Thursday, June 11, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016 N
64.55.440 W

Never got a name but 

it appears to be 

some type of research vessel

So many coronavirus jokes out there, it’s a pundemic.

Well, the shade cloths have been either removed or rolled up.  The sail covers have been removed.  The jacklines are laid out, our open water life jackets are out, harnesses are out.  The dinghy is up in the davits and snugged in tight. 

While Nicky, Savannah and I went in to get the last of the laundry done this morning, Dale and Gerry scrubbed the bottom of Opal.  Nicky made one last trip to the grocery store to replace the laundry soap we used up while Savannah and I babysat the washing machines.  We crossed the street from the marina to fill our dinghy jerry can with gas.  Tomorrow morning we’ll take the Palace up to the fuel pier for a top off of diesel and water in the big boat.  Things that might shift have been secured or moved to the floor.  I couldn’t stuff another thing in the freezer or refrigerator if I tried. 

3 smaller boats on the back deck;

later we saw a submersible too!

This morning Dale discovered that the second of his hearing aids had died.  I had put the first one in a baggie of rice hoping to revive it; Dale put the second one in with it when it died.  Since we’ll be out of touch for a while and we are still in an American territory, he made a quick (and less expensive call) to his doctor and a new (very expensive) set was put in the mail.   His doctor suggested a couple of other ideas to get the old ones functioning again.  Tonight, he pulled them out of the rice and tried some of the suggestions.  Now they’re working.  Doesn’t matter, its probably best to have a back up set, particularly if these are going to start acting up. 

Then we checked out with the Customs and Border Protection.  Normally, when leaving the US or its territories, you don’t need to check out.  By checking into another country, they know that you’ve left.  However, Grenada required it; so we got the necessary paperwork in order to check into Grenada.

We received an e-mail this evening from Grenada checking to see if we still intended to go there, if we had already submitted our paperwork and paid for our “jail” spot on the map.  They also sent along paperwork, so that if we anticipated purchasing a SIM card on our arrival, it would be waiting for us.  The problem?  They wanted us to send our credit card information to another cruising boat who is organizing the purchases.  Although we wrote ahead and informed them that yes, we would be purchasing a SIM card, we unfortunately would not be sending our credit card information.  In this day and age, I’m surprised they even asked.    

We had word today that Trinidad will not be opening to cruisers prior to mid-July.  One more time, let's all say it together:  at least we'll be out of the hurricane belt in Grenada.  

This sign is on everything:

busses, stores,

 restaurants, gas stations

Tomorrow will be an early day.  Not that I’ll really sleep tonight.  Again, if I can make an internet connect in St. John, I’ll try to let you know.  If I can’t?  Well, we’ll let you now when we make it to Grenada.  Hopefully on Wednesday of next week. 

Wish us luck!

Finally:  Nail salons, hair salons, waxing centers and tanning places are closed. It’s about to get ugly out there.

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016 N
64.55.440 W

If coronavirus isn’t about beer, why do I keep seeing cases of it?

Believe it or not,

  Rising Sun is a  privately owned yacht-

not for hire- 

that is larger than the frigate

 Dale was on in the Navy

It’s getting real folks!  We’re really going to pry our anchor out of Charlotte Amalie harbor and move on to Grenada.  Dale has been topping off fluids and checking the various engines, genset, watermaker, running the fuel polisher for hours, etc.  Today, he and Gerry will be scrubbing the bottom of our boat and tomorrow they’ll do Gerry’s boat.  We rented a car and all went on the round the island shopping trip yesterday.  Three marine stores, a Walgreens and one supermarket.  We’re saving the small stuff until today when Nicky, Savannah and I will make a run into Pueblo for small jars of items instead of the Sam’s size.  Lots of Fresca, Diet Coke and rum for both boats. 

I do need to clear up some information I relayed in my last post.  Texas Crewed apparently has gone off the deep end sitting for so long and started making up stuff.  Gene’s been harnessing his inner novelist/journalist and since nothing is happening, started making up sh*t.  Considering how crazy things are with rules and government mandates changing every other day, somewhat believable imaginings.  After a couple of days of this, I’m embarrassed to say I fell for it; Dale says we all fell for it.  In my defense, I did write to them and specifically asked if it was true instead of fun and games.  When he replied that he’d send a picture, I was dumbfounded, then angry, then depressed.  Dale saw that I was about at the end of my rope (again) and wisely left me to wade through the emotions.  The next day, Gene fessed up and wrote to say that it was all just poking fun at the system; they are still using the infrared thermometers.  Although yesterday, he did send an official e-mail that said Grenada’s medical system is overwhelmed with all of the tests being conducted to get out of “sailor jail” and needed more time to process them.  So – no joke – its taking more than 14 days to get out of the mandatory quarantine and at this point, is extended to 15-16 days in order to get the test results back.  Additionally, it appears you no longer have a choice as to which test you can take (at your expense and, of course, it’s the most expensive one) and then you have to sign an authorization to allow them to release the results.  It doesn’t say who they plan on releasing the results to.  So in essence, you have to sign away any privacy protections. 

Additionally, the WiFi promised while in quarantine, has not materialized.  However, we have been told that you can purchase a sim card upon check in and hopefully, this will allow me to continue updating the blog periodically.  In any event, I’ll endeavor to write throughout and post at the end, if necessary.  According to the information we have, all of the French and British islands are still closed to transiting vessels, so we’ll have to be at least 12 miles off shore of any cell tower and that further precludes any quick updates.    

