After bidding Anika farewell and wishing her god speed for her big bachelor’s presentation in two weeks, I have some time to regroup, plan my remaining trip, and get JACE’s anchor windlass repaired.
But first it is Sunday and that forces me to take a rest day. I sleep in, do a few things around the boat, and talk to family and friends most afternoon. And I find time and a favorable terrain for sport: I make the mooring field my personal swim course and over the coming days start my mornings with a 1km lap around all the boats during sunrise. I also feel like running and find a reasonably flat 8km course, although the humidity and lack of exercise slow me down.
Being here just outside the marina also offers some other infrastructure: laundry! It is a hyper modern coin laundry. Although coins no longer play a role. Everything is high tech, including laundry detergent that is automatically dispensed by the washing machines, and the payment is made by touchless payment card. You can even download their app and follow the progress of your machines and be alerted when they are done. Just what we needed!
On Monday I set out on a special shopping mission. Martinique, because it is part of France and with almost half a million people, has a far better shopping infrastructure than any other island I have seen thus far. There are Carrefours, and Decathlons, and a dozen other French chain stores. I am interested in home appliance stores: I want to by an electric dehumidifier. While JACE is stored for the hot and humid summer, that device will help keep the inside of the boat dry enough to avoid the buildup of mold. And with the new solar setup, we easily have enough power to run it on most days. After much research I pick the store and device I want, validate twice that the unit is in stock, and off I go. First a 40min walk and then a 20min bus ride. I quickly find the aisle with air purifiers and mobile ACs but not the specific dehumidifier I want. In fact, no such devices can be found. I ask the shop assistants, the third finally speaks more English than I French. “Non, non, Monsieur, this I don’t have.” I explain that the website said it was in stock but he just laughs. Well, it is the Caribbean after all.
But he has another suggestion, a store around the corner. And there I do find what I am looking for, even better (because smaller) than the unit I was intent on buying. So no pain without gain. But it is still too heavy to carry for 40min post the bus ride, so I ask them to call me a taxi. That turns out to be difficult as there is no central taxi number. But a fellow customer, a younger man from Bordeaux who’s lived here for years, is nice enough to give me a ride back to the marina. How kind! A successful shopping mission after all.
On Tuesday Marc arrives as promised. He went half way to the other side of the island to get what we need. We set up a makeshift workshop on our back deck and make the replacement cables for those who were melted down in the short circuit.
It takes a while and you won’t believe the size plyers you need to cut those finger-thick cables. We clean up the forward electric box and get rid of some older components that are no longer needed. Marc explains it all and I learn a great deal about high power DC electrics. Now all looks clean and should work again.
While we are at it, I also decide to upgrade the forward battery. The one that’s in there is undersized to power both the anchor windlass and the bow thruster. Besides, after the couple of scares I had, including having to pull up the chain by hand while JACE was drifting towards a boat behind, I had enough and just want to be able to rely on this crucial component. We replace the old heavy beast with two compact AGM batteries. These modern systems are much smaller yet a lot more powerful – put also not cheap. Oh well, it is for JACE. Marc does a nice job and creates a tidy new battery compartment and ties down the two new AGMs so well, I could turtle JACE in a storm and they wouldn’t come loose. In general, I am impressed with Marc’s attention to detail and thorough workmanship. I am lucky I found him.
By Tuesday afternoon all is done, I go for one more provisioning run to have enough food for the next three days, and get everything ready to finally leave Fort de France. The weather is not ideal: there is a very large low pressure system passing north of the Caribbean Sea and it deflects the wind. Instead of the usual steady ENE trade wind, it is from the SE and a bit up and down. And I need to be heading due south. So I might be in for some upwind sailing in the channel between Martinique and St. Lucia. But we will see. I will report in a few days. Wish me luck.