Monday, January 13, 2014

The winds were still up and rain was just ending and still threatening when I got up to shower and listen to the weather. Wayne’s stomach wasn’t well on top of things so we decided to just stay today. Axel came by for coffee & English muffins.  He told us that Keith (who runs things at the boatyard) was coming by to look at his rat damage so we were kinda hoping that he’d do something to make amends with Azaya. For two years they’ve been trying to get a quote to get some work done on the boat and have been ignored. Now they have rat damage on top of things. But Keith checked things out and didn’t do much else from the sounds of things. Maybe he did after we left.

     Axel brought some juice, cheese & crackers over for lunch and I chopped up an orange & banana to go with it and we sat eating and chatting a bit before Axel headed back to work on the boat. Later Wayne and I walked over to customs to check out of the British Virgin Islands so that we could leave in the early morning. Then on to the office to chat with Lucy N to see if she wanted us to check out tonight or tomorrow. We’ll catch her in the morning… I’ll miss her smiling face & lilting voice! We walked to the water to check out conditions and winds were still up but the seas looked pretty good so I think we’ll be fine tomorrow. It’s kind of protected through Drakes Passage to St John so the waves shouldn’t be too bad.

     We swung by Azaya and checked out the rat damage.  Axel did a pretty good job of cleaning up and it didn’t look as extensive as what I’d built up in my mind. I know they’d done a number on our rugs and pillow (shredding them)  so I was really expecting a total mess on Azaya. They had done some extensive damage to Azaya's cabinet wicker faces and wood work and the plastic containers. Mary will be happy to get new containers BUT Mary’s not going to be too happy when she sees what they did to her artwork. I really had built it up to much worse in my mind. After making Azaya somewhat livable, Axel decided to start working on the project that he originally came down to work on - chipping away at the old paint and fairing. We could see the aluminum body underneath as he exposed it. It’s in good shape. I hope he sends us pictures when he gets her finished. I think it will look great! I remember one time when the light was just right, she glowed silver and was gorgeous. I hope the finished product turns out well.

     On the way back to our boat Wayne & I swung by the deli for sandwiches – I got two because I figured Axel wouldn’t remember to stop by there before 6:00pm when they closed & when he came by to see if we wanted to go grab a bite to eat, I was glad I did. They have great sandwiches at cheaper prices than the restaurants so I enjoyed staying in. We sat around in the cockpit chatting with our sandwiches and beers and before I knew it, it was approaching 8:00pm. I think we’ve run the gamut of topics the last few days. But I think Wayne and I have always enjoyed the conversations with Axel & Mary. I’m sorry I won’t get to say goodbye to Mary but glad we got the chance to see Axel once more. I did email everyone but never did hear back from Mary… I know she’s busy & hope she also remembers us fondly as they continue their travels. Maybe someday we’ll meet again. You never know… Sometimes the world seems like a rather large place but sometimes it’s a small world too.

     We have a wonderful waxing gibbous moon and bright twinkling stars… perhaps I’ll howl at the moon when it’s full. Just one more time… but this time I’ll be a solo she wolf remembering past howling moons…

Sharing rats, dinner and sunsets with friends

Axel came by this morning and it looks like he caught 3 rats! The traps helped and the sticky traps we had last year helped more so. The ones they sell here are not as good as the other ones we had. On these new sticky traps, I think they do a little dance, shake their little booties, then prance off looking for something to eat.  Yep… I can hear the laughter as the critters seem to get off the traps and go on their merry way.  We went over to the restaurant for eggs this morning and then Axel went back to work on Azaya and we checked out our charts, GPS, and weather. It looks like things are settling down and we’ll probably take off tomorrow for St. John.  I’m sad not to be going further but ever so grateful that we’ve had the opportunity and time to be able to make it down here to a place I definitely love – the Virgin Islands…

     We went by Azaya, then went out to the breakwater and sat on the rocks to watch the sun set. It was lovely and of course I didn’t have my camera. From there we walked over to the Bath & Turtle for chats and dinner – good chicken wraps! I’m listening to the band play island music as I write this, tapping my foot to the beat of the steel drums. I enjoyed being able to share our last dinner here with Axel. It was hard to say good night as we headed for our boat and he headed for his. I feel bad about leaving here tomorrow. It almost feels like we’re leaving Azaya as the work gets started in earnest. It’s like we should be helping and then heading further south with them to meet up with Pam & Glen (Blue Pearl) etal to continue our travels… If I think about it, they’ve been involved in our travels for the last 4 seasons or so… they’ve become a part of our life and whether they know it or not… they will be missed.  It’s time for me to get lost in the island music for a bit and out of my thoughts. Tomorrow will be here soon enough!  Not thinking about it right now.

Sunset from the marina Bath & Turtle Rendezvous outdoor bar/restaurant

Grilled cheese sandwiches go with rodents after all...

We topped off the water tanks and then took a walk down the beach to Coco Maya and Fisher’s Cove. While there were no interesting shells or sea beans along my stroll, I did pick up sea glass along the way. The sun was hot and I was definitely working up a sweat as I got back to Wayne. He was sitting in the shade on a chaise enjoying the ocean view of boats sailing through Drakes Channel.  I was craving grilled cheese sandwiches so got some cheese from the store and salads and we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and chef salads for dinner.  We were going to see if Axel wanted to join us but didn’t see him until later when we found out he’d gotten some rat traps from someone and had set them up. I guess last night he had quite a bit of scurrying overhead and they’ve eaten some of the insulation from the refrigerator as well as munching on their woodwork too… I can’t believe the amount of damage these critters can do when they move in!

