Rudder Repair -

So after the reality set fully in we have decided to pop the rudder back out, and get the section with the cracks removed. And that is why we are here enjoying this beautiful little city. Yesterday we dropped the rudder again, and loaded it on top of an old Renault 309 that had a hasp latch with a padlock to hold the trunk closed, and the windshield was caulked most of the way back in. 

The roof lacked basic support and settled down a couple of inches with the weight of the rudder on top. There were two areas on the rudder shaft that had stress cracks about a third of the way around the shaft.  It was probably the right call!

This is a nice island and of course I had the obligatory "ride around the island" on the motorcycle. These are very lush tropical islands with fertile soil.  Most people have a garden of some sort, or at least some friends with a banana palm of two.

On our way over to this island we finally managed to land a large Mahi-Mahi. Wow! What a fighter!  It took about 1/2 hour to land the fish, and then there was the photo shoot, as the fish changed from green to blue to silver. The actual landing of the fish was quite tricky. When it was right next to the boat I took the spear guy and jabbed it manually into the fish.  Then with the line and the spear got it onto the swim step. That is when the fight really started. And somehow during operation "fish for dinner" I got my nipple cut! Now how does that happen? We ate as much as we could and canned most of the rest of the fish. Our canning operation is in full swing.  And now whenever we have too much fish, we can it!  Works really great!!

Courage