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Diane's DiaryWell, today is 2/19/01. Sorry we haven't updated our website since we restarted our trip in January but the laptop died & we had to wait for another. Anyway, I kept a log so I will be able to recreate exactly what has happened to us. As I sit & type this now, we are currently in St. Maarten. We've been here since 1/15 but perhaps we had better go back to the beginning. We were due to leave NY by air for Bermuda to retrieve Destiny on 12/30. The house was rented, all packed & everything was in storage. The only things left in the house were 2 folding chairs & a blow up bed. I had to bring our outdoor furniture set inside so we would have something to sit on. Fortunately, we had kept our 13inch TV or we would have gone stir crazy! Unfortunately, as you all probably know, we had an early season snowstorm that day. Our flight was for 7pm but up until around 3pm the airline stated it was still on time. Yea, right! We eventually got 18 inches of snow & the flight was still going to leave on time! Our flight finally got cancelled. We finally got rescheduled but couldn't get a flight out for 5 days! So, we were sitting in an empty house with nothing to do & couldn't get out. We were glad we had left the snow blower for our tenants as we really used it. So, on 1/4/01 we finally left for Bermuda to continue our long awaited trip. Our flight was due to depart JFK at 7pm but for some reason (we were never informed why) it was over 2 hours late. Fortunately, the guy watching our boat while we were away , met us at the airport since Destiny was at a mooring. Naturally, we arrived in the pouring rain. We wouldn't have been able to get out to our boat if it wasn't for him as it was in the middle of St. George's harbor. He drove us to the harbor & then lent us his Boston Whaler & drove us out to the boat. He helped us in so many ways we were extremely grateful for all assistance. He lent us his Boston Whaler for 2 days until we moved to the town docks. He even left fresh milk & butter for us & his girlfriend made us homemade bread. They were extremely nice to us & showed us the real Bermudian hospitality. The weather is cold our entire time in Bermuda. We wear long pants & sweatshirts our entire time. Where's the warm weather? We need to get further south quick to find some! 1/5 Friday Larry worked on the watermaker this morning as we had very water left in the tanks. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to fix it & we are almost out of water. In the afternoon, we took the Boston Whaler to visit the rigger & electrician who worked on our boat while we were away. More money spent on the boat!! We went to Ocean sails to pay them the balance due for the mooring use- $800 for 2 months. We needed a new batten & they charged $17.50 just to cut it. What a ripoff! I also was not thrilled with their attitude & would not recommend them to anyone. We asked how much they would want to continue to stay on the mooring but they would not come down with their fee at all. Considering we were the only cruising boat left on the island I thought this was pretty silly. Instead, we moved to the town docks for free which was much easier for us. So, instead of making some money from us they made none at all. 1/6 Saturday A gale storm came up today bringing with it winds up to 55 knots. Thank goodness we were safe on our rented mooring. The wind was so bad that while we were eating lunch, a huge gust caused a sail on the settee to come flying off & all the lunch dishes on the table almost landed in my lap! The next day the local paper stated that one airplane had turned back to the US because of the conditions, & one cracked its windshield in attempting to land. 1/7 Sunday The storm passed over us. The wind greatly abated. Since our water tanks are almost dry, we brought the boat over to St. George's Dinghy Club to fill it up. The water at the yacht club was .05 gallon vs. .20 gallon at the gas docks. We then brought the boat to the town docks - for free. Tom & Tanya stopped over for drinks. We start going to the internet café daily-$5 for 30 minutes. 1/8 Monday The weather bureau indicated the wind would pick up today & would blow from the SW. This would have pinned us against the sea wall. Fortunately, since we were the only cruising boat left in Bermuda, the dockmaster allowed us to move to the other side of the docks where we would be more protected. Larry worked on boat repairs. 1/9 Tuesday Larry worked on more boat repairs. I took a walk over to the other side of the island. The wind is still howling. I'm glad we are on the protected part of the town docks as the wind is very gusty - up to around 30 knots. 1/10 Wednesday I took another long walk. I met the security guard in the abandoned Club Med. It had some terrific views looking out over the islands. He allowed me into the hotel & to take pictures of the view from the rooftop. I know I got some terrific shots! The hotel is in the process of being sold after 12 years of vacancy so he couldn't allow me to take interior pictures. Rumor has it the hotel is in such bad condition they are going to tear it down & build a new one. It sure was creepy being in there- the Club Med signs are still up, dishes & pots in the kitchen etc I also went for the town crier demonstration & tour of the town. It was free! They told the history of Bermuda. It was very interesting & I enjoyed myself. Unfortunately, due to the boar repairs, Larry only goes to the town crier demonstration. While I like Bermuda very much it is an extremely expensive island. Food costs are very high- $3 for lettuce, $8 Gallon milk. I brought frozen food down in a cooler & we have been eating that, plus all the provisioning that was already on the boat before we left NY. We had Tom & Tanya over for dinner. 1/11 Thursday I did some grocery shopping as we have no fruits & vegetables onboard because you are not allowed to bring any into the country. However, I don't think they board yachts to check if they have any onboard. The rigger comes by today to help Larry get the old stanchions off. |