Stuck in Milford Haven, 'Water in the Engine Room'

Day 4 - Friday 19th May 2017

After a good night's sleep in the marina and a tasty breakfast we set to work on some jobs. The first was to fill the tanks with water. The next was to look at a minor water leak we'd spotted in the engine compartment during our passage the previous day.

We dried the floor and laid some sheets of kitchen roll, then started up the engine. There was a drip coming from the joint between the exhaust pipe and watertrap / muffler. We needed the toolkit. The toolkit was stowed in the lazarette locker. It has steps on the side walls to climb in and out! The hose clamp on the leading joint wasn't tight, so we tightened it a little. The drip become a trickle. Bugger! It looked like the watertrap was causing the problem.

The on-site marine engineers were called and after inspection and discussion, quickly confirmed that the watertrap had...

distorted due to heat. A better high temperature resistant replacement was ordered for 'next morning' delivery and the faulty part was removed. 

To avoid 'cabin fever', we went out for a walk. Going our separate ways, I had a look around the marina and boatyard. I was tickled to see a yellow fishing boat with exactly the same name and colour as my little Miracle dinghy, 'Amy Lou,' named after my daughter. I've fond memories of racing it in Morecambe and at Open Meetings on lakes and reservoirs around the north of England. 

Finally settling down with a pint of "Doombar" at the harbourside pub, I hooked up to WiFi and checked out the weather forecast for the next few days. Almost unbelievably, it was still in our favour for the northbound voyage. 

Back at the yacht, Skip and I planned the next passage. He drew up pilotage plans for the tricky 'Jack Sound' and Ramsey Sound, mentioned in David Rainsbury's book 'Fearsome Passages'. 

We were heading for Holyhead, with the option of stopping overnight to anchor at our port of refuge, Porthdinllaen. For some time-honoured reason, mariners never say "We're going to..." probably because they could never be sure of getting there! I was told this very early on in my yachting life and the tradition has stuck with me. 

We had a fish supper in the 'Gordon Bennett' restaurant on the quayside, which was much better than it's name suggested. The tables filled quickly as we waited for our starters.

By 10pm we're in bed - the earliest turn in on the trip so far. Let's see what the next day brings.