Morning hours
I awoke at sunrise after a very comfortable night of sleep aboard. Initially, my fridge hadn’t started, so I’d transferred my water and milk to the freezer to chill. By the time I’d gotten my fridge running, the contents of the freezer had frozen. I transferred them the night before, but they remained partially frozen, and it was tough to get milk into my morning cuppa.
I went topsides to get the dinghy ready for splashing, as it had been securely tied down for the hurricane season. The day was still cool, but the gnats and no-see-ums were out in force for their early morning feeding.
Andy came by early, and together we got the large genoa sail from the cabin to the deck using a winch and a spinnaker line. Then the dinghy went into the water. We got the outboard mounted quickly; this was much easier than trying to do it alone.
Lunch
I took care of getting a signature for expedited customs at Budget Marine (my contact wasn’t there, just others in the store). Then I had to renew my paperwork at the C&I offices, and for a 50XCD fee, I renewed my cruising permit.
I used the rain showers to wash the decks a bit, then headed to the Out-Out bar to connect to the internet and check my e-mails. I don’t have connectivity at the boat, and my Starlink is still in St. Lucia.
Afternoon
Mike came to the bar with Jasmine and Adam, who had raced and finished in the Mini Globe Race. We took advantage of the special happy-hour pricing for Carib beers. There was little incentive for me to return to the boat, as it was still raining heavily. By sundown, the rains stopped, and the four of us had dinner at Al Porto.
Night
Mike’s outboard is still in transit, and he’d moved White Malkin to the anchorage the day before. It is a very long way out from the docks, and instead of forcing him to row upwind, I towed him behind my dinghy, and it was a matter of minutes instead of a half-hour of effort for him.