MECHANICAL STUFF .................

After five years the water maker pump started leaking ............ What can you say.... We've always marvelled at the way the belt-driven salt-water pump pressurises to almost a 1000 psi and pushes the salt water to a finely spun membrane which allows that high pressure salt water in at one end, and pushes out sweet fresh water at the other end at a rate of 20 gallons per hour ....... However, our problem is just plain mechanical and fixable ....... That upside down barge we mentioned previously however, is another story ....... It seems it was being unloaded unevenly in Kingston harbour in St. Vincent, when it 'turned turtle' ....... They then towed it upside down to BEQUIA with a tug, a distance of about 10 miles and then anchored it in the shallower water at both ends of the barge ...... Then having filled it with even more water, and set a sling in the appropriate opposite corners proceeded to roll it over in the water ..... Great in theory ...... Damn difficult to do in practice and with only one anchor really holding and the whole lot slowly spinning in a circle ....... And the tug pulling for all it is worth ..... I mean, this barge is as long as a football field ..........



But never say 'Die' ........ Relentlessly they kept at it until it slowly, and ever so slowly, rolled over and stayed at an angle .......... O.K. now for pumping out the water and wait to see what happens .......



I mean it is not as though this barge is small and anyone who has worked with boats will tell you that anything that floats is hard to control .....



And so our morning's entertainment at BEQUIA ended with the barge finally upright and everybody happy ........ A great achievement in salvage, for these barges that carry sand and gravel between islands are not cheap .......



The roads in town are virtually golf-cart size and at midday the streets are almost deserted as everything closes from 12.00 to 1.30pm ...... Most people seem to walk in the shade of the trees ....... Not like us 'white folks' who are 'trained' to walk on paths and streets ...... So once more we headed to the fruit market .......



Passion fruit and pumpkins and bananas ...... The little fat ones are called 'Lady fingers' and very sweet ...... Now why would anyone call those 'Lady fingers'? .... They are sometimes called 'figs' ..... And the longer ones are plantains, used only for cooking and very starchy ........



Lots of ginger in the market and these beautiful mangoes, you might say ' an embarrassment of mangoes' for there is nothing nicer on a hot day than refrigerated slices of golden mango ........ There were three types here, and all ready to eat even the green variety ........



Oh well, ..... What can I say ......... Life on the ocean is good, as is the end of the day when it finally cools down and we can sit on the 'back porch' ...... We refueled alongside a tugboat/service vessel that picks up its fuel direct from Venezuela and Trinidad and sells it here in BEQUIA at a much lower price ....... By anchoring in the middle of the bay with plenty of fenders, the approach and docking is usually flawless for all yachts who can approach either side of the vessel and straight to windward ..... The best type of fuel dock ever .....



And so on south to the next island of CANOUAN .......... A passage of 18 miles of boisterous water where the current flows strongly against the prevailing wind and we actually passed a catamaran going the same way under sail ....... Now that is something that doesn't happen very often .........



Went snorkelling with Mark and Willie from the yacht "LIAHONA", who are also anchored in CANOUAN and then for some more exercise we walked to the top of the island to see the spectacular views on the windward side ......



The fragrance and perfume of the frangipani flowers is everywhere ....... Lean a little closer and just smell them or do a double-click on them if that doesn't work for you .......





Water is at a premium on the island and everybody has rainwater tanks that can also be filled from a communal supply when they run dry ....... Some have concrete catchment areas built alonside their basement cisterns, like this photo (right) where the house is yet to be built on top of the cistern ..... Others have their tanks secured inside the little shack inside the walls of their house under construction ..... Water is precious and it is under lock and key........ We know all about that now that our water maker is out of action .......

No, it is not what you think ......... That's the "Queen of Florida's" comb holding her golden curls together, because it is 90 something degrees and 100 percent humidity ....... There's got to be a better word than ..... HOT ... or ----ing HOT