As you know, Derek has been able to trace the difficulty with the starboard engine to the fuel pump: fuel checks in, but it doesn't check out. Rather than replace the whole (costly and, worse, fiddly - fuel pumps on these things are adjusted into alignment with shims!) pump without being sure what the trouble is, we're calling a professional diesel mechanic.

After much searching the inter-tubes for cruiser recommendations, we asked at the marina office, and they steered us to a competent diesel mechanic with Navy base access, Mark De Jong, of Mark's Marine Diesel. We had been able to locate another name, Paxton Peagler, but aside from a Manta business plan linking his name to Mark's, there was no obvious contact information online. And since they seem to be in business together, this all sounded copacetic.

Mark is a busy man (no surprises). Derek explained that he would be at the marina all week (possibly a tactical error), and that I had a broken arm so he needed to be here when Mark came (so that the access panels and such could be removed by an owner), and Mark said he'd come by Tuesday the 29th. Tuesday stretched on, with a visit to the commissary, a notary and the post office -- and no call from Mark. Derek finally called in the afternoon and was told Mark got slammed by an emergency job and would call or come by first thing Wednesday.

Now, Derek and I have been through the mechanic-contractor cha-cha before. Some of them are very demand-driven, so the customer that calls the most insistently gets the attention (like a mama bird with a nest of peeping fledglings). Some mechanics don't do that, but arrive or call when they say they will, and that's that. Both methods work (and I prefer the crusty contractor who is there exactly when he said he would be and heaven help you if you are not), but the peeping-bird model requires constant phone calls. So, we wait for Mark to come tomorrow, first thing. Grant is finishing up his testing, so that's OK, we'd be in all morning Wednesday, anyway.