Sailing BrainWaves

February 27 & 28th This was back on Tuesday and Wednesday but the snorkeling was so cool. In Staniel Day we swam in the Thunderball Grotto where 007 defeated SPECTRE. It was an underwater cave with beautiful fish and a stingray. At Exuma National Park I had the best snorkel ever with loads of colorful coral big fish, several turtles. As I swam with the turtles they suddenly got coy and headed for cover. I looked to see why as a 7 foot shark cruised by. This shortened my swim rather abruptly. Yesterday we dropped Ric off in Nassau, then David and I made like mechanics. After changing spark plugs and fuel filter on the dingy motor, we opened the engine compartment to change the oil on BrainWaves. There was black spaghetti all over the engine. The belt had shredded. THE ALTERNATOR STRIKES AGAIN!!! So with a few borrowed tools from helpful boaters we replaced the belt as well as changed the oil, then treated ourselves to a seafood dinner. Today we tried to leave Nassau Harbor but ha...

February 11, Sunday At 9:00 Don took the car to another grocery store that we found on the way back yesterday that is much closer.  He got some more supplies and had another wet ride back to the boat. At 10:20 we took the dinghy in to return the car to the airport and do a lot of downloading onto my Kindle.  Don's isn't working so he's keeping mine.  We did have the forethought to wear bathing suits under our clothes for the ride back.  Before launching we put our clothes in a dry bag.  Even with both of us in swimsuits we had a heck of a time launching the dinghy.  The wind and waves today are the highest they've been in this anchorage.  It's another beautiful day and has barely sprinkled on us. This afternoon I was reading in the cockpit while Don was napping when three young men carrying liquor bottles swam out to the boat from the beach.  They said they were tired and wanted to know if they could get on the boat and rest before swimmin...

February 10, Saturday We took the dingy ashore and walked to the airport.  It's only about a ten minute walk away.  We got updated weather and then rented a car so we could see some of the island and get groceries. The cars have the steering wheel on the left like ours but also drive on the left.  We weren't expecting that.  We had lunch at McDonald's to feed our fry craving and then drove up into the mountains.  The roads outside of town are rough, narrow, twisty and steep.  They are also very busy.  There were some beautiful panoramic vistas but no where to pull off to appreciate them.  We found a really good grocery store with really high prices but they all are here. We were able to park the car along the airport road right next to where we beached the dinghy.  Unfortunately, the surf had come up and by the time we loaded the groceries and got the dinghy launched I was wet and Don was soaked.  By the time we got back to the boa...

We've been anchored outside the St Thomas airport since Thursday.  Had to arrive early because of the weather.  It's a pretty rolly anchorage but the others are very crowded.  We're renting a car today and going to drive around and get groceries.  The steering wheel is on the normal side of the car but they drive on the left.  Don spent all day yesterday plotting courses and entering them into the chart plotter.  This will be the most complicated sailing of the trip. Deb (via email)

February 9, Saturday This continues to be a very roll-y anchorage but it's surprising how much more tolerant we are getting to the motion. Today was a lazy day for me but a busy day for Don.  He spent nearly all day planning courses and putting them into the chart plotter.  I mostly read.  It rained briefly, but sometimes quite hard, about 8 times today and was beautiful in between.  The boat and windows were really salt encrusted from our overnight trip so it was good to get those cleaned.  We were kept busy closing and opening hatches and putting the side curtains up and down. Deb (via email)

February 8, Thursday We had rain during the night and the wind blew hard all night but we both slept well.  One tube on the dinghy had been leaking badly since Don reinflated it so he cleaned out the valve for a second time and that seems to have done the trick  We left the harbor around 10:00 and headed for St. Thomas.  It was a beautiful day and a great sail.  We anchored in Thomas Harbor outside the ferry dock at 14:30 to go check in with customs.  The water was very choppy and the dinghy motor quit on the way in.  I was gamely paddling with my hands while Don kept coaxing the motor.  It finally started and we finished the short ride in.  The customs officer was another sort of surly guy.  I think there is special customs training to teach them that if they don't have the natural bent toward surliness. We left and checked out several anchorages before deciding to go into Lindbergh Bay, which is the one right near the airport....

February 7, Wednesday Don was up by 10:30 and fixing things again.  A pin had come out of the boom and the jib sheet traveler car had come apart.  He fixed both of those and then started working on cleaning the bottom again.  He tied a line under the boat from side to side to pull himself under the water.  He got a lot more barnacles off and was also able to clean off the water wheel and get it spinning again.  He "The Man"! He woke me up at 14:30 and I immediately got started doing nothing.  Well, I did make French toast for brunch. After supper I made popcorn and we watched "The Bucket List". Deb (via email)

February 6, Tuesday Don went over to Christophe Harbor first thing in the morning and was able to call Scott and Gretchen and ask them to look up the weather.  That was just what they needed on a morning when they'd all overslept and Gretchen was supposed to take a friend of Dieter's to school too!  Scott was extremely helpful in finding weather info for Don.  The forecast hadn't changed.  It was still predicting increasing wind and waves each day for the next five days.  That meant today was the day to take off on the big overnight jaunt. We left the harbor at 10:30.  As soon as we got into more open waters the wind became more steady and less gusty.  When we got north of St Kitts, between there and Statia things got rougher.  We got some protection from Statia and then it was rough again between Statia and Saba.  We got protection from Saba and then we were pretty much in the open again.  Winds were 20-25 K and waves were 8-10 ...

