May 15
This morning, the sorting continued. We didn't tackle any whole rooms, but rather a few specific small items. One was a bag of electronic bits. We have used this bag over the years to collect cables and parts of various electronic devices. I went through the whole bag and threw out several pieces for things we don't own anymore. Probably more importantly I labeled all but three items so I'm not the only one who knows what they are. There were three unidentified power adapters that plug into a cigarette lighter. I kept them although I will probably never need them.
The next thing to sort was the large plastic bin that contains "papers". This would be a desk drawer in a house. I went through it all primarily thinking about what papers we should have with us in the States for the next year. There were plenty of things that should probably be thrown away too, but I didn't take that step yet.
My last sorting task was CD's. We have several large wallets full of music CD's that will be coming home to load on an iPod. But there also was a large stack of loose CD's, DVD's, and various software CD's that grows bigger all the time. I sorted out the music from the software and the DVD's. All the music will come home, all the DVD's will stay. The software got sorted and purged. A lot of the software CD's were obsolete and got trashed. Then I sorted the remaining software CD's with things I would need if I had to build a new computer in the States vs. what can stay on the boat. If I have to get a new computer while gone, I don't need the boat related software on it until I return to the boat.
One of the electronic bits I found during the bag sorting was a Sirius antenna. This is the magnetic puck that you would install on a car. The boat has a permanently mounted marine antenna that is supposed to amplify the signal since we are so far from the US. Even as far north as we are, we still don't get full time uninterrupted Sirius reception. Our friends Mike & Lynn on Seabbatical got much better reception using a little portable antenna that is designed for home use. Because of this I thought maybe my antenna was going bad, or the cable was corroding. So, I opened up the nav station, disconnected the marine antenna and plugged in the puck. I set it outside on top of the bimini where it would have a clear view of the sky, but I got nothing. So, I guess the antenna is not the problem, and it's just a matter of we're still too far away.
Barb made us lunch aboard. We had grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches, and tomato soup that was doctored up with some left over pizza sauce. We are in full "get rid of all the food" mode.
Mid-afternoon our friends on Jenna left for the UK. They had been tinkering around getting ready all morning. We joked about how different planning a passage like that is compared to anything we have done. We always carefully plan our departure time so that we either arrive at the next port before dark or after dawn if it has been an overnight trip. When the trip takes two to three weeks, it doesn't much matter what time of day you leave. You just go when you're ready. We wish them the best, especially since the other couple traveling with them has never sailed before.
We went in to the marina area in the afternoon. primarily to access the internet and upload the website update. While I was doing that, Barb ran around and found out some details on things we have to do before we leave. One was that we are going to rent a condo for a few days so we can move our stuff to go home off the boat, then store the sails and things below without having to jump over them. Also, we haul out two days before we fly home, so we won't have to stay aboard while on the hard. There was a rental office right by where I was using the internet, so she went and inquired. Since it is off season, there is lots of availability. The condos in the area are privately owned and about twenty years old. As a result, some are a bit long in the tooth, while some have been renovated. Barb told the guy we heard that some are dumps, so he offered to show us the one he would give us. He drove us there on a golf cart and the unit was fine. It was a studio unit, like a big hotel room with a kitchenette. Much better than the last place we rented in Grenada. We also checked on car rental rates, and taxi rates to the airport. We had thought we would rent a car, but the taxi is only $24US, so we may just rent a golf cart for the days we are in the condo and cab it to the airport.
We went to the Foredeck for happy hour. We took the stuff we had asked Angie about and gave it them. They were especially happy to get five pounds of cat food. There was a good crowd at the bar, both locals and cruisers. We visited with Willy from Lady Sarah, and Jan & Terri from Kiva. We have met Jan & Terri before, but never really had a chance to sit and visit with them. They are from Texas also, so we have a number of friends in common. They will be going back to the States for a couple of months this summer. Jan grew up not too far from where I did in Hastings on Hudson, NY, and one of the things he wants to show Terri is the resort at Mohonk in New Paltz, NY. We are very familiar with Mohonk, so we agreed to keep in touch over the summer, and unless we have gotten jobs, maybe we can get together there.
We went back to the boat and Barb made jambalaya for dinner. On Friday's Angie does burgers and hot dogs on the grill, and it was tempting to just eat there, but we are trying to use everything on the boat, so we were good and went home. On the subject of cooking on the boat, I think I neglected to mention something a couple of months ago. After owning the boat for eleven years, we learned that the oven has a broiler in it. This was thanks to Lynn on Seabbatical. We were on Seabbatical for dinner once and Barb commented that it would be nice if we had a broiler. She pointed out that we probably did, and sure enough when we checked, the place was there to slide the shelf below the flame instead of above it. Who knew?
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 16
I hosted the Coconut Telegraph this morning. It was nice to be out of Simpson Bay Lagoon where there was so much radio interference. I heard almost everybody myself without having to rely on other people relaying the calls to me.
This morning we tackled the next big part of the cleaning/sorting job. The forward head is used for storage also. The hatch overhead had dribbled just as the one in the v-berth had. So everything had to come out, be wiped off, and sorted for keep, take home, or throw away. The job got a little messier than the v-berth was, because we store all the cleaning supplies, engine oil, etc here. We found a puddle of standing water on the floor, which was from the hatch, but the water was oily too. There had been a case of gallon jugs of engine oil on the floor, and it was soggy. It was also starting to collapse because there were only three gallons left in it. When I got everything else out that was stacked on top of the case, I removed the three jugs and found the bottoms were wet and oily. I looked but didn't see any evidence of leakage. I wiped them off and got the remains of the cardboard box out on deck without making a mess. We went through all the cleaning stuff and threw out anything in aerosol. We have learned that aerosol cans will rust and then spring pin-hole leaks and loose their propellant. So, any we have left are going in the trash. We got everything out of the room, Barb wiped everything down with the bleach solution and then I repacked the room. We tossed a full garbage bag of stuff and a couple other miscellaneous items. That makes four days, four bags of garbage. We should be seeing the waterline rise.
We finished the cleaning before noon, so we went ashore to Peter's Barbeque for lunch and had cheeseburgers. I never thought I'd say this, but one of the nice things about Peter's burgers is that they are not huge. So they make a perfect lunch size without being stuffed.
