Saturday 14th July

Nuku Hiva
Marquesas

8 54.888 S
140 06.115 W

We woke quite late, still not quite caught up with sleep but getting there. Today was going to be the day to start looking at some of our problems and sort them out as best we can. It became immediately apparent yesterday that we weren’t going to get repairs or replacements here for anything – it is a very small place! Gerry procrastinated for a couple of hours, chatting on skype to friends and emailing the world; we love you all but he was procrastinating! I began the hated job of cleaning the oven; it took a good couple of hours and emptied the last of the water out of the port water tank so we are now down to whatever is in the starboard tank. Just a short while before I finished with the oven Gerry began stripping the generator apart, the bad news followed; the base had cracked again and would need to be welded – can’t be done until we reach Tahiti, 2 weeks away. Until then we have to watch our power consumption, reduce water usage and run the engine to top up battery power and run the fridge. Add to this that we are unlikely to be able to purchase fuel here we also have to be mindful that we only have about 50 gallons of diesel left to last until we get to Tahiti. By now I had finished with cleaning the oven and moved on to the next task that I could complete – replacing the joker valve was next on the list and much as I didn’t want to be the one doing it I was the one who was next up for a job. I found the replacement valve and set to undoing the screws holding the faceplate in place; Gerry then realized what I was doing and switched the overboard off for me – I hadn’t forgotten but I hadn’t got that far yet! I proceeded to take the pipe work apart and ever helpful Gerry handed me a replacement valve. He was stunned when I said I already had one and asked where I had got it from – the same place you got that on from was the reply; I think that he thought I didn’t know where we keep things on here. In no time I had the new valve installed and the toilet back in working order and I didn’t sink the boat! It was now lunch time and we took some time out to decide what to tackle next; it was going to be the spinnaker and then on to some gardening. We were quite shocked by the state of the waterline of the boat, when we had left the Galapagos it was clean and free of growth; on arriving here we have our own private colony of muscles and seaweed growing happily along the waterline above the antifouling.
It was worse on the starboard side than on the port side – due to the almost constant port tack we took to get here and was particularly dense around the exhaust outlets on that side. Gerry couldn’t wait to get on with the gardening so we delayed the dealing with the spinnaker and whilst he scrapped the growth off I maneuvered the dinghy so he had access to the garden. It took the scrapper, a stiff brush, the bar keeper’s friend and the scrubby bubbles with bleach to get rid of the majority of the mess but the job still isn’t finished as it needs another scrub to make it look like its self again. By late afternoon we stooped and helped ourselves to a well deserved sundowner in the cockpit before cleaning up and going ashore for dinner again. We ate at the same place as last night but tried the Chinese menu tonight instead of the regular menu; again it was good but pricey. By the time we had finished eating the dancing was due to begin again in the local hall; I was tired and could hardly keep my eyes open and Gerry was looking very red eyed – definitely a sign of being tired so we agreed to forgo the entertainment and headed back to the boat for the night where we were soon fast asleep. There was still no sign of Y Not as we went to bed but hopefully they will be here when we wake up.