CYCLONE ALERT - will we lose EVERYTHING? | Ep.53
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- Cyclone alert - will we lose everything?
As sailors, we find ourselves often at the mercy of the elements and a lot more intune with the weather, often checking forecasts several times a day. The middle name of our son Nemo is Yasa, after the cyclone that hit Fiji whilst I was pregnant with him.
For those of you that are knew here, we bought an old ex Vendée Globe open 60 and converted her into our family cruiser.
We launched in September with the hope of being out of Fiji before cyclone season started… but we weren’t ready in time and instead have found ourselves still here in the peak of the season. On top of this a few weeks ago our gearbox broke and left us engineless with the next low pressure system developing close by…
Due to our nearly 5 metre draft, the safest cyclone hole for us is about 100nm to the east in the capital suva - but due to our gearbox failure, our only option is to use our 25hp outboard engine to help manoeuvre the boat off the anchor and through the reef passes on route.
At that moment we were about 48 hours away from the closest point of approach of the first system, and about 5 days before the second one would be close. So we’d still have time to move if we wanted to - but without an engine, we weren’t sure if that would be the safest solution.
At the moment the systems weren’t headed for a direct hit for Fiji, but we remembered what happened to our friends on Pantagruel a few years ago during cyclone Yasa - whose track had also been to miss Fiji a few days before it hit, but in the end Fiji was a directly in it’s path
But we were running out of time as the first system had now become a named cyclone Judy, which was getting closer, and there wouldn’t be a gap between that one and the one following close behind for us to escape to Suva.
But it’s not over for us - as the next day - the next cyclone - Kevin - now Category 5 - changed track and headed closer to us…
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If you enjoyed this video please consider supporting us on Patreon / sailingnv or with a one-off donation via ko-fi.com/sail... or paypal www.paypal.com...
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Thanks so much to Olivia at / wildernessofwaves for the clip of us coming onto the mooring and on the mooring in the bad weather :)
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Caio! We are Timo and Jo, an Italian and English couple with countless ocean miles under our belts. We're refitting an ex Vendée Globe Open 60 race boat originally designed & built & raced by famous Hungarian sailor Nándor Fa. He competed in her in the 1992 Vendée Globe (round the world single handed race known as “the Everest of the seas”), finishing 5th, becoming the first non-frenchman to finish.
We are currently in Fiji giving this old gladiator a new lease on life, transforming her from an ex race boat to a performance family cruiser, which we'll need to make both dog and baby proof! We’re planning to set sail again in Oct 2022, so with limited time&money we have plenty of challenges ahead to turn our dreams into reality&get back on the water!
Subscribe to our channel&track our progress as we release videos about our journey as well as "how to" videos about anything boat related.
Never stop to dream, never stop to sail!
You can find out more about the boat, us and our refit plans on our website www.sailingnv.com or follow us on
Facebook / sailingyachtnv and
Instagram / sailingnv
#sailingnv #cyclonekevin #sailing #boatlife #cyclonejudy #raceboat #cruising #sailingvlog #boatwork #cyclone #sailingfamily #cyclonealert #boatrepair
I just love yachts so was just perusing.. and I left a comment saying your boat was sick.. love the paint job! AND THEN I SAW YOUR SON! Our sons are one another’s doppelgängers! Seriously ITS NUTS! Omg if you could see! Maybe one day we will all run into one another and then we can trip on it together!
Haha awesome! Ooo I want to see a photo of your son!! Can you send us one on Instagram or something?
When I lived and worked on Laucala Island in 2010, we were hit with a cyclone so strong that is destroyed lots of infrastructure on the resort that we had to shut down for 3 months to rebuild. The palm trees on the island looked burned, the wind was that strong. Little bit of advise for you guys….Just be aware Fiji Customs will hold your parts for a couple days….very frustrating after waiting weeks for delivery, and demand huge duty fees, like 40%. Had this happen many times during the one year I lived there. As you know, Fiji has its own time schedule! Btw….Nemo has the most charming smile! Love his curiosity and energy!
Great video and fingers and toes crossed that all your preparations are not needed. Fantastic all the new patrons and Ko-fe support
Thanks Ian yeah I think the worst has passed now and it wasn’t too bad in the end 😅 yeah it’s a really great all the support and it’s really helped enable us spend more time making the vids and improving then :)
Well done all of you! Nemo growing up to be the perfect deckhand, if one can apples and pasta apart there is only a few sailing terms left and off you go!
