Our friends on Orcinius needed to put a new headfoil on their boat, so that was most of our day, other than a couple hours mid-day where we went shopping while they were getting some parts.

A new headfoil means taking the headstay completely off the boat. Not a simple task, so it was a long day. I think we finished around 1900. They graciously took us to dinner to thank us for the help.

While I was doing that, Ann was cranking on the sewing machine. We now have all new diesel and water jug covers, a repaired stays’l cover, repaired storm jib cover, a domino bag for playing Mexican train and a cover for our American flag, so we can furl it at night.

We also found some needed stuff in town. Cruisers pay attention. Here’s a list of stuff we didn’t bring that we should have: -A new fresh water pump-our current one is noisy and I’m just waiting for the day it quits. Finally found one here. Happy to have a replacement for when the other one quits. General lesson: if you think something sounds odd, buy a replacement because it will likely break. If it’s critical, buy a replacement even if it works great. It’s all easy in the States, but virtually impossible once you are cruising. There are just no stores that have reliable supplies. -Rash guards. Also known as sun shirts. We forgot to buy them in the States where there’s a lot of choice and they are cheap. Basically a lycra shirt that protects you from the sun when you’re swimming. A regular tee-shirt doesn’t cut it because they are not tight enough and float up over your head. The lycra means they are tight/stretchy so they stay put. Some of our friends out here have body suits made of this stuff. It’s handy because if you’re going to snorkel a long time, the sunscreen wears off and the sun is very intense. -3M 5200 in small tubes. This stuff is the strongest glue there is and is useful in situations where nothing else will work. We’re thinking it might be our last resort glue to repair the keel tube in the dinghy. Bought two small tubes (at $14 each) so we can use on for the dinghy and have the other as a spare since inevitably the open tube will harden within a couple weeks. -Dinghy bilge pump. This is a biggie. We had one, but one night when we had to re-anchor, while moving the boat with the dinghy tied alongside, it flipped. Lucky the engine wasn’t on, but unlucky the bilge pump was in it and fell out never to be found. These are manual pumps and incredibly useful since it rains so much and the dinghy is always filling with rainwater. Your only other choice is to use a sponge and take twenty times as long to empty the boat. (Along with this is a dinghy anchor. You WILL use it in the South Pacific as there are few docks. You mostly anchor your dinghy in shallow water and wade into shore. We use a grapple type anchor since it folds easily and stores out of the way.

OK, that’s it. Exciting huh? Well, we’ll have a few more days like this just getting ready for the next four months of our cruise, then we’re back to island cruising. Probably leaving here Monday.

By the way, we hope everyone is enjoying a fine long weekend for the 4th of July. Strange being here where it’s nothing but another day.