More Saintes 15 51.753N 61 36.108W
Persephone... Cruiser/Racer
Nigel & Karen Goodhew...
Thu 2 Mar 2017 15:11
Challenge no 1 for Persephone concerned petrol for the dinghy. You know how these things go; everything is just fine when you have a plentiful supply. We dash about visiting people on other boats, exploring the snorkelling areas, even perusing the opportunities for peaceful anchoring in the next bay and so on. But when fuel seems to be finite, these things are truncated and the priority is to get fuel so that normal life can be resumed.
We should have picked up a few litres of essence in Martinique. But we had a little and had read there was fuel available in les Saintes. No panic then. But, on the eve of Michael and Annas departure, we put the last of our fuel in the outboard. We are using more than we normally do because the distance from the anchorage to the town is rather longer than normal. But the fuel dock is nowhere to be seen. After some enquiries, it seems that the fuel is in the next bay, on the north east side of the island and only accessible by dinghy. Even the scooter riders have to bring the fuel ashore by fishing boat! All rather quaint and rustic. Charming, even.
But there is another way, it seems. A taxi driver in the town directed me to a house above the fuel dock bay, where I was told I could leave my can and meet on the beach at 1700 to collect it, full of unleaded. I agreed.
Its quite a walk but I returned at the apponted hour, but the meeting never took place. No show.
Hmm. Now we were one step back. No fuel and now no can. So I admit here that I had to "appropriate" one which seemed to have no current owner. Nuff said.
Next morning, we decided to haul up the anchor to take up a mooring closer to the dinghy dock so that the "commute" was reduced, to allow the Robsons to get their ferry and leave us with a little fuel. As we retrieved the hook, the guys in the adjacent boat wished us bon voyage, and then, when they understood our reasoning, offered us a little gasoline....tremendous! So down went the anchor again.
After Anna and Michael had safely made their ferry, Karen and I hopped in the dinghy to round the point and find the fuel dock, fill our new can and achieve fuel security again. But to our horror, the place was deserted, locked and apparently abandoned, certainly for the day, if not for ever. No sign of life. And we had used about a third of our fuel in getting to this point.
Later, I learned by word of mouth that the fuel dock opens between 0800 and 1200 only.
Hmm....
Then out of the cloud, quite literally, came Silver Lining. Anchored right next to us, our friends Gillian and Neil came to the rescue. They had loads of petrol and happily sold me some. Relief, and the normal life returned.
Challenge no 2 is shelter. Nothing very special about that one...but the main anchorage became very rolly after a couple of days as the wind clocked left to push a wavetrain in between the islands and rock us to sleep at night. Quite nice, when you put it in those terms. But the rolling can affect your health....things click and knock, ropes slap inside the mast and worse still, cups of tea, bottles of wine and all manner of things slide around and consumables end up not consumed, but mopped.
So yesterday, we upped anchor again and have gained a little more shelter in the lee of a lump of rock called pain de sucre....a little sugar loaf.
Last night we had supper on board Persephone with Neil and Gillian and Andy and Alison. Karens Nasi goreng was washed down with Andys rum punch and some nice wine and nibbles from SL. This is the last time the three of us can get together as SL are off to prepare for a trans Caribbean crossing as they push on westward towards the Panama Canal, the Pacific and ultimately home to New Zealand.
We will catch up with Venture Lady though...possibly for the cricket in Antigua in a week or so.
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