Sunday, March 19, 2017

Time for a Change

Hello Faithful Reader!

I've been at the dock in Rodney Bay for 3 weeks now and it's time for a change. I've done a world of boat jobs so I feel pretty good about that... but as I sit here the harbour sludge is building up on the bottom. Time to race through the water to clean it all off... over to Martinique where Pam flies in next weekend. Yay!!!

I like my own company but occasionally I get on my nerves and it's time to hang around with someone else.

I couldn't find anything that appealed to me for lunch on the boat so I thought I'd wander down to the restaurants to peruse the various menus. The closest I got to buying something was at the sushi place... but I wasn't hungry enough to pay the formidable prices... even though it is very good and artsy. I'll wait 'til I get back home to fill up on sushi.

Started back to the boat and ran into my fruit lady. I was low on fruit so I picked up some grapefruit, passion fruit and bananas. She has a bunch of bottles filled up with herbs and twigs and stuff. The idea is that you buy some of the local rum/poison and drink it as a tonic. Each time I look at it she tells me it is good for my "willie" and offers me a taste. I think she likes me.

Didn't notice the special soaps until I took this photo

Just add kick-a-poo joy juice

Fruit Lady

She had some aubergines and I asked her how she prepared them. She said slice, egg batter, bread crumbs if you like and fry them up.

So I did...

Aubergine/eggplant

Sliced

Soon to be egg batter

Panko and pepper

Looking good!


Fry 'em up

Enjoy
So... you can put lime, salt and hot sauce on anything and it tastes good. I'm not sure that I will waste my time on the aubergine next time.

So there is another thing, like zip-lining, that I never need to do again.

Off tomorrow. See you in Sainte-Anne!

Ready to go!
Page One getting ready for the trip over to Sainte-Anne

Gary seizing the halyard shackle in place

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Wait a minute... who's having fun?

While Pam's gone I've been filling my time with boat jobs. I've always wanted to have some alone time on the boat so I can get some things done without having to behave and make sure Pam isn't getting annoyed or bored or annoyed and bored. So I got my wish.

I've finished the part of the cap rail that we both were working on, refinished the sole in the aft cabin. I'm working on the forward cabin as we speak and I've repaired a couple of leaky, mal-functioning hatches. Changed the oil and filters. Changed the fuel filters. All very exciting... blah, blah, blah.

Old method to keep hatch open

New (not cheap) friction lever in place

Ooooooohhh, shiny

Hatch re-bedded after removal for repairs

And... it works! Yay.

Loads of fun.

Hey, wait a minute! What's going on at home? Kids are all there, grandkids are all there. Brad's drinking scotch, Jen and Carrie overdosing on ice cream. I want some!

Having fun!!!

Grandkids "helping..."

Breakfast chaos

Gran doing Gran duties
The troops have rallied to move Carrie out of our basement where we held her captive for the last little while... into her new apartment. How cool.

Congratulations!

Moving day today!


Luke totin' stuff

Get your stuff out of my garage!!!

Hey, that's what I'm doin', too

Jack helping out Carrie load the van.
Just hangin' at Care Bear's

Yay! A picnic with Aunty Jen. Uncle Brad chillin' on the sofa.
I wish I was there!

Friday, March 3, 2017

Boat Jobs in St. Lucia

We like France. Prices are like at home and you can get everything. So getting groceries is great. Also fun to hear the different music at bars and to enjoy the meals at the local cafes.

Huge dinghy dock in St. Anne

Great panini - internet cafe

I'm not sure about their hours of operation but they always seem to be open

Sailboarding school near the Club Med

But we have places to go. We have set Rodney Bay as our turn-around point for this cruising season. The island chain from Antigua down to St. Lucia is quite magical. Our sail over could not have been better. The best of this season so far. We averaged more than 7 knots. Just flying. And that was without the staysail. Also, Pam was smiling... not grimacing like she's having a root canal.

And, speaking of chain, a focus for Rodney Bay was that the Island Water World outlet here that has the chain we want for a reasonable price. Our primary anchor chain (200 feet) was so badly deteriorated that we abandoned it and moved over to our secondary (120 feet.) So we were looking forward to getting our new chain here. Turns out, they have lots of chain, only not in a 200 foot length.

I asked Ian, manager at the local Island Water World - someone I have great respect for - where the chain was made.

He said, "China." The chain is manufactured by Canada Metal - who have a great reputation - but the galvanizing process is very nasty. Apparently you have to vaporize zinc all over the chain which can be quite harmful to humans. So doing the work in Canada, where the regulations are quite strict, is more difficult than doing the work in China, where the regulations are less strict.

So that makes you think!

I guess we will wait on chain.

We were delighted to see Page One when we arrived in the harbour. We met Gary and Donna in Allen's Cay back in 1978 and have kept in touch over the years. They brought us conch up from Carriacou so we could appreciate our Bahamas days together. Very thoughtful.

Page One - build in Surrey, BC

Cleaning and bashing conch for Cracked Conch
Fruit Guy. Want a grapefruit?
So Pam has gone home to inspect the family - make sure the kids are behaving and taking care of our grandchildren appropriately. 

She has left me in charge of boat jobs. I've got some varnish to complete. Loose wires to trace. Rum to drink. A couple of fans to replace. I'm hoping that when she returns things are generally ship-shape!

I'll keep you informed!