We made the decision to let the dock lines loose just after lunchtime yesterday and the exhilarating feeling knowing we were making another step towards the grander trip was so good.
Since I've not actually written for some time I should update with what's happened over the last few days.
Joel acquired the help of another technician, Chuck, to install the solar power and wind generator. He worked for about 4 days having to get into holes and put wires where not many things other than wire can fit. It looked frustrating and exhausting work. But by Monday evening the blades were spinning and on Tuesday morning the sun was working to our advantage. We wanted to make sure they were running for a few days without problems before leaving.
Tuesday saw us hiring a car so we could run around to a few shops and do a big provisioning shop at Cost U Less.
It was a big afternoon and two very full trolleys later, plus other various odds and ends from the Home Depot store saw us with a very full car getting back to the marina. Unloading and then getting it all away proved quite a task and saw us working until 2am. Wednesday we jumped back in the car for the morning and raced to get a few more items. The girls were thrilled to be in a car again, loving the familiarity of it all I guess, and there were hills to go up and cruise ships to see. In the evening I shopped for fresh produce with our aim to leave the following day. So again we worked tirelessly to get everything put away and the boat in a condition that we could sail it safely without things flying everywhere.
By Thursday the washing pile had grown a size that I wasn't comfortable trialing in my hand cranking machine so I spent the morning at the laundromat and Joel worked on washing down the boat to relieve it of over two weeks worth of diesel fumes.
So we were set. Clean boat, stocked fridge and cupboards and energy producing. Joel took the helm as we left the slip- no easy feat mind you, and I handled the lines. The girls, well they did what they do best, slept.
The breeze in our faces was spirit- lifting as we heading out of the channel to an anchorage for the night.
So we are currently in Christmas Cove, a bay on Great St. James island just off of St. Thomas USVI.
We will be here at least another day but might try to have a few nights in St John before heading back to BVI.
Apologies for any typos as I'm on my phone and the screen doesn't move down when I type making it a little tricky to see.
More soon, and photos when other devices comply with wifi.