Optimistic and maybe a little naive, we arrive assuming that just 2-3 days will be plenty of time to get ready for our trek up north. Boy are we wrong!

We end up spending an entire week, sweating and cursing, working through an ever growing list of problems. The rational explanation is that sitting still for nine months in a milieu of heat and saltwater is really tough on a boat. Corroded wires, seized screws, chafed lines. No wonder gear is failing. Emotionally, it feels like we are being tested, that maybe fate or the gods are simply opposing our journey. Heck, in the moments of deepest frustration we even question if JACE could be cursed or it is some sort of sign she doesn’t like us. It sounds funny afterwards but amidst the paralyzing heat and humidity, where every small little task takes extra willpower, each new setback hits hard and in moments of weakness let’s you question everything.

Here is a quick rundown of what we are dealing with:

• at first the fridge doesn’t turn on (until we determined that it was simply my stupidity)

• both davits (where the dinghy hangs off the stern) are dead and we need a marine electrician to solve a mystery wiring issue

• the brand new windlass is not working when we first test it. It takes a little digging into the electric supply cabinet to get it to work
• the bow thruster, recently serviced, just produces clicking noises and we need to get the crew back onboard to finish the job

• the control valve of the water maker is seized completely and despite all tricks eventually the knob breaks off. Despite disassembling the core high pressure manifold and getting the valve unseized, the water maker still does not work. Eventually we give up and leave anyway, resolved to find and order the needed spare part of our French-built unit and have it shipped to Martinique

• the generator, never really our friend even last season, is now completely dead with no action on the control panel. By now we are out of time and leave with an out of order generator. Hopefully we will have enough sunshine to rely solely on solar
• and that is even more important because our shore power hookup fails after one day of use and we can’t get it to charge our batteries. Another problem that stays unresolved for now

• well, and then there is our fridge+freezer combo, the bane of our existence last season. Refrigeration remains an issue and as Tevin, our local HVAC expert, tries to solve it, the compressor, only 1.5 yrs old, fails completely. On our last day we buy a new one, opting for AC power this time, and Tevin and his crew spend half the night to get it replaced and everything working again. Now it does, not well, but at least it works

• the outboard engine for the dinghy was stored on a bracket on the pushpit all summer. As we try to hoist the beast up and over to attach it to the dinghy, we realize that the two massive screws that attach it are hopelessly seized with corrosion and salt. After much WD40 and anticorrosive spray and with the help of our neighbor’s massive pipe wrench we finally loosen them. But not without destroying one of the screw handles in the process

• our dinghy features a dedicated fuel filter that’s attached right below the outboard. It is rusted through and beyond use. In the third store we find the right model and gently unscrew and replace the old unit
• in our living quarters we have multiple of the big ceiling panels coming down. The heavy duty Velcros that secure them have failed in all the heat. Additionally, there are multiple cabin lights that don’t turn on and the hood fan at the cooktop also quits after the first two days
• and finally, when we are underway and use our dinghy the first time to go ashore, we discover that we can’t get the cable and lock out of its pocket. The zipper is completely stuck. No amount of silicone spray is any help. Eventually we use a knife to open the seam, only to discover that the two combination locks are themselves equally corroded and need a lot of TLC to be brought back to life

As you can see, it is a lot we have to work through. None of the problems are in and of themselves earthshattering, that is true. But their combined impact, in the heat of Grenada’s Clarkes Court Marina, is really trying.

Luckily, we seem to be affected in an anticyclic fashion. When I get really beat down, Karin is full of optimism and puts me back on my feet. And when Karin has enough and gets deeply frustrated, I am feeling better and talk her off the cliff.

It is a tough and long first week. But somehow we persevere and make it through. By Wednesday, a week after our arrival, we finally cast off.