Randolf then drove us to the Roland Plantation, a former sugar cane operation that had been converted to something like a bed a breakfast. We had a great lunch there and then had the opportunity to view on of the cottages. This one was a converted windmill. Then we visited the local artist on the premise. We left the plantation with full bellies and brains.
Next stop was an area called
Black Rock where one of the lava flows from the now dormant volcano left eerie sculptures which remain today. Wolfgang took a keen interest in these formations as did we all. As we left the area we noted that many of the road side settlements were quite poor. No doubt the fall of the sugar cane industry left many in St. Kitts without work.
Next Randolf took us to the other side of the island where the 'la-de-da' people lived. No poor settlements here. Very beautiful scenery with lovely houses and resorts. All good things come to an end and so our tour with Randolf ended around 1630. Great time! We certainly were lucky to get Randolf for our tour.
We went to Basseterre one more time
for one more visit to their 'Piccadilly Circus' where we saw many interesting people. But the self proclaimed 'town crier' was a highlight of this day. Afterwards, we headed for the Fisherman's Wharf where we had great meals at reasonable prices. If you are ever in Basseterre you should look up the Fisherman's Wharf. The next day, we warped our of berths at 0630 and headed back to Sint Maarten. We sailed with a bit of help with the motor. The seas were still pretty high at 7-9 feet so we got tossed a bit. Bob noticed that the vacuum gauge for the fuel was near the red zone again. We had a project when we got back to Sint Maarten.
When we got back to the Lagoon, Bob discovered the one of the pumps was clogged with goo. The goo almost certainly came from the diesel tank. On the advise of Yanmar, we stopped using biocide several years ago and started using their recommended product for total fuel protection. We started taking samples of the fuel near the bottom and our hypothesis that we had 'critters' in the fuel was confirmed. Bob manually pumped over 50 gallons out the tank and Ann poured it back in the tank via a Baja filter. Project took almost 3 days but the fuel looks much better now. Manual fuel polishing is not a fun thing.
After this latest crisis, we again
headed for the 'bridge' at the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. Since Michel(le) was working full time on the Regatta, we saw much more of Lucy. We really enjoyed the times she was on duty at the 'bridge'. Here we have a picture of rose between two thorns. Everybody at the 'bridge' has been great to us, including Brian (aka Sam) and Christina.
Did we tell you that we are anchored near the end of the runway of the Juliana International Airport. At times it could be very noisy. We all learned to talk between take-offs. Sammy Jane was particularly not fond of the noise. When a noisy one was approaching, she would head back to the safety of the cabin. You never get used to it.
Princess became the love of our life.
We saw her many times with her owner at different places in Sint Maarten. Finally we sat down with her at Barnacles. She seems to be a mix between a Golden and a Husky. She is a very lovely dog.
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