@ Deshies (pronounced Day Hey)
Guadalupe Saturday 20th June
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| daylight inside chain locker |
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| cracked frame |
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| top bow it measures a 1/2" gap |
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| bottom bow |
Started on the temp repair. I had found
a length of 1/2” stainless all thread studding long enough, with
nuts and lock washers, I had also found some bronze plate 3/8”
thick and some teak 1” thick by 4” wide. Then I drilled a hole
right through the boat and knight heads, third plank down, cut the
bronze in too and drilled 1/2” hole in each, cut teak in too as
well for battens with a 1/2” slot. Assembled all this on the all
thread rod, and hammered it through the hull, then tightened the nuts
up really hard, this pulled all the planks back tight to the hull,
success. That took me all day to achieve, and will have to be fixed
properly later.
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| Moored in the anchorage @ Deshies |
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| studding inserted starb |
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| and Port side |
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| U bolt that failed on running backstay and fitting for temp repair (long one) |
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| completed repair port |
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| completed repair starb |
Sunday 21st
I made a repair to the running backstay
fitting, I took the old one out and had to re drill a new hole in an
adjacent plank, for a different fitting, with a batten under the deck
to spread the load, and bronze plate, this will have to be fixed as
well later. After I finished that about 1700hrs I went ashore to
relax a bit.
Monday 22nd
Tidied the boat up again and tried to
clear customs, every time I went there it was closed, so failed.
Tuesday 23rd
A very bad storm all day prevented me
from leaving the boat to go ashore, read a book about the Caribbean
pirates and storms of the past, didn't quite help with my present
frame of mind.
Wednesday 24th
Quite a good days weather so decided to
leave again, tried to clear customs 3 times with it shut each time.
Took the decision to leave anyway and left at 1600hrs bound for St
Lucia with a serious amount of trepidation as to the outcome.
All went pretty well but forecast
wasn't that good, and the actual weather wasn't good either. Battled
my way down Guadalupe and out into the passage on course for
Dominica, made that and the bow was holding as was the running
backstay, even more of a battle down behind Dominica and eventually I
had to hoist the big jib to get more to windward. Then out past
Dominica into the sea again towards Martinique, I made that just as
it went dark about 1830hrs, but the weather had calmed a lot and I
flew past quickly, arrived at the passage to St Lucia at 0100hrs
Thursday 25th.
This was with only 24 Nm to go to
Rodney bay, I decided to heave too on the same tack and wait for
morning, during this manoeuvrer the port sheet lead pulled out of the
deck fitting and I had to tie the sheet to a cleat, but once back on
port tack I wouldn't need it any more, with boat speed now only 1 to
2 knts and me being very tiered I put the alarm on for an hour and
had a kip. When it woke me I came on deck to check around, I had gone
nearly a mile, that's all, so went back to bed, when I woke up again
it was 0500hrs dawn was just starting to happen, I had traveled only
2Nm during that time. I tightened the steering gear up cos it had
come loose, then I blew the jib, the boat took off like a greyhound
out of the trap and accelerated to 8 knts towards St Lucia, I made it
there just after 0900hrs, dropped the sails and proceeded to the
marina were I was put on the 'D' dock number 24.
So here I am safe in port again a week
late but a survivor again with more stories to tell. Preparations
will start on Monday next for installing the new engine while I relax
for the weekend.
Roy
