We started out the season as usual in Grenada. It took us about 4 days to get Lost Loon in the water the first week of December.

By Christmas we had made our way to Bequia.

We stayed through New Years Eve and enjoyed a party with cruiser friends! We made our way to Rodney Bay in St Lucia where we stayed for nearly a week. The highlight was renting a car and touring the island. Our friend Bryan on SV Joli would say his nerves were shot after driving those roads. The rest of us still had a few fingernails left and enjoyed some incredible  scenery!

We moved on up the island chain to Martinique and  provisioned up a bit, secured new sheets for the genoa, did some laundry, and  had one of the best burgers at the Pirates Bar after a long hike to Grand Anse beach.

We had an unfortunate event occur when someone stole our gas tank for the dinghy while we were shopping. We returned with bags and coolers to return to the boat , but didnt have gas to get home. It was noon-thirty on a Saturday and everything in  Martinique closes at 1pm. We were lucky to have our friends Polly and Bryan close and they brought a gas can we could rig as a tank for a couple of days. Monday came and we were back in business but out 68 euros! You know ya hate to wish bad karma on someone, but…..  We did read that we were not the first nor have we been the last victims of the gas bandit(s?).  And as a strike of good karma, as I reached in my backpack for Mike’s wallet at the cash register to pay for the shiny new red gas tank,  I glanced into a barrel of anchor chain sitting there and spied and subsequently grabbed 70 euro in cash! Since we were nearly the first ones in the marine shop that morning, it must have been lost on Saturday the day our tank was abducted. Now that’s good karma.

We departed Martinique from the beautiful city of St Pierre, our usual jumping off point heading North.

Our next stop would be an overnight at a roadstead anchorage on Dominica and then onto a few days in Guadeloupe. Our stay here near River Sens was punctuated by finding a lobster den and sharing our booty with our buddy boat , Joli.

Next stop Antigua….. again!

I’ve been on a writing hiatus for a while, just sooo busy. Who would think that living on a sailboat would keep us on the go, but at the end of the day .. there’s always something. Anyway, here’s a few catch-up posts.

What was meant to be a short stop along the way to pick up a ham radio in Antigua turned into a new appreciation for this diverse island.

It started shortly after receiving and installing the new ham radio we were on our way to a remote part of Antigua , Green Island and only an hour off shore we noticed the engine was overheating. We did some quick analysis, turned it off, refilled with coolant, but the thermostat still read too high. And when that nasty alarm sounded again well, we knew had a problem.

We decided to make a tack and essentially return to the anchorge from which we just came. Luckily, we could sail back. We were able to negotiate our way into the harbor and turn on the engine long enough to get anchored. Now to let her cool of, gather our thoughts and try to figure out what happened. Mike did a cursory check and there was no water leak below the engine, but there was also very little coolant in the reservoir nor the engine??? The following morning we resupplied the engine with coolant and essentially watched it drain right out the salt water exhaust. 1. That’s not what’s supposed to happen. 2 . We do have a leak somewhere. 3. This isn’t a bubblegum fix.  Seriously, I think if you ask any cruising folk out here, aside from taking on water, engine trouble is probably the most dreaded problems. But you say, it’s a sailboat. Yes, but it’s essential for getting in and out of harbors and docks. 

We were so fortunate to find a mechanic to come out that afternoon to confirm the bad news. We had a leak in the closed coolant side into the exhaust. Interestingly, we know a few other boats who have experienced the same. Finally, the good news… it can be fixed and the engine doesn’t have to come out. Bad news, we have to find the right exhaust manifold for the engine and there isn’t one in  Antigua. Within 2 days we had located one in St Maarten and had it on order. This meant we would be out of commission for about a week.

The part took quite a circuitous route from St Maarten, to Puerto Rico to Cincinnati OH, back to PR and then onto Antigua. We watched the DHL tracking 2 or 3 times a day, nearly certain it was going to get misplaced along the way. She was in our hands just 1 week after we had found the problem. Our mechanic,Devon Norris, to who we owe our gratitude, came out on a Saturday morning and had the engine running by noon.

We took her around the harbor for a test run ,somewhat nervously, but she performed wonderfully.

We were back in the saddle, but for the next 2 weeks kept a keen eye on the temp gauge just to be safe.

