Mind blowing to see the last blog was dated July - September
2020 where we were dodging hurricanes in Grenada.
2020 departed without much fanfare, world wide it seems. In September/October
we gave much deliberation to our situation and decided that we had no choice,
our lives had to change. There were still no work prospects on any horizon, so
we needed to sell MaxScene and take the next turn in the road.
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| Farewell and congrats with Paul & Tanya of Kiraku |
Our buddy’s catamaran, Kiraku, had successfully and
painlessly been sold in Grenada and we were hopeful we would be just as lucky,
but the required quarantines and tests made it more and more difficult for
prospective buyers to get to the Grenadines to view boats. We were put in
contact with a broker operating out of the USVI who convinced us it would be
easier to sell her there. Flying in and out for prospective buyers was easy and
best of all, it’s a duty free Island, more incentive.
Rod and Kim paid us a final visit in Grenada, spending their
first week in quarantine, watching us on the water from their beautiful hotel.
Most helpful as they took some special things of ours back and into storage for
us. |
Back to pretty, who wouldn't
want to buy that |
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Working in small
spaces.... |
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Roux, Christine, Nelia & Johan
dragged us away from the boat yard
for a day of fun and sun |
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| Life is easier with good friends |
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Back in the water and there is a
barracuda sticking it's tongue out
at us underneath our boat |
In preparation for the sale, we hauled out one last time at
Carriacou, replaced the geyser, repainted the anti-foul and spent quality time
with really great friends.
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Before leaving, whilst
playing Mexican Train
Domino's one night, one
flew overboard.... |
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Still my hero, he found it the
next day |
We bade farewell to Grenada, sailing straight to St Maarten
as most islands in between remained closed or required lengthy quarantine
periods. We arrived in time for Christmas lunch aboard the very beautiful
catamaran Turquoise Turtle with Alison and Andre and a brief catch up with Nic
and Uta, who informed us their intrepid son, Max, having just completed a
mammoth and beautiful sailing trip to Greenland to find polar bears and
puffins, was now managing a charter company in the USVI - we promised them we
would look him up once there. |
Christmas celebrations
at the Yacht Club |
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| What a feast, lovely day |
Interest was finally growing in MaXScene so it was time to
get going. I bade Kevin farewell, as I flew overnight via Miami - on a British
passport I had to enter on an ESTA visa and this may not be done by private
vessel, he in the meantime sailed MaXScene, entering and clearing in at St John
and picking up a mooring ball by himself, no mean feat when the mooring field
is full of yachts, then on to Long Bay St Thomas where wonderful friends Bertie
and Teresa were waiting to help him with the next ball. In the meantime Jenny
met me in Miami, with Tyler a welcome surprise, both making the daunting
experience of my first and solo visit to America much fun and they departed the
next day with yet another suitcase of “things I want to keep” for me.
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| Cruz Bay, St John |
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Quiet Mon Irish
Pub, Cruz Bay |
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| Irish Pub with local flair, Cruz Bay |
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| Cruz Bay, St John |
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| Charlotte Amali, St Thomas |
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Hotel still standing since 1829,
St Thomas |
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Many alleys hosting
little shops and pubs |
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| French Town |
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| We found the home |
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| French Town, St Thomas |
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Watching the sea plane land
is a favourite past time |
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| Water pumps being installed |
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In the land of Amazon/
USPS deliveries |
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Rising Sun @ Yacht Haven,
St Thomas |
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| Yacht Haven Grande |
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One of our favorite vendors,
adult alcoholic slushies, woo hoo
bonus - he likes and plays Johnny Clegg |
We settled in to St Thomas, Bertie and Teresa made sure we
knew where to go and who to ask for what within days. Finally we had a K-Mart
(comparable to Game in RSA) and Home Depot (Builders Warehouse) and fresh
vegetables of every shape, size and colour available everywhere. Safari buses
run all over, at $1 or $2 per trip, depending on where you go and the
friendliest people. Steve the broker was busy and we had 3 people view
MaXScene, then finally along came Tim. Tim had seen the video online, spotted
MaXScene in the bay and hunted us down to see if she was still on the market.
After many viewings, organising of the survey, test sail, etc which she passed
with more than flying colours (a fitting tribute to all our hard work), it was
a done deal. He was uber impressed with MaXScene, rightfully so, the deal was
concluded and he became the proud new owner as of end March.
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Wandering around Water Island
St Thomas |
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| Fort on Water Island |
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| Honeymoon Beach Water Island |
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| The road signs are hilarious |
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| Peak hour traffic, Water Island |
Sadly we have to report that she is no longer MaXScene, all
decals have been removed and she is now a boat with no name, we wait to see
what her new identity will be. It was a little sad to see her sailing without
us and to see her identity removed but we hope and trust that she will continue
to make great memories and experiences for Tim – the end of a huge chapter of
our lives.
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Maxscene whizzing past us on
one of our charters :-( |
And where does this leave us? Well, we did look up Max & Haily here
in St Thomas, over beers we agreed to help them out with running a charter they
were short on crew for. Then they had a special project that required “special
people” and we agreed to be those people. So, now we crew Vivo, a 60ft
Eluethera Fountaine Pajot Catamaran. She was on the hard in St Maarten having
upgrades and repairs effected, so at the beginning of March we flew down to manage
the end of the work, re-splashing and sailing back to USVI.
This was no mean
task and ended up taking a couple of weeks longer than planned.
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Everything piled on top of
itself |
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| Mess everywhere |
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| Clutter |
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| Is that a bed under there? |
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| Into the crew cabin from above |
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Access to crew cabin, great
if you're a nimble circus dwarf |
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| Starting to look regal |
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| What we arrived to from the airport |
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| Nearly ran away screaming |
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| Great paint job |
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Manufacturing 2nd new
cockpit roof! |
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This support pole
fondly became
known as the dancing
pole |
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David & son Devan were 2 of the
real stars of this upgrade their
stainless work was par excellence
|
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| In the water, didn't sink |
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The genoa still
usable, yay |
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Finding a dinghy that fitted was
a challenge, choices weren't huge |
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| Sheer mess |
Thank heavens for cruising friends Angela and Gary, who without hesitation, rolled up their collective sleeves and got stuck in to help.
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They both love
the same stuff |
A Sunday break to watch the planes @ Princess Julianna
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| Special friends, special times |
We arrived back in USVI and have
completed two charters on her, hard work as she is still a bit of a work in
progress and charters by themselves are hard work, but we have never given up
on a project yet (this one does try every ounce of patience and resolve that we
have however).
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Note, Springbokkies with
Appetizers :-) |
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| Thanks to base and cleaning crew she scrubbed up pretty beautiful |
So for now, we have a roof over our heads (Vivo is up for sale so this is fluid), employment that keeps us honest, paid and exhausted and we still get to enjoy the Caribbean beauty.
Is it permanent – probably not. We are seriously feeling
waay too old to be doing charters for up to 8 guests at a time, week after
week, so we keep all our options open. Our current status is 3 suitcases,
willing and able to go anywhere, so lets see where and when anywhere takes us.
So, once again, our adventures change. The next blogs will
be news of our journeys through the USVI, BVI, Grenada once more for hurricane
season and probably the United States. If anyone no longer wishes to receive
notifications of blog updates, please let me know, no offence taken.
On a personal note :
What a great support system we have in family
and friends near and far. In our hardest times many knew without having to be
told, the mammoth support via messages, calls, caring, physical help and just
check-ins have not gone unnoticed or un-appreciated. Know that we will always
be there to reciprocate in any way possible. THE VERY BIGGEST HUGS AND THANK
YOU TO YOU ALL xxx
