Scoresby Sund Expedition 2022
Day 32. 12th July 2022
Position: Moored Torshavn
Weather: The wind has dropped from F9 to about F7, not sure whether to call that good or not.
It was a fiercely windy night here last night. Jannicke returned from the airport because all the flights were cancelled. She has only just now arrived in Edinburgh and still has to get a train back to London. The airlines are in total chaos.
My problem with the heater controller seems rather insignificant now that my Aerogen wind generator has packed up. During the stormy night I thought that I would check how many volts the wind generator was dumping into my battery. I was very depressed to find that it wasn’t putting anything in! I checked the fuse, of course, but that was intact. I decided to take the unit off the pole and noticed the wires appeared unconnected but on reflection that might have happened whilst I was taking the unit off. The internal wiring seemed OK. I knew the swivel bearings were in need of replacing so I was carrying spares but without pullers it wasn’t possible to release them.
The massive shipyard said they would have a go at changing the bearings so I left the unit with them all day, but in the end they couldn’t find the time, so I brought it back to the boat. It occurred to me that the swivel bearing wasn’t crucial as I could simply point the blades at the wind. The crucial thing was that it generates power. I remounted it with the help of Bjorn from the boat next door. I was hoping desperately that the volt needle would fluctuate with the wind but alas it didn’t.
I suspect the rust appearing on my fittings is related to the Aerogen failure. The boat was covered in salt spray sailing up here so a leaky current could have been the problem?
It is now quarter to ten and I am rather fed up. I have spent all day frigging around with the Aerogen and I am back at square one.
Hopefully Torsten will arrive soon. I doubt we will be ready for the early tide under the Sudini Bridge so I think a beer is in order. I’ll crack open a “Slupp Beer de Luxe” from the cool bilges. If Torsten comes soon we can savour a “craft” beer too.
Perhaps an idea to solve my woes will come to me in the night.
Technical Details
STOP PRESS
Torsten has arrived!
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