If it could go wrong…..
Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th February 2024
On Monday, we got up at 6 am and were hoisting the anchor by 7 am. Our route was almost directly west to Les Saintes. The forecast suggested the winds would be 14-16 kts from the southeast. We were expecting a fast beam reach to our destination. As it transpired the winds were a little stronger, 18-20 kts gusting to 24! The combination of a big swell on the beam and a strong gust got me wondering if 8,000 lbs of lead was really enough! Mike thought of it as a “lively sail” and hand steered the whole way. We did avoid getting drenched in salt water, so I guess it was a better sail than some! After two hours we were approaching the islands.
Once into the harbor at Grand Bourg, we were astonished to find an empty mooring off the town! We managed to catch the tall ring of the mooring with a snap hook attached to a line. Once secured, we were able to thread lines through the bow roller to help keep the ring from scraping the hull should the winds go light. Mike had a great solution for getting the anchor off the roller and out of the way. He was congratulating himself for this clever solution! (See below)
Later than afternoon, we topped off our water tanks from the jerry cans. We knew we could fill our water jerry cans at the ferry dock, IF ONLY we could get the correct adapter for our hose! A trip to the hardware store ensued. We thought we should check the water spigot to help us select a suitable adapter. However, the ferries were getting ready to load passengers and the whole area was blocked off. We spent a fair amount of time at the hardware store investigating hose fittings and returned to the ferry dock. Eventually, Mike spoke to the dock master and was allowed along the dock to look at the tap. We acquired a suitable adapter at the hardware store and returned to Cotinga.
It will be no surprise to boaters out there that we had a list of boat jobs to work through. We started with taking our blankets (used to protect the settee cushions from sunscreen) in to the laundry. Realizing that the timing was good to fill water, we went back to pick up the empty water jerry cans. Upon returning to the ferry dock, the dock master could not be located. The helpful people in the Les Saintes Marine shop told us that the dock master had gone to lunch (11:10 am!) and would be back at noon, we should call him on VHF channel 12. Back to Cotinga!
We tackled the sea strainer, pumped the bilge and started work on the sea-water foot pump which had suddenly stopped working. The foot pump is located right up against the starter battery so this project was getting tougher by the minute. We had to leave everything, as it was now noon and we wanted to get water while we could. Back to the ferry dock, no sign of the dock master anywhere. The very kind woman at the shop agreed to lock up the shop and come to help us with the water. We returned to Cotinga and dumped our two soft-sided water containers into the tank (as they leak better than they contain). After lunch, it was time to get back to the salt-water foot pump repair. While Mike was cursing under the sink, I was hearing some very troubling noises from the bow and went out to investigate.... I’ll let Mike tell about what had happened below.
We eventually succeeded with the salt-water foot pump! That turned out to be sea grass blocking the inside of the faucet. As you can imagine, we were a bit worn out by our adventures of the day. A quick swim and shower soon had us feeling a bit more lively. We went out for dinner and had a really good meal.
Gloria
Today I recalled a classic quote from Jack Nicholson in the film Prizzi’s Honor, which goes something like … “If he’s so f-ing smart, how come he’s so f-ing dead”. Earlier this morning we decided to move from our original mooring to one a little closer to shore, with the hope that when the winds go north on Thursday we’ll be a little better protected from the swells that are reported to make this mooring field quite bumpy. The move over went really well. We tied off our dinghy to the empty mooring ball and Gloria stayed with the dinghy, whilst a friendly French guy gave me a ride back to Cotinga. I drove the boat over to Gloria and she secured the mooring lines. Gloria mentioned that I had come up with a “brilliant’ idea to get the anchor completely out of the way of the bow roller and made tying up to the enormous bow-crunching eye-ring so much easier. This involved lowering the anchor into the water and hanging it from a line through a fairlead, tied to the bow pulpit. However, I completely forgot to consider what happens when the boat does a 360 degree trip around the mooring, as often happens. Well, as Gloria described, we started to hear some strange noises after lunch and soon realized that the anchor was now caught on the main rope under the morning ball and we were in effect directly anchored by the rail of our bow pulpit. It looked a hideous mess and there was a real possibility that we might damage the bow pulpit. We were able to get the line undone and then free the anchor by driving Cotinga part way round the mooring. It might best be described as a fiasco. Needless to say it wasn’t one of my better ideas … hence my thought of the aforementioned quote! In the latest solution we have the anchor up on deck.
Mike
Star Flier leaving Grand Bourg, Les Saintes at dusk. This is the same boat I photographed on our way south to Dominica a couple of weeks ago.
Mike,I've loved all your photos some make me nostalgic of our trips to the Carib years and years ago. But, what I want to say is the photos of doors, windows, and rectangular objects put into black borders reminds me of Mondrian. I don't know as if you need to make a collage..but I know you will and when you do I want to see it
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul, I promise you I will show you whatever collages I create from these (and other) photos.
ReplyDelete