Better Together in 2020

I always mean to get back to my blog. My husband, J, says we live fast and our friends seem to enjoy hearing about our exploits. But there never seems to be enough time or I am not feeling clever or creative.

Well, I am not feeling clever or creative, but suddenly, I find myself with lots of time. Just like most of the rest of the people I know and love. None of us dreamed there would be a pandemic, but here it is and we are all doing our part. 

At first, it all seemed very remote for us. We left on December 30th to pick up our new (previously-owned) catamaran in St. Maarten and spend five months cruising the Caribbean. We named her Better Together (BT) after the Jack Johnson song that J first sang to me 10 years ago, and which his grandson Gabe sang at our wedding almost eight years ago. The perfect name which we proudly put on the steps before we launched her.

This boat is bigger than our monohull in Lake Erie with many features than are new to us, like solar panels, dual engines and a wind generator. I investigated storage spaces, cleaning out and organizing while J figured out how to manage and fine tune the batteries, the water supply, the engine alarms and the sails! I did help with figuring out some things like the windlass for the anchor only runs when the port engine is on.  Thank goodness for Google searches!

J practiced docking this big vessel while I got better at leaping a two-foot gap to get on the dock and tie us up. Sometimes it is three or four feet and he has to do it himself. I am learning to tie on the dock lines and the fenders which are bigger and heavier than the ones at home. And to attach the hose and filter before filling our water tanks. 

We team up on raising and lowering the dinghy that in constant use to get to shore. At first, I had trouble getting in and out, but now I manage well, although my knees are dented from kneeling on hard docks. We pass our cargo back and forth, the groceries or laundry or whatever we are moving today. And I keep a big sponge in the dinghy that I use to bail the small amount of water that is always there, from rain or a slow leak that sneaks in now and then.

We came to St. Croix the first week - a long but calm 15-hour trip and we had dolphins all around us for a while! We have a rental condo and car and had stored our snorkeling equipment here. Our first visitors arrived in January and we enjoyed showing them the island and going on day sails.

Afterwards, the weather was not very conducive for starting our journey to the Leeward and Windward Islands, so we stayed  working on boat and upgrading the condo until early March.

More friends arrived and we sailed to the British Virgin Islands. They fit right in on Willy T's and at Pirate's Bight!

The weather was still a little rough with ocean swells, so we stayed in the BVI until they had to fly home. Then J and I sailed to St. Maarten. It was a long day, only 8 hours from Virgin Gorda. No dolphins this time, but we spotted whales!

The next morning, we listened to Cruisenet for the first time. A local guy gets all the folks on boats on the VHF radio to share info, announce classes and social events, sell extra stuff, etc. Everything sounded fine. Then we went to check in with Immigration and the Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority. Again, no problem.

We had been waiting to get back here to buy parts and things for the boat that are not readily available where we had been. We needed to find a business center to print some documents we needed to sign and send home. And we stopped for lunch at our favorite waterfront restaurant. 

We went back to the anchored boat. We had been following the story about the COVID-19 virus, but it was in China and Korea and Italy and on a cruise ship, but not anywhere near us. Or the U.S., where my daughter is expecting her first child any day. Where I expected to fly when I got the word and then return to finish our trip to Grenada. 

The next morning, as I drank my coffee and read news on my tablet, I realized that things had professed much further than I could imagine. Islands were restricting travel. Cruisenet announced that the French side of St. Martin was closing,  the Dutch side might follow soon. They suggested we all get in groceries for a week or two and prepare to stay put on our boats. 

We went to shore. Things were not restricted yet. Bought lots of groceries. And discussed what to do. We decided we needed to return to the U.S. territory of St, Croix where we have more resources and options. 

We got up and left at 5 a.m. for another 15 hour day. The wind was directly behind us, so we had to motor sail all day. We did see one small dolphin who drifted away quickly. I am more used to the waves and swells now, thanks to a crazy day in the BVI where the waves towered over us, and BT (the boat) took it in stride. We sailed into the familiar harbor after dark, only to drop anchor three times before finding a clear space among the many boats where there used to be a handful. 

So, here we are, practicing social distancing with the rest of the world, in limbo, in paradise. No idea when we will be able to get where we need to store the boat or what options we will have. Just trusting we will all get through this together.