Haha thanks And, great to hear from you :)
Great video showing dedication of you both. Timo is very skilled and lucky to have a Kiwi wife.
Haha thanks Wayne - I'm (Jo) actually British! But I've spent quite a lot of time in botH NZ and Aus so my accent is pretty all over the shop. Great to hear from you - thanks for watching
@@SailingNV Sorry for the mistake but still very Kiwi to me. I Ieft 50+ years ago so only a passport remains.
My heart goes out to you guys. Fare winds
Cheers Claude 🙏
What a nail biting episode 😬 ... yall are in our prayers. Timo, you have a beautiful family bro and a gorgeous boat... we love yall❤️. 🤙🏼yeuw
Cheers Adrian 🤞🤞🤞thanks for the lovely comment
Great to see the help from all around you you deserve it.
Cheers Hedley, yeah the sailing community are awesome :)
Getting a refund will depend on how you paid, if you used Visa, Mastercard or even PayPal it should be very straight forward and easy because any of those will issue the refund and then go after the seller to get their money. They don't worry about giving you the money first because they have lawyers that will insure they get their's back. Since we see this video I'm pretty sure you've already made it thru the storms and I pray everything is alright and went as smoothly as possible. Timo I'm sure has a very good understanding of anchor scope and how much weight/chain it would require to keep you well planted and I'm sure you do as well. As long as you have both onboard and ready to deploy as needed things should be okay as long as the storms don't get to strong. I really wish I had the funds to help you kids but being forcibly retired due to health issues I live on a very limited income that makes it hard just keeping the lights on. Thank you for keeping us posted on things and for the work and dedication it takes to make these videos even when under a lot of stress...
Fair winds, following seas, safe travels and God Bless...
Hey thanks for the very lovely comment, great to hear from you :) we paid for the transaction using a wise.com account online and I’ve contacted them but I don’t think there’s much they can do, I guess the next step is to file a police report
@@SailingNV I'm so sorry to hear that I hope the police can help. I think they're pretty strict on things like that in Germany. I'll say a prayer that you get your money back or at least the part you paid for and all ends well...
I’m telling everyone about your channel. Thanks for sharing with us 🙏
Hey awesome thanks Lukas!!! :)
I am so pleased that you are all ok . I was a bit worried about you and I prayed that you would all be safe. I live in Hasting NZ and to see the devastation in the islands it reminds us of what has been happening here God bless and stay safe.
Thanks Peter yeah NZ were hit hard this year and Vanuatu has had a very tough week 😞 thanks for thinking of us 🙏
That was a lousy set of circumstances to be dealing with, not at all fun to have to make a call between the two less than ideal courses of action.
Those who’ve never been caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, right up close with no good options, will never appreciate just how complex and difficult it is to make that final decision.
Well done, both of you.
Best of luck with getting the damper plate soon, hopefully customs won’t sit on it for weeks or stuff you with too much for “import/handling charges” before releasing it.
Fair winds guys, R.
😎👍🍻
PS, loved the piano riffs!
Cheers Rob, thanks for the nice comment and the understanding - yeah it wasn't a very relaxing few days! But hopefully we're out the other side now. Luckily we have a new crew member coming that is bringing the damper plate next month so hopefully there will be no issues there!
There used to be pretty big and decent engine repair shop in Suva. They might have drive plates or they can make alternation from some other engine.
Best regards. Joze
This is cruising! Cut, drill, fix. Bravo family! And music with the video could also be a horron one. You are brave!
Haha thanks yeah cruising is just fixing our boats in beautiful locations eh ;)
Good luck guys, good luck!
Cheers Frederico 🤞🤞🤞
When you drilled the transom it looked like it is sandwich construction. You must take care to make sure water cannot enter the core. You should take the bracket off ASAP, clear out the now wet core around the holes and fill with epoxy based filler before redialling. HTH
The outboard bracket is a good idea anyway. When we were cruising on our sailboat, we had a 25 hp for our dingy, and I often thought it would be to mount a brace on the stern, and if we ever had an engine problem, I could just put the 25 on that bracket and some motoring capability. But, I never did. Good on you for doing it.
