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.
0 Comments
Well the crew flew out yesterday leaving Joyce and I to continue our adventure. For the next few days we contiued to nsort and clean up the boat interspersed by quality time in paradise. Cap came down from the signal locker and got my chart plotter functioning and also took my autopilot motor to have it rebuilt, nice. Joyce and I decided to rent a car and try the left hand side of the road, which was pretty cool. We spent the day exploring the island staring with Devil,s bridge followed by lunch at Boom in English Harbour. Devil,s Bridge is a naturally formed rock bridge along the coast where the wave come crashing in like thunder and explode up through the bridge. The bridge has a sad history as it is remembered as a place where slaves escaped and through themselves into the ocean rather than live as a slave. It was pretty interesting trying to find our way around with very few signs it reminded me of PEI Canada. Everyone was very helpful and we manged to find our way. After the bridge we headed over to English Harbour where we had reservations at "Boom" which was formerly the powered house for the British Navy located across the water just in case hence the name. What a nice place to hang out You go through the Admirals in at Nelsons dockyard and grab a water taxi over to Boom which is a 3 minute ride. The restaurant and bar over look Nelsons Dockyard and has a large infinity pool right beside it with loungers and all kinds of great hammocks. After lunch we hung around the pool and were served drinks as needed:) We felt very pampered and will allow more time on our next visit for this place. We drove back along the coast and stopped at Jackie O,s for a night cap while watching the sunset. A great ending to a great day. Time really started to speed up as we approached Joyce,s Dec 4th departure date but we took advantage of every minute really getting connected after the big trip. I really like that girl. With a heavy heart I went to see Joyce off at the airport on Dec 4th. Home is where my Joyce is and paradise was a lot less appealing as i watched her plane fly over the beach.
|
Follow Rose Lee live with the link below
https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/RoseLee
|