We've created a new favorite phrase--Grade A gray day. Say it out loud and you'll see its appeal. Unfortunately, we've had lots of chances to use it in the last week! And rain! A deluge, several days in a row, and we're grateful to be on an ark...I mean boat.

After six nights in Francis Bay we decided to go around to the southeastern side of St. John to try one of the harbors in Coral Bay. Coral Harbor is all private moorings, the Hurricane Hole area has day-use moorings and no anchoring, but Round Bay's Hansen Bay, inside Pelican Rock, looked promising. While motoring along, Tom revved the engine from our normal cruising speed at 2100 RPMs to the maximum recommended 2800, a normal check of engine performance. After several minutes, the alarm sounded, and we saw that the temperature had hit the red zone. We slowed, let it cool down, and resumed with no problems at 2100. The wind was strong out of the southeast, and as we came around into Sir Francis Drake Channel, we started plunging into good-sized waves. Rounding the eastern edge of St. John and turning southwest, we had a short unpleasant run wallowing in the troughs, and heading into Coral Bay it seemed unlikely that we'd find any calm anchorage. But tucked in the eastern shore were several boats at anchor--in Hansen Bay. For the first time it appeared that our chartplotter was wildly at odds with the reality of the configuration of the harbor--depth, hazardous areas, locations of rocks. We anchored in what we could see was a safe place, but in 45 feet of water rather than the 15 feet we expected. The two boats to port of us appeared to be in the hazardous area, but they were obviously doing fine where they were. I thought I'd snorkel the area as soon as we ate lunch. A little yellow houseboat-cum-bar motored into the bay, and set up business for beach goers. Tom got on the phone and made arrangements for someone to check the engine cooling issue at Nanny Cay on Monday.

But talk about Grade A gray day...while we were eating the rain started, and didn't stop for several hours, leading right into a dark, overcast evening. Saturday was more of the same--torrential rain interspersed with overcast. The little yellow bar boat came back during the deluge, and we didn't think they'd get any business, but along came Island Time, a commercial party boat. They dropped anchor near shore, and drifted down on one of the anchored sailboats, whose owner braved the downpour to fend off. While Island Time's passengers swam to the bar boat, her captain tried again and again to anchor, repeatedly drifting onto the sailboat, who had quickly deployed a slew of fenders. We enjoyed watching this comedy of errors while snugly sheltered under our cockpit enclosure. The rain continued throughout the day, and I never did snorkel to explore the bottom.

Sunday we motored back around to Leinster Bay, in anticipation of checking back into the BVI at Soper's Hole Monday morning on our way to Nanny Cay. More rain, more Grade A gray day. It cooled off, and we thought if the rain held off we'd have a good night's sleep. It only rained intermittently, but was still enough to bring the mosquitos and no-see-us out in full force. I'm itching all over. Now, Monday noon, we're in a slip at Nanny Cay, awaiting the engine work. And it's raining.

Update, Wednesday, May 4: We're at Bitter End Yacht Club for what's really the last time this season. The engine work (and refrigeration work and bottom-scrubbing) was successful, and yesterday we had a wonderful beat up the Sir Francis Drake Channel to North Sound, Virgin Gorda, on the first sunny day in a week! Looks like the Salty Dawg boats that are rallying back north mid-May are starting to gather here. We'll check out of the BVI at Gun Creek in the morning, have a nice sail back down Drake Channel, and spend one night at Francis Bay, St. John, before going to Frenchtown Marina to begin preparing for departure.