Also yesterday, on our drive trip, I did as I previously threatened to do with the dentist.  I typed up a letter explaining the situation I was in, copied the insurance explanation as to what they required, a copy of the dentist’s own invoice showing that I had already paid them, put all of it in an envelope and dropped it off at his office.  At this point, that’s all I can do. 

Today, while Dale and Savannah are walking the marina with Gerry and Nicky, I’m going to (besides type this blog post) knock out a few house keeping chores before we don our life jackets and turn our back on such things for the next several days.  I hope to write again before we leave on Friday and again, if I can get a signal, in St. John when we anchor overnight before the big push south. 

Finally:  I’ll tell you a coronavirus joke now, but you’ll have to wait two weeks to see if you got it!

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016 N
64.55.440 W

Happy 6^th Birthday Liam!

Happy 10^th Birthday Adrianna!

Congratulations Graduates!

This virus shouldn’t have been named Corona, it should have been named Mad Dog.  Mad Dog 2020. 

Learning to Swim

We’ve settled into a bit of a routine again; Dale joins Gerry and Nicky for a walk around the marina early in the morning and then into a shop for coffee.  Savannah sometimes joins them; sometimes she sleeps in; sometimes she stays back and has pancakes with Grandma, who doesn’t drink coffee.  She’s allowed free time for games or her iPad until we break for a couple of pages of math, she bounces on the trampoline for a while, we have lunch, usually on the boat but sometimes we’ll go in for a Wendy’s sandwich or this week a 20” pizza; which she immediately peeled everything off before eating the bread. We do a couple of pages in her Summer Brain Quest book which consists of all sorts of subjects, math, language, social studies, science.  Grandma has been known to review the answers in the back of the book to make sure she was on target before trying to “teach” the munchkin.  We’ve been careful about her swimming lessons as she’s so fair that we don’t want her to get sunburned.  She loves the water and never wants to get out.  Her mom called the lessons “Dad’s tried and true, go to the end of the dock and throw them in” method.  Not true!  She jumps in with her mask and life jacket on and swims to the other side a couple of times.  Then she jumps in with just her mask on and swims a couple of times.  Then he takes off her mask and has her jump in.  I haven’t witnessed the throw her in method as yet but I’m sure it will come by the end of the summer.  Sometimes we do her math flashcards or practice her piano.  Her mom found a rubber roll up keyboard that has color coded keys that when its turned on gives a pretty good impression of playing the piano.  I was impressed.  We finish each day with writing in her “journal.”  We try to make suggestions as to all the things she did each day so that she can have them to refer to when she returns to school (and maybe when she’s a lot older) but she has her own ideas as to what she wants to put in it. 

A couple of days ago, we had tried to visit the Virgin Islands Children’s Museum but its closed until July.  I called the number listed on the door to see when they planned on opening and the lady said that they might have a couple of “soft openings” allowing just a few families in prior to July.  If that happens before we leave on the 12^th, she’ll give us a call. 

Dale walked a bit down the street to see if the Pirate Museum was opened but it was closed as well.  That’s when we decided to find one of those famous 20” pizzas.  It was so big we were full after just one piece each.  Well, that is Dale and I had one piece each; Savannah had 2 stripped pieces. 

s/v Blackbeard's Revenge

Blackbeard's Castle

Today was rather special.  Gerry and Nicky joined us when we went into town for a roti for lunch in the park below the Hotel 1829 but bowed out of the hike up to Blackbeard’s castle as Nicky is nursing a torn meniscus.   The castle was closed for repairs but we thought we would walk around it anyway.  I’m glad we did.  She counted the famous steps (97-98) as we had a different number going up than we did coming back down.  We saw the 3 queens statue and the bird girl statute inside a locked courtyard before heading back down.  Once back down to the main road, we found a second set of stairs leading back out to the main square that we ate in a month ago when the lockdown went into effect.  Today there were a lot more people in the square, although we’re all still required to wear masks inside each establishment, many don’t while on the street.

Passing the Hotel 1829, a hotel we stayed in previously about 20 years ago, we thought that it might be for sale.  Getting back to the boat, we learned that it is actually part of Blackbeard’s castle walk being the tasting gallery of the rum factory and a collection of pirate statues.  Glad we stayed in it when it was still a hotel.  I remember fondly the mosquito netting over the four poster bed with a balcony overlooking the harbor.  Rum blurred but romantic times. 

Stairs leading to 

Blackbeard's Castle

We’ve heard from Texas Crewed about “Sailor Jail” (mandatory quarantine) in Grenada.  When they arrived a week ago, the authorities were using infrared thermometers.  The kind you use on an engine.  Everyone’s temp was shown as being lower than normal.  This week they’ve switched to regular thermometers; oral or rectal, your choice.  Yesterday, the coconut telegraph as well as the VHF radio, was apparently on fire when they started confusing the orals with the rectals and the cruising community went ape shit.  I suggested when we arrive, we take our own thermometer in; Dale suggested we just take in our own alcohol swab to clean them ourselves.  I reminded him that, if I remember correctly, they were supposed to be soaked in an alcohol bath for 20 minutes to disinfect.  I don’t know what’s going on in this world anymore.  I suppose they could be using a completely different method by the time we get down there.  The big question now is: how many will come down with Corona after the big temperature check and how many will come down with e.coli? 

Our main concern now is preparing for the 4 day transit and the 2 week “Sailor Jail”.  We’ve rented a car for our round the island shopping trip.  Our first stop will be the dentist I saw back in April.  I sent in my dental insurance claim but it was returned due to some missing information that can only come from the dentist’s office.  It has to be submitted by either mail or fax.  When I called to make an appointment to drop off the form, the dentist’s front office person, didn’t want paper, she wanted the insurance company to call her.  Catch 22:  she doesn’t want paper, they won’t make or accept a phone call with the missing information.  So, I’m just going to just pop in and drop off the insurance paper and pray that she completes it and sends it in. 

