Friday, January 3, 2020
Georgetown, Exuma, Bahamas
23.31.160N
75.45.475W

    Good day dear readers.  Once again, I am taking up the banner and protecting Lorie’s damaged digit.  Fret not as she will most likely be back tomorrow as she doesn’t trust me to tell an honest story.

  Today was one of those good days, bad days.  We started off with fairly good news from the water maker people and there is definite positive movement in that area.  I am cowering at the potential shipping and VAT (value added tax) cost to get the new part however.  We learned about the new shipping costs from our mail service when we contacted them to send us our mail.  Our breath was taken away at an estimated cost of over $200 just to get our mail.  I don’t think so!  After much back and forth we decided that they should only send us our medications which is still going to cost us in the $130 range.  We will wait and get the rest of our mail in Puerto Rico where there are sane shipping costs.  Mack Sails finally got back to us with the costs of the sail parts which also was ridiculous.  However, they are FINALLY on their way.

  The other frustrating news for the day was the lack of communication from our boat insurance agent.  We have been corresponding for almost a year by e-mail in order to get insurance beyond the Turks and Caicos which we are currently on the door step of.  All of a sudden, she stopped communicating and has not responded to a couple of phone calls.  Today we received a short message that we were going to need a third crew member to go through the Caribbean.  Ok, we had heard that before and told her when we first started this effort that that was not going to happen.  She then went on to say that there was one company that might cover us but she was going to have to check.  Surprisingly enough, that was the same company we used on our last trip and the one we recommended when we first applied.  What are these people thinking?  I know, that’s the problem, they’re not.  Anyway, a short and to the point reply was forwarded to them. Now it’s a waiting game once more. We do have another quote from a different company but it’s costs brings tears to the eyes.

  All this frustration gets overwhelming at times and today was my day to almost throw in the towel and call it quits.  Lorie looked at me with disbelieving eyes and mouth wide open in an “oh my”.  Fortunately, things started to improve and Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic helped.  So, we are continuing to plod along and move forward with our plans.  Who knows what might  happen if we both have a bad day on the same day and there is no rum or gin.

  On a brighter note, we have determined that we are data hounds.  We went through our purchased data plan of 6 gigs in about a week instead of the 2 anticipated.  Maybe it was the Kindle book downloads, the internet chat with ATT to get Lorie’s phone turned back on (don’t even get me started with ATT), or my daily weather downloads.  Regardless, we went back into town and purchased a more robust plan as we figure we are going to be here for a while.  We picked up more water and I even made a second trip into town for an additional 5 gallons.  Lorie did not accompany me on the second trip as the winds and seas were picking up a bit and she would have been soaked.

Loon's BIG Slide

  The rest of the day was spent watching the comings and goings in the anchorage.  On a news front, this is now day 2 of the BIG slide and we have yet to see anyone use it.  Inquiring minds want to know, so we will keep you updated.  I think that’s about it for the day.  Fear not, I think Lorie will be back tomorrow.  By the way, I did change her dressing today and her finger looks great, even if I do say so myself.

Your reluctant correspondent, Dale