Ooh, La, La

First things first. We got the outboard fixed. Just before we were to pull out of Southside Marina,(we had been paying to stay so we could pick up the outboard when it was repaired) and had figured it wouldn’t be ready for another couple of days, J.P. the Yamaha mechanic called to say it was ready!! Whoo, hoo! Thanks to Simon, who drove us out, Michael went to pick it up. He was expecting the worst regarding the cost. We had already shelled out too much to a guy who didn’t do a thing except eat a lunch provided by us and drink two waters. J.P. said he wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but replaced a reed valve in the fuel pump and assured us it was running great. He was right and the really cool part he charged us less than the guy who didn’t accomplish a thing. But all in all – the outboard cost us a pretty penny (two repairmen, two nights in a marina and tips to Simon for driving us all over).

We left after we got the o.b. on board and anchored yet again in Sapodilla Bay. Then yesterday morning we headed out for French Cay (thus the title of this post). It was a really calm day. 5-8 knots of wind out of the WNW and flat seas on the banks. We even stopped at a coral head to look for dinner. No joy. Arrived to see a couple of boats we knew who were waiting to head to Luperon, Dominican Republic. They didn’t want to arrive into the DR too early so stopped at French Cay to get some last minute rest before the all night passage. They should have had a great trip. Light and favorable wind. Not a common occurrence. We stayed. Looked for conch. Lots and lots, but none that looked big enough. We don’t want to get yelled at by Kathryn again. Looked hard for lobster, but again not joy. At least Michael finally got in the water and didn’t freeze to death. In fact, he managed to still be able to free dive in shallow water, just not able to stay down quite as long. That will come with more practice.

We had the cay all to ourselves. Then the wind came up and backed a bit. Now we are being blown toward the shore. Let out some more anchor rode, turned on the radar and watched it pretty closely all night long. It was a bit rolly so we were up anyway. Were up early and went on one more hunt for lobster, but will be eating chicken for dinner tonight. The outboard is running great. We have decided to give it a nick name. Maybe it was feeling left out, so from now on we will be referring to our 8 hp Yamaha outboard as Yoshi, Yo for short!

Left this morning to come back. The winds are forecast to be building all day. They did. The really good news was that Sapodilla Bay has no roll in it today, and most likely none tonight. We made water on the whole way back, motoring into the wind. After we arrived, started cleaning (more organizing) to get ready for Dave and Lorna’s visit (they arrive Sunday afternoon). We will head into the marina tomorrow early so we can have electricity for the vacuum and some water to tidy up the inside of Astarte. We are looking forward to our first guests!

Tonight, we got an invite aboard SV Cape Finisterre for sundowners. The boat is a 50 foot Oceanis. Andrea and Ian are writers having written a book ”Letters from the Med” and are working on “Letters from the Caribbean.” They also write for Sail World. They are Australians (actually Kiwis (New Zealanders) who have lived in Australia for 24 years. They’ve been cruising for eight years in both the Med and now Caribbean. Great folks and the rum punch was tasty! So it was a nice way to end the day – tomorrow – back to cleaning and then guests.