Merry Christmas from SV JollyDogs 25 Dec 19

I'm behind on the blog, but just gotta get the Christmas one out. . . and I promise to catch up on the other posts soon.

A quick recap of 2019 -

Isabel and Mark had a pretty darn good year! We spent the first two months of 2019 hauled out in Rocky Point, Mexico completing a major refit before splashing in early March and making a beeline for the Puerto Vallarta area. There we took a slip at Marina La Cruz for a few weeks, making final preparations for the 3000-mile journey across the Pacific to French Polynesia. Our close friend Thad, a highly experienced and competent sailor did the "puddle jump" with us and it was great having a third along to stand watches. After 21 days we arrived at the Marquesan island of Nuku Hiva where we cleared customs and immigration, dispatched Thad back to his wife in the US, reprovisioned with fresh meat, fish, fruit and veggies and did a bit of exploring. In early June we launched for the Tuamotus, a large group of atolls strewn throughout central French Polynesia. We visited several but spent the most time at Fakarava atoll in Hirifa anchorage. There while waiting out a rather icky patch of weather we elected to take kite boarding and free diving lessons. Who knew we could learn to hold our breath for about 3 minutes? Whoever guessed we would both find ourselves zipping around on kite boards hoping the day would never end, then increase the thrill factor by snorkeling in Fakarava's South pass looking down at the "wall of sharks", over 100 white tip, black tip and lemon sharks trolling around below us.

Late July found us sailing into Tahiti where we spent a few days in Mariana Papeete exploring the town before repositioning to Marina Taina to complete some repairs and upgrades to our cockpit rain sheltering canvas. It never rained on us in Mexico, but it rained off and on for about 3 weeks at Hirifa and with the door between the saloon and cockpit closed we felt like shut ins. Isabel began agitating for a bigger boat, and I knew something had to be done quickly!

Once we completed all the work we had some time to kill before our friend Shawnee arrived mid-September, so we sailed to the nearby island of Moorea, anchoring in Cook's Bay. Never mind that Captain Cook actually sailed into adjacent Oponuha Bay, which we also visited. Somewhere along the way Isabel found an opportunity to attend a 19-day yoga instructors certification program on Moorea leaving Mark was on his own. While she worked her way through the program Mark sailed back to Tahiti's Venus Bay, took some additional kite boarding lessons and purchased a set of gear we both can use. For the next year or so while working on our kiting skills, one of us will kite while the other provides chase / crash rescue with the dinghy. Should be a lot of fun.

After collecting Shawnee and her 2 suitcases of boat parts, we spent a few more days at Moorea before a weather window opened up that would allow us to sail East through the Tuamotus. We visited Makemo before conditions changed enough to let us sail back to the Marquesas where we wanted to be during the early cyclone season. Shawnee might have gotten a lot more sailing than she bargained for, but she did get to have her birthday aboard and visit 3 of the islands of the Marquesan group, including Fatu Hiva's Hanavavae Bay, thought by many cruisers to be the most beautiful in the world. From there we sailed to Tahuata to explore a bit before sailing overnight to Nuku Hiva where we entered Daniels Bay, another stunningly beautiful place. We finally made our way to Taiohae Bay where we secured JollyDogs for 7 weeks before departing to the USA. During our 2 weeks we enjoyed visits with wonderful friends in Phoenix, Albuquerque, Denver and San Francisco. From the USA we flew to the UK to do it all over again, catching up with close friends around London, Exeter, Plymouth, the Isle of Wight, Bishops Waltham and Winchester. We made our first foray into what some refer to as the "depths of Cornwall" where Isabel's father, sister and sister-in-law recently relocated to a beautiful estate. We visited and hiked the coastal trail at The Lizard, toured Southwest Cornwall with Paul to see Praa Sands, Pensance, Saint Michael's Mount, Lands End, and more. We found Cornwall to be absolutely beautiful; some parts remote with tiny roads, but altogether all the civilization and conveniences anyone could want, each of us exploring parts of England we had never seen from land.

We returned to French Polynesia in early December, arriving in time to attend a major Marquesan cultural festival held each 4 years. The singing, dancing, food and craft demonstrations were outstanding! So far we have no tattoos to show for our visit, but that could change. Soon.

We hope to sail down to the Gambier islands in Southeastern French Polynesia by early February, then on through the Tuamotus and Societies before departing the country after attending the Heiva festival in early July somewhere in the leeward Society islands. From there the weather patterns will likely dictate whether we can take a Northerly or Southerly route, but we hope to visit Tonga and Fiji before likely heading on to New Zealand before December 2020.

