Early Morning
I’ve gotten a great night’s sleep now that the anchorage is back to normal. The wind is blowing from the shore and this keeps any waves down to wavelet size. The breeze cools the boat and I actually had to use a cover last night. It must have dropped down to 24C. I had intended on sleeping in late, but I got up with the sun and now need to wait a bit before going ashore so that the cafés and stores have a chance to open. I’ve downed my first cup of coffee and have taken care of e-mails and the previous day’s blog. I’m going to have an active Saturday ashore today.
I am going to get my scuba tanks recertified (Hydrostatically tested) and see about getting them filled as well so that I can clean the bottom. I will get diesel, do the laundry, have breakfast, go shopping for both boat parts and groceries. That’s just the list of stuff to do before noon.
Morning
Change of plans – the tanks are full, so I am going to go scraping my hull before getting them tested. The winds are picking up today and Zanshin is swinging about at anchor so I’ll wait a bit before diving.
I went to drop off my laundry at Lagoonie’s first and was surprised at how busy the dock was. There was barely room to squeeze my dinghy in. It then dawned on me that Saturdays are “Swap Meet” or “Treasures of the Bilge” days in the morning. I dropped off my dirty laundry and left, not before searching the tables for anything that I might need or want.
Filling up my 2 20l diesel tanks was next, done next door at the Island Waterworld fuel dock. Then came breakfast at the SMYC. Chris, on of the bartenders, was a bit under the weather after his evening escapades on St. Patrick’s Day.
The winds really picked up while I was having breakfast and I got up several times to check whether or not Zanshin might be dragging at anchor. Fortunately, all was in order.
I’ve returned aboard to see if I can let out more chain, but there’s a catamaran quite close behind me that is preventing me from doing so. I’ll drop by later and ask if they, too, might want to let out some more chain.
Noon
I transferred the diesel to the tank, using my newly acquired spout. This was far superior to the old “leak-proof safety” spout which is not fit for purpose.
But I made some tactical errors and still made a mess. The wind was gustier than I’d expected and caused me to miss the spout. I’d soaked the teak in water beforehand, but the sun and wind dried it out before I was finished. I’m going to go back for more fuel; it is still a busy Saturday ashore for me.
My trip to the fuel dock met with failure. The dock is supposed to be open until 16:00 but it was already shut down at 15:30.
Somewhat disheartened, I motored to The Scuba Shop to look for a new BCD and to confirm the costs and dates for the hydro tests on my tanks. It has been an active Saturday so far and I’ve got more to do. I’ll also order a maintenance kit for my ScubaPro gear so that I can take care of that job myself.
Evening
My laundry was scheduled to be finished by 17:00 and I went back there a bit early. They weren’t finished yet, so I had a happy hour drink at Lagoonie’s, a local SXM Beer which was tasty.
After returning my empty jerry cans and laundry to the boat (and making the bed with the clean sheets) I opted to dinghy to Buccaneer’s. While I wasn’t particularly hungry, the live music there has a good reputation. The Percy Rankin Bonfire Band was quite good and I enjoy (most of) a pizza while listening to them.
