Jan 29
The continuing adventures of the S/V OtherGoose...
I know it sounds to some
of you that I am making these up but I swear this stuff is really happening!
This morning I printed out my 50 pages, hoping that I would
have enough for all day, because I wasn't sure how many were kids in each class
at the Primary School. I had a sinking feeling they were going to be big
classes.
So we hopped in the dinghy already for 9:15 am and headed over
to the shore. Got about 100M from the boat and it stopped and we could NOT get
it going again, so we rowed back to the big boat. I called the schools to tell
them I was going to be at the very least, late, or possibly absent today. Quentin tucked into his computer and Rick was
swearing at the motor as he removed it from the dinghy and tried to ...fix it?
Finally he decided that it had to go to a professional, that
he had no idea what to do with a gas engine. So he put it back on the dinghy
but we began to row over to the docks so Quentin and I could get to school and
he could get it to the local mechanic.
We got about the same distance when another dinghy came by and towed us
in...Faster than our dinghy would have taken us!
Quentin and I went to school and another adventure began. Quentin
thought he was late but his phone had reset when the battery died so the time
was wrong. Instead of it being 11:15, it was only 10:30 so he was on time but I
was too early, although I had missed my classes at the other school, so I went
back to the repair shop and caught Rick. He was on his way back to the dinghy
dock behind the market..... [I just realized that Sue is the ONLY one who knows
what I am talking about so check out the map!] Anyway, he met Stephane and we
all had coffee. While we were talking, someone mentioned that there was a Rake
and Scrape there tonight, so we decided we would come back. I left for school
and Stephane towed Rick back to our boat.
The Grade 8 class was great; they were interested and
enthusiastic and we all got into the projects. Quentin came buzzing in as the
class ended to tell me that he had aced a test in Gr. 12 math - 100% in ¾ of
the time allotted! Then he sped off to do something else.
I went down to the other school for my ½ hour class only to
find that it was brake time so no class during that half hour...good! I will re-arrange
the schedule. I met Catherine and Harry from Mama Duck, and Gillian on the
street so we went for coffee. Gillian wanted to come and sit in on the class,
so she came back with me to the Grade 7 class. That was really difficult. It
was in the computer room and all the students have access, so it was hard to
concentrate. Also the room next door was little kids and the rooms are not
completely separated: the top 1 foot of the wall between them is trellis
material so the noise carries through. Being a computer room its probably
irrelevant, but...
Anyway, as I was leaving to go to the other school, one of the
teachers [possibly the guidance counsellor?] came by and said, "Quentin is
hanging out in my room...just follow the noise!" She led me to her 'room'
and when she opened the door, I saw a whole bunch of students piled on couches
and chairs, with some teachers standing against the wall, Quentin sitting in
the middle, telling some story [I don't want to know] and everyone listening. They
all looked at me and I said, "Oh, ok...well I'm going so meet us at the
dinghy dock around 3-3:30. Don't get lost." Everyone burst out laughing
and I left!
So, back at the Primary school, Grade 3 classes or Grade 4
not sure which. I think I was in shock. There were 24 of them! They were
terrified of the principal, but the minute she and the teacher left the room it
was chaos. I wasn't about to turn cadet officer on them just yet, but 1 hour
with them was brutal! They were all just excited I guess to have someone else
there but....
Anyway, while I was having all this fun, Rick was back at
the boat, and had called Beguiler on the radio. Rob and Brenda had picked up a
new 15 hp motor for their dinghy and were going to get rid of their 8 hp. They
just weren't sure what they wanted for it. He told us we could borrow/ buy it
whatever... so when Rick called; he made arrangements to take the big boat over
to Monument [see fig 2]. Stephane heard them and called Rick and said he would
take Rick over in his tender... much bigger, faster and easier. So Stephane
picked up Rick and they towed our dinghy the 2 miles across the bay to pick up
Beguiler's motor... and then he towed them back...they forgot to take the fuel
tank for the dinghy!
So at 3 pm, Rick met me back at the Red Boone cafe and we
waited for Quentin. He came screaming by to say he was going sailing, and
dumped his books on me. Rick went to get our motor out of the repair shop [$145.00
US], so I was sitting at Red Boone, [I
was going to have a beer but decided that it was not a good habit to get into after
school with all the kids traipsing by] when Gillian sat down. She was talking to Choppy who owns Red
Boone, about the Rake and Scrape and he mentioned that he had 'invented' a special
drink for the night. He wanted a sign for it so Gillian grabbed his paper and
said, "She's an artist. She'll do it!" While I was making up his sign
they were discussing what it should be called. Rick said that Pusser's had a
rum drink called a Pusser's' Painkiller, so something like that. They were all
standing there arguing and I just said "Ripper" so a new drink was
born: "The Red Boone Ripper".
He gave me one to try so I could recommend it: light rum, banana rum,
grenadine and pineapple and orange juice. Wow! Then he asked me to make another
sign for the snack shop. I had to wait 'til the effects of the drink wore off!
Quentin came back to say that there was no sailing so he was
going to play basketball at the court. We walked over o get when we were going to
eat and as we were walking back down the street, someone from an upstairs
window hollered out, "Hey Quentin!"
He's been on shore, what, a week???
We decided that since I had forgotten to take anything out
for supper, we would go for a burger and Stephane met us, then we went to the Rake
and Scrape for a while. We waited 'til the crowd grew and then we all went home for
the evening.
JAN 30
Rick took the sunrise
pics at about 6 am. Today we have so much to do!! Quentin is probably going
sailing and I will do one load of laundry to catch up. There is a "Steak
Out" [ BBQ] at the Catholic Church where they are trying to build a youth
center. We have raffle tickets, so we may wander over there around noon. It's
at the back of Lake Victoria.[See Fig.1]
This afternoon there is a 1st Annual Party-With-Your-Clothes-On
at the beach with live music and bug spray, so we may go to that today. I need to get some lesson plans ready for
Tuesday and Rick is working on the wind generator.
Rob's motor is also running a little rough so Stephane says
they should look at it...Stephane will fix it and Rick will learn how. I think
I will go, too. I need to know how to do that as well. I did it once with our
little motor but that was years ago and I can't remember much. Taking apart is
no big deal...it's what you do with the parts once you get them off! ttyl
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| We anchor between Bacchus Rock and Regatta Point - go into town thru' the little gap and tie up at the dinghy dock. Quentin goes to school at Anglican Church . I work at both schools. |
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| We travel back and forth across the bay usually with the big boat |
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| Morning! |
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| It will be a hazy day but enough to make solar panels work |
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