2019 saw the passing of Mark's mom, who had just turned 91. A profound realization that the people who brought him into this world are now dust in the wind. At least funerals bring family together, and it was wonderful to spend time with brother Kirk and sister Lisa. Mark's curiosity about his own genetic heritage and disease risk was satisfied by 23andme with a completely unexpected surprise. Two children! Turns out Mark's participation at a fertility clinic back in the 1980s bore fruit! The 3 of us have connected via email and hope to meet the next trip Mark makes to the USA.

For now, we're lying peacefully at anchor here in Taiohae Bay. Life is good, even though we are waiting for boat part to make a major repair. As they say, cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places. . .

A sample of photos recalling some highlights of the last 12 months follow.

We wish you all a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones, and a happy and prosperous 2020!

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Christmas Eve Cruisers Style 24 Dec 19

(from my better late than never series)

The crew of SV Bella visited the local dockside café and inquired about a Christmas Eve feast for the cruising community. There were around 50+ boats here in Taiohae Bay, with plenty of hungry people. Turned into a nominal 2000 (that's 8:00 pm) start time after some of the folks wanted to attend the local 1900 Catholic Mass. As usual nothing here starts on time, and this was no exception. The big joke is that 2100 is "cruiser's midnight" so the idea of eating that late prompts visions of people's heads hitting their plates during dinner.

It must be said the dockside restaurant put on a really respectable feed, including roasting a whole pig over the fire. I reckon that pig was as respectable as any I've had in North Carolina where pork barbeque is something folks are willing to go to fisticuffs about.

The meal included various preparations of fish, chicken, pork, and veggies and was ravenously devoured by around 80 folks. At 20 CFP (about $18 US) a pop it was a bargain, and as a bonus everyone got to bring their own libations. Plenty of really bad wine to go around. . .

We met new people and enjoyed sharing a feast with the crowd. We showed a lot of love to our hosts. Everyone seemed to have a great time, staying up way past their normal bedtimes.

Regardless of the country or culture you're visiting, there's just nothing like sharing a meal with strangers to make new friends.

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Hunting Yanmar Parts During the Christmas Holiday 23 Dec 19

From the "better late than never" series . . .

Yeah, good luck with that. I've a recommendation; never get diagnosed with cancer on Christmas Eve. Never break your boat the week of Christmas or New Years day. Nobody answers the phone or email. Except your friends, such as Carl and Roxanne on SV Sky Pond.

So we sailed back to Nuka Hiva, Taiohae Bay after the cultural festival. Anchored on the far side of the bay with lots of space. Not moving until I've diagnosed and sorted out a repair for this silly, inoperative starboard propulsion system. First step - is the prop still in place? Check! That's a big one, as a new Gori 16.5" diameter 3-bladed folding prop costs a few grand. Next, remember what happened to Chris French on SV Strikhedonia, a sister Seawind 1160. He had a propulsion system failure arriving at a bay in Mexico - turned out a split pin that is part of the shifter linkage "fell out" and got chewed up by the lower gears in the sail drive. Imagine that being able to happen. Soooooo, use the trusty Westmarine oil sucker to extract as much gear oil as possible (about 1 liter) via the sail drive oil fill port, then dismantle the shifter linkage only to find the split pin in place, snug as a bug in a rug. Wow, now what?

Kevin at Yacht Services Nuku Hiva will gleefully sell high speed internet access for about $6 per 24-hour period. Worth it when times are tough. Get on line with Chris French to discuss, and he tells me that SV Sky Pond had a different sail drive failure involving a defective "torque limiter" being installed at the Yanmar factory. It took several years and hundreds of operating hours for the sail drive to fail. They hauled out near Vancouver, Canada and Yanmar paid most all of the expense to sort it out, also claiming it was an "extremely rare" occurrence. Hmmmmmm.

Next, remove the top cap, bearing and pinion gear from the evil sail drive to inspect the dog clutch assembly. Looks good, but there is a little scoring on the bottom end of the splined shaft where it mates to the "torque limiter". That looks a little odd. Let's have a peek down at that "torque limiter", essentially a fancy spline shaft coupler that connects a lower splined drive shaft with the dog clutch spline shaft. It looks damaged, and there are only perhaps 6mm of splines revealed to couple with the upper part of the drive which is the dog clutch shaft. By now Carl and Roxanne have sent me detailed photos of their haul out and repair, including photos of the "torque limiter". Would you believe we've got exactly the same problem? An improperly assembled torque limiter installed at the Yanmar factory in 2007! Their boat (and propulsion components) are all several years newer than JollyDogs. Anybody think Yanmar may have some chronic quality control problems? Rare as hens teeth, my ass.

