Departure Plan

We are down to our final few days in Hope Town. We will be leaving right after the last Sunfish race on Sunday and heading north to Treasure Cay. This is where we will stage for getting across either the Don’t Rock Passage through the shallow sand bars or the Whale Cay Pass out into the ocean around the sand bars, and then on to Green Turtle Cay. Not only do we have to do this passage at high tide, but we also have to have light winds. To complicate it even more, if there are offshore high winds and swells coming in the pass, it causes a rage on the sandbars with waves breaking, and sometimes even becomes impassable. I get stressed out just thinking about it. Hopefully all the ideal conditions will line up and it will be favorable for a calm trip on Monday.

Once we get to Green Turtle Cay, we will get settled in and get the boat ready for summer storage. This entails lots of cleaning and polishing inside, including walls, drawers, blinds, cabinets, etc. The cleaner the boat is inside, the less mildew accumulates. We should be much better off this year since our leaks seem to be in check right now. Outside the boat, I put a coat of wax on all the stainless steel to help protect it from rust. We also install all the heavy duty covers for the windows, and store and secure all the sundeck furniture, satellite dish, kayak, and sailing dinghy. Then the watermaker gets ‘pickled’ and special additives are put through the membranes to kill any micro-organisms and salt that can get caught in there. We now have a solar panel that is hooked up to our battery bank that will keep a slow charge on them while not in use. It’s quite a process that we go through. Plus, once the boat is in place to be hauled out by the travel lift, we have to flush out the engines and generator with fresh water. This is always an interesting quest, since my job is to actually taste the water coming out of the exhaust to make sure it is fresh and not salty. Yum!



This will probably be my last blog until we get back to the U.S. Our internet runs out soon and we may not be able to find any other source for it until we get to Daytona. Once we are there though, I will fill you all in on our latest adventures. Check back frequently anyway, since you never know, I may find a convenient wifi spot and be able to give an update.