The holidays were fun, but now we’re back on the boat!
19 January 2018
I last posted on December 15, Tom on January 10, both from Antigua. We had a wonderful sail to Deshaies, Guadeloupe, on January 17, exactly two months since our previous visit with Galen and Sue Todd. It’s a lot more crowded now, and we had to anchor uncomfortably close to other boats…one of whom we know! The world is getting smaller and smaller for us.
Since my last post, we had a busy time before leaving the boat at the Jolly Harbour Marina while we flew to Boston in December. We spent most of the time in Falmouth, writing and emailing our annual holiday news, writing checks or going online for our annual charitable giving, deciding which clothes we could take back north to leave there. One morning Tom took the laundry to Sam & Dave’s to drop it off, but they weren’t open. Since others had left bags of dirty clothes on the porch, he decided to as well. He joined me at Covent Garden, the lovely grocery store with free WiFi on their covered patio, where I was working on our holiday letter. Then he did more errands, and when we met at the dinghy, he was carrying the laundry bags. I asked, “Were they still closed?” He said they were open when he returned, and he saw our laundry sitting there, so he asked what time tomorrow it would be ready. “It’s ready now!” she said, and cheaper than we’d been paying. Some surprises are good.
We managed to get a nice sail out of our return to Jolly Harbour on the 20th, although some of it was dead downwind. We picked up a mooring, but found the marina’s WiFi signal was lousy, so when another mooring opened closer in, we moved. Much better. Tom scoped out the slip assigned to us so we’d know how to prepare our dock lines, and the next morning we moved into the marina. Lots of work involved in preparing the boat for our absence: bringing the dinghy up on the foredeck (after a much-needed scrubbing of barnacles and grass), defrosting and cleaning the freezer and refrigerator, putting away everything that normally lives on the exterior of the boat, and on and on.
Friday, December 22, we had a decent trip to Boston. Tom put on his winter jacket in the airport in Antigua—the air conditioning almost prepared us for the northern climate. But his post filled you in on that!
When I returned from Boston we spent a couple nights in Jolly Harbour, with the first day back back wasted on a migraine. Second day getting groceries, a haircut and pedicure for me, and then off to Falmouth Harbour. We anchored in the same spot Tom had been while I was in Boston, so were again able to pick up some WiFi from the Catamaran Marina. I briefly met Harriet and T.L. Linskey on Hands Across the Sea, and we invited them for drinks Sunday evening.
Hands Across the Sea is the name of their boat, but also the name of an organization they founded about eleven years ago, when they were down here and learned that the schools didn’t have libraries. Please go to their website—handsacrossthesea.net—and read about the impact they’ve made. And then DONATE! Monday I went with Harriet and Lisa Tomlinson, Hands’ Literacy Link in Antigua, to three schools to see what progress they’re making or not making. The concept of a library is alien to them, and while many administrators and teachers have welcomed the idea, others have resisted it. After all, if the children learn to read, they may we’ll leave the island… I fell in love with this program (former children’s librarian…duh!), and have been exploring ways I can continue to support it. I’ll most likely visit more schools as we continue down island.
Today, January 19, I spent some time this afternoon without a headache—a real milestone! So perhaps the prophylactic medication is taking effect. This morning I went ashore to go to the well-regarded botanical garden here. The guide book says they’ll send a shuttle for you, and there’s a sign on the dinghy dock with the phone number, but I couldn’t get through. While Tom took the trash down the street to the receptacles, I went into a restaurant Harriet told us about to inquire about dinner reservations, and the nice lady called the botanical garden for me. “Five minutes,” she said, and pulled a stool to the edge so I could watch for it. Tom came back, I reported on my progress, and he wished me well. He went off to buy milk. When he returned, I was still waiting, but that’s how it is in the Caribbean—5 minutes means half an hour. He returned to the boat. When about 45 minutes had elapsed and still no van, she called again. Well, they couldn’t contact the shuttle, so I was out of luck! Fortunately I had a hand-held VHF radio with me, so I was able to call Tom back to shore. It wasn’t meant to be, I guess.
We snorkeled to the edge of the harbor and I tried out my new full-face snorkel mask. It’s certainly easier to use than the traditional mask and separate snorkel, and doesn’t fog up. So far, though, it’s hitting the bridge of my nose wrong, so either I need to readjust how I’m wearing it, or I gave Laura the wrong measurement when she gave it to me for Christmas! Nevertheless, I’ll persevere.