I love the music and your musical abilities!! So awesome love the videos thank you for sharing you sea life with all of us land dwellers lol!! I love the ocean and diving along with spear fishing! Ocean life is the best life, also having a 5meter draft has gotta suck for getting into certain ports? You options are so limited have such a deep draft? If your dog isn't snipted get it done will calm him down a ton!! Cause DAMN that dog isn't very friendly lol
Hey Allen, ah great that you are into diving and love the ocean :) sounds like you would enjoy the sailing life! Yes having a 5 metre draft definitely has it's challenges as we have already found many times in the relatively short time we've owned NV!! And our options for sure are limited... but there are so many options in life, we are OK with this so far! Yeah we have snipped Solo, but he's still so hyper! He's still quite young (2 years) so maybe he'll calm down as he gets older... he had a nasty accident last year where he broke his leg and we don't know the cause - just found him in our garden like that, the vet thinks maybe it was caused by humans (as it's quite common here for people to hurt the stray dogs) so maybe that could partially why he's so agitated all the time!
For the refund situation, you can call your credit card Issuer/Bank and request a chargeback for merchandise not delivered.
Enjoyed the music. A nail biter of an episode, and it's not over yet. Good luck, I'm sure you made the right no/no go decision.
In terms of the part you ordered, did you pay with a credit card? Most card companies (at least in the U.S.) will refund your money if you dispute a charge because the seller never delivered the goods. That is one reason why I refuse to have a debit card -- you don't get the same protections. Of course, it might be different in Fiji.
Thanks Michael, lovely to hear from you as always :) and I can count on you to appreciate the music ;) we used an online bank we often use for foreign transactions… I have contacted them but sadly they’re not able to do much… but a friend has checked that the account we paid IS a vat registered business account so I guess the next step is to file a police report and see how far we can get 🤞
@@SailingNV I'll send an email to your GMail account. If you get me the particulars of the company, I may be able find some additional information through the business I work for.
Thanks for this!
Another great Video with the Family of the Mac Gyver of the seas.
I live in Germany and am German.
Let me know if I can help you talking to the guys in German.
Haha loving our family title ;) thanks will let you know 👍🏻
I'm not sure how you would pay for your parts but if you have used a credit card you should try approaching the credit card company and request a charge back, this is a facility in place (depending on the type of card used) where a credit card company will get the funds back from a supplier as the service paid for wasn't delivered. The company that should have provided the service gets a short period of time to provide answers and failure to do so with in the time means the charge is reversed and you are refunded.
Hey Mike thanks for this, unfortunately we did it online using wise.com but amazingly after that video a couple of German lawyers got in touch and solved the problem for us!!
I wonder if you could've bolted a plate to your engine seat and then lowered your engine to whatever height you wanted?
A quicka fixa for the outboard
when the mountas too high
is to makea wooden bracket
and mount it on some ply(wood).
Then a bolt it to your bracket
so it's down an inch or two,
She'll be as pretty asa Mona Lisa
and a worka bellissimo for you. ;)
And to fixa engine troubles
without bleeding all your cash;
use a diesel-electric system
that can go plenty fast.
A $350 diesel engine,
get 2 for reliability;
and 2 Cadillac 160 amp alternators
for total amps of 320.
Add 4) lithium 12V batteries
48 volts with power to spare;
this will drive an inboard electric
that can take you anywhere.
Use batteries alone
when you don't need too much power,
or kick on the gens when winds pipe up
or weather fronts blow showers.
$700 for two engines,
$200 for two alternator rotors,
$1,200 for lithium bats,
and $450 for the electric motor.
Sell the engine that you have
for $2 to $5,000 bucks,
and you'll have a nearly-free super reliable system
that never leaves you stuck.
Add some solar panels
and a $200 WindGenZen
and you'll have 10KW of reliable high torque power,
to take you straight into the wind.
Are you sure we can’t build you the equivalent of a vibration damper if you can’t find one world wide..I have design and Cnc facilities here in Aus. And the will to help you…this dosn’t look that impossible ….I’m a friend of PK in Melb. Regards..p
They’ve already turned down the offer we arranged of a proper part from a Volvo Penta dealer in Aus ready to be shipped to Fiji a fortnight ago - in preference for a proper part, a bit cheaper, being sourced in Europe and brought out to Fiji by a friend. The Aus part could have been shipped to Suva and place and fitted before these cyclones arrived?
Yep..got it …
Hi Tom, sorry I can't find your email, so forgive me for not remembering exactly the situation you offered us, but these videos are all a little bit delayed, so at the time we realised our original damper plate we'd ordered wasn't going to arrive in time, there unfortunately wasn't time for anything to arrive in Fiji.
