A couple more pictures of what Hurricane Gonzalo did.
December 25, 2014
We had a very enjoyable Christmas dinner with some cruisers, well actually live-aboards, I don't believe they leave Marigot Bay! Jim cooked a turkey with all the trimmings, I brought I dessert, baked fresh that day from a bakery, not me! And yes there were stores open on Christmas day, captivating on the tourist season. Two other cruisers joined us and we had a great night.
December 26, 214
I was feeling very lazy. I felt like someone pulled the plug out of my big toe and all my energy drained away. I'm sure it had something to do with the trip from St. Kitt's to St. Martin. Jorge decided today was the day to look into the auto pilot problem. So yes, the boat got ripped apart. Unfortunately he was not able to solve the problem, he thinks the "brains" are shot. He also took apart the fuel gauge indicator as that was malfunctioning as well. Not able to fix that either. Hmmm, not a good batting average.
Jim and Maria (the couple who had us over for Christmas dinner) opened a floating restaurant in the bay, called H2O, as a metting place for cruisers. Burgers and a beer just $6.00 and as I was having withdrawal from Friday Build Your Own Burger in Grenada, we went to the boat to support them and mingled with other cruisers.
Jim (from B.C.) and Maria (from the D.R.) on H20.
Aboard H20.
Ditto.
Jorge went to Budget Marine to buy a new fuel gauge. He dropped me off at a dinghy dock so I could walk to the grocery store. Then back to the boat to install the gauge (working perfectly now). We didn't do too much else for the day.
Provisioning (Heineken at an excellent price!)
Okay I really can't remember what we did today, guess it wasn't that exciting. I know Jorge transferred fuel from the jerry cans to the fuel tank and bought a couple of jugs of water but other than that it was preffect quiet.
December 29, 2014
Ditto to yesterday.
December 30, 2014
The temperature reading on our fridge has caused us concern over the last couple of days and today when I pulled a beer out of the fridge, it was swimming in water. Oh boy, not a good sign, it appeared the freezer had self defrosted. Well that part was okay by me! Luckily everything in the freezer remained frozen and the fridge was still keeping things cold. a real mystery. Anyhow Jorge investigated by taking everything out of the port side lazarette to get at the fridge compressors, which looked fine to him. However . . . . because the lazarette was empty he had a look around and discovered a water leak around the bolts holding the rudder post in place (at least that is my take on the situation). While tightening them, one head literally broke off. Okay so at least one bolt was compromized so he decided to replace all four.
But first things first. Sandy from our club in HYC takes an annual vacation in St. Martin and flew in late this afternoon. Jorge surprised her at her apartment, picked her up by dinghy and brought her to CS'ta Time for dinner. We had a great evening, a little bit of home so far away.
Jorge and Sandy aboard CS'ta Time.
Kim and Sandy aboard CS'ta Time.
December 31. 2014
Jorge informed me first thing in the morning that we were not going to leave for the BVIs that night after the fireworks. He dropped me off at the marina in the morning so I could do laundry while he went in search of the bolts for the rudder, which he was successful in finding. After lunch we went to Sandy's as she had graciously offered us showers and internet. Ahhhh . . . civilization! We visited for the afternoon but we had accepted a New Year's Eve invitation to H20 and left Sandy to party with the gang from her complex. The Dutch side of the island celebrated with fireworks as did Anguilla so we were able to see both. Bedtime was after the real midnight but boater's midnight at 2100!
Jim and Maria's party boat.
January 1, 2014
While in Marina Fort Louis this morning, Jorge stopped by a boat owned by an Argentine couple. It was her birthday so we got an invite to lunch aboard their boat to celebrate.
Lunch aboard Crystal Clear.
After lunch he started on replacing the bolts. Yes, everything was taken apart again, including the whole steering mechanism to gain access to the bolts. To make a long story short, the job was finished by 1800. We jumped in the dinghy and made the rounds saying goodbye to Sandy and some other cruisers we had met during our stay in St. Martin. It was the end of a good weather window and we needed to take it. The winds were forecast to increase starting tomorrow and lasting for 5 to 7 seven days, to 25 - 30 kts. Goodbyes were said, we checked out just in the nick of time, put the boat back in order and had a quick bite for dinner. Marigot Bay had their New Year's Eve fireworks tonight at 2100 so we enjoyed the farewell and left the anchorage around 2200.
January 2, 2014
We had a great sail last night. Winds were a constant 20 kts with seas a little rolly about 5 - 6 ft. We left under a full moon while stayed with us until almost 0400. We arrived in Virgin Gorda at 1200, scouted out the bay before finally picking a spot to anchor. We want to be sure we are well settled for the winds that are forecast. After lunch we had a short nap therefore missing check in times but hey that's a boat job for tomorrow!
A tall ship in Virgin Gorda.
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