Hurricane Plan

Dear Friends - You haven’t heard from us in a while because not much has happened. We are still in our slip in St. Lucia where we’ve been for almost 3 months. Other than liquor going back on sale, finding a paddle tennis partner for some fun on the lawn, sampling the awesome take out sushi from Rituals and finishing Ozark on Netflix, the biggest news is that we have a hurricane plan.

Although our original plan was to haul out in Trinidad next month, it hasn’t opened so we have committed to hauling the boat here at Rodney Bay boatyard on 5/29. We’ve secured insurance to cover us on the hard and started the process of taking off sails and putting things away for the off season. We have a scheduled flight on 6/6 and an AirBnB to stay in after the boat is hauled and another one to quarantine in when we get home. The tentative plan for the rest of the summer is to look into renting an RV so we can visit friends & family, while reducing the chance of infecting their homes.

Other highlights this month include visiting with the yoga instructor that has been running classes on the dock for marina clients. We put our masks on and took a cab to her home overlooking Rodney Bay Harbor and enjoyed a small cocktail party which started to feel like the good old days. Here’s a photo of the view from her deck.

We also enjoyed a Zoom meeting with approximately 40 Cruising Club of America members who were interested in hearing about our travels in the Caribbean and our experience with COVID 19 in paradise.

At the moment, we are looking forward to coming home and seeing our friends in a state by state socially responsible way!

The reality of our 47 foot world!

Lest you think that Andrew and I have been galavanting around the Caribbean with friends for the last couple months, let me set the record straight. The last two posts were make believe! The reality is that we are mostly confined to our 47 foot boat in Rodney Bay Marina, St. Lucia. Granted, we are now able to get out for food and essentials (which in my interpretation includes exercise) but otherwise, we sit and/or do projects right here at the dock.

Much of the day, we catch up on news, email, french lessons and our new Netflix addictions, in the cockpit with a view of the harbor out back. Down below, we have a galley, that requires cleaning 2-3 times a day, where we make coffee, cook meals and store cold foods in a 24’’ x 14” x 16” refrigerator and a freezer about half that size. Under the galley counter is our woefully empty liquor cabinet!!

In the stern of our boat, we have two bunk bed style aft cabins that could technically sleep two people each. The cabin next to the galley has both bunks chock full of kitchen and other boating gear, but we’ve manage to keep the bottom bunk in the other cabin clear in the event we have a guest. (Two guests would require some major re-packing! Four will never happen!!) Next to the guest cabin and across from the galley is the head, with the toilet, sink and a very small shower, that requires a bench for Andrew to sit on since he’s too tall to stand.

Next to the head is the navigation station (the nav) which houses our computers, VHF & satellite radio’s and other navigation/communications equipment. Across from the nav is a three sided bench around a large teak table. Under and behind the benches is storage for more boat supplies as well as canned foods and other pantry items. Across from the benches is Andrew’s favorite piece of furniture in the boat... the paper chart cabinet.

Moving forward is our bunk and the fore peak. In the fore peak is the anchor & sail locker, water maker, paint shop, laundry room, etc.

Back up top side, we have our transportation (dinghy and stand up paddle board) lashed aboard for trips to the grocery store or a paddle around the marina.

This has been our world for going on almost two months now. We did not clean up the boat for the pictures to give you a real sense of it. Albeit, the weather and scenery is nice, but it’s getting hot and tiresome. In other words, we know how you all feel about getting back to some kind of normal!!!