We had some fun over the July 4th weekend. Friday 4th saw the passing of hurricane Arthur with winds near us gusting at >35 kts. So we decided not to venture out and place a group of wedges around the mast instead (the rigger still has not returned to finish the rigging job). We departed Saturday morning in about 15-20 kts of wind and got as far as the channel, leading out to the green posts in the bay, when the engine stopped. We were on a lee shore about 200 yds off the marina next to us. We quickly dropped anchor and spent the next 2+ hrs, with the help of some friends, changing the fuel filter, bleeding the line, etc.. All in all, a good learning exercise. We are both very glad we didn’t venture out on Friday as the consequences of a >35 kt wind pushing us onto the shore could have been interesting. Also glad it didn’t happen on our recent trip. We are now looking at investing in a double filter system, where one can easily switch to the second filter if there are problems with the first one.
I have re-seated the two large windows in the main cabin and the small one in the fore-cabin. The leak around the port window in the main cabin seems to have been resolved. The head liner has also been replaced.
The next task is the deck plugs – removing all the screws, countersinking the hole, adding a shorter ss screw, a teak plug (with goop), and once completed sanding and sealing the deck. Currently temperatures of around 34C, plus 90% humidity, are making the task take somewhat longer than anticipated.
Roger and Gayle are coming down to the boat tomorrow. I plan on quizzing them on their sailing experience in the Islands. Hopefully, they can recommend a few good stops
We have acquired a few courtesy flags for the islands, including the one for St. Maarten. We could potentially sail there, if we have the time. (for William and Karen’s flight home!)
Howard