Settling In

Lily at the dock at Simpson Bay Marina, St. Maarten

I am starting to adjust to this new life of living on a boat.  I think the adjustment started to finally take shape when we finished with the bulk of organizing the inside of the boat.  Believe me, it wasn't an easy task... both the organizing and the adjusting.   I am sure that "learning to adjust" will be a continuing process for me.  For now though, all the pillows have been fluffed.  The towels have found their place in the bathrooms and Lily's play spot on the boat has been designated.  Life for me is finally starting to get back to normal.

The first week in St. Maarten I felt out of sorts as in, "What have I gotten myself into?"  I kept asking Martin, "Is this ever going to get fun?"  Because at that point, it had been all about repairs and then more repairs.  It seemed that once one problem got addressed, an even bigger problem reared its ugly head.  I now know way too much about rigging, e-Plex systems and O-rings.  Ok, not really, but all this verbiage seems all too common around these parts and I find myself getting way too involved in the conversation.  I heard that owning a boat is just, "...doing boat maintenance in exotic locations."  Funny to the outsider, but not so funny when I see this as my new reality.

Martin and our captain, David,
are always fixing and adjusting things.  

I write about all of this 'tongue and cheek' because I know it will get better.  I am starting to adjust to island life and learning to accept that things are just going to be different than what I am used to.  Lily and I have finally started to find a routine and I could probably drive you to any part of the island without getting lost.  I've gotten so good that I have found a few back roads off the main highway that can get me to where I am going a little faster.  I also know that if I buy something at the Ace Hardware on one side of the island, that I can't return it to the Ace Hardware on the other side.  AND don't plan on getting my money back—they will only give me credit.  I could get you to their equivalent of Costco (Cost-u-less) on one side of the island and know where to find a 220 volt power strip on the French side of the island.  For me, finding comfort means learning to get myself outside the gates of the marina and to explore and understand my surroundings.  So far, I think I have done a pretty good job.

Oh, and yes, you might have noticed that we are STILL in St. Maarten!  The reason is that St. Maarten is really the hub for boat repair and maintenance.  Once you leave St. Maarten, boaters don't have access to marina stores, electricians, riggers... like they do here.  So, we are staying put until all the major issues are addressed on Amara.  We are shooting to set out for the San Blas islands at the end of the week, but until then, we'll remain here continuing to get Amara in 'shipshape'.

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Last week, Martin ran into another cruiser family at the marina and they invited us to go to a beachfront restaurant to join them and other cruiser families for dinner.  It was actually a lot of fun.  They set up a movie on the beach for all the kids to watch while the parents sat in the restaurant and swapped stories.  I had some great conversations with other wives.  They couldn't wait to tell me what to expect and I couldn't wait to hear their opinions about sailing.  It was comforting to hear that some of the wives/moms are still trying to figure it all out.  A lot of the families have the same plan as Martin and me; which is to take off for a year and explore and be with their kids.  Some were very accomplished sailors and others are still learning the ropes.  What I learned is that it really helps that Martin and I have a very knowledgeable crew because it kind of takes some of the burden off us that some of these families are dealing with.

While talking to the other moms, the subject of diapers came up.  When I was packing for this adventure, I was under the impression that their are babies everywhere—naturally there would be diapers everywhere.  I brought with me maybe enough diapers for a month.  What I learned in the course of the conversation is that getting quality diapers is not as easy as I thought it would be.  One mom said that she had to go to 3 islands before she found diapers.  Of course, at that point I think I tuned out of the rest of the conversations because all I could think from that moment on was, "Buy more diapers!  Buy more diapers!"  The next morning I made Martin go with me to Cost-u-less and we purchased 800 Pampers diapers.  If I was asked to choose what my one luxury item would be (something that I couldn't live without), I guess it would be diapers. Martin is still convinced that there will be places along the way, but I'm not taking any chances.   We have tucked them all away in different little cubby holes throughout the boat, and now I can rest easy knowing that this won't be a concern during our passage.

A new world record of most diapers purchased.

Speaking earlier about how grateful Martin and I are to have crew with us—we love our new crew.  They are a super couple straight in from Australia and Martin and I have really enjoyed getting to know them these past two weeks.  Their highlight will come in the next few posts when I have gathered some photos of them.  Right now, with all the repairs and provisioning,  I thought it best to let them get done what needs their attention.

Also, now that Amara is starting to look and stay organized, I have gathered some photos of her for the grand tour.  It really has been fun (and tiresome) getting her ready for show and I will make sure to post some photos in my next post and show you around our new home.

