As many will have seen, my track was diverted to Lowestoft on Sunday 26 July and has not moved since.
That morning I experienced a small electrical fire in the engine bay due to a short circuit in the system. The batteries ripped themselves free from the battery box in heavy swell in the North Sea and took the positive cable from the house battery and the negative from the starter with them. These two exposed cables came into contact and set alight the weakest point in the system- the wiring behind the engine control panel.
Having put the fire out, I turned off the electrics and established that Tarka was not going to sink before making for the nearest safe port, which was ironically Lowestoft, where I had had the boat for many months at the beginning of the refit.
Many thanks to the crew of RNLI ‘Patsy Knight’ for towing me into the marina. It is such a privilege and incredibly reassuring to have the RNLI stationed around our coasts.
I made contact with some ex instructors from the old boatbuilding college here who amazingly were able to sort me out in very good time.
I am now ready to make the last leg back to Portland to complete the UK and Ireland circumnavigation and will be writing up the whole passage when I get there.
The weather is not great over the next week, with alternating calms and light winds, but does not look set to change. I expect the passage to take approximately 5 days.
Departure: 1800BST Friday 31 July
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