Next, we’ll be grocery shopping for the approximate 3 weeks we’ll be without.  I’ve been comparing recipes trying to find ones that have similar ingredients so that I won’t have a ton of one time only things that I hate to throw out but have no room for. 

I know the guys are planning trips to the various marine stores again; probably for those just in case moments.  Dale has been keeping the water topped off but with the off and on rain this past week, we’ve run the generator several times and a top off of the diesel is probably in order as well. 

Savannah is excited to go sailing but has no concept of what this transit really means.  Heck, I barely have any concept of what it really means.  She was too young to remember the last time she was aboard the boat for an overnight transit and mommy was with her.  She’s been a trouper this last week though and doesn’t seem to mind being on the boat most of the time.  She loves sitting on the front watching the water for turtles or just letting the wind blow through her hair.  I’m hoping we’ll see some more turtles, dolphins, or right whales on the transit.  Its always a hit and miss for those sightings. 

Guess that’s it for this week’s post. 

I leave you with an interesting observation:  it used to be that one would cough to cover a fart. Now, with Corona, one farts to cover a cough!

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016 N
64.55.440 W

Look, everybody keeps posting math problems on facebook like it’s a game.  If you need help with your kids’ homework, just say that. 

I thought I’d throw in an extra post as its raining here and there’s nothing else to do.  I could have conducted another school session but its also rather dark and since I can see the amps myself, there’s no reason to antagonize the amp Nazi by turning on all the lights; so, we’ll wait until this squall passes and (hopefully) the sun comes back out.  The electronic devices are already charged, so we’ll call it a movie day. 

The last couple of days we’ve kept busy alternating our normal routine with school work, swimming lessons, or incorporating the two together.  Like:  running the water maker with a lesson on permeable and impermeable membranes and calling it a science lesson.  After reviewing the summer lessons in Savannah’s book, I’m reminded of the show called “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?”  So, I’ve added learning how to use a dictionary as part of the curriculum; just to make sure we’re all on the same page. 

We’ve had word that Texas Crewed made it to Grenada but they had to motor sail the whole way to make it in their allotted timeframe as the wind was too far forward to get the most use of the sails.  They reported back that the growth that developed on all of our anchor chains and nylon bridles over the past few months smells “like a dead body” after a day in the sun.  We had already been discussing the best way to clean them before bringing them back on board.  A wire brush to the anchor chain might clean it up but we are at a loss for the nylon bridle that keeps the strain off the anchor windless is just as bad and there are 2 lengths of them.

Gerry on Opal isn’t happy with his new refrigeration system this week and having the techs come back out for analysis.  I don’t fully understand the problem except for the rattling bit; something about how long it runs versus how long it takes to cool down and--its rattling. 

This week was laundry week, so Savannah got a lesson in her new reality.  Unless its on the water, we have to walk or take a taxi or safari bus to where ever we go.  We walked to the laundromat, I stayed there while she rode the safari bus with Papa to the “big” Kmart.   When they couldn’t find what they were looking for, returned to the laundromat before deciding to take a chance at the “little” Kmart up the road a piece which was another walk.  There they were able to find a junior sized life jacket for the dinghy.  We already have an inflatable life jacket with built in harness for her for our transits but since the Coast Guard are still patrolling the harbor on a daily basis, thought this would be a good idea. 

We had a bit of excitement about an hour ago.  A boat ahead of us (that looks like a pirate ship) dragged into another boat ahead of us during the storm (Dale had clocked the winds at 37kts at its highest point).  As it happened to us in George Town back in January, the boat that had been hit immediately started screaming for insurance information before the pirate ship had even gotten their boat under control.  We became aware of the commotion when I kept hearing shouts, which I thought were coming from behind us.  Thinking that it was another vessel’s crew venting their frustrations (there are a lot of people getting tired of being cooped up for so long), I turned to come back in and saw the two boats ahead of us coming at us.  Thank heavens the pirate ship had already started their engines and had started pulling away.  They had gotten pretty close.  I really felt bad for them because I remember how I felt when that happened to us.  The biggest difference is that here we’re anchored in 30’ of water; a lot easier to drag here. 

As a follow up to our dragging incident in George Town, I had always suspected the reason we had dragged in such shallow water after sitting for a couple of weeks, was that one of the water taxis that sped through the anchorage had come too close to us and as a result, their wake unsettled us.  We learned a couple of months later, that one of the water taxis actually hit a dinghy and killed a man.  Its awful that it takes something like that to bring the issue to the authorities even though many of us had asked that the owner to request his taxis to slow down through the anchorage. 

Guess that its for now, I need to go check on a little girl bouncing on the trampoline. 

Finally, I went outside to check on my plants.  I felt something cold and wet on my arm.  I looked down and saw a mosquito using a wet wipe before it bit me. 

Monday, May 25, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016 N
64.55.440 W

Memorial Day:  Remembering those who lost their lives fighting on behalf of our country.  Freedom is not free.  

Home schooling question:  Does having your children fix you mixed cocktails count as a chemistry lesson? (Sorry, I’m new at this.  More on this later.) 😊

Normally, I’d say that nothing has changed but this past week so much as happened.  First, Gerry and Nicky have their refrigeration system repaired and are now happy campers. 

