Friday 1 Oct, re-launch 2021, HHN day 2: We arrive to find zero DC power on the boat. And I spend the day tearing my hair out while also tearing out all the Empirbus units one by one.

Our flight over from Bucharest, via Istanbul, was long but fairly uneventful. The US immigration was quick and smooth for once, and Ray was there at the airport to bring us the last leg to Cloudy Bay. Good ‘ol Ray.

Each time we leave Cloudy Bay for more than a few days, she usually performs some tricks, ready to catch us out on our return. Just like a spoiled child might do, when not getting its customary attention. The theme of her tricks is always about things that worked perfectly when we left but mysteriously don’t when we return. Previously, it had been a gushing galley facet and last time a defunct coffee machine and a broken gas solenoid valve. Meaning no coffee or cooking!

But this time she really hit us below the waistline: we arrive to find zero DC power on the boat. And we mean zero. The batteries are fine, and we have 24v to all the Empirbus units, but nada from these units to any of the actual circuits. No lights, no water. Nothing that runs on 12 or 24v, which is most of the vital systems. The problem is the Empirbus remote switching system, which we have constantly lived in fear of catastrophic failure, just like this.
The very name, Empirbus, sounds a bit imperialist right? Well, it’s a good name because like Imperialism, the system works great until the point the imperialists depart … then there is anarchy! Just imagine if this had happened while on an ocean passage!
We tried the usual, turning the system off and on again, but nope, it wasn’t cooperating. So we retired to bed by torchlight and frustrations 🙁

What is an “Empirbus system”? I hear you ask. Well, traditionally, boat electrics consist of a large circuit breaker panel with a breaker for each and every DC circuit. Then from that panel there are hundreds of wire-pairs running to the actual systems (a light, a fridge, a pump ….) all around the boat. A lot of wires and a lot of circuit breakers.
With the Empirbus, there are 7 distribution units around the boat which are switched remotely and have software-set breakers. Each unit supplies power to systems near to it, hence much less wiring. And the units are all linked together by an electronic CAN bus, which is something like a data telephone line which they talk to each other on. For instance, switching a light switch on at one end of the boat sends a signal to its local Empirbus unit, which then relays the “on” message over the Can-bus to the unit that is nearest to the actual light bulb, and the light is switched on.

All brilliant when it works OK. But unfortunately, it works via pretty sophisticated electronic circuits. And “electronic” is a word that is full of risk in the marine environment. On a boat, electrical is OK (just) electronic is not. Circuit boards and components really don’t like the harsh environment, and inevitably fail.
So Glen’s day was spent tearing his hair out, while tearing out all the Empirbus units one by one, troubleshooting the issue. By the evening about half of the boat electrical systems were back up and running – but still a lot more investigation needed before we are back to normal.
Luckily, we had the foresight to have plenty of spare electronic Empirbus units on the boat, for just such eventualities. Interestingly, we managed to gain these when another HR54 had removed their entire Empirbus system and rewired the boat back to a standard electrical configuration.
In the middle of all this Empirbusing, we took a break and headed off for food shopping in Ray’s car. Again, we were pretty shocked by food prices here. There seem to be a step price increase each time we come here. Just 3 small shopping bags for $100. Mind you, you cannot beat Bucharest for cheap food prices, so our comparisons are a bit like chalk-and-cheese.

Meanwhile, as Glen was losing his hair, the activity in the aft cabin found Oana putting all the clothes back away in the cupboards and getting rid of a year’s worth of dust on everything, before unpacking our bags. As usual, she was on the hunt for mildew spores, which she has incredible skill to spot even a mile off! There were quite a few old spores here and there and no new major outbreaks of the damned stuff. We are hoping that the dehumidifier and O2 generator have done their stuff over the last year, and we finally have this mildew plague under control. Fingers crossed.

By the evening we were both pretty exhausted with jet lag. We contemplated walking to the showers, but instead decided to just shower on the boat. We at least had running hot water after all the Empirbus endeavors. But while standing in the shower, waiting for it to run hot, Glen realized the shower drain pump was one of the circuits that was NOT yet functional. Drat! Cloudy Bay beats us again. So we abandon the idea of getting clean and we fall into bed tired and dirty! But in a very clean cabin 😊