With a day delay (see last post) I head out of Union Island’s Clifton Harbor. After an eventful night with multiple downpours and me attending hatch duty, it is dark clouds and boisterous this morning with 20kn winds and only over the last hour the sun has come out and the wind lessened a bit. My timing is perfect.

It is a short sail and the moment JACE rounds the shoals guarding the anchorage, we set sail. Under main and staysail we head upwind. The Tobago Cays are just an hour’s sail away and despite the lively sea state it is a fun one. I run the water maker while we are out in open water to replenish the tanks.

The Tobago Cays are famous, a few tiny islands, merely more than rocks, surrounded by a massive coral reef system. The sight is something to behold: turquoise waters studded with many sailboats at anchor. This system is a marine protected area and known for its rich sea life, including turtles.

I motor once around all the islands and finally find an anchorage to my liking:

The water color is incredible and the green palm tree lined white sand beaches round out the postcard look. By the time I have JACE all set, anchor in, wind scoops and sun awning set up, and things tidied up post sailing, it is 1p and I am hungry. It is Thanksgiving day and I don’t quite feel like my usual sandwiches. And the bar on the beach has not escaped my attention: “Alphonso’s Lobster BBQ”. I grab some cash and motor over, beach the dinghy, and when I see what’s on offer, I can’t resist and order. It is Thanksgiving after all.

Now look at that, wow! What a huge half lobster and the portion is massive. I eat eagerly and it is delicious. I savor every bite. After I finish I notice the ominous dark wall of clouds that I had missed, being so focused on getting every last bit of lobster meat out of its shell.

Too late, it is already starting to pour and, boy, it is coming down. I run to the waiter, shove my money in her hand, and race over to the dinghy. By the time I have that pushed into the water and started and sped over to JACE, I am soaked and so is much of the boat. It was bright sun when I left so all the hatches were wide open. I frantically take down the wind scoops and close all the hatches. I end up spending quite some time mopping try the inside of the boat and hanging many a piece of clothing and bedsheets and towels to try. Thankfully the aft cabin bed remained try enough to sleep in it. Boy, what a lesson. The weather changes on a dime around here and you have to assume the worst when leaving the boat.

I spend the afternoon drying off and chilling, eating some of the delicious banana cake I bought from one of the boat boys this morning. At 5 I start cooking, my second Thanksgiving meal of the day: fresh grouper on the grill with veggie rice. I am feeling quite decadent for two such opulent meals in a single day and this is definitely the best and the most food I’ve had since arriving here. But, I figure, it is Thanksgiving after all.

After dinner I text and facetime with my family, Karin, who is currently in Paris, Anika, who cooked a big TG dinner for her housemates, and later on Krissi, who just got up and shares some of his struggles about learning Japanese Kanji. It’s a bit of a different Thanksgiving this year. But what a place to spend it at!