Short Timers and a Fish Tale

Well, it looks like we might actually be about to move along; maybe even this coming week if the weather cooperates and we have everything we need done. Our biggest project was getting the paravane fish redone and as of Thursday, they are hanging on the rail, ready to go when we are. Today or Monday at the latest, our new anchor will come back from Manila where it was being galvanized. Yesterday morning we spent almost 2 hours at Royal Supermarket buying a second load of provisions. It took me almost as long to figure out where to store them! Since we are new to this and not sure what we will find along the way we bought the real essentials like lots of peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk for Randal's super smoothies and 3 packs of dental floss. We also bought lots of "heavy stuff" like laundry detergent and dish detergent because it is easier to get things to the boat here. We took our latest boat person, Jordan and we filled 4 carts full. We took a taxi back to the SBYC and with a 2 wheeled cart got them form the taxi to the boat. Out cruising we might have to do all this with a tricycle taxi and our dinghy. It's certainly possible, but easier here. We will have lots of Gatorade and water and beer.

Randal and I could live on peanut butter and some kind of liquid if we had to. We tend to eat local a lot and that means eating what is available rather than stocking up on things to avoid eating local. We can do that at this point because we won't have long passages between ports. We do have lots of canned tuna and salmon and canned chili and " Vienna Sausage and Spam" Yuck. I would truly have to be desperate for the Spam and Sausage. Hopefully I won't have to eat those words or the Spam or Sausage either.

Once we start cruising the emails may become rather infrequent, short and text only. It just depends on the wifi we can find. Our first real stop will be back in PG so I should be able to email from there as we have in the past. While we are there, Randal and I are hoping to get our scuba certification and some equipment. It takes 3 days, which seems awfully quick to me. We need to be able to clean the bottom of the boat and free our anchor should it ever need it. As for recreational scuba diving, that might come later when we hit really clear, irresistible water with lots to see. You do go out for a dive during your certification. After our quick lesson with Audrey, I feel like I at least have a clue what is involved. Hopefully I'll love it. I know I'll be able to do the boat maintenance stuff.

So here is the tale of our paravne fish.....
Paravane Fish Tale

What are paravane fish? They are metal pieces shaped like birds or fish that hang into the water from paravane arms and keep the boat from rolling side to side in the waves and swells.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/MarineSafety/bulletins/2000/15-eng.htm

This illustration comes from a Canadian Marine Safety Bulletin and the rigging is a bit different from ours. But you can see the arms and the fish hanging into the water dragging along side. Ours had been problematic from the get go. Instead of acting like fish, they were more like dolphin, jumping out of the water and diving back in. Not what you want to happen. When they come out of the water, you can’t be sure where they will dive back in; and 50+ pound pieces of metal flying along both sides of the boat NOT GOOD!!

We went through 4 or 5 or 5,000 modifications and the accompanying sea trials out in the harbor before we solved the riddle. The thing of it was; everyone saw what needed to be done, but not all at the same time. And it was the kind of thing, that until you really believed what was the problem, no one could convince you. But finally Captain Randal took the matter into his own hands and made the final modification and voila! The fish stopped flying and swam smoothly in the water along side of the boat. As in the illustration. The whole point is that when the boat leans side, the fish on the opposite side want to stay in the water so keep the boat from rolling so much. Makes for a smoother ride.

Fish that wouldn’t stay in the water

Fish that would stay in the water. Cutting out that notch made all the difference, though we all came to that realization at different times.

Then came the finishing touches, painting and redoing the nest for the fish to ride in when not in use.

Painting the fish with epoxy primer so the paint will stick. That is Jordan helping Randal.

Testing the “nest” on the rail wherelive. There is a hoisting system because you can’t just pull them up with their rope.

A metal piece will go around the torpedo part on the bottom of the fish. You can see our dinghy and solar panel on the left side of the photo. We have new tan sunbrella dinghy side covers.

Fish in the nest. I guess I should have been calling them birds so the image would fit together better.

So this whole paravane arm swings down and the fish hang into the water from the top of the arm where the red is touching. First you lower the arm, and then throw the fish into the water. To retrieve it you pull up the arm until you can reach the fish’s line and then retrieve it on a pulley. Then you finish pulling up the arm. During this time you are in the middle of the ocean so no one is needed to drive the boat. It takes one person to put out the fish, but 2 people to retrieve the fish so they don’t crash into the boat.

This is as true a fish tale as I can write, not being an expert on paravane fish.

Ruth Johnson

DoraMac