Monday, June 29, 2020

St. George’s, Grenada
12.02.608 N
61.44.986 W

Corona Extra:  Sounds like a spoiler for 2021!

Today was well and truly busy as we were checking out of WuFlu Jail!  We were all up and moving by 7:30 am.  By 8:15 we lowered the dink and went in to the Quarantine dock for our 9am testing.  We weren’t the first ones there.  In fact, it looked like a race after 8:30 of everyone racing to “get out of jail”. 

First Line

It was an orderly set up.  First, we lined up on the dock.  The first tent was where we were checked in.  Next, we approached the tent where the tests were actually conducted.  We signed a book and the nurse opened the envelope that contained what looked like a short pregnancy stick.  Dale was first, Savannah was next, then me.  Papa tried to show Savannah how it was going to go but she still let out a yell and whimpered for a good 5 minutes

This is how its done!

after the finger stick.  More theatrics than actual pain I’d say.  It took 15 minutes for it to finish but, obviously, we were all negative.  In fact, as of today, they had tested over 330 boats with only a handful who had a false positive on the rapid test and no boater has tested positive even with the longer test.  We were handed the envelopes that had originally contained the test stick with our names and “neg” written on the outside and sent to the next tent where we exchanged our test envelopes and temporary health certificate for entry into the quarantine anchorage for a “real” health certificate declaring everyone on our boat free from infection.  Our get out of jail card.  Next was an area where 2 welcoming cruisers offered maps, hand sanitizer, and all sorts of information for Grenada as a whole.  Finally, we were directed to the little white house that housed the Customs and Immigration people.  I had printed out the forms we had to submit to get a spot in the Quarantine area with our passports and money, so Dale volunteered me to stand in line and be “captain” for the day.  He and Savannah took the time to go check us into the marina and get the layout of where we had to go.  I had just made it up to the window when Gerry left Nicky to stand in line and he went to check Opal into the marina. 

Our Get Our of Jail Cards!

Dale got back before Gerry with the news that the airport, which had been scheduled to open on the 1^st of July, was now not opening until the 1^st of August.  That definitely puts a spin on getting Savannah back well in time for school; we have a month to figure out something.  Apparently, when Gerry checked in, he was told that he didn’t have to check into Customs and Immigration immediately but could actually bring the boat into the marina and then check in.  So, he grabbed Nicky and we all walked back to our dinghies and back to our respective boats.

We made our way back to the Palace, hoisted the dinghy back into the davits and set about getting ready to retrieve the anchor.  It came up without a problem.  Although, Dale did have to stop a couple of times and spread out the chain in the anchor locker as we had so much out, he was afraid that it would tangle if left to its own accord just dropping back in.  We entered the harbor and slowly motored to where we had been directed to stop, radio ahead and then proceed to where we were going to be med-moored (the same variation as used in the Turks & Caicos). 

As it turned out, we ended up on the quay wall.   They used our lines to attach to a mooring ball and then the boat is stretched back and tied stern-to the wall.  At first, I wasn’t happy.  Our lines in front are completely underwater and will need a thorough washing when we finally leave (I have a feeling that we’ll just end up throwing them out).  Looking out the stern, there is a road that runs along a hurricane fence opposite the wall.  Not very secure.  Then we found out that the marina has a wandering security force 24/7, so I changed my opinion.  Finally, we were put right next to a large fishing type yacht.  An unattended boat.  One that has a curved hull that actually protrudes over the top of our life lines.  Once the marina personnel secured us to our spot, Dale saw a huge fender on the dock behind the boat and attached it to theirs, in an effort to keep it off us.  Our fenders were too small to fend off the curved portion of their boat. 

The first thing Dale did when we were tied off was dig out the electrical cables, connect us to the shore power and turned on the air conditioning.  Thank heavens.  By the time we were done, putting up the shade cloths, the covers for the front enclosure back on and basically settling the Palace for a month in the marina, the temp on the thermometer was 104 and I was dripping and exhausted.  Savannah had settled herself inside with her iPod in the air conditioning and was content to keep to herself. 

We had accomplished all of this by 1:30 in the afternoon.  There was no way I was going to figure out lunch, so we contacted Opal to see if they were ready to find the marina restaurant to meet for lunch.  We went in and the gang was all there.  Renee and Gene from Texas Crewed, Mark & Gina from Rum Truffle, Rachel & her husband from Princess something and of course, Gerry & Nicky from Opal.  We grabbed a few chairs, rearranged a couple of tables and we all sat talking and having a great lunch. 

