Antigua Dec 5th - Dec 11th

Well I just don't do well without Joyce so before she had made her 1st connection I had purchased a ticket to join her on Dec 11th. The next week went by pretty slow but was made a lot better by my friends in Jolly who took care of me. Katrine kept me company on the beach and Petal, Stacy and George were always around for me at the west point so it wasnt all bad. Katrine and I rented a car for a day a saw a bit more of the island. I wanted to check out North Sound Marina which is a great place to have work done or store your boat. The owner had just purchased 20 hurricane boats from St Martin what a sad looking bunch of boats. Some had been flipped and submerged or wrecked it was quite an eye opener seeing what mother nature is capable of. We also decide to check out the zip line which were quite a blast zooming through Antigua's rain forest, can't wait for Joyce and I to try it we will do the advance one:). Over the next few day's I spent some more time getting the boat squared away and installed the rebuilt motor for the pilot and did a test run. I also moved from the Marina out to the area where you can anchor for free. It blew really hard for the 1st few days and the boat never moved, on the third day I was on the beach and thought to my self if I see a boat come around the point it will be Rose Lee. Thankfully I never saw her. When I returned to the marina I decided to take a run out and check on things as it was quite windy. Rose Lee had went walk about and had dragged her Anchor about 500 feet before it reset. She managed to drag between two very nice yachts in the million dollar range. I let out anoth 50 feet of change and set it in really hard with no sign of dragging. So with this done I headed back to the bar. The next day I chatted with Joyce regarding the Anchor dragging and we decided to upgrade to a heavier anchor and a different style. I chose A Mantus 65lb which will replace my 30kg Bruce. Here is a story I would rather not share but if someone reads it and it helps slow them down a bit well its worth it. One evening after drinking way to much liquid courage I was heading back out in my dinghy to Rose Lee. I had my dead man on which kills the motor if I leave the boat. I did have my navigation lights on in the dinghy but I was speeding along wide open at about 20 knots and looking for a channel marker . I rembemer hitting something and then being in the water about six feet from the dinghy. Everything happened so fast I didnt have any time to react, I lost my sandals and new hat but I managed to escape any serious harm, luckily. Definatley one of my stupidest moves in a long time. I do learn however and now am well behaved when I am on an anchor you just never know what could happen.Joyce wasnt impressed to say the least.Well its d day so I spent the morning getting the boat into the marina, dinghy and motor stowed etc... etc... etc.... and then I was on a plane and home to see my girl and i was a happy man. I had a surprise when I got off the plane in the middle of the night Joyce and my best friend Jim were there to greet me how sweet is that? Over the next three weeks I was able to catch up with my kids, grand kids and friends what a great visit. I always thought that paradise had palm trees but have jnow realized that paradise is made up of smiles from loved ones.