I wake up to grey, ominous skies and sure enough, it soon starts raining but doesn’t last long enough to wash all the salt off the boat although some of it goes.
Because I have been awake for some time before it gets light, immediately Mike wakes up I offer him tea in bed. Poor man doesn’t know what has hit him, especially when I bring him a second cup as well.
The swell is quite high this morning and I am glad we are moving into the marina today. We get ourselves organised then motor through the channel into Rodney Bay Marina. What a difference a year makes. When I was here last December, major works had started as the marina had just been taken over by IGY. There was dredging work, landscaping and building all going on at the same time and now the marina looks great, with all the facilities you need, including the spa which I intend to make use of!
We moor up at the dock near to Island Water World as we are having the 330 feet of new anchor chain delivered today and having the old one disposed of. Mike goes off to the shop to arrange delivery and exchange some other things that don’t fit/work, leaving me trying to re-arrange some stuff on the boat. Within minutes four men (yes, four!) arrive with the chain. Now I know it’s heavy but they have a pulley thing – it’s not like they are trying to carry the stuff. Apparently they have come to measure it out which seems a little strange as we are having the entire length. I start to talk to them about getting the anchor down on the pontoon and disconnecting it from the chain so they can remove the old chain and they look at me like I have just sprouted another head. I say it has all been organised and they just tell me that they are just there to measure it out and get on with doing just that; one drags the new chain out of the barrel, a second one walks away with an end (not quite sure why he did that), the third holds the tape measure (he’s obviously the head guy and not one of the grunts) and the fourth one … you guessed it, watches!
So I go down to the shop and tell Mike. It turns out the manager hasn’t told them about taking away the old chain (although he sent them down there – grrrr!) and he sends one of the shop girls down to tell them what the arrangement is. The tape measure holder leaves, his job now done, and the other three watch Mike struggle to remove the shackle from between the chain and the anchor with his arthritic hands. To be fair, after a minute or so the beefiest of the three steps in and takes over but eventually he has to send one of the watchers off for seriously big bolt cutters as the shackle has rusted so badly that it can’t move. He manages to cut it and then we wind all the chain off the boat – until we get to the other end, where we have the same problem. Mike squeezes himself into the bow compartment but can’t get enough leverage to cut it so the big beefy guy goes in and has a go. He is literally dripping with sweat but after a few minutes he manages it and even hoses out the now empty bow compartment for us. He has earned his tip! The two watchers get nothing!!
They disappear with the old rusty chain and Mike and I clean all the rust marks from the stainless steel channel and off the bow of the boat, then thread the new chain onto the winch and wind all 330 feet back onto the boat, reattaching the anchor at the end which manages to swing, pointy end of course, into Mike’s knee right at the end. He’s very good. A bit of hopping around takes place but no swearing. I’d have been swearing like a trooper if it had been me!
Once all the chain is on, we realise that we have forgotten to put the sodding markers on (to help us measure how much chain we put down) and have to wind all the bloody stuff back out on the dock, lay it out in measured lengths and stick the little rubber markers on at regular intervals and then wind it all back on once more. This time the anchor gets me as I manage to just drop it on my foot, luckily only from a height of about two inches so my deck shoes are enough to prevent damage. What a klutz!
By this time we are exhausted and hungry but we have to move the boat into its permanent mooring before we can stop, so it’s lines off, fenders to the opposite side (naturally) and off we go to the other side of the marina, where two kind gentleman from neighbouring boats take our lines.
We have some lunch then check in with the WCC office and do all the boring admin stuff that has to be done. By the time we finish there’s just enough time for a quick shower and change before we go to the bar to meet some of the other people who will be our sailing companions on the cruise.
The event finishes quite early which Mike and I are grateful for as we both want our bed, and after a cup of tea, we are both tucked up for the night.
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