Lavers blog, 10th 2008-2009 entry, March 3-12, 2009

March 3, 2009, Deshaies, Guadeloupe – Falmouth Harbour, Antigua

Again we get an early start for the 40 mile passage to Antigua.   Again we set too much sail initially, but eventually the winds settles in about 22 knots and we get it right. Most of this passage goes at over 8 knots, an incredible ride in our boat.  Elisabeth steers most of the way, and unlike last year she does not ask Larry to shorten sail.  Instead she has a big grin on her face for the sheer joy of such sailing. We follow another boat about 2 miles ahead of us, and do not see any other boats until we are about 8 miles out of Falmouth Harbor. We are first passed by a lovely 60-65 foot sloop, then a monster schooner, incredibly beautiful , passes us as if we were in reverse. We enjoy the beauty, and wonder what it is. Before entering Falmouth we see Maltese Falcon under sail, a most unusual sight when all sails are set.  We anchor in Falmouth Harbor, again with a little engine alarm, and go in to customs and for much needed showers, especially a salt encrusted Larry.  A walk around Nelson’s Dock yard to admire the boats there, we see Eleonora , the recent reconstruction of Nathaniel  Herreshoffs Windward from the early 1900’s. It is she who flew by us earlier this afternoon!  We enjoy pizza at Cap Horn with Don Dery, and then back to the boat. We make two innovations, both successful. When we leave the boat we turn on the tricolor mast head light instead of the anchor light.  This makes it so much easier to identify the boat in the dark among all the many anchor lights in the harbor. And we use the new l.e.d. headlamps that Elisabeth bought when she was home. They are very bright and draw very little power and are much easier to carry than regular flashlights. And they always point in the direction you want to  

March 4, 2009, Falmouth Harbour-Jolly Harbour.

The motion of the steering quadrant on the rudder post has become more obvious, so we want to go to Jolly Harbour and have Carl at A1 Marine Services take a look at it. We leave early and head for Jolly Harbour. Elisabeth steers the whole way and we tack down wind through Goat Head channel and then reach up the west side of the island.  We take a mooring about 11.00 a.m., put the motor on the dinghy and go in to talk to Carl. He is very busy, but when a French Hallberg Rassy leaves his dock, which is expected around 1.30 he will take a look.  Island time! At 3.30 we dinghy in to the French boat. They still have workers on board and guess that they will leave in an hour. Clearly by the time they leave the dock it will be too late for Carl to take a look at the quadrant today. We agree with Carl that we will bring Singoalla in to the dock tomorrow morning.  We go in search of internet and spend a couple of hours  ashore.  On the way out to Singoalla we are surprised to see a catamaran at Carl’s dock in place of the Hallberg Rassy.  We go over to ask them how long they plan to be there. They are a retired couple from Florida and have an overheating problem with an engine, and Carl had also told them to come into the dock when the French boat left.  We commiserate with each other, and are invited to stay for dinner. Sue serves a chicken and pasta casserole and we trade stories and impressions from our cruises. They hope their issue will be taken care of quickly so perhaps we will be able to get at the dock by late morning.  We return to Singoalla disappointed not to be next on Carl’s list, but happy to have made new friends.

March 5, 2009, Jolly Harbour

After breakfast we decide to go ashore to check on Carl’s progress with Catalyst. We stop to greet the couple on Nordlys, a beautiful Swan 47 we have seen further south who have just arrived. We are invited for cocktails at 5.00. When we get to Catalyst, they are done with Carl and just paying their bill. We hurry back to Singoalla and bring her to Carl’s work dock. We are told that Tony, who worked on the fiberglass  on the mast step in December, will be doing the work.  That is great, because we know Tony to be both competent and diligent, a rare combination down here.  Larry helps Tony dismantle and remove the quadrant. There is too much “play” between the rudderpost and the quadrant, where they should be tightly clamped together.  At 5.00 pm Carl takes the quadrant to an automobile machine shop to have the two halves milled down slightly so they will make better contact.   We go over to Nordlys where we get to know David and his Danish born wife Annette as well as another British couple, David and Pita, friends of David and Annette from the UK, who have a Hallberg Rassy on a nearby mooring. Cocktails extend for 3 hours and we have a marvelous time.  When we return to Singoalla we think that a cup of soup will make a perfectly adequate dinner and shortly afterwards we totter off to bed.

