Challenging times

I said in the last post that I was keen to do the Alderney run to get some hours on the new gearbox prior to what was to be the final pre-race mechanical check by Dave Crawford who has been doing Black Gold's engineering.

Imagine how I felt when I heard they found water in the new gearbox again.

This time, the selector shaft assembly had split. Dave said he thought he could fix it as we've caught it so soon. However, when they pressure-tested it on Friday morning, it wasn't right ... and the assembly needed won't be available in the UK for three weeks.

At times like this, you think you are being set a deliberate challenge similar to one on a management course - only this is for real!

The Belgium supplier agreed to send two assemblies over by DHL. We should have these on Monday or Tuesday. But, of course, the plans that Roger and I had for a Plymouth run were out of the window for the second time. And both due to gearbox failure.

So what happened? The Belgium dealer and racer expert, Nico, thought that there was a risk of the selector seal coming out and said he'd fix it on the new gearbox. What seems to have happened is that the self-tapping screw he used split the plastic assembly causing the leak.

Hopefully, with a new assembly we will be back where we started. We will just need to check the gearbox oil again for swarf or water.

With no boat again, what about the rest of the programme?

Working with the RYA, Roger seems to have located sports physios for us in each port - something Roger considered necessary after our first trial.

Ben at Scorpion fitted the fuel cut off, the on/off labelling on the power, the satellite transponder, and the liferaft straps on the floor. He was thwarted by the race regulation for race numbers, though. It seems impossible to fit them on our extreme tapered tube rib.

Racer expert Chris Strickland suggests putting them on boards fitted either side like wings on a F1 car. We will also take some spare stick-on numbers, too.

We need mini-flares which we are meant to be carried in our pockets. But a search of Lymington and Hamble chandlers failed to find any and it seem they have been withdrawn by their makers.

The regulations also require an orange retirement flag of 60 x 40cm, but it too was not found. (Another call to the chief scrutineer required.)

Some good news came from the searching, though. We found a sea anchor of the right size, and Micro SD chart cards for our emergency Garmin GPS.

Joy at Scorpion also had a chart chip for our Northstar system. We wanted a second one so that we could plan remotely on a laptop with the PC Planner program, and then write the routes to a card for the boat's instrument.

I found a set of paper charts for most of the UK - a safety requirement - and I also found a waterproof cover for my work Blackberry!

The pressure is on. Next weekend we will retrieve Black Gold from Lymington as the compass is to be swung in the Hamble with a compass adjuster on Saturday morning.

Then follows the sea trial that we missed this weekend. On Sunday, leaving nothing to chance, I attend a one-day sea survival course.

Gavin, Sunday June 9