Both we and the boatyard seem to be on slow time. The jobs are getting

done but we have slipped imperceptibly into Caribbean time. 

It is still wet season and parts of the yard have become a quagmire

and the travelift is attended by a bulldozer, either to prepare its

path or pull it out when stuck.  Working below has been a bit like being

in a sauna, but we have set ourselves the task of getting Oriole ready

before flying down to New Zealand on Thursday, and our jobs WILL be done.

We took a shopping trip into St George's, the capital,  this week and

appreciated first hand the devastation of Ivan.  Hardly a building has

surived undamaged, many are completely destroyed and most roofs are

covered with tarpaulins.  It will be February before St David's,

where we are, has electricity, but the boatyard has its own generator

and La Sagesse where we are staying got its new generator running on

Thursday. There is a wartime atmosphere, but the Grenadians are reacquiring

their bonhomie and life is slowly returning to normal. We are very fortunate

that Oriole has survived undamaged, but here at Genada Marine 80 percent of

the boats are undamaged.  The insurance companies should be asking

themselves why all the boats fell over a few miles away in the other

yard. The insurance companies have commissioned Grenada Marine's very

skilled workforce to repair over 60 yachts either at St Davids or in

the other yard.

With all this work on hand it is not surprising that we are finding it difficult to

get the yard to do our little jobs.

We will leave on Thursday with the hope that they will be completed

before we return in December.

This lovely 60 footer fell on her port side. Top left you can see a stand has

perforated the hull and bottom right she has a hole punched through the side

where she fell on a drainage pipe.  Almost certainly she will have major internal

disruption.  This is but one of many similar tales of woe. We have been very lucky!