We made a trip north to the remote island of Barbuda for a couple of days.

We had our friends Jay and Gayle come to visit in Antigua.

Finally have these very good friends aboard for a few days.

Beach bumming in places we would never see by boat.

Watching the Atlantic rowers finish in English Harbor

Great times with great friends.

New sailing grounds… St Kitts and Nevis… coming soon!

We made our latest move in May.. from the stable weather in the Caribbean, leaving Lost Loon to fend for herself in Grenada, to the Land of the Loons on Lake Vermilion, MN in early May. This move requires us to disassemble  and reassemble our lives and living quarters in both places. …and so weve become pretty good living as gypsies in between.

After making our way out of the Leewards, through the Windward Islands of the Caribbean we arrived back in the familiar waters of Grenada. It seemed like home again. We had been away for nearly 2 years due to the constraints of Covid. We actually arrived the day Grenada authorities eliminated the testing requirement to enter the country.

Once we found an good anchor spot in Prickly Bay we had nearly 3 weeks to decomission our Caliber sailboat for hurricane season. We successfully completed 3 full pages of detailed tasks. From cleaning the bilge to polishing the stainless ( oxymoron…it rusts, and too fast!) changing the oil and varnishing exposed teak.  Most days we worked 7 to noon,  rest during the hottest part of the day, and then resume our work from 2 until dusk, feeling accomplished as we check off completed tasks.

Afternoons were spent resting below out if the sun or rain or walking to the nearest marine or hardware store to obtain a missing part or needed provision. Saturdays we treated ourselves to a long bus ride to the HASH location.

We did some incredible HASH hikes. We were also blessed to meet some friends who escorted us to a sweet remote seaside hike followed by a post-hike reward to a remote pizza kitchen. This place is called Pizza (appropriately) and is on the east side of Grenada over a river and up a hill near the playing field. It is only open on only certain days of the week, and we were treated to very best handmade pizza in all of the Caribbean. 

Nat’s place is great. The seating is very tropical and outdoors, so if there’s rain, well other than a couple of umbrellas, you get wet. The menu is written on a large piece of brown paper every night he is open. You write down your order at the counter on another piece of paper with your name, clip it to the round order thing and wait for your name to be called.

Being that it was Holy Week, the menu reflected such. Pizzas such as, the Betrayl, Ressurection, Last Meal and Easter. His ingredients include the standards of tomato mozarella, and basil but also capers, carmelized onions, mango chutney, pancetta, jalapeno, and chorizo. Ok, my mouth is watering just writing this. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun. We visited with Nat for some time that evening. He shared his new establishment sign with us. (I wonder if he ever got it up). It was truly an experience.

We decided to return to the US in early May this year, so as to get in on some early summer fishing on Lake Vermilion.

After making our family visits through IL, WI, and parts of MN, we found our way back to our other home. Little did we know Mother Nature decided to put off summer for a few weeks upon our arrival. The first few weeks we had nights in the 40s and afternoons in the 50s and some 60s. this was quite the change from the warm temps of Grenada. We found everything as we left it, which is always a good thing.

Other than the  early summer storms where we were without power for several days, it has been thankfully uneventful. We have caught some fish, played countless hours of pickleball, and have managed to get in the cool Lake Vermilion water a few times. Oh ..wait PICKLEBALL! We have joined the Ely Pickleball Club. To our surprise, this is a very active PB club. We play M-W-F’s for 2-3 hours with a variety of experienced players and now good friends.

We get in as much as we can this summer because we know we cant find pickleball in the Caribbean …yet.

Boating…Of course we bought another boat. (Isnt this a yearly event for us?) To replace the small aluminum fishing boat and for trips into the boundary waters, Mike found a 16 ft. Lund with a 25 hp outboard which is allowed on a few of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area lakes. The process is to buy a permit for a weeks time period , then pick one day in that week to fish. Mike and our lake neighbor Charlie ventured out in early June to Basswood Lake, and were successful in finding some  nice spring walleyes. So a few weeks later we took our “new” boat and joined Charlie and his kids on Trout Lake, just a portage away from Vermilion. It was a chilly morning at 0630 when we pushed off our dock in hoodies and long pants and took a 20 minute ride to the portage.

