Victor the marine engineer arrives on board at 8 am to remove our seawater pump and replace the seals returning an hour later, refitting the pump - job done.

The rest of our day is spent getting ready for the arrival of guests Bill & Gill who will be with us for two weeks. The weather forecast is dreadful for the next few days with a band of squalls heading this way from the US predicting winds gusting at 50+ knots. Even alongisde at the Marina this is a fair wind and we double up on lines and fenders in anticipation of its arrival.

By midday the winds have really picked up - the palm trees around the shoreline are taking a bashing and it is getting very grey and overcast.

I take a shot at getting some laundry done and glad to have the extra weight with me walking from the boat along the narrow wooden fingers - the wind is really strong and I grab onto dock fitments for stability. Sand and dust is being kicked up everywhere.