Martinique

I can't believe it's been already 4 days since we arrived in Martinique and a lot has happened since. We first arrived not knowing where to go, but we got lucky and as we were approaching Pointe du Bout on the 13th (Monday) we were told that they had one spot available and we were able to tie up there for the night. There was no Wifi available alongside, but if you had dinner at the restaurant "La Marine", they would give you a code valid for 2 hours. This enabled me to receive my mail and to reply to whatever was very urgent.
Next morning, we left for the yard where we were supposed to haul out. Got there at 10:00 a.m. sharp and we were hauled out immediately. Everything went smoothly and it only took two days to clean the hull, remove the existing coat of antifouling and apply two new coats of a good paint available locally and not too expensive. In the meantime, we were able to replace the blower in the engine compartment that had burnt.
We spent Tuesday and Wednesday night at Philippe and Odile, two very pleasant evenings with old friends that we first met in 1987 in Haiti and that we had last seen in 2000 here in Martinique.
I was also able to rent a car and to put and end with the nightmare I was having with Digicel and my Internet connection. It took a great number of hours and several visits to several Digicel offices, but all is well now and I should be able tomorrow to post some more photos.
We went back in the water on Thursday morning and sailed straight to Le Marin where I wanted to take care of the rigging. Luckily, we arrived late enough to take a spot at Caribbe Greement, knowing that they would work on the boat on Friday. We also expected them to take the whole day to do the work and stretch our stay until Monday morning. This worked well and we will probably leave Le Marin on Monday.
Last time I came here was in 1996, and the place was still small enough to be pleasant. Today, I reckon that there are probably over 1,000 boats either on the docks or at anchor and I only have one wish, get out of here as soon as we can.
The base plate that holds the rigid boom vang to the mast has received 8 brand new stainless steel large rivets and should be secured to the mast for a few years to come. The pins that had gone missing on the elements of the roller furler have been replaced and the mechanism inspected and found in good shape. The halyard that were not of a very good quality, especially the ones that I had purchased in Australia, have been replaced. The only thing that we could not do was to have the goose neck on the mast replaced. The rigger told us that he would have to research what kind of spare is needed but he did not have it in his workshop. He also said that I should not worry too much, that even with the play on it, the existing one should hold easily until I get to the US and find a replacement.
We are going to spend the coming week-end doing some touring on the island while I wait for my daughters to arrive, Anne on the 22nd and Patricia on the 30th.
Monday we will probably sail back to Pointe du Bout that we like a lot more than Le Marin.