Date: 12-01-07     Time: 23:00 UTC      Position: 12:35.72N  0061:24.73W   Name: Union Island

Vi har vært late i dag - igjen! Vi har virkelig begynt å sette tempoet ned til samme nivå som de lokale. Spesielt her på Union virker det som om det er mange som ikke har arbeid, men de som faktisk har arbeid gjør ikke så voldsomt mye de heller. Der vi spiste lunsj var det fire gjester - oss pluss et par til. Det vi så av ansatte var én som jobbet bak bardisken, tre jenter som var kelnere og restaurantsjefen som styrte med bordene og regningene. I en liten butikk som solgte suvenirer osv. var det ingen andre kunder enn oss, men tre jenter som jobbet der. Her kunne Boston Consulting virkelig gjøre en jobb med effektivisering (les oppsigelser)!

 

Vi har nå sagt adjø til flere båter som vi er blitt kjent med underveis - de fleste seiler fortsatt sydover mot Grenada, mens vi snur nordover igjen her. Mange vil vi neppe se igjen, mens andre har vi løse avtaler med om å møtes for felles seiling tilbake til Europa.

 

Det blåser godt her i Clifton - som er bra nå at vindgeneratoren er reparert og fungerer som den skal. Vi har ikke måttet kjøre motor i dag for å lade batteriene. Dagens bilde fra en av de bedre barene her i Clifton.

 

We have been pretty lazy again today. We have really managed to get the tempo down to the levels the locals live at. Especially here on Union Island, there seems to be lots of people hanging around doing nothing, even those who clearly are employed to do something don't get much done. The restauarant where we ate lunch today had four guests - us and another couple - yet there was one guy behind the bar, three waitresses and the restaurant manager who allocated tables and did the bills. In a tiny shop selling souvenirs we were tee only customers, but there were three girls working there. Clearly the scope for a team of management consultants could be to have a field day here!

 

We have now said goodbye to several of the many boats we have become acquainted with over the last months. Most are heading further south to Grenada, Trinidad, Tobago and even Venezuela before turning north again, others are going through the Panama Canal and we will not see them again. A few will no doubt meet us again furter north later in the spring as we have some loose arrangements to sail back to Europe with some of them. For us this is as far south as we go.

 

The harbour here - exposed to the easterly trade wind, had been doing a great job charging the batteries with the wind generator - whose last repair seems to be holding well. We have not even needed to run the motor today for charging. Today's picture from a local bar.