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CW01 2002

01.01.2002 - 05.01.2002

Today is Tuesday, January 1 2002, and we wish everybody a happy, healthy and successful New Year.
It’s nice to have you travel with us and watch our adventures in this New Year as well.
No, there won’t be any new customs in this New Year, not really. The logbook will continue to be presented here on Tuesdays, informing you and telling you about the last week, from Sunday to Saturday.
That the last log included the Monday and came soooo late was, so to say, circumstantial, but now everything will be as usual again!
It’s Tuesday, New Years, and we are in the Caribbean, in Antigua, English Harbour! The first night without standing guard is over!
Of course we also went out for a while and therefore the night wasn’t quite as long anyway, but after all, we can really sleep late today. A night without guard also means that we can sleep properly again, not only with one eye and one ear. Feels really good!
So we have a late breakfast today. Even so late, that we have a local tell us, that it’s actually almost lunchtime and therefore time to have a real lunch. But that doesn’t bother us much and we enjoy a full breakfast on deck, in 30°C and radiating sunshine.
Even though it’s New Years and therefore a holiday we’ve got plenty to do. The second cleaning session is due and today we take care of SILVER BLUE’s inside. Please don’t think we didn’t clean at all during the last 4 weeks of travelling, but today we’re doing the whole story, including the bilge.
Only Thomas may (must) take care of something else. The generator wants some attention again. And it deserves some, since it really had to work hard during the tour. It ran for almost one hundred hours and has earned itself a changing of oil and a new impeller. So everybody is busy and the rest of the day passes quite quickly.
Maybe I should add, that it gets dark quite soon in the Caribbean. At 5.30 p.m. dusk already sets in and half an hour later it’s dark, night, just like that!
So we clean up ourselves as well and take off to the HQ (headquarters) where we have a very good and nice dinner.
There is something to it, just sitting down, ordering, enjoying and leaving again. No cooking, no washing up!
During our Atlantic-crossing the meals became rather important. It was more than just a good idea that we agreed on fixed times for breakfast and dinner and on who had to prepare them. And we always had something decent. Not just cold Ravioli or something like that, no, we always cooked a nice meal! And we always got together for the meals.
A few of you might think: ”they got together? What a story! Weren’t they on a ship together, where you’re always together, always see the other, can’t really avoid them!”
Well, that’s not necessarily correct. Let’s take breakfast as an example: it’s not normal for whoever was on guard from 3am to 6 am to be up at 10 am again. But we agreed on it being that way and that was really good since it gave us a chance to tell each other what had happened during the night.
In other words, our guard system was brilliant!
As a reminder: everyone had 4 hours of day-watch and 3 hours of night watch!
And then there’s another thing: how might it be when we have solid ground underneath our feet again? You’ll know what I’m getting at if you’ve travelled by boat for longer, without going ashore! After all there isn’t only seasickness, no, if you’ve been to sea for longer, you afterwards can get sick on land. The body, or rather the equilibrium-organ, gets so used to adjusting, that it continues doing so. But now, that nothing is swaying and wobbling any more, that nothing needs to be adjusted, you start to feel sick on stable ground.
But luckily that didn’t happen to any of us.
What happened on Wednesday? Wednesday was washing day, but we had most of it done, washed and dried, and picked it up again. Was quite a lot to carry, but at least it was done for us, although only for quite some money!
Everything is a lot more expensive then at other places anyway. To give you a slight impression:
In the super market a croissant = 4,- DM, half a pound of coffee = 20,-DM or a glass of mustard = 16,-DM, or, to be precise, 16,40 $EC. EC are Eastern Caribbean Dollars.
In the restaurant a pizza = 33 $EC.
$EC are the local currency. $EC or $US.
All in all very expensive, but beautiful!
Writing about German Marks is actually too late, since there aren’t any any more. Now the Euro has its go. It was amazing, when we tried to exchange DM at the bank here. DM don’t exist here any more, at all. At least no one wanted to accept them. That’s how quickly things can change.
It’s Wednesday and the log hasn’t been written yet. That has never happened before! But somehow recovery seems to be the only thing that counts. Simply doing nothing, just for a change. And that’s why it won’t be written today either. Instead, all 4 of us get into the dinghy, we drive over to the beach and relax. Relaxing, that is collecting shells, swimming, and snorkelling, building sandcastles, or simply lying in the sun. Relaxing!
But doing nothing also makes you hungry. Today there’s a BBQ right in front of our door, or rather on our gangway. The Gallery Bar is having a BBQ. And that’s where we’re going.
And to make sure everything goes down nicely, they offer 2 drinks for 1. Drink 2 and pay 1. The BBQ was very nice, but unfortunately very little. So we sit at the bar with big eyes as everything is taken back into the kitchen and try to let them know. But that doesn’t seem to bother anyone. Well, then it doesn’t! Surprise, it’s shortly before midnight as Maximilian (Mr. BBQ) gets the grill going again and gives us a plate full of ribs and chicken wings. Isn’t that nice?!