P.S.  I hope you like our new blog design.  I am really happy with it and think it really reflects our family and this new adventure.

St. Maarten Continued...

The rainbow welcoming Martin and crew to St. Maarten last week.

I meant to post these pictures on my last post but the internet was intermittent and I couldn't get the photos to post.  These are photos of when Martin and his crew came into St. Maarten and were met with a double rainbow, saw a whale splashing in the water and had dolphins swimming off Amara's bow.  You can't ask for a better welcome after a long Atlantic crossing.

The draw bridge coming into the harbor of St. Maarten.

Last week was kind of a blur for me.  I have learned quickly that there aren't enough hours in the day when it comes to getting a boat ready for another passage.

On Thursday of last week, all 7 of my boxes from the US came safely to our dock.  We used Crowley Shipping  and I can't say enough about them as they held my hand the whole way in getting these boxes to St. Maarten.  Once they arrived, Martin and Patrice managed to get them delivered straight to the boat where I happily dug in and started dismantling each box.  I wish I had photos but I was too excited to see them arrive and couldn't wait to start unpacking.

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On Friday of last week, Patrice had to leave us to go back to his family in France.  I could see the spring in his step as his departure grew closer.  He was very anxious to get back to them—I didn't blame him.  I am sure it was a wonderful homecoming when he finally made it home in time to spend Easter Sunday with his entire extended family.

Patrice as he is preparing to leave us and fly home to his family in France.

We had really come to rely on Patrice and his ability as a captain.  It was hard to see him go since he had grown to become such a good friend to Martin and to me.  He was an exceptional captain and we can't say enough about his expertise and knowledge and are so grateful to have met him by happen chance on the Mediterranean last fall.  We already miss him but are sure that our paths will cross again in the future.  In May, Patrice plans to come back to St. Maarten to sail his boat (currently docked in St. Maarten) back to France.

Thank you, Patrice for all you have done for us and in getting Amara safely across the Atlantic.

Goodbye, Patrice!

Where one chapter closes, another one opens.  Now, on to a new captain!  Anticipating Patrice's departure in St. Maarten, Martin and I were able to secure a wonderful crew while Martin was crossing the Atlantic. We had them fly in from Australia the day before Patrice was to leave St. Maarten so that he could do a transfer of knowledge with them.  I am sure it was like a fire hose (with a French accent ;) of information for them.  Introducing them will come in a later post.  I think I should give them a little chance to breath before I start snapping photos of them going about their business in getting Amara ready for our next passage to Panama.

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The harbor at St. Barts.

On Saturday, Martin, Lily and I took a break from boat maintenance and took a 70-minute ferry over to St. Barts to watch the St. Barts Bucket Regatta.  It was rather funny, because as we boarded the ferry, I watched everyone get on the boat with food and drinks in hand.  Slowly, over the course of the trip, Martin and I watched tourists getting up and staggering to the back of the ferry.  Pretty soon, it was just us and a few locals still sitting in our seats.  Unfortunately, we didn't leave unscathed either.  Poor little Lily didn't find her sea legs fast enough and lost her breakfast before the end of the trip.  

Poor little Lily in the rain.

Upon arriving to St. Barts, we were met by a torrential downpour and had just missed the beginning of the race.  (Just our luck!)  We stood under a nearby gazebo as the rain poured buckets of water all around us.  All we could do was just look at each other and start laughing because, of course, the circumstances of our arrival seemed appropriate.  I mean, I was expecting to take in the beginning of a fancy race and visit a fancy island in my fancy clothes.  Instead, I stood under the gazebo with my hair and clothes soaking wet having missed the beginning of the regatta.

Finally, after about an hour, the rain finally dissipated and Martin and I were able to climb to a part of the island to watch the races.

After watching the races for awhile, we decided to explore the island and went over to Nikki beach and enjoyed the beautiful beaches and scenery.

After a lovely day at the beach, we went back to the other side of the island and watched the J-class boats come into the harbor at the end of the regatta.  It was amazing to see these huge, beautiful vessals come in and line up in the harbor.

At the end of the race, the boat that came in last, seemed to draw the biggest crowd since their music was blaring from their speakers and the crew was dancing on the spreaders and decks.  We really got a kick out watching them and loved the break from a rather somewhat stuffy event.  

To put a cherry on top of the end of what turned out to be a very eventful day, we got to see this little lady as she strolled down the streets.  

