Preparation Complete - in Transit

This blog is being brought to you from Thunder Bay. Bruce, Tim & Wiley left St Thomas early Monday morning (April 19th).....at least that was the plan and I haven't heard anything different. I left St Thomas on April 16th and after seeing the airports in Miami, Memphis and Minneapolis, finally arrived in Thunder Bay 12 hours later......unfortunately my luggage didn't arrive until 2 days later - luckily I have sisters to borrow clothes from.

Now that my part in our Caribbean adventure is over, you might be wondering what I (the non sailor) thought of my time living onboard a 39ft sailboat for 4 months. One question I have - who else thinks they could live with their spouse 24/7 in the limited space of 39 ft while floating on the water, especially if your spouse's name is Bruce! Enough said about that! I did thoroughly enjoy the weather. Hard to beat a consistent temperature of 80 degrees with a soft breeze - the stronger breezes however were my downfall. I really don't like to be heeled over to the extent that wearing a life jacket with a safety harness clipped to the railing is a must.

It was nice to look forward to the newness of each day - going to places we had never been before where just finding a grocery store was an adventure. The beaches were wonderful and the turquoise water warm and inviting (unlike Georgian Bay). I did miss the ordinary, mundane things like a daily shower, being able to do laundry whenever I felt like it & a flush toilet. All in all a small price to pay for experiencing life in a tropical paradise.

Would I do it again........in a heartbeat!

What have you done for me lately?

A couple of times we have mentioned the 150 lbs of tools that we brought down with us and of course tools occupy a special place in my heart. Shortly after we got down here, the hinge on one of the hatches broke and it was time to effect a repair.

Wrenches, allen keys and even drill bits were put into use. The problem with the drill bits was I had no drill. Had to use the vice grips on the drill bit to turn and remount my new hole. Of course, you know where this is leading....let's increase that 150 lbs of tools by buying a new battery drill.

Rivets for repairing the hinge were in stock, having brought them down. The valves on the heads were leaking, so a repair was made with a new valve brought down in my tool package. When I repaired the engine water leak, the hose clamp was in stock in the tool kit. Moving the baby stay so that the dinghy can be stored on deck on the trip home required drilling holes in the deck, wrenches, hack saws - again most of the parts were in stock in the tool kit. For the trip home, we will carry some extra jerry can fuel jugs on deck to extend our motoring range. I needed a board to go between the stantions for attachment. Went to the local hardware store (lumber store) but after the 1km walk, they informed me they don't sell lumber any more. On the way to the lumber store, I had noticed a 2x10 leaning against the wall of a business (looked like a piece left over from a big crate). I asked the owner if I could buy it - he said it was free - no charge. When I asked him if he could cut to length, he gave me that funny look and I knew the answer was "NO". I took my board back to the boat and then had to retrace my steps to the hardware store for a saw. Yipee - more tools! The free 2x10 only cost me $23.00 for a hand saw. The fuel jug rail is now mounted and ready for the trip home. Before I get too smug about all the repairs and spare parts that have worked, talk to me after the ocean crossing and see how many things we had to fix on route and did we have the parts and tools.

We are hoping to leave April 19th from St Thomas. Tim & Wiley will be on board for the trip home. While I might have enough tools down here, I don't have enough sails so they are each bringing a spinnaker and more line. It's 1500 miles to New York City. My target time is 11 days - 10 days would really put a smile on my face - 12 days would be a disappointment and 13 days would be just plain ugly. The average person walks at 4 miles per hour. The power walkers you see in your neighbourhood, swinging their arms, probably do 6 miles per hour - or our approximate sailing speed.

We will push off from the marina at Nanny Cay, Tortola and get our customs clearance from the BVI's to leave tomorrow. Every location we leave now is a goodbye to an old friend. Joan especially is sorry to leave Deadman's Bay on Peter Island where the beach is exceptional and where we spent the last week. Next blog will probably be our last from the Caribbean.