The last time we blogged, we were in Arbatax. Valentina joined us here and we coast hopped back to Cagliari, feeling as if we were coming home. On our way back south from Corsica there had definitely been more vibration and noise from the engine and we were looking forward to finalizing plans for getting the engine head and injectors sorted by Frank the German engineer.

Unfortunately, Frank had not been able to find us a head and was now saying that he was too busy to come out to do any work for us. He hadn’t let us know all this before, despite having our ‘phone numbers and e-mail address, because had problems with his e-mail, he said (that old chestnut!). We were more than a little annoyed (the phrase that I substituted for the one that David used that can’t be printed), because if he'd let us know earlier, we could have sorted this out while we were waiting around for the weather to settle during April and May.

We still couldn’t afford to pay the Italian engineers the €3000 or so to do the job, so after an emergency engine repair committee meeting in the gazebo with all the other yotties, it was finally decided that David should tackle the job himself, under the guidance of Tony (NAHISKA). Now I know that this sounds like another CAPE technical disaster in the making, but phase 1 went well and David did manage to get the head off without breaking anything crucial.

David emerging from the engine hole to smear oil around the cockpit.

The offending head.

The head went off to the engineering workshop be skimmed (ground flat) and David set about getting the injectors overhauled, and sourcing new gaskets and a thermostat. I got on with work and we booked Bethany and Bryn into dinghy sailing school for a week.

When David went to collect the head, Engineers Set 1 hadn't done anything and insisted that the head wasn’t the problem and that they had to have the engine out of CAPE and into their workshop to investigate further (they could see their €3000 slipping away). Another week wasted. David took the bits off Engineers Set 1 and gave them to Engineers Set 2, and we booked the children into a second week of dinghy sailing school. Engineers Set 2 did what they said they would, skimmed the head, sourced new gaskets and tarted up our injectors – and everything came back on time.

‘E Day’

On Thursday 2 July (down as ‘E Day’ in my diary), David tackled phase 2 and put the engine back together. It took a whole day of banging and swearing, and lots of oily rags and coffee, but there weren't too many bits left over – and by the end of the day the engine started and ran beautifully! It doesn't sound as loud as it used to, plus, the knocking has gone. Apparently the knocking came from a leaky head gasket that allowed gas to escape across one of the pistons at a time when it shouldn't have been firing and made it fire twice – or that's my interpretation of what was happening anyway (sorry to all you engineery types who winced at that). The injectors were also really manky, which didn't help. We had a few beers and pizza to celebrate. A big thanks to Tony for the encouragement and guidance – and thanks to Di for lending us Tony!

But of course, we are talking CAPE here, and it was never going to be that simple.... The next day David ran the engine up again. She started straight away and ran well, but this time water came pouring out of the seawater pump. David set about getting hold of new seals and a shaft to rebuild the pump (no, the local Volvo Penta agent couldn’t help us there, but luckily DB Marine in the UK could).

We whiled away the next few days with work, school, and a couple of excellent BBQs. There was a gathering of quite a few children in the marina for the first time since we had arrived last October, so Bethany and Bryn caught up on water fights, LEGO, DVDs, hide and seek, ice cream, kayaking, and running around screaming for no particular reason.

Salsicca (Sard sausage) – all dressed up and ready to BBQ.

Pula the first time

When the pump spares arrived, David rebuilt and fitted the seawater pump. We said goodbye to everyone again and set off south for the anchorage in Pula/Nora, which boasts some rather impressive Roman remains. We made it to Pula without a hitch and had a BBQ on the beach with Valentina and co.

The south tower at Pula – a Spanish tower recycled as a lighthouse.

The beach and anchorage at Pula.

BBQing marshmallows.

The church of St Efisio at Pula – you remember – St Efisio was the bloke who was beheaded on the beach by the Romans in the year 303.

First aid for heat exchangers

The next morning we headed a little further south to Chia, keeping a check for diesel and water leaks (as one does when one’s engine has had major surgery). Mmmm, large amounts of water weren’t spraying from the heat exchanger yesterday. When David investigated further, he found that the end of the heat exchanger tube had come away completely.

So there we were at anchor, no engine, no wind, and going to be on a lee shore within 24 hours. I have to admit that at this point, I was close to crying. Out came the first aid kit bandages and a tube of vintage plastic padding (you know, the grey stuff that old cars are made of), then a layer of Curtis Marine Super Epoxy (also 5 years old) and more bandage – the heat exchanger looked like it had had something amputated!

First aid for heat exchangers.

In the hope that more time would help the curing process of all this out-of-date chemical sticking plaster we sailed off the anchor and headed out to sea bound for Cagliari – a mere 24 miles away at a respectable 1.2 knots (1.2 miles an hour). Yes we could have walked it faster if we’d been able to walk on water (David is working on that one…). In the meantime we contacted Gary and Dave back at Marina del Sole who insisted (thankfully) to set off to tow us back if needed. By the time they reached us we had covered 4 miles in 4.5 hours!

Gary, Dave and BRUMBY on a mission to rescue us from a very slow sail back to Cagliari.

Under tow (you can see BRYMBY’s bottom in the distance).

We connected the tow and went back to Cagliari at a cracking 6.5 knots, only running the engine for 10 minutes to get onto the berth before the repair failed.

Meanwhile, back in Marina del Sole…

The heat exchanger was dispatched the welding workshop. The children did a bit more school, and I did a bit more work and tackled some of the jobs on my ‘must sew’ list (how many lists have you got?). My sewing machine started making horrid noises (I was only trying to sew multiple layers of heavy canvas, plus a webbing strap and Velcro) – then finally refused to play at all. David carried out some major surgery on it, and although it is still refusing to sew heavy stuff, it will now tackle light fabrics again. I’d like to think that it’s just convalescing, but I suspect that its days of repairing sails and making sheet bags are over.

My sewing machine undergoes surgery too.

The heat exchanger arrived back in one piece and David fitted and tested it.

Pula the second time

We said goodbye to everyone – again (third time lucky…) – and headed back to Pula (I was determined to see these Roman remains – they are on the CAPE school curriculum). We anchored in roughly the same place as last time and the children took canoe wrestling one stage further with the invention of fender surfing – surfing off the kayak on the flat fenders. That evening we met up with Dave, Valentina, Andrea and Justine for a drink.

Fender surfing.

Roman remains at last!

The next day Dave, Valentina and Justine joined us for a few hours on CAPE, but as the swell in the anchorage was increasing, we delivered them back to the beach (sorry about the soaking Dave!) and scuttled to the anchorage further south to get out of the swell. We managed to dig in the tip of our anchor in the only weed-free patch of mud.

CAPE at anchor near the Roman ruins.

As David wasn’t happy to leave CAPE, the kids and I rowed in to the ruins and finally got to explore the Roman remains – a dinky little amphitheatre, a temple, the forum, a forge, villas, thermal baths, roads and some very impressive mosaics.

Temple dedicated to Juno, behind the Forum.

The mosaic floor in the Thermal baths.

More mosaic.

The dinky little amphitheatre – still occasionally used for outdoor performances today.

Bryn walking the Roman road to the anchorage.

Having ‘done’ the Romans, we finally headed back to CAPE, said goodbye to Sardinia and set off for Sicily.