We're constantly suprised by the generosity of fellow cruisers, and our friends on the little red boat Reflections, Alex and Leah provided yet another example of that spirit the other day.

We were just a day away from setting out on the four day sail to the Tuamotus archipelago when i started the engine up for it's daily charging of the batteries. Two seconds later it sputtered to a halt. It had done this once before and i knew it probably meant changing the filters and bleeding the fuel lines. No problem, i had done it before.

This time however it seemed particularly troublesome getting the diesel to pump through using the manual lift pump on the engine block. Because the fuel lines were old and had a few joins in it, I was suspecting leaking hoses, blocked hoses, failed pumps and wasn't too sure where to start. I went to the trouble of replacing the fuel pump with a spare i had but it didn't seem to help at all.

Earlier i'd bumped into Alex from the boat Reflections on my way back from town after a fruitless mission to get a better hand pump and casually mentioned what i was trying to do. Alex told me he knew a bit about engines and offered to help if i needed it.

A few hours later i was sitting contemplating what to do next after still making no progress, when Alex called on the radio to ask if i wanted him to come and take a look. 'Yes please!'

Alex and his fiancee Leah were just about to set off on the two hour sail to Tahuata but generously came out of their way to see if they could help. Alex told Leah, 'this will only take an hour'.

Alex turned out to be a professional marine engine mechanic and this sort of thing was easy for him. They rafted up to our boat and while Isabelle and Leah chatted, Alex came aboard and helped me go through the fuel system from go to whoa.

It was great to have the help of someone to whom this kind of thing was easy. We soon had the lines back together, checked each part of the system for blockages and leaks and started the diesel working it's way through. Three hours later we were still working away trying to find the last little problem that was preventing it all going to plan. Alex eventually located a line that i hadn't quite done up properly but by then our batteries were too low to get the engine to fire. It was getting dark so we called it quits for the day and enjoyed well deserved (and needed) showers and hamburgers Isabelle had made.

Alex was confident we could get it going next morning. Next morning came and Alex had some fresh ideas. There was just one more bleed screw to try, but that had been put back in rough fashion by someone else previously. No problem. Alex got it sorted. With batteries charged we tried to fire up. Lots of turning over but no kick. Tried again. We were almost about to turn it off when it gave one kick. Tried again and it fired. Sighs of relief and smiles of gratitude from me and Isabelle, but it was all just a day's work for Alex.