Down but not out

This time yesterday we were getting ready to go, after being in Gairloch for 7 days it was time to move on. Hearing Alex on Two Lochs wish us bon voyage, we felt like we were leaving friends, more so when we were waved off our berth by the other yachts who we'd come to know during our stay.

It was raining with no wind when we motored out onto the loch, everything was fine. The engine had seemed a bit reluctant to start, but it hadn't been used for a few days. It also seemed a little smokier than usual, but there was no wind and the smoke just hung on the water. After about 20 mins there was still a bit too much white smoke for my liking so I increased the revs. The engine was slow and didn't seem to be reaching full revs. Thinking there was something around the prop, I put the engine in neutral and the engine cut out. My heart sunk.

It took a lot of cranking to get the engine started again, and there was more white smoke. It wasn't looking good. The engine was running, we might have been able to get to Ullapool or Lochinver, but I wasn't happy with carrying on for 25 miles with an unreliable engine. I did a few maneuveres, and it was reassuring to see a couple of boats turn around and come towards us. So with a heavy heart I turned around back to Gairloch, waving to the yachts who'd diverted towards us. I was gutted, it was one of the low points of the trip for me. Just when we were on our way again, the opportunity to go north was cruely taken away.

We got into the harbour in time to see the two other yachts we met leaving on their way. We rafted against a new yacht Zebek, skippered by David. Zebek was a happy boat, and a beam of sunlight in what had otherwise been a very grey and dark day. "A boat of angels" was how Kirsty described them. They picked us up, fed us tea and cake, and offered to tow us down to Portree to get assistance. David was chatting to one of the local boat operators about our problem, and it turns out he has all the spares for a Bukh DV20, having just re built a couple of them. That would save us shipping time. Somone else had the number of a mechanic, who could make it to us within an hour and a half. We thanked David and his happy crew for their help, before they left for Skye.

At 13:30 Wilem the mechanic arrived, a tall, broad Dutchman, he made Pixie's engine look miniature. Pixie's engine wasn't even starting now, and it wasn't firing from the rear cylinder (which I found out after speaking to Nick at Sea Start, he told me to remove the fuel pipe from each injector before replacing it and disconnecting the other one). Wilem spent a few hours bleeding the fuel system, finding out in the process that our primary fuel filter was leaking air which could have been causing the problem of the fuel in the cylinder not combusting. After thoroughly bleeding the fuel Pixie's engine started and ran, no white smoke, it started quickly, we were on our way again.

We tidied up Pixie, although it was too late to get to the Summer Isles we could at least get aroud Rubha Reidh into Loch Ewe. We started the engine, which took a little too much effort and there was a puff of white smoke, but it soon dissappeared. We cast off and motored out of the harbour. No sooner had we left then the engine didn't seem to be cruising at her normal speed, so I increased the revs, then the temp alarm went off and Kirsty stopped the engine. I checked the raw water strainer, and impeller as we drifted around. We were towed back to the harbour, and Jackson the harbourmaster saw we were safe alongside. There was nothing for it but to cook dinner, have cheese and biscuits, then pour a whisky or two. Wilem is now back on board Pixie, in the process of removing the head gasket