Journal Entry July 13 – 16, 2005 Engine Decision Reached

Author: Pam

Wednesday started like all other days start now that the laundry mat is open on Tournesol. It is also turning out to be a good way to be social. While I was on the side of the boat again a man called to us that he brought news. We didn’t have a clue what that meant. Scott went over to the quay in the dinghy to meet Larry who was on vacation from Palo Alto. He had brought copies of the July issue of Latitude 38, a free sailing magazine published in San Francisco in his suitcase with the intention of giving them to cruisers from the US. He and Scott chatted for a while and come to find out Larry had read about us in a previous issue of Latitude. He invited us to have lunch with him and his wife on Saturday, so they made a plan to meet again then. He has a boat in the Bay Area and I think it was a nice way for him to connect with people who are out cruising and we of course appreciated getting a copy of Latitude.

Our frustration with what to do about the engine finally hit a climax today. I think we both had reached our limit for how many times we could discuss this problem and all of the possible solutions. We made up our minds we would make one more attempt to shop for a reasonable airline ticket so we could fly Terry our mechanic and long distance support team to Tahiti. We had visited the Air France office and the Air Tahiti office only to be disappointed by the cost of a ticket during the peak season. This afternoon we made one more ditch effort and searched all of the on-line discount sites, nothing looked good. Terry was willing to come over and even to go through the process to get a passport on the fast track, but not having a passport made it a catch 22 situation on top of everything else. You can’t buy an international ticket with a passport. At any rate we were willing to try to find a way to make all of that work if we could find a ticket we could afford. We called Terry again this afternoon to discuss his terms and to ask more questions about the external water pump we are also considering. After the sun went down we sat in the cockpit, looked at each other and emphatically agreed today was going to be the day we made a decision, this problem has been on the table long enough and we want to get moving. Since the water pump stopped working on the ninth day of the crossing I have consistently said I would be most comfortable fixing the engine, in fact I even said I really didn’t want to leave Tahiti unless it was fixed. Also, as we looked at our options I felt the most comfortable with the idea of bringing Terry over, he is familiar with our engine and he speaks English. However, what you want and the reality are not always in the same court. After I asked a million questions and finally felt comfortable, I began to lean toward buying the external pump for $500.00 (ouch) and waiting until we get to New Zealand to install the proper part. Terry thinks it is a good work around and he feels it will get us to NZ. Our several hour discussion ended with the final decision to buy the pump and either find a mechanic in NZ or fly Terry there using Scott’s frequent flyer miles. It will surely cost less than the at least $3,000.00 we were looking at to fix it here in Papeete. We went to bed feeling relieved and excited to finally have a plan.

At the end of this trip we will probably have a top ten most disgusting project list and I am sure the head will be on it. The toilet has been having issues since right before we left Mexico, which includes overflowing if you don’t close the seacock. Fortunately we have only been dealing with seawater, but it is still a mess I have reached my limit for cleaning up. James offered to help Scott with the rebuilding of one of your valued bowls on board. He came over bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to tear the beast apart. The next thing I knew there were little bits and pieces in buckets from the head to the cockpit. From my vantage point inside the boat I kept hearing James say, “oh you do have that piece, exeellent.” You would have thought they were playing with Legos or an erector set. An hour and half later the pieces were reassembled and the handle was working smoother than it ever has since we have been on the boat. The best news, the water level does not creep up and out!

They finished just in time for us to get ready to meet Antoni for lunch. We met him on the quay at 11:15 and headed over to Le Retro to wait for his girlfriend who would be joining us. Titaina picked us up a half hour later and we found ourselves in a car for the first time on Tahiti. We started to drive past the limit of our foray so far and we both got excited about seeing something besides the quay, the industrial area and the few block radius of the city around the boat. We drove for a few miles to the Sheraton where we were seated at a table overlooking the water. We even got to see a little bit of the end of the canoe races that were part of the Heiva festival. Lunch turned into a four hour event while we asked a million questions about the island and where the best deals could be found. Also, Antoni had traveled a lot by boat and he shared many of his adventures and information about his favorite places. It was especially nice to meet Titaina, nothing can compare to meeting someone who has lived somewhere their entire life. She is very friendly and delightful. Lunch was delicious, Scott especially enjoyed his pasta with chicken and cream sauce. They drove us back to the boat and on the way we made plans to see them again on Sunday for a tour of the island. We got back to the boat totally excited about our good fortune, again there is no better way to get a tour then from a local. How did we get so lucky?