We spent the afternoon aboard the boat. Britt from Sea Otter stopped by. They had been down in Falmouth Harbor but moved to Jolly Harbor today. Our neighbors, Kiva, left and went around to the east side of the island where there is a nice bay behind a reef called Green Island.
I spent a little while this afternoon writing a little story about "stuff" that I am going to send to Latitudes and Attitudes magazine. We all have too much stuff, even those of us living in little spaces like a boat. If they don't publish it, I'll post it here.
Barb whipped up another tuna casserole for dinner. Yes, we had that last week too, but we are on a mission to get rid of what we have on the boat.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 17
Britt & Terri on Sea Otter invited us to breakfast this morning. They are anchored out in the outer harbor, so we dinghied out there after the morning nets. Britt made us omelets and had a homemade coffee cake. It was quite good, and we stayed and visited until almost noon.
When we got back to the boat, Barb cleaned half of the main saloon while I went to the marina area to use the internet. I uploaded our last web update and briefly caught up with the news of the world. Today has been an off and on rainy day again. We managed to avoid the showers when we came and went to Sea Otter this morning, but one caught me just as I returned to the boat this afternoon. Good thing I have a waterproof case for the computer.
For dinner, Barb overhauled the left over casserole by adding some more stuff to it. It was like a whole different dish when she was done.
I wanted to mention how impressed I am with security here at Jolly Harbor. I know some boaters have given Antigua a pass because they felt there were security issues. Last year a mega yacht captain was murdered down near Falmouth Harbor when he fought back when a guy demanded his wife's purse. There was a feeling, especially in that area, that the police were never around and the bad guys knew it. That bad guy was caught, and the police have stepped up their presence in that area in response to that event and the outcry after it. Here at Jolly Harbor, everything we can see from the boat is inside the gated community that has been built here over the past twenty years. For anybody to be on land around the marina, or condos, or the shopping center, they have to have come past at least one security guard shack. And, those security guard shacks actually have security guards in them. On the water, there is a security patrol boat that comes out every evening before dusk and does a thorough patrol of the area where the moorings are and the water areas by the condos where condo owners dock their boats. The water patrol is out all night, and he goes so slow and has such quiet motors, that he doesn't wake you if you are sleeping, but I have seen them going by in the middle of the night when I was awake. So, I think the whole area is quite secure. Bad guys don't usually go where they have to work too hard at not being caught. I hope I'm not proven wrong sometime.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 18
We decided to go for a trip to town with Britt & Terri this morning. They have to pick up a package at the post office, and some other errands, and we are going to tag along just to get out for a day. We caught a bus just outside the marina compound about 08:30. The bus took us to the main bus station in St. Johns. From there we walked to the post office, where Britt got his package, and Terri met a lady who was buying some of her watercolors. On the way to the post office, we passed a good sized dead rat in the gutter. He was in front of an eating establishment. If I were the proprietor of that place, I think I would have disposed of the rat. It's not usually conducive for a business to have a dead rat in front of your restaurant.
While we waited at the post office, we observed an amusing scene. There is one cruise ship at the dock, but they apparently haven't turned the hordes of pasty white tourists loose yet, because every taxi driver in town was parked near the dock waiting to grab some tourists and take them on a tour. One side of the street where we were standing is marked as taxi parking only. At the corner though is a striped area where they are not supposed to park so that they don't impede the ability of other vehicles to make the corner. One taxi was parked on this striped area. A short stocky female police officer started yelling to nobody in particular "Who owns this taxi". After considerable yelling, a man came from the crowd of taxi driver across the street and admitted it was his. The police officer demanded he move it, which meant he would not have a primo spot when he grabs his tourists. People in the Caribbean yell frequently. Sometimes it's hard to tell if the yelling is angry or just yelling. There is usually considerable gesturing going along with the yelling. Unlike in the States, it's perfectly alright for this yelling and gesturing to be directed at a police officer. Odds are, they will either yell back at you, or stand silently ignoring your yelling until you do what they told you to do. In this case, the police lady was yelling back. With no break in the verbal volleying, the taxi driver moved his cab to the back end of the line. As he came walking down the block, he was still yelling. The police lady was across the street from him, and she kept yelling back, although neither was really acknowledging the other. It was like the whole scene was for the benefit of everybody who was watching with amusement.
When Britt and Terri were done, we walked back to the bus station to catch the bus to Wood's Center. Wood's Center is on the northern outskirts of St. John's. It is a strip mall which has an Epicurean grocery store as it's main attraction. The Epicurean is the same store that we have in Jolly Harbor, which I think is wonderful, but this one is even larger. We are not in grocery buying mode, since we are trying to get rid of everything, and it was hard to not pick things up to purchase just because we could. Terri was getting stuff that she said they didn't have at the Jolly Harbor store. The other stores here included a Radio Shack, a food court, several businesses like cell phone stores and insurance agencies, and a store that, according to their window signage, had every thing from hardware to underwear.
We took the bus back to the main bus station, made a quick detour in the produce market for a couple of things, and then got the bus back to Jolly Harbor. Britt & Terri headed for their dinghy, while Barb and I ducked in the Epicurean to get a couple of their fried chicken breasts for lunch. As we were walking back to our dinghy, it started to rain. So we ducked into Melini's restaurant and sat at the bar and had a beer while we waited. This rain shower was hard and long and quite a few people were taking shelter under their porch waiting for it to stop. When it finally slowed to just a sprinkle, we made a run for it. It was good that we went when we did, because another heavier shower came after we were back on the boat.
After eating our chicken, we attacked the other side of the main saloon. This side has mostly my stuff on it, so I moved everything and sorted through it while Barb took care of the actual cleaning and wiping everything down with the bleach solution to get rid of and prevent mildew.
For dinner we had sausage sandwiched with grilled onions and peppers. After dark, we could tell that it seemed to finally be clearing to the east. We could actually see stars in the sky for the first time in a couple of days.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 19
We had no rain overnight, and actually awoke to a sunny blue sky. This is what the Caribbean is supposed to be like. After the nets I went to run a few errands. I dropped one of our propane tanks off to get it filled. The deal here is that you leave it at the fuel dock and the guy who drives the Travelift in the yard takes them and gets them filled overnight. It's not really a service offered by the marina, just a little side line the guy has going. Then I went to Budget marine to pick up a couple of things we need for prepping the boat. One was a biocide that you add to the fuel tank so algae doesn't grow in it. Who would think that algae would grow in diesel fuel, but it does. Hopefully by doing this, we won't have a similar problem when we re-launch that we had after sitting in Grenada for a year.
