Early 2026
This winter, despite spending 6 weeks skiing, David has been very busy on La Bamba. This blog is for the techie nerds and gives a glimpse into the hard paddling underwater that the swanlike glide of the yacht seldom reveals….
We are definitely going for the ARC later this year which is a Cruising rally across the Atlantic from the Canaries to the Caribbean.
After some unsatisfactory work done by professionals last year, David is doing everything he can do by himself. I am very lucky to have such a talented and versatile Skipper!
Electrics:
Most importantly, David has upgraded our alternator and regulator. This is the bit that sends power to charge the batteries when our engine is running. The new one literally doubles the power when she’s idling so we can now run it at low revs and charge the batteries on less diesel and more quickly.
He’s put in a 24 volt socket into the cockpit which we can use for our Starlink (also now installed) and to more quickly charge Zigzag’s electric outboard.
The back-up house battery is also fully installed.
David has installed a new gas alarm and carbon monoxide alarm, another good safety feature. And today the gas man came to call and has brought our system up to UK regs. He’s also confirmed we have no leaks. (Although he’s now having to come back to fix the too short hose he used that has actually made it dangerous!)
We now have pump-run indicator lights on our dashboard so that we know if the bilge pump is on (indicating a leak) or the loo pump hasn’t turned itself off again.
He’s installed a new emergency pump (an ARC requirement) which we are looking forward to testing (think fire hose!)
And all the electrics are now beautifully labeled with bespoke Perspex covers to protect them from all the stuff we stow behind the cushions.
The autopilot is being upgraded so that Greta will perform better down wind, or rather David installed the new one, but it was faulty and we are awaiting B&G to send the replacement – at least he has done all the electrics so the install should be straightforward when it turns up.
Rig:
We now have a new much stronger gooseneck see above – this time it’s the bit on the mast, which was already showing some wear. Partly because our mast isn’t the same make as our big beautiful Park Avenue boom, so it wasn’t really up to the job. This new one is very strong and has rings so we can clip on at the mast as necessary. Another safety feature.
David has made an extension to the emergency tiller which hopefully won’t ever be needed! Similarly he’s making attachments for the emergency rudder he’s bought in case ours gets bitten off by orcas off Portugal.
Our windex stopped working so David went up the mast to install a new one (it was his turn). The old one will get new bearings and become a spare.
On the hard:
While she was out of the water, La Bamba had her bottom cleaned and a new ceramic coating that’s supposed to be more resistant to hot climes has been applied. As has a new copper-heavy blue anti-foul. So now her bottom matches her topsides.
The sail-drive was serviced and David cleaned all the gunk off the prop.
All the anodes were renewed. These are sacrificial bits of metal put near the engine and bow thruster to encourage the sea to eat them instead.
We’d also noticed that our rudder has made a mark rubbing on the underneath of our hull. After discussions with Arcona it appears our carbon fibre rudder is too light and therefore is more buoyant in the water than the small gap between the rudder and the hull allowed. So David has sanded about 5mm and she runs freely now. We got the carbon rudder because it can add half a knot!
Bits and pieces:
David has reclaimed the lockers eaten up by the water maker for storage optimisation.
And we now have a smart new clock and barometer (although we don’t think the latter is working!)
Another safety issue we learned on our courses is that powder fire extinguishers (which are mandatory for the ARC) are not great as if you let them off in an enclosed space (like a cabin) you can’t see or breathe. So David has put in fire sticks as well which we will check we know how to use! He’s also put an automatic fire extinguisher in the engine that will go off if it gets too hot.
David has sourced a fishing reel and made a bit of rail to hang it off. We are getting an expert to come and show us how to use it v soon!
Meanwhile, back in Ascot, David has kept the chickens entertained by re-gluing Zigzags bottom back on. We did wonder why she was leaking!
Yesterday we bent on our original sails to give the new ones a rest before we use them in earnest.
David has also bought a sat phone and a sextant for emergencies!
