Wednesday 6 April 2016

Au Revoir ...

This will be my last post for this trip – tomorrow we go to the marina dock to pack up the boat, and then on to the hurricane hole to put Sea Change on a mooring for the season.

We’ve spent the last two very windy days in one of our favorite harbors – Red Shanks. I’ve been waxing the chrome against rust, wiping down all surfaces below decks with vinegar and water against mildew, and generally cleaning up. My captain, meanwhile, has been busy with a multitude of boat repairs (never-ending).

We made friends with an American couple from South Carolina – Gary and Sharleen, on a Beneteau 37, and have had “sundowners” (drinks at sunset) with them twice, at two different harbors. Lovely people … it’s interesting how easy it is to make friends here – we all have so much in common, and everyone has sailing stories to tell. It turns out that Sharleen also paints in watercolor, and was able to give me some useful tips.

And so ends another wonderful stay in Paradise … with its ups and downs, but mostly a positive experience.


See you back home very soon!





Sunday 3 April 2016

Swimming With a Dolphin!!!

We’re almost too stunned for words – this was surely one of life’s peak experiences.

After a gorgeous gentle sail all the way from Emerald Bay to George Town, and a great conversation with our grandkids, we dropped our anchor in the harbor, and were getting settled in. Suddenly, Jeff shouted – “a dolphin – right there beside our boat!”. And there it was - a seven-foot dolphin, in all its glory, circling our boat for at least an hour.

We took dozens of pictures and some video of this amazing creature, swimming, surfacing, blowing and diving again – as if he was inviting us to come and play. So in we went, with snorkels and masks, and swam with that dolphin diving under and over us – sometimes no more than two feet away!!

The couple on the boat next to us were watching all of this, and I shouted “come and join us” – so they also donned snorkel gear and swam with the dolphin. Finally, the current got stronger, as the tide was changing, and we were finding it hard to not be carried away – so we reluctantly boarded Sea Change, while the other couple swam back to their boat with the dolphin now following them! As I write this, s/he is still circling – their boat.


We’d been wishing for a dolphin sighting all through this trip  - but never could have imagined what happened today. We feel so blessed!










Saturday 2 April 2016

Catching our Breath



Well, just another 9 days left here, and we're getting into packing up mode - slowly, so we don't trigger another bout of CFS in Jeff!

We're currently in a very safe, quiet harbour (Emerald Bay Marina), 10 miles from our home port in George Town. We'll probably leave tomorrow or the next day for our final leg of the trip.

Meanwhile, we’re enjoying this lovely respite from wind and waves. Yesterday we rented a small car and toured the entire Island – all 69 miles of it! We ate a lovely lunch at famous Sanatana’s, right on the beach, took hokey pictures at the sign for the Tropic of Cancer, refilled our propane tanks, reprovisioned the boat with food and drink, and are now set for our closing story here. After all of our adventures in the last week, including sailing here on big wind and huge rolling waves, this is feeling like a great break!