Culebra

April 17

After an eventful and restless night, we are on our way back to the USA. Not bad, considering we visited a hand full of countries in the last 5 days.

Last look at the BVI

We left very early today, and the wind wasn’t helping. Wow, that was a tough passage. Of course, I was sent down below to stay out of the way of the manly things they do on deck, thank you very much. But between the high seas, no breakfast, big waves, and no wind, by the time I was allowed out of the cabin, I was not feeling so good. I took a Dramamine and slept on my bunk for about 3 hours.

Just looking at this pic makes me sea sick!

By the time I awoke, lunch was being served: tuna sandwiches. Mmmm. Amazing how the simplest food (Eric's speciality) tastes good on a boat.

We sailed past reefs, rocks and a few power boats blasting their way through the waves. Because of those seas, John hand-steered for most of the way across, and what a great job he did.

Meanwhile, back on deck and feeling better after lunch, I was dealing with a big, caked-hair mess. I called it the one dread-lock do. Nothing can go through it, not even my fingers. My hair has been battered by wind, salt water, some fresh water, sand and wind. When squall hit us, I was determined to do something about it. The only problem with washing hair in the rain is the cold. The rain was so cold, it was hard not to give up after a couple of minutes. But I stuck with it, rinsed off, and ran down below as soon as possible.

While I am on the subject, last hair washing was 5 days ago. In case you are thinking sailing is a breeze, I can tell you sailing on Fiona is not for everyone. However, by this time tomorrow we should have showers again. Ah! Proper cleaning with shampoo and conditioner and drying with a clean towel. Heaven.

We arrived at the small island of Calabria under heavy wind. To take the sail down, we did suffered some mild damage. John’s knee got cut, but I immediately applied Neosporin, a spray of my perfume (for the alcohol), and a bandaid. ("Okay, that was just weird." -- John)

Once Fiona was somewhat securely anchored, Eric and I went ashore to do the customs clearance. John stayed on the boat, just to make sure it didn't drag. We rode the dinghy to a bar, tied up and started walking for about 20 minutes in the direction of the airport.

Seaside bar

Customs were sort of cleared, Eric picked up John, and we met at a bar that was right on the water. The fish -- tarpons -- swimming around the dock were huge, about 3-4 ft long. Those fish lead a very happy life eating food scrapings thrown at them by the customers. Pirañas had nothing on those fish. I did not fancy falling into the water with them.

3-foot long fish alongside the fish restaurant...
Not very smart!

We motored back to Fiona: double portion of rum for happy hour, mac and cheese for dinner, accompanied by nice classical music. Eric declared it a movie night, but I was so tired, I didn't last through the opening credits.

Tomorrow we are leaving for the main island of Puerto Rico.

Next Episode: End of Another Voyage