Carl provides Yanmar contact information and my emails depart, returning the maddening "we will return to the office on January 6th ". Grrrrrr. Finally, I do receive a response from the Yanmar US marine systems customer support tech rep. We go back and forth, me pushing for Yanmar to pay for an unscheduled haul out, parts and labor to correct the problem. Yanmar noting that we got almost 12 years and over 1700 hours of good service from the sail drive, it's many years out of warranty (unlike Sky Pond) and I'm obviously behind on maintenance because I should have found this problem years ago if I had complied with some utterly ridiculous and expensive procedures (more on that another time). I note that installation of a defective part at the factory amounts to gross negligence and that we had been put at great risk losing control in a crowded anchorage with a hostile lee shore.

To be continued . . .

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Propulsion System Failure! 18 Dec 19

From my "better late than never" series. . .

Departing Hakahetau Bay after all the Ua Pou festival fun turned into quite an adventure. We were packed in with a bunch of boats, and the only way to make it work was to deploy a stern anchor to limit swinging. For these rare situations we use our backup Sarca Excel #5, an aluminum alloy anchor that breaks down for storage in a locker. We very seldom use the stern anchor so it's a bit of a palaver to get it all set up and deployed. We've a bucket of rode and chain from Westmarine and some high quality shackles for the stern anchor system; that rode and chain now live in a large milk crate so it can be rinsed and dried without removal. Bringing all the claptrap from the bow locker to the stern, setting it on some old towels to protect the gel coat while hooking it all up and seizing the shackles is a bit tedious. Add a 1 meter swell running through the anchorage and it's all a bit dodgy; the last thing we need to do is punch out a saloon window with a heavy, sharp object.

Anyway, we got it all together then Darryl on SV Maple arrived in his dinghy, volunteering to assist in the deployment operation. Darryl and his wife Janet along with their 2 young daughters have lived aboard their 38' catamaran for 3 years, purchasing her in Turkey and sailing all the way here. Nice folks. They have to be, they're Canadian. So anyway, Darryl and I take the whole kit and kaboodle out in the dinghy, select a suitable location to drop the anchor and over the side it goes. We pay out chain then rode as we head back to JollyDogs to secure the bitter end to the starboard stern cleat. This should hold us in a good position relative to the other boats.

I begin to take slack from the rode and pretty soon I've managed to drag the anchor all the way to just below the stern. Apparently our stern anchor setting technique needs work. Darryl returns for "round two" and we do it all over again, taking the anchor further away but in the same general line. This time after I secure the rode to the cleat we elect to motor JollyDogs forward against the stern anchor to try and set it well. It seems to work, but I'm not convinced until I dive down and inspect the set. Now we can take up the slack at the cleat until our position is good and all is well. We ride out this anchorage for about a week and remain securely in place, a good thing as the anchorage continues to get more crowded.

On Wednesday December 18th it's time to leave. We decide that Isabel will hold JollyDogs in position using differential thrust from our two lovely Yanmar engines while I disconnect the stern anchor rode and fetch the entire lash up with the dinghy. Wow is that anchor set, but eventually I manage the haul it all aboard and return to JollyDogs where Isabel has been having a heck of a time. Folks from both SV Olena and SV Taipan have been there using their dinghies as tugboats to push her away from nearby vessels while I have been completely unaware of the situation, beavering away to raise Mr. Stern Anchor. Silly me.

What the heck is going on? Isabel is a good catamaran driver and should have been able to hold position!

After boarding I took the helm and quickly realized that the starboard engine was running well, but the starboard prop wasn't turning. Or perhaps it wasn't there? We've heard of several boats losing their fancy expensive Gori folding props over the years, but I always assumed it related to a failure to follow the manufacturer's installation instructions. The Gori prop incorporates a soft torsional vibration isolator that can fail, but it has a "get home" mode so that it will still turn if the isolator disintegrates.

WTF? Stay tuned. . .

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Marquesan Cultural Festival 18 Dec 19

(from my better late than never series)

In December it was the inhabitants of Ua Pou's turn to host the Marquesan cultural festival. Apparently the more populated islands take turns as hosts. There's a major gathering every 4 years, and a smaller event every 2 years. Folks who had been around for a while made it clear to us that this was "not to be missed", so we endured about a week of discomfort (and occasional worry) in an anchorage we'd normally reject due to the exposure to wind and swell, all so we could spend a couple of days watching a bunch of singing and dancing, eat a generous feast, and watch various craftsmen demonstrate their skills.

It was absolutely worth it. A fantastic time was had by all, our outstanding Sarcel Excel #5 anchor and wonderful new Acco G40 chain held firm, and JollyDogs was still in the anchorage and not on the rocks when we returned home those nights. Every time we leave her for a shore excursion, in the back of our minds is a niggling worry that she might not be there when we return. I guess that's what insurance is for, but insurance wouldn't heal the heartbreak of finding our baby on the rocks.

