All souls aboard!
Monday!
Seven am, running down the dock, kiss the little puppy we’ve been ogling for days - he lives on a mega yacht and needs lots of walks - thank Hiro for pulling strings for us, meet Ace who has delivered Marianne and Lex, walk them back down the dock, stop at the Ladies’ (always wise to make one more pitstop on land!), pick up some fins, reboard the boat, pull away from the dock (nice job docking Zack!) and boom, we are on our way to our morning swim and there was never a testing / quarantine glitch! All souls aboard, ready to swim and sail.
And so we did.
We pulled up to Halifax Bay with the little one-house island and decided to swim 20 minutes out, 20 minutes back. Fitz took off with Janine, Cynthia and Lexi who are all very evenly paced, and Marianne and I had a lovely catch up swim. We swam together in September in Greece, and it’s good to be in the water with her again. I could feel the tension of the last few days on her, and so we took things slow, stopped a lot to look at corals and fish, chit chatted, hugged. I think I felt some of that tension melt away by the time she climbed back aboard.
I sprinted out to catch up with Fitz and the gals and we wowed and ahhed and bobbed and swam a little more.
Next up, a big sail north. The three hour passage was a little bumpier and splashier than last week, but everyone was well prepared with dramamine, water and sunglasses, and settled into a comfy spot for the ride. Shortly after we set off, two cushions blew off and Jason made an amazing rescue pivot! Jason put us right on the cushions in stiff winds, and Zack and I pulled them back aboard. Great team work all around.
Our 4 ladies loved this sail, the occasional spray that made it up to the bridge, watching Miriam and Jason bounce around on the bow. Zack put in some hours at the helm and did a great job. He’s recently earned his captain’s license and works small wooden vessels in Portland, Maine, but he doesn’t have a lot of catamaran experience yet. It’s fun to imagine the time when he might captain for us. After the years we’ve enjoyed watching him be so reliable and confident on our charters, it will make us proud to see him take this next step. The problem will be replacing him as the world’s greatest deckhand.
We arrived in a fierce wind to Ile de Ronde, but tucked wayyyyy into the north west harbor for protection. Our afternoon swim brought us to a point where we could witness a significant break, swim along the ledgy volcanic reef, hit the black sand beach for spa treatments and bob around the back of the boat for a while, playing with the trunkfish and jacks at the bottom. Marianne won best wildlife sighting with a turtle.
The evening was filled with magic light and a cooling breeze that continues now as everyone heads to bed. We have an early morning adventure planned for Janine and Cynthia who asked for a loooooooooong swim. We’ll be moving the boat at 0630 for a 7 am splash. Stay tuned for that report tomorrow night.
For now, I can say I feel calmer having all souls aboard, tucked into this beautiful bay away from the boatloads of civilization, and surrounded by people who love to swim, and those that do such good work to help our guests get to water.
Every day on these trips my cameras are littered around the boat, and often I get to editing in the evening to find my crew mates have picked one up and left me a surprise selfie or three. I love these easter eggs. They make me smile and feel such love and pride for the people I work with. Zack who tirelessly keeps us hydrated and anticipates everyone’s needs, Miriam who always makes me a special plate with just the things I like, and always lets me lick the batter bowl, Jason who is game to move us and this yacht whenever and wherever we ask, safely and smoothly and with stories along the way. This week I also have Fitz by my side, who will swim at any speed and any distance as long as it is in service of our guests, and who always makes me laugh when I least expect it. What a lucky mermaid I am.
And now to bed with me. The breeze will cool us tonight. Good sleeping weather. I’ll be up with the sun for more of the Grenadian goods I’ve been so fortunate to love.
- Heather
