15 July

July 15th, Raiatea, French Polynesia.
Excellent news. Benny arrived yesterday with my new high pressure pump. I swapped it out and bled the engine and miracle upon miracles it started right up. I now have a happy Volvo, I still think this particular engine is rubbish but at least we can get on with our travels for the time being.
Once the engine started, I was again prevailed upon to get a haircut and after all, a deal is a deal and Jennifer did the deed on the afterdeck with her new electric clippers. Photographic evidence of this momentous event does exist and no doubt, before and after shots will appear soon enough.
We will finally get going to Bora Bora tomorrow after a delay of at least a week, no real problem in the grand scheme of things.

dinghy conference

landfall, bora bora

raitea sunset, bora in distance

amateur astronomers viewing the solar eclipse

yes, I got the Volvo running
shearing on the afterdeck with a pair of kitchen scissors
shorn

Bastille Day (14 July)

Bastille Day, Raiatea, French Polynesia.
There has been no change in the Volvo situation thus far. We have been wandering about in Raiatea. The solar eclipse was quite spectacular, as it grew dark again at 0815 in the morning. We have some very dark glasses and when looking at the sun you could see only a tiny sliver of it that was not occluded by the moon. It lasted about 40 minutes and then gradually got light again.
We were able to watch the soccer game later in the day at the nearby grocery store, namely le Magasine Julienne. There was a small TV set up and we and all the locals sat on empty beer crates. For some reason they were all rooting for Holland though I'm not sure why and were disappointed with the result. All the same, free beer seemed to improve the mood. I had to take a nap in the afternoon.
Benny arrives today with a new high pressure pump and I will fit it as soon as I can. I think there is an even chance that this will do the trick but if not, we will have to wait for the Volvo techs to get back from their vacation on Monday and get the diagnostic computer on the engine. If more parts are needed then there will be further delay.
If the high pressure injector pump is not at at fault, I have bought myself a very expensive spare and it may be that the problem is with the electronic injection system, possibly related to the near miss lightening strike last March in Costa Rica.
We will have Bastille Day here instead of Bora Bora. Oh Well. Photos to follow.

11 July

We are still in Raiatera waiting for Volvo service. This motor has been a nightmare so far as reliability is concerned and this is the third catastrophic failure in less than 1300 hours on use. I have some new mechanic friends especially one Thierry at CNI in Raiatera who came out to the boat and spent three hours checking this and that. He was not too familiar with this particular engine with it's electronic fuel injection and he ascertained that fuel is getting to the injectors but the fuel pressure is low. This could be due to either a failed fuel pump or the electronics controlling the injectors have gone bad. Without the Volvo diagnostic computer it is impossible to tell. There is a Volvo tech on this island but he is on vacation and won't return until July 19th.
I bought a new high pressure pump from the USA and I'm hoping Benny can deliver it on Wednesday.
If the pump is the problem I can switch it out and the motor should start, if not I will have to wait for the 19th and the Volvo techs and I still don't know if he the the computer and software to do the diagnosis or will have to send to Papeete for it which will cause further delay.
In the mean time, we are safe on a mooring and the weather has been fine though quite windy but inside the lagoon there is no swell and we are comfortable.
We have been into Uturoa, the main town, which is pleasant though much smaller than Papeete.
The Admiral seems to think I need a haircut, though I'm not sure why after only eight months, and mentions it at least three times a day. In order to propitiate the gods that control these things, I have agreed that she can do a major shearing as soon as my engine starts. The clippers are ready to go.
There is going to be a solar eclipse today at 1130H local time. Only partial where we are but will be total in the Tuamotus 400 miles from here. Also, I'm told there will be some kind of soccer event being played today and we will probably go and watch it in the local marina. Such is the excitement here.
This engine situation is very frustrating and has soured my cruising experience. I would estimate that over the past 8 months, I have spent six weeks and many thousands of dollars, waiting for and receiving Volvo service. This particular motor is a poor product for a cruising boat and even though it is quiet and fuel efficient, that isn't worth much if it isn't reliable (and it isn't!). I have had the time to write numerous angry emails to Volvo in the US and Sweden but so far have not heard word one.
Bastille Day on the 14th coincides with Benny's arrival and we look forward to seeing him again especially as he will be bringing what I hope will be Volvo salvation in the form of a new high pressure pump.

Huahine Photos

7 July

Raiatea, Society Islands July 7th.
We are now in Raiatea on a mooring buoy in a picturesque anchorage in the channel between this island and Tahaa. Bora Bora is in sight 20 miles to the north west. Getting here, however, was not quite so easy.
We motored over from Huahine on July 5th as the winds were light and directly behind us and all was well going through the pass through the reef that is common to the islands of raiatea and tahaa and past the small town of Uturoa. We spotted a small marina and went into it to see if they had a slip for a couple of days and while turning around in the main channel my engine decided to quit and would not restart. I dropped the anchor quickly which fortunately held and we were stuck in the channel much to the dismay of the marina manager who was very angry indeed. We got a tow out of the marina and anchored on a reef in about 15 metres which was fortunate as the lagoon is quite deep in most places (25 metres plus) making anchoring difficult. I changed both primary and secondary fuel filters but this did not remedy the problem.
The only Volvo rep for this island is on vacation for another 2 weeks and I may have to get the tech out from Tahiti with the Volvo diagnostic computer to try to find out what the problem is. None or the other diesel techs want to touch this complex electronicly fuel injected engine. I did not think where I was anchored was very safe as it was quite exposed and I rented a mooring buoy 4 miles to the west which is more protected and had to sail off the anchor and get onto the buoy under sail alone. It took two attempts but we got it done with my green crew without hitting anything. The saga continues with the Volvo techs in Tahiti today and I should know soon how long the engine will be out of commission.
Meanwhile, I've been stuck in worse places and we will enjoy our time here on Raiatea before going on to Bora Bora.

4 July

Huahine, Society Islands July 4th

We have spent a lazy July 4th on Huahine, surrounded by Brits so there isn't much in the way of Holiday spirit here. We'll have to wait for Bastille Day on July 14 which might make up for it and we will do a Barbie then. We went snorkeling on the reef today, not as spectacular as the Tuamotos but pretty good nonetheless.
It has finally stopped raining and the wind is no longer howling through the pass and the island looks much different in the sunshine. Yesterday we rented a car and did a complete tour of the island which is quite different from Tahiti and Moorea, there being very little tourist development. In many ways it looks much more like the Marquesas than the Society islands. We did visit a pearl farm and a vanilla farm and took a look at most of the lagoons and Maarea on the island.
Tomorrow we are of to the twin islands of Tahaa and Raiatea for a few days before going on to Bora Bora. We have just learned that cousin Benny is going to join us in Bora Bora for the cruise to the Cook Islands and we look forward to seeing him again.

1 July

Fare, Huahine, Society Islands, French Polynesia. 16 43 S. 151 02 W
We are now on the island of Huahine after an overnight trip of 100 miles from Marina Taena, Papeete. We had quite a lot of wind, steady 22 with gusts to 28 knots with confused quartering seas which made things a bit bumpy and the Admiral was not pleased.
We arrived in Huahine yesterday morning and the weather has been rainy and squally ever since. Despite that we are going to do a dinghy drill and go ashore and visit Fare and the rest of the island today.