The company we originally bought the part from kept insisting we'd have it by 28th Feb - which was around the time the cyclones were forming, and unfortunately we only realised shortly before this that that had all been a scam.
Unfortunately delivery out here is always a little longer than expected, as the delivery on this side can be a bit slow with customs usually holding on to the part for a few days etc. Plus we are on an island at the moment... After this bad experience with the first company we ordered it from, I think we were just happy to have the part be placed in the hands of someone we knew headed this way, to be sure it would reach us.
But thanks a lot to everyone for looking into other solutions for us. We've since chatted to a friend that had this part break on him twice, so we're interested to have a spare on onboard, and would definitely be interested to have it made more locally. We don't really have the funds to organise it right at the moment, but if you're able to email us at sailingnv@gmail.com any info, then when we are in a better financial position we can look into it in more detail.
Thanks again for all the help!
I think I might put an emergency outboard mounting area on the back of my boat.
👍🏻👍🏻
My gosh I really feel for you all and hope you get through the winds etc. I note that the Volvo part has not arrived, and clearly it would be best to get an original replacement part. That said if you take the broken part, and then scrape off the rubber you could then source from somewhere some heavy duty rubber (reinforced type) and cut it very roughly to shape and glue it to the original part. Then using liquid air as a coolant you can clean the thing up on a lathe or on a drilll stand if you have accesss to the bits....just an idea I found myself having to do (and it worked) as cutting rubber without cooling it is just about impossible. I wish you luck with all that you are facing.
Nemo seems very well behaved for a kid who's middle name is a cyclone!
Hahahahahaaaaa - I think you probably only see him at his best ;)
Bravi! Vi seguo da alcuni mesi e mi piace molto come intendete la vita in mare. Bravi!
A disposizione se avete qualche richiesta dall'Italia.
Grazie Andrea
Stai in contactor con noi anche via messenger e se hai perie e voice navigarare con noi salta su un aereo e raggiungici
I’ve sailed ocean 70’s they can handle anything except bad broaches due to not keeping you eyes on the sails
Are prayer's are with you all.
Thanks David!
Holly Hell guys! So bloody stressful! Is there someone we know in Germany who can go the company address for the part, or demand a refund? Scratching my head. This is terribly disappointing.
Hey lovely - yes so we've got someone on the case now - fingers crossed we can get to the bottom of it! Looking forward to seeing you soon!
A stressful situation. It's difficult to get an outboard to move a big heavy boat. The engine is designed for a small fast turning propellor with a steep pitch, the boat needs a bigger slower turning prop with a less severe ptich Also when the boat starts pitching in slight waves the prop will frequently be partially out of the water. I think you've made the best of a difficult situation so far, but changing circumstances will require new decisions. One thing, I would move family onto land.
Thx!
🍻
Ciao Timoteo guardo i tuoi video più volte, e immagino cosa vuol dire trovarti in quella situazione senza motore!!! Ma quando arriva il pezzo di ricambio?? Un abbraccio Giovanni
Questa settimana con la babysitter Dallas francia
@@SailingNV
Molto bene!! Anch'io ho avuto un problema con il motore su uno scambiatore di calore e sono riuscito poi ad arrivare in rada in 2 giorni, ma ero in mediterraneo e meteo ok!! X cui immagino voi in quella situazione che stress!!!!
Poor dog had to go to the loo can’t be blamed 😊
Haha you're right - we are pleased when he goes to the toilet on the boat, because he needs to learn this for the long passages
Fiji. Lived in musket for 12 years myself back in 90s. Surfing my life away Mangroves in lautoka were my hide out in 3 cyclones. Cyclone oli was a baby but it was not named till next day.
You must draw to much for lautoka but what about nadi
Hey Evan, yeah I think we’re too deep to go anywhere around here sadly… nice that you lived in Fiji 🤙
Ciao Timoteo azzzz....in barca cè sempre un problema quando non sono 2, e avere tanta inventiva e fantasia x risolverli. Un abbraccio dall'italia. Giovanni
Si Giovanni hai ragione ma presto siamo pronti a navigare e i video saranno diversi.
Ma grazie per I commenti e l"attenzione
Better luck ahead. Safe journeys :) Cheers!
Cheers yeah 🤞🤞🤞
(To the dog) 'Last chance to go to the toilet ! (₩7:50) but this got me wondering - how/where does a dog 'do it's business' whilst at sea ? ........... and then at 15m my curiosity was satisfied - much like Solo I suppose !
