May 1
We spent the day aboard again. The wind continues to blow hard, making for nice racing probably, but a bouncy ride in the harbor. I got a reply from ZRD, the company who makes custom alternator solutions. Their proposal isn't cheap, of course, but it certainly is better than the arrangement that was installed on the boat by the original owner, which is inadequate. If I decide to go with it, it will be a major undertaking when we return next fall. Today I ran the engine some to charge batteries, and now I'm losing confidence in the smart voltage regulator in the system. It cuts back the level of charging to the middle stage seemingly long before it should. Always something....
We have plans to go to happy hour with Mike & Lynn, but we also have no rum or ice aboard for when we return. Rather then risk the store being closed when we come home later, I made a late afternoon run to the store. It was still quite choppy for the dinghy crossing, but being in no hurry, I just poked along on the inbound run into the chop, and stayed dry.
At 17:00 we met Mike & Lynn at the dinghy dock and went to the Mad Mongoose for happy hour. We sat outside where there was a breeze. While sitting there, we saw Adrian & Sam from Blue Moon walking down the street. We called to them and they joined us. They have been working on the committee boat for the races this week. They had a couple of drinks with us and then we twisted their arms and they joined us for dinner also. This will likely be our last visit to the Mongoose this year, so Mike and I had to have one last burger there.
While at the Mongoose, we met a couple from Compass Rose, whom we had been told to say hi to. Our old friends D & Don from Southern Cross came south with us back in 2007. They continued around through the western Caribbean and are now back in the States. Compass Rose is a sister ship of Southern Cross, and D & Don had helped crew Compass Rose to the Caribbean earlier this year. Anyway, we met Eric & Jackie and chatted briefly. They got a kick out of the fact that Southern Cross had told us to watch for them.
GPS N 17-00.893 W 061-46.422 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10149.
May 2
Today was again spent on the boat, mostly reading and playing games. I did one productive task though. Since we got the engine running, the temperature gauge has been reading hotter than it should. Not overheated, but about 195° instead of 180°. I have used an infra-red thermometer to ensure that the engine really isn't that hot. One of the things that the TX gang brought me was a replacement sending unit for the gauge. So today I installed that. Of course it wasn't exactly simple, since the old one would not let go of the bolted on wire attached to it. I had to cut the wire and put a new end on it to attach to the new sending unit. I fired the engine up, and had no leaks, which was good, but the gauge still reads too hot. So, I guess the next step will be to replace the gauge next year. At least with the infra-red thermometer I have confidence that it's not really running that hot.
The wind finally started to lay down a bit today. We plan to move back to Jolly Harbor tomorrow, and based the timing on the forecast. It was forecast to be blowing over twenty knots still today and down to fifteen knots tomorrow. But, the moderation seems to have come a day early. I hope we don't find tomorrow doesn't have enough wind. I'm hoping to be able to sail back again.
Before dark we raised the dinghy on the davits for the trip tomorrow. It has been in the water for two weeks, so the bottom of the dinghy and the outboard had a nice green fuzzy growth on them. Of course it has a nice fishy aroma to it also.
GPS N 17-00.893 W 061-46.422 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10149.
May 3
We were up about 07:00 this morning, preparing to leave. We have a safety line attached to the mooring ball that is there just as a backup in case the mooring balls pennant broke. This safety line is looped through the top of the mooring ball in a way that dictates touching the ball to undo it. I meant to undo this line yesterday before I hoisted the dinghy, but forgot. So now I'll have to see if I can either lift the ball out of the water far enough to reach the line, or maybe lay down on the deck and see if I can reach down far enough to grab it. Either of these option will require Barb to motor us forward so that the bow of the boat is right over the mooring ball. About 08:30, we were ready to go and were about to try to execute this plan, when I spotted John, the mooring owner, coming across the bay to collect from those who aren't leaving today. I waved him down and he happily took care of undoing the line for me. We thanked him for his hospitality and promised to see him again next year.
