In the morning I go out to get the dinghy line that broke and prepare to make another one as we will need one tonight regardless. When I climb into the dinghy I see that it was not the line that broke but the bolt holding the shackle mounting ring onto the bottom of the dinghy. Presumably not a big job to fix if you have the right length bolt. I don’t know what that is.

Could this be a sign that we should get a new dinghy? Chance brought us into this bay, where there is a big dinghy sale on, then broke our old dinghy the next day? We don’t think that’s chance and we agree we’re buying the new dinghy – it’s a mutual birthday present. Very exciting.

Next I go to try and dismantle the furling to see how to change the outhaul line. First bolt comes out no problem, second bolt, no problem, third bolt, no problem, fourth bolt head snaps off in the ratchet socket. Nice. That will take a serious extractor to remove. Well, we’ll add it to the list. We’re going over to the Jarry area today after we buy a dinghy to see Digicel HO and we’ll go to one of the big hardware stores there too.

Later on shore we go in to Captain Nautic and make arrangements to buy the boat. To get that great price we need to go duty-free and for that we need our entry papers stamped so the chandlery can justify it. In the French islands you can enter online without going to customs and immigration so the paperwork I have (even in email) is not enough – needs to be stamped. Luckily the local Captainerie of the marina has a C&I and can print and stamp our papers.

It’s 100 yards but takes a good hour to get done. At the same time we find out where the famous Arianna is (next door) and go visit her as she apparently is the wizardess of getting things done here. She’s not there but her assistant Melody is and we discuss shipping from US to her office. She gives us all the info we need to execute the purchase. We’ve already talked to GMS where JP works but I know the part purchase would just be a pain for them, better if I work with US Spars directly.

Back at Captain Nautic we submit all our papers to Matthew and give him my credit card. All is well, we will meet him on the dock at 9 am tomorrow with our new dinghy. It’s the floor model so we know it holds air.

Matthew calls a cab for us who takes us over to the district of Jarry and to the Digicel office. There I argue (in a nice way) with the agent who at first insists I haven’t topped up but when I prove I have he starts investigating and gets as far as the girl at ZPhone before realizing he doesn’t know what the problem is either. He submits a ticket and says someone will call. It is now Sunday, no one has called.

The cabbie waits for us, then takes us over to a hardware store where we spend more money. I get some bolt extractors. Cab back to the marina. EU$75 for the cab rides.

Christy gets some more groceries while I wait. The bakery/cafe by the Carre Four Express is closed but I find a share-it library stand and take a kids book (Fantastique Maitre Renard) which I start to read. Trying to improve my French and this kids book will help. I can follow it pretty well as the language is fairly juvenile but I am starting to understand the verb conjugations.

Christy comes out (after I go in to see if she has been kidnapped it’s taking so long) and we head back to Milu.

On board I start poking around with the furling mechanism again. As I am working a dinghy pulls up. I go to see who it is, it is a French Canadian named Michel who has come to look at our rigging. He just had his similar boat re-rigged and they told him his old stays were too tight. He pulls on mine and suggests they might be too. Pretty soon he’s helping me with the furler – we think if can get the old rope out, we can put the new one in and maybe it would be OK. But need to unfurl the sail and it is not cooperating, plus it is too windy.

But the mechanism is clearly messed up anyway. There is a backing plate that is loose (which is why the in-haul always got overlapped), the nut for the bottom bolt is missing and the many teeth on the cylinder are badly broken.

Believe it or not, my French is better than his English and we are able to communicate pretty well. The sun is setting now so not much more can be done, I tell him I will re-read the manual tonight and decide what to do.

We say our au revoirs, I clean up my tools and that is about it.