On our original itinerary, we were supposed to be leaving Gibraltar yesterday. It was perfect to go out — sunny, clear, no wind, calm seas. But, thanks to our stabilizer and water pump issues, we have no idea when we will be able to leave here. We have seen a parade of boats go in and out over the last few days. Most boats only come here for the cheap fuel. They stay a night or two, then move on. Seeing as you can see most of the main attractions in a day, there is little reason to stay longer.

We decided to go out to breakfast yesterday morning. As we were walking along the dock, we stopped to chat with a fellow boater. Our water pump issue came up, and he gave us the phone number for a chandlery in a nearby town that would be able to help us. They even speak English. We called right away. They didn’t have it in stock, but they would happily order it for us. Thank God.

The boating supply store called back a little while later, letting us know that the distributor in Barcelona was out of stock. Apparently when our translator asked if they had it, they said yes, meaning they could get it, not that they actually had it. It would take the distributor a week to get it, then the distributor could send it to the yacht chandlery. The cost was $525.00 USD. If we had realized the pump would be so darn expensive here in Europe, we would have paid to have it shipped from the US. Sigh. We have now lost 3 days. The chandlery suggested another pump brand that they could get in a couple of days. It is more money and the guy was not 100% certain it would be the right connector size. We are unconvinced, though. We have realized that the problem in getting the right connector in Europe is a metric versus imperial measuring system. Any pump we get here is going to be in metric sizes, and our pump is in American sizes. Why didn’t America ever switch over to metric?

Anyway, after much debate we decided that the best plan was to get the spare pump working well enough that we could make it to the Canary Islands. We ordered the 5.7 pump from America and are having it shipped to our crew mate who will be crossing the Atlantic with us, Colin, who lives in England. We chose the more economical 10 day shipping option. Colin will bring the pump with him when he meets us in the Canaries, and we will install the proper pump before we leave for our Atlantic crossing.

We had been giving Colin the blow by blow on the pump woes. Shortly after ordering the pump, we got an email from him. Colin works for an airline. Colin had enlisted Nordhavn’s help in finding us a pump in the States, which they were shipping to the airline’s office in New York. He had found a friend working a flight from New York to England to pick up the pump and hand carry it to Colin in England. Guaranteed delivery (assuming the plan went smooth), US prices, domestic shipping costs, no customs, no duties. It was brilliant. Of course, when we tried to cancel our order, we found out it had already shipped and we couldn’t. It is OK. We are happy about having a spare.

Eric went to work on redoing the connectors yet again. This time he sealed it with plumber’s cement instead of plumber’s tape, still using the hose clamps he had gotten the other day. He was 100% positive that it would finally work properly with no leaks. He was crestfallen when we tested it and saw it still leaked. The cement seems to be holding well on the low pressure side, but it leaks a little on the high pressure side. It works well enough that Eric feels OK using it, but since it is a little tenuous we are being safe and keeping the pump off unless we need it. Of course, we never remember to turn the pump on before we turn the water on. It is only after you have soapy hands that you realize, oh yeah, you need to run upstairs and turn the pump on so you can rinse your hands.

Eric also noticed we had a very small coolant link on the main engine. It was just a loose hose clamp, and it took just a moment to tighten the clamps. It leaked enough that had to top off the coolant. While he was doing that, he noticed a hose chaffing on the main, so fixed it by adding some chafe protection. Good thing he noticed it before the Atlantic crossing.

In good news, Eric found a fender floating by in the water. Yay! God sent us a replacement for our lost fender! And it is a nice one, much nicer than the one we lost. This bay must eat fenders.

This morning Eric redid the water pump yet again. This time he put a rubber washer in one end. The other end is configured in such a way where you can’t put a washer in there. He put plumber’s tape on the inside and silicone on the outside. Notice the zip ties holding the fitting in place on the connector to the boat plumbing. Finally, we have success. Yay! Now we can make it to the Canaries. The downside to this pump is that the water pressure isn’t nearly as good and it is much louder than the old one.

With that finally working, we could now turn our attention to sightseeing. Except it was windy and bitter cold. We went to lunch and decided it was just too darn cold to be out today. A local told us this is the coldest it ever gets in Gibraltar. Lucky us. We went back to Kosmos, ran the heater and did laundry instead. Eric proudly mounted our 20,000 mile pennant that Nordhavn sent us on the bow.

Someone came by in the afternoon and asked if they could take pictures of our boat. A few minutes later, three models in evening gowns were on the deck being photographed. The gowns are being featured in a local magazine called The Globe, and this is the first time these two girls have modeled. You’d never know it. They were very professional, not complaining at all about the freezing cold weather.