Ada's boat blog

We're leaving tomorrow! The original plan for the end of 2020 was to work our way up the islands until we reached BVI or St. Martin, then fly home for the holidays, then make our way down to Panama. This would have been possible because a group of countries are in what's called the CARICOM bubble and used to allow free travel in between countries without quarantine. Unfortunately, COVID got a little more rampant, and entries got a little more strict (two-week quarantines). So we are going straight to Panama. It will be a 1-2 week sail, for which I am very excited because it entails night sailing, during which there is no sun and consequently no boiling heat. We spent this week in St. Vincent meeting old friends, stocking up on supplies, and being rained on. (Seen here is the rain bowl that I use when we are in a place with no showers.) It was Tuesday morning, and Jem and I were in the mood for a cappuccino. We went to the cafe on the docks that had a sign for cappuccinos, and ...

Location: Blue Lagoon, St. Vincent. So the diver came and untangled the anchor chain. He was quite nice, and recommended some nice sailing spots in Greece. Unfortunately, as the anchor got untangled, we drifted into the boat behind us, and again I emerged from my cabin to Jem's vaguely panicked yelling and another slight problem. In this case, the slight problem was that that boat's mooring ball was caught under our port hull, and its bow was almost scraping our port stern. Here it is. Doesn't it look peaceful after nearly having gouged a chunk of fiberglass out of our hull? I strained for a little bit while fighting against some very tight lines, and eventually managed to get a fender (think an oval balloon bumper) in between, while a dinghy guy popped the mooring ball out. The guy's name was Allon, and he and his friend Shion ended up helping us for the rest of our stay in Bequia. One place that Allon took me to was Shion's brother's model boat shop. Bequia is...

Location: Admiralty Bay, Bequia (pronounced "Beckway"), SVG Warning: Long Post. I left you last time saying that we were going to go snorkeling in the Tobago Cays. We did go. The scenery was absolutely stunning. Pro tip: on the beach, the sand that has air bubbles in it (or near that) is the squishiest. The fish were quite nice, although there was some sand in the water, so I didn't get the best of pictures. Another reason why I couldn't get the best of pictures is that a grain of sand got into the seal of my waterproof case for my camera, and some water got in. Luckily, the camera wasn't damaged, and after another rice bath, the case was nice and dry. Also, when we came back, the grackles had pooped everywhere. I no longer like grackles. We had a lobster dinner onshore. It was delicious. Our water pump switches are at the chart table near the kitchen. Every time we finish using water, we need to go shut off the pumps to prevent leakage and excess power usage. I ...