FRIDAY, November 27, 2009

Drop off Ron and Emily at the Ferry terminal. They have been our crew since departing Newport, 3 weeks ago. Register at Connections and pick up our post. Find out where the best laundry is -  up the hill. Shop for food at the Dolphin Market. Expensive. Back on board by 11 AM.

Hot today . . . very hot . . . 92 degrees from 10 to 3 PM. Even the beach was no relief to the heat for a bunch of Mainers use to 40-degree water.

Sandy Cay in the BVI -  the tropical Island of everyone’s imagination . .  . except for the bitting bugs ashore.

We hid out on the boat from 1 to 4 PM, so hot none of us could do anything. There was little wind. Even the fans in the cabin were inadequate for the hot stagnant air.

Julie is anxious to get the laundry done. I tell her, better to do it in the cool of the evening, so we go ashore at 4:30, the dinghy loaded own with bags of cloths, towels, sheets . . . up the hill to the laundry. The kids and I explore places for dinner. We wind up at the TexMex place on the park by the ferry dock . . .  I’ve had many a meal there in my single days. Ren goes to help Mom with the laundry and Havana and I have our hamburger and fries  and talk about boats, photography, where we might go next . . .  a father and his son. Julie and Ren join us and we dinghy back out to the boat with fresh sheets. It’s past 8 PM.

SATURDAY

Another hot day. Boat work, email . . . we have WiFi from  Caneel Bay Resort . . . to the beach just a short dinghy ride away.

It’s Havana’s birthday., He turns 9. Dinner at Morgan’s Mango, one of the best resturants on the island, just across from the dinghy dock. I have my usual, Citris Chicken, a Cuban rescipy, and everyone has Key Lime Pie, which is to die for.

SUNDAY

Worked on the galley Sink Drain hose. It’s clogged with grease and galley crud, about 8-feet down the hose. Can’t get it out. Ponder possible solutions.

Took the family over to Hawksnest Bay to snorkel and explore beaches. Wound up back at the beach here in Slalom Bay. This was to be a family day.

The couple form Seilse the light blue Henkley, dropped by to chat and share news. They left Bermuda  on Sunday and had  head winds for 2 days. Made 80 miles  before the winds went SW and they could make some progress. Other than the  head winds and the lack of winds there after, it was a pleasant trip.  They related the story from Oka Bougie about them getting a fuel drop in the middle of the ocean from a cruise liner . . . the decks lined with passengers with cameras, the skipper plugged the VHF conversation with the yacht’s crew on the ships PA for everyone to hear.   YouTube must have a video of the transfer.

Beans on Toast for dinner

Cruz Bay, St John USVI in the evening light.

MONDAY

Removed the aft head and replace the gasket on the intake manifold. I thought that fixed the link, but of course Julie has found another leak. Too hot and worn out to do much else. Did dive on the prop to see what bolt thread fix. Got the right one now.

Call the AT&T store in Maine to learn that the iPhone is actually $699 of you want to buy one without a calling plan . . . which o course costs about $1,200 a year. Deceptive advertising . . .  no where on Apple’s web site is there any mention of $699. All you find is $199. I’m very angry with Apple. I got no satisfaction with the Apple rep I spoke with on Friday, trying to order a phone.

Called Peter Seymour to find out what he did about his missing phone. He had to buy it for $499. He did give me a link to MyiPhoneRepair.com which can fix my phone for $117 and do a bunch of other neat things that Apple would rather you not do. Turn around is 2 business days, after the get the phone. I have to check with Connections about FedEx shipments out and in.

Boat schooling for the kids in the AM while I worked on the head. Lunch, Rest and wait out the hot part of the day under the cockpit awning, then at 3 PM, the kids and Julie dinghy to the beach. I read and then swim to the beach to join them.

5 PM, we make a laundry and food shopping run. Too late for the hardware store for bolts and drain cleaner. Havana and I shop, Prices for food here are painfully high. We’ll spend nearly twice as much eating here as in Maine, then add to that $2.50 a day for a bag of ice for the drinks and to keep the food cool.

Julie and Ren do laundry . Back on board by 7:30. Dinner is a salad with left over turkey from Thanksgiving.

With Rob and Emily gone, the boat is not as active . . . we are all coming down from the voyage . . . I’m depressed, confused and out of sorts. I find it had to concentrate, to write, to work on the boat, to even relate with the kids and Julie. I was beating myself up about that last night, “Notes from a Looser” I called the journal entry . . . now I realize what I am going through is natural “come down” after 6 months of intense preparation and anticipation, add to that the voyage itself, with all it’s dangers, stress and emotional strain of dealing with a boat full of first timers. I’m here now . . . we’ve arrived . . . in one of my favorite anchorages, right where I’ve longed to be for that past ten years . . . I’m here . . . the dream is complete.  I awake to find I am where I wanted to be . . .  The anticipation, the longing, and desire . . .  all gone. I’m here. I’ don’t like it. I’d rather be working toward a goial than to arrive at one.

Now what do I do?

What’s next? Varnish the teak? Fix the head? Write the blog . . . make the donuts.

It’s 5:30 AM . . . this is when I can write for the family is asleep, the only time when the boat is quiet and I can let the thoughts flow out.

I’ll write about the Bermuda to BVI trip now, condense it and then combine it with the Newport to Bermuda story and begin to contact the boat magazine editors.

A small yawl on a near by Park mooring of Honeymoon beach on the north side of St. John . .  one of my favorate places in the world. A wonderful beach, no houses in sight, except for the Caneel Bay Rock Resort to the left . . .  and Cruz Bay just around the corner . . . a free WiFi from the Resort on the boat.

Return to Home Page