Three Kids and a Boat: How soon we forget

Sunday, January 20

How soon we forget

Doing a passage is a bit like childbirth. It is a painful experience, but it doesn’t take long to forget just how painful it was and your ready to do it all over again. It had been a whopping 6 weeks since our 11-day passage from Hampton, Virginia. It was time to move further south again. I wasn’t looking forward to another passage, in spite of the fact that this one would only be 36 hours. It hadn’t been long enough to completely forget. How hard could it be, right? Well, if the truth be told, it’s not really that hard, per say, just exhausting. Did I just say that it wasn’t that hard? Holy cow, I have come a long way. I can remember a time when my heart leapt to my throat just thinking about a passage. But I digress…..

The wind was predicted to be very light the evening we left Virgin Gorda. This allowed us to comfortably motor east in flat seas. Then as the wind filled in during the wee hours of the morning, we hoisted the sails and headed south. We had a nice wind on our beam for most of the first day. As the wind picked up, it was inevitable that the larger seas would soon follow. It didn’t take long for the conditions to change and the Dramamine to set in. Olivia, bless her heart, was the only one who actually tossed her cookies. That was no way to spend New Years Eve. I had Champaign and sparkling cider chilling in the refrigerator. And that is where it stayed, unfortunately, as it was too rough to enjoy it. We woke the girls up at midnight and watched fireworks from the 3 islands surrounding us. That helped take the uncomfortable edge off.

Paradise right outside Virgin Gorda, heading south

A couple kayakers found the deserted island

Passing by St. Kitts

St. Kitts volcano peaking out from the clouds

Craig hooked a huge Sail Fish. We let it go because the fish book said they were only ok to eat and that most people let them go.

Another Mahi....What a beauty! This one we ate!

Here they come! The dolphins were coming from nearly all directions to meet our boat and swim with us. It was soooo exciting to watch them play in the waves of the bow.