Monday 23 April: This day is to be officially recorded as not-a-good-day on Cloudy Bay!
It all started well, with enthusiasm and the intention to sail the 20 miles across to St.Lucia. The wind was forecast lighter than normal 14-18 kts and the sea moderate.
As usual with these passages, we make the effort to remove the outboard and place it on the pushpit bracket, leaving only the dinghy on the davits. Before we set off, our guests made it clear they did not need sea-sickness tablets. But just before pulling the anchor they changed their mind, but still denied for little Darius. (first mistake, not waiting for the pills to take effect!)
So off we set into the high seas along with jokes that they will be able to claim sailing the Atlantic ocean after today. Once clear of Martinique, the swell starts to roll in from the east as expected. Also as usual, the wind is a good few kts more than forecast, gusting up to 21knts. We are well reefed with 2/3 main and 2 rolls in the genoa, yet still doing 8.5 kts and nicely pinned down, stopping all but the biggest of waves rolling up.
We are charging along with waves coming onto the foredeck as usual. But our guests have gone quiet. They don’t seem excited by the experience, not in the slightest. This only means one thing … they are not feeling well. So out comes the bucket in preparation!
The first to supply the bucket is Darius, then a few minutes later Geta. OK, they have been sick, now they will be OK. But no, they want to turn around and return to Martinique because “Darius can’t do another 1 ½ hours of this”. So we do just that. After all, it’s their holiday, we are just trying to make it the best we can.
Rather than head back to Le Marin, we aim for the SW tip where there are new bays and beaches to explore. This means we are on a broad reach and rolling quite badly. But they seem happier knowing we are returning to calm waters. As soon as things are calm a little, Darius starts laughing and playing again, but mum and dad still look a bit green!
Once securely anchored in Petite Anse, our guests would like to get ashore and eat as soon as possible. So Glen lowers the dinghy while Oana prepares to lower the outboard. But she is confused. “Glen,” she says, “where is the outboard?”. Glen looks up thinking it’s a silly question, but no, sure enough the outboard engine is absolutely not where we left it; it’s no longer in position on its pushpit bracket. WTF!? How did that happen, how on earth could it have fallen off? But reality sinks in…. The outboard is gone to join all the other items in Davey’s Locker of the deep!
Our guests are desperate for dry land so initially Glen considers rowing them in. But we are at least 200m from the jetty with wind against us. Even with just Glen and Oana aboard, this dinghy is about as easy to row as a rubber ring! Plus there is large swell at the jetty. So we abandon that idea and make lunch on board while Darius screams for the usual attentions.
Glen makes a quick call to Pantaenius insurance to state the situation, because we will be needing another outboard very quickly. He is a little surprised that their initial reaction is that this is not claimable. Aaaargh! Insurance companies, they are all the same, love to collect premiums, hate to pay out.
Next call is to the Suzuki dealer, where we just bought (and sadly fitted) a very expensive new propeller from. They had the exact outboard in stock last week. But alas it sold on Friday, and they will see when another one can get delivered.
Next decision is where to go next. We can’t do bays without an outboard and Marina du Marin is 2 hours upwind in choppy seas with current against us. Glen instead finds a marina in Fort de France, which the pilot says it’s not yet finished. But Oana soon finds on the various nets that it is indeed open for business now …. and very cheap. So off we go, motoring all the way. At least we managed to make some water and filled a tank; our guests successfully managed to use ¾ of our water supply in only 2 days (same amount would normally last us about 10 days).
The Marina Etang is between the airport and the main town of Fort de France, right next to a container terminal. Lovely! At least it’s sheltered, even though rather remote from anything civilized. No wonder it’s cheap. We moor bow-to so that we can keep the rain out of the cockpit, even if it means our guests have to do gymnastics to get on and off the bow ladder.
Soon we are connected to water, electricity, and most importantly to WiFi, where we manage to get a hire car for tomorrow. We also find that the outboard will be available in the afternoon. Good news. Meanwhile, our guests go for a walk around the marina, just to get Darius moving a bit and feel the firm land under their feet.
We have dinner in the cockpit as usual (no chance of any eating out near to this marina) and discuss the day’s events and tomorrows plan. Plans are not exactly aligned …. But let’s hope for fresh heads tomorrow. In fact, let’s hope for a better day tomorrow all round!
3 comments
invest in a stainless steel wire with two eyes and padlock it wont be able to jump over the side or grow legs and walk 😉
We have done just that now. The outboard now looks like Houdini! all wrapping in wire, rope and padlocks! But Pantaneius did pay up in full for the replacement, and very quickly.
Just so I’m clear, the outboard was on the pushpit bracket but perhaps not tightened down or was it still on the dinghy? In any event sorry to hear you lost such an expensive (and necessary) item.
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