We waddled back to the boat taking in the amenities along the way; we found the pool, showers, and laundry; I’m set, it’s going to be hard to leave here.  Dale took a nap.  Savannah went back to playing her games and I started trying to pick up all of the things that seem to clutter a boat but ended up reading the Grenada Cruising Guide looking for things to do for the next month. 

Soon enough it was dinner time and we wandered back to the same restaurant for dinner.  I’d say a quick dinner but there’s nothing quick about how long it takes to get your meal from the time you order.  Although rather expensive, the food is good and we are allowed to sit in the restaurant after having your temperature taken, registering who you are in a book and getting spritzed with hand sanitizer each time, so no real complaints. 

Tomorrow, we’ll start working on making arrangements for getting all the big ticket items repaired.  For now, we’re heading to bed early in air conditioned splendor. 

Finally:  I went and got tested for the Corona anti-body.  Turns out it was just a beer belly.

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada – Day 11/12
12.02.484N
61.45.411W

Six months ago a man stumbles across a genie’s bottle and is granted three wishes.  He tells the genie "I am a simple man. All I wish for is to spend more time with my family, have a shorter commute and a case of Corona."

In spite of it being a Sunday, it was sunny today and every other boat in the anchorage (including us) thought that today was perfect for doing laundry.  Once done that was about it for me until dinner time. 

Since Dale had to run the generator for me to do laundry, he ran the water maker, the water heater, made ice and charged the batteries.  Then he fixed 3 of the locks on drawers and doors that pop open when we’re under way.  One unfortunately seems to be missing a piece.  I usually just slap a piece of tape over them.  I guess he’s getting tired of seeing blue tape all over the boat. 

Homemade Pizza

We’re all getting excited for tomorrow.  Savannah is worried that the pin prick will hurt.  Dale is studying up for the test.  Forget the test!  I can’t wait to finally go swimming in a pool.  The marina we will be staying at has one.  I plan on staking out a spot every day. 

For dinner tonight, I tried my hand at making a homemade pizza.  Plus I tried using some of the bread I made yesterday into little hors doeuvres.  Both attempts were well received.  Heavy on the starch but since I was using many of the same ingredients, why not? 

Wish us well tomorrow. 

This one’s for Gerry:  As a fisherman who has no idea what he's doing, he doesn’t need to worry about the corona virus.  He never catches anything.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada – Day 10/11
12.02.484N
61.45.411W

Another Saturday night and I just realized that even the garbage goes out more than I do.

Well, today started off pretty exciting.  Everyone in the anchorage was sitting around minding their own business, when a voice came over the radio saying that a 36 knot wind had just passed through a different anchorage.  As the skies were just starting to darken, I turned on our wind instruments and we went outside to watch.  Within minutes, the skies turned dark, the wind picked up and the rain started.  For the first part, we didn’t see anything over 20 knots but then it really started cranking up.  Sure enough we saw 35+ kts come though.  You couldn’t see the hand in front of your face for all of the rain.  We kept an eye on our neighbors and our markers to discern whether we were going to drag or not.  Finally, it started to let up.  We saw several boats around us dragging and/or moving to another location.  As I’ve mentioned (probably too many times) this is lousy holding!  Thankfully, we stayed put.  I grabbed a brush and starting using the free fresh water to wash off the red Saharan dust that’s been accumulating on our decks.  It was a cold rain but the boat was a lot dirtier than I had first thought.  Glad that I used the opportunity to give it a good brush. 

When we looked out the window to check on Opal, it appeared to be mating with another smaller boat.  We waited for a bit to give them time before checking to see if they were alright.  Turns out that the smaller boat had dragged within a couple feet of them.  They had already turned on the engine and reinstalled the wheel (they keep it stored off the pedestal to give themselves more room in the cockpit) ready to move if it came to it.  Luckily, the other boat was able to keep theirs from hitting Opal and no further drama was incurred. 

Amazing isn’t it?  Nothing for days and then bam!!  Crap happens and its (to use an old Navy term) all asses and elbows!  Gerry relayed that they saw 50 kts on their instruments.  They are located away from us and in direct line with two hillsides that funnel the wind though them, so that 36 kts gets amped up a smidge. 

Another bit of exciting news is that we might get out of WuFlu jail early!  Apparently, there are 30 boats arriving this coming Wednesday and they want to start clearing the anchorage for the new arrivals.  Gerry thought perhaps it was because I had sent in a pleading letter to the Ministry of Health requesting consideration of time served in the transit.  Dale thought it was for good behavior.  In any event, we’re hoping to leave on Monday barring any unforeseen positive test results. 