In the company of Seabbatical, we motored out of the harbor. Just before we had left the mooring, our friends Steve & Ann from Receta had called on the radio to say goodbye. They had left the harbor about an hour earlier headed south to Guadeloupe, so we won't see them again until next year. They mentioned that the seas were a bit lumpy just outside the harbor, which was what we would expect given how windy it has been. As we were motoring out the channel, I unfurled the mainsail about 3/4 of the way. This will help steady the boat when we are out far enough to start feeling the swell. The seas were running about six feet as we cleared the mouth of the harbor. They were also directly on the port beam, which would have made for an ugly roll if we didn't have the main up, but it wasn't too bad with the sail. As soon as we were about a quarter mile south of the harbor entrance, we turned due west to follow the coast. This put the seas off our port quarter. I also unfurled the headsail. The wind is only blowing about ten knots, or less, and it's quite variable in the speed, so we kept the motor running too. This point of sail, with good sized seas coming from the back corner is probably the most uncomfortable one there is. As the seas roll under the boat, it does a kind of corkscrew motion. Many autopilots can't handle steering in these conditions, but I have always been thankful that the autopilot on MoonSail is oversized and it never gives up. We were making good speed, almost six knots, as we headed west looking forward to the protection we would find once we got in the lee of Cades Reef. It is about three miles west from the Falmouth entrance before you turn slightly northwest and start to get between the reef and the mainland. Once we made that turn, the wind and seas were directly behind us. This made the ride much better, but it made it impossible to keep the foresail up, since it couldn't decide which side of the mast to be on. So, we furled the foresail and continued with just the main. The further we got behind the reef, the flatter the seas became. After the four miles or so behind the reef, we made the turn to the north around Pelican Island. I unfurled the foresail again, and brought the main all the way out. I turned the motor off and we were sailing. We were still making five knots with the wind now about twelve knots a little aft of the starboard beam. It was only a few more miles to Jolly Harbor, but it was nice to have the peace and quiet of sailing again. The peace and quiet would not last though. Seabbatical was about a mile behind us as we were passing Crab Point. (Interestingly, there are two Crab Points in Antigua.) We were enjoying the serenity when all of a sudden we got blasted by a gust of wind that was probably over 25 knots. When MoonSail gets overpowered, she does what's called rounding up into the wind. That means that even with the rudder hard over as far as it will go, the boat turns into the wind until the sails are no longer driving. Of course at the start of all this, she heels over about forty degrees until she comes around into the wind. In hindsight, I could have released the sheets and let the sails fly lose which would have made lots of noise but straightened us right up and put us back on course. But, it all happened so fast that we just kind of hung on and watched. As we rounded up into the wind, we passed the point where the wind was on the nose, and the foresail back-winded. Normally, this is where you end up "in irons", meaning you aren't going anywhere and you start the motor to get things pointed the right way again. But, I realized that we were still turning, so I just kept the wheel hard over, and we made it all the way around to where the sail filled from the starboard side again, and we were off. Of course during this display of seamanship, the gust had ended and the wind was back to a nice comfortable ten or twelve knots. As soon as we were back on course, Mike hailed us on the radio. I answered, half laughing because I knew that had to look pretty funny to them. He politely asked me what the heck just happened, and I warned him to beware of gusts as he passes the point. We continued on our way, and got gusted a second time up by the next point of land, but not as bad. This gust was not as strong or as long, and as we started to round up again, the rudder won the battle and we turned back on course. There was a boat motoring towards us that probably thought that was pretty dramatic way to change course and get out of their way. In reality, it was their problem to get out of our way since we were sailing, but it all worked out.
As we neared the channel entrance into Jolly Harbor, we fired up the engine and furled the sails. We motored through the anchorage and into the mooring area inside the breakwater. We picked up the first mooring we came to, although it wasn't as easy as usual. Barb was ready to snag the pennant with the boat hook, but when she got it she found it to be encrusted with a crusty growth that wouldn't slide through the boat hook. I had the boat stopped, so I went forward and grabbed the pennant with my hands, trying not to cut myself on the crud. We got our line through the thimble on the end and secured it to our cleat. We don't plan to stay here today. We just wanted to stop so that we can lower the dinghy off the davits, so that if I need to I can get off the stern as we dock. We got the dinghy in the water as Seabbatical picked up a mooring ahead of us. They are going to stay on the mooring, but we are going into the marina for at least one night to get a good battery charge. While we were still on the mooring, I hailed William the dockmaster and asked him which side we needed our lines on. He told us what slip we would be going in and Barb got the lines ready. We dropped the mooring and headed for the marina. Our old slip is occupied, so we are going to one much nearer the land end of the dock. I turned around in the basin by the fuel dock and started backing down the fairway. Have I ever mentioned how nicely MoonSail backs up? Many boats wouldn't even try to back in a slip. We got down to where William was waiting to take our lines and I turned us into the slip pretty as could be. Barb handed William the bow and spring lines so he could slip them over the piling. I brought the boat to a stop about a foot from the dock and hopped off the stern taking the dock line with me. The wind today is from the south instead of the east, meaning it's on the beam once we turned into the slip. It wasn't too strong though, so once I got the windward stern line on we were good. I had left the other stern line hanging on the rail, so I was able to reach it from the dock and secure it too. Barb had meanwhile given William the other bow line which he made secure to the other piling. William climbed upon the dock to turn on our power and water, and we joked about how nobody is ever watching when the docking goes perfectly.