Here we were picked up by a boat trailer pulled by an ATV and transported 3/4 of a mile and dumped into Trout Lake, without having to leave our boat seats. The lake was crystal and flat and we only saw 3 or 4 other boats on this 2000 acre lake.

We fished several spots trying to find the fish. We fought off the chill of the morning, as the sun crept overhead. We finally located the motherload and hauled in 5 very nice walleye.

Then the worst happened. Mike was pulling up the stringer (a relic from the previous owners of the cabin..40 yrs?) and the rope broke! We watched on horror through the brightly lit, clear water as these beautiful 18-21 inch fish swam away together in slow motion deeper and deeper. Mike nearly jumped in after them!! Following a few expletives, we regained our composure and over the next hour or so managed to pull in 1 take-home fish. We completed the day with a  2-mile hike along a portage to another small lake off Trout and then returned to the machanical portage and Lake Vermilion with a pretty crazy fish story.

Sailing…we have only had a handfull of days where there has been the right wind and no rain to head out on our little DC. She sails very well when not taking on water. (more to this story when its published, yay!!!!).

As the days begin to get shorter here in the beginning of September,  and nights just a bit cooler, we have begun to make our “escape-from-Vermilion” plans and migrate the other direction. So far, all is well in Grenada, however we watch the Atlantic for developing storms and look forward to warm days and warm nights, sailing friends, and some of the best sailing we’ve been lucky to experience!

Want to thank all my friends who continue to read this and encourage me to continue writing!!

0730 The boat has been rolling a bit starting in the wee hours of the morning, but we did sleep.We know tonite will be different sailing. There’s a bit of a swell we feel and boats are coming and going through the Gustavia channel where we’ve anchored in St Barths overnight….after making our first leg from Marigot St Martin. Airplanes begin to make their way overhead occasionally into the nearly treacherous airfield on this island. (SEE HERE) Seriously, I read that you have to have a special rating and training for landing here!

0910 Blue sky peaks through occasional white puffy clouds now. We tidy up and check our weather apps one more time and anticipate an overnight of sailing without a lot of drama.

1000 We fiddle about reorganizing, swimming, and resting. Our intention is to leave at noon-ish to make our 20 hour arrival in the daylight at Guadalupe.

1017 A large official dingy pulls up, the gendarme (aka, police). He asks “are you staying?” We interpret this as the fact that he knows we haven’t cleared into customs and we should, or he is telling us we’re anchored very close to the channel. Either way, Mike sits up and tells him “we’ll leave today”. The official repeats”you leave today?” Mike indicates affirmative. The official smiles and gives a kind wave and moves along through the anchorage. We are not required to check into customs if we are just anchored overnight and not going ashore.Most islands now allow this. They didnt during COVID however.

1230 We have the anchor stowed, one reef in the mainsail, and our 2 head sails unfurled into 16 knots of breeze from the East. Our heading is 144 in the direction of Guadalupe. Our heading is 144 in the direction of Guadalupe. The wind is 95 ° true. So we are about 60ﾟ off the wind from the true wind perspective. When traveling the wind becomes apparent (this means it’s affected by our forward motion) so it narrows us to about 50 or 45ﾟ at times. Lost Loon needs 45ﾟ and loves anything over 50. So, sails are sheeted in tight for now but we are sailing!!

1245 Lunch! I go below and make 2 sandwiches and grab our water bottles. A baguette and saussion…keeping it simple!!

1400 Seas are 6 to 7′ off the port bow and wind remains 50ﾟ to our course. The skies are blue and a few whisps of puffy white clouds float by, but nothing at all threatening. What’s funny is we seem to be the only ones making a move. There are no other sailboats heading our direction. We have this part of the Caribbean sea to ourselves.

1545. Winds are steady and we pass one catamaran coming from the South and then see 2 sailboats to the distance in the East. We surmise they are making our opposite run from Guadalupe or Antigua North. So we are not alone out here.

1630 We discuss putting another reef in the main for the night. This means we reduce the square footage of our sale area, potentially slow the boat down a few tenths of a knot, but also avoid a fire drill of sorts in the middle of the night if we get squalls or high winds. We decided to wait until sunset, 2 more hours, and get what we can out of the current sail plan.