While in the marina area, I also went to the Condo leasing place and made a firm reservation for the days we will be staying in a condo. I got there just at the right time, because although the sign on the door says they open at 09:00, the girl I needed to see was just getting there at about 09:45. I also went by the grocery store and picked up a couple of things.
As I left the dinghy dock, I saw our friends Paul & Janie on Shian, backing their boat into the haulout slip. I stopped and waited for them to be tied up and then waved to them. I asked if they were leaving today, and they are not. They have a plan just like ours and have a condo rented for a few days. We'll get together later at happy hour.
One of the food things we had left on the boat was a bag of Pepperidge Farms stuffing. This is the basis for the stuffing I make every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I brought two bags of this back from the States a year ago March when I was there, but then we didn't make stuffing at Thanksgiving because we were busy fixing the engine and didn't have time to make it. So, we have a bag leftover. No need for it to be a holiday to have stuffing though, so I made it this morning. It was done a little after noon, so a big serving of stuffing each was our lunch. We have plenty left over to go with a couple of dinners over the next few days.
My two boat projects today are to add the appropriate amount of biocide to the fuel tank, and reseal a vent in the v-berth. I had removed the v-berth vent years ago and put a cap over the hole, which was sealed with Marine Goop. The Marine Goop has since dried out and wasn't sealing well. I took the cap out, scraped off the old sealant and resealed it, this time with 4200. Unfortunately, I can't get the UV resistant blend of 4200 in the islands (duh) so this will have to be done again someday, but this should last while we are gone.
We went to happy hour at the Foredeck. As we were sitting there, we recognized a couple on the other side of the bar. I say recognized, but we really only remembered that we had met them before, but couldn't remember where. As they started to leave, I could tell they were looking at us with the same feeling. They stopped and asked if they had met us before, and I suggested "Grenada perhaps?" That was it. Their names were Dick and Mary, and they are on Alacazam. When they mentioned their boat name I remembered meeting them. We actually met them twice at the marina, but at the time, their boat was stored on the hard. They had taken a season off, but had come to Grenada from England twice to check on the boat. Now they are cruising again and will be hauling here a couple weeks after us.
One of the things on our list of things to do once we are in the marina is to run the gas out of the dinghy motor. You do this just as you would if you were putting your lawn mower away for the winter. Unfortunately, this task moved up on the list by itself as we ran out of gas on the way back to the boat. We were only a few hundred feet from the boat, and I tried to shake the tank around and get a little more to pick up and get us there, but it wouldn't. So, I broke out the oars and rowed us the rest of the way back. Of course we had not brought our light, so we were in the dark, and we were almost run over by two other unlit dinghies on their way out to the anchorage. One of them did notice us as they passed, and turned around to ask if we needed a tow. We thanked them and declined as by then we were almost to the boat.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 20
We planned to go from our mooring into the marina tomorrow. Since we are out of gas for the dinghy, we are stuck aboard today unless I want to row in to the fuel dock. We started doing some more cleaning and by mid-morning we ran out of water. We knew we were cutting it close, but had hoped to make one more day. So, our decision was made easy and we moved to the marina.
We need to stop at the fuel dock before going in the marina. I added biocide to the fuel tank the other day, but we want it topped off before we store the boat. That keeps any condensation from forming. We dropped the mooring and went to the fuel dock where we got twenty-five gallons of diesel. We also picked up our propane tank that we dropped off yesterday. Once we were done, I called the marina dockmaster on the VHF to request a slip. The marina is maybe thirty percent occupied, so there are lots of spaces available. I told the dockmaster I wanted one of the few slips that have side-tie finger piers. The one I had in mind is owned by a boat that is only gone temporarily, but the other side of it is open. As we left the fuel dock, Barb moved the fenders and lines to the other side of the boat. I want to be backed in to the slip so that when we are ready to remove the wind generator we can back the davits over the dock and reach it. With the dockmaster and Willy from Lady Sarah standing on the dock waiting to take our lines, I came in the fairway, turned away from the dock as I shifted into reverse, and with just the right amount of throttle, slipped the stern past an outer piling and backed straight in the slip the first time pretty as could be. MoonSail backs up well, but I have to say even I was impressed with this maneuver.
We got the electricity and water hooked up and started filling the water tanks. For storage, we are going to add a lot of bleach to the tanks so they don't grow anything while we're gone. So, I added a cup of bleach to two of the tanks now and filled them. We won't use those tanks anymore while we are at the dock. The third tank was filled without the extra chlorine.
Now that we have power and water, there was no excuse not to work, so the cleaning continued. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our aft air conditioner works. A week before we left Grenada, last November, both air conditioners quit working. We previously had a lot of problems with the large unit that cools the main saloon and forward v-berth. The guy who fixed it several times told me that next time it quit, I should replace it. The rear unit, which had not been a big problem, quit the same day, and I never looked into what was wrong. So, when we spent three weeks in the marina in St. Lucia, we didn't even try to use the rear unit. For whatever reason, while here, we thought we'd see if it works. I opened the seacock, turned the unit on, burped the air out of the line, and it was cooling. Since it cools the cabin we sleep in, it was wonderful. It also made Barb happy that she could clean the aft cabin in comfort.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 21
This morning, Barb started cleaning the aft cabin. It is the last part of the inside to be sorted and cleaned. While she worked on that, I started taking things off the deck. The five five-gallon jerry jugs we use for fuel are empty and will be stored below. I untied them from where they ride on deck and moved them to the shower side of the aft head. Since we are at the marina, we will use the marina showers and start storing stuff in ours. I also emptied a deck locker at the aft of the boat. This locker is where we store our backup anchor rode and some extra dock lines, but it is not water tight, so the lines in there were wet. I don't want them staying wet and rotting while we are gone, so they all came out. I laid all the lines and the anchor rode out on the dock to dry before taking them below. After they had been out in the sun for a couple of hours, I re-rolled them and put them below.
