I am very sad to report that the cheap fix did not work - like when does it ever? Once again, today was a series of highs and lows. We got a call from Dwayne the electrician this morning saying the new compass was in and he was on his way to install it. We were overjoyed and impressed at this quick service. He duly arrived and installed the new compass and declared that all was well. Tom and I were a bit dubious but said goodbye to Dwayne and headed out into the Bay to test things out. No joy!!! The bloody thing was doing exactly the same thing as before - only now we are $400 poorer - ARRRGH!
So, we have done what we probably should have done in the first place and ordered a new course computer and control head ( much more expensive than $400 and includes another fluxgate compass!). At this point we are planning on doing the install ourselves and saving the $90 an hour labor charge. It took a lot of calling around and searching on the internet to find what we need, but hopefully the various pieces will arrive on Monday and Tuesday.

At this point I feel like we will never get away - it seems so much harder than last time when we just threw off the lines and left. One thing is certain - we will not make a point of calling in on everyone to say "goodbye" again.

The only tiny consolation is that the weather is not that brilliant - maybe we will end up with a perfect weather window next week - we can only hope.