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 myself. And I need it.
By midday I am through immigration and got my bags and the taxi drops me off at the agreed pickup point, the “Dinghy Dock Bar”. Tony is a bit late and I gladly use the opportunity to wolf down a sandwich and a beer.
It is hot and humid. It’s towards end of the prime sailing season: temps up, humidity up, winds less reliable. Coming from dry and cool California that alone is an adjustment. Thankfully I had the wherewithal to change into shorts at the airport. We load my 2 big bags into Tony’s dinghy and he ferries me over.
There is JACE at her mooring. As pretty as I remembered. A sight for sore eyes! I heave my stuff onboard and try to get organized. Drained in sweat.
Tony has me sign the condition acceptance of vessel. With the stroke of a pen we are the owners of JACE and the risk of anything going wrong, anything breaking is now all ours. I am both excited and apprehensive. No risk, no fun – let life take you, right?
Why conditional? Because there were two issues we had mandated and the sellers accepted as their responsibility to fix before we proceed. Unfortunately one of them, the autopilot has been dragging out and is still a work in progress. The master cabin is a mess and the rudder shaft and rudder quadrant are exposed, the new hydraulic autopilot ram is waiting in its box to be installed. Boat projects always take longer. This piece had to be flown in from Europe somewhere.
The yard who is doing the work has asked that we bring her to the dock so they have all their tools and power and it is easier to complete the job. So for the first time I captain JACE. We drop our mooring and transit the rotating bridge to the other side of the lagoon.
There is no wind so docking is easy and I am starting to get a feel for how she handles: much slower, heavier than Towanda. On the dock we get shore power and I continue testing many of the main systems. Shore power, battery chargers, AC, fridge. Jeff, the former owner, is on standby via WA and does a wonderful job coaching me through it. We get most of it to work. Only the fridge is acting up. But we will deal with that tomorrow.
By now the sun is setting. I take a shower and go for dinner to the bar right next to where we docked. It is not even 8:30 but I am bone tired. Several beers probably didn’t help. I’ll finish this post and call home and then off to bed.
First night onboard is special. Hopefully a good one!