Great weather, wonderful racing but a bit grumpy

Apart from a definite nip in the air at night (known aboard as the nipple factor), the spring weather here has been pretty lovely.

The view towards the sunset from Maunie's mooring

We were delighted to be asked to crew on an iconic New Zealand racing boat called Longfellow. As her name suggests, she's long and thin - 66ft long with a huge rig. The race started in absolute flat calm conditions but eventually a sea breeze built up and we flew the absolutely huge genniker (a lightwind reaching sail) that once belonged to Alinghi, the Americas Cup boat. We crossed the finish line well ahead of the rest of the fleet but came only fifth once the handicap ratings were applied. 

Drifting across the start line

Making 11 knots of boat speed in just 14 knots of breeze

Kantime, out main rival, as we passed them

So that was all very nice and we enjoyed a post-race beer or two in the Cruising Club.

Since then, unfortunately, things haven't been going quite so well because we are still trying to cure Maunie's poorly engine, which has decided that one of its four cylinders deserves a rest.

Our hopes were pinned on a faulty injector but, after cleaning and servicing it, the problem remained so it has been a real challenge to remove the high-pressure fuel pump due to the very limited access to the front of the engine. All being well, the pump will be stripped down and serviced early this week and we'll be running on all four cylinders again.

Di's definitely hoping Graham will be back on all cylinders, too, as he's been pretty hacked off about the issue - a typical engineer, he hates it when things don't work properly. Equally, Di is hacked off with the interior of the boat being upside down with tools and parts where they shouldn't be. We can't even take Maunie out sailing to take our minds off it all, as the engine is in pieces... Still, we're lucky to be able to get ashore in the dinghy to stroll along the coastal path when it all gets too much for us on board!