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May 21

We made our final "passage" of the season today, motoring the whole two miles from Five Islands to Jolly Harbor.  Five Islands is so named because off the point that divides that bay from the Jolly Harbor entrance, lie five small islands strung out to the west.  There are two places between the islands where it is deep enough for a sailboat to pass between them.  The closer gap is the narrower of the two, so rather than make anybody nervous, I went through the second and wider of the two gaps.  The water is plenty deep (fifteen feet) in the gaps, but there are submerged rocks that come out from the islands, so you have to watch the water color and be in the right place.  It's really not that challenging, but the first time you go somewhere like this, you always pay close attention.  Seabbatical chose to take the long route and go out around all the islands, which added to their last trip.

When we got inside Jolly Harbor, I went to the fuel dock first.  Our fuel gauge a just above empty.  Since it's been three years, I've forgotten some little details about the boat, like how accurate the fuel gauge is.  I think I recall that it goes way below the "E" mark before it is really empty, but better safe than sorry.  We also are almost out of water.  We docked at the fuel dock as if I never left the boat.  (This is the first alongside docking we've done since returning.)  I started filling the fuel while Barb held a rag over the vent in case it spit some fuel.  I always have to hold the fuel nozzle and open it just a little since the boat won't take fuel very fast.  This sometimes results in the fuel foaming so it appears the tank is full when it really isn't.  When we seemed to be full, the attendant said it was 27 gallons.  The tank hold 44 gallons, so I figured there must be a bunch of foam.  However, the fuel gauge now was pegged at full.  When the bulk of our usage is actually motoring the boat, I can calculate the fuel consumption pretty close by the hours runs.  But, we have used most of this tank of fuel to charge batteries, which uses much less per hour, so basically I have no idea.  We filled one of our water tanks which will hold us for the days we plan to stay away from the dock.  Barb got a bag of ice and we were set.

We went back out to the mooring field, where Seabattical was already moored.  There are about a dozen mooring balls, and none of them are occupied, since it is so late in the season.  We took the ball immediately in front of Seabattical.

Our cruising permit expires today.  Legally, we have to have a cruising permit as long as the boat is in the water.  It is tempting to not pay for another month, since we will only be in the water for another week, but since we are moored directly in front of the Port Authority office, maybe that's not a good idea.  I dinghied in to the Customs dock and went in the Port Authority office.  There were two very pleasant ladies there.  We had some confusion over when my current permit had expired, since the last time I renewed it in English Harbor, they stapled the latest one to the back of my pile of paperwork instead of to the front.  We eventually got it all sorted out and I paid my $20 EC to be legal.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 2.  Total miles 10178.

May 22

We spent the morning aboard.  Barb read while I did some more research on the alternator upgrade I have been contemplating.  After another e-mail exchange with the guy at ZRD, and further studying of the info on their website, I decided that this upgrade would not be a simple DIY project, especially while in the Islands.  So, I started researching just replacing some of the components of my current poorly designed system.

We went to Peter's BBQ for lunch.  We were the only people there, as things are getting very slow this time of year.

Back at the boat, Barb read in the cockpit while I was below.  She called me above and pointed out a fender floating past us, headed out to sea.  I thought about it for a minute, and decided a spare fender can't hurt, so I hopped in the dinghy and retrieved the fender.  It was larger than I thought, as big as our large ones, so if no owner is found, it will make a good addition to our collection.  I hung it from the lifelines on the boat so it was visible in case the owner came looking for it.  A little later, a sailboat which had come in and gone to the Customs dock called the dockmaster regarding a slip.  As they moved from Customs to the marina, I looked through the binoculars and saw they had the same type of fenders as the one I found.  So, I hailed Sylvester, the dockmaster, and asked him to ask them if they were missing a fender.  I don't think they knew they had lost it, but Sylvester called me back and said yes it was theirs.  So, I put it in the dinghy and went in to the marina.  The owner of the boat thanked me and offered me some cash which I declined.  You never know when you're going to need those karma points.

