29 May dash for the line

Our days in marina Bas du Fort are numbered! We have two more days to complete our tasks (like getting this blog up to date) and do the final cleaning before reverting to the anchor and loss of dock. Polly is going to be so miffed. She has developed a routine of going for an evening constitutional on the dock. One of us has to go with her for protection and we have to wait until the Jack Russell has gone out at 6pm. By then the dock has cooled and she can explore where the dogs have cocked a leg on the power tower, the intriguing aromas on a bicycle tyre and the mysterious piles of rubbish behind a boat that is being refitted.

And for us it is a promenade to meet our neighbours in the 'village', exchange stories, discuss the weather forecast with those owners who are waiting for a good window to set sail for to Europe. It's all very sociable and we've met some lovely people; English, French, Danish, Greek. some we might see again, many we won't. All part of the rich tapestry of being a cruiser.

25 May Marathon shopping

With a rental car for two days we hit the shops. First the chandlers, hardware, engineering, auto shops for boat bits, a new white/red cockpit light, a wooden mallet, etc. We didn't find a gas kettle to replace the one that had a hole in the bottom, or a set of carbide drill bits for stainless steel, or a diesel engine compressor tester. The things that on everyone's shopping list. Or perhaps not. I think I'll be bringing these back from the UK in October.

In Decathlon, yes there's a large Decathlon store, for walking sandals for the big D and a golf umbrella. The rainy season will be upon us soon and I broke our last one in gusty winds.

And then there were the hypermarkets. The list was long and varied from cocktail sticks to cat litter to frozen duck breasts. Our philosophy to fill our boots and the boat and save carrying heavy items when we have the luxury of car, a marina cart and can load onto Jackster. Much easier than when we are limited to a dinghy and Shanks' pony. And as I think, an investment as prices and choices are better in the French islands. There may have been a few bottles of wine and cans of IPA included in our supermarket sweep...because we're worth it.

21 May Happy Birthday David xx

The Birthday Boy got plenty of treats today – because he's worth it. David never wants a fuss, no cards and no presents, but didn't decline a croissant and pain aux raisin for breakfast. During the day we continued with boat jobs and in the evening dinner at our favourite marina restaurant who serve a fantastic, and large, sushi platter. Oh, and a pina colada because it's his birthday.

20 May Yet more restoration and repairs

It's been another week of boat jobs. David has repaired a faulty wire connection on the windlass. You could only lower the anchor from the cockpit control, not from the button on the windlass because, he discovered, an electrical wire had sheared. A simple repair made difficult by having to finagle the new wire through a full and curved conduit.

I've been busy with the sewing machine repairing holes and worn stitching on the sunshades – essential kit to keep the boat interior a little cooler although the AC is doing a great job. I've replaced sun damaged holding straps on the seats for the kayak and sewn Sunbrella covers for the kayak handles which also suffer from UV damage.

Alas, life on a boat isn't a continual round of cocktails and sunsets.

14 May Restoration and repairs

Halfway through our month stay at the marina and we are making good progress on our job lists. David has spent a lot of last week fitting the new fridge. We gave the old one away to a local coolant technician who thinks he'll be able to use parts of the compressor motor. David said they weren't worth us keeping and we're happy to be able to up-cycle.

out with the old fridge

The fridge fitting is complicated by a wooden door facing that requires precision fitting and working out how to secure the unit to the floor to keep it in place when we're at sea.

I've taken all the carpets out for their annual washing. It's amazing how many cat hairs are lodged in the pile. Ideally I'd like to replace with new, but finding carpet for sale in tropical Caribbean has been impossible. There's no demand for them. So I gently restore what we have.

Polly picked up an injury. We found a spot of blood on the newly cleaned carpet in the bedroom and noticed she was licking an area under her tail more frequently. It's a puncture wound which we have washed and treated with an antibiotic cream. That wasn't the issue; having to wear a cone of shame collar is a big loss of her dignity. I'm sure she sees it as a form of punishment. Just wish she could understand the logic of allowing it to heal for a couple of days.

