Today is the penultimate day aboard Zanshin on Carriacou. I got up at dawn and am downing my first coffee right now and deciding which tasks, in what order, I am going to do. The most important on the list is to get the dinghy outboard into the garage and the dinghy up on deck. But there’s a breeze right now and a bit of chop from the long Hillsborough fetch so I am going to wait a bit.
But I will get everything set up. This is one of the few tasks that really do need 2 people. The Tohatsu 18HP outboard only weighs 41Kg, but it is unwieldy with lots of sharp corners; and lifting from the shifting platform of a dinghy in waves makes it more difficult to get aboard than one would expect.
Morning
I did some preparatory work to clean up the platform area. I’ve decanted the spare fuel into the main fuel tank for the dinghy. Modern fuels don’t like to be stored long-term and I think that 3 months is about the limit before it starts going “bad”. I’ve got the diesel running for my second coffee and to make water. There was no storage solution to be found, unfortunately. Once the tanks are topped off, I’ll flush the watermaker carefully at least twice and hope for the best upon my return.
I’m finishing my second cup of coffee now. The water tank is full, the batteries charged and the engine turned off. So I’m just procrastinating doing the outboard now; working on computer tasks that can easily wait. Did I really need to order freshly roasted Ethiopian coffee online now?
Success! The outboard is now onboard. No animals or humans were harmed during the process, either. I usually stub a toe, or get cut by the sharp propellor edges, or pull a muscle. It wasn’t easy, I tied a safety line to the outboard just in case I dropped it during the transfer.
Mid-morning
I’m on a roll. I got the dinghy on deck and turned around without breaking anything (except me breaking into a sweat). The pictures below show the results. Note that folks on wing foils don’t go out until the winds are really blowing. The weather forecast didn’t predict these blustery winds for today.
Afternoon
Despite the winds I got the bimini down without mishap; but I’ve decided to wait until tomorrow while on the hardstand to remove the dodger. That way I can keep the companionway open for fresh air overnight.
Evening
I had a pickup scheduled an early dinner at the Paradise Beach Club and the launch picked me up shortly before 18:00. I had a celebratory final dinner on Carriacou and returned to Zanshin early – sated and tired. I’m a bit nervous about the haul out tomorrow – I haven’t docked the boat in many months.
Noon
The winds are much stronger than expected. I’m a bit worried about getting the bimini down. I managed to get the solar panel on the bimini off; but it almost got away from me in a gust of wind. There are not only wing foilers out today, but there are several kite surfers zipping around the anchorage as well. I’m slowly getting ready for departure on the penultimate day on Carriacou; next are the bilges and heads. At least the most recent NHC forecasts show that the invest 95L isn’t going to develop into a big storm. That means I get a good haul out and a good day at the beaches in Grenada.
Afternoon
I realized that I had some Caribe beer to dispose of. My incipient sunburn from not wearing a hat after I removed the bimini made me thirsty. This is not the best combination when coupled with lots of work left to do aboard. But I can do quite a bit tomorrow on the hardstand after getting hauled, and have several hours time to complete these tasks. The penultimate day on Carriacou is soon going to be the ultimate day.