Sailing BrainWaves

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 ...