nautical miles off the coast of Chile, the crew heard bilge alarms go off. Co-Captain Jenn Dalton opened the salon floor compartment and saw water pouring into the bilge. Captain Mark Schrader described dropping into the bilge and throwing survival suits, bags, and wet gear up to crew member Tess. Mark reached down to taste a handful of water; “happy news, it’s fresh water.” Jenn turned off the freshwater pump and the alarms stopped and water stopped flowing into the bilge. Mark put it this way, “snaking around many compartments from one end of the boat to the other – there are dozens of connections and hundreds of feet of hose. We have no quick idea of how many connections, or their locations, because they are hidden. All are potential suspects in this mystery.”
Crew member Jon, standing close to the outside hatch in the cockpit, heard water running and opened the hatch to investigate, “Bingo, the small pressure pump for the domestic fresh water lives just under the heater unit. The hose on the outlet side (pressure) was not attached to the pump, it had come off, causing the pump to cycle continuously, pumping freshwater into the bilge.” Mark goes on to describe that this fitting only had one clamp, and that clearly wasn’t enough. After two hours of looking for hose clamps, the needed clamps were found in a plastic tote at the bottom of a storage compartment beneath three other containers. “Those clamps now live in their own container underneath the chart table and right next to the emergency tapered plugs.” The hose was reattached with double clamps, the bilge pumped and cleaned, and gear re-stowed.
Unknown Vessel. Earlier, when 100 miles out and in the dark of night, s/v One Ocean encountered numerous fish boats, many without identifying lights of any kind said Jenn Dalton. “Often the only warning is a faint flashlight or a green neon strobe being waved frantically as we pass.” After their bilge alarm incident, the crew found themselves alone at sea, or so they thought. Jon spotted a vessel approaching them in the evening, heading directly toward s/v One Ocean. Another heart-stopping moment. “The boat passed within a hundred yards before finally altering course and motoring away.”
Hindered Speed. Jon and Jenn were on night watch when they noticed that their speed through the water had dropped from 6 knots to under 4 knots. They were not in any current so it was puzzling. While Jenn put the engine in neutral, Jon looked astern and “discovered a fishing line, complete with floats, bobbing cheerfully behind us.” Mark handed Jon a pike pole which he used to lift up the line and cut it free. As Jenn put it, “somehow we had managed to snag the one fishing line in the middle of the Pacific, not really the only one; there are loads of it littering the ocean.” Later on a hot, calm day, Jenn and Tess went for a swim and cut free more fishing line from the prop.
Thumps on the Salon Windows. s/v One Ocean was officially in Chilean waters and darkness had settled in when the crew heard a massive thump against one of the salon windows, then another, and another. They were being pelted with fish. Jenn described it this way, “flying fish, the size of my forearms, were slamming into One Ocean’s windows. The sound was deeply unsetting, a thwap followed by frantic fluttering on the roof.” The outline of the wing-like fins of these fish left their mark on the windows and hull of s/v One Ocean.
When stepping into the cockpit in the morning hours, they were “hit with a smell that can only be described as weaponized seafood; I shone my headlamp across the deck, it was littered with gray squid; we had enough squid on deck to host a respectable calamari appetizer.” Jenn noted that the smell embeds itself in everything. “Yes, it’s true, I am developing a complex about calamari.”
Photos: Crew of One Ocean
Quotes: Mark Schrader and Jenn Dalton
The crew of s/v One Ocean arrived in Caldera Chile; and unlike Callao Peru, they did not have to pay for an agent in order to clear customs. The crew did have to quarantine for a period of time and wait for officials to arrive; Caldera doesn’t get many visitors coming in by recreational boat to this small port town!
The crew recently arrived in Concepcion Chile, where they awaited a weather window to make the sail to Puerto Montt in Chilean Patagonia. Grace Dalton has re-joined the crew for continued kelp studies as they make their way through the protected channels and passages to Cape Horn.
