Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Cruising season 2015-2016

Wow!  That summer went by frighteningly fast.  So much fun with family and friends.  We were so busy with our other life we lost track of time… and here we are back in Antigua.  I hope the next 20 years don't go so fast!  

We got a great deal on a flight down… right from Abbotsford, through Edmonton, overnight in Toronto and then direct to Antigua.  And even though we had wonderful… even too hot sometimes… summer weather - we are wilting in the Antigua heat.

Hot!

There was a crazy thunderstorm Saturday night that dumped 2 or 3 inches of water over the island.  Howling winds and lighting all over - quite the event.  We realized too late that we had left a port open… so lots of drying out on Blue Pearl over the next few days.

I love living on the boat but I don't love living on the boat in the yard.  So after getting in Saturday afternoon, we got ourselves organized on Sunday - got the main sail out of the cabin, put up the dodger and bimini for shade.  We did little chores on Monday but went nuts on Tuesday, replacing wind instrument, masthead light, organizing to hoist the dinghy, installing a through-hull and painting the bottom.  

Met Tony and Paul from England.  Paul doesn't mind heights so guess who went up the mast.

Paul's a climber
 Whew!  Good sleep after that.  Really did most of the heavy lifting on Tuesday.


Canvas back on.

New SSB antenna

Getting tidy

Detail work is her specialty

No barnacles on us!

Murphy the dinghy getting ready

Tightening through-hull
Today... Wednesday we did a final dash to get through-hulls finished, painted underneath the jackstands, various other little busy jobs while we waited to get launched.


Up you go... hurry up and pull, Pam!

Launch time
Out into the open
Supervising
Odie the Operator
Right over the power boat
Splash!
Meals are interesting… toast or granola bars and coffee for breakfast.  Local chicken and rice for lunch and sardines on toast with cucumbers and tomatoes for dinner.  Yummy.  That and lots and lots of water… or beer if we make a run to the Parham store.  We can’t use the fridge until we are in the water… so we can’t get splashed soon enough.


Now that we are in the water we will put up the sails, put things away, do a thousand little getting-ready chores and head over to Jolly Harbour to settle in for provisioning and a little R&R.

Have no idea what we are doing this year... except we will meet up with Seaside Sid after Christmas and head south.  In the meantime...  


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