We have a tradition of always having a celebratory arrival beverage whenever we complete a passage. It doesn't matter how long the passage. However, we didn't plan well today. We have no beer aboard, and no ice. We'll have to make sure this doesn't happen again. It was approaching noon, so I got us plugged in and charging, while Barb prepared our laundry to go to Burton's. We don't have to have the laundry today, but if we get it right over there, it probably will be done today. I headed up to the office to check in. A nice thing about how long we have been here is that all our info is in the computer. So, I didn't need to bring boat papers, or fill out any forms. I just told Donna, the office manager, what slip we were in, and she checked us in. We were even still in the system that controls Internet access, so they didn't have to do that. When done at the office, I went across the street to the grocery store. I got a couple of fried chicken breasts for lunch, four cold beers, and a case of warm beer. When I got back to the boat, Barb was just finishing sorting the laundry and she headed to Burton's. When she got back we ate our chicken and had our arrival beverages.
We found, quite accidentally, that one of our long-standing problems resolved itself today. Most boat hot water heaters work two ways. They are electric, but that takes a lot of juice so you probably only use the electric part when at a dock. They also are plumbed so that the hot engine coolant runs through them and transfers heat to the potable water. Well, we have had an ongoing problem with that part not working. The water is not circulating through the water heater like it should. I have pretty much determined that the cause is probably an airlock in the line between the motor and the heater. Well apparently today we had the right movement for that bubble to make it's way out of the system, because we found we now have hot water! I love it when something actually fixes itself. This will make for a much happier Admiral when we have been away from the dock for a couple of days and it's shower time. (In reality, the "cold" water is about 80°, so it' not like it's frigid, but warm is better.)
We met Mike & Lynn for happy hour at WestPoint. Fred was glad to see us again. We were also joined by a couple from a boat named Ptarmigan. Jim & Cheryl have been around the world, including many years in Indonesia. They are originally from Colorado. Mike & Lynn had gotten to know them sometime since we had gone back to the States, but had not caught up with them this year yet. In the course of our conversation, somehow we learned that they knew our friends Tom & Pat on Lone Star. If I understood correctly, they had been the landlords of the building where Tom had his business. Another small world experience. When happy hour was over, the six of us went to Melini's for dinner. It was delicious as usual.
Speaking of the local restaurants, we found Peter's BBQ had a sign on the door that they were closed for a week. We know that this means Patricia's mother must have died. She had a stroke a couple months ago, so it wasn't unexpected.
GPS N 17-03.983 W 061-52.992 Nautical miles traveled today 12. Total miles 10161.
May 4
This morning, we have a full charge on the batteries, and the laundry did get picked up yesterday, so we are going to move out to a mooring. It's not only cheaper to be on the mooring, but the wind has died down to just a small breeze, and in the marina, with all the buildings, it's quite hot. Sylvester came and read our meters, and we called the office on the radio and told them we were going to take a mooring for a few days and that we would come pay up when we decide to leave. Sylvester helped undo our lines, and we motored out to the mooring field. We had spoken to Seabbatical on the radio and made sure there were several empty moorings, and there were five to chose from. We knew not to go to the one we had stopped at yesterday. I picked one based on the fact that it had float on the pennant, which would make it easier for Barb to pick up. We got it on the first try, as usual, and secured our lines to it. This one was not nearly as ugly as the other one. I did also secure a backup line to the ball just as a precaution.
There is a nice breeze out in the mooring field. The whole reason we are spending a few days here is that the weather is forecast to be quite odd for the next few days. A tropical wave is south of here which is accounting for the low winds now, but it is also going to make wind from odd directions as well as the chance of severe squalls. So, we will stay securely inside the protection of the Jolly Harbor complex until this sorts itself out. Most of the day, the wind stayed out of the south, which is fairly unusual. In the evening, the wind pretty much went away entirely, but we also watch a thunder storm build north of us. It put on quite a lightening show, but was far enough away that we didn't hear the thunder.
