I will keep this last post brief. Hard to believe the time has come to truly wrap up this trip and say goodbye to JACE and Grenada.

The past days have been very busy – and hot. It is the dry season now but even by those standards hotter and dryer. So sweating and frequent quick swims have been my reality. Not that I am complaining.

Getting a boat ready to be on its own is always a bunch of work. In the tropics the high temps and humidity are of particular concern. Without boring you to death, here a brief todo list: take off the sails, flush and hoist up the outboard, take care of the dinghy, “pickle” the watermaker (to protect the membranes from fungus), clean and treat the interior to avoid mold, wash the decks and polish all the stainless, decommission fridge/freezer, vacuum bag all clothes and linens, and finally rig the boat cover, close all hatches, set up the dehumidifier, and power down all the systems. And I am leaving off a bunch of smaller stuff.

One of the big questions I have been pondering is if to keep her in the water or lift her out and store “on the hard”. The latter is a bit safer, preferred by the insurance, and a bit easier on the boat but also more involved and much more expensive. Lying on a mooring brings some extra complexity like having the bottom cleaned of barnacles and the lines checked occasionally. But it offers the possibly of “quick trips” should time windows open up because de-/commissioning is so much faster and cheaper.

As I met and talked to cruisers over the past months, I found a lot of support for the “in the water” option. I like Benji Bay and my friends Brad and Aaron both live within sight of the boat. And after getting the all clear from the insurance, the decision is made to try that; Mooring it is!

Aside from all the work, I do manage a few fun things: a night out with Aaron for live music at the local and notorious pub “Nimrods”, a final couple of swims around the mooring field, and a particularly gorgeous sunset while “decommissioning” my dwindling beer and rum supplies.

Before I know it, Saturday the 17th rolls around, a date I had picked weeks ago based on the great flight connection back to SFO. After a last quick dip and putting on travel clothes, I close all the hatches and lock up JACE and tie down the final strap of the boat cover. Alan, the boat taxi guy, loads my bags and off I go, me feeling both nostalgic and a bit uneasy about leaving her alone like this.

Goodbye JACE and thanks for a wonderful trip and always keeping me safe (and busy)! Be good and hopefully we will see each other before too long.

This is JACE signing off and standing by on this channel. Thank you all for giving me silent company!