April 25, 2008
Day two of the “shakedown cruise” for the newly equipped Dad’s Dream found us awakening to the same perfectly calm conditions which lulled us to sleep last night. So much for shaking things down.
Since West End, Tortola has a Customs Office, I decided to try one more time to clear into British waters since yesterday was so difficult. And yes, if you need to know, for the first time ever, I was thinking about foregoing the Customs formalities altogether but then I thought that’s not setting a very good example for others to follow and so in I went, ready to do battle. The first words out of the Customs Officer was, “I haven’t seen you for years!” I had to turn around to see if he was talking to me but I was the only one in the room. And so we talked, and we talked and then the whole office was talking and when I finally left, I felt like I was leaving good friends behind. The have a new office in West End and a new and very positive attitude. They even pre-cleared us out of the the BVI, saving us literally two hours on the sail back into US waters. I’ll still have to deal with US customs but maybe that will go smooth as well.
In stead of sailing up the north side of Tortola in order to get to Trellis Bay on the far east end, we opted to motor up the Sir Francis Drake Channel at a steady 4kts for four hours. There was nothing going on to break the monotony. The auto pilot, despite not being calibrated to at least hold a steady course and the permitted us to let go of the helm and change positions.
Fuel consumption is better than anticipated. We’ve charged the batteries in the morning and evening and have motored for well over 10 hours and the needle is still on full! And yes the gauge does work. That bodes very well for the upcoming trip. Also the batteries are holding a good charge and with some lights on and fans going over night we still have just under 12 volts on the meter when we wake up at 7am.
We did get a brief moment to talk to Rusty, my friend and delivery captain for the upcoming adventure but then finally did meet him at 3:00. It was good to see Rusty again and after loading some of his supplies for the voyage on the boat, he and I went out to calibrate the autopilot while Sheri and Kelly shopped on shore. It took Rusty and me a little over an hour to get everything just right with the autopilot and GPS but that is done!
Getting back to shore around 5pm we met up with the girls for drinks and then I had to split to go see two of my “girlfriends” at Trellis Bay Cyber Café. These two women are two of the nicest you’ll ever want to meet. Shamala came up to me during a Full Moon Party nearly four years ago. There I was, minding my own business when this woman comes up and want to sit on my lap so her sister can take a picture! We laughed, talked, and yes had the picture taken and every time we come through Trellis Bay, we stop to say hi to Shamala and her sister Sylvia.
We ate at De Loose Mongoose in Trellis Bay, talked quite a bit but knew we needed sleep more than anything. And so it was back in the dinghy and back to the boat where sleeping is the only way we’ll find out what tomorrow holds in store for us.
Tomorrow we’ll pick up supplies in the morning and then hopefully sail to Cooper Island. I still need the internet though to get these stories out!
Pete
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