2023-06-19 Shelter in place or flight

The 08:00AM weather update from the NOAA Hurricane Center wasn’t good news. I now have to decide between shelter in place or flight. I  can get into Rodney Bay Marina and shelter, or sail as far south as I can, most likely all the way to Grenada, in order to avoid the hurricane altogether. It’s shelter in place or flight decision time.

This is complicated by Grenada’s requirement that one’s passport has to have 6 months left on when entering the country. Mine runs out in October. I’ve tried to reach immigration, customs, and others in the past 2 days with no success – I am assuming that they will let it “slide” but would like confirmation first.If the next NOAA and GFS model update is still showing the same path, I’m going to head down there anyway and then sort out any problems once I’m there. In one piece.

The genoa clew is not repairable by me onboard without causing further permanent damage to the sail. So I’m going to rely on the mainsail and the engine to get me south of the danger zone. I’m not going to shelter in place but I’m going to choose flight.  Plus I’d like to see Grenada.

Noon

After my workday I got into the dinghy to head ashore. It smelt of fish and I found out why while getting the collected rainwater out. The dead fish went overboard, but it’s smelly legacy remained.

Ashore I walked to the chandlery where I completed my exit clearance paperwork and then did some shopping at a well-stocked supermarket across the road.  Weighed down with my purchases, I returned to Zanshin.  I can’t make it to Rodney Bay before dark, so I think I’ll wait until tomorrow before I depart Martinique and head to St. Lucia for a diesel fuel pit-stop.

15:00 Good news – after several e-mails and WhatsApp attempts, I’ve finally managed to get an answer from immigration at Grenada and they will let me in, but only for as long as my passport is valid. Since I’d not planned on staying until October, this is really good news indeed.The groceries went into the freezer and fridge and the last item was a 4x 500ml pack of Heineken in cans. I managed to find the only sharp corner in the fridge with a can. It exploded and a fine spray of Holland’s finest covered all those newly purchased items. There was no chance of removing everything and cleaning it, then the fridge. I’m going to have to do that while underway tomorrow or upon arrival in Grenada.

Evening

I’m not going ashore tonight for a last French dinner after all, I’m getting Zanshin ready for the passage tomorrow and have an early conference call that I need to attend before departing to the south.