Next, my computer went belly up; sort of.  It appeared that it needed to be charged but when I plugged it in, nothing happened.  I wiggled the cords; unplugged and re-plugged the various connections; changed receptacles; you name it, I tried it.  It was soon dead.  As I knew I was returning to Texas for a single day, I decided to order a new cord from Amazon, send it ahead and also made an appointment with a computer store to purchase a new one in case the new cords didn’t work.  I also took the opportunity to order or make a list of everything else I needed and passed the word to Opal and Texas Crewed that if they needed anything, to order it and send it ahead to our daughter and I’d bring it back.  As a result, according to her, the neighbors started talking as she was getting deliveries every day and sometimes a couple of times a day.  The dogs were going nuts!  They went from Mom being home every day, all day long with no visitors for over 2 months, to strangers ringing the doorbell every day, at all hours of the day. 

Then, we learned more details regarding Grenada making a movement to open up to cruisers who had registered for hurricane season with them.  Although we have reservations in Trinidad, we had also registered in Grenada as a backup.  Thank heavens, as we now have somewhere to go to get out of the hurricane belt. 

Grenada has obviously given this some serious thought prior to the islands’ governors’ meeting, as they put into place a very detailed plan the day after the meeting.  First you had to select a date in which to enter their quarantine area.  They are spaced in weekly intervals for arrivals Wednesday – Friday of each week.  They stressed safety but if you didn’t let them know that you weren’t going to make it during that time frame or were going to be late, you would lose your spot (guess that’s where having a satellite telephone comes in handy).  Then you had to pre-purchase that spot; no refunds.  To obtain a confirmation number for that spot, you also had to complete both the health form and the usual entry forms and e-mail them in prior to arriving.  You were also to arrive with ECs (Eastern Caribbean) dollars in hand. 

Now that you’ve secured your spot, you must arrive prepared to spend 2 weeks in their designated quarantine area.  That means, provisioning for the 4-5 day transit, plus the 2 week time in quarantine.  They have set up wifi in the quarantine area, (so we won’t be completely incommunicado) and a method of obtaining needed items.  You e-mail the officials at the quarantine dock with your list of items needed (I would assume this to be a grocery list), they have someone do the shopping for you, then the items are returned to the quarantine dock where you are contacted to dinghy in to get them.  No fees were listed in this service but you know that they won’t be cheap.  No visiting between boats.  No swimming in the quarantine area. 

Once this was announced, 2 more islands (on the way down to Grenada) announced that transiting vessels could anchor overnight for sleep.  I would assume this to mean that those vessels wouldn’t be met by officials threatening incarceration for violating their 12 mile borders.  We’ve heard of a couple of instances where one boat was actually “bumped” and forced to follow authorities into town and another where a sailboat had crossed the BVI/US border, had already tacked back into US waters but was still stopped, “talked to and told to get out” by the BVI authorities while in US waters.  I think they were just making a point knowing full well the incident would be reported far and wide on the “coconut telegraph”.

Trinidad still hasn’t announced when they will be open for cruisers.  The British Virgin Islands are sticking with their September date.  Other islands are opening but each with their own 2 week quarantine restrictions.  This forces us to make more direct transits without visiting the places we wanted to see.  Considering there are between 18-20 islands between here and Trinidad with each having a 2 week quarantine, you can see the math precludes very much sightseeing. 

We thoroughly thought Opal would want to head south straight away, leaving in the first group opening this week.  However, in our last Mexican Train domino session, we learned that they chose to be in the 3^rd group leaving mid June just before Nicky’s visa expires.  They would prefer to sit where everything is convenient and hope that Trinidad will open as soon as they see that they are losing money to Grenada.  With my mini trip to Texas, this worked out perfectly. 

Texas Crewed, on the other hand, did choose to leave in the 1^st group.  They promised to act as reconnaissance and send back scouting reports.  We can actually follow them on our weather app.  They will be getting out of quarantine just as we are entering it. 

This was also the last week for those who are heading back home in an organized convoy and many left even after the announcement was made about Grenada. 

Finally, I believe I’ve relayed before how we learned that we can rent a car for 24 hours for the same price as we’ve been paying for a taxi for doing our big shopping trips, every other week.  So last week, we combined the shopping circuit with my need for a ride to the airport for the mini trip back to Texas to pick up one of our grandchildren for a summer visit.  I was only going to be gone for 2 nights, so to fill up my bag, I grabbed things I knew we didn’t need and bathing suits that are too hard to put on when you’re sweating all the time and stuffed them in. 

Although I was on one of the first (and only) flights of the day, Dale dropped me off the normal 2 hours prior to boarding at 7 am but TSA and Customs didn’t open until 8 am, an hour after I checked in.  Being the 1^st one in line, I cooled my jets leaning against a counter for the next hour.  As soon as the doors opened, I placed my backpack in one container and my soft bag in the next for scanning.  Most of the agents were just standing around as there were only a hand full of people making their way through the screening process but as soon as my bag went through the scanner, I saw that the screener tapped the monitor and thought that it wasn’t working.  She called another, who looked, tapped the screen, and then called a supervisor.  That person looked at the screen and then telephoned for (I guess) a more senior supervisor, who called me over to a separate table and asked the standard questions.  Is this your bag?  Did you pack this bag?  So you know what’s in this bag.  Yes to all of the questions.  Then she showed me the screen.  I do have some experience in looking at such a screen, but I have to admit, I didn’t recognize what I was looking at.  I did have a photo frame in my bag and asked if it could be the hanger on the back.  She didn’t think so and said that she was going to have go through the bag.  Of course, I complied.  Sure, go for it.  She pulled everything out, cautioned me to stand back when I went to catch my underwear from falling on the floor, then pulled out one of the bathing suits I had packed.   

