It's a Boat

We followed the Plan and we're creeping out thru the reef and circling the island by 3am with high hopes of reaching St Maarten before dark.

"It's a boat" is the most common expression down here. Used to explain the high cost of repairs, the rust related injuries and the inexplicable failure and breakdown of things that we're poorly built to start. And it began, as we drank our morning coffee in the wee hours and secured EVERYTHING that could toss around on the open ocean. Our anchor winch failed. We flicked the button , we cursed, we flicked the button again to see if it had been listening and then of course we cursed again. No joy. 100 ft of stainless chain and a 60 lb anchor was lying on the bottom preventing us from goin anywhere.   Capt Gord to the rescue. Gloves and muscle power and we're ready for takeoff.  Then of course I had to hear, that's why he had done all those workouts.

Regardless, we're on our way. we'll fix it in St Maarten, it's probably just rust.

We're feelin pretty good, following the new expensive chart plotter.. this is why we bought it and peering at the reef off our starboard side thru the night scope.
 Now it's Excalibur's turn.  Crack, and Francois sees that his dinghy davit is giving way. We slow down and wait, he tries to secure it while the dinghy swings, the waves wash over it and the wind spins us in circles.  We're on our way again. Crack, there go the davits again, We slow down and wait, he tries to secure it. We're on our way again. Crack, there they go again.
While we're waiting, first mate Suzy says to capt Gord... There's something big and round in the water beside us, just under the surface, could it be a deflated, abandoned dinghy.  NO, it's spouting water. I've had my first Whale sighting, making the whole trip worthwhile.
Towing the dinghy in the choppy swells is just not a good option , but must be done. But can't be done all the way to St Maarten.
The Plan is scrap and we head back for North Sound vowing to try again another day soon.
What can I say......... IT"S A BOAT!