My Favorite Part

My brother Joe and his wife Julie flew to St. Croix last week to sail with us. Their daughter Lexi and her boyfriend Tyler accompanied them.  We had some rolly nights on board Exit Strategy, but we also had very good times trying some new anchorages and seeing the sights of the island and its nearby cays.

My favorite part was not the lively discussions in the cockpit after drinking free flowing rum concoctions by Captain Dan.

It was not the morning our son Bob took us to work as volunteer gardeners at Reef to Ridge Farm and we came home with fresh veggies.





My favorite part was not the afternoon that Joe bought 5 live lobsters (about 8 pounds total) for us to have for dinner.

It was also not the late afternoon that Dan wielded his machete to open a green coconut for us...

It was definitely not the afternoon we spent on the beach at Protestant Cay- although Lexi proved to be an expert conch, welk, and flounder hunter (when she wasn't screaming).

It was not the day we took a taxi-bus to the St. George Botanical Gardens and then got a ride to the Cruzan Rum Distillery from a snowbird from Kalamazoo.

My favorite part was not the time we wandered around Frederiksted shopping.

It was not the hike to the top of Buck Island or the snorkel trip at the east end.

Tyler & I watching dolphins. 

My very favorite part was when we anchored on the west end of Buck Island and were entertained by a pod of mating dolphins that circled our boat for over an hour!

IF

IF our guests, Joe & Julie and Lexi & Tyler, would have noticed the puddles of water seeping out of the closed door of the forward head or the six inches of brine sloshing about inside when the door was opened, they might have frantically abandoned ship…
 
IF the Captain would have known that the sink's drain valve was closed in the forward head before he turned on the water maker, he would have opened it to allow the salty waste water drain properly…

IF the First & Last Mate had known that the Captain was going to run the water maker, she wouldn’t have closed the valve to let Tyler’s jeans soak while sailing…

IF Tyler would have known that the cute little baby seated next to him on the airplane was going to projectile vomit all over him, he may have tried to get a seat reassignment…

AND THE FIRST MATE WOULDN’T HAVE HAD TO BAIL OUT THE FORWARD HEAD FLOOR!

B.O.A.T.

-is a well known acronym for Bring Out Another Thousand.  This is our most recent experience to prove it is really true.   The thru hull in the forward head was changed out when we moved on to the boat 15 months ago- it had to be as the lever broke off in Milton’s hand during annual maintenance.  Exit Strategy was pulled out and on the hard at the time to paint the hull, so the procedure was easy.
   The problem with the aft head thru hull valve was first noticed about a year ago during a week’s cruise with Joe & Julie around St. Thomas and St. John- USVI.  Dan “fiddled” with it and the problem appeared to be corrected until our daughter Becky’s family sailed with us a month later.   Once again, it seemed to be working after more tinkering (not tinkling) by the Captain.
     Now, a year later our son Bob’s family boards the vessel and the aft head goes on the fritz once more.  Luckily, ES has two heads, so the cruise proceeded fine.  It was also fortuitous that Dan had anticipated having to change out the aft thru hull and had discussed it with some Old Salts (Capt. John of s/v Antillean and Capt. Gene of s/v GeWil).  They assured him that the task could be done while in the water using bungs and working quickly. 

     Well, first Dan dove into the water and banged a bung into the thru hull opening.  Then he came back on board and tried to loosen the fitting by applying extensive elbow grease and massive amounts of “French”.   Tah-dah, the fitting broke off in his hand!  More loud “French” ensued followed by, “Rose come here and put your hand on this hole!”  I did as commanded while Dan jumped back into the water to bang the bung in deeper.  I watched as the rate of seepage dwindled to a trickle and then it finally stopped!  (THANK GOD!)  

   

     So, we chose to have the boat hauled out for a day to be on the safe side AND had the marina’s expert mechanic finish the job. As frustrating as boat repair can be at times- we’re not ready to sink the vessel yet.

Moving Bob's Family to St. Croix

Our son Bob and his family met us in St. Thomas with all their worldly possessions in tow. They were about to embark on a new adventure as Christian missionaries at Youth with a Mission (YWAM)- St. Croix, but they wanted a little R & R beforehand. So over the course of two weeks, we island hopped our way to St. Croix through the US and Spanish Virgins. 



They requested that we spend some time exploring Water Island-USVI since Dan & I spoke of it so often.  Joy joined the morning island walk with the ladies and Bob did his best to hunt for lobster around the rocky points. It was hard to get Aslan and Lyla (our grandkids) out of the water!


The next port was Culebra-PR where we anchored in Ensenada Honda.  From there we took the dinghy through the fishing cannal and across the channel to Cayo de Luis Pena.  There we snorkeled and found some welk for supper.

Isla de Culebrita offered another perfect beach and some natural jacuzzis where the surf rushes between the rocks.   We climbed to the top of a rocky point and also up to the old lighthouse site stopping along the path to examine small land crabs and brightly colored caterpillars.  Bob scored some nice conch for ceviche and chowder.





The longest leg of the trip was when we set sail for Frederiksted, St. Croix-USVI. We kept Aslan & Lyla busy with various games and taught them a modified version of the card game War. They did well and voluntarily took
catnaps, as sailing can have that effect.

From there we headed toward Buck Island, a National Park that lies just north of the eastern end of St. Croix. We anchored at the west end and were welcomed by a school of barjacks and a barracuda. Our hike up to the top of the island was rewarded by breathtaking scenery.

Our final destination was Christiansted, St. Croix.  Bob collected his family's van from the shipping company- probably the most difficult part of the move- and then made multiple trips in the dinghy to transfer their boxes from our boat.  It was great fun sailing with them, but we're sure they are very happy to be on terra firma and ready to devote their energies toward their missionary tasks.  We wish them well!