Anyway, we teamed up with a group of Australian friends from SV Taipan and SV Perigee to get a round trip taxi ride from Hakahetau on the first full day of the festival. It was about 40 minutes over a rough gravel road, but our excitement rose as we neared the large village of Hakahau. There were performers from all over the Marquesas as well as Rapanui (Easter Island) as well as Marquesans living in Tahiti. The first day the opening ceremonies were pretty amazing, then the performers got down to business doing individual shows, with the evening activities being the major highlights. There was great food to be had and all kinds of craftsmen/women to observe doing their thing, including carving both wood and rock tikis, tattooing, basket and flowery head garland making, tapa making, bead making, bone carving - pretty much everything you see in the area or in artisanal craft shops was demonstrated. The second day we threw in with some other boats in the anchorage and traveled via a small power boat, offering a spectacular tour of the local coastline. We were fed a giant free feast at lunch time, all we had to provide was our own biodegradable food receptacle and cutlery if we didn't want to eat with our hands. Some of the food was pretty amazing, some was, how should I say, an "acquired taste". All in all, a great meal and tremendous show of hospitality by the Marquesans.

The folks from Rapanui put on a great show, and while I oogled at a beautiful woman doing some unimaginable hip waggling in her grass skirt and coconut bra, Isabel was treated to a muscular young man covered in tattoos and wearing some sort of coconut shell cod piece, essentially giving her a "lap dance". I'm pretty sure I've never seen her sunshine pump smile showing so many teeth! I captured a short video clip with my phone for when she needs cheering up.

The dancing and singing was great, but for me it's the unusual rhythms the drummers produce, as well as that crazy feeling I get when listening to a large group of folks banging various sizes of drums from those bigger than large oil drums down to small bamboo poles. It reminded me of a time back in high school when we played the North Carolina school for the deaf. There was someone in their locker room beating a big drum which whipped those guys into an absolute frenzy, then they came out on the football field and whipped our butts. Something primal about those drums - gets my heart racing and my feet tapping, even an urge to go hunt a pig for dinner.

Anyway, it's hard to describe, but the event was awesome and we're sure glad we slogged back to the Marquesas from the Society islands. Worth the price of admission.

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Manfred the Chocolate Man 14 Dec 19

Well, it's Saturday so some sort of special excursion is on the docket. You know, the weekend and all.

Well, actually for us every day is Saturday, and every night is the 4th of July. That's a reference to the American celebration of independence, where zillions of dollars of fireworks go up in smoke in a matter of minutes while fun and inspirational music plays over the radio or local loudspeaker.

Reminds me of a funny story - an event that actually took place in San Diego several years ago. There the July 4th fireworks display is really impressive. There's something like 5 barges around the various bays all equipped to launch fireworks, and a local FM (that's frequency modulated for you non-techies) radio station broadcasting the countdown and commentary to the beginning of the show. So a few years ago the company hired to put on the fireworks display had developed a data network and associated software so that the various barges would launch their fireworks together, synchronized to the music being broadcast by the FM radio station.

The San Diego 4th of July event is a really big deal and pulls in many thousands of tourists (and their tourist dollars). Lots of policeman and paramedics work overtime to manage traffic and medical emergencies and such, so while the benefit to the local economy is great for hotels, restaurants and such, the cost to local government is pretty high. Still, worth the effort for both the economic stimulus and prestige.

So this particular year thousands or millions of spectators are parked in their cars or boats or anywhere they can stand to observe the spectacle, listening to their FM radios and getting excited about the upcoming display which generally lasts around 15 minutes. As the moment nears the radio announcer whips the natives into a frenzy, and then at last the show begins. An insane number of fireworks launch into the night sky, something almost unimaginable. In about 15 seconds it's all over. Sound like sex?

Anyway, turns out there was a bug in the software that was to make all this go off without a hitch, and instead of carefully coordinating the fireworks launch over the planned 15 minutes, everything launched at once. Don't know if it was an error in units (perhaps milliseconds rather than seconds) or some other glitch, but it was definitely a wham bam thank you ma'am moment. The fireworks launching company was pretty embarrassed and offered to pay do the entire thing the next night at their own expense, but the city couldn't belly up to the bar for the police and paramedics and whatever else and so that was that. We actually watched the show from a friend's boat out on Shelter Island a couple years later, and it was absolutely spectacular so if you get a chance don't miss it.

Now where was I? Oh yeah, Manfred the chocolate guy. . .

