January 23rd 2015

It is our 3^rd day at the dock and it is HOT HOT HOT. It got up to 99F on the boat today, we had to escape the heat and go to the pool. Pri is doing great, we’re teaching her how to snorkel and Wags is swimming freely with her noodle. Why do kids prefer to swim in a pool? This morning we did a big provision run. We borrowed our friend Justin’s car and went to Safe Way. We saved a cab fare but spend a whopping $540, ouch. A lot of it was meats for the freezer because we were running really low. 2 chicken breasts costs around $12. And of course I got a few cakes of chocolate, Cadbury, the good stuff. We will be leaving tomorrow on the boat with our friends and their kids. Probably going to go to the Bitter End for some beach time and of course some cool breeze.

13th January 2015

SV Mary Christine took an bus tour of St John’s today. We were meant to join them but pulled out at the last minute, I don’t think the kids would do well on a bus for multiple hours, we would have ruined the tour for everyone. Maybe we’ll do a tour of another island with just us and if the kids act up we can do it at our own pace. Ahh well. Carl finished off working on the hatches and ports, they are all now freshly painted and look amazing. I made bread, did school work. Carl cleaned the other half of the hull today, he’s going to sleep well tonight. I left Crew with Carl and took the girls to the beach to meet up with Genevieve, her two girls and Ava off of another boat in the cove. Got home and Carl had a hot meal ready. Yum. Now all the kids are in bed and we are watching a movie. Every night Crew has been waking up twice and either one of the girls cries. We never win. Time for some chocolate and a cup of tea.

10th January 2015

Today was a great day. We moved over to Charlotte Amelie on St Thomas. Dropped the hook and went into town. We caught a bus to customs where we were met with 3 mega yacht crews. Funny enough I found a girl that was from my home town there. She graduated high school 2 years earlier than me so I didn’t know her but man was it nice to meet another person from Coffs Harbour, didn’t know whether to hug her or cry. After that we jumped back on the bus ($1 each) and got off at McDonalds – I now ewww! But the girls got to play while we got some adult time. So worth the scuzzie food and the play area that smelt like wet socks. Next was Kmart. We got diapers, pull ups, razor and a phone so Carl could keep in touch with his mum better. From there we headed to the grocery store which was only a few blocks away. We stocked up on fruit, vege, flour, milk, eggs and of course cookies. Mmmm. We looked today redneck pushing the shopping trolley all the way back down to the dock and loading up our dingy. We had no room left on the floor of the dingy so we had to put our legs up on the tubes. Few things got wet on the bottom of the dingy but no casualties. Lifted anchor, headed back to Christmas Cove. Ordered a pizza from Pizza Pi. Had Peter and Jody over from SV Mary Christine (www.wherethecoconutsgrow.com ) and they ordered a pizza too. Great day.

11th January 2015

Today Carl worked on grinding the rust from the hatches and patched porthole in Crews room. Loud, loud, loud. I had to strip everything down after he was done because it was covered in a fine dust of metal, rust and paint. He also scrubbed half of the hull. The other half probably tomorrow. I did school work with the girls, made bread, painted, colored and played. After quiet time Genevieve, Eben, Ellia and Arias from SV Necess (www.itsournecessity.com) came over to hang out. We had a blow up pool on the deck so they had a great time. Eben and Carl decided to jump off the spreaders which was fun to watch. Peter came over and jumped as well. Just before they left poor Ellia slipped on one of the house windows and split her little lip open. Lots of blood and lots of crying. We called Carl’s cousin Brittany for some advice. All is well, poor Ellia will be dosed up good for pain and hopefully will be a little better tomorrow. Sucks when accidents happen.

