The watermaker got jealous of all the attention Otto was receiving and decided to not answer the call on Saturday. It has run faithfully since San Diego, producing all of the fresh water we use since then. It has always been pretty noisy, and sounded like a bad bearing; it was. After a few diagnostic tests under the direction of the tech support people at Spectra, we concluded the electric motor that drives the whole thing was toast. When it was removed, we found that the pump that it drives had a bad seal and let salt water get to the motor and bearing. A new pump and motor are winging their way to Surprise as we speak, thanks to e-mail, cell phones, and FedEx.

It could be a lot worse. Confetti, a Farr 44 we spent time with in 1998 in Hanalei, Kauai is here in Nuka Hiva; they have been without an engine for three weeks, due to an oil cooler failure. Yesterday they got it repaired and we took them some cold beers to celebrate. Sol Searcher arrived Monday night after 30 days from PV; they lost their engine about a week out and spent more than a week drifting around the doldrums getting hit by 8-10 squalls a day. When they arrived the cruisers here went out with dingys and towed them the last couple of miles; we brought them hot pizza from the local wood fired pizza restaurant. We're still counting our blessings.

Susan decided Ua Huka was not to be missed and flew over there for a few days on Monday, the Captain thinks she just wanted an excuse to find a bed that doesn't roll back and forth all night.

We'll spend the next week exploring Nuka Hiva while we await our pump and then head for Ua Pou on the way to the Tuamotos. The transit to the Tuamotos will be about 400 miles; they are a very different kind of island than the Marquesas, just flat coral islands with large reef enclosed lagoons. Watch for photos.