Reminding Storyville That We Love Her

Now that we're getting settled back into life afloat we decided that it was time to show Storyville a little TLC, you know, remind her that we still care. We are happier than ever with our Cruise RO water maker. Now that we can make 30 galllons an hour we are able to produce enough fresh water to keep everybody happy. Luna needs a rinse off after every trip to the beach, Storyville has decks covered with grime, we like to shower every now and then. Yep, we are more than happy to be able to make all that water. Of course, with all the rain we've had lately a rain catching system should be on the to do list as well.

The captain, swabbing the decks

We managed to spend the better part of a whole day swabbing the decks just to get rid of the grime and all of the Saharan dust that's been floating across the ocean, just to land right on Storyville. I have to say thanks to Africa for sending us dust and Chikungunya. So far we've managed to avoid the Chick V, but the dust, that's another story.

Now that the decks are clean, we moved over to a dock in Secret Harbor where we will be able to troubleshoot some of the other issues we are having. It seems that our chartplotter has stopped working, both bilge pumps gave up the ghost and the generator still won't start. Not to mention that our engine was wanting to overheat if we revved it up too much. I swear! It's always something when you live on a boat. That's why you will hear cruisers often repeating to each other..... "Cruising is working on boats in exotic locations" or another favorite.... "B.O.A.T. - Break Out Another Thousand". Oh well, the good part is the exotic location and we do manage to have some fun in between boat projects. Take a peek at a couple of pictures to see that it's not all work and no play.

Last night I went to a bingo game where the prizes included a flock of sheep, a cow and a brand new Ford Explorer. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I didn't win anything. Tonight Troy will be playing at open mic again. It's hard to believe that we've already been here for a week.

A fun time limin' at Ruben's Bar - Stacy, Rene, Richard and Troy

NOTE: Due to s..l..o..w.. internet this blog post is several days late in getting posted. We've been at the dock for almost a week now and are getting most of the important issues sorted out. The weather has dried up and it's beautiful here. Hopefully some fun posts with great pictures will be coming up. I still haven't been able to get to a hash this time. Maybe this weekend.

Lobster dinner's on the beach - Thanks to Chris and Denise

Full moon rising over the marina

 

Local melon harvest

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rain, Rain, Go away!

Storyville at home on her mooring in Old Harbour, Grenada

We're back home on Storyville at long last. A big thanks to Richard, who kept everything running smoothly and took care of Storyville for us while we were away. Of course, there are still plenty of boat projects to keep us busy, we just haven't had a chance to tackle them yet. We needed a few days to decompress and reset to "island time". As soon as we came aboard there was an explosion of bags, clothes were everywhere, mosquito spay, suncreen, computers, chargers for everything... It also took a few days to get our lives back to some semblance of order. So anyway, things are mostly back to where they belong, with the exception of way too many damp clothes. It's been raining almost constantly since we got back. It won't stop long enough for me to get anything dry and we got caught in a torrential downpour last night in the dinghy on our way out to Pipe Muh Bligh for dinner. Thanks to Terri, Stacy's mom, she provided me with a dry outfit since we arrived looking like drowned rats. Then, the clothes she gave me took a swamping in the dinghy ride back. Then there is the fact that it seems to be an unwritten rule that when it rains for 3 days straight, your boat will leak, somewhere, somehow. Did I mention all the wet clothes? I'm gonna need to find a laundry mat soon before the mildew can take over.

We've been catching up with cruiser friends and Grenadian friends. Troy played music at Nimrod's on Thursday night with Country Dave. Nimrod's is a local rum shop and, home of the best roti in Grenada. It was great to see him out playing again. It really does feel like coming home. It feels so right to sleep on the water.

Troy playing at Nimrod's (Photo credit Chris Badger)

Oh, and there's also this pesky mosquito bourn virus called Chikungunya. Apparently it has spread rapidly throughout the Caribbean. It seems that everyone in Grenada is getting it, even when precautions are taken. I've heard that as much as 65% of the population has gotten it, causing shortages of workers everwhere. We brought some OFF with 40% deet and we are slowly poisioning ourselves with it so that we can try to avoide then "chicken V" or "chicken virus" or "chickenganga". Whatever you want to call it, the name means "bent over with pain" and it causes fever and painful joints and sometimes a rash. It seems that some people are affected worse than others, not just because of general health. It's like some people just don't have the symptoms as severly as others and it lasts longer for some people than others. We are hoping to avoid it, but hey, the good news is that once you've had it, you are immune. Wish us luck.

Anyway, life is good. We are back on Storyville, so that's awesome. I've even had a chance to kayak over to the beach with Luna during a break in the rain. We are hoping to move from the anchorage where we are now around to our favorite spot at Hog Island in a couple of days. Gotta get to a couple of those boat projects first, like replacing the blige pumps that went out. Yeah, that might be an important one on the to do list.

Luna loves all the mud puddles from the rain!

Meanwhile - this song has been repeating in my head. I wonder why?

There's a place, where the boat leaves from

It takes away all of your big problems

You got problems you can drop them in the blue ocean

But you gotta get away to where the boat leaves from

 

Take one part sand, one part sea

And one part shade of a banana tree

And the drinks are cold and the reggae's hot

And I know this is the place for me

~Zac Brown Band (Where the Boat Leaves From)

 

 

 

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