March 6, 2009, Jolly Harbour

We wake up after a restless night slapping mosquitoes in the dark.  At about 10.30 Carl tells us that the machine shop was unable to mill down the quadrant because it is too thin and cannot be stabilized without building an elaborate jig, which would take too much time and money. Instead we will try to fill the gap between the quadrant and the rudder post with micro balloons. The quadrant comes back around 1.30 pm and Tony reassembles everything after laying a thick layer of micro balloons around the rudder post. (We think that it is a good thing that Tony is a small fellow who fits in the lazarette). We cannot leave until the epoxy has cured so we are stuck at the dock until tomorrow. Tony finishes at 4.30 and we have just enough time to get the boat presentable for before David and Annette come for cocktails at 5.00. David is a retired airline pilot and it is very interesting to hear his evaluation of the airline industry and the training given to pilots by various airlines. Once again, cocktails last for some hours.  After our guests depart we have a delicious chicken salad using leftover marinated chicken. We endure one more buggy night although the fan stirs the air enough in our cabin to make it more comfortable than yesterday.

March 7, 2009, Jolly Harbour

We are anxious to get away from Carl’s work dock, but cannot do so until we get the bill.  Carl’s wife is in charge if billing and she won’t be in until late morning, so we go to Dogwatch Tavern to plug in the laptop and get on the internet to update the blog.  By the time we have paid Carl, then gone to the fuel dock for fuel and water it is early afternoon and all moorings are taken. We decide to go outside the harbor and anchor in Mosquito Cove. There is a strong swell running and the wind is very gusty so we are in for an uncomfortable night. The wind blows at 10-15 knots for a while, and then we are hit by a sudden gust of 25-30 knots or more. This causes the boat to suddenly heel over and seems to pull the anchor through the sand a little at each gust. We reposition the boat to be a little further away from a post that marks the channel into Jolly Harbor.

 March 8, 2009, Jolly Harbour

We are awakened every hour or so by the anchor watch alarm on the GPS as the wind gusts pull the anchor slowly through the sand. At about 2 a.m. we both go up on deck in response to a particularly loud gust. The moon is almost full and it is a beautiful bright night. Suddenly Elisabeth sees that our dinghy is upside down – with the motor on it!  After some thought we decide to do nothing about the problem until daylight, when we might get some help in rescuing the outboard motor. Of course we forget that it is Sunday morning, when help will be very hard to find.  We wrap a line around the dinghy and winch it up on its side, then a little nudge makes it fall upright!  The fuel tank is floating nearby, still attached to the engine.  We get it back into the dinghy and contemplate what to do next. We see Nordlys departing the harbor on their way to Falmouth Harbour, so we know that their mooring is available now.  We immediately raise our anchor and go into the harbor and pick up their mooring.  We put a toolkit in the dinghy, and are prepared to row into Carl’s work dock where we can work on the outboard when John from Ocean Harmony comes by in his dinghy to ask what the conditions are outside.  After we report, he decides to stay on the mooring for at least another day and agrees to tow us into the dock so we don’t have to row against the wind.  He also helps Larry to get the engine up on the dock and holds the engine while Larry pours gasoline into the cylinders and pulls the starter rope to flush out the cylinders. We then find a cart and Elisabeth and Larry bring the motor over to the fuel dock where we give it a thorough bath with fresh water.  It is not water that gives engines problems, it is the salt. We take the engine back to Carl’s test barrel, reassemble it, and much to our surprise and delight it STARTS. We run it for about 5 minutes and pronounced it cured.  We throw out the old fuel as we fear it is contaminated with salt water and refill at the fuel dock. We then clean up Singoalla and ourselves and go to the Foredeck bar to wait for Mark, Chery and Connor who fly in today. After one drink at the bar we all head for Singoalla. Larry prepares welcome pina coladas and then we have dinner of grilled chicken, potato salad made with sweet and traditional potatoes and  green beans.

