STARTING TROUBLES and GRANDE ANSE D'ARLET

Well it has been an eventful couple of weeks on the boat front. It started in St Lucia when the lead to the starter motor developed a high resistance where it met the battery terminal. This generated enough heat to melt the terminal out of the battery case and set the insulation on fire. Fortuntly I was on my way into the battery compartment, saw the fire, picked up the powder fire extinquisher but before I unleashed it I thought back to the unholy mess a powder fire extinguisher makes and tried a cup of water. That did the trick.

New battery and a new terminal on the starer lead soon saw us back in business and I sailed up to Martinique. .

Gaye arrived and the first time we tried to start the engine the starter motor made a funny noise and the engine did not turn. I did some diagnostics expecting to find a problem relating to the work I had just done but I soon identified a problem with the pre engaged mechanism. This meant removing the starter. Now I had done this once before and it is a b******* of a job. So I tried to find a yound fit mechanic who could do the work but everybody was booked for many days.

So it was on with my big boy pants and out with the tools.

With starter in hand the next job was to get it to the starter repair man. No he did not offer a collection service so it was a case of hiring a car and setting off to deliver the starter.. I got lost, hopelessly gloriously completely lost. So I am not proud and I asked a police man. No he did not now where Mr Repair man was nor did his colleagues. So I thought commit a murder on the repair mans workshop and you will get away with it as the police can't find it. I found a very nice man in the mayors office who knew where the repair man was, he also drove there with us following.

A week later the starter was fixed, [you know island time.] I refitted it and we were back in business.

Glad to leave Cul de Sac de Marin after 12 days we headed round to my favorite anchorage Grand Anse D'Arlet.

We got the hook down saw our first turtle and enjoyed our sundowner with the rather splendid sight of a 5 masted windjammer silhouetted against the setting sun.

The next day offered a chance to try out my latest underwater camera which Gaye had kindly bought all the way from Australia.

Camera works well.

I spotted this in Marin at the floating dry dock. As it is a locally registered boat it is likely to be a local OOPS.

Gaye is spoiling Dizzy rotten with cat treats.