It is only 09:00 as I write this, and I’ve already suffered through the morning VHF Cruiser’s network, gone to Island Waterworld to deliver my propane tank for refilling and then purchased the replacement flares for those on board which had expired (both because I do want flares that have a chance of working when I need them and because I have a sneaking suspicion that the Coast Guard will be by shortly to see if I’ve complied with their findings). Since we are in the islands and I got the more powerful ISAF flares rather than smaller USCG ones I had to spend over $200 to be in-date and legal. I just wish I could actually use the flares sometime rather than have to dispose of them “properly”. After taking care of that, I dinghied over to Lagoonie’s to talk with Ernst at the Tropical Sail Loft regarding the work I would like done on the dodger and bimini to allow me to attach the solar panels and he was quite busy so I won’t be dropping them off until Wednesday morning. Subsequently, in a burst of activity, I also went over to Electec to speak with Audrey regarding when the Spectra PWM module that I’d ordered before the Heineken Regatta might be delivered and the good news was that they were underway using Four Star Cargo and my experiences with them have taught me that delivery should be prompt.
So now I’m back aboard and drinking a cup of coffee while updating the blog. The TelCell network towers still seem to be down and my surf stick only gets a roaming network signal which won’t let me connect to the internet. If this lasts much longer I’ll have to go back to the TelCell offices and ask what I can do. I’ll combine that trip with one to the pharmacy to replenish my stocks of saline and Ringer’s Solution, which have also expired. Perhaps that can be combined with a trip to the doctor’s office so that I can have him write the prescriptions for the medicines that I need aboard.
Today remains a partially cloudy day and the solar panels are keeping up with my constant drain of 6-8 A (fridge, freezer and inverter for this PC and monitor), but the bank isn’t going to be topped off tonight. I only have 5 out of 6 panels working right now and think that even on days like today I should at least break even from 6 in the morning until sunset at about 18:00, and that leaves me sufficient battery reserves to weather 2 cloudy days until I would need to run the generator.
I’ve been ashore and gotten my internet connectivity sorted out, my Ringer’s Solution and several quotes for rental cars. In addition I found out that the annual dive regulator training held at the scuba shop is slated for next week and if I’m still here I’d like to participate in that and, finally, I went to the customs office to talk with them about the $82 charge on my credit card that they had said wouldn’t happen. That was sorted out quickly, something had gone wrong and they had charged the card but not gotten the boat name correctly and then didn’t know to which boat the charge belonged. But it is sorted out now and when I clear out that payment will be credited to my account.
I ended up at Barnacle’s for some food (I’d never tried a Greek Pizza before and can’t quite recall what the components were, but it was tasty) and ended up speaking with Björn from the Norwegian boat behind me until they shut the bar around us before returning to my boat to sleep.
Due to my neglecting to insert a memory card into my camera for much of the day, I shot very few pictures, and those I did take were uninteresting; oh well – perhaps tomorrow…
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