Highs and lows rolled in quick succession this week, as we left The Bahamas’ beautiful turquoise Bahamanian waters for the gorgeous, steep mountains and lush foliage of Jamaica.
Allan saw a herd of 50 dolphins leaping from the waves early this morning…right before something went wrong with our mainsail furler, as the wind and seas increased. We’ll need to troubleshoot to avoid a repeat before we continue on from Jamaica.
The carpet of stars before the moon rise has been spectacular, especially last night. Then I caused an accidental jibe, blew out our port-side preventer block and had to crawl out to switch the remaining block to the the starboard-side. Kind of unnerving at 3:30 am on bucking seas.
My intensive training with Capt. Tatiana “Tanja” Koster has been going well, as evidenced by the diminishing frequency of my deer in the headlight looks when asked to complete any given task QUICKLY! Her tough love method constantly nudges me outside of my comfort zone, and then we high five in celebration of my slow but steady growth.
Allan caught a magnificent mahi, that gave up an excellent fight before wriggling off the hook as the gaff approached.
We learned while underway on our passage that Panama had ceased checking vessels in and out, throwing a wrench into our plans to head there after a few days in Jamaica.
When we were about 20 nautical miles away, we also heard that Jamaica had declared a national emergency due to the coronavirus, and so crossed our fingers and hoped we would be allowed to check in here. A friendly Health Department official cleared us from quarantine soon after we arrived, warning us to use hand sanitizer and wash our hands frequently. Some areas of Jamaica are in lockdown, but fortunately not Port Antonio. At least not yet.
We have a few boat repairs to make this week, and will be watching for a good weather window for our next move. Where to? Most likely Key West…but as this week has proven, our plans are written in sand.
Lavonne and Allan:
Gail and I are happy that you’re in a safe port. I have heard that many Carriabean countries are in lock down. Currently the US is closed except for citizens with a few exceptions. It is best to be in a place where you can get treatment if required, but you are both so young you will be ok. At 77 I am at home with Dewey and Gail.
Be safe and healthy.
John
John,
I’m glad you and Gail are doing everything you can to stay healthy.
We had our fingers crossed this morning while using the ROAM app for checkin to the U.S., but it went pretty quick with only a short “hold” while the Customs and Border Patrol agent checked with the Coast Guard regarding our stop in Cuba (which you can read about in today’s post). I think that Allan’s contacting the U.S. Embassy in Havana helped clear that potential hurdle.