A tiny movement toward north

Under sail, at last

It looks like we might have a weather window to make our way the ~420nm north and west to the USVI, starting Sunday.  In preparation, we've made our way around from Prickly Bay to Port Louis Marina, to take on the last projects and have some un-rolly nights of sleep.  

It was always going to be hard to leave the Caribbean, so we are all approaching this passage with more than a little ambivalence.  We have been here 11 years and 9 months; we first arrived in Grenada in June of 2012 before we went on to Trinidad, which will turn out to be the furthest south we will have gone before heading back north.  Susan keeps saying that we can decide to kick the can down the road again, even from St. Thomas, and that is true.  But I think we are all feeling a little bit the call to "something new", and if (for the moment) that is neither south and west (to the San Blast, for example) or east (to the Med), then a season or three of New England/Florida/Bahamas may be new enough.  We have not sailed north of the Chesapeake, and there are many days, weeks and even months (if we can tolerate the temperatures) of places to explore in our Connecticut backyard.  And there will always be the option to retreat to Florida and across...and who knows from there?

I have some theory that I might try to update the voyage log; Susan has been catching up on the physical log in the last few days, so I will have a look and see if I can manage it.

We will make a little passage food - pumpkin soup - to supplement what's here, and get some saltines and ginger ale, just in case. There is the possibility, at least, of a fast, smooth passage, and we shall hope for that (and prepare otherwise).  Chris Parker will provide us with a custom forecast on Saturday, and I'll do a quick check in here before we head off.

Here is Raconteur, on the hook in Prickly Bay. Isn't she beautiful?