Troy is in St. Martin/Sint Maarten with Storyville while I am back in Texas with my mom and family. Since we made the decision to stay in Texas for the next several months, it fell on Troy to make sure that our boat/home finds a safe berth for the upcoming summer and fall. That's hurricane season and a dangerous time for an unattended boat to be floating around in the Caribbean.
After weeks of talking to other cruising friends and sending many emails to boat yards and marinas, we decided that we would leave Storyville on a mooring in Grenada. Troy and our friend Damon will make the crossing next week and then Troy will spend the next couple of weeks securing a mooring and making sure that Storyville is ready for whatever may come while she is there all alone. Fortunately for us, many of our cruising family will be spending the summer in Grenada and will be able to keep any eye on Storyville for us.
It's killing me to see Troy and Storyville set out for the open ocean without me. It just doesn't seem right. Since the day we bought Storyville Troy and I have crewed her together. We've never made a passage without each other. After cruising for 2 years and making many overnight (and sometimes longer) passages, I can say that I'm never worried or scared. I trust Troy and I trust Storyville and I enjoy the time that we're out on the water. I think this will be the most worrisome and scary passage for me - the one that I'm not on. I won't have contact with Troy for several days and I will be keeping up with him though our SPOT device.
Why Grenada? Well, we had intended to spend hurricane season there anyway, because it's a beautiful island with many fabulous anchorages. The biggest advantage is that is considered to be south of the "hurricane belt". Having said that, Grenada has been affected by hurricanes in the past and, undoubtedly, will be hit again. The most devastating being Hurricane Ivan in 2004, when the 130 mph winds (Category 3 hurricane) decimated the islands nutmeg trees and therefore the nutmeg industry and 90% of the islands homes were lost to the storm, which killed 39 people on the island. Interestingly Grenada had not seen a hurricane in 49 years prior to Ivan.
Looking at the statistics, it is clear that Grenada is more likely to be affected by tropical storms than by hurricanes. We can't be sure that we're doing the best thing for our boat and home, but we are trying to make sure that she's in a secure place while preserving the cruising kitty so that we can get back to her and resume the cruising lifestyle that we love.
Never a ship sails out of the bay
But carries my heart as a stowaway.
~Roselle Mercier Montgomery, The Stowaway
6 comments:
We are looking at moving to Kemah, TX to live and learn more about sailing in about a year to wait out our daughter as she finishes college. So, it makes me curious to ask, why not keep the boat in Kemah?
Well if it makes you feel any better I'm sad, too :( But I'm sure not as much as you. The good news is you'll have plenty of time to sail once you get back to the boat in a few months. Right now there are just more important things to take care of!
Haha...First I make a comment and it doesn't post, so I make another one, and then they BOTH post. Then I realize it doesn't say "posted by Marcie" so you're probably wondering who in the heck is making all those comments! lol...it's just me!!!
Marcie - That's because I have to approve the comment before it posts. I'm trying to cut down on the spam comments. I get several every day - sadly,many more spam comments than actual reader comments.
We have to trust God and the captain of the ship. I know Troy will be safe and sound with you soon, and your home will be waiting for you both. I love you both and are praying for y'all!
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