1700 winds show some some indication of increasing every now and again we’re getting a few 18 to 20 knot puffs. We watch a pair of sea birds draft in the wind we make. Up and down , in front of us and then behind us. Leaving little traces of their presence on the deck and Bimini.

1730 Ham time. I make a decent connection with my uncle (W4HTB) over the ham radio. He is in Bowling Green Kentucky and we have made a scheduled time for contact.. We chat and he is now aware that we are OK and on course. It always amazes me how clear a connection is over so many thousands of miles. I have said this before but it’s comforting to know we have a connection underway when there is otherwise no cell service out here.

1745. Time to reef. We head into the wind , which is now just 13 knots. I center the main, release the main halyard, lower to the next reef, pull in that clue/ tack ( with one line), then raise and secure the halyard again. DONE! Mike bears off on to our course again. We unfurl the 2 headsails and are able to maintain a decent 5.5 knots of speed despite the reduced sail area we now carry.

1800 Dinner time. I have made chicken and dumplings before we left and just need to reheat it. Easier said. I managed my way below in a 20ﾟ heel and between swells dig out the plastic container in the fridge. Then the small covered pressure skillet in which to reheat dinner. I can lock the top and minimize spills this way. I am juggling the skillet and trying to keep the Tupperware from sliding off either onto the floor or into The sink. All while trying to remain upright myself. The skillet is closed and locked the stove is on and the gimble is unlocked allowing the stove to keep its level on our heel.. I have to stand holding the skillet for 15 minutes to reheat the dinner. A microwave would be so much faster but we don’t have one mainly because we don’t have all of the energy to power it. My next job is getting the stew in the bowls without spilling.This feat could be my audition for Barnum & Bailey circus.

1830 We are enjoying a hot meal, as the sun disappears below the horizon leaving behind beautiful colored clouds and glistening waters.

1945 The sky is fully dark. Bright stars creep out as are pupils adjust to the diminished light. We are managing 5.5 to 6 knots with winds over 15 knots steady and we continue to adjust the auto pilot to stay on our line. You see a sailboat points to a destination but because of waves and currents actually slides off the course overtime, less so when higher winds because the boat is able to make that course better. We don life jackets and clip in using our tethers.

2010 we fiddle with the sails perfecting and always adjusting. Move about the cockpit monitoring what’s ahead or not.

2130 Boat lights ahead. Are we following them or are they coming at us. The lights move left to right. Just white, can’t make out any red or green. Fishing boats we finally assume we never quite approach them before they finally disappear.

2230 Mike retires to the aft cabin for a brief rest. I make 15 minute checks otherwise sit behind the dodger watching the sails and look out for approaching vessels. The sky glows over what I presume to be Antigua to the Southeast.

2330 There is a new glow in the Eastern sky and it’s the 1st sighting of the moon rising. Clouds move before occasionally but it’s a welcome sight on a dark night. The air is cool and not too damp. No boats.

0030 I have managed to read a little from my kindle between adjusting the course, watching the sails, looking out for boats, and monitoring the weather. I think I have another hour in me.

0045 The moon disappears along with the stars. The horizon, amazingly visible in the dark, has also disappeared ahead of us. The wind clocks a bit and I sense weather ahead. Just as I make it to the helm the wind increases swiftly from 17 to 24…25…27 knots. I turn off autopilot and hand steer , falling off the course slightly to take the weather off the sails andbrudder. I calmly caliber Mike to let out the sails in order to bleed off some wind. Rain hits only briefly as we have hit the tail end of this passing squall. Wind drops from 20 to 15 and settles into 17. We reset the sails and are back on the rhumb line to Guadeloupe, now only 40 miles ahead!

0100 My turn for rest. We’ve cleared the aft cabin, but after 2 minutes listening to the auto pilot squeak with each adjustment I moved to the downwind setee. I wake briefly as there is a captain calling “Saint John’s pilot boat please come in” in Antigua and getting no response, he tries for over an hour every 15 minutes. I finally fall asleep despite the continuous calls.

0315 My alarm sounds on my phone. Mike hears it and tells me to sleep a little while longer. I have no problem with that. The motion is steady and the St John’s captain is silent.