Throughout the remainder of the day we had off and on showers but around 3pm Dale and Savannah took a swim out to the anchor to check on it.  According to them, it hadn’t budged.  I took a couple of videos of Savannah doing cannon balls off the back end to send to her mom showing that she was still alive and well. 

Other than that, a quiet day. 

Finally:  I wish the corona virus had started in Las Vegas; because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Friday, June 26, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada – Day 9/10
12.02.484N
61.45.411W

Happy 7^th Birthday Aidan !!!

First:  Remember all those times when you wished the weekend would last forever?  Well, wish granted!  Happy now?

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Another day in quarantine and nothing really to write about.  I’m not sure what got into me today but I defrosted the freezer and then made bread (yes, Nicky, I’m lazy and used the bread machine.)  I had run out of hamburger and hot dog buns and decided to give it a whirl.  They were a little heavier than I wanted so I probably should have let them rise longer.  I’ll try to be more patient next time.

Dale used up the last of the Flex (the stainless polisher), so he had to come up with something else to do.  He worked on the salt water pump as he had discovered that it wasn’t working the day we left St. Thomas when he tried using it on the anchor as he brought it up.  If you’ll recall, he just used a bucket of fresh water when the pump didn’t work.   In the end, he figured it needed to be replaced, so another item on the list. 

He then ran the water maker until it spit out the overflow, so nothing more to do on that project.  I have no idea what he’s going to do tomorrow. 

Unfortunately, that’s all for today. 

Finally:  Is it too early to put up the Christmas tree?  I’ve run out of things to do. 

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada – Day 8/9
12.02.484N
61.45.411W

First:  Corona isn't Trump's fault, Ebola wasn't Obama's, Sars wasn't Bush's and only a handful of Herpes cases were Clinton's. 

Another day of nothing really to report.  There were several more boats that left the quarantine area today; you could actually see the anchorage emptying out.  By noon, a steady stream of boats started taking their place.  The boats closest to us left and within an hour, they were replaced with new ones.  We kept a sharp eye out for anyone trying to anchor in front of us as we have about 200’ of chain deployed and didn’t want them to disturb the anchor. 

Dale kept busy doing more bright work.  He also thought that he would tighten the hex screws on the steering wheel as it had become wobbly with all of the hand steering during our transit.  Of course, as with all boats, nothing is ever easy.  What started out as tightening a few screws became an, oh crap! it needs to be soldered.  Apparently, there were points around the wheel holding the spokes in place that have broken.  So, add another item to our list of things that need to be repaired once we get out of quarantine. 

Stolen from Nicky's Blog

By evening, the wind picked up and after watching a Disney movie prior to bedtime we had a sudden downpour.  By the time we had scurried around the boat closing all of the hatches, we were soaked.  Hopefully, tomorrow, with any kind of luck, we’ll find all of the Saharan dust has been washed off.  We ended the day by taking down the shade cloths we had put up yesterday.  The wind was picking up to the point where they were becoming sails and we didn’t want to drag during the night.   

Finally:  (since this is such a short post and this joke was too good to leave out) . . . The AMA has weighed in on the administration's Corona Strategy:  The Allergists were in favor of scratching it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.
The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.
Meanwhile, Obstetricians felt certain everyone was laboring under a misconception, while the Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.
Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!” while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, grow up!”
The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.
Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and the Internists claimed it would indeed be a bitter pill to swallow.
The Plastic Surgeons opined that this proposal would “put a whole new face on the matter.”
The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.
Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and those lofty Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.
In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington.aboring under a misconception, while the Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!” while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, grow up!”

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and the Internists claimed it would indeed be a bitter pill to swallow.

The Plastic Surgeons opined that this proposal would “put a whole new face on the matter.”

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and those lofty Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington.aboring under a misconception, while the Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!” while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, grow up!”

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and the Internists claimed it would indeed be a bitter pill to swallow.

The Plastic Surgeons opined that this proposal would “put a whole new face on the matter.”

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and those lofty Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada – Day 7/8
12.02.484N
61.45.411W

This corona quarantine has given my husband Alzheimers!!!  He doesn't remember what he ever saw in me.

It’s officially been 1 week since we arrived in WuFlu Jail.  We watched a couple of boats leave but rather surprised as to how few.   Our neighbors to the left of us dinghied in this morning but so far, haven’t returned.  We figure they’ll be leaving soon as you can’t do anything on shore until you’ve cleared customs after testing. 

Besides that, we’ve settled into our school routine.  Dale busied himself cleaning some of the rust stains on the sides of the boat and then polished the chrome on the two pulpits and anchor sleeve. 