This evening, we had Willy from Lady Sarah over for dinner. Barb made chicken enchiladas and a rice/corn combo. We shared stories with Willy for a few hours until he excused himself to go home. He is leaving first thing in the morning, so he wants to get to bed early. Barb and I stayed up late enjoying the cable TV that comes with the marina.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 22
Lady Sarah was hoping to leave the dock about 08:00 this morning. He was up and ready to go, but the dockmaster was nowhere to be found. He needs to read the meters so the office can do the billing. At 08:30, the dockmaster was still MIA, so the office manager came down and read the meters herself. Willy came back to the boat after settling up, but still needs the dockmaster to get out of the slip. He has two lines to outer pilings that the dockmaster will untie from his dinghy. Finally, about 09:15, the dockmaster came and untied the lines. Willy needs to get fuel before heading south, so Barb and I "crewed" with him to the fuel dock. Of course, by the time the dockmaster had set him free, another boat had come to the fuel dock. Willy took Lady Sarah to the side of the fuel dock, which is usually where smaller power boats go, but since he had all the extra hands, it was no big deal. We tied him up, waited while he got fuel, and then helped cast him off. He's on his way to Guadeloupe and points south.
While we were at the fuel dock, we stopped to speak to Stephen the yard manager. I wanted to reconfirm our haulout appointment, and it's a good thing I did. Although Stephen had written us in his planner book two months ago when we were here, we weren't on the new whiteboard he had on his wall. It wasn't a problem though, as he moved the schedule back for two other boats, and put us down for first thing in the morning on the 28th.
We walked back to the boat and got to work on today's tasks. There was very little wind, so we took the sails down. One of the reasons we wanted to be on a side-tie dock was so we could easily fold the sails once they were off the boat. We dropped the foresail first, as it is the easier of the two. Once it was down on the deck and detached from the forestay, we pulled the bottom edge over the lifeline and onto the dock. We did the best folding job we ever had, since we want the final package to be as compact as possible. Once the foresail was in it's bag and stowed below, we took on the mainsail. The main is a little harder to take off. It is an in-mast furling sail, which means it rolls up inside the mast when not in use. First I had to remove the four small access panels on the sides of the mast so I could get to the attachments. Then we unfurled the sail. Once the sail was unfurled, I undid the shackle that connects the bottom of the sail to the furler. Then, Barb released the halyard, and I pulled the sail down and out of the furler track. As I pulled it down, we tried to pile it on the edge of the deck similar to how we did the foresail. The difference was that the aft end of the sail was still attached to the boom. When the sail was all the way down, I detached the top of it from the furler. Then I untied the outhaul which is the line that holds the aft end of the sail to the boom. We repeated our excellent folding exercise and stowed the main below.
We went to Peter's BBQ for lunch. The special today was a grilled knackwurst and potato salad. It was excellent as usual.
The next task to be done was to move all the control lines from the cockpit to the base of the mast. On some sailboats, you have to go up to the mast to handle some of the lines. On MoonSail, all the lines come from the base of the mast, under a fiberglass cover to the cockpit. All the lines will go with the mast, so they need to come out from under the cover. In order to re-install them someday, I tied string to each one before pulling them out, so the strings will remain under the cover.
With all the work we accomplished today, we retired to the Foredeck for happy hour. Since we had a big lunch, we weren't very hungry for dinner, so the snacks at the Foredeck became dinner.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 23
We had another busy morning today. After hosting the Coconut Telegraph, we went right to work. The first thing we did was remove the wind generator. To do this, we slacked the dock lines so the boat came back and the davits/arch was hanging over the dock. I was then able to disconnect the wires at the base of the pole that holds the generator. As soon as I did this, the generator started spinning in the breeze. I forgot that the brake on the generator is electric, so once the wires were disconnected, the brake was off. I reconnected the wires, which stopped the blades. Then, I climbed up on the arch to take the blades off. I couldn't get the hub to unscrew, so instead I unbolted the blades from the hub and handed the bolts and blades down to Barb without dropping any. We did however manage to drop a half inch socket in the water. That's only the third tool I've lost in the water in eleven years, so I guess I can't complain. Once the blades were off, Barb disconnected the wires. Then I lifted the generator off the pole and pulled the wires through. The wires put up a fight because with the connectors on the ends, they wouldn't fit through the hole, so we ended up having to cut the connectors off, but I got it off and passed it down to Barb.
Next I removed the barbeque grill, and then the solar panels. The solar panels are a two person job because to open the junction boxes and disconnect the wires the panels have to be taken off the mounts. So, while Barb held the panels after we undid the mounts, I undid the wires. We found that one of the junction boxes seemed to have gotten water in it sometime, but a quick test of the panel shows it is still working.
For lunch I went over to the grocery store and got three fried chicken breasts and a six pack. Now there's a lunch.
We are actually running out of things to do on the boat. We have a to-do list that was broken into four sections. There were things we could do before we were in the marina, things we could do once we were in the marina and still on the boat, things that have to wait until we are in the condo, and things that have to wait until we are on the hard. We are pretty much to the point where we can't do more until we move into the condo, and we have several more days before that. So, we took the afternoon off. We have cable TV here, so we watched two movies during the afternoon. For dinner, Barb made pork chops and warmed up some of our leftover stuffing.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 24
This morning was the last day I will host the Coconut Telegraph. I have been one of the net controllers for over two years now, and during the first hurricane season I hosted it everyday since there weren't many people on their boats. This year I am very happy to be leaving the net in very capable hands. There are six active net controllers now, and three of them will be staying aboard their boats most of the hurricane season, so I'm not worried about the future of the net.
We accomplished two tasks today. One was raising the dinghy onto the dock to clean it. In order to this we first took everything out of the dinghy. We carry a lot of crap in the dinghy. There is the seat, two anchors, the gas can, the battery, the extension handle, the hand pump for emptying rain water, the light, and a cushion. I got in the dinghy and tossed all the stuff up on the dock where Barb started washing and stowing below. I then attached one of our halyards to the line we usually use to tie the dinghy to the boat. I brought the end of the halyard to the windlass, which is usually used to raise the anchor. Except, we can't use our windlass for raising the anchor because it's mounted in a bad location. But it worked fine for raising the dinghy out of the water and onto the dock.