This was a how much can we fit in one day kind of day. We got back to the boat and I immediately began preparing dinner, we had invited Ann and James over for dinner. Since we could finally get chicken breast I had promised Scott I would make his favorite pasta dish with chicken and pesto cream. Clearly he wasn’t remembering our dinner plans when he ordered lunch, but it seemed like there was a good chance he would suffer through it. We had a very nice time, it was the first time we had entertained for dinner since leaving Mexico and all of the famous dinners with Abe and Amy. James thought the pasta was to die for and insisted Ann have the recipe. Always a good sign.

Friday morning Scott called Terry to let him know we had decided to go with the external water pump plan and wait until we get to New Zealand to install the part he now has in his possession for us. We will either have him ship the part sometime in the near future or we will get it when we go back to the states around the beginning of the year. He offered to send instructions and the special tools needed with the part. We thanked him for his awesome support, it has been immensely helpful to have someone to knock around ideas with.

We headed off to the industrial area after lunch to buy the infamous pump. We arrived at the shop right before it was going to close at 4:00, found the pump that had been set aside for us back on the shelf with Scott’s name still on it (they had just put it back on the shelf that day) and pulled out the credit card to pay. The moments that followed included our mouths dropping to the floor, they don’t take credit cards. How could they not take a credit card, they sell giant motors that cost thousands of dollars? We had been boasting about this being our last trip to the industrial area on our way, well that joyous bubble was popped in an instant. We would have to go to the bank and come back in the morning. They are only open from 7:30 – 11:00 on Saturday. On the bright side, there is much less traffic on Saturdays, so we might not feel like we are going to get run over every time we cross the street.

We met Ann and James and headed over to the plaza to listen to some music, but we were misinformed, there was no formal entertainment that evening. We went to the trucks again for dinner and tried the pizza this time. It was much better than our lunch experience at the Market. I don’t love the cheese they use here in French Polynesia, it definitely isn’t mozzarella. Our new monocular had fallen apart in Scott’s hand while we were chatting with Ann and James. Our new fix it friend James jumped in and came to the rescue. Ann invited us over for the apple cake we had been hearing about and we sat and chatted about our eminent escape from Papeete and their planned departure the next day. We left with a monocular in one piece and plans to see them again soon at another beautiful south pacific island.

We woke up early and trotted over to the industrial area to buy the pump after stopping at the ATM for cash. While we were at the ATM a man started yelling at us, it felt just like being in San Francisco. We thought for a moment we had cut in front of him in line, but two locals passing by said in broken English he is crazy, it’s ok. It was an odd experience to have here, it felt like it came out of nowhere. We haven’t observed people exhibiting odd behavior like you do on every other block at home.

When we got back to the boat there wasn’t enough time to start the water pump installation before our lunch date with Larry, the Latitude 38 delivery man. Scott decided to install the second Hella fan I had brought back from West Marine. I am most excited about this fan, it will turn and face the galley, some airflow while cooking will be wonderful.

Larry and Christine arrived around noon and we headed out to a lunch spot Antoni had said was one of his favorites, Patachou. Larry and Christine had spent their vacation week on Moorea, our next destination. It was fun to hear about their experience of the island and get some tips before we get there. We had a yummy lunch, I think I liked mine the best. I had a delicious steak sandwich which Scott was happy to help me finish.

Larry and Christine’s flight wasn’t until 11:00 pm so they still had lots of time to kill. Larry had developed quite an interest in our engine woes and offered to go back to the boat and help with the pump installation. He suggested I go shopping with Christine for her last remaining souvenirs, so we headed off to the Market. I hadn’t really had a chance to look around at the Market, so I didn’t mind keeping her company. She was a woman on a mission and was successful finding trinkets to bring home. She and I arrived back at the boat to find Scott and Larry with their shirts off elbow deep in the pump installation. They were in a very optimistic mood. It was soon time to try out their handy work. Scott turned on the switch for the pump and there was a momentary lapse in the optimism. Another approach at one of the connections and there was success. The pump sounds like gallons of water are rushing through it, this has to be a good thing.

We walked Larry and Christine to the Le Truck stop, they had not ridden one yet, but being experienced riders to the airport we could give them the scoop. We said our goodbyes with promises of keeping in touch. On our way back to the boat we decided to go out to dinner. We ended up at Le Mandarin, while looking for Dragon Dor the restaurant we ate at our first night in Papeete. It was a nice relaxing evening and celebration of our working engine after two months. It also included dancing to a two man band singing songs like “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” with a Tahitian accent, it was very fun way to end a long week..