I enjoy my day in Rodney Bay. I visit the giant Rodney Bay Marina where some six years ago I arrived after my Atlantic crossing. It is fun to walk around and be reminded how elated I felt when stepping on land after 26 days at sea.

I also have a few chores to do here: first, I need to go to the chandlery to buy a fuse (the one for the anchor windlass that got fried). Rodney Bay has the largest and most well-stocked store I have seen. Can you believe it, they even have the pressure switch for my fresh water pump as a replacement part, the one that arrived at Matt’s too late and that got subsequently shipped to Germany and almost missed me there too. And I need courtesy flags for St. Lucia, France, Dominica, and Antigua. Second, I need to clear out of St. Lucia. Third, I need to stock up on a few food items.

Once that is all done I treat myself to an ice cream, my first in over two month.

Back aboard I turn my attention back to the fridge saga. Despite rewiring the fan to be constantly running, the fridge still doesn’t cool down enough. So I empty it out and drill more holes and go from 5 to 10. Let’s see what that does.

I have been missing exercise and feel like running. Luckily, the area around Rodney Bay is very flat, which is rare. So far everywhere I went the islands were hilly and steep and running thus difficult. The heat and humidity are already a challenge. But running up and down hills is not for me. All the more I enjoy a 7km totally flat run around Rodney Bay. I am a bit slow but that shouldn’t be a surprise given how little I have exercised lately.

For dinner I treat myself to a greasy burger with fries. Perfect!

The next morning I get up at 6, have a bite, and get everything ready. By 7:30a JACE is on her way. Destination: Martinique.

It turns into a very fast 30nm beam reach. The speed rarely drops below 7kn and is mostly over 8kn and even touches 9kn a few times. By 11a I reach the southwest corner of Martinique and in lee of the island soon lose the wind. Sails furled, I run under engine another hour into the huge bay that is home to Fort de France, the capital of Martinique. Across from it I pick a smaller town and bay to drop my hook.

Anika arrives tomorrow so I am starting to get JACE ready for a visitor. Namely, I go and do laundry at a local coin laundry. The lady running the place doesn’t speak a lick of English and I have to dig deep to find the French words to explain myself and get help. But it all works out and during the wait I also clear into Martinique, eat a baguette for lunch, and enjoy a good French coffee.

The rest of the day I spend aboard, cook dinner and chill a little. Tomorrow is a big day. I am so excited for Anika’s visit!