I know its probably unusual, but I pack my 2 piece bathing suits in individual plastic bags so that #1: I can see which one it is, and #2: keep the 2 pieces together.  She ran one of the bathing suits back through the machine and then brought it back saying she was going to have to open it.  OK, no problem.  That is until she brought out another small plastic bag.  The second I saw it, I knew what it was, and thought I was going to die! 

If you recall, it was last year when we thought we were going to be hit by a hurricane and emptied the boat of all personal items and anything valuable, things that shouldn’t get wet, etc.  At that time, we took off a weapon and its ammo and locked it in a safe at home.  When we took off clothing, I found 3 bullets rolling around in a drawer, put them in a baggie, stuffed them between some bathing suits and promptly forgot about them.   That is until TSA found them and I thought I was going to jail. 

We started the same questions again.  Is this your bag?  Yes.  Did you pack this bag?  Yes.  You’re supposed to know what’s in this bag.  I’m sorry I forgot.  Then the next round of questions, are these your bullets?  That’s when I blamed Dale.  If I was going down, so was he.  Then I thought I might need someone to bail me out.  Thankfully, she also asked if I had a concealed weapon’s permit.  It was one of the items I was taking back to leave but yes, I have one!  Yes, I have it with me!  She wanted it, my permanent address, the address where I was going, telephone numbers at both ends, and then she called the cops!

My knees were knocking, my heart was racing, my hands were shaking, so I asked the agent to sit down before I fainted; she said “don’t do that” there’s a chair over there.  Now, I’m trying not to hyperventilate, which is what I was doing to keep from passing out.  I had already taken my blood pressure medicine, so I knew I couldn’t take anymore so soon, but dang!

The long and short of it was, the cops came, did their own computer search, and then one came over and told me that this was a very serious violation.  I agreed, I knew how bad it was (boy do I ever!)  Then he told me that he was going to have to confiscate them.  That’s fine!  They’re all yours! 

I was told I could repack my bag.  They gave me back my ID’s and license and I was free to go.  I still caught my plane.  I noticed that I was the only woman on a plane of Spanish speaking men.  But then I thought, I was also the only 65 year old, white haired grandmother terrorist on that plane too! 

I had a 5 hour layover in Puerto Rico to contemplate the error of my ways.  I never told anyone I had packed those bullets almost a year ago; I forgot.  If the TSA agent hadn’t asked if I had a CCW permit, I forgot that I did.  I’m pretty sure I now have a TSA record and will never be allowed to take the short line again!  In the 5 hours I had, I was passed at least 20 times by cops with K-9s patrolling, TSA agents walking by, other lethal looking (or at least uniformed people) and knew that each and every one of them had my name and photo on their cell phones, with a full description of my crime and were watching my every move. 

In another train of thought, I decided that I’ve probably gotten to the point where I could hide my own Easter eggs.  

The Texas mini trip was a drive-by, and not in a terrorist way.  As soon as I arrived at our daughter’s home, I opened the new computer cords, plugged in the computer and after a couple of seconds, it started to charge.  Success!  Now, the only thing needed is a chip and to remember to back it up every day.  Huh! Fat chance!  The next day, we rose at dawn, grabbed breakfast to go, and made a tour of town to get everything on my list, including the chip.  I even found a currency exchange to pick up the needed ECs.  I packed all of that and the ordered items for the various boats into a single box for the flight back and prayed no one had ordered anything that could be questioned.  As a precaution, I left everything in their Amazon boxes.   

When we left on the return trip, our daughter instructed me to make sure our 7 year old granddaughter, Savannah, kept up with her school work, specifically math and science, and then told Savannah to keep an eye on me, as I’m always losing my lists.  Clearly, I’ve gotten to where I’m a danger to myself and those around me. 

Thank heavens the flight back was uneventful.  Now that we’re back on the boat, Savannah seems to be more excited about motoring around in the dinghy.  She and Papa have already gone in to meet Miss Nicky and Papa Gerry for breakfast and a quick walk around the marina.  Grandma is still settling clothes, setting up school work and a tucking away a few toys before attacking the computer to write a long awaited post. 

Lastly, another corona joke of the day:  You think it’s bad now?  In 20 years, our country will be run by people home schooled by day drinkers…

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016 N
64.55.440 W

Happy Birthday Heather!  We hope you were able to celebrate it in some way.  

My Mom always told me I wouldn’t accomplish anything by laying in bed all day--but look at me now! I’m saving the world!

I can’t say a whole lot has changed since I last posted but we are starting to see some movement.  In my last post I told you that Trinidad had implemented a 6 phase reopening plan.  This week the various marinas and ship repair facilities in Trinidad encouraged those of us waiting, to write our respective Embassies to see if we could get some assistance from that direction. 

Greneda, on the other hand, has posted that they are hoping to be opened to registered yachts by the 1^st of June but their protocols for incoming are rather formidable.  You have to send notice 24-48 hours prior to arrival (try that at sea), arrive fully provisioned and enter into a quarantine area for 2 weeks with a $20 admin fee.  At the end of those 2 weeks you are to submit yourself to testing, at your expense of course (either $65 or $25 depending upon the test), (which really doesn’t make sense to several of us.  Either quarantine or test; why both) and this is all prior to the normal fees for entering into the country.  To top it off, they want to be paid in their own currency, which means finding a bank here to make an exchange prior to leaving; not an easy thing to do.  In the past, you checked into a country, paid in US dollars, then made a bee line to the bank to make an exchange of dollars to whatever their currency was. 