0345 I’m awake and don my hooded sweatshirt, head lamp and drink some cold coffee left over in the thermos from the morning. I get a report that the seas and winds are a bit bigger as expected approaching Guadalupe, leaving Antigua to Stern. Skies are now littered with clouds and stars. No ships. Montserrat stands to starboard on the horizon. For the next hour or so I listened to a bit of my audiobook this time while watching for traffic. The moon sporadically makes an appearance overhead. The wind is so variable it drops to 12 and then 19 knots. Our speed changes from 6.5 down to 3.9 knots. I practice patience before engaging the engine.

0500 Mike is up and there is just a bit of light entering the Eastern sky. I have time for just a short nap. I’m awakened in 40 minutes as I hear Mike adjusting sales. The sun is peaking through the port lights now it feels warmer. Wow I have been dreaming. The seas are adequately boisterous as we approach Guadalupe and her North headland, but But we also see approaching clouds in the distance.

0720 The wind increases with the approaching squall but it appears to hold. Clouds depict rain head moving across our path. I recall 3 or 4 other squalls we have anchored in this season and anticipate the same this morning.

0800 We enter the Anchorage at DeShaies (day-hay) Guadalupe. It is heavily clouded overhead and rain begins slowly spitting at first then more steady I’m prepared in a foul weather jacket. . It is a relatively small yet beautiful anchorage with steep hillsides and rock formations on either side, but no more than a 1/2 mile wide. The village is situated as well on a hillside dotted with Red roof buildings A small local beach and scattered palms. The Anchorage is full. Boats from French Islands, Germany, Canada and Norway have taken up homage here. As we motor closer to shore where we know it is more shallow the skies open up. I’m ready at the bow to release the anchor as we nudge behind a moored catamaran. Another boat , I recognize as a beautiful 47 Island Packet, we pass to starboard is flagged US! I give them a drenched wave. And from the cockpit I hear “not exactly your Caribbean dream!”” I turned back and say” oh, but it is!”

0930 Gear is stowed, cabin picked up and we make time for a little celebratory breakfast ! It’s was a successful overnight..as we make our way to southern Caribbean waters.

Thanks for sticking with us!! Come back for a hiking trip up the DeShaies River and the Botanical Garden!!

0630. Coffee is pressed.  We’re up to listen to the weather for the northeast Caribbean on Marine Weather Center broadcast. In particular we have been watching for a window to move from St Martin to Guadeloupe in our quest to get to Grenada by mid April. The forecast  is for moderating winds and seas. This means it’s not blowing in the 20s and seas are settling to under 8 feet. The next 2 days are a go. But we can see we won’t leave right away due to gray skies and approaching rain. We have supplied the dinghy with fuel, done the laundry, said our goodbyes to sailing friends we will see next season,   and most importantly procured some of the best cheap French wine and delicious baguettes for the trip.

0730 Another rain squall moves through and we busy about the boat securing cabinets and anything that has the potential to become airborne on a 20 degree heel in waves. Mike plots a course on Windy, and looking at the models shows me we could be in for squalls tonite after passing St Barts. So we’ll have to watch the sky. No use running into trouble if there’s no need.

0915 Coffee cups stowed. Refrigerator is arranged for easy acess to our passage meal and lunches. Jacklines in place. Life jackets , harness, and rain gear accessible. Skies have cleared and its time to pull the anchor on St Martin. We bid adieu to Friars Bay, our secret hideout these last couple of weeks.

1015 We begin our second tack in an attempt to make our way around the northeast headland of St Martin (SXM). Winds are not in our favor here but we have committed to this course. Wind is 15-19 knots. There is a catamaran on the same trajectory behind us. We are betting he gives into the motor soon.

1050 Tack #3 completed now into 8 ft seas. We calculate we can make the passage between the NE corner of the island and Tintamarre ( Island off-lying SXM to the north and east).

1135 Behind Tintamarre we have a brief respite in calm seas and a nice 17 knots of wind. The Lost Loon is crisply cutting the waters. This feels great! As always we say ” if it’s like this the whole way, we’ve got it made!” We get visited by a dolphin playing and surfing our wake! She only stays for 5 minutes and darts out of sight. We have a rhumb line to St Barths.