Next time I visit St. Barts, I'll remember to wear my white linen with a little splash of yellow.

Cliff Diving

No, I didn't fall or dive off the edge of a cliff... but it sure has felt pretty close to it this past week.  So much to do.  So much to take in.  So much to see.  Mainly, so much to process.

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Let's back up a bit.  On Monday, March 25, I flew in to St. Martin's with Lily, Meredith and Martin's mother, Charlotte.  We spent a lovely evening by the ocean at a quaint little beachfront hotel.  We had planned to get up early the next morning and meet Martin and his crew at the draw bridge and welcome them to St. Martin.  However, plans changed quickly when Martin called and said they were arriving sooner than expected.  So, we nixed the welcome party at the bridge and drove straight to the marina.

Meredith (Martin's oldest daughter) hadn't planned to come on this first trip but I thought it would be fun to surprise Martin with the whole family welcoming him after a long 20 day crossing of the Atlantic.  When we got to the marina, we headed straight for Amara where we were greeted by Garry.  Martin quickly came up to the deck and imagine his surprise when he saw Meredith?!

Then he greeted Charlotte with another huge hug...

Then, he got to little Lily... She recognized him immediately but was a little apprehensive at first...

It took her a minute or so to warm up to the idea that her daddy was right before her.

Of course, what you've all been waiting for... the meeting that was 9 weeks in the making.  A great big kiss and a very welcomed hug from me.  Boy, was I happy to see Martin again.

Sorry, folks.  This is even a little too mushy for my taste, but when the moment's right...

It was all a little overwhelming for Martin to see us there together, and even a little more overwhelming for me to see my home for the next 10 months or so.  We all settled in, hugs went all around to Patrice and Garry and then we all got to work getting the boat ready.  (I have found this past week that there is ALWAYS work to be done on a boat.)  

First things first, we got all of the cushions out of Lily's room and up on to the deck.  Meanwhile, Charlotte took a little cat nap while Lily hung out with Grandma.

Then we went out to dinner to celebrate a successful crossing.

So much more to cover, but there is work to be done and few hands available.  I will update with more tomorrow.  I just didn't want you to think that I didn't survive the "jump".  More tomorrow...

Fair Winds and Safe Seas

This week has put me in a bit of a panic.  So much to write about but not enough time or energy to gather my thoughts.  First things first, Martin and Amara are less than a week away from reaching St. Martin.  I had a wonderful conversation with him tonight and he is more than ready to see us and I think maybe even more excited to see land.

While talking to Martin, he told me a funny story.  The other day when he and Garry were sitting at the flybridge, they saw something in the water.  Martin said to Garry, "Was that a television?"  So curiosity got the better of them and they turned Amara around to go check it out.  Sure enough, it was a television!  They hadn't seen land for 11 days or another ship for 4 days, and right in the middle of the Atlantic, a television goes floating by.  They had a good chuckle over it.

Also, Martin let me in on something that has been a bit of a nail biter for them this past week.  About a week ago, Martin noticed a slight change in the engine noise.  Upon investigation, they found that the starboard engine mount was broken.  Then they went to the port side engine and found that TWO of the engine mounts were broken!  I mean these are huge bolts that needed repair and they didn't have any means of repairing them in the middle of the Atlantic.  Lacking the proper sized bolt, they managed to wrap a line around the engines and tighten it by twisting a screwdriver so that it would tighten the line and hold the engines in place.

They finished the repair late into the night and because there wasn't any wind to speak of, they had to motor through the night—making for a white-knuckle watch and little sleep for the crew that wasn't on watch.  They were all very worried that it wouldn't hold the engines in place and found themselves checking the engines often throughout the night.

Upon examining their repair in the morning, Garry said, "We realized that our backwoods, redneck, or rather... our backsea, wetneck repair would hold."  So, they all breathed a sigh of relief and were able to finally rest from all the tension from the night before.  I am so glad that I wasn't there for this mishap. I'm also glad that I didn't know about this until after the fact because I would have stayed up all night worrying right alongside with them.  The good thing is that their sail repair on the parasailor is holding up well.

Their "makeshift" repair.

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This will probably be my last post until I get to St. Martin.  My bags are packed, all the bills are paid, and the house is organized and in good hands.  I really can't think of one more thing that needs my attention other than not missing our flight.

