Stormy Weather

This is the first time I've been in a town in which everyone battens down the hatches when a storm is approaching. It's kind of fun, in the sense that it is novel: everyone spent Sunday provisioning. The grocery store was as popular as a beach on spring break. Some people were stocking up on beer and ice, others on milk ... it's a very individual thing, deciding what you'll be imbibing for the next 7 to 10 days. You see, if the wind is up no deliveries will make it to the island.

On Sunday George and I stocked up on milk and ice and enough food to last for a week. Plus we did laundry ... twice, since the first batch got wet from water that came over the top of the dinghy. And because it's a law of the feline universe that if the humans wash all the cushion covers that don't have cat stains on them, there will be stains on the remaining cushions when the humans return from the laundromat. We worked from dawn till way after dark battening down, stocking up and making everything ship-shape. And we had fun doing it. Our last load of laundry was in the dryer while we sat under the eaves of a nearby hotel, dressed in foul-weather gear and played Scrabble. Then we walked back to the dinghy dock, taking note of the sandbags stacked against shop doors.

We've made it pretty cozy. Here's a photo of our cockpit, complete with the bouquet that George thoughtfully brought home after I dropped enough hints to dent the floorboards* (*This is a Christmas story, to follow in another post). Those are solar panels stacked to the left, since they only act as sails when the winds blow hard. The golden tubes behind them are our oars. We rocked a bit last night and got plenty of rain but stayed dry and comfortable. Today we had gale force winds, but Nereid held her own at the mooring. In the afternoon it was calm enough for George to row to shore and return with a dinner guest - our friend Bob, who's letting us use his deck to build the new dinghy. After a simple dinner, laced with laughter, we sent Bob home with a gallon of milk. Turns out we were hoarding: the grocery store has no milk left.

The dinghy is on hold for weather but nearly complete! I'll post some new photos in the slideshow, above. Meanwhile, it's time to catch some zzzzz's. Fairwinds, all!