1200 Wind drops to 8 knots after passing Tintamarre. ( The wind is ever changing!) Our speed drops to 3 knots and we are bobbing in the waves. The engine is engaged and the genoa furled because it’s just flapping aimlessly. This gets us to 5 knots until our wind returns. We always know it will…it’s just a matter of time.

1230 Wind pipes up to 12, then 13 true wind. We unfurl the genoa and cut the engine. Speed 5 knots now sailing again.

1400 Passing Il Forchue, island that is part of St Barths. We see clouds forming to the East. Not ominous. We then sail past a very crowded Gustavia for an anchorage to the south, Governors. Upon arrival the seas and wind are directed right into the waters here and after 5 min we decide it will be too rolly overnight and we need sleep. We turn around and head back to Gustavia and pray there is a little spot for the Lost Loon to wedge into for the night. We make a serpentine to the right and left off the main channel and decide to be right off the 2nd channel marker .

1800 The sun begins to set and those clouds have formed to the south and appear darker. We can see the muted island forms of Saba and Statia in the distance. We are happy with the decision to stay here. We don’t intend to go ashore , so technically we can raise the Q flag and leave in the morning.

1930 Daylight has disappeared and several hundred anchor lights dot the proximal sky. Dinner tonite was to have been chicken stew we prepared prior to leaving SXM, so we could just reheat while sailing. We save that for the next day and opt for some simple pork tacos and beans.

2130 Bedtime . Tomorrow’s passage will be 115 miles. That’s an overnight because it exceeds how far we can typically travel in 12 hours of daylight. We look forward to being back in Guadeloupe. We haven’t been there since 2019.

Making the Rhumb line to Guadeloupe day 2 next.

We have left the safe confines of the USVIs ( our home sweet sailing grounds) and have initiated our trek south toward Grenada now.

We arrived in St John in  March of 2020 just as Covid shut down the world. We were literally stuck here in paradise for 6 weeks before deciding to haul the boat here for the summer.

And due to the entry requirements on the different islands throughout the Caribbean last year, we opted to stay put in St Thomas , St John, and St Croix for 6 months. We have become accustomed to these waters and find the perfect anchorage for every type of weather and activity.

There have been awesome Christmas and New Years parties, disco parties, a St Croix regatta and post race party.

We found several go to restaurants .. Cafe Amalia (STT), Cibone( STX), singh’s Roti (STX), and Northside grind (STT) where we walk nearly 2 miles for the best coffee and breakfast sandwiches. we devoured the best pizza on St Thomas at Pizza Amore and on St Croix at the Lost Dog Pub. We enjoyed several great Leatherback brewery beers, especially Guanabana ( soursop!).

We did Chicken and Bowling !! ( Not kidding!! Right here on St Thomas there is 6 lane bowling alley and they are famous for chicken as well. We celebrated Al’s birthday. All the way down to the 2nd tequila shot and birthday cake by Brenda!.)

We sailed countless miles between St John and St Thomas and St Croix in all types of weather. We took advantage of the calm days and went snorkeling for lobsters and found the best…wait.. that’s a secret!

We filled numerous tanks of air for dives with Polly and Brian our dive buddies on sites like The Ledges,  Stragglers , Carvelle Rock on St John and Tide Bottle ( appropriately named for the marker at the site), Swirling Reef of Death ( yep, we did it!), The Aquarium, and Alien Nation on St Croix. 

I swam with a dolphin!! You bet. Christmas Cove one late afternoon this little fellow showed up to play. He exhausted me to no end swimming and diving. Will get a link up for that video soon.

We have hiked many miles across St John and put on likely hundreds just provisioning parts and groceries on St Thomas. We were vaccinated and boostered for Covid on the islands. We have had some of the best  sailing days and some of the stormiest days at anchor since we started sailing.

We have celebrated a few monumental birthdays and had some unparalleled parties lasting well into the night.

But most of all found the friendship of many new cruising friends here. Some we will continue to run into down island , but a few we will say goodbye to for now. 

But, we didn’t come out here to sit still..” it’s time to move on pardner” So, we say thanks to the sweet Virgin Islands and bid farewell to the wonderful people of these islands who have made it so special..

To reach a port we must set sail,

Sail, not tie at anchor,

Sail, not drift.

