Grenada

Prickly Bay Anchorage

11.59.985 N

61.45.818 W

 

12/17/2020      Dale kept busy today running the water maker, ice maker, and then finally tore the two staterooms completely apart trying to figure out why the switch for the fans that blows the hot air out when the engines are running, would trip.  Come to find out, one of the fans was binding up.  Tomorrow he will purchase another to replace it. 

In the meantime, bless his heart, he ran the engine for about an hour so that I would have warm water for my shower.  Not that I mind tepid showers but I prefer warm ones.  I also used the occasion to scrub the floors on the port side as it seems we grind dirt into the white floors of the shower/bathroom with our bare feet.  I’ve mopped the entire boat since coming out of the dusty yard; so how do we still manage to track muddy footprints all over if we haven’t gone anywhere? 

 

           He also managed to find the Christmas tree that we have for the boat.  Last year at this time, we were transiting and never pulled it out.  This year when we pulled it out, we realized that where I would normally string it up is now used to suspend the shade cloths.  We both studied the various possibilities and then decided that the best place would be on the hard top between the solar panels, suspended from the topping lift.  As night fell, I saw that there are a few lights out and started thinking about how old it was as we had used it on our Hunter on our last visit here.  Dale and I thought about it for awhile and figured that it was about 17 years old.  I guess we’ve gotten our money’s worth and we’re lucky that it only has a couple of lights out.  Gerry teased us that we’re all getting older, more brittle and not all of our lights come on at the same time.  Nuff said!!

 

One of the locals

12/18/2020       Shopping day!  Nicky and I have our lists and enter into the chaos that is in every grocery store around the globe prior to a holiday.  The guys go in search of pieces and parts at the computer store.  They find a cable that they think might be long enough to connect the AC to its remote on the wall.  The salesman is certain that this is what they need and agrees to take it back if it isn’t. 

 

12/19/2020      Happy Birthday Dad! 

            Dale does a trial run with the newly purchased computer cable which does, in fact, work for the AC.  He and Gerry will tear apart the salon, and pretty much all of the starboard side on Monday to install it.  

 

12/20/2020      Gerry decides to cook breakfast for all of us today.  It was wonderful!  All of my favorites (bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns,) plus a few British ones (baked beans and roasted tomatoes.)  Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it—it was actually quite delicious and I may have to add baked beans to my breakfasts from now on.  

 

12/21/2020      Dale and Gerry run the cable for the AC that they purchased from the computer store; it runs down the wall, behind a cabinet in the aft stateroom on the starboard side, under the flooring, through the bathroom behind the salon settee, along the backside of the washer/dryer before heading up back to the salon area into the space for the AC.  It’s about 6” too short.  Six inches huh?  Since they’re men, I ask them if I should remeasure. 

Charlotte from PLM responded to our e-mail from last week wherein we told her about another possible vendor for the gauges asking if she is willing to pay the higher price as they are in stock.  She wants us to contact the store to find out shipping charges and then she’ll call it with the credit card number.  Dale is adamant that she call the store to find out the charges and give them the credit card information at the same time.  I write a rather pointed e-mail back to her relaying that we’ve done all the legwork thus far while she was on vacation, so she needs to make the call. 

 

12/22/2020      Due to the rising positive CoVid numbers, the Prime Minister has reinstituted curfew and tightened restrictions on going out or gatherings during the holiday.  Gerry received word that his watermaker part is in. 

 

12/23/2020      Gerry picked up his water maker part and we hired Joel (our taxi driver) to do a quick run around the island for last minute items prior to the holidays.  I needed just the basics; milk, butter, eggs, flour, and green beans.  We grabbed a quick lunch at the Container Park and invite our driver to join us.  When we get to the supermarket in town, they are asking for photo IDs, taking temperatures and asking that you sign into a book so that they can track you, should the virus spread further.  Really?  A photo ID to go grocery shopping is ridiculous!  Nicky didn’t even have a photo ID with her.  They still let us in. 

 

12/24/2020         Dale helped Gerry install the water maker part that Gerry had been waiting for.  I divide up my Christmas cooking so that my little oven can cook up everything on my list.  I’ll prep what I don’t cook today, so that it will be easier to cook tomorrow.  We’re aiming for a 2 o’clock meal. 

 

12/25/2020         Merry Christmas Everyone! 

                           I started the day at 6:30am as I was making yeast rolls for our dinner.  Once the dough was mixed up, I covered it with a towel and set it out in the warm cockpit to rise over the next 6 hours.  Then I mixed up our celery and onion dressing, sweet potato casserole, and green bean casserole then set them aside.  I was happy that I had done most of the prep the day before.  As I was hosting this time, Dale was helping by washing up all my measuring cups, mixing bowls and spoons as I used them.  Then he went around and swept the floors and ran a damp mop over everything and scrubbed the cockpit.  Once completed, we sat down, happy that we were prepared for the day.  Then I noticed that no matter which dishes I put together, I wouldn’t be able to put more than a single dish in the oven at a time.  So, I sat down with a pen and paper and started calculating time and temps to come up with a plan.  If I started at 11:00 am, and increased the temps as I went along, I’d be set for a 2pm dinner.  Knowing that everything seems to take a bit longer in the boat oven, I raised the temps on everything 25* and crossed my fingers.  Then I dug out a bunch of towels.  One beach towel for the salon table, and 4 bath towels to wrap each dish as I brought it out of the oven.  Hopefully this would keep each dish warm until dinner. 

