Morning
I took care of some work before going ashore. I showered, shaved and checked my paperwork prior to departing and, much to my chagrin, found a serious problem. It seems that Sint Maarten C&I had inadvertently kept my boat registration. It is printed on 2 pages, the first page has all the details on the second page just has how many shares each owner has (since I’m the only owner, it is only 1 line on that page). I had the second page, but not the first!
I went through my paperwork folder to ensure that I hadn’t mistakenly put it in there. No luck. I found a PDF file with the registration and loaded that onto a USB-Stick and ventured ashore to the marina office. The trip in from my spot was very, very long and I cheated by planing my dinghy despite the 5-knot speed limit. I didn’t think it applied to dinghies but found out later that it does. Had I kept to the speed limit the trip to the dock would have been 15-20 minutes.
At the office they told me that they weren’t allowed to accept USB sticks and I’d have to send it via e-mail so that they could print it. They kindly helped me by calling C&I and asking if they’d accept the PDF file, to which they responded in the negative. After a while one of the office staff told me that I could use her notebook to e-mail it. This notebook was over 10 years old and very slow, in the end we had the registration page on the screen, and it had a QR-Code that we could scan and print at another station. I checked the PC and found it had some broken drivers and programs and cleaned it up; then went to C&I.
I’d not used them in many years but had been told to clear and out there because it is much cheaper than English Harbour. It was cheaper, but the process too an hour and a half despite my having the paperwork and online forms in order. A charter boat in front of me had caused confusion and the backlog took time to sort out – there were only 3 boats waiting. This is much slower than at English Harbour.
I returned to Zanshin but someone waved to me from a catamaran outside the channel. I went over and was asked if I could take the caretaker to shore, as their dinghy had run out of gas. I wasn’t thrilled about another 10-minute trip, but could hardly say no; she was the one who told me about the speed limit enforcement but admitted that the harbour police weren’t around that day 🙂
Noon
I had planned on staying the day and night, but wanted to go ashore again and that long dinghy ride was just too much for me. So, I got the engine fired up and left. I decided to try motoring slowly between Cades Reef and the shore.
The water is shallow and there are numerous coral heads, but it is so much calmer in there than outside of the reef. I motored at 2-3 knots and followed the chart closely and watched the depth. It went from 12 feet under the keel to 8 feet under the keel and was never shallower, so I’ll be using that route in the future.
Falmouth Harbour
The final 5 miles outside of the reef are always nasty. The path is directly into the prevailing wind and the waves wrap around the island to deliver a nice punch. The decks which the overnight rains had cleaned are now salty again and I’m hoping for a cleansing shower soon.
I anchored a bit further away than usual, as all the inner spots are now taken by mooring balls and I prefer not to pay for something which, ultimately, I don’t trust as much as my free anchor and chain system.
Ashore
I went ashore to say hello to those I knew and ended up meeting Neil, who is handing over Emily of Cowes to another skipper and returning home in several days. I have a bit of a hangover as a reminder of last night at Skullduggery.