Blog#70 Death in paradise....
Cassini
Simon and Sally, Nigel and Catherine
Thu 21 Dec 2023 00:12
Death in Paradise…. After our lazy day on Monday, we were invited on board a neighbouring catamaran for drinks. Sally and I both had kitchen (galley says Nigel) envy, it was fabulous. A very pleasant couple of hours with delicious nibbles prepared by Vanessa and Jean-Marc. We left Martinique on Tuesday for the passage to Deshais (pronounced Day-ay) on the northern tip of Guadeloupe. We sailed close to the island so enjoyed the pretty views. We sailed for about 30 miles but had to motor for the last 3 hours as the wind died down. After mooring to a buoy, we tidied up then went ashore to check in with customs and passport control, a wander around and found Katherine's bar from Death in Paradise. Sadly, it was closed so we found another bar nearby with equally good views over the bay. After beers and ice creams, it was back to the boat for more wahoo - sweetcorn potato fish chowder this time. Today, Wednesday, Simon has been trying to fix the echo sounder. He's checked everything he can think of, resoldered various wires with the help of his trusty assistant (me) but to no avail. Meanwhile Nigel and Sally were locating the source of a leak above the chart table. Saloon ceiling lining removed, doors off various cupboards, buckets thrown over suspected areas and the fault thought to be a D ring. This was removed, cleaned, sealant added and replaced. Fingers crossed when we have the next heavy shower or sea over the deck the electronics will stay dry. After lunch of wahoo (last meal I think) we all settled for a quiet afternoon. Late afternoon we went ashore to check-out of immigration. We then found the Honore Police station and wandered back to Catherine's bar which was closed. We suspect the current “Katherine" had done enough business at lunchtime when it was very busy so she didn’t feel the need to open this evening. Her loss is L'Amer gain. Sally and I had very good cocktails, Nigel and Simon the usual beers, listening to the crashing waves which had destroyed part of the dinghy jetty. Fortunately we had put our dinghy further down the bay. We are all back on board now, listening to Sophie Ellis-Bexter's Christmas disco after dinner of chicken and chorizo (not wahoo!) The islands are not very festive, a few fairy lights and the occasional blast from a beach bar of Christmas carols reggae style! At present our Christmas comprises of a couple of festive tablecloths, 2 Christmas T towels, some pretty lights and a pudding brought from Sally's pantry! Antigua tomorrow and Christmas will begin for the Cassini crew. Catherine    Honore ‘police’ station ‘Katherine’s bar’ View from bar (Cassini centre right) |
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