The trip in Buffer has come to a temporary halt in the Caledonian Canal in a beautiful bit of Scotland. The engineers will have another go at solving the problem with the engine tomorrow ( Saturday just before a bank holiday!) and I'll then know if its a complete stop and return home or a minor but costly gap in the current schedule of the trip.

The head casket has gone but there is also a problem with an injector; the bit that fires the diesel into the cylinder. Apparently it's come adrift in a sleeve that sits in the engine block. The engineer is trying to regrind it by hand to make it fit to withstand the compression in the cylinder – he's a very positive guy and is hopeful. The alternative is to take the head off again and send it away. The latter option means a long delay, and for me a return home. I will have to find a temporary home for Buffer until she's fixed and then continue the trip later in the year. Every problem has a solution its just finding it and sorting it, and that is what will eventually happen .

It was perhaps an omen that Helen sent me a link of a canal cruise ship it passed me today – see pictures. It was a tight fit but it didn't mark my paintwork.

My apologies to James who comes on Sunday – looks like a walking holiday unless the engineer comes good on Saturday. I'll let all other crew members for later in the trip know of any rescheduling once I've sorted things......