On Thursday I began focusing on boat jobs and tore down the auto pilot, only to find out that I had an issue with the motor unit. I also installed the new chart plotter only to find out that it was doing exactly the same thing😭. This really bummed me out since I had spent a bundle on buying it and getting it shipped, that’s boat life. I then decided to hire an electrician who arrived later that day. George at “Startek” is the go-to guy in Jolly harbour. George is a Newfie and his wife is from Waverly Nova Scotia, small world. George help me with part of the problem which was low voltage caused by a poor connection. After correcting the voltage issue the plotter down stairs worked fine and the one up stairs stopped flashing but still couldn’t get a fix. We proved it wasn’t the antenna and he referred me to Cap who owned the “signal locker” in English Harbour. I got in touch with Cap and we made arrangements to get together the following week. While working on my electrical issues the pressure water decided to stop working, here we go again. Okay enough work for today it’s time to party again and we were off to the beach. Amazingly each day seemed a little more fun as we got into the island groove. The crew was able to keep entertained in jolly whole I got some of the boat jobs complete. Joyce and I soon had Rose Lee converted from ocean voyager back into cruising mode with in dinghy the water, decks scrubbed, bicycles unpacked, fenders all inflated and in their new holders. It’s starting t feel like home now. It took a few more days to sort out the water issue but after Jim thinking it was the pump it turned out to be the pump, go figure, Jim is not just another pretty face👍.
On Sunday we hired a car to get a tour around the island and later that evening we hit the Jump Up at Shirley Heights (A Major weekly party with reggae and an awesome bbq overlooking English Harbour). What a great day, the yachts in English Harbour are a sight to behold, and the party is not to be missed. We had a great drive back to Jolly with Chris and Larry who dropped us a the West Point where we finished our day in Grand style. On Monday Jim made up a drink at the west pint and it has been named in his honour the “Jim Dandy” 2oz vodka, 2oz grapefruit juice, 1oz cranberry and 1oz of club soda. A delightfully refreshing drink. We were a critical part of product testing the Jim Dandy so we required the golf cart to get to the beach. Wednesday was fly time for Jim and Grant (they were able to save $400 each by flying Wednesday vs Tuesday how crazy is that). The motley crew was now down to two. This was a good transmission for us now we were here and starting our life in the Caribbean after so many years of planning. Bring it on.