Life on the other side of the tracks

Not a bad lunch view!

What a difference a few days can make......earlier this week, just having parmesan cheese in our warm Beefaroni was enough to put smiles on our faces. We were being lashed by big winds and pounded by 10-11 foot waves. Kirstin has done a great job cooking, but it's not safe for anyone to be in the galley when the boat is rolling violently as it does during storms.

Now in the Blue Haven marina (Turks and Caicos) we've enjoyed sipping wine on the bow of L'ORIENT while gazing a the full moon......nice beach walks in front of stylish resorts inhabited by perfect families......and our fellow yachties stop by to chat all the time.

Good to the last drop - classy cruiser box wine bag

My poolside reading is only interrupted by "Sir, can I get you anything ?" "No, actually I don't think I need a thing". This echos my thoughts on the big picture as well.

But being the almost fully retired cheapskates we have become, staying in this marina forever is unbudgeted. And to make matters worse, our feast/famine relationship to the wind has turned around yet again.......very light wind for the next week. We've got to leave tomorrow to take advantage of what little wind there is. Next stop.........Samana, on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic. This will be our longest non-stop passage on this trip to date at 258 miles, and is likely to be very different than all the others because of the lack of good wind. We will be going slow, trying to resist the temptation to motor.......we're very proud of how little fuel we've burned since Miami Beach and we want to stay "green".

And watch out Mahi-Mahis.........it's time for round II.

Grace Bay