Happy Fourth of July Holiday

No holiday here in Tahiti.....that's not until Bastille Day on July 14th, but we hope everyone in the US has had a wonderful July 4th weekend.

Good news from Baie Phanton: we are in the marina! and work has begun on our port engine! After 5 weeks of waiting for a diagnosis, parts to be ordered and delivered in the middle of a labor strike (this is French territory after all), and then 10 additional days for a slip to open up in the marina, we are finally getting our engine fixed. When we anchored in the Galapagos on March 4th our port engine decided to engage its gear only on its whim, not ours. It's made for some interesting maneuvers in bays and anchorages. Tahiti is the first place where there's a Volvo engine mechanic so it's really been a long wait indeed. A special thanks to Nicholas, Francois, Andre and Yvan for helping us maneuver into our spot.

With Jacque working on the engine, Jon is doing his best impersonation of Tim the Toolman, tending to other projects on the boat (see earlier blog). I am thawing Tuna steaks for dinner tonight to share with our French Canadian friends from an aluminum monohull called Coup de Soleil whom we first met in the Marquesas. They are now in the same marina. (The cruising world in the Pacific is really really small.)

With some luck, we'll be finished in a few days and will move on to explore other islands. In the meantime, we are cheering our hearts out for the Netherlands.

Best wishes to everyone.