In the evening, once the wind died down, we hoisted the jib so that we could turn the camber spar to the side that fits in the cover best.  When we last lowered it, the wind was blowing at a pretty good clip and it settled on the wrong side to put the cover back on.  Once the cover was in place, we felt that we could deploy the sun shades as we haven’t dragged in a couple of days.  We did tie them higher than usual so that in case of an emergency, we could move without having to take them down. 

Nothing more to report.  All is well. 

Finally:  Where’s your husband?....In the garden….I didn’t see him….  You just need to dig a little.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada – Day 7
12.02.484N
61.45.411W

Remember when you were little and your underwear had all the days of the week on them?  Those would be helpful right now.

Believe it or not, we just spent a night where we didn’t have to jump up and down all night to close the hatches for rain.  I actually got a good nights’ sleep. 

Today was the same as yesterday, except that Dale’s last toilet fix seems to have eliminated the leak.  The thing both Savannah and I noticed, was that it sounds different now.  Its much louder.  Not sure how one thing has to do with the other but just an observation. 

Dale and I are tag teaming classes these days.  I do piano, math and reading in the morning, he does the science brain quests and swim lessons in the afternoon.  Today’s math lesson had to do with counting money, so instead of having her draw everything out, I dug out real coins and went from there.  It seems to have captured her attention better. 

Gerry seemed occupied by finding an after quarantine marina to celebrate our release from WuFlu Jail.  At first I was trying to take the cheap route but then when he pointed out that we would have been in a marina had we actually made Trinidad on time, I was all for it.  (Yeah! Twist my arm!)  Air conditioning? – please!  Pool? – absolutely!  Since he has more parameters that must be met than us, we’ll just tag along.  Where ever they’re happy, we’ll be happy too.  By evening, he settled on the marina that is serving as the Quarantine Dock.  Best monthly prices and 110/60 (American) electricity.  Unfortunately, Nicky is still nursing a torn meniscus and prefers a side to tie up for getting on and off the boat.  As electricity won out over position on the dock, Port Luis (the marina) won out although it is a med-moor tie.  We’re hoping that Opal will be put either next to us or Texas Crewed so that she can cross to our boat and then off the stern.  We’ll see what happens. 

I also took the opportunity to write to the Grenadian Ministry of Health requesting that our 5 day transit (with departure papers from St. Thomas) be taken into consideration for the 14 day quarantine.  The officer from the Ministry of Health had suggested that we write.  It’s a long shot but its just a request.  If they say no, we’re no worse off. 

Dale and Savannah did their evening swim (with fins) out to the anchor – yep, still holding.  The Grenadian Coast Guard made their rounds through the anchorage and didn’t even slow near us today.  Tomorrow, since we seem to be holding, we’ll put up the sun shades to ride out the remaining time at anchor.  We didn’t want to go through all of the work of putting them up just to take them down in an emergency move. 

That’s it for today. 

Finally:  It may take a whole village to raise a child but I swear it will take an entire distillery to homeschool one. 

Monday, June 22, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada – Day 5
12.02.484N
61.45.411W

Happy Birthday Fred !

So let me get this straight.  There’s no cure for a virus that can be KILLED by sanitizer and hand soap. 

Not much to write about today.  Savannah and I did our routine, piano, math and reading comprehension classes.  Dale tore the toilet apart again.  His last recourse was to check the seal on the shaft leading to the macerator pump.  We’re waiting to find out if this takes care of the problem. 

Another Hazy Day!

This morning on the cruisers net, they reiterated that we are not to swing by our neighbors and talk with them.  We shouldn’t even talk back and forth between boats if we are close enough to do so.  We must radio ahead for permission to bring in trash.  If we choose to use the internet shopping option, we are to wait until delivery is made to the Quarantine Dock and then contacted by the Quarantine Dock to come in to pick up our purchases.  We are not to deploy any inflatable toys or appear to be having a good time.  As it was explained, if the locals can’t go out and about or visit the beaches, we aren’t to appear to be in any better circumstances.  Of course, all of these are subject to fine and/or imprisonment upon violation.  This is too bizarre to even comment upon.  The item that really got me going was, even after you get out of quarantine, you cannot visit other boats in other anchorages.  You can meet in a restaurant and sit across the table from them, but you can’t visit each others’ boats.  Incredible!!