So for our Saturday we elected to dine with a bunch of friends at a local restaurant, generally called a "snack" by locals. Prior to that event we decided to hike with our new friends off SV Amarillis II, an enormous Switch 51 catamaran, up the hill to see Manfred the chocolate dude. Manfred is this old German guy who somehow found himself here on Ua Pou many years ago. He got himself some land, likely by marrying a local girl, and began growing cacao trees, citrus trees and everything else he would need to feed himself. He's got some ridiculous number of cats so there aren't any rats around to mess with his coconuts and other crops, several dogs to keep an eye on things, and chickens everywhere, everything from day old chicks to those "ready to eat". Manfred got into the boutique chocolate making business and has earned quite a reputation for his very high quality gourmet chocolate. Jeff and his wife Marin from Amarillis II have a daughter who is studying to be a food scientist and is some sort of a chocolate tasting expert, and she's given Manfred's product the highest seal of approval.

So up we go, hiking the several kilometers to Manfred's place. Apparently we're not the only people with this idea, and soon 20 or 30 folks are milling about tasting chocolate bits and placing their chockie orders. Manfred is hustling about filling orders and collecting money and looking pretty stressed and starting to run out of certain varieties of chocolate bars. Well, we managed to buy a stash of 12 bars and a few for some friends, and then hiked back down the mountain for lunch at the snack. It was great - beautiful plate of food, cold local beer or a glass of wine, expresso with dessert, altogether an impressive experience served on a lovely veranda. The proprietor was a jovial Fenchman, a former French Navy sailor who had come to the area to support the nuclear weapons testing the French carried out in the Tuamotus back in the 70's. He had returned after his Navy duty was complete, met and fell in love with a local girl, and the rest is history. He's got 4 children, 12 grandchildren, and his son and one nephew are world class tattoo artists. He speaks French, English, Spanish, Marquesan, (maybe Italian?) and is a total kick in the ass to talk to.

As we were winding up lunch, about a 2 ½ hour affair, several folks we had seen up at Manfred' place were filtering in for their own meal. Word was that Manfred had pretty much sold out of everything, i.e. no more chocolate. We believe Manfred had intended to offer his chocolate for tasting and sale at the upcoming cultural festival, a great marketing and public relations opportunity, but now there might be nothing to present. A bit of a high-class problem in the short term, but a bummer for Manfred in the longer term. Hopefully he held a bit back for the festival - guess we'll look for him on Monday and see if he's still got game.

Well, it does remind me a bit of the San Diego fireworks booboo. Maybe that's a stretch for you.

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Good Housekeeping on JollyDogs 13 Dec 19

Coming home to JollyDogs after 7 weeks away, lugging bags of new clothes and boat parts, we found ourselves in the typical situation of finding homes for all the new stuff. As usual, when something new arrives on the boat, something old has to go. There are exceptions, but we immediately began making our pile of clothes to give away, and we've even got an old iPad to find a new home for. As well, a lovely flight attendant on British Airways gave us a pile of children's coloring books. Our recent visit to Fatu Hiva was a real experience in either trading almost anything of value for fruit and veg of which they have an abundance, or simply finding people who can use and appreciate what we're ready to surplus.

As we continue to inventory lockers the pile will grow, and soon a trip down to Fatu Hiva will become an imperative. No worries as it's a beautiful destination with absolutely lovely people.

After scraping the barnacles from the props and polishing them up with a wire brush the drive system was ready to propulse. A couple of hard hours scraping and wiping the hull of almost 2 months of growth produced the target speed over ground (SOG) for the engine rpm, so we knew the hull was in good shape.

The anchor chain was a different matter entirely. We had left JollyDogs anchored in about 40 of water with as much scope as we could muster, about 6:1, as we've only about 265' of chain altogether. All that anchor chain that wasn't rubbing against the bottom occasionally became a forest of growth which then became a microenvironment for tiny sea life. The bridle was the same, so when we raised anchor the first time to motor over to Controller's Bay an enormous amount of plant life and creatures made it through the gypsy and into the anchor locker. Then it all died and began to stink.

Today as Isabel was tidying the heads and galley and pondering tonight's menu I decided it was time to deal with the anchor chain and locker. First up - partly dismantle the windlass, removing the gypsy, cleaning off all old grease, apply new and reassemble. Next, deploy all the chain possible to reveal an empty anchor locker. Well, not really empty as the pile of dead and rotting debris was impressive. Fortunately we made heaps of water yesterday so the anchor locker got a good scrub and fresh water flush. Lest you think that's wasteful, think of the cost and consequences of a failed electric windlass. There are just some places on the boat where saltwater rinsing is not the best answer.

Running the chain up and down a couple of times while attacking the links with a scrub brush and the high-pressure fresh water got pretty much all the old growth off. The barnacles will fall off eventually. A final rinse of everything including the foredeck and voila, project complete!

Inviting guests for dinner always prompts a general cleanup, so next up is a good scrub of the cockpit, so our lovely CruiseRO watermaker will see more action today. It outputs 120 liters per hour and the solar output will run it on a sunny day without even touching the batteries. 1440 watts of solar input, a sunny day, and about 88 amps DC draw at 13 volts and Bob's your uncle!