For dinner we dinghied in to pizza night at Al Porto.  This turned out to be our last pizza night.  Angie wasn't there, which is unusual for a Tuesday night.  We learned later that she was sick.  We'll have to come by again before we leave.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

May 23

This morning after the Coconut Telegraph, we got a call on the VHF radio from Lynn on Seabattical.  She said they had a "situation" onboard and needed some help.  Turned out Mike tripped and fell during the night.  When he fell he hit his ribs hard on a sharp edge.  Today he is in a lot of pain when he moves.  He thinks perhaps he broke a rib.  Of course, there isn't anything you can do for a broken rib, so since he had no other indications of internal problems, he was just going to take it easy.  The problem with this is that they only have a few days to get Seabattical ready to haul out.  We'll be helping them out, starting with ferrying Lynn in to pick up laundry they dropped off yesterday.  We also donated a supply of Aleve to hopefully help with the pain.

Back on MoonSail, my only real project today was to remove the new cockpit remote and cable for the stereo.  It quit working shortly after I installed it this year, and it is under warrantee, since there is another unrelated thing wrong with the stereo itself, I am taking the whole mess back home to send it in for repair.

Barb and I went in to WestPoint for happy hour.  Mike & Lynn stayed home to let Mike rest.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

May 24

There are a few things that Seabbatical must get done before they haul out.  A lot of the work of storing the boat can be done after they are on the hard, but things like getting the dinghy stored have to be done.  So I went over and helped Lynn get their outboard off the dinghy and secure on the stern rail.  Mike was out in the cockpit supervising, and we had to keep telling him to stay put since he wanted to help.  I can imagine how he feels not being able to do anything.  I know I wouldn't like it.

We spent the rest of our day reading.  We ate aboard, as we are in the mode of trying to consume all the food on the boat. 

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

May 25

Seabbatical is hauling at 13:30 today.  We are going to bring MoonSail to the dock to start our serious prep work.  I called Sylvester on the VHF and told him we wanted to come in to the dock.  I facetiously asked him if there was any space on D dock, since I knew it was entirely empty.  He replied that we could go on D dock, but there was no power.  I didn't know that.  Turns out they turn it off for the summer to save electricity in the lights.  So, we came in to B dock instead.  There are only a few boats in the whole marina, so we pretty much had our pick of slips on B dock too.  Good thing there were no other boats nearby, because my backing in was not the prettiest.  Fortunately, Richard, from Nemo, was on the dock to take our stern lines and pulled me straight. 

Soon after getting secured and plugged in I dinghied back out to Seabbatical.  They still need to get their dinghy up on the foredeck.  They use their electric windlass to actually do the hoisting, but the potential muscle is needed to control the dinghy while it's hanging in the air like a huge kite in the wind.  I moved the dinghy around to the proper place and got the halyard connected to the hoisting point.  I then climbed aboard the big boat and guided the dinghy up while Lynn operated the windlass.  Of course Mike kept wanting to help, and I finally told him to "Sit!", which he did.  The wind cooperated and didn't gust to hard, so I was able to control the dinghy and we got it on deck. 

We were done with the dinghy by about 11:00, and their appointment to haul isn't until 13:30, so, I went back to MoonSail.  I walked over to the grocery store and got us a couple of pieces of fried chicken for lunch.  At 12:30, Barb went up to Typically Tropical's office to deal with getting checked in to our condo, which includes a golf cart.  I dinghied back out to Seabbatical to help them get to the haulout slip.  Mike was able to drive, leaving Lynn and I free to toss lines to the guys onshore.  We approached the haulout slip about 13:30, and Barb was there with the golf cart waiting for us.  She called on the radio and said Danny, the lift operator, wanted us to back in.  Seabbatical is one of those sailboats that does not backup well, so this news didn't make Mike very happy.  But, on our second attempt, with the direction of Danny on the dock, we got her in and tied up.  Usually you climb off the end of the boat in the haulout slip just before they lift it.  But since Mike is still hurting, they pulled the boat to the side of the haulout slip to allow him to get off easier.  Lynn and I stayed aboard to get the pieces of cardboard they use between the hull and the straps secure, and then we climbed off the stern.  The haul went well and they put Seabbatical back in the yard where we can finish her prep before she gets put in a cradle in the storage yard across the street. 

