My transmission bit the dust in Aden. I asked around for a mechanic, and the state ship yard sent some guys and look at it for free - communisim is good! They told me that they could take it off, bring to their shop and in 20 minutes tell me what was exactly wrong with it. But; then I would have to wait at least six weeks for parts to be shipped in - communisim is not so good! One said, in broken English, "this is a sailboat, right? Then sail it up to Europe and get it fixed properly!" Actually I still had forward; but the plates had warped leaving me with no neutral or reverse and I was afraid the plates would ultimately disintegrate leaving me unable to power through the Suez Canal.