Nantucket & Fire

From Block Island we sailed onto Cuttyhunk another of our favorite destinations and also the furthers “down east” we have sailed. Cuttyhunk has about 50 year round residents and some more summer residents and as one of the only accessible islands in the Elizabeth chain gets a fair amount of cruising traffic. The following morning we set sail for Martha’s Vineyard, but having caught the currents (by design I might add) which gave us a 2kn boost and taking advantage of following winds and seas we saw 10kn sog, everyone feeling well, we kept on a truckin’ all the way to Nantucket.

Nantucket is a former whaling capital of the U.S. turned now to a summer retreat for wealthy New Englanders. A stunningly beautiful island with a great waterfront, sandy long beaches and only the Atlantic Ocean to sea. Navigating to and fro can be quite challenging as one needs good clear weather to navigate the many shoals in the area. The weather has been fitful alternating between gales and near calms. We have rented bikes to tour the island and go to the Atlantic side beaches. The only disappointing part has been that the former anchorage has been filled in with mooring balls, a recurring theme we find, thus one is stuck paying $40/night for a mooring ball or anchoring in a usually remote, poor holding and shallow part of the basin, which is unattractive in an area of high winds, shifting directions and strong currents, like Nantucket.

Writing the next part I must state that I am still numb, the possible outcomes are almost always catastrophic on a boat due to the amount of flammable material. Why we were so lucky and what it means is still out of reach to me. The first night we were in Nantucket the winds picked up to 20-25 knots. I had deployed the wind generator on arrival and although the regulator was acting a little funny in the early evening, by 11:30pm all seemed find and we were getting a healthy charge from the wind generator. At about 12:30 I smelled the unmistakable smell of burning “something” I was also awakened by the change in sound. I could not hear the wind generator any longer. Rushing up on deck, I took down the wind generator, then flew to the aft cabin, where the kids were sleeping. Rae Ann was awake by now and back there with me. We moved the kids to the forward cabin and opened the port aft bunk finding that the wind generator regulator had completed melted down, burning the wood bulkhead where it was attached. Over the next 24 hours, I cleaned up the mess, cut away the burnt wires and removed what was left of the regulator (very little). Several phone calls later and digging through the debris the cause was identified as the regulator which was rated for 10 amps, while the wind generator is rated to go as high as 25 amps. Speaking with the company that installed the generator and regulator they accepted responsibility, stating they thought that they had installed a 25 amp regulator. The only markings on the regulator were on the back of the equipment which was screwed against the bulkhead, therefore un-accessible unless one took the wiring installation apart. The damage for the moment seems to be burnt wood and electrical wiring, although we still need to test the wind generator but suspect the built in rectifiers saved it. Of all the possible outcomes from a fire on a boat of this nature it is hard to imagine anything better. Of all the possible reasons for a fire, well this makes me want to do physical violence.

We will be making our way Buzzards Bay in the coming week to affect repairs.