We would like to
wish all of our friends and followers a belated Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year.
We are still in
Granada, but not for much longer. When we check into the country we
are given a thirty day clearance for the boat. After that there is an
additional charge. Our thirty days are nearly up and it is time to
move on. Our first move will be to the island of Carriacou, which is
part of Granada. We will check out there and move North to the
Grenadines.
We have had some
down time and also have been busy. Cori has been busy adding sunshade
material to our cockpit enclosure which means she has been using her
sewing machine. In order to run the sewing machine we need to run the
generator to provide 110 volts and keep the batteries charged. We had
been informed over the summer that the generator was not running and
we brought parts with us from the States. Unfortunately the shop that
was doing the repair was not able to find the problems. It had gotten
splashed by saltwater and combined with the salt air it had a
corrosion problem. Evidently most of the wiring had gotten corroded.
We were about ready to give up on it and were making plans on where
up-island we would be able to buy a replacement. Our friend Sperry
got the name of another repairman and several hours after delivering
it to him he reported that it was fixed and running. The batteries
are happy, the sewing got done and we are enjoying our cockpit much
more than previously. Before the enclosure every time it rained,
which will happen several times a day, everything in the cockpit
would get wet and we would have to duck below to wait it out, only to
emerge into a wet cockpit. Now we are able to sit out and watch the
rain. Speaking of rain, we have found a couple of leaks and have been
tearing things apart to get at them. So far we have been successful,
but this being a boat more will show up over time. Just one of the
realities of living on a boat She has also been working on
refinishing some of the woodwork. There is no end to the projects on
a boat. One of the definitions of cruising is “repairing boats in
exotic places” and there is far too much truth to that.
It hasn’t been all
work. Christmas day we went for a local pig roast with a group of
cruisers. One day we did some exploring the island and checked out
another waterfall and a local museum. We made a couple of trips into
the city which is always an adventure with the maxi-taxis. New Years
Eve we went to a gathering of cruisers on nearby Hog Island but chose
not to stay late. There were fireworks in the next bay but just out
of sight for us. There are activities organized by the cruisers most
days so we have spent time ashore for various music gatherings, pool
tournaments and beach-time. Cori has spent several days with Sperry
preparing what they call “sea eggs” which is the roe from sea
urchins cooked and stuffed back into a sea urchin shell. It has been
windy, 15-20+ knots most days, so there are days when we just stayed
on the boat. One of those windy days, after a quick trip to shore, we
had another boat drag down on us. It is a weird experience watching a
boat with no-one on it coming your way. It seems to happen in slow
motion. We heard a noise and saw the boat, Old Bob, bounce off the
boat in front of us coming our way. We started grabbing fenders to
try to keep it off but it turned at a 90 degree angle to us and then
started to try T-boning us. Their bowsprit missed our headsail but
was rubbing against the bow pulpit. We were able to hold it off and
walk down the deck holding it off until it cleared our stern. After
us it was heading to the boatyard when a group of cruisers arrived
and managed to maneuver it to the seawall and get it tied up. We only
got some scratches to the bow pulpit where a chain rubbed, nothing
bent and no other damage. Luckily we had just arrived back from
shore. If it had happened a little earlier we would not have been
there to fend off.
The forecasts are
for the winds and waves to drop in the next few days so we are using
that as an opportunity to move on.
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