After a couple of happy hours delving into the bowels of the boat, we had fitted the new cable and it was time to "fire her up" and tune the throttle.  Persephone's engine sprang into life with a degree of gusto and confidence we had not really enjoyed since La Coruna. For several weeks we have needed to use the cold start, which was never the case, even in Hamble during the spring series, and more often than not, the engine has needed two attempts to get her started. Now she starts with no extra throttle and runs smoothly at tickover.  Karen operated the throttle lever while Nigel fiddled with spanners to get the tickover just right. We then left the engine ticking over in gear for half an hour or so, and she remained constant, without hunting or fading as has been her character for the last several weeks.

It is hard to rationalise what might have happened….why changing a throttle cable has seemingly dealt with an issue we had previously put down to poor fuel, blocked filters or even air ingress to the fuel system, but hey ho, it is what it is….and we are not complaining.

Tomorrow, Nigel officially joins the ranks of the "economically inactive". Perhaps we'll celebrate the end of a career by hiring a car and exploring Lanzarote, now Persephone is back, literally firing on all cylinders!