We’ve been hoping to get off the dock since yesterday but it’s not looking good. The solar guys seem to be a long way away from finishing and Fabien and his helper can’t finish until they do.

We’ve been without solar power for almost two days now and I’m happy with the fridge/freezer maintenance we’ve done. Last April we could hardly get through a day with the freezer off, now we are doing well with our old solar power for 2 days with freezer and fridge running. Not only that but the freezer actually works.

I meet Dwayne over at Bob’s place before 7 am to haul out Bob’s dinghy. Goes pretty well tho I have to paddle over to his ramps cuz I have Bob’s gas tank in our dinghy. Dwayne may come over to Clarke’s on the weekend to get our old dinghy.

Ricky Telford, the customs agent doesn’t return my WhatsApp texts so I call him. “Perry! I am picking up your barrel today! You’ll have it by tonight!”. Awwwwwsome.

We dinghy over to Mt. Hartman Bay to get gas there, and check out the anchorage. I bring up Navionics on my phone so we can see the route as it’s reefy all the way. We go past Hog Island, a route we know well and with no danger, then follow the sailboat route into the bay. This takes us out quite far but it’s safe.

In Mt. Hartman, it’s actually fairly crowded. Where there is room to anchor it’s protected from the wind (good) which makes it very hot (bad). Maybe we talk to George, an apparently very reliable gent that manages the moorings here, about a mooring or safe place to anchor.

We stop at the gas dock and walk up to the office and check out the pier dock rates and ask for gas. They don’t sell two-stoke oil. Grrr. Why didn’t I bring some!?!? I just assumed a gas dock would sell that kind of stuff. At least we learn what their dock rates are. Pretty reasonable actually, long-term dockage is not much more than long-term mooring and much safer.

We dinghy back, this time taking the dinghy route inside the reefs. No problem. I am still being careful tho until I see a dinghy go right across the top of the reef. Oh. Okay.

Back at Clarke’s I get some 2-stroke oil, we check in at Milu. We try to put the dodger up but realize they didn’t repair the zipper for the sleeve that attaches to the boat. We go back across the bay to ask for the sleeve. They have it but did not do the repair. I guess 6 months was not enough notice – that company is pretty brutal. Can’t count on Kelly and when stuff does get done, it’s not very good quality. We’re still waiting for them to come over and measure up for a sun shade. I tell Christy it’s 50-50 they ever will.

While waiting at the sailmaker, I am on a call and a woman comes down the steps that lead up to Nimrods and she is obviously very drunk. In fact, we don’t know how it is possible to get that drunk without passing out. But she is trying, I’ll give her that. I gesture to Christy to help her as I am on the phone and so she does, as the woman semi-collapses. She says she is OK and starts to stumble towards the dock – we’re talking rocks, rickety steps, rusty old barrels full of concrete – no way she is going to make it. She falls over, slams into a boat, then passes out in the dirt for about 30 seconds. There are some concerned people about. She comes to, somehow gets to her feet and starts toward the dock. I hang up and run out – this woman is going to die right here in front of us. In fact, Bob told us a few people a year die leaving Nimrod’s on Thursday nights. I take her arm and she is smiling, asks what I am doing. I tell her no way she is going to make it on that dock and she doesn’t object to me escorting her as her ride dinghies in to get her. Don’t know what their relationship is, he’s Asian, she’s Caucasian, but he is none too pleased with her. We’re in the shallows and she goes down on her butt on the edge of the dock before we can get her in the dinghy. No one knows what to do now so I put my hands under her armpits and lift her into the dinghy. Job done, she’s his problem now. He thanks me and the other guy that’s there.

Christy and I wonder what he is going to do with her at the other end. No way she’s climbing out of that dinghy and onto a rolling sailboat on her own and no way he could manage it himself. If he doesn’t put a life jacket on her and she goes into the drink, she is fish food for sure. Maybe even with a life jacket – how would he get her back out?

So we dinghy back to La Phare Bleu where I get gas now that I have two-stoke oil. I put gas in our one-gallon and Bob’s large dinghy tank. Today is Hallowe’en and there’s a bunch of families here and LPB is ramping up for an evening party. Mostly for kids but we make a dinner reservation anyway.

Back at Milu, I’m on calls and online testing for the rest of the afternoon with SEHC. Meanwhile Fabien is working around me. Our water pump is water pumping and I assume it’s because he disconnected it but when I ask he says no. Kinda comical that they are working on the pump at my feet while I am online. They discover the pressure sensor is shot and “we never can get the spares”. Great. Looks like we’ll have to get a whole new pump.

Ricky calls. No barrel tonight, but definitely early tomorrow. Not so awesome.

We go back to LPB for dinner – bucket ‘o’ beer and jerk wings each. They’re wings are pretty good and the best bargain there. It’s fun to see all the families and the kids dressed up having fun. Lots of expats but I think lots of sailors too.

Dinghy home in the near dark. OK, now we’ve been without any charging for two full days yet using a lot of juice. In fact, the battery alarm is going off. I plug in our shore power cable – we’ve never used it.

Nuttin.

OK, start the generator. It powers up nicely, should have charging power now.

Nuttin.

So no solar generator, no shore power, no solar. Hoping we’re not damaging the batteries by drawing down too low. I dig around and find the charger is not hooked up properly, but even when I connect it nothing happens. Play around a bit but I can’t figure it out. I turn off all excess power and hope for the best.