We repositioned 20 miles south today to the main town on Nuku Hiva. We’re here mostly for fuel and food, but yesterday our alternator kicked the bucket, this time for good (I could smell the burnt electrical smell), so we’re also here to fix that.

After starting out around 0900 we got in here around 1430. It’s like a reunion of the boats who have crossed the Pacific. There’s at least 10 other boats we know who are here re-supplying as well. So, we all decided to go into town for pizza of all things, in Polynesian. It’s owned by a nice Polynesian lady and we all had a wonderful time catching up.

So, after finding out the alternator was not charging and trying all the tricks to get it online, but finally deciding it has really quit this time, I spent the last 24 hours worrying that we might be stuck here for days and weeks trying to get a new one. Enter John from Orcinius. He said he had a “bunch” of alternators and I should come over to his boat and check them out. Turns out that two of the ones he’s carrying are almost the exact same one I have. There is a dimensional thickness difference on the bottom flange that attaches to the engine mount, but I noticed that the mount itself looks to be adjustable. So…fingers crossed, tomorrow I’m going to take the old one out and try and get the new one to fit. If it does, John has really saved the day. Ironically, he’s been waiting for a week for parts to his dinghy engine. The shipment keeps getting screwed up and he’s just sitting here waiting. Frustrating.

Cross fingers. If we don’t post tomorrow it’s because we’re saving energy. Fortunately the solar panels do a fairly good job, but it’s been cloudy so they are not keeping up with all our needs and the shortwave is one that is not essential. We are even writing this by headlamp to save every amp possible.

Hopefully, though we’ll post success. If not, we could be here a while.

Stay tuned…