When I just saw the date of my last narration I was shocked how long ago it was.

I simply was just too busy to write during the day and in the evening I fell into bed like a dead piece of meat.

Although installing Linux Mint is very easy and in the basic installation there is all in, a normal PC user needs, I need a bunch of special applications and I have also some customizations to be done. Linux Mint Cinnamon offers the possibility to highly customize it. This takes time for setting it up but enables me too work later faster and easier.

Fortunately I started years ago a document with all applications I want and the settings I am using. This helps me a lot.

However, why did I need a new PC? The hardware of Lenovo is not as good as the hardware was when the PC were designed and produced by IBM. It’s a pity that IBM sold this business.

To have a more stable internet from WLAN hotspot, I went to the hotel up the hill at the eastern side. Just in time OBM learned that they will pick us at the fuel station close to the dinghy dock and bring us back. Otherwise it’s a walk of close to an hour up the hill. Thus, the three of us went there last Saturday. OBM and Ruslana had a relaxed day and I could work on my PC installation. On Sunday only OBM and I went there; Ruslana wanted to stay on board. Then the PC was almost ready. Still, during the following days I worked on board on fine tuning. Every day a little bit.

Beside this, I had the challenge of getting a new oil pan for my STB engine. I contacted bootsmotoren.de. A good company I used already to get some parts to Panama, which were not available there in a reasonable time.

However, I was lucky to find the needed part in Tahiti. From the mail that they have the part, until now it took almost 2 weeks. Especially the delivery took time. For someone like me, who is used to next day deliveries in Japan and shipment in 2 days when the island of Okinawa, almost 3000 km away from Tokyo, are involved. I begged the staff in Tahiti to please dispatch the part last Friday, it only was dispatched on Monday 1500. So the part arrived only on Thursday at Marquesas Maintenance Service and they didn’t built it in on Friday…

So we can lift the hook only on Tuesday.

Provisioning is done. We only want to get more fruits in Vaitahu where I want to give the hull a good brush because here in the bay I get some growth on it. Starting with a clean hull will make only our about 800 NM non-stop sail shorter by a day.

The route is entered in and is activated in the chart plotter.

Refueling will be completed today. Then all we need is to get the oil pan being fixed and the engine mounted back. Currently the engine hangs in the air of the engine room being opened to the aft cabin, which needed to be emptied completely for that.

I almost forgot to mention the “Big Blue”, my new gennaker, which arrived from NZ. As I pull the gennaker always directly out of its bag inside the PRT bow storage room, I prepared it for this. We also made a training session on how to pull up the gennaker inside its sock and get it down and back in its bag. However, we did not let the gennaker out of his sock. 123 m2 of sail is something I don’t want to catch window while being at anchor. BTW, the new dousing sock, looks pretty good. It should have less friction. The sock control line looks pretty good. Very light but rather thick, which allows to apply the needed force easier. I also got an idea on how to attach a snatch block between the front and middle cleat to run the control line through the block and use the winch on top of the windlass to pull the sock down if it gets to heavy to pull the sock down only with my hands. I’ll see final details when we hoist the Big Blue for the first time.