ENGINE TROUBLES II

We left our anchorage in Tapuamu this morning at 9:45 am. By the time we were ready to go yesterday it was 12 noon, too late to get into Bora ditto by dark. What happened yesterday ? Good news/bad news - the good news is I had almost completely stopped the fuel leaks and we found we have a spare fuel lift pump!! Brand new! I forgot what the bad news was . oh yes - now it seems the impeller in the raw water pump has gone. I was intending to change the impeller when we got to Bora Bora because it was due for a change. Rush to get to Bora Bora so as to connect with Kim and Pierre on Victoria to hand them the Australian charts I had had printed in Papeete . and because we love them.

We left Tapuamu this morning and the wind rapidly increased to 25, topping out at 30 knots! Wow! Sailing with the motor going, steering wildly because the autopilot didn't seem to work, between the reef and the island - this is exciting! We are in a tight spot! (as Bill Clooney exclaimed in O Brother Where Art Thou? - one of my favourite movies) but it got even tighter when (thank God) Adrienne wanted a pee so went below and so discovered the engine was overheating! I looked over the transom - there was no water coming out! What to do? The options were: sail out the pass with high winds and no engine (no way!), anchor in a new bay, or go back to Tapuamu where we had come from. This seemed the better option. But we had no sooner turned around that the wind did too - heading us - and light and variable!! Adventure today! But sunshine all the way.

Lying quietly at anchor now, after a really nice lunch, I am looking at changing the impeller tomorrow morning; it was last changed 22 April 2009, so it's overdue. Advisable to put in a new one once every year, at least. Last two days we have taken Adrienne's bunk to pieces - mattress and bedding out, bunkboard and all contents stored below the bunk out, and tomorrow we'll have to do it again! The engine is closely confined between the two aft berths, and panels have to come off, to get access to the pump. Adrienne is baking bread.