30th October - the day we nearly lost Barraveigh

It didn’t begin well. I was awoken with news that s/v Aquantique had hit a reef in New Caledonia & our friend Bill was awaiting an air evacuation. After 11 years at sea, Bill, an experienced & skilled sailor, was about to complete his circumnavigation. We were stunned & heartbroken for him. It’s left us shaken, disaster can happen to any of us at any time.
From that moment the day steadily got worse. At anchor in the harbour of Suva (capital of Fiji) surrounded by large fishing boats & container ships a squall quickly kicked up. Building to 35 knots (substained) in a matter of moments, large waves began forming, so big they were breaking high over the bow. These are conditions you expect out at sea not in a harbour protected by an outer reef. Anticipating problems Bobby started the engine & moments later the anchor failed to hold & Barraveigh began to drag backwards. Bobby motored forward attempting to hold us in position, battling with the waves that would throw Barraveigh’s bow sky high, anchor chain straining at the cleats. I headed to the bow. Bobby needed to know where the anchor chain was so he didn’t motor too far forward. The waves were crashing so hard it was unsafe to remain up there. The squall continued for the next hour, Bobby successfully keeping us away from the reef & nearby boats but the situation was about to get worse.
Due to a fuel leak we had closed the fuel lines to the engine whilst we were at anchor. Unfortunately in the urgency of the situation neither of us remembered. The engine was being starved of fuel & taking in air. It came to a stop & we quickly set to work on bleeding the engine. It was a horrific situation, watching the distance between us & the tanker close in knowing there is nothing we could do to avoid hitting it. Despite bleeding the engine numerous times it still refused to start.
Someone must have been on our side though as the winds began to ease & Barraveigh ceased moving. It wasn’t over though. With no engine & an insecure anchor we would still be in danger if the winds picked up again. Our only hope was to find a mechanic to look at the engine but in order to find one it would mean going ashore, leaving Barraveigh to fend for herself & praying the winds would remain calm. Our friend Dan saved the day, he drove around Suva looking for a mechanic who would be willing to come out to the boat at such short notice. He returned to the Yacht Club with Tasi , a huge Fijian guy who towered above Bobby. They set to work on the engine & just when it seemed to be going well until Tasi dropped a screw into the bilge, which by now had fuel & water slopping about in the bottom. As always it was an important screw & not a normal size, we pumped out all the dirty gunk, put it through a sieved & still couldn’t find the screw…arrgghh
They headed back to the workshop (still with all our fingers & toes crossed that the winds wouldn’t pick up) & finally returned with another screw. It was nearly 5pm by the time the engine was working & we were safely reanchored. Bobby & I were mentally & physically exhausted. Neither of us had had to say a word, we knew we had escaped disaster by minutes, if the engine had failed earlier there would have been nothing we could have done to stop ourselves ending up on the reef or smashing into the other boats nearby. We had made a big error by not opening the fuel line but Barraveigh survived & we have learnt our lesson the hard way.
Never before has a gin & tonic & a good curry tasted as good as it did that evening!