February 5, Monday The anchor held all night even though it continued to be VERY gusty all night and all day today.  Don worked more on cleaning the bottom of the boat.  Short rain squalls went through fairly regularly.  About 16:30 Don took the dingy into the bar to try to get access to WiFi so we could get a weather update.  No luck.  He got WiFi but the government weather site didn't seem to be working and he wondered if the govt had another shut down.  He'll go over to Christophe Harbor in the morning and try again. Deb (via email)

February 4, Sunday Don did wake up about 4 a.m. And we left at 4:30.  By that time the moon was up which made it much easier to pick our way through the moored boats. We sailed by Montserrat but decided not to stop because of the East winds. We had to avoid a freighter that was stopping for fuel at the huge wharf there. We went by Rodonda again and got to Nevis around 17:00.  There were open mooring balls but we decided we could get to St. Kitts before dark.  We'd had good winds all day.  They were East, 15-20 K and seas were 6-10 feet  We anchored in Ballast Bay, where the entrance to Christophe Harbor is, just before it was totally dark.  Winds were 20K when we anchored but the anchor held.  After dinner, when we both were so tired we just wanted to go to sleep, Don put the snubber out and then we didn't seem to be holding.  He thought the wind was funneling through a valley and wanted to move.  We moved very slowly over to Whit...

February 3, Saturday We rolled like crazy last night.  Don slept in the quarter berth and I tried sleeping crosswise in the V-berth.  We both took sleep aids but didn't sleep much.  They are fond of a music here that is mostly non-stop throbbing drums.  I've heard it every night so far.  Last night it went on until around midnight.  I moved to the settee around dawn and then took Don's bed when he got up. We had strong off-shore gusts during the day which kept us from rocking.  It rained a bit during the night but was beautiful all day in spite of the ever present clouds over the mountains, which are very pretty.  We moved the boat in so we were anchored in about 45 feet but it started rocking again at about 8:30 p.m. Don worked very hard all day cleaning the bottom.  He got at least 3/4 of the area he could reach cleaned.  The brush we'd brought wouldn't get the barnacles of but the non-scratch spatula I suggested works quite well...

February 2 - Friday Don was up at 6:30 and off to the bakery.  He woke me up at 8:00 😒 so we could get fuel and get going.  We had to wait in line about 15 minutes for fuel.  We left about 9:00.  It was partly cloudy becoming more cloudy and eventually rained for about 30 minutes when we were just past Pointe de la Capesterre. Then the skies over the water cleared and it was a beautiful afternoon.  There are always clouds over the mountains and about 5:30 we saw a beautiful full rainbow followed by a short bout of rain. We didn't get a good look at the bottom of the boat until we were at the fuel dock.  The entire bottom looks like it is covered with long green shag carpeting with some large barnacles for decoration.  The water in the marina was too foul for Don to go in and take a look before we left the dock.  We knew the growth would affect the boat's speed but we didn't realize how much!  It cut our speed by around 15-20 percent! W...

Photo from Deb's email, February 2, 2018

February 1 Update Hallelujah!  The mechanic arrived shortly after four and was very helpful.  He and Don determined the sensor switch was faulty and the oil pressure is fine. Don checked on the suitcase just before we went grocery shopping at 5:00.  We returned to the boat, unloaded groceries and headed out for dinner.  The people from the office were just leaving and Don asked again about the suitcase.  Lo and behold it had arrived.  It looks so much more fashionable now that it's been to Paris. So, we have all our clothes and supplies and we're ready to start the long journey home after getting fuel in the morning. We're so thankful for all the good things that happened both yesterday and today. Deb (via email)

 February 1, 2017 Brainwaves should soon be on the move again but as is often the case, we've got some snags.  First, the good news.  We arrived in Guadeloupe about 3:00 yesterday with no fight problems.  The boat was still in the slip, the dinghy motor and solar panels were still on the boat and the interior was not covered in mold and mildew   I had left three large hanging Damp-Rid bags, which we're about 3/4 full, but seemed to do the job. We have my clothes, all the digital charts, all the cruising guides and the new bracket and pins for the alternator. We were pretty ecstatic about those things.  Now for the bad.  We are missing one piece of luggage which has Don's clothes, a critical belt and hose for the engine and some less essential supplies.  Also, the engine has an alarm that never shuts off that is supposed to mean low oil pressure.  There's no pressure gauge but the warning light is not on.  Someone who speaks li...