Arrrrrgh
We are always so eager to get back aboard Roxy and to launch another sailing season. And then I remember all the reasons that, while I love the lifestyle, I really don’t love the boat. Things Break! Not just a few things. EVERYTHING. And when it breaks, what happens? When the pressure water system leaks, do you call the plumber? When the dinghy motor isn’t working do you call the mechanic? When the stove isn’t working, do you call the Maytag repair man? Of course not, Mark does it. He grabs his tools - from all around the boat - and wades into whatever the project is. Meanwhile, sometimes I am the “fetch-it” person, but more often than not I sit and twiddle my thumbs. He has repaired the leak on the water heater twice now (“It’s easier to take it apart the second time”) and we were celebrating on Thursday when we launched that it wasn’t leaking and the heater works and everything was great. Then Friday night Mark heard the water pump come on while we were in bed and Saturday found that no, in fact it is leaking again. Son of a Bee Sting. It may be easier to take apart the third time, but it’s a hot, sweaty, gooey, nasty job with no guarantee of success. Right now he is taking apart the dinghy motor. It hasn’t run well since we put it in the water. He found that the vent hose is shot so easy fix, right? No, he has to take the whole engine apart to get to the end of the hose that is below the carburetor. What a mess. I hate that he has to do all these repairs. As much as he loves to tinker, it can’t be fun for him.
The advantage to being all sweaty is the grease doesn’t stick to you very well.
November 15
We have been so busy!! We always are this time of year. Roxy went into the sea on November 4. On November 5 we learned that the successful water heater repair wasn’t .... successful. It is still leaking. So we turned off the water pressure pump and now only turn it on when we need fresh water for a shower or toilet or something.
But hey, who cares? The Salty Dawgs are coming in and there will be fun. The first of the fleet arrived on the 9 and today, the 15, the last of the main fleet arrived. There are two more boats due in, but they haven’t left yet.
Meanwhile, our social calendar is jam-packed. Dinners here, dominos there, cocktails at another place. Covid has impacted some things but life goes on in the islands. Some of our events have been canceled; some have been moved from one day to another, to another; some have been rescheduled for January (Really?) It has been my job to keep up with all the changes and to keep the fleet in the loop of what is happening on which day. Half the time I’m struggling to remember. I’ve just added a small boat regatta to our Thanksgiving Day. This should be fun - and funny. Putting yacht sailors back in tippy little boats should keep everyone entertained. We are having fun and have reunited with many of our cruising friends even as we meet this year’s fleet and make new friends to go with the old. One is silver and the other’s gold.
Of course, boat projects continue. I think Mark is getting tired of them. There are things that need to be fixed that he is ignoring and other things that he just doesn’t want to do.
Things that Mark Has Repaired Things that still Need To Be Repaired
Water Heater (2x) Water Heater
Outboard Aft Head Sink/Shower Sump
Windless (pulls up the anchor)
Things we PAID to Have repaired (Mark Never wants to pay for repairs! I was shocked.)
Wind Speed Indicator
Boat Speed Indicator (lose wire)
AC/DC Inverter (circuit breaker)
Water-Maker
We had a blast with the Dawgs. There was a lot of eating, a dinghy drift, a lawn party, sailing dinghy races,
and a lot of rescheduling.
We had been planning to hang here till Thanksgiving and then look for a weather window to go south to Guadaloupe, but right now the citizens of Guadaloupe are involved in some pretty violent protests over wages, the economy, and vaccine mandates so we will wait for that to quiet down before we take off. I guess it’s another month of circumnavigating Antigua. And that doesn’t suck.