Getting boat parts repaired in foreign countries is always interesting. We needed some work done on our perpetually problematic riser (remember fixing this in the middle of the Atlantic, as well as off the coast of the Azores?), the worn threads needed to be cut off and new ones done. Luckily we had a good recommendation from a local cruiser. Gabriel is the man in the picture above. He’s 83 years old, used to be the head engineer for the Yugoslav naval base (before our flashy marina took its place), and still works on what looks like the original equipment (see below) in his shop out by the airport.

Gabriel and team speak a little bit of English and do remarkable work. In just one day we had the riser back and Trip said it was the most precise work he had ever seen. I had rather enjoyed seeing the local shop and how equipment decades old was still doing its job so well.