This morning we checked the outboard engine motor as soon as we got up. Eric washed off the outside of the engine, then opened it up. He checked the cylinder and it was dry. Good sign. He pulled out the spark plug and dried it. He drained the fuel from the carburetor. Then he tried starting it.

Nothing. He drained all the fuel in the tank and put in fresh fuel, thinking maybe water had gotten in the tank. Still wouldn’t start. He repeated the first steps drained carburetor again, checked cylinder, dried spark plug. Still nothing. About to give up, he tried cranking it one more time. And this time it started! Yippe!

We left for sea late in the afternoon. The seas were our usual fare, 6 9 foot waves coming from starboard aft (right back corner), making for uncomfortable rolling. We hope it will get better.

We are very overdue on answering the blog questions. We’ll try to get all of them answered over the next few weeks. Here are a few to start with:

Q: Do you receive email through short wave radio? Do you need a license?
A: See the recently updated FAQ’s

Q: What dive gear do we have?
A: See the recently updated FAQ’s

Q: Are the varieties of crab edible?
A: We know coconut crab is edible because they are such good eating that they are endangered and restricted from being caught. Other than that particular species, we have no idea what is edible. Honestly, we would have no clue how to catch one or what to do with it after it is caught. As you probably surmised from the post about learning to clean fish, we are city dwellers. In our world fish comes from the grocery store in fillets laid on small Styrofoam trays wrapped in plastic. Crab comes already shelled and cooked. We have to confess that while in Tahiti, instead of getting whole fresh fish at the fish market, we went to the grocery store and bought frozen fillets. Should we ever be without a grocery store, we would starve to death because we have no idea how to live off the land.

Q: What do you do to ensure that Kosmos and the dinghies don’t get robbed, stolen or vandalized?
A: See the recently updated FAQ’s

Q: What do you think of sharks?
A: So far, they seem to be completely uninterested in us and we hope it stays that way.

Q: What does a trip like this cost?
A: See the recently updated FAQ’s

Q: Isn’t it too hot for Eric to be in long sleeves?
A: The Marquesas were really hot. Eric burns easily, and we were close to the equator in Autumn, so he wore long sleeves and pants when we spent a lot of time in the sun. As we have moved further south and gotten farther into winter, the sun is not as hot, so he is less concerned about burning. Also, he has a base tan. It has progressively cooled off to be ideal weather most of the time, with a coolish day here and there.

From Christi: I also want to add that I was not criticizing the quality of my high school education when I made the comment about not learning about atolls. In high school, I knew I was at a good school, but when I got to college, it was evident that I was much better equipped for college and adult life than the majority of my peers. Honestly, I am glad that my teachers taught me things more applicable to daily life, like writing skills, than about atolls.

Q: Are your charts accurate for approaching/entering islands and atolls? Do you use a depth finder or is Christi suspended on a log line?
A: See the recently updated FAQ’s

Q: How big is your anchor?
A: https://kosmos.liveflux.net/blog/2006/02/26/boat-purchase-options/
has most of the info regarding the options we picked. All the info pertaining to anchor and chain are there. We are happy with our set up. It has worked well so far.

Q: Are you going to New Zealand?
A: See post https://kosmos.liveflux.net/blog/2007/06/07/fatu-hiva-to-manihi-%e2%80%93-days-2-and-3/