When we were first in the haulout slip, we had unloaded several bags of the stuff Mike & Lynn need to go to the condo today.  While the yard guys cleaned the boat and got it moved back where it was going to sit, Barb took Lynn to the condo.  They got back after Seabbatical was parked and we got a ladder situated so Lynn could go aboard and close the boat up for today.  Mike & Lynn took the golf cart back to the condo, and dropped Barb and I off at the marina on the way. 

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

May 26

Mike & Lynn picked us up at the marina in the morning, and we went over to the yard.  We spent the day helping them get Seabbatical all set to store.  Keeping Mike from doing too much was a challenge, but hopefully he didn't over do it too much.  We had a lunch break at Peter's BBQ, and then went back to Seabbatical for a couple more hours.  We got a lot of the heavy work done that they need my help with.

We all went to the condo and took showers, then went to happy hour.  Mike & Lynn returned to the condo and Barb & I returned to MoonSail for dinners at home.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

May 27

Today was declared a no-work day.  It is the biggest day in Motor Sports, starting with the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix, (which we didn't care about), followed by the Indy 500, followed by NASCAR's Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, NC.  We spent the whole day at the condo watching the races.  Lynn made a hot chicken dip that we had with chips for lunch, and Barb made pizzas for dinner.  When the NASCAR race was finally over about 22:00, Barb & I took the golf cart back to the marina.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

May 28

In the morning after the Coconut Telegraph, I went to the condo and picked Mike up.  I took him over to the boat yard, while Lynn walked over for her daily exercise.  I helped Mike with a couple quick tasks, then left them to work on packing up stuff inside. 

I went back to MoonSail, and we started working on our own disassembly.  While we are still sleeping on the boat, we can't do a lot, because we store a lot of the outside stuff on the bed and in the head.  But I could start removing things and leave them in the cockpit.  So, I took off the solar panels, the wind generator, and the barbeque grill.  These all got stacked in the cockpit.  The wind was not very strong, so we decided to take down the foresail.  What wind there was, was almost directly behind us, so as we unfurled the sail, it wanted to billow out in front of the boat instead of being along the side.  I stood on the bow and pulled the sail in as Barb slowly let the halyard lose and the sail came down.  I ended up keeping it all on the boat in one big pile on the bow.  Now we need to get it on the dock to fold.  I gathered it up in a big pile and got my arms around it.  I picked the pile up and started towards the stern of the boat.  Barb was on the dock already.  When I got the to stern, I couldn't make the big step to the dock with the pile in my arms, so Barb grabbed it and pulled it across the gap while I tried to keep it all out of the water.  This wasn't entirely successful, as the top ten feet or so did fall in the water.  We stretched the sail out on the dock, with it bunched up along one side.  I tied the head and foot of the sail to a couple of the dock cleats, and then used a couple of bungee cords to keep the sail bunched up and also hook to cleats.  I then hosed off the part that got in the salt water and we left it to dry.  An hour or so later, the sail was dry, so we were going to fold it.  We untied it from the cleats and started to drag it down the down a few slips to where there are two finger piers that would make a convenient wide spot to fold.  Just as we started to fold, a gust of wind came up and caught the sail.  Barb lunged onto the sail to keep it from blowing in the water, and tripped as she did and went down.  She fell forward, hitting her knees and then continuing to where her face hit the dock.  Fortunately, she was on the sail, so the concrete didn't scrape her face, but she hit her cheekbone pretty hard.  She did control the sail though.  The gust was gone as fast as it came, and we got the sail folded up.  We watched Barb's cheek for awhile, and remarkably, it never bruised.  Must be something about decommissioning and falling that goes together.

Barb started packing up clothes that are staying on the boat.  Even though we are only going to be gone six months this time, instead of three years, we are doing a few things different.  To avoid any mildew on the clothes, everything that is staying is going in Space Bags.  These are the huge plastic bags that you then suck the air out of with a vacuum cleaner. 

We made a trip to the grocery store today.  This was not our normal shopping trip.  We have a local friend who is expecting a baby in August, and they could use some help with baby supplies.  So, we went over and bought baby oil, baby powder, Q-tips, Huggies, bottles, and baby lotion.  We also got the other staples we needed for ourselves, like rum and ice.

