Déjà vu – All over again

Monday 27^th November 2017

Well, as expected Simrad confirmed that our radar dome is kaput. I phoned them this morning and, as ever, their technical support was excellent. I spoke to Tom and he told me we need a new dome and that we can get it as an “in service replacement”, which is good because it cuts the cost in half … but it’s still $990. We first bought the radar in 2012, basing our decision to build a Simrad navigational system primarily on the quality of this radar and indeed, when working, it is a fabulous system. But as some of you may recall, this isn’t the first time the dome has flooded and needed replacement. In the summer of 2015 Simrad replaced the original unit under warranty … hence the blog title. I questioned Tom about the quality of the plastic casing, but he said they have had very few incidents of this type. He did comment that sometimes with power-washing leakage can be an issue. However, our unit is on top of a pole 8ft above the deck and the only part of the boat that ever gets power-washed is the hull.  Maybe torrential rain in a 40-knot squall is the equivalent of a power wash, but you’d think they should be built to withstand that environment. Anyway, Tom was really helpful and we now have a new unit ordered that should come by FedEx some time in the next few days. I’ll keep you posted!

I have a fun day ahead revisiting one of the older technologies – “snail mail”. I have been struggling to have decent conversations with my mum, partly because she has great trouble hearing me on my brother’s or sister’s mobile phone. So I figured I should just do the decent thing and write her a letter. Last night I put an actual pen to real paper and wrote the first hand written letter I have sent in years. It was a surprisingly painless experience, but the same may not be true of my mum’s efforts to read it. My handwriting has always been bad, but after years of neglect I’d have to say it hasn’t improved any! So now I’m off to town to find a post office to buy some envelopes and a stamp.

It's all about the light! These damaged / destroyed boats are lined up on the outer breakwater of Nanny Cay marina. I was leaving Cotinga to go for a swim when I saw how striking the light was, so I dropped my stuff and went back for my camera. This is my favorite picture since I've been here

This young man was cleaning a pick up truck at the marina at Frenchman's Cay (Sopers Hole). He was super friendly and I mentioned how impressed I was with the attitude of the local people towards clean up / rebuilding after the hurricane. He seemed surprised that I would think it exceptional, as if he couldn't envisage being anything else but positive

... and he was happy to pose for a portrait!

I came across a group of guys net-fishing for bait. I thought this character was visually striking (and a bit intimidating) but after asking if they minded me taking a few shots they seemed friendly enough

Net fishing for bait - in the cut between Frenchman's Cay and Soper's Hole