I have desperately been trying to find the time to send a blog to continue bringing you up to date with our Amazonian cruise. But life has been such a hectic whirl of night passages and exploring the fascinating and rarely visited countries we’ve been passing through that I’m afraid there has been no time.
I last left you in St Laurent du Maroni on the border of French Guiana and Suriname. Since then we have sailed to the capital of Suriname, Paramaribo, thence onwards to the Essiquibo River in Guyana (once British Guiana). There we left the boat at anchor for four days and went on a fascinating tour of the country. As I type we are now approaching Tobago. So I’ve got lots to tell you, but I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait a little longer.
After a luxurious respite, the gremlins are back again, and may have delivered their coup de grace. Yesterday, the engine packed up as we were leaving the Essequibo River. By now, I like to think I know my way around a diesel engine. I’ve tried everything without success to get the engine running again, but it looks like it could be the injection pump. This box of tricks is perhaps the most complicated part of the engine. Apart from being very expensive, they almost never give any problems so almost no one carries a spare – me included. They also require specialist skills to install them. So tomorrow we’re going to have to sail into the anchorage in Scarborough in Tobago and start the process of getting it sorted. And until we do get it sorted, in Scarborough we will have to remain.
What I will try and do in the interim is to post some position reports with lat/longs so at least you will be able to see on the map where we’ve been.
Sorry folks, I’ll get back to you as soon as time and gremlins allow.
Tim Barker is a sailor and occasional adventurer. Since 2004, Mina2, his Oyster 485 yacht, and he (with the Downstairs Skipper and a wonderful bunch of friends) have sailed from the Arctic to the Antarctic and many places in between. Come join their adventures and read Tim's award winning blogs and journals from the comfort of your own computer screen.
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