                           Over on Opal, Nicky was doing the same thing.  She made a turkey breast, a small ham, roasted potatoes, carrots, parsnips and brussels sprouts (apparently, they’re an English or Australian Christmas thing (I’d never heard of brussels sprouts for Christmas dinner, she’d never heard of not having them)) cranberry relish and Christmas pudding flambe with rum sauce!  She had mentioned earlier that she wanted left overs so that we wouldn’t have to cook the next couple of days.  Obviously, there was no worry in that department. 

                           About 1pm Nicky texted that she needed a bit more time but it gave me a chance to put in the second pan of rolls into the oven, so not a problem.  Dale put Christmas music on the stereo and we listened to Bach, Buffett and a couple of Australian groups that had their own take on Christmas classics i.e. the Twelve Days of Christmas in the Outback, my personal favorite.  By the time they arrived and we had everything on the table, with the food plated, it was closer to 3 but it was a feast none the less and enjoyed by all. 

                           After dinner, we sat (because we couldn’t move) and listened to our music until dusk, tried to fire off the Christmas pudding flambe (it never would light) but it was delicious as it was.  Then Nicky and I divided up the leftovers into the plastic Chinese containers I save for just this reason.  I had made a red velvet cake but ended up just putting it in their left over containers as no one had room for any more food. 

                           Dale and I ended the evening watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas (what else?) and checking out the Jupiter/Saturn phenomenon taking place.  We’ve been watching it since Monday.  It’s considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as the last time it appeared this close and visible to the naked eye around the globe was in 1226.  The conjunction is sometimes nicknamed the "Christmas Star" or "Star of Bethlehem" for its connection to the Christian nativity story.  Hope everyone got a chance to see it as it won’t be visible to everyone this close again until 2080. 

 

12/26/2020         Happy Birthday April! 

                           It was a great night!  A light breeze, just enough swell to rock you to sleep and no rain!  I was exhausted, so maybe I just slept through everything.  The Tinker Twins were back in sync today and installed a small fuel pump to our genset.  It’s been becoming more and more temperamental in starting and Dale felt that the pump would help.  It did seem to help so I’m guessing my thought about a new starter was in error. 

 

12/27/2020         Dale has started polishing the bright work early in the mornings before it gets too hot.  He does just a few stanchions each day.  It should take him about a week to do the whole boat.  We saw the “Christmas Star” (Jupiter and Saturn) for the last time. 

 

12/28/2020         Laundry day.  Today Gerry and Nicky sent their laundry in while we fired up the genset and did ours on board.  Dale and Gerry took a walk about to dump trash, hike up to the mini market between here and True Blue and then a quick visit to Budget Marine just because it was there.  We finished the day with having dinner on Opal and discussing the world’s problems. 

 

12/29/2020         Today when I checked our e-mails, I was surprised that PLM actually contacted us to say that most of the remaining parts are ordered but that one was back ordered and not due in until after our most current visas expire.  We went back and forth and hopefully have come up with a plan that we can both be happy with.  With luck, we won’t need to extend our visas again.   

                           Gerry and Dale went in to the little grocery store we had discovered earlier in Prickly Bay to purchase a few items needed on our boats.  Later Dale and I decided to walk to the Container Park for a little exercise, taking the back way in via the dirt road we first discovered when they were repaving their entry.  For walking, it’s a much shorter path.  Unfortunately, our 2 favorite stores were closed, so we settled for a hamburger and fries instead of the gyros we had been thinking about before hiking back.  I did learn from one of the vendors that the Brewery is rumored to be opening next week.  Let’s hope so.  I miss our brunches there on Sunday and I really miss buying my eggs there. 

                           We finished the day listening to the resort on the beach blasting out music.  I find it interesting that we’re all supposed to be sheltering in place with a curfew until the latest “cluster” of CoVid cases resolves but some places are still going strong.  Just our favorite places are following the rules.  I’m sure they are all wearing their masks and social distancing. 

 

12/30/2020         Guess I wasn’t the only one questioning what was going on at the resort on the beach.  There was a comment left on the Cruiser’s Facebook page and suddenly the music was gone.  I don’t condemn the local businesses for trying to stay afloat though all of this, I wish they all would.  We all know to stay 6’ apart and wear masks if you’re not eating/drinking.  My question reverts back to why only certain people are allowed to party heartily, while the majority of us are under curfew.  It just doesn’t seem right. 

                           Today was deathly still.  No wind; hot and miserable.  It was overcast a good portion of the day as well.  I hosted dinner tonight and Nicky brought a delicious dessert; one I’ll try to duplicate in the future.  One of the topics discussed was that Gerry apparently was caught in a downpour that drenched him to the skin earlier in the day.  Those of us on our boats only got drizzle and spits.  Kind of amazing that at the end of the channel (maybe a half mile away) was an entirely different scenario. 

