The Lull Before the Storm

The weather forecast for today is suggesting the winds and storm should hit us this afternoon. Fortunately I am in the northwest corner of St. George’s Harbour against the wall so I should not be blown into anything. I have been told it will get very lumpy and the fenders will make a lot of squeaking sounds - and the black marks from the huge tires will clean off the hull! My lines are secure as far as I can tell. Andy from the staff just came by to check on me.

Thankfully, Gary had a change of heart – and plans. He cancelled his flight for today. I do appreciate it since he is a volunteer and has no obligation to stay. I had made up my mind that I would be okay if he left, but we still need him to sail with us once the storm passes. Hopefully, Dennis is making some effort to get another crew member from the list of volunteers. I have posted a notice: Crew Needed  Good Food! And the Rally knows I am in need of at least one more crew member.

Communications is the biggest problem since I cannot get an Internet connection. I was able to use my 3G cell phone connection (at the cost of $50 for just over an hour!) yesterday, but I can’t even get on it today. I did use the satellite phone last night to call Dennis and let him know what was happening here. Needless to say, I was exasperated by the time I reached him! This has become more than I bargained for! So far, no tears here.



Gary protecting the lines from the rough concrete wall.

 I have the generator running to charge the batteries. Now I just need to figure out how to turn it off so I don’t screw it up! I remembered to put a “load” on it while running. Dennis' "how to" book is very helpful and I have been very observant, asking many questions whenever he worked on something. It is paying off.

The other concern I have is the capacity of the holding tanks. Since we are an ocean going boat, they are very small (16 gallons each) with the standard practice of returning organic waste to nature. (If you know what I mean!) There are no restrooms or showers nearby so it takes a walk to the center of town to find the public restrooms. Not exactly worth a trip in the middle of the night! And of course, you cannot discharge within 3 miles of land.

The clouds are forming and the wind is starting to pick up so I expect we will be seeing weather soon. The boat is starting to rock a lot. Gary has gone sightseeing while I wait for the generator to finish the charge. It is a good day to do some cooking for the second leg of the passage. Broccoli cheddar soup sounds good! Maybe some chili, too. I will use a very deep pot to contain the hot stuff!