6 May F day finally arrives

It's here! It's here! Our shiny new Vitrifrigo, 130L without ice box under counter fridge with an external compressor ordered at the beginning of February and made to special order in Italy was being unpacked as we walked into the shop this morning. It has taken seven weeks to be made without an ice box, an available option, and delivered to the distributor in France and then another five weeks to come by ship from France to Guadeloupe. There was a week's delay for bad weather, but it is here! You know you look at it and physically see it for the first time and it what goes through you head is 'I hope I measured the gap correctly' and 'I hope it fits through the door'. It would be very expensive mistake. Yes, the 24dc running capacity comes at a price about fives times that of a regular domestic appliance.

Here we are taking it back to Jackster on a cart with the help of Luke. He helps us to carry it across the passarelle on board and down into the saloon. It did fit through the door. We're going to plug it in and run for 24 hours to check everything is good before David starts the intricate fitting.

hand delivery

I'll keep the plastic on for now

4 May Getting on the bus

Both our Sodastream cartridges are now empty. By good planning we know just where to go to exchange them for full ones and it is possible to get to the shop by bus from a stop close to the marina. We haven't taken a bus on Guadeloupe but now we have it is fine. Big modern buses turn up when they are scheduled to, fares are £1 each and it takes twenty minutes to get to the shopping centre near the airport where shop Darty has a stock of new cartridges for exchange. In the none French islands like Grenada or Antigua you can have your cartridge refilled from a large bottle. The cost is the same but I don't think they give as many fizzed litres as an exchange. I like the new for old; no more buying plastic bottles of soda water, no carrying of bottles of water.  It's a good fit for us.

Fresh from our successful bus trip out to the airport we then get on our bikes to cycle to the best supermarket, E Leclerc, a mile away. Taking the bikes with panniers means no carrying of heavy shopping and there'll be fresh salmon and spinach for dinner. I love the French islands!

With our unlimited water at the marina we've washed the salt off the deck and soaked and dried all our dive kit. I took two large bags of towels and sheets to the marina's industrial washing machines and now they are dancing on the line drying in the sunshine. For us being in the marina means an opportunity to make repairs and to do the annual deep clean. And air conditioning! I hope it also means out with our old and inefficient fridge and in with a shiny new one.

1 May Marina Bas du Fort

The twenty mile trip from the Saintes to Point a Pitre takes three and a half hours – the first part we motor to wind and then when we can turn north into the bay the wind comes on our beam and we sail the rest of the way. We arrive at the marina and are shown to our berth by the Captainerie. We do like this marina. It's run efficiently, protected from swells, very good value when you consider all water and electricity is included, and the are several very decent restaurants within walking distance. As is our tradition, we've been here many times, our first meal ashore is a sushi platter at Quai Ouest. The salmon is so fresh, the tuna tasty and service with a big smile. The staff greet us by name they know us that well and we know them.

28 April Just chilling

Another week has happily passed with more leisurely diving on the point, some wonderful encounters with spotted rays and the biggest turtle I've ever seen outside Indonesia which is great. Unfortunately the compressor has developed a leak which means David can't fill our tanks. He's dismantled the part which controls the fill and discovered we have a hairline fracture in the block which is allowing the air to escape instead of going into the tank. We've had this problem before and I brought a replacement part from UK last summer. It's this part that has failed. Fortunately, or because he's a genius McGyvver, David was able to effect a repair on the old part and refit it. For now we have the ability to fill our tanks for a few more dives, we don't go mad, one dive every other day. We've got three more days in the Saints and then we are booked in to marina Bas du Fort for May. Hopefully our new fridge will have arrived.

hairline crack same place as the old one

21 April It's a braai!

South Africans love a braai and our friend Oloff has invited us to one on his boat Ongemaak. We first met Oloff with his brother Muir and their girlfriends in St Helena six years ago. Oloff and Muir built the 10m aluminium Ongemaak in a shed on their farm in S Africa and we've been bumping into him, not literally, as our paths have crossed.

Tonight's barbecue comes after a week which has seen us hanging out, chilling, diving and snorkelling at our uninhabited island. David has caught more fish for Polly and a couple of good groupers for us. He came up with an ingenious multi-pronged spear made from the bars of a old oven tray to catch lion fish which I had to carry. Being longer than I am tall I gave it the name of Bengal Lancer and it was as effective as a blunt cocktail stick stabbing an olive. When he went in to kill a large lion fish we found all it did was push it further into the hole it was hiding in. If you aren't aware, lion fish are an invasive species in the Caribbean that have voracious appetites for reef fish and no natural prey. You are encouraged to catch and kill them though their poisonous spines make them tricky. The meat is white and sweet.