The inclement weather and sea conditions in recent days have had me whinging and whining a lot. It is easy to forget that despite these discomforts. I’m still in the sunny Caribbean and temperatures aren’t dropping below 25C or going above 29C regardless of the time of day or humidity. But that doesn’t make me feel any better when the boat is rolling about.
Morning
The anchorage around me is noticeably empty, although I got a new neighbor sometime last night who is anchored relatively close by. In addition to being close, there’s a threnody of screaming babies aboard and they are directly upwind. It may be an earplug night unless the wind shifts or they decide to relocate. But I’m in the sunny Caribbean on a great island so all is in order.
Afternoon
It was a very long office day, with mixed success at work. I’ve just signed off at and turned on the local rock’n’roll station, Island 92. Their playlists match my tastes perfectly, although their commercial breaks are painful to listen to. The advertisers use computer technology to speed up their speech without changing pitch so that they can stuff as many words as possible into their ad. It ends up sounding ridiculous, in my opinion.
Happy Hour & Later
I headed ashore for the 5PM opening at the SMYC. The bridge operator’s erstwhile concrete hut has been ripped apart twice by errant megayachts. The new enclosure pays tribute to the likelihood of that happening again. Now it is mainly plexiglass and I suppose the operators are just told to practice their escape procedures.
I was surprised at how many larger boats entered. I’d arrive from outside only minutes before and hadn’t seen any of them hovering about. The sun was at the wrong angle to get any good photos, but one of the powerboats was of a type I’d not seen and it turns out that the Pershing 9x is a powerhouse that can go at 42 Knots! And at somewhere between a mere 7 and 9 million US$ that’s a true bargain, too.
After the parade of yachts I tried to decided where to go for dinner and couldn’t make up my mind. Some options sounded good, but required a longer dinghy ride. Some local restaurants presented themselves, but I’d already been there. Ultimately my indecision cost me and I opted for a snack back aboard the boat.