The other thing accomplished was that Barb started packing the clothes that we will take home. We already sent a large bag home with my brother when he came for the cat. And we plan to check three more large bags and carry on three counting the computers. Barb started with my clothes. We picked out about twenty t-shirts, ten polo shirts, and six or seven Hawaiian shirts. The interesting thing about this is that Barb counted over a hundred t-shirts remaining on the boat. The more amazing part of this is that I have only purchased two souvenir t-shirts in the four years we have been cruising. Barb folded and stacked them all and put them in one of those vacuum bags. I now have a t-shirt brick which stored nicely.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 25
This morning we sent a few loads of laundry to be done. There is only one laundry service in the Jolly Harbor area, and they aren't very convenient for boaters. We walked all the way from the marina around past most of the boatyard to the building that houses Budget Marine and several other businesses. Here we found the laundry. We had heard some other cruisers comment that their prices were high, but we found them to be around the same as most places we have been. Which means, yes, the price is high, but no higher than most. Finding the best or cheapest laundry in any port is one of those tasks that cruisers all talk about.
We found this morning that our friends Morgan & Kate on Winergie had returned to their boat late last night. We had seen Winergie at the dock two months ago when we passed through, but they had obviously gone home. When we returned a few weeks ago, the boat was still here and they still weren't. We learned from mutual friends that Morgan's mother had suffered a heart attack and that's why they had gone back to Texas. His Mom has made a recovery, and now they are back. Unfortunately, they have a haulout date in Grenada for the hurricane season in just two weeks, at which point they will return to the States for the summer. We joined them and Jan & Teri from Kiva for lunch at Melini's. We haven't seen Morgan & Kate since they left Grenada long before we did.
After lunch, I picked up the laundry. Barb then continued to sort and pack what is coming home with us. The day was concluded by happy hour at the Foredeck.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 26
We become land lubbers today. We have just about everything done on the boat that we can do while we are still living on it. The final task I did this morning was to clean the dinghy bottom. We had hoisted it on the dock a couple days ago, but the bottom is brown and has crud on it from being in the water so long. We have watched several friends clean their dinghies over the past few weeks, as people prepare to store their boats. The common method of cleaning a dinghy bottom is to use bleach and a lot of elbow grease. Being one to look for the most efficient way to do a job (read lazy), I used a product called On Off instead of bleach. On Off is about the nastiest stuff you can buy without a hazmat license. I'm not sure what type of acid is in it, but the stuff works wonders. The label contains all sorts of warnings about not getting it on your skin, and about properly disposing of the runoff from cleaning. Yeah right. I used a paint brush to apply the straight On Off to a portion of the dinghy bottom, being careful not to splatter any on me. I know from experience that if you do get it on you, it burns a little but you just rinse off quickly and there is no harm. After letting the On Off soak in for less than minute, I took my scrubby pad thing and wiped the dissolved crud off. There was a minimum of elbow grease involved. My kind of stuff. In the course of about fifteen minutes the dinghy bottom was clean. The white fiberglass bottom was pretty much spotless, while the hypalon tubes retained a bit of a stain, but that's ok.
Late in the morning, we moved. Barb went to get the keys for our condo, while I went to rent a golf cart. With keys in hand, and wheels, we started moving stuff from the boat to the condo. Our first trip took the two large rolling duffel bags. When we got to the condo, the cleaning lady had just finished cleaning it. We turned on the a/c, made sure everything seemed to be in working order, and unloaded the bags. We went back to the marina for a second load, which included our third roll behind and two carry on bags.
Once we had everything in the condo, we looked at the clock on the wall and it was 11:30. We decided to go have lunch at Melini's Italian restaurant. When we got there, the waitress told us they didn't start serving food for another fifteen minutes, at 12:00. No problem, we just ordered beers and relaxed. We placed our orders, and a little after noon, our food arrived. I had a nice lasagna and Barb had a small pizza. After lunch, we decided that we had plenty of time left to work, so why not take the afternoon off? We went back to the condo to relax and watch TV. When we got there we saw the clock on the wall still said 11:30. I guess we just happened to look at it when it was about right before. We spent the afternoon relaxing and watched a couple movies on TV.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 27
This morning Barb made us breakfast in the condo. We had brought over the food we were keeping for the next few days, and that included eggs and sausage. After breakfast we went to the boat to get busy. We attacked the part of the list that was reserved for after we were off the boat. Barb started cleaning out remaining food. We found we had three categories of food disposal. Barb had gone through all our stores more than a week ago and made a list of everything we had. She shared that list with Teri from Sea Otter last week, and offered her anything she could use. That took care of about 80% of the stuff. We were glad to get rid of so much knowing it would be used. The next category of stuff was unopened things that Teri didn't want. These things were bagged up and taken to the marina office. I don't know if they take the stuff home themselves or donate it to a local charity, but they are happy to get rid of it for you. They also got a bag of clothing we were not going to use. The last category of food stuffs was all the open things from the fridge and cabinets. All this just got thrown out.
We have several other useful things to get rid of. Packed way in back in a locker that had clothes we never wear, we found an old laptop. This was the one I used prior to the fall of 2007. I replaced it before we left the States because it's battery was not holding a charge, and it was about two years old, meaning it was slow buy then current standards. We kept it as a backup though. Since then we have replaced Barb's laptop in March 2008, and then replaced mine in October 2008. Barb's old one was dead and was disposed of. My "old" one has stripes in the screen but still works, so it became the backup. We forgot all about the one that was packed away until Barb found it while cleaning and sorting. I booted it up and it still works fine, so I cleaned all the data off of it and asked Festus, the marina manager, if he knew anybody who could use it or if he knew how to donate it to a school. He was more than happy to take it and said he would find it a good home.
An other item we wanted to donate to somebody was Barb's old sewing machine. It has come in handy a couple of times along the way, but last time Barb tried to use it, it had developed a problem. It ran, in the electrical sense, but the needle would not pick up the thread from under the foot. Barb kind of wanted to get rid of it anyway, since it is bulky and we rarely need it, so I never made any attempt to see if I could fix it. We asked the laundry lady if she would like it or if she knew of anybody who perhaps could fix it. She said to bring it by, so I dropped it off with her.
The last two useful items to dispose of were a spotlight and a radio. When I bought the boat, I bought a million candlepower spotlight. It plugs into a cigarette lighter type of plug. The only plug like that on the boat is below at the nav station. That meant to use the spotlight, you were limited to standing in the companionway at the limits of the cord. We have since replaced this light with a cordless rechargeable one. We also found that we have only needed the light once in four years, so we don't need two. The radio is the original stereo I installed in the boat when I bought it. I replaced it before we left with one that gets Sirius satellite radio. I kept the old one thinking someday I'd find somebody to buy it, but you know how that goes. I gave both of these items to William the dockmaster. I don't know if he will use them, sell them, or give them away, but they are off the boat and hopefully will get used by somebody who needs them.