 

12/31/2020         New Year’s Eve.  No special plans for this evening and it rained all day, so we spent much of the time watching a period piece on Netflex called Bridgerton.  I was surprised that Dale appears to like it too. 

                           This afternoon, after he had run the genset for 3 hours (no sun, so we needed to charge the batteries) it sounded as if it was dying out, right when he started to shut it down.  Reminded of our problems a year ago, I thought possibly it was starved for fuel, so I suggested that we run the fuel polisher for a while tomorrow.  Dale is hoping that it was just getting hot.    

                           We tried something different this evening.  The 2 boats ordered Indian food to be delivered to the dock where Dale and Gerry were to dinghy in to pick it up.  Unfortunately, the delivery guy was running late, so they were forced to kill time with their noses pressed up against the Budget Marine windows as, sadly, the store was closed.  Our dinners finally arrived with the many apologies only East Indians can offer; Dale had Chicken Lazeez with rice, I ordered Chicken Saag with Naan but the container said I had Chicken Palack; in any event I ate chicken with spinach which was what I had intended regardless of the name. 

                           Finally, with regard to the resort that had the “cluster” of positive CoVid tests, it was shut down, the guests sent home and the island instituted a curfew in addition to various restrictions previously implemented. Today, Gerry sent us a posting from the Cruiser’s Facebook page, wherein it stated that 432 people were tested/retested and all were negative.  Of the 11 guests who were the “cluster” at the resort on Grenada, who were sent back to the US where they were retested, not only did they not have CoVid, the antigen test showed that all, except 2, (whose tests had not been reported on) had never had CoVid—ever!  Gerry pointed out that the original tests are the same tests the whole world is using.  In essence, an entire nation closed down over false positives.  And to add to the further absurdity, nothing has reopened!

                            In any event, 2020 is finally in the history books.  

Every so often I take a really good photo!

St. George’s, Grenada

Spice Island Marine/Cool Runnings Apts.

12.00 N

61.45 W

 

12/01/2020      Confirmation:  Opal has a water leak.  The Voodoo doll has been passed.  They’re having a welder come out to have a look at what options they may have. 

 

           Dale was finally sprung from quarantine with new whiskers and we transfer all of his stuff back into my apt. before taking a walk over to the boat and showing him where we are at the moment.  I had started keeping a log of date, time, temp, battery levels and voltage when I first began checking such things when Dale left and Gerry started asking me what the various numbers were each time I saw him.  After a couple of days, the numbers started to blur so figured I’d better start writing things down.  Dale inspected the AC repairs, the window replacements, what work had been completed on the sail drives, the broken stanchion, and reviewed my log.  All repairs were either completed or coming along nicely.  He approved of my log and decided to keep it going. 

 

12/2/2020        The baton has officially been passed back to Dale.  Although I did get up with him at the crack of dawn to walk over to the boat to open it up, after today, it’s all his again and I intend to return to my normal sleeping pattern of up at 8 or 9 and down at 11 or later.  I return to the apt. to send another message to PLM asking where we are with ordering the replacement gauges; I’m getting frustrated that they’re not responding.  Dale uses the remainder of the day to catch up with Dane, the yard owner and Johnny, the yard work supervisor.

 

12/3/2020        Dale cleaned up starboard side stateroom putting things back to order; sanded, waxed and finished off the repairs on the starboard side swim ladder area he had started work on prior to leaving on his 2^nd trip. 

 

12/4/2020        Friday, shopping day.  We decided to drop by PLM to see where we are with ordering the replacement gauges (since they aren’t responding to our e-mails).  They haven’t been ordered as yet, she says that she can’t get them to answer the telephone.  When we return to the apt after our shopping Dale calls the facility referred to on the Manta site, they do answer but you have to negotiate a phone tree to get to the right party.  He then relays the info back to PLM.  That evening she sends confirmation that she has ordered the parts. 

 

12/5/2020        Dale gives the Palace a good scrub to rid it of all of the yard dirt, dust, footprints, etc.  I take the old parrot decals off the hull and put one new one on before it starts raining.  The old ones were fading to the point where you needed to be on top of them to see what they were.  The new ones aren’t as detailed but are darker, so they should last a bit longer. 

 

12/6/2020        Sunday trip to the Brewery for brunch and veggie shopping.  We watch another installment of the Grand Prix.  I don’t know the first thing about racing but decided to root for a young guy named Russell.  Unfortunately, Mr. Russell had a series of problems with his tires and fell from 2^nd place to 15^th but managed to pull himself back up to 9^th before the end of the race. 

I buy a refillable beer bottle for Dale and fill it with the flavor he’s been selecting; a nice souvenir and something different to drink.

 I’m cautioned that it only lasts about a week once you open it. 

When we return, we add the 2^nd decal to the boat. 

 

12/7/2020          PLM sends info that gauges are not in stock and it is unknown as to when they will be.  The decision is made to continue with the order as we can’t find another site to order them from.  Spice Island says we’re on schedule to go back into the water on Wed. the 9^th.  I run all of the laundry through while I still have free laundry facilities.  Dale waxes the port side deck and front of the boat. 