Curacao, actually gives you a choice (such as it is); enter their country on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday between the hours of 6 am and noon, secure your boat in a marina and immediately fly out or enter on any day Monday – Friday, secure your boat in a marina by 6 pm and then enter into a government hotel at $140/per person/per night for 2 weeks.  That’s expensive no matter how you look at it. 

St. Martin is making noises that they are opening their marinas and marine services on June 1 but no information about incoming yachts.  The long and short of it is, if all of the islands require you to quarantine for 2 weeks at each of their islands and we’ve had word that you can’t even transit through their 12 mile water borders, there’s no way we can make Grenada or Trinidad before the hurricanes really crank up.  In order to make it in a reasonable timeframe, we’ll have to make more of a direct transit further offshore.

For those who made the decision to return to the US, a low pressure system formed to the east of the Bahamas.  They’re running into nasty weather and having to anchor to wait it out; so its already started.  Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. 

In the meantime, Dale runs the watermaker every other day, makes ice every other day and runs the engines and fuel polisher about once a week.  The rest of the time he dinghies over to help Gerry, they both take off to various marine stores for the lastest item that is badly needed, reads, or checks his eyelids for light leaks. 

For me, this week was a laundry run on Tuesday with Nicky and a grocery run yesterday with Dale, who, believe it or not, had his own list.  We hosted an afternoon of Mexican Train Dominos with everyone and he decided that he was going to make pain killers.  Unfortunately, he didn’t buy enough ingredients for the well appreciated drinks.  There was enough for a couple drinks each but next time, he’ll know better.  Afterwards, when Dale went to close a hatch in the cockpit, the handle broke off in his hand.  The whole hatch surround is made of plastic and is now sun damaged.  He’s trying to glue the parts back together but I think the whole thing needs to be replaced.  Once plastic gets that brittle, it’s a cascading decline to the end. 

On Opal, Gerry and Nicky’s refrigeration woes continue.  Gerry has to go into the dinghy dock to pick up the refrigeration guys to work on his boat.  When the guy came out to de-gas the system, he arrived on board only to realize that he had forgotten to bring one of the hoses required.  So back to the dinghy dock.  Then once on board, again, he got sea sick!  Gerry suspects that he had one too many the night before.  In any event, Gerry ended up doing all of the work and then had the pleasure of paying them on top of it.  The next day he learned that the incoming plate that contained the motor and compressor was missing.  There’s now a BOLO out it.  Nicky is trying to use up all of the food she had in the refrigerator before it goes bad and Gerry is making twice daily runs in to buy a bag of ice to preserve what’s left. 

They did have one bit of good news, however, Nicky was able to obtain an extension on her visa. The first time they went in a couple of days ago to request the extension, it was all very formal and polite.  Once the extension was granted, they made the return trip to finalize it but this time it was with a different agent who wouldn’t allow Gerry in the room, was rude to Nicky and tried to short them 10 days.  This obviously, made all the difference in the world.  Gerry actually had to make a phone call to the supervisor, whom they had worked with the first time, to get the correct extended date.  In any event, she’s now legal and administratively pure. 

Gene and Renee on Texas Crewed spent the better part of this week on a sewing project.  As usual what you think will take a certain amount of time, ends up being twice as long.  At the end of yesterday, the tension on her machine started giving her grief, so it was time to take a break. 

I guess that’s it for this entry.  Hopefully we’ll have a better idea as to what is happening to us this time next week. 

Finally, a word of caution:  If you get an email with the subject “Knock-Knock” don’t open it.  It’s a Jehovah Witness working from home. 

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016N
64.55.440 W

Happy Mother’s Day!

So, does anyone want to take bets on 2021?  Volcano?  Locusts?  Asteroid?  New Nickelback album?

We’ve been anchored here for so long, Dale is trying to figure out how to clean the slimy grass growing – not on the bottom of the boat, it always grows there – but from our anchor chain.  He says that when we finally pull it up, it’s going to be a giant mess. 

Not that we’re going anywhere soon, we received word today that Trinidad will be reopening in 6 phases.  Opening the borders is the last phase and doesn’t even have a date.  However, it’s pretty obvious that it won’t be open to incoming boats prior to July.  The summary sent to us said that their Prime Minister had extended the general “stay at home” orders to 5/23 with the exception of supermarkets, pharmacies, take out restaurants, etc., basically where we are now.  If the numbers stay low, they would open manufacturing, public sector construction and 50% of the transportation in Phase 2 which would last until 6/6.  Phase 3 would open the private sector construction the rest of the transportation to 6/20.  Pushing their opening to June puts most of the remaining boats holding out hope in this area in jeopardy with their respective insurance companies.  We know that our insurance says we’re still insured for normal things just not in the event of a hurricane.  That means that we’ll be keeping an even closer eye on the weather from this point on.  Phases 4, 5 and 6 (reopening the borders) weren’t even given dates. 

As you can imagine, this was one of the topics of conversation when the 3 crews gathered for Mother’s Day on Opal; that and whether our children remembered us.  We’re still holding out but the discussion veered towards where to go if we can’t get to Grenada or Trinidad in the event of a hurricane. 

In the meantime, Dale has successfully filled the water tank to overflowing via the water maker – twice.  This is good.  I hate being restricted as to how much water I’m allowed to use doing dishes or washing my hair.  He even transferred some diesel from our jerry cans on deck to the tanks to top them off.  On cloudy days, he would run one of the engines to heat our water for showers, so we’ve slowly been using fuel.  He and Gerry dinghied over to replace the fuel in the jerry cans and apparently got soaked on their transit back.  Dale said that although it might not feel like it with all of the rocking we’ve been doing for the last week, we’re actually very protected from the waves being swept in from the opposite side of the island.  Apparently, its pretty messed up over towards Current Cut and Hassel Island.  Rather glad I sat that one out. 

