She purrs!

Engine is back in, everything is connected, and Ardea is getting the hell out of Raro!

I've adopted a crew for the passage to Tonga. There is another boat here, Donna, with a disabled rudder and no clear trajectory for getting going again any time soon. She has three crew that joined the boat for a while and pay a daily rate to tag along with the skipper. They're stranded and have become friends in our mutual plight against the fragility of seafaring. So, I have agreed to take them to the Vava'u group in northern Tonga after a short stop in Niue. Yes, it will be ridiculously cramped in my little boat, but the bright side is very easy watch schedules and a French chef!

Hopefully I will be in range of a winlink station so I can start posting position updates and blog posts from sea again. Otherwise, I'll check back in at Niue in about five days (600 nm from here).

Until then...