After that, the only thing exciting that happened today was that the Grenadian Coast Guard came around and told several boats they had to move behind the buoys marking the boundaries of the Quarantine Anchorage.  When they came to us, Dale told them that we had already reanchored 5 times in an effort to find a holding place.  They checked their maps and then said we could stay.  Looking at the boundary markers, I think we were right on the line.  Maybe Savannah standing by her Papa helped; who knows.  Our neighbors to the right of us picked up their anchor and reanchored directly behind us.  Our neighbors to the left simply let out more rode.  Dale and he hollered back and forth a few times and we let out more of our chain as well.  Once the swinging went into motion, we let out even more.  All said and done, we have every link possible deployed but we’re still holding and don’t want to give up our tenuous purchase.  

Dale and Savannah make a coordinated run into town to dump a bag of trash.  It just so happened that Gerry was taking his trash in at the same time.  Imagine that!  Gerry relayed that he learned that more than 300 cruisers have been tested for CoVid19, not one has tested positive. 

Finally:  If these last few months have taught us anything—its that stupidity travels faster than any virus on the planet. 

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada – Day 4
12.02.484 N
61.45.411W

Happy Father’s Day !

Why don’t chefs find coronavirus jokes funny? They’re in bad taste.

Today was a day of rest.  Being Father’s Day, Dale requested biscuits and gravy for breakfast, or as Gerry and Nicky would say biscuits and gelatinous goo.  I guess the Brits, Aussies, and Kiwis don’t appreciate our southern cuisine.  Dale was happy.  Savannah has resigned herself to the fact that whatever is served is the only thing available until the next meal and made do.

She did entertain herself either bouncing on the trampoline, playing computer games or reading on her bed for the day.  We often hear what sounds like a war emanating from her quarters; not sure what book she’s reading or if Classified (Teddy’s name) is in deep kimchi.  Dale and I will look at each other wondering what in tarnation is going on, then leave her to it. 

Dale spent the day either reading or snoozing. Thank heavens he hasn’t had to dive the anchor again today.  It was also a very, very hazy day but he still managed to run the water maker a couple of hours.  

Opal ended up having to move again as the holding just isn’t good.  They tried near us again before moving back over to where their original anchoring spot was.  At least they feel that have a ways to drag before hitting anyone. 

I tried to catch up on e-mails, followed the rabbit paths that Facebook usually ends up being, tried to read up on the auto pilot issue but so far nothing fits the scenario; Dale thinks we’ll just have to consult the RayMarine tech people.  This evening the wind piped up, so we’re keeping an eye on our anchor position again.  The bad thing about the wind picking up at night is that if we have to move, you can’t see where you’re going.   

Otherwise, Day 4 in Quarantine is simply status quo. 

Finally:  If there’s a baby boom nine months from now, what will happen in 2033? There will be a whole bunch of quaranteens?

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada - Day 3
12.02.484 N   
61.45.411 W

Why do they call it the novel coronavirus? It’s a long story….

Dale started the day with a dive on the anchor to make sure that it was still where we left it.  We had shifting winds during the night that had Dale up and down.  Sure enough, although he could see where the anchor chain had wound itself around a couple of rocks, the anchor itself was still in the same spot.  He then thought that he would just do a couple of projects and call it a day but when it’s a boat, things change. 

He turned on the generator so that we could make water and I could run a couple of loads of laundry at the same time.  Believe it or not, it worked beautifully. 

Then he thought he could knock out a repair of a small leak at the bottom of the masterside toilet by changing out the joker valve.  He tore it down to nuts and bolts and exchanged the valve for another saying that it was an easy repair.  Then he put it all back together.  Unfortunately, the leak resumed as soon as he flushed the toilet. 

When he came up to say that nothing was ever easy, the boat had made some definite tugs the on the anchor and he graciously agreed to dive the anchor a 2^nd time.  Again, in spite of the jerk that almost knocked us off our feet, the anchor was still holding. 

He stripped off his swim trunks and was back in his work clothes to tear the toilet down a second time; disassembling the toilet and macerator unit.  This time, he replaced all of the seals and washers with a rebuilt kit before putting it back together.  He noted 2 screws at the bottom of the unit that were extremely difficult to access.  With the toilet put back together, he tested it again.  Sure enough, the leak was still there but now he knew it was coming from the area that was hard to access.  So, he took the macerator unit off again and resealed the “O” ring and applied silicone sealant.  By 4pm he called it a day and informed Savannah and I that we would be using the guest side head for tonight while the repair cures. 

Checking the Anchor

In the meantime, Savannah and I made ourselves scarce and very, very quiet.  Essentially, we sat in the cockpit and she read a Dr. Seuss book to me.  When Dale peeled off his gloves for the last time, he resumed Savannah’s swimming lessons and they took the opportunity to, once again, check the anchor; yep still where we had left it in spite of all of the noise it makes dragging and snagging the chain across the rocks. 
Later, we spoke for a few minutes to Gerry and Nicky to see how they were doing.  Gerry apparently changed the oil and filters in his main engine, so it appears that everyone is trying to make the most of being stuck again. 

