Preparations underway

I am grateful for the wonderful support in the Philippines. The Albay Yacht Club in Legazpi of which I have been accepted as an honorary board member, has stored my rowboat in their boatyard since last April. They even built a bamboo shed over it to protect it from the elements. One issue though was the bamboo dust floating down on the deck that ants burrowing in the fronds and poles were shedding. A day of rinsing and brushing solved that problem. These are fire ants and I am allergic to their bites. Antihistamine pills and topical cream together was the solution!

This is the rainy season for the Albay province. Downpours have been relentless, gray skies always bring heavy rain overnight and the only respite seems to be for about 4-6 hours midday. This did not help with scheduling the repairs on my rowboat.

Heavy rains last Feb-Mar on the Philippine Sea between Guam and Legazpi, had resulted in dripping in the cabin. I found out then that the cabin ceiling had flexed during the big knock down as a result of a breaking wave on my port side back in Dec 2021 before I reached Guam. The longitudinal support beam holding up the thin plywood panels of the ceiling had separated from the main bulkhead, breaking the epoxy fillets.

I lifted the solar panel to expose any cracks in the ceiling plywood then laid down a layer of fiberglass cloth over the affected area. Inside, I used a Dremel tool to carve out damaged epoxy fillets then applied thickened epoxy for replacement fillets. A layer of fiberglass tape in the same corners seemed to restore the integrity of the bulkhead/beam junction.

The electrical system had been a worry given the length of storage since last April. I found my batteries drained down to 5V because I failed to remove one last fuse which would have turned off the battery monitor. That small draw of current probably damaged my batteries. After recharging them for a few days, the voltage rose up to 13.2V allowing me to test each electronic device. I for example updated the firmware for my chart plotter and loaded on it the electronic chart for South China Sea. All systems appear to be in good condition.

While it seems that the electrical system and the instruments fared well, without proper load testing of the batteries, we cannot guarantee that they are not damaged. The batteries may appear fully charged during the day but not hold charge for long, making night navigation risky. If it were not for the incessant rain, I would have moved the rowboat out from under the shed to fully charge by solar panels then load test them overnight. So to be on the safe side, I intend to replace the batteries with similar capacity AGM deep cycle batteries available in Manila.

On the 18th, I will begin my ride from Legazpi to Currimao in the company of riders affiliated with JCI the mission of which is to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change. Their broader mission overlaps with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations. Different JCI members will ride sections of this 600 mile (960 km) journey with me, reaching Currimao on the 30th.

I will hurry back to Legazpi by bus to attend a fundraiser on Feb 3rd to benefit the youth sailing program of Albay Yacht Club. We intend to load my rowboat on John Gochenouer’e trailer on Feb 6th then tow that to Currimao. My launch date from Currimao will depend on weather. I will launch at the earliest opportunity as time will be of essence before the ebbing NE monsoons shift the fickle and strong currents in the South China Sea. That said, reaching Vietnam will not be trivial…

PS- A recent article newspaper article: Sweet Love Affair with the Philippines