Le Havre and the Dreaded Propeller

We had come to Le Havre as during my research it was suggested as the better of the two options, the other being Honfleur, to un-step the mast prior to entering the river Seine. Though after doing in this you are still required to go back out into the ocean to get to the start of the river, meaning that you loose stability and have the possibility of capsizing.
Le Havre was busy and we were required to wait a couple of days to finally get a booking with the crane needed to take down the mast. So in the meantime we spent the time preparing the supports and packing away the sails and rigging, which would not be required for another month when we reach the Mediterranean.
After a couple of really boring days in probably the ugliest industrial town on the coast we woke early to move the boat over to where the crane was operating. As we were maneuvering I noticed the engine was making a strange sound. I asked Elo to see if there was a mechanic available since we were going to be using our engine for the next month I didn't want to take any chances. The mechanic suggested that maybe there was something around the propellor and that I should go under the boat for a look. Lucky I brought my wetsuit over from Australia as the water is not exactly warm around these parts. The suggestion turned out to be correct and I was required to cut a large piece of fishing mesh from around the propeller. Noticing also to my surprise that one of the propeller blades has also broken off! Though relieved we found this now and had not had a problem at sea. It seemed also that we did have a spare on board, left by the previous owner. I concluded that he must have changed the prop at some stage and left the old one there as a spare, why else would it be on board?
After consultation with the marina staff it was determined that we should dry out on the wall rather than waiting the next couple of days for thecranen and then pay two hundred Euros for the lift out and back in. We were hesitant though as this would be a first time for us and also now without a mast it made the exercise decidly more technical. Elo talked to a few of our neighbor's who were kind enough to offer advice. Basically what we were attempting to do was go to a spot in the marina that dried out with the out-going tide, yet deep enough to move the boat into at high tide, tie to the wall and wait for the tide to go out. Resulting in Flora Ella standing on her keel and leaning agains a wall. We would then be able to change the propeller. At the same time I arranged for the mechanic to arrive at 10am, when we expected to be on the ground. So after getting there around 4am and waiting anxioulsy for her to touch the ground we were devastated to find out that we had stopped in the wrong place, although only about 20 meters along on the same wall. At this point the ground was mud and only above water for an hour or so, not enough time to work nor a suitable working surface. Meaning we would have to wait for the next tide and dry out again, although by this time the mechanic would be off and we would be left on our own to change the propeller. Determined to leave Le Havre as soon as possible I swallowed hard and put my mind to getting the job done.
Finally the new propeller was on and we were able to leave the wall where we had spent the last 12 hours. I started the engine and put her in forward, only to find that I was heading backwards, the propeller was clearly not the correct one for this engine. Frustrated, tired and desperate to leave after more than a week in Le Havre, we stubbornly and stupidly decided to leave anyway...