Back on my Soap Box...

Friday Mar 28th 4:15 PM Left at 5:30 AM yesterday to sail down to St Lucia. We were doing alright till the Frenchie Wind Gods from Martinique decided to screw with us. We were in the wind shadow of the island for most of the day. Finally broke down and started the stinkpot….while at it I equalized the batteries. For those who might have joined us since the last time…this is where we cook the batteries with and overcharge that dissolves the sulfate off the plates …the batteries get hot and spew hydrogen gas. I was able to regain 112 amp hours, almost ½ a day’s worth of storage. We arrived at dusk..dropped the hook and started a late happy hr. Joyce had “ice cream” known to most people as a Bushwhacker…me I had a martini…Bombay style….long frustrating day. This morning we dinked in to check in….also fill the propane tank. For sure Hugo is not supplying these guys’ petroleum products. Propane was $36 US to fill…more than twice the US price. We later motored in to get some fuel and anchor on the inside so we can drop the mainsail…more on that later. 16 gallons of diesel cost me $78 US. Almost 5 dollars a gallon. That will buy me 195 gallons in Margarita…DAMN….I am trying to arrive with an empty tank. I have 27 gallons ….should be enough till we get there in 2 weeks. Back to Dominica for a few minutes….we dinked in on Wed to check out.

Tied up at the ferry dock. Checked in and went for a last shopping spree. I had to mail my taxes and a letter to ED. The airmail to the US was .21 cents. The registered letter to the IRS was $5.11 US. And I got a lot better service than from the USPS, No line and very helpful people….just happy to have a job. Let’s move these people up to run out postal service. Down by the ferry dock there is a large area for the local fisherman. We saw the same thing on the other side of the island. A nice protected area to tie their boats…
each fisherman has his own locker like a storage shed. Well seems the Japs have built these 2 areas for free, in turn the Japs get to hunt whales in the Dominican waters where they come every year. For an Island that takes pride in its natural beauty and environment..tell me why???? I wonder which crooked politician sold the populace that bag of crap…how much went in his pocket. Remember my prediction…another Grenada in the making. These poor people are led around by these politicians who have befriended the world’s bad guys for a pocket full of money while their islands are raped and pillaged. OK...Off the soap box. Back to the mainsail….yesterday we noticed that the luff…the front edge was loose. We tried to tighten the halyard…no effect….which means the top of the mainsail is not attached to the halyard. All day I was afraid the sail was going to come down while at sea. I was able to keep tension on the sail and was able to roll it up backwards….so tomorrow or Sunday we will have to drop the sail and make repairs….yes that means Joyce gets a free ride up to the top of the 68 ft mast. Pictures will be taken.