We decided we were ready for another marina stay, so went into Port Louis by dinghy to obtain a price, which was US$48 per night, falling to US$43 if we stayed for 7 nights. We booked 7 nights, starting tomorrow and headed into Knife and Fork for breakfast. There we met Rich and Tim, from Unity, who had warned us off the broken buoy the day before and Tracey and Paul also arrived for breakfast. It was Sunday and the shops are generally closed but we found a mini-market, just outside the marina and managed to buy enough provisions to make a tortilla to take to the barbecue we had been invited to on Novara. Next chore was booking our train from Gatwick to Howden, which was anything but simple, given the chance of a flight delay and the low number of services on a Sunday. Advance singles would be risky so I plumped for super off peak, with Hull Trains. At least, we would have a choice of 2 trains and can get a refund if we miss both of them and have to catch a LNER train instead.
At 1730, we dinghied the 200 metres to Novara and were introduced to Tim and Babs, sailing friends of Nigel and Veronica's from the US. The food was excellent, including my tortilla. Then it was time for a game, udog, which we hadn't played before. It was similar to Sorry but played with standard playing cards, rather than dice. Each card has different uses, for instance the 4 can be used to move forwards or backwards. You also pair up with your opposite number, so help them as much as you can with your plays. It took a couple of rounds to get used to but the game was enjoyable, despite the fact that Tim and Babs seemed unable to count, or was that a strategy? It was enjoyable but on balance I prefered Mexican Train. Back on board Muirgen, we sat in the cockpit until midnight, as it was very hot and humid. We didn't get much sleep with the discomfort that night.
On Monday morning, we were up early, to get into the marina at 0830, before the wind got up. Unfortunately we were already too late and had to abort our reverse to the pontoon twice, due to 30 knot gusts blowing the bow off. We never push a bad situation when mooring up, as it usually only gets worse. Luckily, on the third attempt, the wind stayed at 7.5 knots and we made it in safely, with the marina lads taking our lines. Having checked in, paid our dues and eaten breakfast, we walked to Island Water World, the chandlery that looks onto the marina and yacht club. It was only a 15 minute walk but we were thankful to get inside with the air conditioning. They had a 45 litre Dometic 12 volt fridge in stock, which we decided would be a game changer for us, so we reserved that, along with another 175 watt solar panel, a bigger MPPT, to cope with the extra power and a fan for the cabin. We had forgotten to bring our boat papers and customs clearance form, which would give us tax free prices, so we left our good behind the counter. Our next stop was Huggins supermarket for provisions, where we bumped into Nigel and Veronica, who were departing for Trinidad and Tobago around 4pm. Everyone leaves between 4 and 6pm, so they arrive around 10am the next morning, so customs don't charge them overtime. In the afternoon, we returned to Island Water World, registered, paid the bill and got a lift back to the marina with our goods and their delivery driver. Highlight of the day was an air-conditioned shower and blow-drying my hair for the first time since arriving in the Caribbean. I couldn't believe how long my hair was. Pete took a photo while I had a cocktail and then my hair was straight back up in clips as the heat was unbearable with a blanket of hair down my neck. It was another hot and sticky night. We tried sleeping in the cockpit but then it rained, so we had to move down below.