Bound for the Saintes on Monday 5th February.

We plan to leave for the Saintes from Portsmouth Dominica on Monday.

The new geared starter motor arrived and after a few tweaks here and there was fitted. It was smaller and lighter than the old direct drive starter. I had asked for feedback from other users and they said it will work just fine and even better than the direct drive one.

It was a very good moment when the old Perkins burst into life at the first turn of the key.

Big ups for Transatlantic Diesels who supplied the starter, Fedex who delivered it to Dominica in two days and Dominican Customs who processed it in 15 minutes and after asking for my ships clearance papers accepted that it was a spare part for a yacht in transit and said there was no duty to be paid.

I was able to fit it myself and only suffered a few aching muscles from working in awkward positions.

CALIBISHIE
This is a small village on the North East coast of Dominica. We took a local dollar bus to get there and for the first time Gaye experienced the bus drivers mantra. “ THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE. “ At one point she was sharing a seat made for three with four other people plus a child. I was expecting the hurricane damage to be more severe as Calibishie would have been in the most dangerous quadrant of the storm but although the damage was severe in the pass over to Calibishie the village had escaped with less damage than I expected. Only one section of the church window gone and many palms with some leaves and nuts still hanging in there. However the church opposite had lost three quarters of it's roof. The village was still without electricity except for those with generators.

Calibishie is a pretty little village right on the seafront. A reef protects the anchorage which was calm with barely a ripple, not enough water for most keel boats and a very scary entrance.

Some newer houses had been built with a view to holiday lets but there were a few older ones to give character to the place.

HARBOR HAPPENINGS
Gaye and I both marveled at the skill of the tugboat driver who towed the huge barge into the harbor on a long tow then reconfigured the tug and barges as a hip tow then proceeded to dock his unwieldy charge on the end of the narrow concrete dock at his first attempt. There has been a lot of coming and going but the boat numbers are down compared to past years. People are staying away which is a pity.

MONSTER MOTH
Dizzy has enjoyed snacking on the odd small moth that has come aboard , drawn in by our cockpit light. So when th light stated to flicker and flapping of the moths wings disturbed the chaos potential it was hardly a surprise when this little rocket propelled cat shot up to get the moth. Now initially I had said it had to be a bat as it was huge. But when it alighted on my sunglasses I could see it was indeed a moth and a pretty stunning one too. At 8 inches wingspan it deserved a flutter on part in Silence of the Lambs. It kept Dizzy amused for an hour or so.

LOCAL SKILLS
Igna the one armed marine mechanic is a wonder to watch in action. I called on his assistance when I needed to bend the no. 2 injector pipe t0 allow the starter to fit in place. He does not see himself as disabled and neither do the fisherman as he keeps their outboards running.

This local artist is self taught.

This basket now has pride of place on my salon table. I marvel at the exact spacing and symmetry of the weaving and the end result is pleasing to my eye. It is a traditional design and comes from the Carib Indian village on Dominica.

Pics to come when I get a broadband connection.