Clearing in with customs at Jolly Harbour, turned out to be a relatively easy and painless procedure (given the recent rumours we've been hearing about the rigid customs procedures), and once paperwork was safe in hand we were free to remove the yellow Q-flag and proudly hoist in its place, the brightly colourful Antiguan Flag.



Since then we've been busy roaming the South/Western coast of Antigua, doing A Bit of This and A Bit of That.

For example, here we are on our way to Carlisle Bay in search of some clearer waters in order to run our WaterMaker, and then,



fast forward to that afternoon, sun is shining and we're heading back through the Five Islands Channel and towards Deep Bay that we intended to make Home for that Night.



We needed a quiet bay (read, no Northerly Swells) in order to get some repairs done. Our holding tank was filling up too quickly, cough-cough (read, not emptying properly), and the Capt'N deduced that the discharge hose was probably clogged up.



Our best guess is that it was changed when the holding tank was inserted, with the previous owner, back in 2006. Time for a lot of buildup, of which there is no need to discuss, just in case you happen to be reading this over breakfast with your morning cup of coffee.

So, most certainly not an easy job given the very tight quarters that required lots of contortion abilities for the Capt'N, and the hose. Thankfully thanks to diligent prep procedures, it was all over without any stinky messy mess to speak of.



Old hose discharged, new hose inserted, and with time we hope that this is the fix that the holding tank needed.

Still on the To Do list is re-terminate the outdoor speakers and the re-affix the SSB cable, which will require me to hoist the Capt'N high up the mast, probably higher than he wants to go, where he will have to hoist himself back and... well, he prefers at this moment not to have to think about it.

We took Banyan for a drive into Jolly Harbour and picked up a mooring ball,



where we were on a mission of A Few Things To Do. Namely drop off our laundry with Geraldine, drop our empty propane tank off with Danny, and then promptly drop our mooring ball lines and head back out to Hermitage Bay, the land of Great WiFi.



During this week of A Bit of This and A Bit of That, we've also based our home out of Hermitage Bay where we've enjoyed some fantastic reunions with friends we haven't seen in A.LONG.TIME.

Namely, we were thrilled to meet up with Dalynn and Glen (SV Amoray)



where we spent a couple of great evenings catching up on A Bit of This and A Bit of That (and playing Wizard). I am proud to proclaim that I may just have been dubbed the Wizard Queen.

A few days later, we met up with long-lost friends Mike and Roberta (SV Celilo), that we originally met in Vero Beach, (Florida), and then again as we were crossing from Bahamas to Puerto Rico, where we enjoyed some fun travels together before the parting of ways.

During this time we've also been laying low, trying to recoup from a cold that the Capt'N caught somewhere somehow, and tried to off on me, but armed with lots of Vitamin C, honey and liquids, I bravely fought off, along with any potential vampires lurking around, thanks to copious amounts of garlic.

The best part of this most recent week of A Bit of This and A Bit of That, is that we've also been prepping for incoming family to arrive for a two week stay onboard Banyan. Prepping that had us re-vamping our living space and turning our Aft Garage into a live-able Aft Cabin, and thinking of menu ideas so as to over-stock Banyan's Galley CupBoards, trying to determine a Plan.Of.Attack on how to best circumnavigate this beautiful island called Antigua, And.So.On !

One of the hardest adaptations (for us), with this chosen lifestyle is the time spent far, far away from our kids. It is what it is, however, we are Pretty.Darn.Excited to announce that in less than a 48 hour count-down, Banyan will be full of Welcome.Aboard.Hugs... CAN.NOT.WAIT !!