It ends up being a busy night. A couple of major squalls came through with pouring rain. So I wake up, close to hatches, go back to sleep. Wake up again when the rain stops and open the hatches. Wake up again to more rain and close the hatches. You get the idea.
6 AM comes early, I get up a little groggy. Quick breakfast and then I hop in the dinghy to pick up Kalvin. And sure enough he is there already at 7 AM sharp. Awesome! He’s a nice young guy and we chat a little as I ferry him over to JACE. Together we go through the situation and troubleshoot the system. Quickly, we realize it is the pump, more specifically, it is the pressure switch. That device senses when there is enough water pressure in the system and then shuts off the pump. The moment any faucet is opened, the pressure drops and the switch turns the pump back on. But my pressure switch is broken and doesn’t turn on the pump. Now what?
The funny thing is, the part that’s actually broken is a $2 electric contact. That itself is part of the $25 pressure switch. That pressure switch is mounted to a $200 pump. The problem is, you can’t get that electric contact here on this island, you can’t even get the $25 pressure switch. The only thing that the local chandler carries are whole pumps. But I am out of options, so grudgingly I buy a $150 pump to replace the one that I have. Thankfully I find the pressure switch online and will buy it and have it shipped to my friend Matt who can bring it with him. This way, at least I have a fully functional back up pump for the future.
Back at the boat it takes me over an hour to install the new pump. It’s by a different manufacturer and of course the hose connections are a little different so I have to do a bunch of extra work to get the new unit to fit. But eventually I figure it out and it all works and I’m a little proud of myself. And that’s probably a lot more than you ever wanted to know about pumps.
It is 11 by the time I finally leave Tyrrel Bay. Exactly my 24hr deadline after clearing out. There isn’t much wind today and it is directly on the nose. So I just motor the 2 hours over to Union Island, the southernmost island of the Grenadines. Clifton Harbor is a spectacular anchorage, protected by a large coral reef to windward. I anchor close to the reef in the northeastern corner of the bay and later go snorkeling right from the boat. Awesome!
But first I have to clear into the country, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Thankfully the customs office is as deserted as the anchorage and two very sweet ladies, while chatting nonstop with each other in a language I think is English, take care of me much faster than in Grenada.
After my swim and snorkeling cool-off, I chill a little, enjoy coffee and read more about the island. I feel like walking, so I grab my running shoes and take a nice walk over to the other side of the island and back again, followed by excellent dinner with a crepe with coconut and banana for dessert. My reward for solving the pump problem!
