We have been back in the marina for the last two nights to do some scheduled maintenance on rigg, fridge/freezer and generator. In other words, the lady got an all inclusive package for some beauty treatment. It turned out to become time very well invested.
The operation at the open heart of the generator – capacitor replacement – worked out well and ended with a full load test yesterday at 6.5kw while water maker, aircon, kettle, microwave, vacuum cleaner, etc. all switched on subsequently to push power requirements to its peak.
Finally it looks like, we also got a competent person to fix our fridge/freezer issue, which already started in Puerto Calero at the time leaving Lanzarote. It is between mystic and science – seawater temperature and condensation, but I was 100% convinced: the system is drawing too many Ah.
The two units were running by far too often, draining our battery bank. Energy, we were hardly able to compensate for through our solar panels and the SailingGen, which has been my concept from the beginning. Initial measurements are promising.
As a routine work we also got a rigg inspection performed after 30oonm sailed from Lanzarote to Martinique. It is a good feeling when a professional third party confirms no issues, all in mint conditions.
One of the last items on the list was grocery shopping. We found out that Leader Price – one of the local supermarkets – has a good selection of products for our needs. The beauty is, that they have their own “dinghy dock”, which makes food stocking convenient in terms of logistics. Lovely!
Tomorrow morning we will be leaving our anchorage here at Saint-Anne heading south, bound for Grenada. Arriving in the Caribbean was yesterday. Another chapter to follow.
Fair winds…
We are hanging out at anchor and besides some minor boat work are further trying to get our foot into the Caribbean Lifestyle.
Recently we also got two new helpers joining the pantry and now find the time to experiment with making our own yoghurt, buttermilk, creme cheese on one hand and bread and cake on the other. It is a promising start and a lot more to explore.
I will go for another swim now.
Fair winds…
Today’s morning ride took me to some other parts of the island. From best tarmac to roughest gravel, I got it all covered. Latter one came as a Komoot surprise!
Some boat work is waiting now…
Fair winds…
We wish you all a Happy New Year !
We had a quiet transition over a nice dinner. Overall the marina was calm, some live music here and there but nothing crazy.
Instead, I decided to hit the road in the early morning hours for the first ride to start the year. It took me to the southern tip of Martinique to see some salt lake reservoir and the associated beach, one of the longer sandy beaches on this island. It was a nice ride after some heavy personal push to overcome the physical and mental resistance build up over the last two weeks without being in the saddle.
Some good tarmac and scenery are inviting for further rides to come.
Fair winds…
Our sleep at sea was partly better than this night at anchorage. Obviously we had to celebrate the arrival but after a short toast over a glas of red wine we both fell asleep within seconds. Waking up in the morning we felt even more scattered than before…
After lunch we lifted the anchor and motored the 4nm into the Marina Du Marin. Very picturesque miles with hundreds more boats at anchorage looking left or right.
Fair winds…
We have 50nm to reach our waypoint set south of Ilet de Cabrits at 1nm distance to the shore. Sunset at that point for today is forecasted 17:43 local time. Our arrival time is a couple of hours after that in darkness. Currents shall be at its peak and some choppy seas can be expected at that turning point. Waves will come down at that point and the impact of the acceleration zone is unknown but shall not become a sudden surprise. Plan for the worst. We hope to get compensated with a picturesque sunset over St. Lucia or Martinique during our approach. Let ‘s see how that works out. Overall it shall be managable.
After some consultation we decided to proceed to the anchorage in front of Sainte Anne, where this passage will be concluded.
Fair winds…