We have learned an interesting thing about medical care in Antigua, and probably all the islands.  Lynn visited the pharmacy a couple days ago, since Mike was still in a lot of pain, even with the Aleve he'd been taking.  The pharmacist wasn't there, but the lady who runs the store gave her a topical cream that should help with the pain, as well as 800mg Ibuprofen, which requires a prescription in the States.  Today, she went back and was able to talk to the pharmacist.  Since even with the cream and Ibuprofen he was still hurting, the pharmacist gave her a muscle relaxant and a prescription pain killer.  My point is, you can go describe your problem to the pharmacist and not have to get a prescription from a doctor first.  Simple.  We were also told that if we are on maintenance drugs, you can just take your prescription bottle from the States in and get it refilled.  That may be handy someday.

We met Mike & Lynn for a short happy hour at WestPoint, and then all went over to the condo for dinner.  Mike & Lynn had some burgers, chicken breasts, and a steak left from their boat stores, and the condo has a grill.  Mike & I grilled everything, while Barb & Lynn made a salad and bread.  Barb & I returned to the boat for the night.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

May 29

This morning, before any wind picked up, we took down the mainsail.  Actually, there had been a little wind right from dawn, but then it died.  Then when we thought about taking the main down, it blew again.  We were sitting in the cockpit thinking about it when the wind just stopped.  We both jumped up and started the process.  The main is easier to control than the foresail, but still best done with little wind.  I unfurled the sail, and quickly undid the clasp at the bottom of the sail that attaches it to the furler.  Barb let the halyard clutch go and I pulled the sail down.  Simple.  I undid the shackle at the top of the sail, and untied the outhaul line at the rear corner.  We dragged the sail off the stern of the boat onto the dock.  We dragged it down to the wide spot and started folding.  We had it done in probably no more than five minutes from unfurl to in the bag.  Let the wind blow.

The other task we got done today was to raise the outboard from the dinghy to the stern rail.  I went over to Budget Marine and bought one of the earmuff looking things that allows you to run and outboard out of the water hooked up to a hose for cooling water.  I put it on the motor, turned on the hose, and started the motor.  The purpose of doing this is to flush the salt water out of the engine for storage.  I never did this before, but it is a good practice.

Mike & Lynn finished up the last odds and ends on Seabbatical and locked her up.

We met for a short happy hour so Mike & Lynn could say goodbye to Fred.  We then went to Melini's for dinner.  It is pizza night, but Mike & Lynn wanted one more Melini's dinner, so that's where we went.  It was very good of course.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

May 30

Mike & Lynn are leaving today.  I took Mike over to the yard to meet Sylvester and show him what he needs to do during the summer as part of the service they have contracted with the yard to do.  They do not have maintenance free batteries, so they need the water checked periodically.  We don't contract with anybody to look after MoonSail, since we have AGM batteries that you never touch. 

About 11:00, Barb & I went to the condo to say goodbye.  It's been great spending the last six weeks with Mike & Lynn.  Their taxi came to pick them up at 11:30.  Their flight isn't until 15:00, but since all the flights come and go within a few hour window, the airport gets pretty busy.

After lunch, we moved our stuff over to the condo.  We are not taking a lot home, but there will still be two big bags.  Once the stuff we are taking home was off the boat, we could start storing the things we have been removing.  The solar panels were moved to the bed.  The diesel jugs, which we never used this year were put in the head, along with the sails and a bunch of little things from outside. 

We have taken all the food from the boat to the condo, in addition to what was left from Seabbatical.  Barb made us a pasta dinner and we enjoyed our first night on land.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

May 31

The last big task to be done on MoonSail is to put the dinghy on deck.  I moved it to the front of the boat and put a halyard on the towing ring.  I climbed back onto the boat and Barb started winching the dinghy up.  I helped by lifting until it was all the way out of the water hanging from it's bow.  I got the hose and rinsed out the inside well.  The bottom is a different story.  There were a fair amount of barnacles on it, as well as the brown slime that always grows.  I used my wide scraper to remove the barnacles from the first couple feet and then used On/Off and a scrubber to clean the bottom.  We then hoisted it a couple more feet and cleaned that couple feet.  Repeat, repeat, clean.  Once all the way up, we guided the dinghy over the lifelines, spun it around, and lowered it upside down on the deck.  I used the straps that we usually use to secure it on the davits, and strapped it to the grab rails on the deck. 