When we had arrived at the boat this morning, we found a note on the companionway that said to call our friends Chuck & Micki from Coram Deo. We don't have a local phone, so we figured we'd try them on the VHF. However, when William the dockmaster knew we were aboard, he came down and called them for us. Chuck & Micki have stayed here many times, and all the staff know them. We arranged to have lunch later today here at the marina.
Barb tackled one of the fun jobs of boating, and that was treating the head in preparation for storage. First, she flushed fresh water through the head. Then she added a bunch of muriatic acid and fresh water. This was allowed to sit in the hose for awhile, in hopes that it would dissolve any calcification in the hose. This step should only be attempted when the room is well ventilated, as the acid puts of some nasty fumes. After the muriatic acid was flushed through, then a mixture of vinegar and fresh water was added and flushed enough to fill the hose where there is always water. It's not really that bad a job. Certainly not as bad as replacing the hose if it's allowed to clog. Been there.
The last big task to do before we can haulout is to remove the cockpit enclosure. Since we had all the zipper heads replaced two years ago with plastic ones, the removal was not a problem. We cleaned the plastic parts before removing them, and laid them all on the bed as they were removed. Removal of the enclosure really changes the look of the boat. The other task Barb did was to try and clean the upholstery on my seat. We had the interior reupholstered with ultra-suede before leaving Texas. Since we are living in a hot environment, usually without air conditioning, sweat is a regular thing. For that reason, we always have towels on the seats we routinely sit in. Even with this precaution though, some spots are in need of a good cleaning.
By noon, we were done with the work for the day, and we met Chuck & Micki for lunch. We ate at Peter's BBQ and got caught up with them. We last saw Chuck & Micki in Grenada, but have stayed in touch via e-mail. They will also be hauling out here this year to spend their summer in the States.
By the time we were done chatting after lunch it was past 15:00. We had arranged with Stephen the yard manager, to bring the boat over by the haulout slip this afternoon so it's there first thing in the morning. We looked across the water to the yard and saw that there was a boat in the spot where we were supposed to tie up. We hopped on the golf cart and drove around to the yard to see Stephen. He wasn't aware the other boat was there, and went over to talk to them. I'm not sure why they were there, but they agreed to move back on the wall and make room for us right by the haulout slip. We went back to the marina and fired up the boat. Since we are on the side-tie slip, we are not tied to outer pilings, and don't need help to leave the dock. We untied and motored over to the seawall by the haulout slip. There was nobody there to take our lines, but Barb had a bow and stern line ready to step off as I brought the boat alongside. She took the bow, and as soon as I stopped the boat, I hopped off with the stern line. We closed up and walked back to the marina, where we stopped for a few drinks at the Foredeck before returning to the condo for the night.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 28
We were up at 06:00 and to the yard before 07:00. We waited aboard the boat for the workers to move us into the haulout slip. About 07:15, Ashley and Kerry from A & A Rigging arrived to take the mast down. They came aboard and got right to work undoing things. The yard guys said they were ready to put us in the slip, so I fired the boat up, untied from the dock, and made a big circle around and into the haulout slip. The riggers worked for over an hour getting everything undone and finally the crane lifted the mast off the deck. I helped a little by pulling the wire bundle up through the deck and by handling the lines to keep the mast from spinning around once it was free of everything. Once everything was free, and Ashley secured the lines and shrouds to the mast, the crane slowly moved back from the boat. With Ashley holding the mast, and Kerry and I handling the lines, we moved to an area where the mast would be laid down on stands. The crane slowly lowered the mast as we all guided it into place on three stands. This is not it's final resting place. Once the mast was down, Ashley tied all the lines, wires, and shrouds together and secured it all for storage. The yard will move the mast to a rack back in the secure storage yard some time later.
Next came hauling the boat. This was easy compared to the mast. The Travelift moved back to the slip and slipped the slings under the boat. They lifted her out and pressure washed the bottom before moving her. The bottom was not in bad shape considering it's been two years on this bottom job. I told the pressure wash guy to hit it as hard as he could because the more paint he could take off now, the less would have to be sanded off later. Once the wash was done, they dropped the boat onto a hydraulic trailer. They can park boats in much tighter places and closer together when they use the trailer rather than the Travelift. I didn't entirely understand the logic why, but they are not putting the boat in it's final parking place today. They will move it Tuesday to where it will spend the season.
As soon as the boat was on the stands and the trailer removed, we went aboard to do the final few things that had to wait until we were out of the water. We were going to manually dry out the bilge before leaving, but that got made easy for us. When they put the stands under the boat, they made sure it was a little high on the bow so that any rain drains properly out of the cockpit. This also made the water in the bilge run to the back where I was able to pump most of it out with the bilge pump instead of doing it with a sponge. We put tin foil over the inside of all the ports in an effort to reduce heat inside. All the electrical things were shut off or disconnected. All the through-hulls were closed so that critters don't decide that up those nice little dark holes would be good places to build nests. The remaining things on deck, like the fenders and dock lines were put below. The dinghy which was on the foredeck was strapped down. We had not strapped it earlier in case it was in the way for the riggers, which it wasn't. With a final once over to see if we forgot anything, we locked her up and climbed down. It's hard to imagine that we won't be aboard for over a year.
We headed back to the condo, with a stop at the grocery store where we got a couple of sub sandwiches for lunch. After we ate, we were going to download all the pictures Barb took this morning. We looked in the bags we brought for the cable to connect the camera to the computer and couldn't find it. Could we have already discovered the first thing we forgot? I hopped on the golf cart and drove over to the yard. Thankfully, the ladder to get aboard was still there, and I climbed in. The cable was right where we always kept it. I made one more look around to see if I could spot anything else that we had forgotten, but didn't see anything. I locked her back up and went back to the condo. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the condo. I got caught up on writing the logs (I hadn't written in ten days, making remembering what we did a challenge). While we were sitting looking out the glass doors to the patio, a mongoose (we think) ran across the patio. I jumped up and went to try and get a better look at it, but it was gone too fast. Barb made us dinner and we watched TV. We aren't fully in land lubber mode yet, because we didn't even make through the second hour of prime-time TV before we crashed. I'm sure that will change over time.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 29
This morning we had a leisurely start. We have nothing left to do on the boat except pay the bill. We had a small breakfast of bagels and cream cheese in the condo while watching the Today Show. About 09:00, I went to the marina office to settle our bill. They didn't have the bill ready yet, so I just made sure they knew the exact number of days on the mooring, days in the marina, and services provided by the yard. Donna the office manager asked if I could come back in an hour and it would be ready.
