We had a whirlwind trip to the U.S. in May, a break from the boat that didn’t really feel like a break because we were so busy! In addition to getting the coveted Covid vaccine, we spent a few weeks catching up with friends, family, and exploring new places. Much of that time was spent where my mom lives and we found a lot of things to do in Pawleys Island SC.
About Pawleys Island
Pawleys Island is a small beach town on a barrier island in the Low Country of South Carolina. Things move slower there, and it’s pretty and peaceful most of the time. Located 70+ miles north of Charleston and 25 miles south of Myrtle Beach, we drove from Florida to visit my mom.
All your “I got Vaxxed” posts motivated us. Colombia is struggling to inoculate its residents, so there is little chance we would have gotten vaccinated there soon. We researched options and went vaccine hunting in Florida.
Long Time Away From the Boat
We left Colombia a week ago. It’s been a long strange week but a good one. The weirdest, and hardest part, is being away from Sava. It’s only been a week so far, but that’s the longest we’ve been away from the boat. In Curaçao we lived in an airbnb for a few weeks, but we still visited Sava daily while she was in the yard.
We are travelers, so being away from home isn’t an issue. But being away from our boat feels wrong. It feels like snorkeling without fins or traveling without luggage or Linus without his blanket. Sava is safe at a marina and will be fine when we get back, but I have to say I am antsy to get back even though we’re having lots of fun and reuniting with lots of people.
They say that sailors are called back to the sea; for us, it’s not that extreme, but we are drawn to marinas, bars on the water, and our cruising friends when we are not near our boat. We are not used to being away!
One last photo before leaving Sava in Cartagena
It’s been two years and a few months since we sailed away from the U.S., and coming back by air almost feels like cheating. Yet, this was what we would have done if Covid hadn’t stopped travel for so long. We hope to plan more trips by air in between our passages, and hope for visitors to return to Sava before long.
Despite all the mishaps and mess-ups, we have successfully completed our first cruising season and made it where we are supposed to be: Grenada!
Grenada or the ABCs were our options to end this season because insurance requires us to be below a certain latitude for hurricane season. This meant we needed to be below 12.4 latitude by July 1st.
After meeting so many other cruisers who raved about Grenada, we decided to go there a few months ago.
Considering we left Florida on February 2nd, that’s why we’ve been racing down the islands! 5 months is not enough time to explore the entire Caribbean!
We all knew going into this that I had a huge amount to learn on this boat. Now it’s time for me to fess up and reveal the big mistakes I have made in my first months aboard Sava. I’ve made some mistakes on the sailboat, and I doubt they’ll be the last, but we’re still having fun!
Mooring
The Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park offers mooring ball facilities, which are generally more reliable than anchoring on your own. The mooring ball is attached to an anchor, and you attach your boat to the mooring ball. While Brian drives – slowly – as close as he can to the mooring ball, I am supposed to hook it and tie it up to our boat. Easier said than done.
One time, I caught the mooring but couldn’t hold it as we drove over it and I dropped the hook in the water. I grabbed our net and fished up the hook to try again. Then I caught the mooring and broke off a piece of the hook. By this point, a man in a nearby boat had gotten into his dinghy and picked up the mooring for me. All I had to do was throw him the rope and attach it to our boat. Even that I almost did incorrectly. You have to run the line under all the rails – which Brian had to yell to me – because if you don’t you can rip the rails off the boat.
Melinda has been convincing me to write a post. So here is a bit of me. I am living on a boat being scared, and getting used to it.
Perception vs. Reality
Folks watching and reading about this adventure may have the perception that it’s easy and relaxing. But, to be honest, almost no day has gone by without some level of fear and terror. Sava is a big boat with a lot of moving parts, some of which break down quite often, and already have.
When we left the mooring just over two months ago and motored down The New River, not knowing how to steer this boat or even where we were going to spend the night, I was literally shaking all day.
Stressful Times
Then the next day we ran aground a couple of times. It was then that I realized lots is going to go wrong, and we just need to deal with it.
Since then there’ve been numerous very stressful hours and moments.
On our first outing after being on the hard in Fort Lauderdale, heading to Miami in a hard east wind and under power, the motor failed. We had to take quick action and drop anchor. We called Seatow to get us to Miami. It was rough, but during the tow, I managed to solve the problem.
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