We took all the panels off the cockpit enclosure, leaving just the overhead part of the bimini for shade.  All those panels also get stored on the aft bed on top of the solar panels.  We made another pass through making sure we had anything that needs to go home.  One minor thing we found that we almost forgot was our passports.  That wouldn't have been good.

We went back to the condo and enjoyed nice long cool showers.  Dinner was leftover pasta from last night, turned into a baked casserole with the addition of some cheese.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

Jun 1

Today is our haulout day.  Our schedule is for 13:30, but we are ready.  We took the bimini off and stowed it below.  Our goal is to have just a couple of quick things to do once in the haulout slip, and then not have to even get back on once she's parked.  We had Sylvester come down and read our water and power meters a little before noon, and then we went to lunch at Peter's BBQ.  We were back on the boat before 13:00, just sitting waiting to see the yard guys come back from lunch.  About 13:10, I looked over towards the yard and saw Danny the Travel Lift driver waving at us.  I was surprised he knew where we were, but since the marina is almost empty, it's pretty easy to see each boat.  I acknowledged him and called Sylvester on the radio to come help with our lines.  We got untied and made our final trip of the season.  When we approached the haulout slip, Danny yelled for us to back in.  I had asked him last week which way to go, and I thought we agreed to come bow in.  MoonSail normally backs up very well, so it shouldn't be a problem.  I just wasn't planning on it.  I made a circle and started backing up.  Of course the wind is blowing quite hard today, and pushing us sideways.  To make things much easier, Sylvester was right there with the marina dinghy, and he just pushed us sideways back to where we were lined up with the slip.  The guys took our lines and made us secure.

As soon as I turned the engine off, I went below and closed the thru-hulls in the engine room.  I then grabbed the canvas we are going to wrap the pedestal with.  I took off the steering wheel and put it below, then wrapped the pedestal and secured the canvas with a line wrapped around several times.  The guys were getting the lift positioned while I was doing this.  Once in position, Barb and I held the cardboard between the straps and the hull as they tightened up the straps.  Once the straps were holding the boat in place, the guys threw the lines aboard.  We threw the lines and the fenders below and I closed and locked the companionway.  We climbed off the back and we were done.  We watched as they lifted MoonSail out of the water.  I was surprised at the amount of barnacles on the hull.  This is the first year we are using a new (for us) kind of paint, and I was a little disappointed.  Of course part of how bottom paint works is that is soughs off as you sail, and we haven't moved much this year, so perhaps it's not a fair test.  The prop had lots of stuff growing on it, which made it clear why I wasn't getting the power I expected when I was trying to back up.  Next year the prop will get painted with Prop Speed.  Mike used it for the first time this past year and his prop was clean as a whistle after the whole season.

After the scraping and power washing, it was time to park her.  I wasn't sure where they were going to put her, in the main yard or in the storage yard across the street.  Lindsay and Danny had both asked me about when we planned to return, and they decided to put us in the main yard, right on the front row where it will be easy to get to when we launch.  Looking at the only space available on that row, I didn't see how it could fit, but I trusted their judgment.  They lowered MoonSail onto the trailer they use for putting boats close to one another, and moved over to line her up with the slot.  It was very tight, literally a few inches on each side, but Danny got her in.  They lowered the boat onto the big wooden blocks they put under the keel, and put one stand on each side at the stern, then pulled the trailer out from under her.  If you've ever seen a sailboat on the hard and thought the stands really held it up, think again.  The boat sits on the keel and the stands are just there for balance.  I waited until they had the additional stands in place and then thanked Danny and we left.

We went to the office and took care of the important part of the deal.  Paying.  We had to pay for our last couple of weeks on the mooring, in the marina, and for the summer.  We were pleasantly surprised by two things.  One was that they just started a promo for 25% off the haulout charge for boats hauled in June.  Even though we scheduled our haulout months ago, we got the discount.  The other was that if we paid for all six months of storage up front, instead of quarterly, we saved another 7%.

So, the boat is done.  The season didn't turn out anything like we had planned, but that's cruising.  Even though we didn't get very far, it was still great being in a cool place.  Since we didn't get far, we met lots of local people we would not have gotten to know as well if we were moving more often.