Gene and Renee have a new toy to keep themselves busy (A MiniCat - photo to follow if I ever get a decent internet connection).  We watched as they learned how to use it.  Being an inflatable, its got to be a lot trickier than a solid boat to sail around in. 

Gerry has been preparing Opal for the new refrigerator and compressor.  He was pretty upset when the refrigeration guys didn’t show up to de-gas the current one so that the Tinker Twins/Tinker Triplets could disassemble the old one. 

Dale has kept himself busy cleaning, or maybe I should say whitening, our decks.  As we have a white boat, rust and water stains turn our white boat more of a cream color at times.  Since he found a new product to clean those stains, he’s been going crazy spraying that stuff everywhere.  Then he got busy cleaning the dinghy.  Generally, we haul the dinghy onto a sandy shore to give it a good scrub from time to time but this year, sandy shores are sorely missing, so it was starting to look rather derelict.  Now its back to its pristine self. 

If you’re interested in the garbage issue, I was complaining about in the last post, it’s been resolved that only wet garbage is to be considered regulated, all other garbage can be disposed of at the marina for $3/bag.  We can live with that.   Although I’d still like to know what our anchoring fees are going towards; just revenue, I guess. 

Finally, if anyone owes you money, go to their house now. They should be home.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016N
64.55.440 W

Happy Birthday James!  No matter how old you are or where you go in life, you’ll always be my baby!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Boys Day!

New Vocabulary Word:  Airgasm:  When the air hits your face after removing your mask.

Can’t say we’re doing anything different this week (its hard to believe its been almost a week since I last posted).  The guys are still tinkering.  Nicky and I escape into town to run to the grocery store at least once a week.  Up until now, we’ve done the 6’ between each person but the wearing of masks has been a hit and a miss; some people wear them, some don’t.  Considering most aren’t wearing them properly in any event, it seemed ineffective at best.  This week, however, the island Governor started opening up more establishments but then decreed the mandatory wearing of masks (which means any type of cloth over your face) to enter those establishments.  We’re scratching our heads over this one.  They’re still saying that the best option is to stay at home. 

So this week, Nicky wore a bandana which was probably better in the long run than my N95 dust mask.  I had a problem wearing my mask and my glasses at the same time without fogging them up.  By the time I was finished putting the glasses on time and again to read labels, I accidentally pinched the bridge of my nose and found that I could suddenly see when the mask was molded to my nose.  I couldn’t breathe but hey, I could see. 

This week’s tinker project ended up being on Opal.  They’ve had off and on again issues with their refrigerator/freezer.  Even had the refrigeration people come out, check it and give a thumbs up a couple of weeks ago.  Unfortunately, it started tripping the breaker this week.  Gerry said he could hear the motor running but it wasn’t turning something, so he would put his hand in and give the belt a turn (yes, he is aware that he could lose a finger that way but he was trouble shooting).  It would start up, run for awhile and then the belt would stop again and trip the breaker although the motor sounded like it continued to run, it wasn’t.  Plus, he had a voltage drop that put the icing on the cake.  The Tinker Twins put their heads together to noodle around the various possibilities; motor? compressor? but in the long run ended up calling the refrigeration people again.  The verdict?  They need a new motor but since the compressor is the same 30 years old.  Both compressor and motor are being replaced, as an identical replacement plate that included both was available.  Slide one plate out, disconnect, drain gasses, etc., and slide new plate in.  The bottom line is somewhere between OUCH! and PING!  Closer to PING, I’d say. 

The 3 boats have come together for this one.  Texas Crewed has room in their freezer.  I had room for some items that needed to be refrigerated and the guys are going to tear out the stove/oven and a trash compartment to access some of the areas that need to be moved for removal and replacement to mitigate some of the monitary damages.

If that wasn’t enough bad news, a USDA representative hitched a ride through the anchorage on some type of official vessel stopping, taking photos of each boat, and advising them that we all had to take our garbage in to one specific marina for all 3 islands for processing, as our boats are “contaminated.”  Furthermore, any garbage onboard had to be incinerated at the cost of $35 per bag or a $500 fine.  We were dumbfounded!  Most boaters are pretty conscientious about where we place our garbage; we even pick up stuff floating in the anchorage and take it back to our own boats to throw away.  Most find a garbage bin somewhere to dump the refuse if one isn’t provided.  Most are aware that fresh food items from foreign nations have to be disposed of 3 miles out if they go bad.  I’d say most of us use up our fresh produce before it goes bad which is why we have to go grocery shopping on a weekly (if not more) basis.  Where we were at a loss was that most of us have also been here for 7+ weeks and the only fresh food we have on board at this time is from here!  Apparently, once it is brought on board, it is now “contaminated”. 

Thankfully, Dale and I weren’t one of the boats they stopped by but we certainly heard about it from other boaters.  I was so upset, I stayed up late trying to compose a letter to our Congressman and Senator as we are all feeling like we’re being targeted; and I don't need any more reasons for my hair falling out.  Where’s the money for our anchoring permit going?  What does it cover?  Many feel our only recourse is to bag everything from a couple of boats into the largest bag we can find each week and pay the cost, or become garbage outlaws and take the chance of being fined? 

