Sure had it today. Actually more than just two. It was a crazy day with all kinds of stuff.

First, Ann went in to the wharf with our friends from Orcinius to the Farmers Market at 0530. I slept in to prepare myself for a day of trying to install the new alternator. She not only scored some good vegetables, which are hard to find in the islands, but also brought back: chocolate eclairs (!), croissants (!) and a three pound lobster (!!) More on the lobster later. The eclairs and croissants were delicious. We had coffee and pastries at 0630 when she came back.

Second, I prepared to tackle the dreaded alternator installation. First off, let me quote our friend Mark from Blue Rodeo who told me that he wants his tombstone to say; “Nothings ever easy”. That would be the quote of the day for replacing the alternator. We had fingers crossed on this because it’s been cloudy and were not quite keeping up with our energy needs with just the solar panels unless we severely conserve. That means no fans (!!!), no water-maker, curtailed refrigerator (kept at 50 degrees instead of 40 degrees and no ice (!!!!!!). As I mentioned yesterday, John had one he didn’t need. Turns out it was exactly the same make and model. So, I thought everything would go like clockwork and we’d be back making ice by 1030. “Nothing’s easy” as Mark says. The “same” make and model had a different flange where it bolts on to the bottom support point. My broken one had a one inch thick flange. The new one had a two inch thick flange. It wouldn’t fit. Enter John once again. He has an angle grinder. You have to see this thing in action to believe it, but to shorten the story I’ll just say that he basically cut an inch of thickness off of the mount making it an exact fit to my old one. Back to Charisma with the newly trimmed alternator. After much swearing, some adjusting, bolt tightening, fan-belt judo and careful reconnecting of the 12 volt wires to the alternator terminals (I’ve been known to short the plus and minus terminals by touching them together with the wrenc-; the space is very small and hard to work in), the new alternator was ready for the ultimate test. Would it blow up and burn, or would it work. Ann was stationed at the helm to start the engine; I was below watching the charge indicator looking for any sign the thing might burn us down if installed incorrectly. OK, “start her up!” Ann murmured a couple “Hail Marys” and turned the switch, the beast came alive in all its cranking, clanking glory and as I watched, the amp-meter climbed. “It’s working! We have electricity!” Then it was a matter of leaving it on for a while to make sure there are no issues. I’ll check it again after a couple hours to make sure the belt stays tight, etc. But, huge emotional relief. We went from; “uh oh, we’re going to be here a couple weeks fixing this”, to “wow, how did we get so lucky to fix that in a day!” So, chalk up another thing I’ve never done before that I can now fix and that I hope I never have to fix again (with the grinding help from John). That was a BIG second thing. The third was we went into town to buy some supplies. Some good finds including more eggplant!. We’ll do more on Monday closer to our departure for the Tuamotus.

Fourth: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that while I was down in the cabin sweating, swearing and in general carrying on, Ann was quietly floating in the dinghy scrubbing the waterline which gets filthy, dirty when you’re cruising. It turns brown with sea gunk and barnacles. It’s not easy to scrub off, in fact, it’s just plain hard work, but she did it hanging onto the dinghy, sometimes upside down, and the side of the boat in shark infested waters. We did tell you that after our arrival yesterday Ann spotted a six inch fin swimming around Charisma, right? We now look good again with a nice, clean hull.

Fifth: back on Charisma and it’s time for COCKTAILS! Yay! We’ll deserved today.

The sixth and last part of the day was the lobster dinner. The lobster was too big for the BBQ, so I pulled the tail and legs off, cut the tail in half down the middle, slathered some butter on it and threw the legs and tail sections on the grill. Yummmmy, is all Ann had to say between bites dripping with melted butter.

So, an emotional rollercoaster and we’re both exhausted, but a good ending in a cruiser’s day. Things break, you fix them. Opportunities present themselves, you take advantage of them (the lobsters). I’m finding that if you worry about what’s going to break next, you don’t have fun. You have fun, when you just go with it and know that whatever breaks (and things inevitably do), you’ll somehow find a way to fix them. Sometimes there’s also a lot of luck involved, but that’s part of the adventure.