Time flies when you get older! Both of my dear children are learning this.

Sooooooo much has happened in the year since Martinique! The good news is that we toured everything we wanted to see in Martinique and I filled Molly with hundreds of dollars worth of yummy French wine and rhum, intended as gifts for friends and family. The bad news will become evident further in my story. Patrick and Sean ... pay attention!

Because of Covid we had to carefully choose which islands we wanted to visit. Next stop? St. Maarten! But not before illegally entering and over-nighting in both Dominica and St. Kitts. Due to Covid restrictions the usually accepted routine of raising the quarantine flag to stop and rest or make repairs had been forbidden. Others had told us to radio ahead to announce intentions but it was hit or miss whether they allowed you to stop for a respite or their coast guard escorted you out of their territorial waters. St. Kitts in particular was iffy since they were having issues with human trafficking. So we snuck in under cover of darkness, slept a few hours and snuck out before daylight with the planned ‘excuse’ of engine trouble, which wasn’t so far off base. Nevertheless, all worked out well and we made haste for St. Maarten, where we planned to meet up with friends for dinner.

We actually planned to stay longer, but unfortunately we had to try to out-run a sudden storm and the rough seas (seriously … 18 foot seas!) did my hip in. I learned what it means to ‘pray without ceasing’ that trip, not only for the pain in my hip but for the waves crashing over the boat. But again, Captain Ron was my hero and we arrived safely in St. Maarten. At this point the pain in my hip was so bad we knew I would not be able to make the remainder of the sail and sadly arranged for flights home and a delivery captain to bring Molly back to Florida.

Interestingly enough, while in line at the fuel dock in St. Maarten, a man in a dinghy pulled up along side us yelling Molly! Are you really Molly Bloom?! Ron and I looked at each other and laughed. Over the years many islanders called me Molly thinking she was named after me. I never corrected them, not wanting to go into the whole story. But this man was insistent and knew the story of Molly Bloom! We talked and laughed for a while, since his boat was in line behind us, and told him ‘the rest of the story.’ If you have an interest, Netflix has the movie ‘Molly’s Game’ showing right now. Take some time and watch it, and you will know who our boat is really named after. If you want to hear the rest of the story, leave me a comment, give me a hint that you have watched the movie, and if there is enough interest I will tell it.

I use the title ‘delivery captain’ loosely because this man should never be allowed to captain another person’s boat. After less than 24 hours of his trip, he messaged me asking how to get the generator started. Many messages and instructions later, he couldn’t do it. Then it was the inverter. Then the water maker. At this point, knowing we had filled both holding tanks with fresh water I told him where the bottled water was, wondering how he’d run out of 100 gallons of fresh water in less than 24 hours. He told me that they had plenty to drink and were just trying to do laundry … thankfully, he didn’t figure out the water maker and so the washing machine was saved. But it was the ONLY thing on the boat he did not break in transit.

The main sheet batons were all snapped in half … how does one do that? Every system in the boat was broken in some fashion. But the absolute worst thing? He drank all of my French wine … every drop. If I ever see that man again, he will be swinging from the yardarm!

Over the past year, we have spent hundreds if not thousands of Boat Bucks making repairs. To top it off, a neighbor plowed into the starboard side of Molly at full throttle. The good news is that the hole was above the water line. The bad news is that it was on the starboard side. Had it been the port side, I would have had a whole new galley ala their insurance! Nevertheless, that was the excuse to put in new granite countertops and back splashes in the galley, and a few other upgrades.

One such upgrade was purchasing a SailRite industrial sewing machine. I’ve taught myself how to do upholstery, and have recovered the two forward bedroom cushions and am almost finished with the cushions in the saloon. Molly is spiffed up and a with all of Ron’s woodwork improvements she is a whole new girl, ready to take on our next adventure.

We are in the planning stages and beginning to provision for our extended trip to the Bahamas! Our plan is to make our way south along the coast of Florida and cross the Gulf Stream from Marathon some time in March.

Stay tuned!

Molly