Views of Dock Life and We Begin the Engine Work!

We've been in Marina Taina for a week. We've seen three big, charter sailboats arrive, crews mingle on the quay (of course they can't meet aboard their charter boats!), and much of the daily life here. On Tuesday, Adrian arrived to start the removal of our old Nanni Diesel engine.

The last photo of our old Nanni Diesel with the frame surrounding it. The decision to replace it wasn't made easily but it was the right decision.

No frame! We've cleaned the area around the engine. When you compare this photo with the fifth one down, you can appreciate the number of parts that we removed.

Adrian at work.

The pile of parts removed from the engine begin to grow.

Adrian's tool set tells a lot about his work. They're clean and arranged. He's meticulous about his tools and careful in his work. Between his set and mine, we've got a superb selection and have been able to do what we needed to do.

Adrian curled up to remove the prop shaft from the coupling.

Our old Nanni, stripped of non-essential parts to lighten the lift. This is the photo I suggested be compared with the first photos of the complete Nanni.

This is a drawing of Marina Taina, showing its extent. We're on the inside of the quay for the big boats on the left side.

This is S/V Marae from Rhode Island, US, as she backs into a Med mooring slip between two other expensive yachts, and in a 30-knot crosswind. She's already dropped her anchor upwind of her slip to help maintain her alignment.

Marae's skipper guns the engines to keep up with drift. Her bow and stern thrusters were churning, too. Crew from the boats at her sides are concerned!

After a beautiful job of aligning the boat, Marae's skipper centers the boat and continues to back. He committed early and made a good choice. As long as he can keep the stern aligned, the well-placed anchor will keep his bow aligned.

Dock lines are ready and Marae continues to back. Her stern is now protected from the crosswinds by the upwind boat.

Dock lines have been thrown to the dock crew. She's almost home!

She's in, and glad to be so. The blonde lady, by the way, is the second in command at the marina.

Pastis, most of it, at the giant Carrefour store. Neither Conni nor I had any idea there were so many brands and types.