LESSONS LEARNED

Know your engine

I do my own engine work, read the manual cover to cover, and I joined the internet forum and Facebook group for my engine. If I hadn’t, it might not have gone so well that day.

Have spares on board

I always have a few basic parts on board. For this trip I had laid in an ample supply of pretty much everything. In addition to the distributor parts, I had spark plugs, spark plug wires, all the gaskets one could possibly want, and belts for the alternator. I also had a spare alternator, a spare carburettor and a spare fuel pump.

If it’s foggy, use a radar reflector

I had a radar reflector on board, but I couldn’t be bothered to deploy it because it was down in the bottom of an inaccessible locker. Later that day, I did have a close encounter with a powerboat. I knew where he was, because I had AIS. I called him by VHF: My round, thin metal mast only showed up as a very faint target on his radar. He told me could see me, but barely.

If your engine breaks down, call in a Pan-pan

As it happened, I fixed my engine, I didn’t need a tow, and I didn’t get rammed in the fog. But it could have gone very differently. I should have made a call on the VHF. It would have made anybody in the area aware of my presence. While I was fixing the engine, I wasn’t keeping a watch. And if I hadn’t fixed my engine, someone might have been able to at least keep me off the rocks. In Canada at least, calling in a Pan-pan doesn’t automatically mean you need a tow right away.