Hahaha yes exactly, this was good training for him to get comfortable with going onboard
was worried that by attaching the motor to your boat and if you had to abandon in a hurry, you would put yourself in danger
of a quick exit
love you're channel, I follow all the top sailing UA-camrs and I think you have some great content ...ill keep watching from Gold Coast Australia
the look of relief on Papas face at the end is priceless..
Yes phew indeed!
Timo,
come estrema ratio non potresti forare e filettare in tre punti il giunto per farlo fisso senza il parastrappi? Anzi mi sorprende non sia già previsto come su certe frizioni delle ventole di raffreddamento dei motori dei camion. Capisco che il parastrappi è li per una ragione, ma il rischio è veramente troppo.
Grazie per il commeno.
Si lo ho valuation immediatMente ma il Ritchie che cosi facendo spacherei altri componenti è troppo alto.
Sitting on the edge of my stool 😮
So are we ;)
There have been a few boats come off those moorings at musket cove. They are not to be trusted. Why are you in Fiji in the cyclone season?
yeah we put our anchor down and attached a chain to the mooring in the end... we were hoping to be out of here before cyclone season... but after such a big refit, we just weren't ready in time...
@@SailingNV There really aren't any good options in Fiji during a cyclone. I have never stayed in a cyclone or hurricane or typhoon are during storm season. It just seems like an unnecessary risk. You will probably be fine, of course but it's too much risk for me. It's 4 or 5 days sail to NZ for you.
If there is anything I can do, let me know. Based in Germany I am happy to help and dig into this.
Thanks a lot Christian - I think we've got someone sorting this out now, but I'll let you know if we need. Thanks again :)
What is de name of the company you bought the parts from?
Hey Henk, I think we've got some help from a lawyer which is great but think it's probably best we wait until they can help clarify the situation - we don't want to accuse them unnecessarily. Thanks though
Cazzo, you said it!! 😂 shoulda had more 4200
Hold Fast.
Thanks John - will do!!!
Did you guys try to sail to Suva?
❤❤❤
🙏🙏🙏
Your credit card company can take the money from them and give it back to you. Call your credit card company. I’ve done it multiple times.
Thanks Dixon, unfortunately we paid via bank transfer using wise.com and they can’t do much. But amazingly one of our followers got in touch and got the money back for us!! So was all good 👍🏻
Please tell us how you are right know.
We are all fine thanks Peter - cyclone Kevin ended up going to the west of us
Do you have any sails that could help power the boat in storm conditions? Do they not work without the mail sail?
Have you calculated the number of ads viewers would need to watch before having enough money to buy a new main sail?
Hey Ryan, yep at the moment, we have a delivery dacron mainsail and 3 headsails (and 2 more at the sailmaker). But we are in the midst of a lot of reef and to get in and out of our locations means going through reef passes with currents and traveling in the last few days before the cyclone meant transiting areas with potentially no wind (as we tried to explain in the video). Haha yes I'm sure we'll never have enough ad viewers for money to buy a new mainsail! Or let's say it would take years. However we are hopeful that someone somewhere might find a second hand that would suit us
I can help training Solo…
that would be awesome! Can you email us at sailingnv@gmail.com? thanks :)
What a snafu. Change boat name to Chaos. Too much wind noise. Can't you get rid of the wind noice?
We need to buy a noise cancelling mic… but it’s not too high on our priority list atm!
Looks like solo's doing training
😂😂😂
Call your bank or credit card
Have done thanks but not much they can do atm
This was just luck! Ciclone patern not direkt hit!
Yes very lucky indeed!
I cani in barca non fanno una bella vita......
Grazie per il commento, MA lasciami dire: molto dipiù in city ed in appartamento
E si anche io Pensacola che sofrissero in barca ma NV non è una barca normale è talented grande e sgombra che put covered per si o anche solo nei show 10 metrics di pozzetto Lago 5 e poi anche lo slancio prua poppa di 20 metri che usa tutto appena passa una barca per abbaiare e defenders il territorio poi quando siamo all"ancora al meno due uscite a Terra con Salto in acqua a cento metri dalla riva lui ora adora nuotare. Insomnia è propjo un cane fortunato lui ma tu di norma hai ragione.
Grazie ancora
Scusa la tastiera coŕeggie in inglese
To have a more oversized storm hook 🪝 could be a longterm solution for your boat with engine problems ...but it is a great backup also if you have an engine !
We've got our admiral ;)
You would have thought that he would have put sealant between the bracket and the boat? Simple.