While I was out, I went to the yard to take a look at the mast before they move it to the storage rack. I wanted to make sure I knew the appropriate wires sizes for everything in the mast, since we will be replacing all that wiring when we put it all back together. While I was there Stephen, the yard manager, came over to ask me if the mast was ready to be moved back to the storage yard rack. I told him it was. While we were chatting, it suddenly started raining quite hard. We stood underneath a boat to stay dry until the shower passed.
I went back to the condo and got Barb. We went back to the marina complex and stopped at a travel agent there. When you leave Antigua, you have to pay a departure tax. We had noticed a sign in the window of the travel agency that said you could pay the tax there and not have to wait in line at the airport. We went in to do this, but they only had one of the tax receipts left. The girl who had more receipts was allegedly on her way and would be there in thirty minutes. We told them we would stop back in a little bit. We went up to the marina office again to see if the bill was ready. It sort of was, but there was one item they weren't sure of. That was the mast storage. Donna, the manager, wasn't there at the moment, and the regular girl behind the desk didn't know the length, and was concerned about what day it would actually be in the rack. I told her to charge me as if it was already in the rack, so the dates match the dates that the boat was hauled. Then I guessed the length of the mast. The storage fee is per foot per month, so the length matters. I probably could have told them anything, but my guess is probably within a foot or so. They asked again if I could come back after lunch to finish up, and I said sure. Good thing we weren't in a hurry to leave.
We decided to kill time by taking a ride around the parts of the complex we haven't seen. As I think I have explained before, Jolly Harbor is a planned community that includes the marina, the boatyard, the commercial center, condos, private homes, and a golf course. We have looked around on the south side of the complex, where our condo is, but we had never been past the boatyard on the north side. We tooled around there and waved as we went through the security gate as if we belonged there. We went out on the man-made island that is by the mooring field. The island is subdivided into home lots and has been here for twenty years, but they have only started building the first three houses in the past year. As we approached the building site, the golf cart sputtered and came to a stop. We were out of gas! That's twice in two weeks I've run out of gas in something. (In my defense, neither had a gauge.) When I got the cart, the guy told me it had plenty in it for four days, and to put a gallon in it before I returned it. Well, he was wrong. We pushed the cart the last couple hundred feet to the construction site. I was hoping they might have gas for a generator or something. A guy who appeared to be the boss was coming out of one of the house as we came up. I asked him if anybody there might have a splash of gas to get us back to the boatyard where the gas pump is. He said no, but offered to give me a ride there to get gas. He pointed at a metal gallon can that was originally for paint thinner that I picked up. Barb stayed at the cart and the guy took me to the boatyard fuel dock. The attendant said he couldn't put gas in an unapproved container. I told him that we had run out of gas and that was all we had. He was very animated, jabbering about "I've told you people I can't do this! Don't ever come back for gas without a real gas can!" All this was as he was pumping about a gallon of gas into the can. I thanked him and paid him and got back in the car. The guy took me back and dropped me at the cart. I gave him $10 for his trouble and thanked him profusely. I poured the gas in the cart's tank and off we went.
We stopped at the travel agent again. The girl behind the counter saw us coming and picked up the phone. To me that signaled that the other girl wasn't there yet and she was calling her to see where she was. She hung up the phone and said the girl was right around the corner. We waited, and after a couple minutes the office girl left to see what was taking so long. She came back a few minutes later without the other girl, but with the tax receipts. After a quick exchange of information and cash we were on our way.
We went back to our condo side of the complex and drove to the beach. Castaway's is a beachfront restaurant that somehow we have never gone to. We got there just as another rain shower came through. We ran from the cart to the protection of their patio just as it came down hard. It was about 11:45, and they don't start serving lunch until 12:00, so we got a couple of beers and had a seat. There were lots of people there that had been shuttled from a cruise ship up in St. Johns. We always joke about the cruise ship people, because they have to leave Paradise after a week and go back home. We felt a little different this time, since we are going home tomorrow. Barb had a fish sandwich, I had a cheeseburger, and both were pretty good.
We went back to the condo after lunch and watched TV for a couple hours. About 15:00, we went back to the marina office to pay the bill. They had it ready this time, although they had made a mistake that we caught, so they had to print it again. I told them I didn't care how long it took to figure out, I didn't want to climb the stairs to the office again. (The office is on the second floor.) While we were in the area, we stopped downstairs and got online. The condo does not have wi-fi, so we have to bring the computer over to the marina area where there is a free signal.
We ran the computer back to the condo and went right back to the marina to go to the Foredeck for our last happy hour here. When we got to the Foredeck, we were the first customers there. We donated a half bottle of Vodka that we had left over in the condo to the bar, something you wouldn't be able to do in the States. We asked Nicole, one of the bartenders about a disturbance we had heard about a couple days ago. Apparently late Wednesday night, long after we had left, a couple guys got in a fight. Initially people thought one guy had been shot, and Nicole had called the police. It turned out that the guy had been stabbed, not shot, but it was still serious. The police, who's station is less than a quarter mile from the bar, did not show up for half an hour, and when they did, they had no sense of urgency. They were more interested in talking to Nicole since she called them, than they were about dealing with the combatants. The other disturbing thing learned was that the half dozen security guards on the scene did absolutely nothing to stop the fight or take control in any way. They told Nicole after the fact that they are just there to observe and not act on anything. There's a comforting thought. And here I was bragging about them a week ago.
About 18:30, we headed back to the condo. We stopped at the grocery and got a couple of fried chicken breasts and Barb warmed the last of our stuffing for dinner. Tonight is the final night of Jay Leno hosting the Tonight Show. We never stay up late enough to see the Tonight Show, but I wanted to try. Barb gave up and went to bead about 21:30, but I made it. I dozed some before the show started, but got to see the whole show, and was glad I did.
