Merry Christmas from Singapore!

We were really hoping that we wouldn't still be here for Christmas instead we should be sipping cocktails on the beach in Thailand but as events turn out Blue Moon is still crippled and we're trying desperately to figure out how to fix her. We have a lot of mixed emotions at the moment, mostly missing family and friends who we couldn't be with for the festive season and also the frustration of being unable to move on with the situation we're in here. We've been working day and night but two steps forward always seem to result in four backwards.

However, today has been a welcome break as we headed into the city this afternoon to have some time off and enjoy Singapore's beautiful Christmas lights. At 6pm we visited the 'Cathedral of The Good Shepard' for evening mass where we sang Christmas carols alongside hundreds of local people in the beautiful historical building. The streets and malls were packed with shoppers making the most of the Christmas sales as most of the population are Chinese and Indian and don't celebrate the holiday as we do - This means everything runs as if it were a normal day and as usual the consumers are definitely consuming as if there were no tomorrow!!

After a quick stop into and English style pub for a Christmas drink we headed to the Carrefour supermarket to pick up some Sushi take-away and back to the boat for a not so traditional dinner. We've found that being away from home on Christmas day makes it impossible to re-create that traditional feeling especially coming from two different countries and backgrounds, it's just not the same no matter how hard we try so we've decided - 'When in Rome do as the Romans do'- Last year we celebrated with an Aussie BBQ in Sydney, in 2006 it was a Colombian fiesta in Cartagena, we find it makes us feel a little less home sick and we get to enjoy some local treats in very different settings...so sushi in Singapore - Why not?

We'd just like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope that wherever you are and whatever your doing your having a great time. Our thoughts are with you throughout the miles that separate us and we hope all your Christmas wishes come true!!

Patience and sanity test - Not quite a Johna story but getting close!

Ahoy to all!

Quick update on our status in Singapore!

Without mechanical knowledge previously tested or "required to date" - we have replaced, refitted, removed and just about re greased everything attached to the propeller shaft all the way back to the engine... On the positive- we now have knowledge about bearings, sheaves, splines and of course the various composites making them up which I must add a non-industry person should never be exposed to. This intimate experience also includes various installation techniques of said bearing, not limited to but definitely including: pressing, heating, pounding, tapping and just pure hard driving never before nor ever "again" to be attempted by the himself. The good news is the entire drive line, v-drive, transmission, hydraulic pluming, water system and not to mention the mounting, adjusting, removing to adjust again.

This of course just helps us get to the really fun part...the ever simple "ALIGNMENT PROCESS" HA! - Well our heads are still spinning over counting the planetary gears - no kidding - We have removed sun gears, moon gears and just plain old planetary gears - WOW! Like celestial navigation all over... It is just that the universe doesn't make crunching/rattling noises while they ellipse - must of had a good mechanic - (note to self: need to get him on the problem)
After real effort, time, money and knuckle cracking it has been concluded that there is a real problem and it required additional professionals.... Wow! #*@#%!!! - OR- SON OF A GUN!

Not a very exciting time on old Bluemoon... Christmas keeps screaming closer as if the pages on calendar were the odometer on a formula race car... The ripping of the pages just a constant reminder of friends and family afar and dollars tearing from our bank account.... We believe there is an end in sight - just holding onto hope and a constant positive outlook.

Just to top off the situation the immigration department will not issue us another extension without a written estimate of repair time and this needs to be from a locally recognized marine yard... Yippee! This was great news as we wasted 3 hrs getting out to their office only to be kicked back. Fun being on a boat sometimes - Arrive by bus or plane get 90-days - Arrive by boat get 14-days - get a one time 30 day renewal and then put up $3000 or who knows what..... So we have to hurry to get a letter explaining our problem on local letterhead...

SO - Now we need to return to the Raffles Marina Yard - not the people we ever wanted to deal with again- let alone ask for assistance... But we need to set the drive train correctly to insure the costly yard repairs were done correctly before departing... What luck!! All else is great! No cruisers in sight and the locals are to busy trying to out purchase the entire world for x-mas, if you think the economy is in trouble - Singapore will keep it rolling.

Enough for now! We will keep fighting the fight.

Transmission Re-build!

After replacing pretty much all the bearings in the v-drive over the last few days and then reinstalling it back into the boat we've come to the conclusion that this was not the only cause of the vibrations. Unfortunately, the damage extended further and has affected the transmission as well. This has proved extremely frustrating as we were up until 1 am this morning putting everything back with the hope that all would be perfect but no such luck. With much head scratching and our ears to the floor trying to locate the source of a loud knocking sound Jimmy and Roger (our Singaporean engine guru) finally came to the conclusion that it 'has' to be the bearing in the transmission.

So today it was back to the grind stone and the slow process of removing the whole gear box, taking it up to Roger's work area and breaking it down. The bearing definitely needs replacing so that's good news and the clutch plates look perfect. Unfortunately it's a holiday here on Monday so we have to wait until Tuesday before we can get the new bearing (if I ever have to see another bearing after this it will be too soon) but in the mean time we can clean everything up including the inch of grease that covers every surface in the boat... and hopefully get a full nights sleep!

Roger has been fantastic and without him we'd be paying a fortune to have a mechanic come down and do the work for us. He even took us out for some traditional Chinese food last night of chicken rice which is really popular here in Singapore...all tasted great but I had to draw the line after a mouth full of boiled chicken feet skin...enough of a cultural experience for one night and I wouldn't recommend it!!

Back in the water but not yet back on track.

Current Position: Raffles Marina, Singapore.

On Tuesday afternoon we were finally dropped back in the water after eight days on the hard. The new bronze strut has been fiber glassed into the hull and a brand new propeller shaft is back in place. This should have been a very happy moment for us but after a quick test run we noticed a lot of vibration on the new shaft and v-drive unit inside the boat. We drove Blue Moon back into the marina and started the process of figuring out what could be causing this as the marina manager assured us that the new strut is perfectly aligned. Wednesday morning we started the process of breaking down the V-drive unit to replace some of the bearings that could be causing the problem, since then Jimmy's been breaking his back carrying the unit back and forth from the boat but as of yet the problem isn't solved.

After mentioning the problem to the yard we've heard nothing from them and as far as we can tell now that we've paid them for the work they want nothing more to do with us...no follow through or interest in why there is a problem, not even a friendly concern!! Luckily we have a saving grace in the form of Roger, an older Singaporean man who knows everything there is to know about marine engines. Jimmy happened to meet him in passing and asked a few questions which resulted in a great teacher/student relationship, he's even driven Jimmy all over Singapore looking for the new bearings. We're pretty confident that with Rogers knowledge we'll finally get to the bottom of the problem and be out of here in time to get to Phuket by Christmas...Fingers crossed!