 

12/8/2020        While Dale waxes the starboard side deck and front, I start packing up all of our belongings into bags.  We had planned to move the majority of our food and clothing back to the boat via taxi after closing hours but Joel, our normal taxi driver, can’t make it.  He has his 4 year old son to watch.  We schedule to move everything for tomorrow morning at 10am. 

 

 

Grenada

Prickly Bay Anchorage

11.59.985 N

61.45.818 W

 

12/9/2020        Dale heads over to the boat bright and early and telephones back that our 11am move has been postponed until 1pm.  I figure this gives us more time to move our stuff back onto the boat and get somewhat settled before the hoist.  Dale returns just before 10 and helps me carry all of our bags down to the parking area where Joel’s taxi is waiting.  As Dale transfers the last bags, I go in and check us out of the apt. asking the manager if he has anyone scheduled to go in immediately; just in case.  He’s apparently used to this (being right next door to the boat yard) and says, if we need to come back, no problem. 

            Joel drives us over and helps us load all (23 bags ((about the size of grocery bags)) back onto the boat.  I set about getting the refrigerated and frozen foods back into their rightful places and then move on to pantry items.  I leave the clothes in the stateroom and put the computer items someplace safe from falling for the next couple of hours.  About 2pm, the hoist finally arrives, I’m instructed to get off, and the Palace is lifted enough to clear the supports its been resting on and the last bits given a swath of bottom paint before slowly making its way to the concrete dock where it is lowered back into the water.  Both sail drives are checked and a small leak is detected, so she is held stationary while the technician in charge of that type of repair is summoned and the leak is fixed.  Unfortunately, in their zeal to fix the leak, they break the support that holds the engine door open and tweak the door itself.  Dale is rather annoyed as he had told them about 10 minutes before that they needed to watch the door’s support.  In any event, the technician in charge of wood crafting was summoned and the support was refashioned in short order.  In the meantime, Dale readjusted the door’s lock, tightened the placement and had it working by the time they returned.   

            Heading out to the anchorage, we first located Opal and then tried to find a place near them to anchor.  We found one straight away but we dragged to the point where our aft end was hanging out in the channel.  We moved to the opposite side of Opal and farther in front but when we let out a sufficient amount of chain, I wasn’t comfortable with our positioning with two other boats.  Our 3^rd attempt was well inside the mooring field but again, we dragged.  Our final anchoring was essentially back to our original spot but this time we set securely although we were definitely in the channel.  What can I say?  It was that or move further into the swell already rocking the boats. 

 

12/10/2020      We began our day early with another move as a boat in front of us left the anchorage, so we moved up to keep from being as close to the channel as we were.

 A moth about the
size of my hand

Later, we contacted Gerry and Nicky to see if they were in the mood for exploring the perimeter of the Prickly Bay area.  We started by heading in to the Prickly Bay Yacht club to see what was available.  We found a tiny grocery store that stocked the bare minimum, so that if we ran out of something at mealtime, a quick trip there might locate the item.  The bar/restaurant was under construction.  Gerry found a laundry further in but the old customs/immigration building we remembered from 2006 was no longer in use and we couldn’t find the old refueling docks at all. 

Back in our dinghies, we circled around the harbor until we located the beach front of a resort we had seen from our road explorations.  We saw a little beach bar where there were a couple of dinghies tied to a tree but as it was clearly part of the resort, we didn’t think they would want grotty yachties befouling their sand.  As we stood off, Gerry made a quick call to the resort and confirmed that yes, they would accept our money and we could come in for drinks and a quick bite.  We enjoyed some quick bites of wings, learned when the happy hours were and promised to come back in the future. 

 While there, we learned that Gerry has been busy fixing his leaking water tank on his own.  He had a welder come out and together they decided that they couldn’t figure out how the tank was held in place, it was too large to come out in one piece and they really couldn’t tell where the leak was without enlarging the inspection area. So, Gerry, over a period of days, cut 2 more inspection ports into the top of the tank, was able to find the leak in a seam, came up with a solution of using epoxy over the seams as well as the hole found and then epoxied 2 plastic inspection port covers into the holes he cut.  So far, his solution is holding and the leak seems to be gone. 

Back at our boat, Dale turned on the genset and tested the AC—which didn’t work.  Next was a call to the installers to make an appointment to pick them up on Monday at 9 am. 

            We finished the day with dinner on Opal where we learned that there might be another brand of gauges that might work that could be ordered from the local Budget Marine (more expensive, so we’ll need to work with PLM on it)

 

12/11/2020      Played open/close the hatches throughout the night with on again/off again rain. 

            For some crazy reason, I decide today would be a good day to defrost the freezer.  I get about half way through and Dale takes over as my hands are getting stiff from the cold.  I rearrange the items as they go back in so that the oldest is on the top and try to organize the contents again.  It never lasts.   Invariably, what you need is below something else and despite good intentions, it never goes back in the way it came out.  Another observation:  even though I pull something out, I never seem to gain any space until I defrost again. 

                        Gerry and Dale dinghy into Budget Marine to investigate the gauges we’ve heard about; he’s told to come back with the part numbers he wants ordered (so much for customer service). 