8th January 2015

Today we woke and started to get the boat ready to leave the Bitter End. Carl took the girls over to Virgin Gorda to check out of customs. We had a fun time pulling anchor which another boat decided to park on. We had to be oober careful not to hit them. We had a great sail down to Christmas Cove, mostly downwind. Crew got in some good deck time outside and the girls play happily inside and out. At Christmas Cove we met up with some cruisers we met in Nassau. Brian and Jennifer from SV Blue Moon. So neat to see familiar faces, makes it feel like home if you know what I mean. Tomorrow we should be heading into St. Thomas to do some grocery shopping, we are in desperate need of diapers and fresh produce. I should get off my butt and check how many miles we did today but I’m lazy. We left roughly around 10am and got in around 3:30pm. Probably averaging 6 knots

6th January 2015

The typical 15-20 knot winds. We are still anchored at the Bitter End. Woke up made bread and apple sauce. Did a couple of hours of school work with the girls. After lunch I took the kids to the beach. Eben was teaching Peter how to kite board. Carl met us there an hour later. We left back to the boat for Crews second nap. Carl stayed for some kiteboarding time. After Crew woke Carl returned and I took Capri in the dingy across the bay to find a grocery store. It was rough and slow going in the dingy. Seaweed kept getting caught in the prop and the following swell wanted to bury the outboard every few seconds. Quick walk up the hill to a grocery store. Pears were .90c to $1.20 USD each. Pineapples $1.25 / pound, I didn’t’ dare look at the price of strawberries. Bread was stale and milk sold out. Nothing else to do but head for the chocolate isle. Chocolate bars $1.25, SOLD! The dingy trip back was worse. Got drenched by a cigarette boat passing by. Chop too big and wind too strong to get on plane. A local drove his boat in front of us to create a smooth path but I still couldn’t get on plane due to the head wind. The boat left us because we were to slow. It took us about 30 minutes to cross the bay. Pri said the trip over was a lot more fun than the trip back, I concurred. Carl cooked us dinner and we ate upon arrival. Chicken, potato slices and beans. Yummo. Hailed Nesse and Mary Christine on the radio to see if they wanted to go for a beer, I needed some kid free time. Peter and Jody from Lady Christine picked me up and we went to the Bitter End. Great evening. It’s amazing what some good ole adult talk will do to morale. Nesse and Mary Christine are leaving out in the morning, they will be missed but the Virgin Islands are small and I’m sure we’ll run into them again. Not too sure what we’ll be doing tomorrow, either sticking around or heading to Tortola. Winds have eased a bit. Christmas winds.

5th January 2015

Nothing much different today. Blowing 20 knots. I (Carly) am sick of the howling wind, it’s like a whining child. Did school work in the morning with the girls. Made bread. Carl continued on grinding and painting hatches and the port holes. Crew looks to be getting over his runny nose which is good. He learnt how to go down the steps today. Watch out he’s a new man. He also got to the head before I could flush it after the girls. He stuck his hand in a big greasy bog and painted his stomach with it… ewww! I was a bit kidded out after our peanut butter sandwiches for lunch so Carl took the girls to the beach. From what I hear he dumped them with Genevieve and Jody and when kite surfing with Eben. I was planning on heading to the beach once Crew woke up but he took an unusually long nap today and I had to dive right into dinner preparations missing out on social hour. We’re scraping by with barely any fresh produce left. Wilting carrots in the fridge, half rotten capsicum, potatoes and onions. I whipped up a pasta dish with bacon, capsicums, onions and jar or pasta sauce. Paired with a beer it wasn’t too bad. Thawed out the fridge during dinner time by putting boiling water in the bottom and shutting the door. Nice. Read a couple of chapters of My Fathers Dragon to the girls at bed time and I’m done for the day, and hopefully night.

Crew slept through the night for the first time last night. He’s a few days shy of 10 months. Bloody finally.

4th January 2015

Anchored at the Bitter End. Winds blowing sustained 25 knots. Anchored near SV Necesse and SV Mary Christine. Worked on grinding under hatches and a section in the bilge. Did laundry, made bread and school work. Carl went off after lunch to learn how to kite surf with Eben.