Since we discovered that the shaft housing and gear was wrong, we put the old prop back on Sidwinder, and began patching holes on the upper part of the hull, re-painted the anchor chain, received a brand new 15HP Yamaha engine for Worm delivered by mi amiga mia, Marisol, and watched our Spaniard friends put Gregal back into the water and take off for the Marquesas, with the dream of some day seeing them in the South Pacific.
Hopefully, through the use of UPS Express mail service, the integral internal prop gear has been sent by the Australian company who made the original error, and it will arrive in Miami at 8:00 A.M. so that our cruising friend, Ed, can bring it back with him to Ecuador tomorrow afternoon. After confirmation tomorrow morning, David and I will grab a taxi to La Libertad, catch a bus north to Mantanita, find a wonderful little cabana on the beach, check out the waves and ride a few, eat a yummy dinner, enjoy our evening, and continue our travels up the coast to Bahia de Car'aquez where we will find Ed and Cornelia on their yacht, Accapella. Our new 1" shaft housing and gear, along with a new lock for our new dinghy engine, will be handed over in exchange for the funds owed, and we will find our way back to Sidewinder by bus, about a 5 hour trip. Friday or Saturday, the old prop will again be removed and the shiny new one will slip like a glove onto Sidewinder's shaft. We hope to be back in the water Sunday or Monday so that we can test out all of the systems and be ready to sail Wednesday or Thursday of next week.
It is a good thing that we patiently waited many hours in Guayaquil for our 30 day visa extension, because our old visa expired last Sunday. We hope to meet Ed and Cornelia in the Galapagos and all continue our dream journeys. We are lucky to be alive and well and hope that all of you feel the same. I do believe that patience is a virtue!
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