Most of the morning was spent removing the failed alternator and installing the back-up. Most of this was pretty straight forward except for the frozen nut on the mount which had to be changed to fit the new alternator. However, over the last ten years I have become very familiar with frozen nuts (that's why I'm now in the tropics!). A combination of penetrating oil, vice grips, and a cold chisel and sledge hammer did the trick. The back-up unit is new original equipment but puts out only half the current as the old, heavy duty one so I will have to have it rebuilt or replaced in Papeete. Fortunately, the sun was out most of the day so the solar panels brought the batteries back up.

It's a good thing I did not leave for Tahiti today as the boats I talked to on the radio this afternoon reported 25-30 knots of wind from the east which is the direction I want to go. They were having a sleigh ride going west, but for me it would have been punishing. I may be here for awhile yet.