By tonight we'll be all tidied up and ready to enjoy the company of friends over a good curry. Having had cooking lessons in India, Thailand and Vietnam, Isabel is bound to create something magnificent!

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Is it Wednesday or Monday - 11 Dec 19

Well I know it's Wednesday, but it feels like a Monday! Today's project, thanks to the opportunity to collect spare parts from a great mail order chandlery in Ipswitch England was to rebuild the galley stove. We had gotten down to only one stove top burner willing to stay lit and even that one was a bit cantankerous. As it's a three-burner stove top and Isabel is extremely capable in the galley there's no way Mark is willing to miss a gourmet meal, so this project bubbled to the top of the priority list.

There's just nothing like removing and replacing a heavy appliance that barely fits through the passageways between the galley and the work area in the cockpit, especially in an anchorage with a short period swell moving the boat around. Let's hear it for those old towels we purchased at Goodwill - the ones Mark uses for padding when laying on engines, kneeling to access bilge compartments or just drying a rain-soaked cockpit.

Anyway, removal involved shutting valves and disconnecting the propane and electrical input for the strikers, dismantling bits of cabinetry, and of course emptying out cupboard spaces where access to all these bits and pieces was required.

Removal and relocation to the cockpit was without mishap, then the fun began trying to decide which panels to remove so access to the gas valves and burners could be made available. JollyDogs is a 2008 Seawind 1160 equipped with a SMEV (now Dometic) model 0335 stove commonly used in boats and RV's at that time. Each burner has a thermocouple that tells their respective valve whether the burner is lit. Should the fire go out and the thermocouple begin to cool, the gas supply is stopped regardless of the position of the valve knob. Unfortunately these thermocouples can also become tired with age (don't know why) and their voltage output can decrease to the point that the valve can't tell the burner is lit, so it continuously shuts off. Bummer. Mark likes to eat. Isabel is a great cook, and she deserves the best tools in the galley and they should function as advertised.

If my instrumentation engineer pal Ben Mitchell reads this perhaps he'll reveal the ins and outs of thermocouple aging.

As luck would have it SMEV riveted the darn stove together, so rather than simply removing a bunch of screws to make access to the innards, I got to drill out a bunch of rivets. Thank you SMEV for using aluminum rivets; easy to drill, and I had replacements for reassembly.

Taking the stove apart was easy. Replacing the three thermocouples was a snap. Putting the darn thing back together was quite like a puzzle, but eventually it was in one piece, back in the cabinet, and gas plumbing and electrical reconnected.

After a brief drum roll each burner was lit and darned if they all behaved just like new ones ought to, and they're still working great. As a reward for my efforts Isabel whipped up a gourmet extravaganza, even used two of the burners at the same time.

Mondays are OK if they end well.

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Heading for the Ua Pou cultural festival 10 Dec 19

Having determined that both engines were happy to propulse JollyDogs at high speed for the one hour journey between Taiohae Bay and Controller Bay at Nuku Hiva, our version of a "limited maintenance test flight", the next task was to find out if we could remember how to sail our girl.

 Tuesday crack 'o dawn we popped out like a piece of toast and motored out of Controller Bay before sunrise, pointing our bow towards Ua Puo.  The seas were flat and the sky was sunny, and soon Isabel observed that a bit of a breeze was upon us, so up went the main and out came the jib.  In no time we were sailing 6 to 7 knots in a 10 knot beam breeze and out went the fishing lures.  We made the nearly 30 mile run in a bit over 5 hour; would have been the perfect day if we'd hooked up a nice fish.  Still, there's nothing like a great sail on a beautiful day.  Into Hakahetau Bay we motored and set our anchor near our Canadians friends on SV Maple.

Darryl arrived a few minutes later in their dinghy offering to assist us in setting our stern anchor.  As this festival is expected to attract a bunch of cruising boats to a very small bay, the only way to squeeze everyone in is to set stern anchors to limit swinging.  We can count on the fingers of 1 hand how many times we've used a stern anchor, and it's quite a palaver to extract the gear from the bow locker and get everything set up.  That said, with Darryl's help and a couple of tries to get a good set the deed was done and we were snug as a bug in a rug.  Most all the boats around us had stern anchors deployed, and as new ones arrived that went through the fire drill.  But there's always an exception.  Some blowhard who acts too self-important, thinks they own the anchorage and "can't be bothered".  Now there's a phrase I truly hate. 

It's an unfortunate observation that many of the French sailors in French Polynesia, not the local French Polynesians but French nationals who sailed their boats over from France, exhibit a serious lack of manners and a general sense of arrogance.  We've got some great French friends, but the joke has always been that France is a beautiful country, the only thing wrong with it's full of French people.