March 9, 2009, Jolly Harbour -Falmouth Harbour, Antigua

Chery and Connor enjoy the sail to Falmouth Harbour

The Barres and Larry -- first morning at Jolly Harbour

Eleonora, a Herreshoff re-creation

Larry and Connor in front of Mariette

The family at Fort Berkeley

After breakfast and after Barres have stowed their copious amounts of clothing and other gear they have with them, we pay our mooring fee and head for Falmouth Harbour. The wind is so far north we are able to reach through Goat Head Channel, almost unheard of, and have a short 3 mile beat up to Falmouth Harbour.  We go ashore to tour Nelson’s Dock yard, and are surprised to see Rowena Dery. She invites us all to drinks at their house and to enjoy the beautiful view, to be followed by dinner at Cap Horn.  After our tour of Nelsons Dock yard we walk to Fort Berkeley, then over the rough trail to Pigeon Beach. Connor keeps count of the goats we see along the trail - 46 in all. We complete the circle to Nelsons Dock yard where the Barres make serious inroads into the tee shirt inventory.  Rowena picks  us up at the Antigua Yacht Club and chauffeurs us up to their lovely home.  Pam and Brendan Kelley, Elisabeth’s friends from bridge at Harbour Court in Newport are visiting the Derys, and we have a wonderful evening trading sailing stories.

March 10, 2009, Falmouth Harbour - Rickett’s Bay, Green Island

Pina coladas bring smiles to the Barres

Winds are still quite northerly and there is a north swell running, but we are on the south side of Antigua and decide to make the 9 mile beat to Green Island.  On the port tack legs we go quite far off shore and the seas get pretty lumpy.  Eleven year old Connor, an avid reader, pays the price for trying to stay below decks and read.  He comes up looking somewhat green, but the view of the horizon and smoother water closer to the island have their effect and Connor feels much better by the time we drop anchor in Rickett’s bay.  As Elisabeth is preparing lunch Larry is pleased to see a topless blond mermaid paddling around the harbor in her kayak.  After lunch Mark and Connor don snorkels and fins and go snorkeling while Larry makes a start at cleaning the bottom and propeller.  Both are in pretty bad shape and require a scraper to get the barnacles off as well as Scotchbrite to clean off the scum. Mark assists by working on the starboard side.  We relax over pina coladas and a good filet dinner.  We are anchored in 12 feet of water quite close to shore and close enough to a nearby reef that we have some concern about swinging into it if the wind veers up to the east.  As we are cleaning up after dinner we hear shouts in French. We go top side to investigate and find a boat passing between us and the reef heading shoreward at about 4 knots in the dark. They stop in front of Singoalla and at first we fear that they are about the drop anchor right there. Luckily they decide to find another spot aft of us. We shake our heads and mutter something about French sailors.

March 11, 2009, Green Island –Falmouth Harbour

Connor is a quick study as a helmsman

Chery, Connor and mark at Shirley Heights

English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour from Shirley Heights

We spend the morning at anchor. Elisabeth goes for an early swim to the beach before anybody else is up.  After breakfast Mark takes Connor on another snorkel tour while Larry resumes the cleaning of the bottom. Once again Mark pitches in and completes the job. After lunch we go for a 2 hour downwind slide back to Falmouth Harbour. Mark steers most of the way and we are pleased to see that we gain on a much larger party catamaran that left the harbor shortly before we did. We anchor near Psyche, not far from where we were 2 days ago. Nordlys is anchored nearby and Annette comes over in the dinghy and suggests that we share a cab up to Shirley Heights for ”sun downers”. We think that is a superb idea and hurry over to Nelsons Dockyard for showers. The men’s shower room is (still) out of order, and the attendant locks us all in the ladies room for more or less communal shower. We get back to Falmouth just in time to meet the Nordlyses. Sunset at Shirley Heights is impressive.  Just as the sun disappears below the horizon we see an anemic green flash - but a green flash never the less .We leave the Nordlyses at the marina and go to Tappas Restaurant for a farewell dinner. We are amazed by the quality of both the meal and the service. We return to Singoalla and the Barres work on retrieving their clothes from various places in the boat and packing their enormous bags.

March 12, 2009, Falmouth Harbour.

The Barres depart, Singoalla floats 2 inches higher

The alarm goes off at 5.45. We are usually early risers, but consider this time to be reserved for farmers, fishermen and bus drivers. We manage to get dressed quickly enough to meet the taxi driver in the marina about the appointed time of 6.30. We say good bye to Chery, Mark and Connor and settle in for a day of reading. We need to get north to St Maarten but Chris Parker’s forecast indicates that both the wind and  a large north swell will be against us. We conclude that we can leave late as Monday and still be in time to meet Catharina on Wednesday.  When we go to charge the batteries in the afternoon we realize that no water is coming out of the engine exhaust.  Larry climbs into the engine compartment and finds that the water pump belt is loose. He thanks Elisabeth again for buying the new LED headlamps and Bolinders for suggesting them, because they make the job so much easier that it is almost like having a third arm. The Nordlyses arrive shortly after 5 pm for pina coladas, hors d’ouevres and entertaining conversation for a couple of hours.  After they depart Elisabeth prepares delicious spaghetti primavera dinner using locally grown vegetables and we read ourselves to sleep. 

