Well, it seems to be the nature of this venture to remain unpredictable. Yesterday we had a big, unpleasant surprise. Our propellor shaft has slipped out of the coupling to the engine. It happened after motoring and then sailing a bit with the engine in neutral. Big shock. Because of the design of our boat, the shaft stayed in the boat, which was a blessing. We immediately hove to and diagnosed the problem. Not sure what caused it, but the set screws and key are not holding properly, if they ever were. We have reassembled it, and are sailing again. But we are going to have to spend some time today trying to repair it as best we can. Best case: we get it reassembled securely and can motor again when it becomes necessary in the harbor. Next case is that we can reassemble it, but not very securely, and can only use the forward gear with great caution. This pushes the shaft into the coupling, while reverse gear pulls it out. Not ideal. Worst case is no workable engine.

I will once again try to contact the dockmaster for Castlepark Marina as well as this time the Kinsale Yacht Club. Hopefully we can get someone standing by with a RIB as we come in, in case we are really unable to motor. We still should be approaching tomorrow (Friday), but we need to be conscious of the tides and currents in the harbor as we try to dock.

Not ideal; we'll make the best of it. I feel like after 4000nm, we are barely limping to the finish line. But here we come.

Fair winds.