End of April
Since my March mailing, I've had some phone calls, visit from the Quicks whose boat I once ferried from Florida north, had an invasion of 6 boats visiting Guanica Bay at once, mostly from Canada, and have been on tenterhooks to hear from Jan Post when it will work out for him to dive and photograph the reefs off Bonaire in the Netherlands West Indies. Typewriter has finally conked out, and new ribbon won't go in to the monster second hand IBM I bought to replace my portable. Sat Nav has gotten wet enough to malfunction, and went back to manufacturer for rehab, with the usual delays in getting delivery back to me, and added troubles getting it to work again. Turned out to be the antenna and cable so a new one was ordered and arrived in due course. Much painting and inside washing and fumigation while I waited. Between times I've waded devotedly through the volumes of Bowditch's Practical American Navigator. Plenty of time to give the bottom of the boat a good scrubbing before I drag all those barnacles and crabs off on a free 400-mile cruise. There was a ridge of them as big as a shovel handle. While waiting for the tide to refloat the dink to go out to the boat, I washed my sheets by hand and worked out and cut out a folding 16" wooden ball (signal to be hung in non assigned anchorages when anchored in daylight). My specifications require that it fold flat for storage and be held in its ball configuration by the line it hangs on. I'm quite pleased with it, and will actually BUY paint for it. Also built a new ladder for swimmers to use coming up over the side, has to stand vertical despite the curving under of the hull, and has to fold flat for storage on deck while at sea.Sat Nav has to be mounted on a stick which in turn is installed half above the top of the mast. Need to tie myself in so as to be able to use both hands in poor footing. Dew can wet everything, so in the morning when it was too early to start on the Sat Nav, I lit the fire that's been threatening for a couple of months and burned a lot of trash. Swept up some of a neighbor's fiberglass trash into it too. So now the front yard is cleaned up, something I wanted to get done before leaaving town. Gossip says the Port Captain makes difficulties for fire burners. Natural Resources is after me too for my piddling concrete wharf. Maybe I'll HAVE to leave town.
Heavy dark clouds creeping in from the northeast, but I went up the mast anyway. Those clouds usually drop their rain in the Lajas Valley, and leave us with a dry passing shadow. Nope, not this time - I got myself tied up on top of the main mast attacking the antenna mast and its coax (coaxial cable), and it started very gently - I still thought it would pass. Easterly breeze freshed up a bit - coupla more screws - a little more wet. Tape and binding on the coax - start to move down to the next set of fastenings and "It" made up "Its" mind to Rain. I've seen it harder, here and elsewhere, but not very much harder, and never before at the top of a 41' mast. Not that it's slippery. Ratlines and rungs drain quickly enough so that wet doesn't affect traction. But being vertically isolated in that downpour was positively spooky. String and tape were wet, no point in staying up. Tie off everything and secure the operation. OK - No harm done. Down, I had a chance to look. FOG. Nothing like the heavy summer fog of Maine, but less than a mile of visibility, which is the heaviest I've seen here in the Tropics. And Hard rain continuing. Hard. Hard. Hard. Flattening the water with a prickly textured surface. Wet. I'd worn sneakers and shorts. Wet through in a moment and cold. No towels on board because I'm living ashore. ICK! stripped down and did the best dry I could with an old sheet that was brought aboard for rags. It helped, but I had to go back to my wet skivvies and shorts presently. 3" of water in the Dink too. Put the hand pump to it as the rain tapered off and 10 minutes of pumping emptied the dink. Whole harbor covered with shore trash - all the dry rivers had suddenly flushed out many months of accumulated trash, stix, leaves, bottles, a plastic doll, coco husks a million. Most of it will fetch up on the west shore of the harbor, adding to a great windrow of trash that's built up over the years, and is in the process of becoming "land".
This was an adventure in preparing for Sea. Almost the last preparation for the Bonaire charter after which I'll head North. And the Sat Nav works, pumped out 2 or 3 fixes before I left the boat. But while I was in the cabin, I suddenly realized I might not have pots and pans enough to feed three grown men! Needs checking.
Long awaited word from Jan established May 7 as their arrival date in Bonaire. I had the Quicks for Friday, April 27th, but they were off on Saturday, and I finished up my last minute shopping, and am ready to leave on Sunday the 29th.
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