Preparing for the Next Leg



Preparing for the big blow!



The big storm never hit Bermuda, but then it wasn’t supposed to. Its fury was in the middle of the path across the Atlantic that would have caused the fleet to ride out a gale (34-47 knots of wind on the Beaufort Scale). It has turned north and east so the boats going to the Chesapeake Bay will leave early Saturday morning. There are only five boats going there; the rest of the fleet is going to various ports in New England. We will be in SSB radio contact with the fleet as we cross. However, I am not sure how clear the channels will be once we all start to go our separate ways.

Gary, Brent and Dennis preparing for the crossing to USA



Dennis arrived back on the boat Thursday evening and brought a new crew member with him. Brent is from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. It will be helpful to have another person for the night watch schedule. Friday was spent getting the boat ready for the next leg, checking out with Bermuda Customs and attending the Skippers’ Meeting to get the final weather briefing.

I cleaned the refrigerator and restocked the provisions. Another trip to the grocery store! It seems to average $40 per brown shopping bag – and that is without buying meat or alcoholic beverages. The bread in the bilge locker had started to mold so it was time! to shop.



Dennis flying high!



Dennis had his first trip up the mast in a bosun’s chair. Gary was going to go up to untangle the Atlantic Cup Rally flag, but since we have never experienced this process, I wanted to see how it is done should I need to raise Dennis in the air at a future date. Taking him up is relatively easy. Letting him down gently will be more of a challenge for me – hopefully not for him! I think the electric winch will become his best friend!

Friday night will be the final (one of many) rum tasting parties at the St. George’s Dingy & Sports Club. The local rum suppliers just love it when the sailors get stranded here! It will also be our time to say “until we meet again” to many new friends. The cruising world is relatively small so even though spread across the world people stay connected via email, Skype and blogs. (We need to learn to Skype! Being without a phone has not been fun.) We will miss many of our new friends, but we’ll continue to follow them as they carry on their cruising adventures. We are already looking forward to seeing them in Hampton, VA next October as we prepare for the Caribbean 1500 Rally to Tortola again.

We will have set sail by the time you read this. You can continue to track us on the www.carib1500.com website. It has undergone some changes recently since the World Cruising Club has taken it over and is adding it to their main website. Don’t be surprised when it says World Cruising Club at the top. Just look for Boat Positions and find Trillium at the end of the alphabetical list.

We are planning to be in Virginia on Wednesday. Then two more days up the Chesapeake Bay to Tracy's Landing, MD and we will call it a day! Until then, wish us fair winds. We will see some of you soon. (Can’t wait to get out the golf clubs!)