Boats over on St. John in the Park have to pay park fees each day and had arranged for a local entrepreneur to pick up their garbage for disposal.  Apparently, their arrangement was also cancelled.  Somehow, somewhere, someone contacted the Governor’s office and he put a halt to this for the same apparent reasons the boaters had until things could be sorted out.  Dale has resorted to taking in little bags, that look like shopping bags and dropping them in the closest bin he can find.  He’s going to be a pirate yet!  Some boaters actually said, that’s it, fueled up and headed home. 

We’re still holding out.  Both Grenada and Trinidad have extended their lockdown until 5/15 but keep sending out notices to those of us with reservations, that they are working to open their borders before hurricane season.  Grenada actually put in one of their notices that they are not to be not to be considered a “safe haven," which caused us to raise an eyebrow.  There’s an international maritime law that says (if I may paraphrase) you can’t turn away a vessel seeking safe haven during a storm.  We have no intention of being the guinea pig but you know someone somewhere might push the issue and cause an international incident. 

Finally, we gathered on Texas Crewed for Cinco de Mayo.  Chris and Helen from another boat (sorry I can’t remember the name) also joined us.  Lots of good food and margaritas were shared.  We even flagged down a dingy going past to offer them a couple of “travelers” as they were taking their dogs to shore for a walk.  So we ended the day on a high note. 

Bottom line:  This too shall pass.  It might pass like a kidney stone but it will pass.   

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016N
64.55.440 W

Coronavirus has turned us all into dogs:  We roam the house all day looking for food.  We’re told “no” if we get too close to strangers.  And we get really excited about car rides.

Not much has happened since my last post.  On Monday, the Tinker Twins scrubbed Gypsy Palace’s bottom.  When they finished, they were covered with sea lice (like little tiny brine shrimp) so showered the little critters off on the port step.  Not that I noticed the bodies when Nicky and I returned from grocery shopping but I did notice when I sat in the middle of them later.  That evening, we celebrated Dale’s birthday on our boat with Chinese take out; except for Gene.  He brought his own dinner as he doesn’t eat Chinese.  Apparently where they come from in Texas, a Chinese restaurant was closed down when food inspectors found 37 frozen cats in their freezer.  Needless to say, the evening was filled with cat jokes.  Tastes like chicken folks!  Nicky was a sweetheart and made Dale a lemon cake with the appropriate amount of blueberries in lieu of candles; no need to set the boat on fire.

Tuesday was laundry day.  The guys helped us cart the laundry in the couple of blocks it takes to walk there then disappeared to go shopping at the little Kmart a few more blocks up the road.  Nicky and I commented that it was unusually busy this time.  Since last weekend was Easter, I’m hoping that those whose normal wash day is on Saturday or Sunday moved it to Tuesday, instead of the word getting out that Tuesday was a slow day at the laundromat.  In any event, one lady took umbrage with me as I was apparently using her 2 favorite washing machines.  What can I say?  No matter where I go, chaos follows. 

Yesterday, we elected to rent a car instead of hiring a cab when we found out it was the same price and they pick up and drop off the car right at the marina.  What a deal!  We tried to shop at a marine salvage store but only one person could enter at a time and then they had to “look” at the merchandise by video.  Dale took the opportunity to walk the marina docks in front.  Nicky and I took the opportunity to sit in an air conditioned car. 

We all shopped at the Office Max. Dale’s computer screen had seized and started to snap when he went to close it.  Its still working but it seems prudent to find a newer model now before it completely dies.  We did take the time to back it up to a hard drive; just in case.  It has all of our weather and routing software on it. 

Nicky found a larger selection of color pencils to use, I thought that was a good idea since that’s one of our more creative ways of killing time, so I bought some too.  Gerry found something he couldn’t live without but I wasn’t paying enough attention to tell you about it now. 

We went shopping at the larger Kmart on the other side of the island.  I’m not sure any of us bought anything but we certainly walked all the aisles and soaked in the AirCon.  As we exited, the security guard struck up a conversation telling us that the Tap and Still (a popular pub/restaurant) in Red Hook had reopened by advertising 2 for 1 drinks.  They had so many people show up, order, but then not leaving, that the police came and closed them down again.   People are starting to go nuts locked up and need to get out. 

Since the Tap and Still is closed again, we had no choice but to go to McDonalds’ drive through because no one thought my idea of ordering Pizza Hut and eating in the car was a good idea.  That’s OK; McDonalds’ has the best fries!

We tried to go to Price Right (a Sam’s/Costco type of store) but there was a long line to get in, so we drove over to Cost U Less, the one we’ve been frequenting via cab and didn’t have to wait in a line to enter.  We did some provisioning of things we can’t get at the little grocery close by; then back to the marina. 

When Gerry called to let the rental company know we were finished and could pick up the car, we checked the prices on a vehicle that would hold 6, as Texas Crewed had been working remotely yesterday.  We found that it would be more economical to rent 2 small vehicles and race each other around the island than it would be to rent a larger SUV or minivan.  So that’s our plan for the future.  Once a week or every other week, we’ll rent a car/cars to do our running around at our own pace (and not feel bad for asking the cab driver to wait in the heat.)

Today, Dale was pleased to find out the suggestion made by Never Say Never about a product to clean rust stains off—was amazing.  He’s already cleaned one hull and is waiting to finish making water to clean the other. 

Tonight, we’ll gather on Opal for drinks and nibbles and catch up with Texas Crewed who work remotely 2 days each month (according to Gene) more than that (according to Renee) and to discuss our latest information that not only has Grenada extended the lockdown to 5/15 but Trinidad has too. This means, none of us will be moving anytime soon.  Since I have a couple of hours until then, I’ll be trying out those new color pencils.  Who knows, maybe I’ll be an artist by the time lockdown is lifted.