Keeping Cool During Lockdown

Last week I got permission to go out for “essential” supplies and ventured out of the marina into the big wide world.  Though the original 21days lockdown imposed on 24th March has been extended there has now been some easing of restrictions to allow the economy and the Indian behemoth back to life.  The reason for the mission out was to buy some hydrochloric acid (HCI) to flush the marine air conditioning water lines.  Little mussel-like molluscs had begun to find the warm, nutritious and continuously flowing water a delightful home, but in doing so risked blocking water flow or damaging the AC pump. 

The marine air conditioning has been a major advantage for us while in lockdown in Kochi.  The daily temperature is a fairly consistent 34° and we currently spend 80% of our time on board the boat, so looking after the system is of high importance.  We do a weekly clean of the strainer basket that sieves the incoming seawater before it travels through the air conditioning unit and it was through this that we had started to note small molluscs on the edge of the intake pipe that suggested they could be getting past the filter and into the main system.

I had to check the calendar to see that it had been almost six weeks since I’ve last been out of the marina grounds.  From the marina we can see the pedestrian marine parade opposite, and a nearby road bridge.  Looking across the water has been our only first-hand gauge of the pace of life outside.  We are grateful to have been locked down in such a pleasant place.  In mid-March when things were starting to get crazy and the advice from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT) getting more urgent, our priority was clearly getting back to our little floating home from our short trip to Bengaluru.  I’m so glad we did.  There are many yachts stranded in less hospitable locales with hurricane season or monsoon changes approaching or, worse, hostile populations or authorities.

I was pretty nervous venturing out.  We are just nine cruisers here in the marina and so our life has become comfortably self-contained with a daily pattern consisting of morning yoga, food and water deliveries and sundowners!  There was plenty of police out, mostly milling around although not actively checking vehicles. Current restrictions mean people can only drive on alternate days depending on their number plates. Vehicles having number plates ending with even numbers are allowed to run on even dates, while those with odd can run on odd dates.  With people only allowed out on essential trips there was a marked reduction in traffic.  I thought about taking a few photos for this blog but realised that apart from the now ever-present face masks, it all looked very normal.

My shopping mission was quite straightforward, heading straight to the Lab supplies store and then a quick stop off at the supermarket on the way back.  With my supplies of acid, protective gloves and goggles I was ready to go. The acid flush itself was fairly straightforward, although I was pretty nervous about working with lab strength acid.  My previous memories were from high school chemistry where hydrochloric and nitrous acid were the demonstration favourites on account of the spectacular results rendered.  The sea water intake hose from the stopcock to the strainer had revealed a mollusc population density that looked greater than the human population of an Indian city but was a short length and thus easy to clean with 10% acid concentration and a scrub.  I then ran 5% concentration through the rest of the lines and the condenser coil itself.  It was pretty satisfying to see the amount of gunk that was flushed out of the system, including evidence of the mollusc colony that we had been concerned about.

Eagle eyed Helen spotted a crack developing on the pipe between the pump and the condenser.  Being downstream of the high-pressure pump and below the waterline this was a potential boat-sinker (not a good thing!) and needed immediate replacement.  The initial installation positioning of the pump had made access to a couple of the pipes difficult so I took the opportunity to relocate the pump and create a better angle for the replaced pipe, add an isolating pad under the pump with the added bonus that it now runs a little quieter- appreciated since it’s under our bed. I also serviced the adjacent condensate pump. These additional tasks are typical of most boat jobs that end up being more involved than planned as further jobs become apparent as you go. Five hours in, and with everything back together, we have a cleaner running AC and a resolve to do the next service before it gets that dirty again.

It looks like we may have plenty of time on our hands anyway as, during the writing of this blog post, the lockdown has been extended by a further two weeks.  That’s eight weeks from the original Junta (people’s) curfew.  At least now, the whole of India has been divided into colour coded zones, each with a different set of rules based on the prevalence of COVID-19 cases.  The only red zones in Kerala are thankfully far from us. Our location has been identified as green which means less restrictions than some other areas.  I have to add that we’ve received excellent support from Immigration officials and Kochi police.  The only thing hanging over our heads right now is that even though we’ve been assured that our visas will be repeatedly extended, they’re currently only doing so in two or three-week increments.

As expected, there’s a lot of chatter going on about what cruising will look like for the rest of this year and even beyond.  Which country will open next?  What will the restrictions be?  We are hoping for a common-sense approach.  The slowness at which yachts travel can be our advantage when counted as part of a potential mandatory quarantine period.  Our preference is normally to divide longer passages into shorter hops, but if time at sea is counted within quarantine periods, then the 14 or so days it would take to reach Thailand from here (for example) would serve that purpose.

The big picture is that we are not in a rush and we’re more flexibly minded now than probably ever before.  But I, like many, do wonder about the future of travel in any form, the tolerance of local populations vis-à-vis foreign travellers who may be perceived as carrying diseases versus the need for their tourist dollar.  For now, it’s a waiting game for us to see which ports open up next.  At least it means we have no excuse for not keeping up with the boat chores.

Follow and like us to be notified of future blogs!

www.facebook.com/ripeningnicely