British yachtswoman Dee Caffari turned "Mrs Fixit" yesterday as she completed her second repair onboard Aviva in 48 hours. Caffari found she was unable to charge the boat's batteries yesterday morning and she reported: "I pressed the switch and nothing. Absolutely nothing, no lights, no alarms, no clicking, nothing."
British yachtswoman Dee Caffari turned "Mrs Fixit" yesterday as she completed her second repair onboard Aviva in 48 hours. Caffari found she was unable to charge the boat's batteries yesterday morning and she reported: "I pressed the switch and nothing. Absolutely nothing, no lights, no alarms, no clicking, nothing."
Her initial examination of the fuses revealed no solution so Caffari called Aviva Ocean Racing project manager Joff Brown to help solve problem. After consulting with the specialists from generator manufacturer Fischer Panda, Caffari found the source of the problem and was able to bypass the faulty component and place new connections to fix the issue. To finish the job off the former teacher turned her hand to a bit of soldering, something that she has not done since her days as a pupil at school.
Joff Brown reported after the issue had been resolved: "Dee has fixed the Gen Set which is now purring away quietly. The problem was a fault with a simple switch that provides the start panel with power. So she has now bypassed the switch and will now make the connection with some crimp plug-in connectors each time she wants to start the Gen Set. It did require a few phone calls to the manufacturers direct with Dee, some diagnosing with a multi-meter and some soldering and wire cutting. However, none of that is easy in a boat jumping around in 25 knots, so hat's off to her."
The 10am rankings show Caffari maintaining her 15th position and is 480 miles behind race leader Loïck Peyron.
Dee Caffari's latest diary entry received on Wednesday 26 November at 7.40pm: "I had a bad night last night with the wind gusting up and making it an uncomfortable ride that was very wet. I was holding on to a sail plan that should have been changed but with the wind so gusty I was hoping it would help. As morning came I hadn't slept more than ten minutes at a time and I was tired. It was time to charge the batteries on Aviva so I pressed the switch and nothing. Absolutely nothing, no lights, no alarms, no clicking, nothing.
"I called Joff for guidance and in the mean time set the engine to charge to at least buy me some time to work on the generator. This was no easy task as it had been left for seventeen days and needed bleeding and priming. Next step was to check some fuses, no issue revealed itself so I was none the wiser. Leaving the engine to charge for a couple of hours before I could turn it off and talk to a specialist, I was left with breakfast and then a sail change. It could wait no longer with gusts up to 30 knots. The hardest part with a sail change is the time spent going in the wrong direction at speed while you change sails. Fortunately the wind had backed so the impact on my course was minimal.
"Staysail set I was back on a reach going fast and I was exhausted, but now I needed to become Mrs Fixit. Armed with a multimeter, I followed clear instructions across various terminals and Chris from Fischer Panda identified the fault and came up with the solution. Now it was up to me. I cut wires. I put in place new connections and then tried my hand at a bit of soldering. Now this I haven't done since school and all those years ago I never thought I would need to know how to do it in the future, au contraire!
"Anyway, an hour later I was back in action and from being a stressed and tired bunny I became a relaxed and very tired bunny. Aviva is sailing better on a reduced sail plan and now it is time for me to charge my own batteries."
Dee and Aviva
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Aviva Ocean Racing summary
Record-breaking British yachtswoman Dee Caffari, who sailed into the record books in May 2006 by becoming the first woman to sail solo, non-stop around the world against the prevailing winds and currents, is attempt her next "world first" by competing in the Vendée Globe yacht race. Caffari is attempting to become the first woman to sail solo and non-stop both ways around the world.
Further information on Dee Caffari and her Aviva Ocean Racing campaign can be found at www.avivaoceanracing.com.
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Website: www.avivaoceanracing.com
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