I think pulling Lily out of school was the hardest thing that I have had to do during this whole process.  I cried huge tears when the bus driver pulled up to the house on Thursday to drop Lily off for the last time.  She just loved going to school.  So, to add insult to injury, I loaded Lily up in the car and I took her off to get her Yellow Fever shot.  The last one on her list of needed shots.

Lily at the Travel Clinic.  
Little does she know what's about to happen.

This week has flown by and I am filled with mixed emotions.  I really can't wait to see Martin, but I also feel the tug of the comforts and securities of home here in Utah.  Martin and I have a wonderful life filled with dear friends, and especially family.  My heart is a little heavy in having to leave them.  In the same breath, I am excited for the adventure of seeing parts of the world that I might never have the chance to visit if it wasn't for our decision to purchase Amara.  Life really is an adventure, isn't it?

So, I will take a deep breath and make a leap of faith while I step onto the plane that will take me to my next chapter.  Wish me... wish us all, fair winds and safe seas!

A Day In the Life of Amara and Her Crew

The other day when I was checking my email, I got an email from a family that Martin had met while in Canet.  "Gemma" and her family were down at the dock looking at catamarans the day Amara was preparing to pull out and leave Canet.  Martin saw them and invited them onboard Amara to take a look around before she shoved off.  

Gemma was nice enough to snap some pictures of Amara as they were leaving the marina and sent them to me.  Imagine my surprise to get these pictures in my inbox!  I was so excited to see these and really want to thank her for taking the time to send them to me.

There she goes!

Here is a great shot of Garry waving goodbye as they leave that marina.

I really love this shot of Martin steering Amara.
It feels like they left Canet ages ago.

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I bet by now a lot of you are wondering, "What do they do all day?"  I know I did when we were first looking at buying a boat.  What was I going to do with all this time?  Boy did I have a lot to learn.

On Amara, their daily schedule begins at around 6:00 am when Patrice comes up to the flybridge to relieve Garry from the first watch of the day.  Garry then goes to bed for a few hours (unless a sail change is needed—which means "all hands on deck").  At 10:00 am, Martin’s watch starts and ends at 2:00 pm when Garry comes up for his second watch of the day.  Each of them take 4 hour shifts, and in between their shifts, they find time to sleep and eat. 

Patrice probably has the best sleeping schedule among the three sailors; having most of the night and afternoon off to sleep. However, remember that Patrice is on call all the time.  So, if there is even the slightest bit of a problem, he may only get a few hours of sleep a night.  It’s all a trade off, and I would venture to guess that none of them have gotten all that much sleep during this journey. 

As far as cooking, they all take a turn at cooking dinner—trading off every third night.

Garry tells me that Martin can actually cook, but pretends to not like it (I could have told him that).  Patrice is an “excellent cook”, but doesn’t really enjoy doing it either.  Garry says that he “likes to cook" but doesn't have enough spices and seasonings, food that he used to cooking with so it's a little harder to get creative.  

 

During the day, the crew usually fends for themselves for breakfast and lunch because of their schedules all being different.  

One of the things that I was adamant about Martin buying while provisioning the boat was to get a bread maker.  Bread makers come in really handy on a boat because it ensures that the crew gets fresh bread when they run out of the store bought stuff.  The other night they finally ran out of bread, so Garry took it upon himself to break in my new bread maker and made their first loaf.  Martin said that it turned out great.  Garry said that next time they fire up the generator to "forget the bread, I'm making chocolate chip cookies!"

Their supply of fresh fruits and vegetables are all but gone now and they all worry about getting scurvy.  (I think they’ll survive, but maybe next time they’ll remember to bring some Vitamin C with them).

When Garry was leaving to go meet Martin in Canet, he came over to our house to grab some of the items that needed to go over to Martin.  In the process, I gave Garry a hard drive chalk full of movies to get them across the Atlantic.  However, in the process of doing it and being in an huge hurry, I downloaded the hard drive to another hard drive that I was setting up for me and accidently deleted all the movies on the hard drive that I gave to Garry.  Fast forward to 3 men on the sea, they are left with the 6 movies that Martin had on his iPad to help them to pass the time on the water.  Martin said that he has watched Forest Gump about 3 times and Garry has watched it twice.  When I talked to Martin last night, he was just finishing Secretariat for the 3^rd time.  Poor guys.  

When I do get to St. Martin, there will be entertainment because I am bringing lots of movies (on my  hard drive) along with lots of gadgets that will keep them busy and entertained for hours.

Now back to my list.  My ongoing list of things to do before I leave.  Will it ever end?  I sure hope so.