                        We invite the Cooper’s over for a steak dinner (found at the bottom of the freezer).  Nobody keels over with food poisoning, so I guess they were still good. 

 

12/12/2020      Not much going on today.  We decide to have dinner at Sand Bar, the little beach bar/restaurant we found a couple of days earlier at the resort. 

 

 

12/13/2020      Sunday means a trip to the Brewery; veggie, egg and bread shopping; a quick lunch; and visiting with those we recognize.  A sign was posted for a “pub crawl” for next Saturday that we signed up for.  It’s actually breakfast, a bus tour to various micro-breweries or distilleries, lunch, more tours before heading back and possibly dinner.  A good way to kill a Saturday.  I need to remember to take my refillable bottle back as I forgot today. 

 

 

12/14/2020      The AC installers come back and do various checks on the system and make a determination that the cable that connects the AC to the remote is either not compatible or not working.  They don’t have the proper cable with them, so they are returned to the dock so that they can go get one.  A couple of hours later they return.  Dale dinghies in to pick them up (and the cable that came with the AC) for transport to the boat.  Once arrived, a quick check shows that the AC works with the new cable but its too short to connect the AC to the remote.  They’ll come back in a couple of days with one long enough to fit. 

            Since Dale is on the dock, he takes the item numbers for the gauges to the Budget Marine folks to send off to find out if they are in stock.  Nothing is ever easy. 

 

 

12/15/2020      A quiet day of routine things.  Dale ran one of the engines to heat the water and charge the batteries.  We ran the water maker and ice maker; I toyed with the idea of running a load of laundry through but decided it could wait for another day.  The remainder of the day, Dale read as I answered mail, did a little on-line banking/bill paying, and finished my Christmas shopping. 

            As I’m on the computer, Gerry sends word that the Brewery has cancelled our “pub tour” and that we’ll have to add picking up our refund to our Friday shopping day.  The site he links to his message to actually says that the Brewery is closing for an unknown amount of time due to new CoVid restrictions.  Well, this stinks.  They’ve changed the rules again!  I like my Sunday brunches there. 

                        Upon further investigation, I learn that for some reason the Sandals resort on the island has a carve out with the local government, saying that their customers are not required to conform to the CoVid requirements all the rest of us have to comply with.  I’m sure as they are an “all inclusive” resort, they promised that none of their customers would leave the facility.  So no testing for them!  You can guess what happened.  Grenada goes from 1 or 2 cases that are controlled in quarantine to 36 over the weekend to 71 by Tues.  Although I can’t tell that any of the guests left the facility, what was confirmed was that their staff (who do leave to return home each night) carried it outside their facilities to their own families.  The Ministry of Health is using their tracking methods to identify where those people went to but in the meantime, they are returning to the earlier CoVid restrictions of closing all commercial facilities, all restaurants are restricted to take out only, limited travel to grocery stores, medical facilities, etc. with limited numbers within said facilities state of affairs.  Friday is not going to be fun.  Not only do we have to go grocery shopping but had planned on a trip to customs/immigration to extend our visas and cruising permits again.  What a pain!  Things were just starting to open up again. 

 

                       

 

November 13, 2020

St. George’s, Grenada

Spice Island Marine/Cool Runnings Apts.

12.00 N

61.45 W

 

Dale made it to Pensacola last evening and was sleeping in a real bed by midnight; much nicer than his last trip.  He’s learned that Aunt Tina became weak and unresponsive while bathing so the visiting nurse thought she was having a diabetic issue and gave her some pudding prior to checking her blood.  Thus, the high blood sugar.  After being admitted to the hospital, it was determined that she had high blood pressure and an infection.  They have started antibiotics and are keeping her for another couple of days until she becomes strong enough to be released into rehab.  Dale has spoken with the neighbors and her best friend about moving her to a nursing home once she is released from rehab.  Its not what she wanted, but at this point, it’s looking more and more that its what she needs. 

At the boatyard, the AC technician arrived and finished installing the main AC.  Unfortunately, until the boat is back in the water, we cannot test it, as it is water cooled. 

The boat itself was filthy.  The power sanding has left a layer of black dust over everything.  I dropped the remaining isinglass panels around the cockpit in an attempt to keep some of the dirt out of the white area but I doubt that it will do much considering that when I went into the locked salon, there was an even finer layer of dust on everything. 

My tomato plant is still alive and the battery is still above 60%, so I locked everything back up and called it a day. 

Good news from Texas that my step Dad is continuing to improve.  His oxygen levels have returned to normal and he’s eating normally. 

11/15/2020      Gerry/Nicky and I take a taxi to the The Brewery for lunch and a bit of vegetable shopping as they have craft and veggie markets for local vendors in their interior courtyard.  Nicky did some much needed veggie shopping as she is still without refrigeration.  We all have a tasty lunch and return to our respective abodes for naps or in my case, endless Christmas movies.  I love those movies and since no one can tell me no, I’m taking full advantage of the situation.  

11/16/2020      I start the day early by picking flowers for my table but have to hurry as it starts sprinkling. 

