When we tried to turn on the generator in the morning it gave a grunt after 20 seconds and stopped. No raw water flow was diagnosed and after checking the inlets etc we realised our impeller had died. This is the rubber paddle wheel that pumps the cooling water through the system. We can charge the batteries using the engines so it’s not a major issue but its loss removes our ability to use/charge AC current devices such as microwaves/laptops etc.

We motored the 12 miles to Santa Teresa di Gallura to charge the batteries and berthed stern-to for the first time this week. ST di G is a long harbour open to the north and protected by a ‘wave break’, its fine at this time of year but in a strong northerly we’re not sure it would be fun. The staff are very helpful and the marina area is well kept though it’s a longish 25 minute walk into town or to any stores.

Steve and Chris spent the afternoon playing ‘contort your body into small spaces’ to access the impeller which as expected had lost most of its vanes. Unfortunately it’s the one impeller on the boat that we don’t have a spare for – dooh! As the lost rubber vanes are probably now somewhere in the heat-exchanger we tried to access that but of course it’s at the bottom of the engine behind the oil filter so you would have to drain down the engine oil to take that off. We gave up and decided that battle would be worth it when we have an impeller to try out. They say cruising sailing is ‘fixing your boat in exotic places’ that only leaves out the fact that exotic places are hot. Both Steve and Chris could have wrung a few pints out of their clothing after that escapade!

Despite a rain storm we walked up to the town that evening and chose (mostly because we were getting wet) the restaurant at on the first junction we came to, it did also look interesting. The ‘Azzurra’ is a mix of ‘Ristorante and Pizzeria’ specialising in fish. The service was good and the food excellent, we started with mussels or ‘tomato and mozzarella’ and all then had tuna steaks which were very tasty with side dishes of salad, aubergine and chips. The local red wine was very palatable and we all even managed a dessert (a very unusual event for the savoury-toothed Gebbies). At about E37 per person it wasn’t cheap but this time the quality and value were worth the price. Restaurant ‘ Azzurra’ 19 Via del Porto is recommended by all four crew of Splice!

After a good nights sleep Chris got the Marina reception to call the nearest chandler and check if they had the right impeller – they ‘thought they did’ – hum!!! It was approximately 3 km away so Chris got out the bike and set off. The directions from the marina were not that good so having climbed one more hill than necessary he eventually found the place only to be faced with virtually empty shelves and no suitable impeller. He tried a couple of other ‘marine workshop’ places in the industrial estate but without success – we clearly have an unusual size impeller in the generator. With no impeller and one more soggy T-shirt Chris returned to base- it was hot despite the regular showers.

Photo: no shots of Santa Teresa yet so this shows Bonafacio harbor at night from the old Citadel