We finished the evening by watching a movie and eating popcorn.  Sorry folks, not a whole lot happens in jail. 

Finally:  Did you hear the joke about the germ? Never mind, I don’t want to spread it around.

Friday, June 19, 2020

Quarantine Anchorage (Sailor/Wuflu Jail), Grenada
12.02.484 N   
61.45.411 W

What types of jokes are allowed during quarantine? Inside jokes!

Well, we made it.  We actually arrived at dusk on Wednesday evening but as the Quarantine Dock was closing, we were instructed to anchor in the Quarantine Anchorage and report back in the morning. 

So now, lets get to the good, the bad and the ugly of the trip.  

Ready for the Big Trip!

The good?  Savannah was a trouper; even during some of the more challenging aspects of the trip, she made light of it.  Only once did she get sea sick.  More on that later. 

The bad?  I can honestly say it was one of the most challenging trips we have ever made. 

The ugly?  Once we got up the morning after our arrival and had to check in with the Quarantine Dock, we looked like a rust bucket.  All the rust Dale and I had diligently cleaned off the Palace previously was back with a vengeance. 

In my last post I told you how we had anchored to the side of a marine park in St. John.  We were having a pleasant day when about 4:30 pm, the National Park Service sent a patrol boat out to say that the entire area was now a marine park and that we had to move.  Apparently they knew that the cruising guides and charts still designated the area we were in as an anchorage, apologies extended, but that we still had to move.  We asked where the nearest anchorage was that we could get to in the setting sun and were directed across the large Round Bay to another of the 3 smaller bays called Coral Bay. 

Coral Bay wasn’t as pretty as Hansen Bay and was crowded to boot.  We raised anchor as quickly as possible as they were clearing out about a dozen other boats from our side to move away.  Opal followed suit and we did our best to anchor before night fall.  We ended up having to make a couple of attempts as we couldn’t get a good purchase.  Finally we got a good enough tug that we felt we could sit overnight. 

The next morning, Saturday, June 13, we raised our anchor about 9am and started our motoring east.  Of course the wind was directly on the bow, so there was no need to even try to raise the sails.  The transit was mild and we even were able to have a piano practice and a quick round of subtraction flash cards to keep us entertained.  The rest of the day Savannah played computer games and went below to read one of her books.  It was a sunny day, nice breeze and what I would consider a good transit. Unfortunately, by evening, right after dinner, she was sick.  Considering how well she had been doing, we surmised that it was being down below, without a breeze, reading.  As soon as she tossed her cookies, she immediately felt better and never had another problem.

Through the night, the winds and waves increased and slowed our progress down to 3 kts at times.  On Sunday, June 14, at change of shift at 2am, Dale found the genset running.  We had no idea, how it started or how long it had been running.  So from that time on, I started calculating an additional 4-6 hours of fuel usage to our motoring time. 

During these first couple of days, we were well ahead of Opal but knew that as soon as we turned south, they would catch up as they can point higher into the wind than we can.  We also began a twice daily single side band (SSB) radio check-ins with another boater named Escape Pod, located in Grenada keeping up with those who were on their way.

By mid-day on Sunday, we made our approach to the 2 waypoints we had installed to go around the Saba bank (a location noted on the charts as having dangerous waves).  As we rounded and turned south, we hoisted a reefed main and our jib and watched the speed pick up to 6 kts; Opal asked if we had actually deployed our Code Zero. 

Savannah's Perch

Unfortunately, with the wind comes the waves and they were getting larger by the hour.  By mid-afternoon, Savannah, who had been sitting high up in our sling seat, went flying from there to the cockpit seats, or one padded area to another.  It was the sudden flight that startled her.  She had been playing on her iPad games and throughout the flight did not drop the game at all.  In fact, I had to pry the dang thing from her hands to make sure she was alright.  She said that she had hit her chest but the only thing that she could have hit it on was the iPad itself as she landed.  In any event, she was fine.  As I said, a trouper!