 

Lavers blog, 9th 2008-2009 entry, February 18-March 2, 2009

February 18, 2009, Rodney Bay, St. Lucia

Larry spends most of the day cleaning the boat, getting laundry done, polishing the stainless steel and generally getting ready for Elisabeth ad the Swansons tomorrow. Rickard Sundblad from Sofia comes over for cocktails and they go to Bosun’s for dinner. They both have fish and chips made with a local fish that Larry has never heard of. Quite tasty!

February 19, 2009, Rodney Bay

More cleaning and stowing. Larry borrows the dinghy from Phoenix Rising to clean the waterline and wash the topsides with vinegar and water. The name on the stern of the boat has been damaged by the tropical sun over the months of exposure. One of the local workers tries to help restore the boat’s name and hailing port to its original bright gold appearance. The attempt is unsuccessful and the colors will have to remain a dull gray gold until it can be replaced. At 4.30 Larry goes with Floyd to the airport to pick up Elisabeth and the Swansons. The flight is over an hour delayed and Air Caraibe announces that they cannot fly due to bad weather on St. Lucia (which is 30 miles away from the Martinique airport). Meanwhile LIAT planes are happily landing with no difficulty. Eventually they decide to fly and everyone is relieved when the plane finally arrives. We celebrate with a fine dinner in honor of David’s birthday at the Chart House.

February 20, 2009,Rodney Bay

Heliconia in the Botanical Gardens, Soufriere

Larry, Kathryn and David at Diamond Falls, Soufriere

Marigot Bay

David rents a car and we drive first to Meat Express, a 

purveyor of frozen food to hotels and cruise ships that Rickard told us about. We lay in a stock of steaks, chicken, pork tenderloin and smoked salmon of a quality that we have not seen anywhere else on the islands. We then try to recreate the island tour that Floyd had given last week but now with Larry as guide. The tour loses a little in translation but is not a total washout. We stop at the Governor’s mansion for photos of Castries harbor, then we find a very pleasant sandwich shop in Marigot Bay for lunch. We are struck by how many Moorings charter boats are at the docks. The bad economy must have a major impact on the charter companies. In Soufriere we visit the Botanical Gardens, but opt to skip the volcano due to the advanced hour. It is a good decision as we encounter a major traffic jam between Castries and Rodney Bay. We arrive just in time to visit Richard onboard Sofia for cocktails. We enjoy swapping stories and manage to reduce Richard’s wine supply substantially. Back onboard Singoalla Elisabeth prepares a delicious dinner of smoked salmon, gravlax sas, boiled potatoes and salad. Lights out almost immediately after dinner.

February 21, 2009, Rodney Bay

Elisabeth, Kathryn and David take the car to the mall to get supplies for the week. Larry stays behind and works on the blog. The weather forecast is for continuous strong winds and high seas. We are very comfortable where we are and spend the afternoon reading and sharing tidbits from our books with one another. Larry finally prepares the welcome drink, pina coladas! Elisabeth prepares marinated chicken for dinner. We spend a quiet evening still captured by our books.

February 22, 2009, Rodney Bay

Kathryn and David at Scuttlebutt's

We spend yet another day at the marina. David swims in the pool while Kathryn observes from Scuttlebutts. We have lunch at Café Ole in the marina then read in the afternoon. We invite Rickard from Sofia for dinner. Larry and Elisabeth visit Mike and Linda onboard Casa del Mar, a neighboring boat from Portland Oregon. They are invited over for cocktails as well. Rickard, Linda and Mike arrive at 6 pm, and we have such a good time the cocktail invitation is extended to include dinner. Elisabeth has anticipated this possibility, and casually serves up a delicious dinner for 7. We are fascinated to hear about Mike’s fight against terminal cancer, an experimental “miracle drug“ that saved his life, and their decision to go sailing. We could have talked all night-and made a pretty good try at doing so.

February 23, 2009, Rodney Bay

Elisabeth and Kathryn walk to the grocery store and take the bus back with their heavy loads. Larry clears out at customs and checks out of the marina. We leave the lagoon and go a short distance out into Rodney Bay and anchor off the beach. The weather report is still not so good so we decide to stay here another day here. Kathryn and Elisabeth go for a swim but not very far due to the strong current. Tonight we play cards and Elisabeth learns to play gin rummy. We st

op with David in the lead when no one can keep their eyes open.

