December 22, 2004

We’ve been working on repairs and whatnot. Yesterday I took apart the Spectra water maker Clark Pump (which is really a compressor not a pump) and found sand in it, which might explain why it stopped working. However, after cleaning it and reinstalling it the machine still does not work properly, and it is leaking like crazy. I phoned Spectra this morning and asked them to send me a new one, by FedEx (which here means 5 days minimum) and they said they could ship it tomorrow.

We are expecting our new mainsail to be shipped tomorrow as well, from New Zealand (not California which is where Spectra is located). It will be interesting to see which arrives first. Tomorrow I am going to take apart the forward head pump (toilet) and clean it out as it is getting clogged with calcium deposits (the result of interaction between seawater and urine). We have to do this to each toilet every 18 months to 2 years. It is not fun.

Once we get our new mainsail and the replacement water maker we will get them both installed and then we’ll be ready to get moving again. Our next stop, we have recently decided, will be Lukunor, a small atoll about 280 miles West of here. It should be an easy passage and only 2 days which will make everyone happy. We will stay only a few days, perhaps 5, in Lukunor then we are off for Puluwat, another 300 miles to the West. We will stay in Puluwat a bit longer, perhaps a week to 10 days and then sail for Wolei, an atoll in Yap State another 320 miles West of Puluwat. From there it is a straight shot to Palau of 566 miles, a bit longer then the passages to Wolei, Puluwat and Lukunor, but shorter then the passage from Majuro to Pohnpei. So, three stops then Palau where we plan to spend a month and leave for Indonesia on about March 10th. We shall see.