Keeping Watch

As each day passed, Dale and Gerry took the opportunity to check in with each other a few minutes prior to checking in with Escape Pod on the SSB.  During the evening of the 14^th and early morning hours of the 15^th, we were hit with a rouge wave.  After dark with no moon to speak of, you have to feel though the wheel how the rudder is reacting to the water its slicing through.  This particular wave gave no warning and slapped us good.  When Dale came off watch, he checked to see how Savannah was doing, and found about ½” of water on the floor.  Thinking that I hadn’t closed the hatch over her bed when it had been raining, he sopped it up and dogged the overhead hatch down tighter.  When he relayed what he had found, I knew that her hatch was the first one I had closed when it started raining, so when I ended my watch, I went down to check on her too.  Again, the floor was covered with water.  As I was standing there, another wave hit the side and I was drenched in water.  I checked the side porthole and one of the three knobs holding it closed, came off in my hand.  I grabbed another towel, sopped up the water, checked that the bilge pumps were working and not being over loaded and told Dale what I had found. 

Needless to say, we switched places so that he could don a head light and see how bad the problem was.  He found that not one but two of the knobs broken.  At first he instructed me to bring us into the wind to keep the water off the porthole while he tried to silicone the hatch shut.  By 4am, we knew that the silicone wasn’t holding, so once again, I brought the boat into the wind to slow us down and keep the water off the porthole.  Dale donned his headlamp and tried sealing the whole thing again with Flex seal.  Our issue was that it required 15 minutes to set up.  So there we sat idling, waiting, and trying to stay dry.  Dale gave it a good 20-25 minutes to set up before going back down to put it together.  After that point, there was nothing more we could do but keep an eye on things and wait until light to see if it was holding. 

Daybreak was no more promising.  So once again, I brought us into the wind, slowed us to a

crawl and tried to keep the waves off the porthole.  This time he slathered the rubber goop all over the window.  Also this time, he grabbed some Flex Tape and hung upside down over the edge to place 4 lengths of tape over the outside of the porthole.  Obviously, if you know Dale, this was very challenging and by the time all 4 pieces of the tape were in place, he was green and going down for the count.  This was as good as it was going to get, while underway. 

Bless her heart, Savannah slept through the whole episode.  It reminded us of when we stomped all over her mother when she was younger and slept through us being hit by a very much larger boat while at anchor.  When Savannah woke up, the first thing she said was “what happened here?”  The side window was now covered with white rubbery material and looked like a scrubbing bubble bottle exploded on that side of the hull.  

Then . . . we lost our autopilot.  Again, it was about sunset, the wind was shifting, I was on watch at the time.  Dale came up to help me tack as we were being set farther and farther off our course.  We took it off auto, tacked and tried to set it again and although it appeared to engage, it in fact, did not.  In other words, the course we would put in would hold on the instrument but the helm would not respond.  Dale entered into the log book “auto pilot/chart plotter not talking.” 

For the next 3 days we hand steered.  We faced and met challenges we have never had to endure for such a long time before.  Winds up to 30 knots, waves (I swear 12-14 feet) but we made it.  We’ve lost our steering before on our Hunter in an overnight crossing to the Abacos.  After 3 days of hand steering though, those 12 hours seemed like child’s play.  I’ve been in 30 knot winds before in the Hunter maybe 10 degrees off the bow but the boat handled it well and it was only for a couple of hours.  In a catamaran, 30 knot winds taken on a 60-70 degree angle keeps up the speeds to maneuver through the waves but anything less leads to stalling your speed completely.  Nerve wracking at best.

This trip, the usual 12-15 knots were a reprieve but the gusts that crept in every couple of hours were in the 25-30 kt range.  Waves we took over the boat, Savannah took to calling mini-Tsunamis.  When they would drench her sitting in the sling seat, she’d yell out “free showers!” 

Don’t get me wrong, we did have good times too.  We would sit in the cockpit and watch all of the stars come out.  There were so many, it was hard for me to pinpoint the Big Dipper Savannah was so enamored with.  I think I saw the Southern Cross and pointed that one out to her but I need to confirm with Nicky that the stars I was seeing for a short time on the southern horizon at about 9pm were in fact, the right constellation. 

As it was obvious, I was going to be on watch when we arrived, I thought I could take a shower in the midst of all of this pitching and rolling.  I figured out a way to brace my legs on each side of the shower long enough to get a good rinsing but drying off was a bit of a challenge.  I decided that this could be accomplished by closing the toilet lid and sitting on it to not only dry off but get dressed as well.  Imagine my surprise when I found myself sliding between the shower and the sink on a very slippery lid trying to pull up my britches.  It was ugly but the mission was accomplished. 

Grenada Arrival

We kept hoping that everything would calm down the closer we got to Grenada but it wasn’t until we were within 10 miles of the center of the island that the waves subsided and the winds died to the normal 12-15 kts on Wednesday evening.  We radioed ahead to let them know we were approaching but were told to find a place in the anchorage and check back in the next morning. 

