Some things I can fix, but others I am powerless to change

Having dropped anchor in the lagoon at Cocos and Keeling, we drew breath for a bit and then I stirred myself to tackle the anchor windlass. Dismantled and cleaned all the connections and checked fuses, which were fine. On reassembly it all worked!

Emboldened by this I returned to the centre-plate hydraulics, and started dismantling the mystery black box. But to get it off the wall I had to unscrew a wooden panel. The screws for this were of course hidden behind other things that had to be dismantled too. Eventually the mystery box was liberated and I could take it to pieces. I had assumed it made 12volts into 24volts to drive he 24volt motor, using a sophisticated system to turn DC into AC and back into DC again. But no....it was a couple of big solenoids which opened and closed switches. Puzzling! I put it all back together again and laboriously reassembled everything, drenched with perspiration in the tiny hot space of the engine compartment.

Not expecting success, we turned the power back on just as it was getting too dark to see, and Lo! It all worked again! But it's still a mystery that 24 volt motor has been installed in a 12v system! Just runs slower I suppose.

Now I only have to solve the dangerous current leakage that is eating away at the hull.

A big gin and tonic to celebrate will be followed by Australian meat pies for supper.

I have just finished reading "Sapiens" today which takes an interesting look at our species, and its development. The ideas resonate with lots that I have been thinking about relating to human control of genetics, and how this may shape our evolution, and with themes that have come out of "Beyond Reason" dealing with the way we think and "The Memory Code" about how we used to handle information before writing.

Then suddenly I feel too far away as Anne tells me that our dear stepfather, Ioan, is in hospital. Mark and I are anxious and feel helpless to respond. It has always been a risk to sail away for so long, but now that it has happened it feels very bad to be so far away........