(no subject)
It is a fairly calm morning in Sopers Hole. Yesterday we went on our last inland expedition into Tortola. We caught an expensive cab first to the chandlery in Nanny Cay, and then another into Road Town. The Chandlery had a couple things that I needed, but not everything. One thing on the list was a new pressure pump for the stern shower. The sticker shock sent me to buy a solar shower instead. Simpler, and can generate hot water too. Not a bad deal. We also sent our propane tank for a refueling - a first, as it had never been filled since we bought it in St. Maarten. The Butane tank we will probably never refill now that we have left the more Euro islands has been holding out on its gas supply since we bought the boat.
We went into Road Town technically to shop, but a lot of the shops were closed by the time we got there. Instead we walked around, had a couple of beers from the "Bat Cave" bar which overlooks the inner Harbour, and then went and watched a couple movies back to back. The first one was a family animated film starring a chameleon. The second was "I am number 4" which was both hilarious and terrible. Terrrible because the film seemed more or less a rehash of the "Twilight series" but with aliens instead of vampires. Funny because the theatre put the wrong lens on the projector. This lens issue meant that we kept seeing the top edge of the film instead of the proper aspect. We saw stuff at the top that audiences were never supposed to see. At first it was alarming - watching close-ups with the tops of peoples heads, and seeing the furry end of boom-microphones edging in above their heads.
The best part was an outdoor scene, where it was raining. Michelle exclaimed - What is that big frame thing above the car? I realized at once, from my work in film - It was the rain machine/sprinkler! You could see the whole arrangement. Either this was a lens issue, or the movie was really badly made. Either way, watching out for production errors made light of the terrible terrible writing and ho-hum acting.
We caught a cab back to Sopers at around ten, which included a side trip for a woman in some kind of drama situation. She kept getting calls on her cellphone, crying occasionally and asking for detours. In the end she wound up detouring to pick up an infant and then getting dropped off at a hotel with surly security guards who wanted nothing to do with her. I Wanted to pay her cab fare, ask about what was going on, even offer her a place to sleep on the boat - but the vibe definitely didnt seem to warrant the intrusion of outsiders. The taxi driver seemed nonplussed, at any rate.
We bought a small scale chart of Puerto Rico and I have been studying it this morning. The scales and weather to deal with near this larger land mass will make things a lot more interesting. I have decided to go the South route - North has too few ports, and too much potential for ground-swell. It is probably not a bad way if you are going with the trades as we are - but I am not after stiff winds and fast passages - I am looking for gentle winds and low seas, and lots of pretty places to keep the Admiral interested. I am also possibly looking for a port to keep the boat in for a week or two while I head North to support Michelle in the PHD defense Tango.
There is a possibility of doing this boat-storage thing further on in the DR, but I wouldnt count on our passagemaking chutzpah progressing that much by then. I am inclined to just get going and head straight for the Bahamas - but the state of systems requires a more measured approach and proximity to supply chains and safe anchoiring areas in which to do invietable repairs. So far the head and shower have taken their breaks from function. I suspect the Outboard and the Engine may follow, if they get their way. They are students of entropy those two - racing any way they can to become rust again.
We went into Road Town technically to shop, but a lot of the shops were closed by the time we got there. Instead we walked around, had a couple of beers from the "Bat Cave" bar which overlooks the inner Harbour, and then went and watched a couple movies back to back. The first one was a family animated film starring a chameleon. The second was "I am number 4" which was both hilarious and terrible. Terrrible because the film seemed more or less a rehash of the "Twilight series" but with aliens instead of vampires. Funny because the theatre put the wrong lens on the projector. This lens issue meant that we kept seeing the top edge of the film instead of the proper aspect. We saw stuff at the top that audiences were never supposed to see. At first it was alarming - watching close-ups with the tops of peoples heads, and seeing the furry end of boom-microphones edging in above their heads.
The best part was an outdoor scene, where it was raining. Michelle exclaimed - What is that big frame thing above the car? I realized at once, from my work in film - It was the rain machine/sprinkler! You could see the whole arrangement. Either this was a lens issue, or the movie was really badly made. Either way, watching out for production errors made light of the terrible terrible writing and ho-hum acting.
We caught a cab back to Sopers at around ten, which included a side trip for a woman in some kind of drama situation. She kept getting calls on her cellphone, crying occasionally and asking for detours. In the end she wound up detouring to pick up an infant and then getting dropped off at a hotel with surly security guards who wanted nothing to do with her. I Wanted to pay her cab fare, ask about what was going on, even offer her a place to sleep on the boat - but the vibe definitely didnt seem to warrant the intrusion of outsiders. The taxi driver seemed nonplussed, at any rate.
We bought a small scale chart of Puerto Rico and I have been studying it this morning. The scales and weather to deal with near this larger land mass will make things a lot more interesting. I have decided to go the South route - North has too few ports, and too much potential for ground-swell. It is probably not a bad way if you are going with the trades as we are - but I am not after stiff winds and fast passages - I am looking for gentle winds and low seas, and lots of pretty places to keep the Admiral interested. I am also possibly looking for a port to keep the boat in for a week or two while I head North to support Michelle in the PHD defense Tango.
There is a possibility of doing this boat-storage thing further on in the DR, but I wouldnt count on our passagemaking chutzpah progressing that much by then. I am inclined to just get going and head straight for the Bahamas - but the state of systems requires a more measured approach and proximity to supply chains and safe anchoiring areas in which to do invietable repairs. So far the head and shower have taken their breaks from function. I suspect the Outboard and the Engine may follow, if they get their way. They are students of entropy those two - racing any way they can to become rust again.