It is exactly one week now since we departed Crowdy Head and set off for Coffs Harbour. It has been a week like many others, peaceful and serene but punctuated by moments of such intense stress!
Getting out of Crowdy Head posed a small difficulty in pulling up the anchor we had set to hold us off the wharf in the tidal surges that Crowdy Head is known for. The starboard anchor was perfect but did not want to come back up again! We were waving goodbye to our new friend John and going nowhere all at the same time! After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing we did finally get it up and then we made our way out of the harbour with me at the helm, assisted by Liam, Peter and Erina hoisting sails and we began our journey to Coffs Harbour.
It was a little roll-ey out on the ocean at first and while the seas were forecast to be dropping down over the coming 24 - 48 hours we figured we would be in for a rougher time than we had anticipated. Still we were fine and as night approached and we prepared to begin our night watches we were all looking forward to our arrival in Coffs.

Erina did her watch alone for the first time, 2 full hours, and did a great job. Liam followed her but we decided to still supervise him this time and maybe next time too, to ensure he feels confident out there all alone! The kids do so much more now when we are out on the water than when we left Albany, hoisting sails, pulling them down, trying off ropes, helming and doing the watches - we are slowly evolving into a fully functional crew!
It was as we approached Coffs Harbour that we ran into our first problem for the day. Peter was relaxing out on the bow sprit. Erina was at the helm and Liam nearby, and I was having a rest, when the engine spluttered and came to a stop. We had been sailing quite nicely until the wind dropped right off around mid-day and barely blew a knot, so without the engine we had been just bobbing up and down, and rolling around.
Peter came forward and went below to see what was going on. We have had this problem before with pumping fuel from one tank to another and using fuel from a lesser used tank, so we just assumed it was like before and simple to fix. But despite his efforts the problem did not seem to be fixed and while the engine started again, it also stopped again and this time when he tried, it would do nothing. So there we were with fuel but no engine working and sails but not a drop of wind. And Coffs Harbour was so tantalisingly close.
We talked through our options. We could have continued, and tried to sail very slowly in, rounded the corner into the main harbour and then sailed in to the inner harbour. Peter was quite confident that we could do it. I was less confident and knowing how hard Argos is sometime to navigate even under power, I was quite alarmed at the prospect of trying to get in to the harbour with these light and changeable breezes.
We spoke to Coffs Harbour Marine Rescue who thought our best option was to come in with their assistance and they would help us tie up to a jetty in safety. And so within a very short time we were rapidly underway again, travelling at a whopping 8 knots and tied up in barely any time at all! The fellas that came out were lovely and while they seemed to lack a little in practical knowledge (tying us up first with a rope that was joined by a clip! Which of course gave way the moment they started moving!) were only too happy to give us this small boost.
We were taken to the main jetty in the inner harbour and have been well taken care of by the fishermans co-op.

We came in here then with two problems. The original issue of the fuel pump and the secondary problem with the starter motor.
The issue with the starter motor has taken almost all our attention and we have come to the place where we can now say that while owning as unique and beautiful as yacht as Argos is, is really quite wonderful, when it comes to sourcing parts for her we would rather we had bought a Holden or Ford version of a yacht!
Initially Peter took the starter motor out and with the assistance of a lovely fisherman who offered him a ride, took it to a local auto electrician. He thought it might be an easy fix and we left it with him. A day later he rang to tell us the bad news - part of the brush housing had broken as he took it apart, as had one of the brushes. It would not be fixable.
He then told us we would have to replace the whole thing and he set to locating one. The next morning he rang to say he had found one and we could come and collect it. It was even a reasonable price! Peter happily fitted it on and while it was somewhat different to our original starter motor, we were, for about 5 minutes, hopeful that it would be a winner.
For about 5 minutes anyway!
It fitted but something was wrong with the alignment. One of the fellas then came out, had a listen and agreed, it was not going to be compatible. We were right back at square one but without so much of that all important ingredient of hope.
The man at the auto electricians said he would try and find another, but seemed not very hopeful. We were a little stumped. Later that day he rang again to say he had exhausted all possibilities, there was not one available - they were obsolete and he couldn't help. And that was the end of it.

I must confess, I have never really been one for giving up hope. I have long believed that there is always a way, somehow. Surely there would be a way forward for us!
Peter began looking on-line. Apparently, while this part is no longer being made there are some still about - we found one in Sweden and one in the UK. At a very hefty price.....but available all the same. After the thousands we just spent on the engine we were not going to let dollars be all that stood between us and the boat moving again! In fact the engineer that helped us with those major repairs in Sydney commented that it wouldn't be the engine that was giving us problems but all the bits that bolt on to it! How true his words were!
And then I remembered my old friends Helen and Andre.....and I wondered if the engineering skills of 'The Machinist' could possibly re-make the broken part. I asked Peter what he thought. He was skeptical but said if I was determined, I could run it past them.....and you know what? These lovely people think they just might be able to make the broken parts, replace and repair what is damaged and actually get this old motor working again! How amazing is that?
Meanwhile we have now found - through the diligent searching of a supplier in Newcastle, a new starter motor in Sydney for only $1500. This is our back- up plan and we are considering saving up and buying it even if the old starter motor can be rebuilt, knowing that one day we will have to do this and they will only become harder and harder to find.
In fact, Peter is determined now to keep looking for spare parts of all sorts for our boat and when he finds things, getting them for future scenarios like this!

Meanwhile we can't test out what is going on with the fuel transfer system - Peter has been able to determine that the problem lies with the fuel injectors but until the motor is going he can't do much more.
So at the moment we are waiting. Waiting and keeping ourselves busy with catching up on writing, jobs like painting the various bits of wood, replacing broken door handles, rebuilding our engine-sea-water coolant pump and building a spare, swimming and enjoying lazy coffee's.....It might be a week or more before we know what is to happen with the starter motor, but we are doing okay, patient and confident that one way or another we will get this sorted!