Always a new surprise

I've been thinking about starting another business alongside my writing for a while now. You can earn a lot of money with a yacht service.

Papeete Marina, Tahiti

After the outboard refused to work last week and I had cleaned everything from the fuel supply to the filter to the carburetor, but the engine still stubbornly refused to work, not even starting to cough, I look for a service dealer for a Tohatsu outboard in Papeete. I find what I'm looking for at Polynesie Marine. However, I am redirected to a subcontractor. This initially led to some confusion because one didn't know what the other was doing. The engine disappeared for a day without a trace, but then reappeared and ended up in the arms of the contractor in question. A full service was to be carried out, which was done promptly and quickly. The price alone, at 50,000 xpf, was a huge expense. A lesson that I paid again out of laziness. After the engine had been completely cleaned (including the carburetor, which was sparkling clean) and the spark plugs had been changed, the engine was running again. Well, it was given a little boost with nitrous oxide, which it then acknowledged with an immense cloud of smoke on starting, but quickly calmed down again and then chugged along happily. Only good components were used for this. For example, a quality oil costing €30 per liter was poured into the engine. The Tuvalu also had its engine serviced at the same time and paid Polynesien Marine 25000 xpf. Well, that was only a measly 10 hp engine and not something as high quality as ours with 18 hp. You have to reckon with double the price. I immediately put it on the chain, so that someone wouldn't steal the high-quality piece.

Outboard motor on the Katinka Enjoy

In the meantime, we keep our guests busy and go on a beach excursion to Point Venus. We take the bus out to Mahina. Mahina is the community where the old explorers and sailors landed on Tahiti. From Captain James Cook, who was commissioned by the Royal Society to observe the transit of Venus in Tahiti on June 3, 1769, to Captain William Bligh, who was to bring breadfruit trees to the Caribbean with his crew in 1789, to Captain James Wilson, who landed in Matavai with his Duff on March 6, 1797 and dropped off missionaries there. At that time, Mahina was still called Matavai. In short, a historic place. Incidentally, the lighthouse was only built later, after the explorers had all arrived. 

Point Venus beach, Tahiti

Today, little importance is attached to this place. It is too far out for cruisers and sailors are not welcome in the bay. From the bus stop, it is quite a walk to Point Venus. It is more convenient to hire a car, which you can park in the large parking lot. Apart from the fact that the beach consists of black sand and gets quite hot at lunchtime, it is a beautiful bay with shallow water around 29°C. A few trees provide shade and there are seats and tables where you can sit and relax. We spend a day there and return to Papeete in the afternoon. We end the evening at Lou Pescadou. The Italian restaurant has a wood-fired oven and the pizza, which we like best here on Tahiti, is also a success. The lasagne is also highly recommended.

Point Venus lighthouse, Tahiti

However, there was a little stress again this week after the Victron Quatro inverter and charger on SV Tuvalu stopped working with smoke signals. A few more hours of work were needed to at least install a temporary solution and ensure that the batteries could be charged. So we will postpone the test drive with the dinghy until next week. The air conditioning systems on the Katinka Enjoy then stop working. Obviously they couldn't cope with the rocking from Moorea to Papeete. After another episode of RTFM, I realize that the pump for the seawater supply is not optimally installed. The manufacturer specifies that the pump should be at least 304 mm below the water level, which is not so easy on a catamaran. Because the pumps are too high, the water runs out of the hoses when they move and the pump draws air. The flow is therefore blocked. I put water back into the system by pressurizing the hoses and the error message disappears. Incidentally, the manual says that if you get this error message, you should contact an authorized service center, which would certainly have cost me another €500. However, to fix the problem permanently, I would have to change the entire installation. I decide to postpone this to a later date.

Chinese New Year, Tahiti

Oh yes, I almost forgot, there was also the Chinese New Year this week. The Chinese celebrate it here on Tahiti with drums and dancing dragons. A dance group goes from one place to another in Papeete. We wish the Chinese a happy new year and everyone else fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.