CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored in Mosquito Cove, just outside the entrance to Jolly Harbour, Antigua
17 04.505' N, 061 53.541' W

The month of April is nearly upon us. April will mark our last month in the Caribbean. As many of you experience the first signs of spring, weather conditions for us continue relatively unchanged since November of last year. Come to think of it, we have successfully dodged the winter bullet for two years running. Blue jeans remain stuffed into the furthest reaches of my clothes shelf, untouched for 18 months, and many days go by where I do not even don a shirt. Such is a winter spent in the Caribbean.

That is not to say that our microclimate is unchanging. We watch the weather forecasts now from a different perspective: wind and wave set our schedules. Windy days make for comfortable conditions due to the nice breeze within the boat, but they also stir up a chop on the water that translates into a wet ride to shore. Where we are anchored, northerly swell can sneak around the corner and create big waves in the cove. If the swell inches around to anything west of north, the breakers seen on the nearby shoreline can get a little scary. Wind plus wave is generally better than wave alone. The wind keeps our stern pointed into the swell, thus creating a gentle pitch/push motion. Without the wind, we wallow beam-to the waves and the motion of the boat is rolly. We have watched wide ranges of wind and wave combinations in our time here in Mosquito Cove and nothing yet has forced us to move, but we are ever vigilant in our weather watch.

The day of the week and the date on the calendar mean little to us right now. We get up and decide upon our activities based on the wind and wave conditions. Time on the boat is spent reading or doing offline computer stuff. Lately, we have taken to watching the occasional afternoon movie when we need a break from our books. In order to get a reliable internet connection, we have to take the computers to shore (our new repeater just cannot hold onto a signal from our current location). We try to get to shore every two or three days, in order to do that all important weather check, and catch up on e-mail and facebook correspondence. Kayaking provides an alternative diversion from time on the boat. Calmer conditions allow us to explore around the corner on the 'outside.' In less ideal conditions, we can head 'inside' and paddle around the many fingers of the well-protected Jolly Harbour. It is fun to look at all the boats tied up at docks behind the condos and imagine what it would be like to live there ... or there.

Jolly Harbour provides numerous creature comforts. The last time I was in contact with my mother, she expressed the common motherly concern, "In all of your pictures, you look so thin." Well, Mom, no worries. The availability of food here in Jolly Harbour has definitely cured any issues in that regard. On days when we go ashore, I generally get some meat from the grocery for dinner. Boneless chicken breast, ground turkey, and pork cutlets are often available in packaged quantities small enough for a single serving (albeit a big serving) and usually ring up at under $2 US dollars. In addition, we have developed a habit of heading to shore (on those days we take the laptops in) around lunchtime. Several restaurants offer reasonable lunch specials, so we occasionally treat ourselves. As a cheaper and therefore more frequented option, sandwiches from the grocery deli counter do a nice job of filling that void in the tummy. While Sheryl stays with the healthier selections, I find myself all-too-frequently indulging in a cheeseburger in paradise. Consequently, my shorts are beginning to fit a little more snuggly with each passing week.

Another bonus to being here in Jolly Harbour is the availability of free showers. Thanks to Chris (aboard s/v Christa) we learned that the marina has no problems with persons anchored outside the complex using their shower facilities. Due to the discovery of this open door policy, Sheryl and I are enjoying long, hot showers several times a week. It is a little bit discouraging when your clean body gets splashed with salt water on the dinghy trip back to the boat. Regardless, we are certainly not looking this gift horse in the mouth.

A lot of our mental energy and conversations are focused around what comes next. Most immediately is the trip home. We have learned a lot from our two and three-day offshore passages, and we are trying to apply this knowledge in our preparations for this, much longer, journey. We look around the boat with a critical eye and think about what changes we can effect to make the time offshore that much easier. Some interior lighting changes and a little bit of rewiring on the instruments should decrease our power draw while underway. Things like the simple placement of foodstuffs, blankets, or foul weather gear is important. Easy access to items while underway often differs from the experience at anchor. This means rearranging the jigsaw puzzle which allows us to stuff everything we own into a 35-foot boat. In addition, there will be no more trips to the grocery when we are 500 miles from the nearest point of land. So, meal planning takes a unique priority. Our list of checks and maintenance items grows quicker than our rather lackadaisical efforts to attend to those items. However, there is still plenty of time.

Our minds also drift to what will transpire after the trip home. Home is a very nebulous term for us right now. Once the boat sells, we find a good job, or winter descends once again (whichever comes first), we will be forced to redefine our living accommodations. Where we will live and what we will do for a living are constant topics of conversation between us. It is refreshing, exciting, and scary all at the same time.

This is how our days drift one into another with little to differentiate them or even mark the passage of time. Slowly, our eventual date of departure draws nearer, but until then we enjoy the opportunity to relax, reflect, and prepare for whatever the future has in store for us.