This morning Per arrives back with our dinghy and gets another list from Mike of electrical things which are playing up. Mike and Steve leave the poor man with Johanne and I and go off in the car to buy their supplies of beer.
When they return, we start the laborious task of putting the boat back together again. The windshield and the side rain curtains are the most difficult as there are multiple zips and no give in the material but with much tugging and cursing, Mike and Steve get them back in place.
We then have to put the genoa back on. This takes three of us. Mike pulls it out of the bow locker, Steve feeds it onto the foil and I winch it up. I think I get the hardest job here.
Per finishes around lunchtime, and after another of my sandwiches (which he seems to love), he goes back to his boat, taking our dinghy back with him. While this sounds a little weird, it’s actually because his boat is docked near the airport and the hire car place so Mike will use the dinghy to get back from there.
There are still a few bits of food shopping needed so Mike is sent off with a list of stuff to get on his way to taking the car back, and dutifully arrives back with the shopping in the dinghy. However, Mikes ‘interpretation’ of my list can sometimes leave a little to be desired, and today was one of those days. The list said avocado, singular, meaning one. He bought four. It said nothing about cheese, but he brings back the smelliest brie he could find. Apparently he bought this because there was no pastrami. Don’t ask – I can’t figure that one out either! He comes up trumps with the wine though. I thought yesterday’s lovely wine was Daniel Stone but it was enough of a clue for his to recognise the bottle as Rodney Strong. This success counterbalances his performance with the bananas, which were overripe and completely squashed to the point that they were bursting and leaking out of their skins. Oh well, I suppose he tries!
We decide to leave the lagoon on the French side as we want to be in Marigot but as we are a little early for the opening we motor around the lagoon looking at some of the beautiful houses on the French side, and the ugly new developments on the Dutch side. What a marked contrast.
We manage to go through the channel on the French side without hitting any sandbanks and hover in front of the bridge. Per has told us that the bridge is probably closed as they are doing maintenance on it but there is no sign of work and no notice to say that it is closed, but there is no little man in the bridge hut and we begin to wonder whether he is right. A man goes past in a small craft that fits under the bridge and calls to us that the bridge will open at 5.30 but we are still dubious. Eventually I spot someone in the boat yard and call out in my very schoolgirl French, asking if the bridge is going to open. He replies in perfect English that it is shut for one month. How did he know I was English!!
We turn the boat round and head back for the Dutch side, which opens on time.
Once through, we turn right and motor round to Marigot. On the way Johanne lets me practise with my new camera, sitting patiently on the bow seat while I peer at all the buttons without my glasses on.
Photo: Lovely Johanne on the bow
Johanne and I sit on the trampoline most of the way to Marigot chattering but it actually starts to get chilly. She wanders back to see what the boys are doing and decides to dangle her feet in the water. This is always a high point of Johanne’s holiday – feet dangling! It takes us nearly an hour and a half to get to Marigot (damn those Frenchies and their bridge works!) and when we arrive it is dark. We put the anchor down. Steve and I imitate pot holers with our little forehead lamps which we need to see what we are doing!
Johanne cooks for us tonight – my favourite - seafood linguine. We drink another bottle of the good Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma and eventually drive the boys to bed with our chatter. Steve is at great pains to point out that they didn’t go together despite their blokey hug at the airport!
Johanne and I eventually go to bed after Mike shouts at us for making too much noise!
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