Apparently, Gerry is tired of working on his boat and makes arrangements to meet me on our boat as soon as it stops raining.  I had sent Dale a photo of the new install which, after review, he asked that the AC guys to return and secure a drain hose that is too high to drain anything.  Gerry feels there is no need to recall the technicians and moves the board that was initially installed a bit so that zip ties can be utilized to tie the offending hose down.  That only takes a few minutes and we’re back to our mutual homes to ride out the on again off again rain squalls.

In Pensacola, Dale is busy moving Aunt Tina to a rehab facility from the hospital.  Its one that one of Aunt Tina’s friends had used and recommended.  It is close to her home so that her friends can visit her.   

            I’m quite content to watch TV the rest of the day but about 10pm find a drip in the bathroom.  My ceiling is leaking so I turn on more lights and start searching.  My ceiling appears to be raining.  Its coming from all over the place.  It doesn’t look like its going to collapse, so I’ll wait to morning to call the security people to let them know that the Voodoo doll is in full swing again.  Nicky is never going to believe this!

 

11/17/2020      I report my bathroom raining situation.  Glenda, the office person/security guard on certain days, comes by and checks.  It has to be coming from the roof as there are no cracks or obvious ways of water penetrating the concrete ceiling.  I’m located on the second floor of a three story apartment complex, so its rather bizarre, however, if you look at the outside of the building, you can see clearly where there is water damage right at the juncture of two roof lines that runs down the side of the building; right by my bathroom.   

                        My cable TV stops working; I was right in the middle of a good movie.  There is no signal.  I resort to playing computer games, reading and then taking a walk over to check on the boat.  Yep, still there.  I can tell that people have been working on it but at the time, there is no one to ask. When I return to my apt.  I have two cable guys swapping out the cable box.  When they’re done, I have much better reception.  Apparently, they were swapping out everyone’s cable box, thus the interruption in my Christmas movie marathon.

 

11/18/2020      Gerry drops by and asks if they can use the laundry facilities in the apt. building later in the day as the marina’s dryers are not working.  I invite them to dinner as they can use the laundry while we’re eating.  I also ask if Nicky can give me a hand as she is much more experienced in cooking Indian/Thai food than I.  You see, my daughter (who loves to cook) sent me a recipe for chicken curry with noodles and vegetables along with Thai noodles, curry pastes, various sauces, etc and I have never cooked with these before.  Reading this blog, you are aware that I love to eat at Indian restaurants but would never try to duplicate such delicacies on my own.  I review the recipe and a couple of YouTube videos and learn that its all very quick, so I set about cutting up everything (like they do in the cooking shows) in anticipation of our dinner.  By the time Nicky arrives, I’m almost ready.  She chides me in the fact that I’ve used all of the bowls in the kitchenette before making a quick dash to put laundry in, and returning to instruct me in how to go about making my dish.  I thought it was a tasty meal although I know that both Gerry and Nicky like their Indian food hot; this was not hot.  I think the next time I make it, I’ll add more fresh ginger to it; possibly a bit more curry paste but not too much.  Otherwise not as difficult as I originally thought. 

            In Pensacola, Dale is getting a lesson regarding the opposite side of the medical field.  He’s getting the run around of being told one thing but finding out that just because he was told something, doesn’t mean it is so.  He had gone to great lengths to make sure he and Aunt Tina’s friends could visit her in the rehab facility he checked her into but the next day, he’s told that he, in fact, cannot visit her when he wants, he has to call and make an appointment.  He can’t check on her in her room to make sure it to his specifications and he is told that he needs a “traveling notary” for her to sign their specific Power of Attorney as they don’t recognize the one previously created by an attorney.  He’s frustrated.  Then twice within 12 hours, he’s contacted by the rehab facility that Aunt Tina has fallen; now he’s livid and threatening to pull her out and return her to her own home with visiting rehab services. 

    Port Louis confirms that they have received the part numbers for ordering the surge protector and gauges damaged in the power surge and will be ordering the parts.  We're making progress.

 

11/19/2020      I go to do my daily check on the boat and as soon as I turn the corner to where it had been, its gone.  It was there yesterday.  I about-face to march into the office to question its location and find it along the way.  As it happens, the owner/general manager that Dale first spoke with sees me and asks how things are going.  We discuss the boat and his feeling that things are on schedule.  I ask/tell him to let me know the next time they move the boat so that I don’t have heart attack when I find it missing.  Truth be told, Gerry had seen it in the slings and alerted me that something was afoot and I might want to investigate.  I think if he hadn’t given me the heads up, I would have had that panicked sensation upon seeing that it was no longer where I had left it; like knowing where you parked your car but on return to the parking lot, it’s not there; until you realize you’re in the wrong row. 

            In Pensacola, Dale says he’s having a much better day.  He was able to locate a “traveling notary” who met him at the rehab facility and Aunt Tina was brought to them for her to sign their documents.  He said that they have been able to get Aunt Tina to eat and as a result she is looking much better, stronger, and he’s feeling better today about her staying with them although he still isn’t happy about not being able to visit her spontaneously. 

