The day after xmas, I’m not exactly sure what boxing day is. They day you box up all your toys, or box up your Christmas decoration or supposed to spend watching Mike Tyson for hours on end? What ever it is we were slow to get moving, that Christmas Rum Punch packed a wallup. We made the best of it.
The day was spent cleaning, and on little boat projects and lounging in the tranquility of random wind gusts from various angles in the lovely Chatham bay. I cleaned the port bilges, seems these bilge things are magnets for what ever ends up on the floor, lots of little things flakey things and random screws. Its also where the bilge pumps are to pump out water incase it somehow comes aboard, so having clean bilges lessens the chance that a little piece of debris clogs up the filters, plus I really like ours to be dry bilges. So we know immediately if / when there is a leak in there.
Christine tackled the Starboard side, we have lots of ‘necessary items’ stored in the bilge, not sure how ‘necessary’ they are but every now and again its good to have random bits to fix/rig things. Since I had messed with that paddle wheel there was a cup of water on the starboard side, so that had to be sucked up with a sponge, a few time as there is one long tube thats next to impossible to dry.
Chatham bay, normally has internet, but the Aqua Bar and Grill just wasn’t doing the trick, so no calls skype, no text to family were made. 🙁
Cleaned the port engine room a little bit, found my belts worn and needing a tightening/replacement. Course I brought some for the small alternator as we keep chewing threw them, as the pulleys get rusty when just sitting around. So I tried something, used some good ole fashioned bailing wire to tie some emory cloth (sandpaper) to the worn alternator belt and start the engine, and let it sand off the rust spots since the belt was worn anyway.
Start up the engine, Nope. No juice, Jump to house batteries still not enough juice, clean connection on starter, still not doing the trick. Hmmmm. Fire up other engine to make more electricity, still no dice. Contemplate, re-switch the start battery off then on, and then jump to house batteries, and we got things to start. When that alternator belt gets loose it doesn’t charge the starting battery for squat. Any way it ran, till the emory cloth few off, the pulleys were a bit sanded down, we will see if lasts.
While in the port room, commissioned up the water maker, had previously replaced the filters in preparations, so it was to be an easy task. Had checked the power and valves were in the correct possitions, and fired it up. It didn’t want to start, the pumps wouldn’t kick on? Hmm, duh for some reason the main switch wasn’t on, I could have sworn I turned it on before climbing down into the engine room. another 10 mins wonder how senile I’ve become.
All systems running, time for breakfast. Shut down the starboard engine, and made a pretty damn good omelette, ham and cheese this morning.
The call was to go somewhere with internet, we didn’t want to go back to Clifton, too busy. The keys didn’t have good internet, we thought about going to Canouan, but its too early to go north. So a motor to make water and electricity over to PSV, Petite St Vincent, and see if the private resort island had wifi. Seem to remember picking it up once there.
Left the peaceful setting of Chatham Bay and round the corner through the reefs to the island. I got my gps way points confused and started heading on our last trip which was down the east side of Carriacou to Grenada, no worries, it too was a way through the reefs to get to PSV.
Made a pizza upon arrival, couple of cold beverages, then about to head out in the dingy for snorkel on the surrounding atlantic reef, when a Dream Yacht Charter monohull comes in and precedes to anchor, or attempts to anchor right in front of us. 6 times they don’t get the hook to set, seems the only thing they know about scope is for mouthwash. They finally get some bite, and the wind had shifted enough that they would come down on someone else, if it broke free. So we went off to snorkel.
Zigged and Zagged through the skinny water in the dingy till we found a primo spot. Not sure what that is, just a place to try and see some creatures. Tossed the dingy anchor over and we jumped overboard, in the rolling sea, the reef was not terribly alive, there were some fish, we saw box faced puffers, lots of tangs, even a string ray was out cruising the grounds, we made one loop of a big shallow patch and decided it was enough of a fight against surf and back to the boat for a rinse and shirt to have a drink and the fancy bar and maybe get a wifi code for stronger wifi.
Ashore, we had a drink, asked about wifi, and they have NONE, a fancy high-end boutique joint like that without wifi, how can they justify their prices without basic unalienable rights like WiFi. Had our drink, watched the Dream Yacht Charter move yet again and another charter boat come in behind them. Good, a buffer.
Chicken and pasta and Christine made a great salad, course a rum and diet to cap off a great day.
