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Starblazer - 26/04/2016 - Playing catch-up



We eventually checked out from Rodney Bay, St. Lucia and untied ourselves from the marina at 1640 on Friday. A quick radio call to the marina informed us that the fuel dock closed at 1645 so we motored out into the bay to anchor for the night. By 0745 we were on our way back to the fuel dock, the third boat to tie up but, crucially, the only boat with clearance papers and thus the first in line for the duty free pump. EC€1.50 per litre or about 40p was fantastic! By 0830 we were away, heading for Ste Anne just outside the Cul-de-Sac du Marin on Martinique under Genoa alone.

Martinique is really easy to clear in and out, without 'overtime' charges, whenever the marina office is open they charge €5 and you do it yourself on a computer. My only problem was finding the office because they have built a new complex to the south of the original buildings, just the other side of the boatyard and installed more pontoons. Meanwhile, John went to Mechanique Plaisance who deal with engines, outboards etc and stock Honda engines. Sadly they didn't have the little motor which sits on the carburettor. I met John in Mango Bay, a bar/restaurant with wi-fi for a well earned beer then we walked around to the new marina complex. As we turned in to the driveway a car came around the corner with Annelise waving frantically. Tulasi has been here since the World ARC finished as there is an Amel service branch here.

Sunday was a 'boat work' day, again! I did the washing while John did another oil change, only to discover that he had no spare oil filters. At least we are in the right place to buy them. Manfred had offered to drive us to Fort de France on Monday as John had found a Honda stockist with the bizarre name of Colorland and Annelise and I both wanted to visit the supermarket. We left the boat just before 0900 to visit Mechanique Plaisance to buy oil filters, I wandered around the chandlery and found a suitable shackle designed to go on a rope to connect to the anchor chain as a snubber, then John joined me and found a 240V battery charger for the Milwaukee which turns all our winches into electric winches. We arrived at Tulasi a couple of minutes after 1000 and tied the dinghy up to the pontoon beneath Tulasi's passeral. To reach the pontoon John motored between the hulls of the catamaran moored alongside!

John had spoken to Colorland on the phone from St Lucia and had found their address on the website. Finding the right road, rather oddly named after the revolutionary leader of Grenada who tried to turn the island into a communist country, was easy, finding the right street number was not. The company moved to a new building in an industrial estate a couple of years ago! Once we reached Colorland the guy was very helpful. He didn't have the spare but was willing to take one out of a generator he had for sale, how kind was that? We agreed to return later and went to the hypermarket, the best we've found since France! Yes we have found nice shopping malls in Australia, Mauritius, South Africa, Brazil but none of the supermarkets were as good as this one. We had a drink and a sandwich before hitting the aisles. Somehow we managed to pack it all in to the boot of the car, returned to Colorland to collect the part then drove back to the marina in Le Marin. It was sad to say goodbye to Annelise and Manfred as we have sailed with them since World ARC left the Caribbean in 2014 but we shall see them again in the winter when we return to the Caribbean.

The oil filter has now been replaced, the new motor has been installed in the generator and John is just about to go ashore to clear out. He will post this blog at the cafe near the Capitainerie, then the plan is to leave the anchorage and head towards Sint Marten, bypassing Dominica, Guadaloupe, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis and St Eustatia. It should take us about 48 hours. The plan will only change if, miraculously, John finds an e-mail waiting from Palm Tree Marine with positive news of the Fischer Panda generator!

Joyce



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