Good bye to new friends and hello to an old friend

     We started to put the sail up but it was too windy.  Andrew (s/v Sheilah) came by and brought our Bruce Van Sant book back this morning. They got put in the water after lunch and are now headed to North Sound. I’m going to miss chatting with Andrew and Suzy and looking for that crazy chicken that likes to climb their ladder. I do hope we run into them again. We may meet up again in Luperon if we stop there but I’m not sure we’re stopping there. I was hoping that maybe they’d be going with us to Culebra but they’re going to provision in North Sound and plan on traveling straight to the Dominican Republic with no stop in U.S. Waters. We plan on provisioning in St. Thomas, then going from Culebra and Vieques to the south shore of Puerto Rico. We were so intent, watching them pull out of the harbor, that we never saw Axel (Azaya) as he came up behind us. It was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t have much time to mope about Sheilah leaving the harbor. We helped him get his gear to the boat and get power & water. He discovered they had rats.  It appears that the rat problem is wider spread than the boatyard lets on.  The other English guy in the yard also had rats and Mike says he feeds them peanut butter and crackers for a week then when they get used to it he gives them Decon wrapped in peanut butter… Hmmm…

     After saying hi to Axel and bringing a couple beers over to the boat and chatting a spell, we got back to our boat and got the last sail up. Other than putting the reefs in the sails I think we’re about ready to take off as soon as the winds and seas calm a bit. I loved being able to see Axel again. Wayne told him we were heading north again. It’s hard saying goodbye. It made it final in my head to hear that he’d told Axel our plans. We’ve traveled with Azaya on and off (mostly on) for the last few years.  He came by and we went to the Bath & Turtle Rendezvous Bar so he could get a bite to eat.  Meg and Tom (from Alpha Crucis) came by as we were finishing and we all hung out chatting until they turned the lights out on us (hint hint we’re closing and want to go home).  It was a nice evening and the breeze, while still warm, was a little cooler this evening. It was nice to feel it stirring the air around us and the sound of the palms blowing in the wind while we were laughing and chatting made for a delightful evening! Don’t know if I mentioned that Alpha Crucis is a Compac 35. She’s a beauty. They’re waiting for a new engine to come in from St. Thomas.

Blonde Bombshell invades Beach

Thursday, January 09, 2014

     Two sails are up now, the Yankee and the main. The tank is topped off with water and the fuel is also topped off. We tried listening to Chris Parker again on the computer but the signal from the marina seems to come and go. It’s usually at the time when he’s talking about our area! We traded MMSI numbers with Sheilah and calling and receiving each other over the DSC on the radio seems to work fine. One more sail to get up (the main), reefing lines to put in, and we need to get our Bruce Van Sant book back. Then we’re about ready to start the northwest trek back to the states.

     We saw Morgan Freeman wandering down the dock again this morning, as we were wandering about and said hi to him. Nice fellow. I didn’t realize the extent of the damage to his hand he sustained in his car accident a few years back. It was gloved and looked like a prosthetic – a bit smaller than it should have been.  It’s definitely got to be rough on him… He’s an avid flyer and sailor. With his dominant hand not functioning correctly it really has to be a major problem if he was ever a single handler.

 

Time for a walk down the beach to explore the rocks and look for sea debris

      We took a walk from the marina, east along the road, then down to the ferry dock. There’s a beach next to it that I’d been to with Stephanie last year.  Wayne sat at a table with a palm thatched umbrella while I went to explore the rocks at the end.  I’d found a penny and a well patina’d quarter but no doubloons. Coming back I noticed a buxom blond in a white bikini wading in the water in front of Wayne. Since I was wading in the water back, I stopped and chatted with her.  She said she was from New York, originally from Germany and had traveled to Hawaii and was getting ready to head back to the states. Was I from Virgin Gorda? Nope. I’m from Michigan but living here on a boat for a bit.  Told her she really didn’t want to go back to New York – it was cold. She was enjoying the sun in a sun worshipper kind of way, talking about Americans can be such prudes, and she likes travel. Hmmm… She then said she had to catch the ferry and went ashore and threw on a sun dress/tshirt and headed to the ferry.  I think she made Wayne’s day I later found out, by asking if he’d be offended if she wore her bikini  in the water… Huh? He figured she was asking about not wearing it in the water… confusing…  No of course he wouldn’t be offended. But she was built like a brick you know what and was strutting her stuff to her best advantage. Quite a lovely creature, with strategically placed tattoos.  One a beautiful dragon. We both had to wonder if she was selling something though.  She got onto the wrong ferry and went to the top. There she took several “selfies” then waved to us. I waved back. Off came the dress and she sat sunbathing again. Then another ferry started loading on the other side of the dock as we headed back to the boat. We noticed she got off the ferry she had been on and got onto the other ferry. Whoops. Wrong ferry?

     Wayne figured she was trying to pick him up. She probably was… He says it wasn’t because he’s such a darling but figured if he’s there on the beach he has money. Hah! Silly girl… Little did she know that

A. he has no money….

B. she couldn’t pick him up… His heart belongs to me.

Guess I shoulda taken a pic of the Fraulein  I know ya'll are looking for her LOL