I'm sure they probably think the same of Americans, as observing Americans on holiday in foreign countries can at times be an excruciating experience.

 Anyway, this particular boat has swung awfully close to us, almost to the point of danger, and if we get any closer there will be words.  JollyDogs is our home.  Our personal safety and security are a top priority.  Perhaps the best way to begin the conversation is to dinghy over and offer to help him with his stern anchor?

 There were times in Mexico when other boats thought we anchored too close, or when we thought the same.  We usually talked about it over the VHF radio or with a personal visit via dinghy, and generally worked things out with smiles on our faces.  Sometimes we elected to move just to accommodate nervous nellies.  Sometimes you realize you simply don't want a particular boat as a neighbor, and there is this one boat that we will always refer to as "asshole".

Back Home 10 Dec 19 – Part 2

Monday we lunched with Isabel's Uncle David at his new place in Bishop's Waltham, then made our way gently to London Heathrow to rid ourselves of the rental car (no damage) and have a last curry.  Restaurant Kaniz dished up an Indian curry I would just about kill for, and our pals Stas' and Ewa joined us to make it a great evening.  A short night in an airport Hyatt and back on British Airways for San Francisco, where old college roommate TJ collected us for a night in Walnut creek and some last minute shopping the following day.  BART got us back to SFO where former coworker and sometime JollyDogs sailor Bryan met us for dinner and our last craft beer for quite a while (sniff).  We threw down for the "premium economy" upgrade at the check in counter and were glad we did.  A long night's flight, a couple hours in the Papeete airport and Air Tahiti whisked us off to Nuku Hiva, via Hiva Oa where we swapped some folks and took on fuel.  Upon arrival at the Nuku Hiva airport our taxi drive waved us over, and about 1 ½ hours later we arrived at the dock where SV Taipan captain Dave carried us and all our stuff out to JollyDogs.  Aside from the reef growing on the hull and props she was looking great!

 A trip to the local hardware store for a wire brush equipped with a small steel scraper helped make short work of the barnacle covered props.  A small plastic scraper and a scrap of carpet got the rest of the hull looking pretty good, and a fast motor to nearby Controller's Bay did the rest, washing away lots of the lighter fuzz.  Jib back on, main halyard reconnected, and we're now sailing at 6 knots for Hakahetau Bay at Ua-Pou where we hope to find safe harbor for the upcoming cultural festival.  It's a big deal, with singing and dancing groups coming from all around the South Pacific and beyond.  While we did sail back to the Marquesas to enjoy the dry season and a hopefully cyclone free experience, we were also keen to attend this event which is held every 4 years.  With any luck it'll work out, fingers crossed for benign weather and so far the forecast looks great.  The designated crusier anchorages aren't optimal for the predominate wind and wave conditions this time of year, but if the weather is calm we should be just fine.

We're also taking care of typical business such as finalizing 2020 health insurance, renewing passports, and taking an initial look at US Federal income taxes.  There's no escape from death or taxes, and the risk of serious illness or traumatic injury (it is a sailboat) forces us to shop health insurance each year.  Surveying the sailing community here, it's something more on the minds of Americans than most other nationalities who have national health insurance.  They don't seem to worry about it, while it's always on our minds and evident by the large deductions from our checking account each month.

 We're home!  It was a great trip away, with important visits with many old friends in various stages of their lives.  Families with everything from young children to teenagers to the peak of their careers to well into retirement.  We're somewhere between all that but felt comfortable with everyone.  It was wonderful to spend time with Isabel's family members and it seems her 85 year old dad is in a very good place to spend his remaining years. 

Cornwall was great, but perhaps next visit we'll all rally and rent a villa in Morocco to get Paul a bit of sunshine during the often wet and stormy Cornwall winter.

Here in the Marquesas we're easing back into our own life, remembering how to sail JollyDogs, checking that all systems are working and up to snuff, and trying to decide just where to stow all those darn cold weather clothes!  With a few weeks of life aboard, a bit of yoga and stand up paddle boarding hopefully those cream teas and pasties won't still be evident on our waistlines.

Back Home! 10 Dec 19 Part 1

Let's see – where were we? Oh yes, after a lovely weekend with Richard and Kate, we decamped to Plymouth, home of Nicola, Ian and little Charlotte, along with Pepper the tabby cat and Licorice the black Labrador pup. Ian is a professional superyacht captain that we've sailed with numerous times, Nicola Isabel's bestie from university. As always, driving around London was a bit of an adventure, but once in the beautiful English countryside all was well and Plymouth appeared in the windscreen well before dark.

