Thunderbird 2, Fish Friday & Saturday Session.

'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Sat 16 May 2009 22:01
12:00.066N 061:44.578W
Finally dragged ourselves away from Prickly Bay and made it round to Hog Island.
Yesterday (Friday) started off interestingly when I went on deck to start the engines for a spot of battery replenishment. I was initially struck by the fact that the large ketch next to us wasn't where it had been the night before but was nestling coyly in the mangrove area and then attracted by shouts of 'help, help'..... something not right here, I thought (well, it was 0630). The ketch had 'sawed through' the mooring system and the guy who stopped by every day to do some polishing was frantically trying to position the boat by using his dingy. By the time I pumped up the dingy (not-so-slow leak which is defying attempts to repair it, dammit) and got there he'd run out of outboard fuel, but had managed to start the ships' engine.
I climbed onboard (bugger, forgot to bring the Lloyds open claim form :) ) and manoevered the boat into a suitable anchoring spot. Uh Oh, no power to the windlass. Meantime, we went aground (soft mud). Managed to power off that, but I declined the suggestion to take the boat into the marina as there was no working depth guage and the Coastguard would probably shoot us if we went aground in the fairly narrow channel and trapped them in their lair. At the second attempt we got the boat secured onto a buoy and I left.
Recovering from that, in the evening we went to Gouyave, for a fish supper. They block-off two streets in the evening and set up stalls, a bit like Singapore, only darker. The fish was good and cheap, the rum was good and the price was immaterial. The ride back to the boat was not as boyant as it might have been, but all was well that ended well.
This morning (Saturday) we got involved with a charity helping some local kids with their reading and maths skills. I was 'issued' four six year olds, so I can now do most of my four times table and read a fascinating book about a whale and his mate Kate the seagull. I found this a grate help in ritting de logbuck.
Then it was round to Hog Island, which I have to say is a bit rolly as I right this, so we may move later. Pictures to follow when I get another WIFI link.