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GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 30
This is our last day in Antigua. Our flight isn't until 14:40, so we just relaxed in the condo all morning. Barb has us all packed and ready to go, and we had bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. We watched TV for a while, until finally at about 10:45 I decided we should go early and give ourselves plenty of time at the airport. I took the golf cart back to the rental place, parked it, and dropped the keys in their box, since they are closed on Saturdays. I took the condo keys over to the rental office and returned them to the girl there. Then I walked across the street to where taxis wait and got a taxi. The driver drove me back to the condo where we loaded our bags into the taxi. We have two big rolling duffle bags, one regular roll-behind, a back pack, and carry-on gym bag sized bag, and my computer in it's brief case. The ride to the airport took about half an hour and we were there about 11:30.
At the airport, a porter took all the bags to the check-in line, where we were the first in line. I'm guessing this airport must not have the equipment to x-ray checked bags, because they hand search every bag that is going to be checked for every passenger. This happens first before you get to the check-in agent. They went through our well packed full bags and messed everything up, making it hard to re-zip the bags. Once they were done, we moved to the check-in counter. On an international flight with Continental, your first bag is free. We had three to check between us, so we planned to pay $25 for the third bag. When they weighed the bags though, the two big ones were each about sixty pounds. Bags between fifty and seventy pounds are charged an extra $50. So, we moved stuff around, so only one bag was over fifty pounds, and paid the extra $50 for that. Once checked in, we headed for security. There were no surprises here. We went through passport control and then security with no problems. Now we just had to wait.
The departure lounge at the V. C. Bird Airport is not very big. Typical of most islands, the big planes from the US or Europe all come in and depart in a three or four hour window. There are no jetways at this airport, so everybody goes through one of six "gates" which are all right next to each other and out a door to the tarmac where you walk to your plane. This means they can only realistically board one plane at a time or the people will get mixed up. There are several big planes here at the same time today. There is a Virgin Atlantic 747 from England, a British Airways 767, the Continental 737, a Delta 737, an American 737, and an Air Canada A320 all parked on the tarmac near each other. Our plane was the second of the batch to arrive. The Air Canada flight boarded first. As the last of those people were being checked in, the line for our flight was forming right behind them. There is no boarding by rows, it's all at once. The Air Canada people all got checked in and out to the plane, and then there was an announcement that boarding of our flight would be delayed about twenty minutes due to a maintenance issue. They asked us to sit down so the area would be clear to board another flight. They didn't do another flight before they called us back in line to check in. We got back in line and were checked in and on our way to the plane in a few minutes. They had ladders at the front and rear of the plane, and we were seated near the rear, so we got on and found our seats pretty quick. We had an aisle seat on the left side of the plane, and a middle seat on the right side, in the same row. I sat next to Barb, hoping to just trade with the person in my isle seat when they came. When they came, it was a couple and a lap child who had the aisle and window seat surrounding our middle seat. They agreed to take the window and middle, so Barb and I sat in the two aisle seats across from each other.
After everybody was boarded, the pilot came on the PA and told us what had happened. There was a seat that would not stay in the up position and had to be tightened. The one mechanic that Continental has approved to work for them in Antigua fixed the seat in about fifteen minutes before we boarded. FAA procedures however, stated that a second mechanic had to verify the work. Continental has no second mechanic here. There was a second mechanic available, but he was not certified by Continental. So, his qualifications and certifications had to be faxed to Houston, to Continental's maintenance headquarters before he could accompany the original mechanic onboard to verify the work. This took a long time. It turned out that the bad seat was in the row in front of Barb's. When the two mechanics finally came aboard, the three people in the broken row and the three people behind them had to get up and move to the rear of the plane. I watched as the two mechanics lay down on the floor and double checked the tightness of the nut and then stood up and shook the heck out of the seat to make sure it stayed up. Then they left to go sign the log book. Finally, we left the gate, two and a half hours after our planned departure. Our concern was in getting our rental car when we got to NY. If I recalled correctly the website said that the Budget desk closed at 23:00. I was afraid that by the time we cleared Customs, got our bags, and took the train to the car rental place, we would miss 23:00. The flight itself was ok, with just a few minutes of turbulence at one point. We landed about 21:15 and headed for Immigration. Since we were near the back of the plane, we were near the end of the line at Immigration. We finally got checked in and went for our bags. I got one of the rental carts and we found all our bags on the carousel. On to Customs, where we didn't have to wait long and were through. We blew past the signs that said to leave the carts there and headed for the inter-terminal monorail which will take us to the rental car place. Even though we passed signs that said we shouldn't have taken the cart this far, there was a label on the cart that said to be sure to secure the brakes on the train. Go figure. When the train finally got around to the rental car end, we found one lady at the Budget desk. It was 22:30 and we made it. I told her I was afraid that we wouldn't make it, and she told me they are there twenty-four hours a day. We didn't have to be stressed about it after all. We got our car, which appeared to be the next to last one they had, and headed for Wallkill. It took us two hours to get to my brother's house, where we arrived at 00:45. Bob was still up and waiting for us. We left the big bags in the car and went inside. By 01:15, we were in bed, quite tired and glad to be here.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.
May 31
We are officially CLOD's now. A CLOD is a Cruiser Living On Dirt. Considering how late we got in and how tired we were, we didn't sleep that late. We were up a little after 08:00. We found a note on the kitchen counter that Bob & Kitty had gone to the store. They returned shortly with Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. A little later, my niece Shannon, who lives next door, came over with Holland, her two and half year old who we haven't seen since she was a few months old. We visited for a while and relaxed in the cool morning air. The temperature this morning was in the forties, a little cooler than we are used to.
At lunchtime, we had more visitors and a nice lunch prepared by Bob & Kitty, and Shannon & Adam. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening just relaxing and catching up. We didn't even get the other bags out of the car. We will have plenty of time to get organized over the next week.
I expect this will be the end of the regular logs of our adventure, since the adventure is on hold. We will be looking for jobs now to make some more money so we can go out and do it again. The point of the cruising log was to document the cruise and the island adventure, and I doubt most readers want to keep up with our day to day lives as CLOD's. When we get back out there, the logs will continue. Hopefully that will be around the end of 2010.
GPS N 17-04.494 W 061-53.814 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 10113.