ENJOYING MILFORD SOUND

Tuesday the 16^th and the front has passed through, light drizzle in the morning, clearing up by lunchtime and Truce is gradually drying out.  The rain has been spectacular but now it’s gone and the waterfalls are diminishing.

By mid-morning I had a full crew of helpers onboard from the other boats in Deepwater Basin to assist in diagnosing the problem with Mr. Yanmar.   The collective knowledge was welcome, I was at a loss what to do next with the engine and assistance was most welcome.

Soon we had the rocker cover off, looked at springs, valves, tappets and some other technical stuff, all seemed OK.  The engine turned over by hand with the compression levers open without any obvious nasty noises.  We started her up and the knocking returned with black smoke.  But after running a while reduced but the revs were fluctuating.  We opened each fuel line in turn to the injectors, each cylinder was firing – an improvement.  Less knocking and less smoke.

Next the small filter on the engine was opened and checked, no obvious problems.  We then bled the fuel system and tightened everything up again.   On starting the revs popped up and down a few times and then settled back to a normal running speed.  The knocking disappeared and after a few minutes the smoke disappeared as well.  Everything normal?

The support team suspect that a blocked injector or possibly air in the system somehow caused the problem.  The plan now is to get the injectors tested at the first opportunity, most likely in Nelson.

To say I am happy the engine is running again would be a gross understatement.

To test the engine I went for a spin and changed moorings to a more sheltered position with less current.  I still don’t have total confidence that the problem has gone away and am super sensitive to any slight noise the engine may make.

The afternoon weather was calm and perfect.  To celebrate I went for a walk ashore to the Café and had an ice-cream.

In the evening the crews of the four boats in the anchorage came together for drinks.  It was a happy late night affair involving Rum.  It was very dark when I took the dinghy back to Truce.

Wednesday morning opened to perfect weather, cloudless and sun beating down on the solar panels giving lifeblood to the batteries.

I went ashore early and had a great walk.  The scenery is magnificent.  The transformation from rain and wind to Sunshine and calm is magical.  I am lucky to be here and experience these amazing sights in good weather.

In the late afternoon I went onto one of the fishing boats at the dock.  They have satellite TV to stream the last race of the Americas Cup.  New Zealand defeated the Italians to win, it was a proper race and a convincing win.   A fantastic result and the whole country has gone a bit nuts.  Another reason to celebrate tonight.

Thursday and the shore called again, off I went for a walk and to get some internet to download the latest weather forecast.  The weather is looking good for departure tomorrow with a good SW breeze setting in after midday for a couple of days according to predict wind.

This evening I have been invited to Windora for dinner with Phil and Lynda.  I am looking forward to it.