EXPERT OFFSHORE
22 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com MAY 2016Lessons learned from an Atlantic crossing
W
ith electrics, electronics
and autopilots to
run, power is a major
preoccupation for ARC crews.
Some chose diesel
generators, others
solar panels, wind or
water turbines. Many
crews noticed a lot of
seaweed in the Atlantic,
which caused havoc for
boats fitted with towed
generators.
It seems there is no
definitive answer. Even a
solution that’s tried and
tested in home waters
may not perform as‘You need reliable power’
‘Face problems, deal with them’
W
ith a crew of two, Anna
and Alex on Pantalaimon
II, a Rustler 42, were
reliant on each other. ‘It’s no good
panicking or getting upset. When
the balsamic vinegar emptied itsexpected in mid-ocean. After
sailing from Hamble with the
Rally Portugal fleet in 2014 and
spending a season in the Med,contents in the cupboard,
I didn’t cry about it,’ joked
Anna. ‘I just did what I had
to do and cleaned it up.’
However, when their
generator failed on day
two, they tried to find the
problem but couldn’t, so
they had to switch off their
freezer. Fortunately they
didn’t need power for an
autopilot because they had
Hydrovane self-steering,
which they couldn’t praise
highly enough. They also
opted for a gennaker and a
cruising chute after deciding
to leave their spinnaker at
home. ‘It would have been
too much for the two of us,’ Alex
explained. ‘We gybed every four
days and we’d take our time. It
would take an hour or two, butPhoto: Graham-Snook.comPhoto: Graham-Snook.comPhoto: Graham-Snook.comwe thought about everything
before doing anything.’
Anna and Alex used to be
junior doctors so they are betterthan most at functioning on
little sleep. ‘We’d have supper
before sunset, then whoever
was most tired would sleep
for four to five hours, but we
were flexible – you have to
be, as some nights are worse
than others,’ said Anna. Alex
also felt it was important
to know your boat: ‘We’ve
had the boat a while now, so
we broke anything that was
going to break early on.’
Seraphina of Chichester,
an Island Packet 440, also
suffered generator failure,
on the first night, but a
10-minute satphone call
to the generator’s installer
diagnosed the problem and
skipper Jonathan fixed it. ‘It cost
£15 for the call,’ he said, ‘but it
was worth every penny.’Greg and Jane Isaacs thought
they could rely on the three
200W solar panels on the arch of
their Bénéteau 473 Orion. But the
panels delivered 30 per
cent less power than
they did in the Med,
because winter days
are shorter nearer the
equator than summer
days further north.
Others, like the
crew of the 46ft Amel
Santorin Azimuth,
could angle their
panels to the sun.
Azimuth also had a
wind turbine and ashaft generator (an alternator,
belt-driven by the freewheeling
prop shaft). This combination of
power sources enabled skipper
Patrick Gardner to keep up with
his two-year-old’s appetite for
watching DVDs.
With hindsight the owner of
AWOL, an Elan impression 444,
would have installed a genset:
‘The cost of buying and installing
the Duogen and solar panels
is roughly the same.’ On the
other hand, a generator is only a
solution if it works, as the crew
of Rhumb, a Starlight 39, found
out when theirs failed five days
out of Las Palmas.Photo: Graham-Snook.comGreg Isaacs, 65, and wife Jane on Bénéteau 473 OrionThe crew of Azimuth could change the angle their
solar panels to make them more effectiveGreg’s 600W solar panels gave 30 per cent less power on the crossing than expectedPhoto: Graham-Snook.comAlex with Pantalaimon II’s Hydrovane, their
saviour when the generator failed on day twoAnna Mayor, 56, with Alex on
Pantalaimon II, a Rustler 42