57. Island Time

I’m aware of that I haven’t posted anything for a month now. One reason is that I managed to get some sea water through the hatch above my navigation table where my computer was. As a result my keyboard is acting up and it takes me forever to write using the onscreen keyboard. I have been trying to get an external keyboard in Martinique but it turns out that the French have decided to put their keys in different places and there is no way to find what the rest of us are used to on the island. Don’t you just love them?

But the main reason is that I needed to get the standing rigging replaced on Saoirse. I decided to do that in Martinique as I had been recommended Caraibe Marine at Le Marin. The standing rigging is essentially made up of all the wires that support the mast and makes sure it remains vertical even if it gets really windy. And as the hurricane season has officially started already, I want to be prepared for the worst. I have also had some issues with galvanic corrosion on the mast foot and wanted this to be fixed. I was promised that it would take a week but it ended up taking more than five weeks. First the crane they needed to lift the mast with broke down, then the parts they ordered from France ended up being for the wrong boat model and finally the crane broke down again when it was time to put the mast back on! And all of this happens on island time and the days just flew by. I’m very happy with the end result and with the discount that I was given though. And I would recommend Caraibe Marine to anyone needing work done in the Caribbean. But it did take a lot longer than I expected.

The wait gave me an opportunity to get a lot of other things fixed on Saoirse and to explore a lot of Martinique by car but I didn’t come to the Caribbean to hang around a yard for five weeks. By now it’s time for the the type of island time that I came here for. It’s time to dive, snorkel, kite surf, barbecue on the beach and try out the new speargun that I bought in Martinique. I have moved south to Bequia in the Grenadines and it is hard to find a better place for these activities. And I promise to be better at documenting this type of island time.