Our first night at sea was mostly uneventful. A few squalls to dodge, a couple of freighter to watch out for. But otherwise benign. Mostly! It is 2am during my 12-3a watch that our engine suddenly but gradually loses RPMs. From 2,500 to 2,000, then just 1,500 and after a few minutes it drops and…
Month: April 2023
Leaving St Maarten
We are off! Au revoir St Maarten! Tony does us one last favor and picks us up at 7:15 with his car to drive us to the French side, where are are officially, to go to immigration and check out of the country. We use the opportunity for a “manifique petit dejeuner” before we return…
Ready for departure
I think we are actually ready! Today was a busy day and I am so glad I have Brad here as my advisor and companion. He really is a great guy, calm, patient, good sense of humor and – importantly – a lot of experience. He and I are a good team and have genuine…
Final repairs dragging on
When the repairs that were commissioned over two weeks ago still weren’t done on Saturday, I asked our broker Tony if we should push out our flights. “No, come one down. All will be well”. Then it came differently. It’s a long and complicated story which I won’t attempt to explain. Suffice to say the…
Slightly overwhelmed
Since we have done this once before, I am not surprised how overwhelming the first day is. It’s a lot to take in. But I know I will get through it. After a sleepless redeye to JFK I finally crash on the flight to St Maarten thanks to a row of three seats all to…
The adventure begins
The past two and a half weeks since we returned from St Maarten have been a whirlwind of activity. So much to organize: Completing the purchase, organizing insurance, registering our VHF and EBIRP with the US FCC, updating our website, deciding where to register JACE, selecting and booking the boatyard where we will store her…
What happens next?
It’s been a whirlwind of a week, mostly spent on “project JACE”. Just a bit of time left to loop the island once, check out a couple of beaches, take a dip in the ocean, visit a parrot sanctuary (Karin’s favorite), and hike up the highest peak of the island with a majestic view of…
The nicest people
Every once in a while you meet very special people. It’s hard to put your fingers on exactly what it is. You just feel it: these folks are next level. Over the past few days we had just that experience with Lynne and Jeff, the current owners of JACE. Karin and I both have a…
What’s in a name?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare’s famous line suggests a name is nothing but a convention with no inherent meaning behind it. But is it really that simple? But first things first: the deal is done! Yeah, very exciting and almost as scary too….
Time to make the call
The surveyor’s report comes in sooner than expected while we are having breakfast the morning after the sea trial. As predicted, our boat “SV JACE” gets a pretty clean bill of health. The 34-page report covers a great deal of detail with lots of photos of all the elements essential to a boat’s seaworthiness and…