Day 10 the Jamaican adventure continues

We continue to make progress on boat repairs but enjoy the ability to just walk out of the marina and buy wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables anywhere along the street. We celebrate each day with a happy hour in the evening and meet new wonderful people everyday along with folks that have been here for a while. This post may seem long but the stories I think are worth telling.

We put off sightseeing until our boat repairs are completed and we have now completed them. The gybe from the autopilot broke the gooseneck toggle on our boom. The gooseneck is the connection between the boom and the mast because in earlier boats their was literally a gooseneck extension that fit down into a holder that allowed the boom to freely swing. On this boat the connection is a cast piece of aluminium that is secured by a vertical pin in the boom and a horizontal pin in the mast making a freely rotating and rising connection to accommodate the angle and direction of sail. Fortunately, it appears nothing more than the toggle broke and the tang for the boom vang was bent.

Heading out to Kingston.

The parts for us to fix the boat arrived in country last week but as usual the dance with the carrier and customs took most of the week before we could actually get the parts to make the repair. The delay was not as bad in Jamaica primarily because we could drive to the port of entry. In Bahamas there was usually a lot of water between us and the clearing customs.

The back road through the mountains.

Getting repair parts from the US into a foreign country is a little bit art and a little bit science. The science is the methodical procedure to get them, the art is figuring out what the process really is. I'm very pleased overall how quickly we were able to complete the repair. We got here late Wednesday; Thursday I tried to find a source of supply; Friday I was able to confirm it and learn availability; over the weekend I took apart everything to determine exactly what was needed; placed the order on Monday and it got shipped Monday; Tuesday it arrived in country and Wednesday I thought I had an idea of what we needed to do to get the parts by Friday. As part of the overall plan I got the Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) that I was told I would need. Seems that you can't pay taxes in Jamaica unless you have a number. I guess it's like having a social security number in the US. Then here's where the story changes.

I had been told by the marina manager that they would get the paperwork. But, when I called FedEx and spoke with a gentleman who actually really seemed to know what he was talking about (unlike most customer service lines) he said if I had a TRN I could get the paperwork at FedEx and go to customs and clear the item myself which is what I intended to do and made plans to do. Finally, late Thursday the tracking information said the paperwork was available so we had the green light.

The guard rails looking up a valley.

We had planned to go to Kingston, the principal city in Jamaica, the worst spot for security on the island and primary commercial center to retrieve the package and do shopping with another couple, Rick and Lorraine Kwasnicki who were renting a car for a week.  The trip to Kingston over this narrow road was an adventure not for the faint of heart. It was harrowing but beautiful. Looked like West Virginia with palm and banana trees. After issues with getting the car we got a late start and made it to FedEx about 1300.

After some initial conversations it was explained to me the paperwork had been sent to the marina through some bureaucratic way. After some additional conversations it was determined by FedEx that they could replicate the paperwork and I could get the package. Finally about 1500 (the time customs closed) we were able to obtain the package, pay the fees and leave. Success was at hand!

More mountains off in the distance.

Our next order of business was to find the only chandlery in Jamaica to get some marine supplies. Google took us into a residential neighborhood and told us the store was at hand but we saw little that indicated we were at a marine supply business. We investigated and sure enough there was a marine supply store there. At first we thought it probably was not worthwhile to go in but we did and what a shock! We began asking for things and they took us on a tour to where things were and without a doubt it is one of the best stocked marine supply stores I've been in. After finding our items the owner came in and offered us a drink. He has a bar in the store where he serves his customers drinks while they shop. What a great family and a great business. The store has been there for about 40 years and is obviously making it. If you are ever passing this way and need supplies, Durae's Boat Sales and Marine supplies in Kingston, Jamaica is the place to stop. He has everything.

The chandler Mr. Durae in his store with his granddaughter as we sipped Red Stripe.

We then visited a grocery store which was almost like an American grocery and headed home in the dark and rain over the Burma Road.

Saturday with the help of some friends I was able to assemble to boom and we got it back on the mast. The major work was finished. Now all I needed was to pop out some of the old rivets and get a rivet gun that would install the larger rivets needed to secure the hardware being replaced.

The installed gooseneck toggle.

The reassembled rig.

The new tang for attaching a preventer.

Assembling the gooseneck toggle was fairly straightforward and simple. The difficult part was getting all the washers in place on the pin at the mast. I had previously drilled out the old rivets and removed the tang and bale under the boom.

The nutmeg seed with the red wrapping that is the spice Mace.

The Nutmeg tree.

A Soursop tree.

One of the many mango trees.

The marina from the mountain top.

The village and East Harbor.

Sunday looked like it would be another rainy day. The entire past week it rained inches of rain everyday which is not totally unusual in the tropics but is for this time of year. We decided we were going to walk up to the top of the high peak overlooking the town. The road was fairly steep but at the top was an old resort that had been abandoned. As we walked around the back of the overgrown hotel rooms a man came out of the jungle in messy overalls, knee high boots carrying a machete.  He introduced himself. His name was Omar and he was working on his mother's farm just behind the property. He explained some of the history of the resort and pointed out a number of the fruit and nut trees growing around there. He showed us a nutmeg tree and found 2 ripe fruit to open and give us the nutmeg seeds. We had a very pleasant conversation with him and learned a lot of local knowledge.

The local Anglican church here in Port Antonio.

On the way down the hill we picked a red fruit that looked like something we had seen but not sure what it is. Another man was out cutting weeds and we stopped and talked with him a bit and he was happy to talk to us. He explained that the fruit was the Ackee fruit, the national fruit of Jamaica. He told us that usually you pick fruit that has opened because the fruit gives off a poison gas when opened. He used his machete and opened it downwind then peeled out the fruit and explained which part could be eaten but only after being cooked. I wonder how people figured out what was poison and how to deal with it.

The red lining that is on the outside of the nutmeg being dried to turn into the spice Mace.

We walked on back to the marina and relaxed after the wonderful experience walking up the hill. There was no rain and a bunch of us cruisers gathered for happy hour and the sun actually came out for the beginning of a new week.

Our evening happy hour.

Today on Monday I borrowed the rivet gun I needed to install the 1/4" rivets into the tangs and the bale so I could finish up the work. So in a little more than a week I was able to get all the repair parts I needed, the tools I didn't have and complete the repair. Now on to sightseeing and continuing the Jamaican adventure.

This boat, Germania Nova came into the marina today. It is the boat that a British teenage crew member fell from the rigging and died about a week before we got here.