Located south of Tunis among the resort filled beaches of Hammamet is a real gem of a marina, Port Yasmine. Beware the yard however – avoid the Rodrigues Group!! For help see Mick Turner (mickandjoeorizaba@hotmail.com), or Duncan Surridge (Tel: +216 98364875. Web: http://www.ys-tunisia.com
So it was Mick to the rescue again! He was such a big help after the aforementioned yard damaged Necessity back in 2011. With ingenuity and some acrobatic tricks Mick was able to make all repairs. Now with a five hundred mile plus passage looming and a fuel tank issue we needed help. Mick correctly diagnosed our problem, contaminated fuel and completely blocked fuel pick-up lines. All the contaminated fuel was pumped out of the tank. We scrubbed the insides clean removing the back algae growth that had accumulated on the sides and in the intake hoses. How an organism can exit in a diesel fuel take environment is certainly wondrous. Two types will grow in the tank if moisture is allowed to enter, and we had them both! The black algae and the snotty sperm algae.
I cannot emphasize how good it feels to have confidence in the ship’s auxiliary power restored!
The heat here is intense. Soaking oneself with the hose brings some short relief. The water at the beach is too warm to be considered refreshing. In the evening the temperature moderates somewhat. We took Mick and his wife out to dinner at a nice restaurant (by Tunisian standards). I had rabbit and it was actually quite good.
Next day was departure day. The drawn out procedure began with a trip to the Capitainieri's office, next the port police, and then to the customs office. And then we all head for the boat for a final exit inspection. No talk of a ‘gift’ this time. Took on a full load of diesel and we were actually away from the dock ahead of schedule!