Recall that on my journey to Tonga the kind authorities in New Zealand confiscated my superglue, on the notion that somehow superglue in my hands is a lethal weapon. Drats...I failed to conceal my top-secret training in international subterfuge.
Anyway, since arriving in Tonga, my sunglasses have broken. I tried melting the plastic frame back together with a soldering iron. That quick-fix held for two days before disintegrating. Superglue might or might not have done the trick, but I would like to have been able to try.
I ended up investing in another pair of cheap sunglasses instead, which I'll no doubt destroy in some truly creative and diabolical fashion before the trip is over.
Then yesterday, when I jumped into the midst of a heat run, I kept getting a mouthful of water when I breathed in. With high seas, deep water and energetic whales, this wasn't an ideal situation. Try as I might, I couldn't clear the water.
Back on the boat, I discovered that my snorkel had cracked wide open. The basic idea behind a snorkel is to let air in and keep water out. So having an enormous crack largely undermines the value of a having snorkel at all.
Again, sans superglue, I've had to improvise, using my all-purpose electrician's tape. This tape has held my camera housing together before in previous emergency-repair situations, so I reasoned that it should be ok for my split-snorkel too.
Tomorrow, we'll see if my handyman skills did the trick or not.
Meanwhile, I take comfort in knowing that the world is a safer place with my superglue securely in the hands of the ever-vigiliant Auckland airport authorities.