Yesterday was a busy one, cleaning the boat and checking all the mechanical systems.  I transferred about 30 gallons of diesel from the starboard tank to the port tank using my Filter Boss fuel cleaning and polishing system http://www.ktisystems.com/. I am so glad to have it as any sailor knows dirty fuel can ruin your whole day. Down here you can get Venezuela fuel but its been in all kinds of tanks and who knows how good it was to start with so cleaning it is essential. I called up Daffodil Marine on the VHF and arranged to have them bring me 20 gallons of diesel and 60 gallons of water. As you can see in the picture they have a nice setup and come out to your boat making it really easy for a singlehander.

I went ashore to check on my sail repairs and my new sailing friends Diana & Marc met me at the dock and invited me for a coldy at the Whaleboner so not being in a hurry a few hours later I was on my way.  Alick from Alick sails had my mizzen all done and had really improved it by adding additional sunbrella protection to the head where there was always sun damage.  Alick told me how he apprenticed for 8 years and made 60EC per month while he was learning his craft, that's about 22 US. He hand stitched part of it because his machine cannot go through the thick parts and affording one is out of the question. He is a very friendly guy and is happy in his work and is an excellent craftsman. He is also running a school to try and interest young people in his line of work but it's difficult when a kid can hang out at the docks and make more from tourist for watching dinghy's and such.


















After my visit with Aleck I decided it was time for a hair cut as wearing hats all the time makes my head hot so a visit to Clive and his number two razor and the deed was done. Its really cool and very easy to take care of not mention water savings......Just call me Way Cool Captain from now on....

                                                                                                                                                                                            I had invited Diana & Marc to the Raindancer for dinner so I went to the market and bought fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic and peas.  You can see old and young snapping peas at all the open markets. I cooked up some rice an peas along with grilled chicken and sliced tomatoes.  Diana an Marc arrived with a nice bottle of Spanish wine that he had sailed over with from Spain. Dinner was great an new friends were made, Diana is a photographer and lives in London and has gone many places including South Africa to travel and work. Check out her photos on her website http://dianajq.com/exhibitions. Marc was a sailing instructor from Barcelona and is now sailing for himself and has a dream of bringing his small boat building skills to other countries. We parted company and they sailed south in the morning. In the picture Marc is holding a piece of driftwood that I am carving into what I call "Drift Snakes" a hobby I have had for a few years. This morning I went for a scuba dive trip with Dive Bequia www.dive-bequia.com in which we went to a place called "the boulders" it was and easy dive at 60-70ft. I was the only diver so Miranda my dive master was my dive buddy. I saw nurse sharks, octopus, lobster, lion fish and so many others I can't list them all.  On the way back we came upon some young boys bailing their boat and trying to start the engine, so we took them under tow back to the port.

After the dive I went on a sight seeing walk to the other end of the bay.

 

 

I came to the Bequia model boat building shop run by Lawson Sargent. The work they do is amazing, all done carving by hand and skills passed down from elders.

 

I may be unable to post for a few days as I am planning to depart this slice of paradise in the morning heading north making my way to Dominica and the cool rain forest.........