That’s right. Another trip! Somehow, we are pulling it off, it seems. A turbulent year lies behind us. A year full of change and life’s challenges. It is all rather complicated and messy. Life. A process. With plenty of uncertainty and a meandering path whose destination we still don’t know.

But here we are, on a flight headed for Grenada, Karin and me.

We have a great itinerary ahead of us. Take JACE up the Windwards and then the Leewards, little by little, island-hopping, taking our time. Growing our sea legs and confidence. Karin will be the skipper on this trip. Me both deckhand and first mate. Our goal is Antigua. Just before Christmas, the kids will fly in and spend two weeks with us, Christmas and New Years, sailing and snorkeling and chilling on beaches and under palm trees. Us four sailing together again. We could not be more excited. ‘Le bomb surprise’ will be my sister Bini visiting for ten days as we point our bow south again and back toward Grenada.

All in all, we have a bit over two months. We are excited and a bit nervous, not knowing exactly what to expect. But we are committed.

But before the trip can commence, JACE needs a little attention.

She got through the hurricane Beryl (Link to post) with only a bit of torn canvas, which our friend Lisa’s sailmakers’ loft has no trouble replacing. But after nine months in the mostly stagnant water of Benji Bay, her underwater protective antifouling paint is entirely ‘eaten’ away. Throughout the summer, our mooring master Tylor diligently dove her every couple of months to scrape hard and soft growth away. But the barnacles got all the way down to the primer. So JACE’s watchful guardian, our friend Brad, organized her to be hauled out, and Isaac and his crew sanded, primed, and then put on a thick new coat of antifouling. With the prop and shaft all shiny and new zincs (sacrificial anodes to protect against rusting from electrolysis) she is all pretty ‘down there’ and ready for the journey ahead.

Above water, there is also a bit of work to do. You might remember, we had some trouble with leaks in the front cabin, both from the hatch and through a leak along the toe rail, where the hull and deck are joined and sealed. Thankfully, Issac is the perfect man for the job and along with painting the bottom also reseals both hatch and deck. Hopefully that will put and end to water ingress when healed over and me sleeping between big yoghurt jars on rainy days.

The costliest problem surfaces when the local yard services the anchor windlass (pulls up the heavy anchor and chain). After nearly twenty years of faithful service, there is rust all over and inside the gearbox and motor and the unit is ‘in critical condition’. How important a piece of gear the windlass is, had become very clear last year (Link). It is a painful bullet to swallow but the decision is simple: replace. We find a dealer in Florida, and they source the right unit within a few weeks, ship it to Grenada and our broker Alana gets it through customs in record time.

As I write this, the new unit is being installed and we cross our fingers it fits and works perfectly. With these repairs completed, our main diesel engine ‘Rudolf’ serviced, and a few other bits and bobs taken care of by always-reliable Brad, we hope to find our beloved JACE in great shape and just as excited as us about the trip ahead.

God, we can already see St. Lucia and the Pitons and it’s only a few more minutes until we are there. So hard to believe.