 

11/20/2020      Today, Friday, is another shopping day.  Gerry and Nicky pick me up in front of the apt building and we go looking for the “Treasure Trove” a type of marine second-hand shop.  If you recall, Gerry had his refrigeration system worked on in St. Thomas and when it continued to make disturbing noises when in use, they gave him a spare compressor in the event his died.  Since he decided that he wants to upgrade their system, he’s selling his “spare” unused compressor. 

Next, we returned to Port Louis Marina to the Customs’ office where I was to extend our Cruising Permit.  What I didn’t recall was that Dale had extended it on one of this walk abouts with Gerry prior to his fly backs to Pensacola.  So, I turned it in and ask for an extension, the officer goes through all of the documentation and returns it to me and says that we are cleared already until the end of the year.  I thank him for his time and return to the car, just in time for Gerry to return from his quick trip to the bakery to pick up meat pastries for all of us for lunch. 

Our next stop is at the Immigration office where all 3 of us need to extend our visas.  It’s a 3 step process. First you go to the office at the top of the hill from where you have to park to obtain the extension application; fill out said application and leave it with your passport to go to the Treasury Dept to pay for said extension.  Of course, the Treasury Dept is at the bottom of the hill via a staircase built many years ago over the roots of a huge tree.   We fork over the money for our visas and while waiting for our receipts note a sign that says the Treasury Dept closes between the hours of 1-3pm for lunch.  Its 12:56pm.  We hold our breath until our receipts are in hand.  Then back up the hill to turn over the receipt and collect our passports with extended visas. 

We make our customary stops at the bank for refilling our wallets and the pharmacy for refilling our meds before finally making it to the supermarket where I had a small list but still managed to fill the basket.

We return to our respective abodes to put away the groceries and check our eyelids for light leaks before meeting once again to go in search of dinner.  This time we have a wonderful dinner at True Blue marina at the Dodgy Dock.  I love gazing at the hillside of flowering trees and shrubs as much as I did when we first came here 14 years ago and position myself so that I can indulge in my virtual gardening while Gerry and Nicky gaze at the sunset beyond the anchorage.  We finish the evening by checking a different set of container fast food places and come away with take-out chicken tikka masala for tomorrow night’s dinner.   

I’ve been checking on the boat each day keeping watch on our battery power as we’ve left the refrigerator/freezer running.  It is slowly declining with each cloudy day, so I try turning off the refrigeration system at night to see if that will help bring the batteries back above 50%.

 

11/21/2020      I awake to rain and when I check on the boat decide that I’m going to leave the refrigeration system off for a full 24 hours as it certainly will not have an opportunity to recharge without the sun.  What little wind we get won’t be enough to keep the refrigeration system running and charge the batteries.  I bump into Gerry who is in the process of running a couple of more errands before turning the rental car back in, so I tag along.  I had seen a route to the Brewery that was less than a mile from the apt.  Gerry was a little hesitant to turn down one of the streets as it was more dirt than street but we followed the Google map and did, in fact, end up at the Brewery.  However, the route was fraught with steep hills that Nicky’s knee would not be able to negotiate, so strike it off our list of possibilities.  Since we were exploring, Gerry decided he wanted to check out where they could beach their dinghy to accomplish the same thing.  Again, it would involve negotiating a hill, although smaller, and on a good day, I think she could make it. 

 

11/22/2020      It’s a sunny day, so I make my journey over to the boat early in the morning and turn the refrigeration system back on.  I open the freezer to make sure that everything is still solid before locking everything back up.  I’ll return at sunset to turn everything back off again to save what charging we get.  As today is Sunday, we’ve started the habit of hailing a taxi to the Brewery to peruse their veggie market, bread and egg offerings, plus a quick trip around the local crafts.  We have lunch there and as they were out of Ginger beer, Nicky and I had mimosas.  Its healthy!  Orange juice with a little bubbly to tickle your nose.  Gerry and Nicky have salads but my selection is a bacon and egg sandwich.  Yum!  Then back to my Christmas movies for the afternoon. 

 

11/23/2020      It’s my birthday and after confirming a great start to the day with the sun shining and amps going into the can, the voodoo doll decided it was time for another present!  The yard guys added working on the leaking sail drives to their bottom painting and then had the owner/general manager summon me to come look at what they had found (they must have heard about my temper).  One of the sail drives (the one leaking oil out of the boat) had a nest of fishing line way up around the shaft.  Once cleared, a change of seals should take care of that problem.  The other sail drive (the one leaking water into the boat) had developed a leak that the Manta folks knew about and offered a fix which required dropping the sail drive to reposition the gasket.  However, when they pulled the prop off, the hard plastic part it screwed into was chewed up and needed replacing.  Unfortunately, on islands, they don’t replace little parts, they replace the entire sail drive.  So, my question of whether we were talking hundreds or thousands was answered with “depends.”  To make a long story short, I asked the general manager to work his end of finding replacement parts and I would see if I could get Dale to find one stateside to bring back with him.

