Routines

Routines

Tuesday 27 - Wednesday 28 Feb 2024

Our life on the boat is full of routines. We have coffee in the morning, we run the engine to charge the batteries and chill the fridge, we swim to cool off in the late afternoon, shower in the cockpit and enjoy cocktails as the sun goes down. We also have established processes for some of the jobs that need doing; putting the outboard motor on the dinghy or pulling it off, securing the dinghy on the davits, dropping / pulling up the anchor, picking up a mooring. Over time, Gloria and I have developed ways in which we work well together to get done what needs to be done. In many respects, these boat responsibilities have become familiar and comfortable. 

With Gloria being sick, the last couple of days have been different. Yesterday we spent the whole day on the boat. Although we had coffee and ate all our meals at the appropriate times, we never left Cotinga. The “Dainty Dog” remained on the davits, and we spent the day hanging out, reading books and lazing around. This was far from a typical day! It did, however, give Gloria a chance to rest and recuperate form her illness, and today she seemed quite a bit better, but her back is still causing her a lot of discomfort. 

This morning, we relaunched the dinghy and headed into the dock in Les Anses D’Arlets. Once again, we have established a pretty good routine for tying up the dinghy that works well for us. We drive up to the ladder and Gloria climbs up on to the dock with the line (rope) to the dinghy. I back up and move the dinghy away from the ladder, and drop the 15 pound dinghy-anchor and chain overboard. Then Gloria pulls the dinghy back into a suitable location away from the ladder. I clamber up onto the dock and we secure the line and lock a cable to a secure spot, and off we go. The stern anchor holds the dinghy and the outboard off the dock and stops it form getting banged up or dragged under the structure. It works well.

We set out from Les Anses D’arlet on a short walk around the headland to Grand Anse, the next bay and town to the north. It’s supposed to be a 1.2 km walk, an appropriate length for someone still recovering from “the Lurgy”, but it turned out to be a bit rougher and more up and down than we expected. Nonetheless we made it to the next bay over and enjoyed wandering around. We stopped for lunch at a cafe that sold traditional French Galettes (pancakes made with buckwheat flour). They were delicious and we enjoyed sitting outside in the garden. The hike back was a bit tiring in the hot sun, but at least we knew the way. Once in town, we were able to pick up a baguette and some fruit, then it was back to Cotinga and our regular routines. However, this time I worked on my own to get the outboard motor clamped back on the rail, and the dinghy up on the davits. Hopefully, this helped Gloria avoid straining her back any further.

The Anchorage at Anse Chaudiere is great and we experienced yet another fabulous sunset. Dinner was baguette with French cheese, salami and olives, sitting in the cockpit as the light faded. It’s not a bad life!

Mike

Galette Vesuve ... with fresh mushrooms, tomato sauce, egg and cheese

Galette Forestiere .... with mushrooms, creme fraiche, cheese and basil. We ate outside in the garden on plastic table and chairs. It was lovely!

The view coming back down the trail into Les Anses D'Arlet. You can see the dinghy dock quite clearly.

Gloria on the dinghy dock, alive and smiling after a more strenuous walk than expected

The Dainty Dog at the dinghy dock. We are mostly very happy with the way our new dinghy and outboard are performing. Our only complaint is that the 6HP engine is not enough to get the dinghy on plane with two of us aboard. I suspect this is mostly due to shape of the dinghy bottom, which is more V-shaped than flat, making it harder to plane than our old dinghy. The stern anchor is tied on at the back and holds the dinghy away from the dock.

At anchor in Anse Chaudiere, a ten minute dinghy ride from the dock in Anse D'Arlet.

Paddle-boarder at sunset

Another lovely sunset ... my favorite time of day .... I never get tired of shooting sunsets even if you get tired of looking at the results!

A fishing boat at sunset. We haven't figured out ... a) why they cut and drop bits of palm fronds in to the water, or b) why they hang around the anchorage apparently doing nothing until the sun sets, then start driving around shortly thereafter. Our French isn't good enough to ask them.

Our nearest neighbors boat at dusk.