Gerry radioed us to find a place close to the channel to make getting in easier the next day.  We had tried to find him, as he was waving his flashlight to let us know where they were but there were too many boats around him and we were losing light very quickly. 

It took a couple of tries but we finally felt we anchored in a place where we might still be the next morning and called it a day.  After putting Savannah to bed, we sat out on the trampoline and watched the anchor lights bobbing back and forth and went over the things we need to fix while in quarantine.  We treated ourselves to a couple of very strong rum drinks before heading to bed ourselves.  Our bodies have aches on top of our pains.  Both of us have sore shoulders and sore backs from the experience but we’re still here. 

Thursday, June 18, we radioed into the Quarantine dock and requested permission to come in.  We hoisted anchor about 7:30am and entered into the facility we saw beginning its construction on our last trip in 2006.  Its beautiful.  There were people to grab our lines and a well organized checking in procedure was explained.  We were still a bit early but were told we could take on water and wash off the boat while we waited.  That’s when we saw the extent of the rust stains we had accumulated on the journey.  What a mess!  The stanctions are leaking rust from the inside.  Dale had observed this before and tried to put a bead of calking around the base but it hasn’t helped. 

Anita, the boater who organized obtaining the SIM cards for arriving boats, actually works for the marina came down and greeted us and explained again what to expect.  We took our garbage to cans set up close to the piers and walked over to where we needed to be.  Everything is very convenient.  The officer from the Ministry of Health, sprayed our hands and took our temperatures (with an infrared thermometer) filled out the paper work and gave us our SIM cards.  When we told him that we hadn’t paid for them as yet, he called Anita who said to pay her when we check out.  Amazing!  I guess she knows we’re not going anywhere. 

After our check in there, we crossed the channel to another marina that sold diesel and filled up there as well.  We had totally miscalculated our fuels.  We used way more water than we thought, and considerably less fuel (probably because I was terrified of running out, so I was constantly turning off the engines and forcing us to sail).  After that it was back to the anchorage and the anchoring dance began again. 

First we tried closer to Gerry but after a couple of hours realized we were dragging.  Then we tried more towards the center of the anchorage; a couple of times.  Finally, we felt we had snagged something that would hold us.  Dale dove the anchor and found that we had anchored into a ledge.  Unless the wind shifted, we’d be safe.  Then the wind shifted and we were on the move again.  Finally, we moved over toward Rum Truffel and tried there a couple of times.  One time we actually snagged a good sized rock that Dale thought would hold us for quite awhile.  Today we realized that we were slowly on the move again and reanchored farther forward.  When Dale dove the anchor this time, he said that he could tell what we were anchored to something but that regardless of how much backward motion put on the engines, it didn’t budge.  He just couldn’t identify what it was. 

In the meantime, Opal has had to move as well.  First, they tried in front of us.  Then they tried to the side of us, for the remainder of the day they have sat behind us and a bit to the right.  We’ve been told by previous boaters that you drop your anchor and back down until it catches on something.  Dale says the whole anchorage is rock.  Even when he tried to scout out other areas to anchor in, it’s all been rock. 

Today, Friday, June 19, Dale has kept busy exchanging the sump pump from the guest side to the master side as the pump died on our side; cleaned all the little brine shrimp out of the water maker filter and replaced it with a new one, then ran it for 2 hours; and finally tried to figure out why the hatch over our heads at night drips when its raining.  I conducted a piano lesson that added a scale to the regular music pieces and then 2 pages of subtraction equations of 2 digit numbers.  Once Dale is finished repairing all of the items that became apparent on our transit, I’ll concentrate on cleaning; no sense in cleaning when he’s not done tearing things apart.  When we first arrived, it looked like a bomb had gone off inside the boat.  You couldn’t open a single cabinet or drawer without something falling.  I was happy to find that putting a toilet roll around the necks of all of my treasured rum bottles saved them from any trauma. 


So I guess this catches you up on our transit.  Hopefully these next 10 days will pass quickly with all of the projects that need to be completed and we’ll be out and about soon.  Until then . . .   little miss Savannah was visited by the tooth fairy last evening.  She was very concerned that her personal tooth fairy wouldn't know where to find her.  I suggested that Grenada might have its own tooth fairy or that they were probably unionized and the closest one would pick up the job but she wasn't thrilled with the idea.  This morning, everything was rosy again as apparently her own personal fairy did, in fact, know where she had taken off to.  This excitement was made even better throughout the day when Papa allowed her to swim with fins.  She swam all the way to the anchor and back this evening!  Papa said she did better with fins than she normally does jumping in and swimming to the other side of the boat.   

Finally:  Where do sick boats go to get healthy?  The dock!