I head back to the apt. for my WiFi signal and send a text to Dale in Pensacola that I needed to talk with him, he confirmed receipt and said that he would move to the local McDonalds for his WiFi signal and call.  I explained the situation, to which he of course asked, if I knew the part numbers.  Being my smart aleck self, tell him of course they’re in my back pocket, just let me pull it out.  He says he’ll hit the internet to see if he can find a schematic and I head back to the boat to pull manuals to see if I can find a parts list.  Although the manual didn’t have a parts list it did indicate that serial numbers on the engine and sail drive were required and where said serial numbers were located.  Thus, began the clearing of the bunk the engine is under to open the access doors and using a flashlight to search the engine/sail drive for the metal placards that contain the serial numbers.  Once found, it became a question of holding my cell phone at the right angle to photograph the numbers without washing them out in the flash.   I head back to the apt to send Dale my latest findings.  Between the two of us, we did it.  He found a parts list on line, needed the serial numbers of the sail drive to narrow down the specific one, located a warehouse that had one in stock and requested that it be overnighted to him.  Barring any hiccups, he should be bringing the part with him on Thursday and I can take it to the yard dudes on Friday.  Most ladies get little red teddies or shiny baubles for presents on their birthdays, I get a big ol’ hunk of black plastic.  I think this officially makes me a sea hag!

 

11/24/2020      Dale confirms that he has received the sail drive part and will bring it back with him.  Aunt Tina appears to be continuing to improve, so fingers crossed, she will be released from rehab on schedule.  In the meantime, the yard dudes have rearranged the boat.  I had arranged the two staterooms so that they could access the engines below the bunks but apparently, they needed more room and moved the mattresses to the hallways.  Now I can’t get into my pantry and with one of the mattresses on top of the refrigerator/freezer, I can’t slide my hand in to confirm that all is well.  Guess that I'll have to trust that the freezer is staying frozen and buy new for any pantry items I might need at the apt.  

11/25/2020   To be on the safe side, I resend copies of the receipts for the AC repair to PLM and request a status on the ordered parts.  I had originally sent them to her on 11/23 but can't tell that she opened the email. 

 

11/26/2020      Thanksgiving Day.  As Dale confirmed that he caught his flight back without incident, I ask the apt. manager to allow me to stock Dale’s quarantine apt. with food, beverages and tropical clothing before he arrives.  I see his taxi come into the locked area and watch from my window as they check him in.  Unfortunately, we learn that his apt. does not have a telephone or a TV.  Nothing to do about that now and he does have the ability to connect to internet and can watch TV from his computer and down load more books to his Kindle.  I begin the routine of making dinner and taking it to him each evening.  I have to place the meal in a bag, put it on the ground, then knock on the door, step back 6 feet so that he can retrieve it.  As he does this, he reverses the process to give me the sail drive part that has been wrapped in several plastic bags (thank you customs) so that I can take it to the yard dudes.     Surprisingly, today one of the other security guards is on duty and tells me I can take things to Dale but he is not to give me anything.  After telling him what I have in my hands, we come to the agreement to spray the whole thing down with disinfectant (to the point its dripping from the bags) and I’m allowed to continue on.  I happen to bump into the yard supervisor on my trip to turn the refrigeration off for the evening and tell him that I’ll leave the part on the cockpit table. 

 

11/27/2020      Today when I open up the boat and turn on the refrigeration, I take photos of all of the gauges and forward them on to Dale in quarantine.  He says that everything looks good.  I take photos of the work that’s been done to date and send those along as well.  Gerry and Nicky are busy preparing to receive their new refrigeration system. 

    I haven't heard from PLM about the ordered parts and send another email asking for a status.  

 

11/28/2020      Quiet day.  I made my routine trip to the boat to turn on refrigeration, then again in the evening to turn it back off and added a trip up the hill with Gerry in the middle of the day for a trip to the mini mart half way to the container store.  I needed a loaf of bread and found some Reeces Pieces that had my name on them.  Certainly getting my steps in for the day.  I drop off dinner to Dale. 

 

11/29/2020      Its Sunday and our (Gerry, Nicky and my) customary trek to the Brewery for brunch.  We met up with Chris and Helen (some people we had met in St. Thomas), plus some new cruisers and spent the next couple of hours just chit chatting and watching the Grand Prix race on the big screen TV.  People seem to be dividing into groups.  Those who are throwing in the towel and heading back, those who are going to stay in the Grenadian bubble (Grenada, Carriacou, and Grenadines) for the next year, and those who are tentatively continuing on.  No matter which direction you take, the restrictions; penalties for not following the restrictions; and the constantly changing restrictions, were the at the top of the list for discussion.  Other than that, Nicky and I made our veggie and egg purchases before settling in for our meals.  I had hoped that Dale would have been given his PCR test today, but no dice. 

 

11/30/2020      The biggest thing today is that Dale finally had his PCR test.  Apparently, they were so aggressive, he startled them with his cry of pain and then his discourse on how to properly administer the test.  He said it was his worst experience to date.  I started getting worried as they hadn’t shown up until late afternoon but at least its done.  I had given some thought to walking to the container store to pick up some roti’s for dinner but as soon as I sent a text to Gerry/Nicky, the sky turned black and then a torrent of rain descended.  Gerry and Nicky think they may have a leak in one of their water tanks; not good.