February 24, 2009, Rodney Bay

Mobile fruit store in Rodney Bay

We experience another rainy, windy day. We feel sorry for those poor souls who actually have to go somewhere today. We read all day, alternating between reading on deck and reading below during the squalls. Our friends on Teka Nova call this activity “hatch aerobics“. After making lots of progress in our books Elisabeth prepares pasta Bolognese for dinner. After dinner we play gin rummy again until we can no longer stay awake.

February 25, 2009, Rodney Bay, St. Lucia – St. Pierre, Martinique

Elisabeth gets a kick out of climbing the mast

Almost halfway there!

Finally we get a break in the weather. The seas are beginning to subside and the wind is down to a very tolerable 20 knots. We raise the anchor and head north. The strike is still on in Martinique, so we are not quite sure where we will stop. We sail fast, average about 7.5 knots, and have several periods of rain. Kathryn discovers that it is comfortable and entertaining to sit in the companionway under the dodger and watch as Larry and David repeatedly don and doff foul weather gear. Midway to Martinique we see a pod of dolphins, but they will not come and play. Despite the rain it is a comfortable crossing. We sail/motor up the lee side of the island to St. Pierre where there are many fewer boats than during our last visit. Just before arriving, a control line from the Dutchman mainsail control system fastens in the upper spreader tip.  We are unable to free it, so we release it from the foot of the sail so it will not keep us from dropping the sail at our destination.  We find a convenient spot to anchor near the dinghy dock. But the binoculars reveal that the stores are closed and there is very little activity in town, so we do not go ashore. Instead, Elisabeth goes up the mast to free the Dutchman control line.  We celebrate the good passage and Elisabeth's successful sky mission with pina coladas, which David and Kathryn have developed a taste for.

February 26, 2009, St. Pierre, Martinique – Roseau, Dominica

Roseau sunset

 David and Kathryn enjoy the crossing to Dominica

As we are preparing to leave St. Pierre we are hailed by the captain of a lovely nearby French yawl. He asks if we can spare a few liters of dinghy fuel. He is out of diesel, and has only about a liter of gasoline left in the tank of is small outboard. We gladly give him a few liters and wish him well. He is going to sail around to le Marin, ancor, and wait until he can get diesel for the yawl. We, on the other hand, raise the anchor and have a glorious reach to Roseau. The winds are around 20 knots with moderate seas. Larry, Elisabeth and David take turns steering while Kathryn observes from her perch under the dodger. Sea Cat’s boat boy helps us to a mooring and takes Larry to the ferry terminal to clear in. Kathryn, David and Elisabeth go ashore to reserve a table for dinner at the Anchorage Hotel and to see if we can use their showers. We are able to rent a room for the afternoon where all of us can shower for a very reasonable rate. We have cocktails in the bar until the restaurant is open, then enjoy a very nice buffet dinner. Larry and David pig out on the desserts.

February 27, 2009, Roseau – Portsmouth, Dominica

Getting water at Roseau

We are up early and take the dinghy to the Fort Young Hotel, the nearest dinghy dock to downtown. There is a major surge, so we tie the dinghy across a corner of the dock to avoid damage. Kathryn and David go to the Dominica Museum while Larry and Elisabeth go to Whitchurch’s grocery for provisioning. Back on Singoalla we need help from Sea Cat to free us from the mooring – during the night Singoalla has circled the mooring many times in the light wind and the waves, creating a major snarl around the mooring ball. We then go over to Sea Cat’s mooring and, with Desmond’s help and some very long lines, we back up to within 10 meters of the dock. Desmond brings us a hose and we fill up the water tanks. We have a quiet sail / motor sail / motor up the lee side of the island to Portsmouth where Martin takes us to a mooring quite close to Purple Turtle. Kathryn and David decide to leave us here as they have already been on the boat three days longer than they had planned. Martin takes them ashore and drives them to Heaven’s Best, a guest house run by a retired couple who have returned to the island after many years in New York where he was a chef. Larry and Elisabeth cook steaks on the grill, and go straight to bed, too tired to read.