Mike & Lynn came over for dinner tonight. Barb made chicken enchiladas, which are always a hit. We decided we were celebrating Cinco de Mayo a day early.
GPS N 17-03.983 W 061-52.992 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10161.
May 5
This morning was my day to host the Coconut Telegraph. I was very interested to see how I heard people since this was the first time I was away from most sources of interference. In the marina here other boat's equipment and the dock power can cause interference. Down in Falmouth Harbor, even though we were away from the marinas, there are so many huge boats with so much electronic stuff, and generators running all the time, that the radio noise is considerable also. So, I was pleased to hear much better this morning. We had about a dozen boats check in, mostly the usual suspects, but we also had two old friends check in that we haven't heard from in a while. Dick & Jane on Cheetah II had returned to the States a year ago, and they are now headed south again. They checked in enroute between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. The second surprise was Chuck & Barb on Tussen Takk II. We haven't spoken to them since we left in 2009, and weren't sure where they were this year. This morning they were underway from Antigua to Guadeloupe, so we just missed them. I'm guessing they had not checked in to Antigua and had just anchored for the night. Sorry we didn't get to spend some time with them.
Barb was sitting in the cockpit reading, while I was below writing, when she suddenly called me above. There was a dolphin swimming around the mooring field. I don't recall ever seeing one inside the protected area like that. We watched it for a few minutes as it circled around the boats, and then we lost track of it.
The weather this morning continues to be odd. First thing this morning it was dead calm. Then a slight breeze did come up, but it was from due west. That's why we didn't want to be in one of the anchorages along the western coast with this weather. A west wind would have put us in jeopardy of going aground if an anchor didn't hold.
I'm experimenting with a new approach to battery management today. We can go three or four days on the batteries before our usage has outweighed the wind and solar input to the point where we need to run the engine to charge. But, doing it that way means I have to run the engine for four to six hours to make up the deficit. So, today I'm starting a new approach of running the engine about an hour each morning to make up the overnight deficit, and maybe never get so low. We'll see how that works.
The weather continued to be dreary all day. We had planned to go to happy hour with Mike & Lynn, but about 16:00 it finally actually started to rain. About 17:30, we spoke to Mike & Lynn on the radio and agreed happy hour was out. Of course just about the time we fixed drinks aboard, the rain stopped. Oh well. We stayed aboard and watched the pelicans having their evening feeding time nearby. The cycle of feeding is interesting. At dusk, pretty much anywhere we've been, small fish will feed at the surface of the water. This brings the pelicans crashing into the water in their dive bomb mode to eat the fish. Each pelican comes with a seagull who immediately lands on the pelicans head when it pops out of the water and tries to steal whatever the pelican caught, right out of it's mouth. This seems to rarely be successful, as the pelican usually has the catch in it's large pouch under it's bill. But the seagulls continue to harass them every time.
GPS N 17-03.983 W 061-52.992 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10161.
May 6
It rained lightly all day today. The day can be summed up as follows:
Rain - read - play on computer - repeat.
It did stop raining a little before 17:00, so we dinghied in for happy hour. Of course, once there the rain started again. The bar is outside, with old sails hung around the perimeter for cover. These old sails leak however, so even if the rain is coming straight down and not blowing on you from the side, you will be getting dripped on. We were sitting with Mike & Lynn and several other couples having a nice conversation. I was really surprised the place was pretty crowded, given the rain. It wasn't until I got up to leave about 19:30, that I realized just how wet I was. I had been aware of the water that had been dripping on my back, but what I didn't realize until I got up was that my butt was soaked. When we got back to the boat, those clothes came off in the cockpit and hung to dry.
GPS N 17-03.983 W 061-52.992 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10161.
May 7
It rained for the better part of the night and was still raining all morning. Cabin fever was starting to set in, so when the rain let up to just a light sprinkle about 11:00, I called Seabbatical and suggested we dinghy around to Castaway's for lunch. They were just as ready to get off the boat for awhile as we were. Castaway's is across the street from the end of one of the canals that run through the south side of the Jolly Harbor villa development. There are signs saying that no docking is allowed along the canal, as it is all private docks that go with the villas. There is a place for dive boats to pickup or drop off passengers right by Castaway's, but it clearly says no docking. We dinghied down the canal anyway, and when we got to the end, there is a guard shack controlling a gate on the street. We asked the security guard if it was ok to tie up and have lunch at Castaway's. She said to go ahead. Cool. The alternative is to dock at the marina and walk about half a mile to the beach, so this was welcome.