We went back to the condo and showered, then went to happy hour.  We had dinner at home, where Barb made pizzas.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

Jun 2

Today I spent the day writing, catching up on the past ten days.  I usually write every couple of days, but this past week, I've just been making little notes.  So, we spent the whole day at the condo, writing and watching that electronic picture machine that we haven't seen much in the past six months.  That would be a big screen TV with about 100 channels.  Not surprisingly, there still isn't much worth watching during the day, even with all those channels.

We were treated to a little show outside our condo during the afternoon.  We heard raised voices, which isn't all that unusual in the Islands.  Often you can't tell if raised voices are expressing anger, or just a spirited conversation.  I finally got up to investigate and found two taxi drivers in the street arguing about which one was going to take the couple next door someplace.  I don't know how two of them ended up there in the first place, and I didn't watch long enough to see who won. 

The one thing I did get to watch with no hassle of trying to do it via the Internet, was the Saturday NASCAR race.  In the evening we went to happy hour for our last time here.  Our favorite bartender, Fred, is off tomorrow, so this is our last time to see him.  Barb had packed up all the left over food we had at the condo to bring to Fred.  We had two grocery bags of stuff that he put in the fridge at the bar to take home later. 

For dinner we went to Al Porto one last time.  We had a good meal and said goodbye to Angie.  As with the other businesses, there were maybe six tables of people instead of the place being full as it was every night during the winter.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

Jun 3

We never did do a real beach day this weekend.  But, we did take a walk on the beach late this morning.  It has really been different this year, staying so late into the season, to see how dead everything is.  It really makes one wonder how the places stay in business with things being so seasonal.  Where there used to be hundreds of people on the beach every day, from cruise ships and the resort, there were four or five today. 

After our walk, the afternoon was spent watching the Sunday NASCAR race.  For dinner, we were going to go to Peter's BBQ for one last time, but we found them closed.  They used to be closed at lunchtime on Sundays, but open for dinner.  I guess they too are cutting back on their hours with business so slow.  Instead we went back to Castaways, on the beach.  We were one of two tables there for dinner.  Since Castaways has always been known for good food but slow service, this was to our advantage.  The food came in a reasonable time, and was good as usual. 

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

Jun 4

Today we return to reality.  Our cab picked us up at 10:00.   Our flight is not until 13:20, but all the flights in and out of the islands happen in about a three hour window everyday, so the airport gets crowded.  We had an interesting chat with our cab driver all the way to the airport, detailing his view about how Island religious leaders are in bed with the politicians, and they are all crooked.  When we got to the airport, we were the second people to do the self-check and get our boarding passes.  Then we stood in line for almost an hour until the ticket counter opened to accept our checked bags.  Speaking of the bags, we had two large duffels to check, and while we were waiting, I had taken each up to the counter to weigh them.  One was 49.5 pounds and the other was 38.5.  We weighed our one little carry-on, to see if maybe we could put it in the lighter of the checked bags, but it was 16 pounds, so we'll have to carry it.  When the agent finally opened the counter to take the bags, of course they weighed them again.  This time, the heavier one said 50 pounds, and the other said 44.5.  Same scale, same bags, placed the same way on the scale.  It was no problem, but if you're ever told you're bags are over weight, you might want to get a second opinion.  The advantage of having been early and waiting an hour in this line, was that we had no more lines.  We were the second people to pay our departure tax, go through immigration, and get through security.  And there was nobody in the waiting lounge, so we had our pick of seats.  The plane was right on time arriving, and we actually departed about ten minutes early.  Unfortunately air traffic must have slowed us a bit because our expected early arrival at JFK became the original published time.

My son and his wife are visiting NY this week from Phoenix, so they picked us up at the airport and drove us up to my brother's house.  This ends this seasons chapter of cruising.  As I said before, it wasn't at all what we planned, but it still was fun.  I hope many readers have enjoyed the updates.  Our plans for the summer are for Barb to spend the summer in Ohio with her parents, dealing with their increasing problems with aging.  I will be trying to do some contract work to replenish some of the money we spent fixing the boat this season, so that may take me back to NY/CT like last year, or wherever.  I don't plan to keep doing website updates during the summer.  We plan to return to the boat in late November or early December and the updates will resume then.

GPS N 17-04.227 W 061-53.126  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 10178.

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