February 28, 2009, Portsmouth

Kathryn and David in Prince Rupert Bay

Elisabeth and Larry go to the farmer’s market at 6 .30 am. This is one of Elisabeth’s favorite events, and she as usual comes back to the boat with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, all grown on Dominica. Kathryn and David come by as planned about 9.00 am. Larry takes their passports to customs to clear them off the boat. The custom’s agent is very friendly and helpful, but the immigration officer is anything but. He makes it clear that he is not happy that we have changed our plans. He refuses to stamp our documentation today, and says that Kathryn and David will have to get their passports stamped at the airport. A disgruntled Larry returns to the boat, but is considerably cheered when Elisabeth prepares a delicious salad nicoise for lunch. Martin takes the Swansons on his wonderful rowing tour of the Indian River. They then return to Heaven’s Best for the afternoon, but will return aat 6:00 for a farewell dinner. Elisabeth spends all day cleaning the boat, and Larry naps during the afternoon to try to get an allergy attack under control. He feels considerably better when Kathryn and David arrive at 6:00. We have farewell pina coladas, a steak dinner with sautéed potatoes and onions, salad, and fresh pineapple for dessert. Larry takes David and Kathryn back to the Purple Turtle after dinner where they expect to get a taxi back to the guest house. Larry is asked by a stranded sailor for a ride back to his boat – he has come back from a bus trip to Roseau after all the boat boys have gone home and has no other way to return to his boat. Tonight’s music from ashore is quite pleasant, and we fall asleep to the rhythm of the drums and bass that we can hear through the hull.

March 1, 2009, Portsmouth, Dominica – les Saintes, Guadeloupe

We are up early, before 7:00, but take our time getting the boat ready for the short passage to les Saintes. Our documentation is in order except for a clearance from immigration. Since the crew form has the customs clearance stamp on it, we decide not to return to the unpleasant immigration officer, but just to depart. We hear on the VHF that a Dutch boat has left without paying one of the boat boys 50 EC ($20 US) for a phone card that he had purchased for the boat, and that another boat boy’s house burned last night. We want to make a contribution to the fund that the sailors are raising for them, but Martin does not respond to our calls on the VHF. We assume that he is probably in church, but we need to leave to make sure we arrive at Passe des Dames in good light. We will hae to find another way to contribute. We have a beautiful passage to les Saintes, beam/close reach, 7.5 to 8 knots. Elisabeth steers most of the way. One boat of similar size that leaves about the same time drops astern, but another unknown boat gains on us and catches us just as we arrive at les Saintes. We are relieved to see that it is Albatros, a 50+ foot boat that we last saw in Martinique. Just as we reach the Passe des Dames, a narrow and dangerous slot between two reefs, but that saves ½ mile in going around the neighboring islets, a rain squall bears down on us. We are fortunate to reach the pass before the rain destroys visibility. We motor close in o Bourg des Saintes and anchor near where we were a few weeks ago. We raise the yellow quarantine flag and stay on board because the strike is still going on in Guadeloupe. We have wonderful grilled tuna steaks that Larry prepares rare on our propane grill, and a garden salad using ingredients acquired at the marvelous Saturday market in Portsmouth.

March 2, 2009, les Saintes – Deshaies, Guadeloupe

Elisabeth steers with les Saintes in the background

Sunset at Deshaies

We raise anchor and depart at 8:00 a.m. We set the main with a single reef and motor out past Ilet des Cabrits before setting the genoa. It is always difficult to judge how much wind is blowing and from which direction until we are out of the light air and turbulence caused by the steep islands. As is not uncommon, we initially set too much sail, but eventually get it right and cross over to Pointe du Vieux Fort at between 8 and 8.5 knots – the kind of passage that maks you want to shout for the mere fun of it. The fun is over as we go up the lee side of Guadeloupe. We sometimes have a beam reach on starboard tack, sometimes no wind and sometimes a close reach on port. We drop the sails before Rollo Head in very light wind on the nose and begin to motor the last couple of miles to Deshaies. Suddenly our newly installed engine alarm begins to sound – the engine is too hot. We turn it off and make slow progress under the jib alone for a while. When we judge that we are close enough, we start the engine and head in to find a place to anchor. There are very few boats now, and most are showing the yellow flag, meaning they are only stopping while passing between other countries and not going ashore. We find that at moderate engine speed – 1800 rpm – the engine gets enough water to stay cool, so we are able to anchor without drama. Elisabeth makes rum punches before dinner and we dine on pork tenderloin that has been marinating for 2 days. Incredible! Thank you, Meat Express on St. Lucia.