We're still sitting in Tuvalu now with just about everything fixed. All that is but the weather. It's currently Sunday and blowing again like stink. 20 to 30 knot winds with 4-5 foot fetch coming across the lagoon. We're rocking and rolling and have already blown one anchor snubber loosing one of our chain hooks. We currently have two nylon snubbers(takes the strain of the anchor pull as the boat surges forward and backward and up and down) currently deployed and have had to reset them a couple of times as a hook may come off one of the chains. I already have a third set up for easy deployment should we loose another hook.

Here is the situation as far a Zephyr stands. What we thought was a blown cylinder head gasket turned out to be a blown seal on the forward end of the raw water pump. This is where the pump connects inside the forward housing where the timing chain is on the engine. With the seal blown, when the engine is on, it pumps water inside the this housing and it then goes into the oil pan contaminating the oil. Tav, the engineer that works for the Police Boat, figured it out so we didn't get all the way into the cylinder head. saving us a ton of work and misery. He'd asked me about the water pump, but I couldn't fathom it being bad since we just changed it when we were in Mexico two years ago. All the manuals that I've read, only list two ways for getting water in the oil--faulty oil cooler unit and blown cylinder head gasket. Now I guess there are three. Good info to keep in the back of you head. We ripped it out last Tuesday and since I had a back up pump, we just swapped it out. Now all I had to do was change out the oil. I warmed up the engine and pumped it out, getting a good bit of water mixed with the oil. I waited for the next day and did it again. Again, just a bit of water this time. On Friday, I did another oil change and we look good to go. First problem fixed.

On Wednesday night, Tracy heard slamming from under the stern bunk. I was sleeping in the main cabin since winds were in the mid 20 knot range and I wanted to be ready should the anchor drag alarm go off. We lifted the bunks and removed the floor boards and found the bolt on the starboard side that holds the rudder in place had broken. We've had problems in the past with it coming loose but this time, it had snapped. The strain on the rudder with 20-30 knot winds and 5 foot fetch running through the anchorage had taken their toll. We grabbed a couple of vice grips and jury rigged the bracket closed so the the rudder would stop going back and forth. We then went in search of a new bolt. With it still blowing so bad, I radioed Tav on the Police Boat and he went in search of a new set of blots, nus and washers. Let me tell you, we couldn't have done what we did without the invaluable help of Tav(pronounced Tev). He is an incredible man and engineer. Extremely resourceful and always ready to help, calling over the VHF radio to make sure we are alright and if we need more help or have more problems. He found us the perfect two bolts, nuts and washers!!!! Heck, he even disposed of our old oil on the Police Boat! I think it was Thursday(all the days run together out here) that I took Puff(our dinghy) over to the Police Boat to get rid of the oil and pick up the bolts I got to meet Captain Selia while there. It seemed strange to be on a boat that wasn't rocking as I walked through it. Got a great tour of the boat seeing their two massive engines. They use 440 liters of fuel per hour when running full out(20 knots). They use so much that they keep spare 55 gallon drums tied down on deck. As it is, they hold 36,000 liters of fuel in their tanks.

Upon my return, we easily got the bolts attached to the runner bracket and that job got done. Well, sort of. When Tracy was snorkeling around Zephyr on Friday(winds had finally died off) we found gashes in the starboard side of the rudder. When it was loose, it swang around and slammed into the prop. Man, what's next. These are truly the times that try my soul(and mental attitude). I swam down later and made sure the prop was ok and we even started the engine on Saturday and put it in gear to make sure everything was good and that we hadn't screwed up the prop. All was fine other than we now need to take down some underwater epoxy and fix the gouges.

Friday morning, Tav came back on board to help out with the final oil change. I sat beside the engine and directed the tube that sucks out the oil while he pumped the container that sucks it out. We swapped out the oil filter and ran the engine for 20+ minutes and all appeared fine finally. We got very little water out this last pump so we feel good that the engine is now all fixed. One thing I learned from Tav and Captain Selia was that they reuse their oil filters. Once off, they soak them in new oil for 24 hours, pour it out and then seal the filters and reuse them later. He uses all his filters twice, not once like most of us do and has no problems with his engines. Having used several filters during this situation and each of them getting so little usage, I'm going to give it a try.

It's been a VERY stressful week for both of us being stuck on a lee shore(wind coming off the water and pushing Zephyrs stern toward shore) and having no engine should the anchor drag(it did on Tuesday about 300 feet) plus no steering even if we did have an engine. At least now, we have an engine and steering should something go wrong again.

On Wednesday, Tav invited us to his wifes offices Christmas party on Thursday afternoon. She(Pua) works for the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Since the wind had finally dropped enough where it was safe to go ashore, we took Puff in and dropped an anchor off the stern to keep her from going agound and then tied up a bow line to the wharf. No cleats for the line so you tie up to the rusted guard rail. Tav and his wife showed up and gave us rides to the party on the backs of their small motorcycles. That's pretty much what everyone one drives here. With gasoline running $2.00 a liter, it's the cheapest way around the atoll. We ended up at the party with Pua(Tavs wife0, and his daughter and a cousin. Tav went back to check on Puff to make sure she was alright and never made it back to the party. From what Pua says, he doesn't really like attending parties. There was dancing by dance groups from each department and speeches(all in Tuvaluan) by department heads. It was a pot luck affair with lots of native dishes so we got to try lots of the local foods. What they were, no idea but tasted just fine.

Since we wanted to give Zephyr a test run with her new pump, we told Tav about it and he asked to come along. No problem. Always good to have an engineer on board should something happen. So we made plans to go out on Sunday. We included his wife, daughter, cousin, sister, brother in law and another cousin in the final mix. We spent Saturday getting Zephyr cleaned up for our company on Sunday. With it blowing just about all week(15-30 knots) we were greeted by totally calm water and winds in the morning. It was almost eerie having no winds. We did take the time to drop our Genoa and get the bottom edge(UV cover) of it re-stitched as it had come apart on the sail from American Samoa. I pulled up new Grib files(show what coming in weather) and it showed 18+ knot winds scheduled for Sunday the day of our scheduled outing. During one of our calls from Tav, I advised his of what was coming but he was still ready to come no matter what. At 0300 this morning, we were on deck getting our second snubber set up properly. The winds were only about 9 knots so it was a easy adjustment, even in the dark with flashlights. By 0500, the winds were up to about 18 knots with bigger gusts. Tav called at 0700 and unfortunately I had to cancel the affair as it wasn't safe to leave Zephyr with winds escalating and the swell building. Apparently the cyclone that had passed south of us earlier last week that had made it so windy here had made it's way east to Samoa and then turned around and headed back west again making lots more wind for us. We had gone from totally calm weather to gusts now into the low 30 knot range all in less than 24 hours. So, here we sit, going forward to check on our snubbers and anchor chain about every hour of so or if we hear a loud noise outside. The cyclone(no Idea what it's name is) is now supposed to pass south of us in the next 20- 36 hours and then the wind is forecast to just drop like a stone. Fine by us!