Franklin D Roosevelt.

Step 1 Saturday morning Nov 20. Tomorrow we board a flight in Orlando for San Juan but first we need transportation from our temporary residence in Punta Gorda. We leave a car for our friends Jeff and Cynthia at the Fort Myers airport and pick up a rental car. ( rental car number 1 of the trip) This means missing our morning pickleball games in order to get our rental by 10… maybe 1030.

What’s with car rentals these days?? There are fewer and fewer availabilities and trying to drive from one location to another is a premium cost.

So we park Jeff’s car and walk to the rental facility near the terminal. Considering it’s the Saturday before Thanksgiving and the airport is crowded, we’re lucky to make it out in under 30 min. $132 for 24 hours use to drive us 130 miles. We chose a Hyundai Elantra, something big enough for our two 40 pound bags and small enough to maximize fuel economy.

Today’s win… we have a surveyor!!! Yes, as difficult as it was to find someone this close to the holidays we did it!!! Now we hope he shows up.

Sunday morning 0500. It’s pitch dark, but the bags are packed and in the car except for the clothes we will travel in and the sandwichs we prepare. The sheets are changed , coffee made and doors locked. We make the 2.5 hour drive to Orlando Airport and hope that when we check in our scale for weighing the bags is correct. We’re blessed to check in with exactly 77 pounds collectively. SPIRIT allows 40 each. Whew. I wade through security as Mike breezes with our carry-ons through TSA. ( a benefit he still holds from business travel days) By 1130 we are on time and taxiing to the runway.

1400 We arrive in SanJuan. Another car rental debacle. We claim our bags and walk to the arrivals waiting area for Dollar rental van….and wait. I finally call and the noise level is so high andbthe person on the other end doesn’t speak loud enough and all I hear ( even with my headphones on is be there right away and yelling. I tell Mike to look for a yellow van. Not one arrives. I approach another car rental van to inquire, as they must all know the secret… oh he says get on the van with the smiling YELLOW sun!! We have seen that go by and stop, what 5 or 6 times in the last 45 minutes!!

Two and a half hours later, it’s too late to get into the boatyard to see Lost Loon, so we drive straight to our AirBNB in Ceiba PR, just 2 miles from the marina.

With several hours of exhaustion under our belts, we opt for a trip to Amigo ( Walmart’s neighborhood store) and pick up a few provisions: beer, coffee, sandwich fixing. For dinner we picked up local fare… Chinese!! When in Puerto Rico?? But guess what it was delicious . And unique to PR each entre comes with not only a side of fried rice but… French fries?!? Seriously. We bought roasted chicken from the same place the following day… comes with fries! No potato shortage here!

We spent 4 days getting the boat bottom painted, waxed, and stainless polished. We organized areas inside and out. Our surveyor showed up and spent 3 meticulous hours on, around the boat and up the mast! We shopped at Walmart, Walgreens, and West Marine. We crossed tasks off one list and started others.

We worked all day Thanksgiving in a quiet boat yard. Only a select few who were going in the water were fervently getting boats ready. Our other major task today was to return the Dollar car rental for a local rental with Thrifty. Which meant picking up the Thrifty car and then driving to Dollar to drop it off at the San Juan Airport. ( definitely not one of our most convenient decisions but the only way to manage having a car in our location ). A shout out to Walgreens for being open and having a small food section, where we purchased some instant potatoes. I already had some canned veggies and a can of cranberries I needed to use on Lost Loon, to go with our left over roasted chickens, but we were told Pueblo( a real grocery ) was open all day, they were not.

Black Friday morning. We were like early morning shopper’s. We arrive at the boat before 730, where hardly a mouse was stirring. We needed to get organized for the big float day. After 3 hours of messing about lines and fenders, and putting things in order we routed back for a quick shower and lunch then checked out of the AirBNB. We made one trip for more beer in Fajardo and then we were back to the boat.

The boatyard crew surprised us at 130 by showing up to get us ready to go. We had a launch time of 330 but we’re glad to get going early. After she was placed in the traveling sling and the bottom of the keel painted, we were on our way to water. By 330 we had routed off the lift and around the marina to our transient slip getting used to the great feeling of being on the boat again.

Next up… Back in the USVIs!!!!

I