We stayed at Castaway's about two hours and enjoyed a nice lunch and a few beers. It remained overcast, and there was nobody on the beach except a few locals. Today is Labor Day in Antigua, so it is a holiday. A few local families were out despite the weather, but not many. We finally headed back to the boats about 14:00. As soon as we got back, the light sprinkle became a full fledged rain again. We had timed it perfectly.
The rest of the afternoon was spent as much of the morning had been. Rain - read - play on computer - repeat. In the past two days I did read a 450 page book. This was in addition to catching up on several magazines I had.
GPS N 17-03.983 W 061-52.992 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10161.
May 8
Guess what today brought? More rain. This weather is being caused by a tropical wave that formed several days ago and is just parked. I learned from one of our weather sources, that we are on the northern edge of the bad weather, and that to our south it has been much worse. Guadeloupe is the next island south of Antigua, and they are struggling with flooding and mudslides. So, I guess we shouldn't complain, as the rain here has mostly been fairly light.
The routine continues aboard the boat. Barb had to download more books to her Kindle, as she had read all she had. I have not been using my nook since we got here, but have charged it up and will start reading from it soon.
Tonight is pizza night, and the rain conveniently stopped late in the afternoon, so we were able to get in to Angie's nice and dry. We dinghied right to the dock at the restaurant. We were joined by Mike & Lynn, and two other couples. One couple was Jim & Cheryl from Ptarmigan. We met them recently and had one of those small world revelations when we learned they had known our friends Tom & Pat on Lone Start back when they all lived in Colorado. Well, the small world thing got even better for them. The fourth couple joining us for dinner, was Glenn & Elsa from Windara. Windara had been on the mooring next to us down in Falmouth Harbor for a week, but we had not met them there. Jim & Cheryl had though, when Elsa recognized Jim as a guy she dated in high school, over forty years ago. They had not had any contact since high school days, and now here they both are sailing around the Caribbean. I was impressed she recognized him. I went to my 40th high school reunion, and not many of us look enough like we did back then to recognize on the street.
GPS N 17-03.983 W 061-52.992 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10161.
May 9
Today almost qualified as a sunny day. It was still very hazy, and hot, and humid. There was barely any wind, but at least we were getting some solar charging done. My little experiment with running the engine a little each morning instead of a lot every three or four days, has been derailed because there has been no sun or wind for five days. So, we've had to run the engine to charge anyway.
We joined Mike & Lynn ashore at lunchtime and went to Peter's BBQ. They just reopened yesterday after being closed a week to deal with the death of the owners mom. After lunch, we walked over to Budget Marine, where Mike needed to pick something up. From there we came back to the marina office to pay our bill. We plan to leave the mooring tomorrow morning, so we settled up. We then swung by the grocery store for a few items. We took our time in the grocery store, as it has wonderful air conditioning.
We got back to the boat for a couple hours and then went back in for happy hour. We told Fred we were leaving in the morning, and he thought we meant for good and was bummed. We told him it would just be for a week or so and that we weren't leaving for good until June, which made him happy again.
GPS N 17-03.983 W 061-52.992 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10161.
May 10
We had planned to leave Jolly Harbor today and hit a couple of other anchorages north of here. However, we awoke to a heavy overcast and a forecast of squalls again today. So, we made the decision to stay at least another day and hope this crap clears up. Mid-morning, the overcast turned to rain again. I started a new book today and got more than halfway through it before the nook battery died. (If you are in the market for an e-reader, we have a nook and a Kindle, and the Kindle has a much better battery life.)
We went ashore for happy hour, as the rain had stopped. It was still overcast, but hadn't rained for several hours. It was Fred's day off, and there were two girls behind the bar. One we have seen once before, and she is ok. The other was yet another brand new girl in her first bartending job. Dionne, the Dutch girl who used to manage the bar was there. She is leaving Antigua in a couple days, and we may be leaving Jolly Harbor tomorrow, so we said goodbye to her. Back on the boat, Barb made jambalaya for dinner.
GPS N 17-03.983 W 061-52.992 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10161.