Mark -25 Diesel Bug 0, well that about sums it up!!

...By the time that I had removed the inspection hatch, emptied the diesel out of the tank by hand, removed the 96,000 (well it seemed that way!) nuts and blogs around the inspection hatch and cleaned all the crap out (there was 3 meters of plastic pipe in the tank??...why I'm not sure lol), refitted the inspection hatch (which was made of cast iron and as heavy as hell!) and pumped the fuel back into the tank I had spent the best part of 10 hours covered in oily crap from head to toe!! Hence the score of minus 25, I may have won the battle but definitely lost the war

    The Latest news on the engine front doesn't read too well either. I removed the original starter motor and changed it for the spare we had......No difference!! It isn't turning the engine over any faster than a snail on speed, therefore I am dubious about weather it will start the engine when the voltage in the batteries is restored to 13 odd volts....we will see but I'm not holding my breath. 

    I removed the turbo and the intercooler and both were that clogged up, with carbon in the case of the turbo and calcium build up in the intercooler, so much that I wouldn't be surprised if the turbo wasn't contributing anything to the party apart from carbon!!!

    To that end I have recruited help from a mate of Ian's in Rarotonga 'Dave' he has the same engine in his boat and knows where there are some spare engines, I might add at this point that they aren't on Rarotonga they are in Aitutaki just to make things more Cook islandish! So with my resent discovery I have lengthened my shopping list for Dave somewhat and it now includes a complete Turbo assembly and mounts as the impellor has been damaged through the air intact and cannot be working efficiently. I now also need a couple of earth cables because I suspect that the negative switch on the engine to prevent electrolysis is fried and could be the cause of the slow turnover of the starter motor.....well that's my theory anyhow. To be perfectly honest if it not that it is something inside the engine and that I don't want to consider as I suspect it will be terminal to the rest of the trip. 

    The only ship (there are no scheduled flights to Penrhyn!) that is coming here on the 13th of October is leaving from Rarotonga on the 10th and the next could be here sometime in November!!! So any major rework of the engine will take a bloody long time and cost a shit load of money to get people up here and even then.... how do they get back??

    Well there you have it, a little insight to a very complicated way of life in the Outer Cook Islands. I have been able to keep up with the Rugby World cup games, although I must say the last England game I must of gained a few more grey hairs as they left it so late to seal the deal, I'm hoping they do a better (nay quicker) job with France in the Quarter finals!

    Well I hope that keeps you all up to date, but in signing off this is a beautiful part of the world to be in, even with the aforementioned logistical problems and here's hoping that it can all be sorted out in the not too distant future.

    Shipwrecked in the Cook Islands!

    Regards

    Mark, Ian and Natua 

PS I have attached a few more Photos’ I managed to take when I wasn't covered in shit in the engine room!! lol

This is the school playground!! well cool

and this

we even have kids to prove it!

This is Omoka School it was rebuilt after the last Cyclone

These last two photo's show the sea side of the lagoon