We enjoyed several fun-filled days, getting our dog and cat fix along with Mark losing a tug of war with Licorice which resulted in an impressive injury to the forehead. Never mind, it'll heal and just another reminder of my fun filled life. Onwards to Gweek where we rallied with Isabel's sister, her partner and dad Paul. They've moved to a lovely little estate in beautiful Cornwall, what we reckon is a great upgrade over the frenetic London environment. During the course of the visit we hiked the coast trail at The Lizard where we visited a Royal National Lifeboat Institute station, an impressive facility complete with rescue vessel and a full staff of volunteers. English people have a big nautical culture and they're serious about looking after their mariners. At the end of the hike we treated ourselves to a delicious and totally decadent Cornish cream tea, completely different from a Devon cream tea. You see, in Cornwall the jam goes on before the clotted cream, which as Isabel's pal Dave observed "allows the consumer to continually add more clotted cream to reach the optimal condition". I think that condition is something resembling a near heart attack, as the delicious goo is aptly named and left me thinking about the pushups our hearts must be doing to keep the blood moving around the clots. We should have ordered just one to share, but greed and hunger ruled and we left knowing we would be wearing that snack on our waistlines.

In the course of the next 10 days we enjoyed such classics as fish 'n chips, Cornish pasties, a killer curry, a roast dinner, plenty of marmite on buttered toast, crumpets drenched in butter and jam, and other fattening delights too numerous to recall. Completely disappointed with the beer on tap at the pubs, Mark surveyed bottles and cans of London Porter and Irish Stout available at such reliable venues as Tesco's, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, and Mark's and Spencer's, known to locals as Marks and Sparks. Some excellent examples were found and will get their own post.

Mid-visit Isabel met up for a weekend retreat at a country cottage with Lucy and Cecilia, besties since the age of 8 years old. This provided Mark with the opportunity to drive on tiny country roads barely wide enough for a small car, proving that "it's easier in the dark". Kind of like "it's easier with your eyes closed". Another short visit to Plymouth with a trip to a good chandlery (always looking for boat parts) and a Saturday afternoon at Dynamite Brewing near Falmouth, then finally collecting Isabel at the train station in Penzance.

One of our day trips with Paul found us at Lands End, the Southwestern tip of England. It was a cold but sunny clear day and we could see the Scilly Isles in the distance. A treacherous coastline indeed, and we were left thinking how impressive the scene would be during a Southwesterly gale, with giant waves crashing on the rocks.

Altogether we found Cornwall to be a beautiful place with friendly people. It's not at all multi-ethnic like the larger population centers, but it seems that folks referring to "deepest, darkest Cornwall" is a bit unfair. There are plenty of nice towns with everything one could need, great local seafood and craft beer, and boats boats boats in every small port! The train will get one from Penzance to London and beyond when necessary. The scenery and walking trails are outstanding and a testament to why the countryside is jammed with tourists during the season. Praa Sands is a great beach and Saint Michael's Mount is a heck of a sight.

Our visit to Cornwall finally complete, we made the beautiful drive up to Lymington where we caught the ferry to the Isle of Wight. We drove from Cornwall back through Devon, then Dorset and finally Hampshire. Wow is Dorset beautiful with big terrain, and our drive through the New Forest was lovely. Isabel remembered Lymington from her younger sailing days and as the ferry left the harbor she point out places she had walked and where the family boat had been moored. Arriving at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, we enjoyed a leisurely drive up to East Cowes where old sailing pals Roger and Carole had moved from San Diego. Thanksgiving dinner was a killer meal at a tiny Italian restaurant a short walk away, then the following day we toured a nautical museum, made a complete circuit of the island complete with pub lunch and a great view of The Needles, ending the day with a visit to Cowes on the chain bridge ferry. The density of nautical gear shops in Cowes reminds one of what a huge sailing culture exists in England.

Departing Saturday morning on the Southhampton ferry, we soon found ourselves visiting The Elephant, the boat yard and marina Isabel's family had kept their boat for many years. A trip to a Force 4 chandlery for more boat parts (is there a recurring theme here?) and tea at the Jolly Sailor pub rounded out the morning. Upon exiting we made a pass through Burlesdon to verify that sailing friends Andrew and Julia's home was still standing, then an hour later we were in the Winchester home of Rob, Emma and dog Pickle. Three of their children are close to leaving home for university and the occasional random teenage offspring appeared (generally at mealtimes) for a visit. Rob and Emma win our award of "parents of the decade". A great weekend in Winchester included a visit to the Christmas market for a mooch around, a cup of warm mead and a great walk along the Chichester coastline. We found the local pub full of Sunday lunch patrons and took our lunch on the patio in a rather chilly and windy environment, a very English thing to do. Stiff upper lip, shut up and eat your sandwich before it blows away. At least the Guinness and Shandies weren't getting hot. Thawing our hands in front of the fireplace was a major upside, and we returned to Winchester feeling victorious!