It’s Thursday and at some stage everything catches up to you, even a logbook. So it’ll have to happen today. Thomas and Martin take off to play a round of golf, Petra to do a round of shopping and I get to work. The whole thing takes a while since it rains 3 times during the afternoon. I never expected to see such green islands in the Caribbean, but now I know how that can be. They get short but strong rains a few times a day and of course that makes everything grow and the vegetation prosper. What takes its time will finally get done and the log book is also finished now and Petra and I set of to Falmouth harbour where we treat ourselves to a delicious ice cream in the Bistro “Seabreaze”.

Since we’re speaking about delicious, I need to mention the restaurant in which we had dinner now: the ABRACADABRA. Standing in front of the house, one couldn’t guess, not on a first glance, what is hidden inside it: finest Italian cuisine with local and international ingredients. And not only that, the presentation of the menu is an experience in itself. Pablo, the owner, presents each dish and you feel like ordering them all. And, as it should be, there is a huge selection of starters, 6 different dishes for a first course and probably 10 for a main course. Everything is perfect here. All in all, stunning! And that also makes it understandable why you can’t come to a house like this one without making reservations.

After this delicious dinner we’re not up to much any more. We’re still walking though, and we walk back to the ship, get aboard and Thursday is over.

Friday and about time we got going again and left the harbour. We get everything ready and around noon the ropes are detached, the anchor is weighed and we’re on our way to the petrol station. After all, we could use a little Diesel again.
We don’t want to go far, just to a nice and quiet bay. And just that lies only 20 N.M. away, close to Five Island Harbour, and is called Maiden Island. Five Islands isn’t one of those harbours like you know them. There’s absolutely nothing here. Only peace, and beaches, to our left, our right, and in front of us. Arriving in time we get a superb anchor drink. Thomas made a rum punsh: outstanding!
So we sit in the cockpit, enjoy the surroundings and the peace and the great drink. What we don’t enjoy are the mosquitoes that are flying around and almost eat Petra and myself alive. And sprays and lotions aren’t helping any more either.
Oh well, then we’ll have another rum punsh. That’ll help.
Enjoying our delicious drinks we forgot about time, therefore we’re having dinner a lot later today.

Saturday, January 5, and the first week of the new year is almost over. And our time with Petra and Martin is also almost over. They are flying back to Germany tomorrow. But before they leave we visit a beautiful beach: Ffryes Bay. We arrive there just before 2 p.m. and drop anchor at 5 m, directly in front of the beach. From there we hear steels, typically Caribbean sounds. So we simply swing along; whether you want to or not, you just can’t resist. Now off into the water we go and we simply swim across to the beach. This one is for shell-collectors again and time goes by quickly. Since we can’t spend the night, it’s time to weigh anchor at about 5 p.m. and we set off towards Jolly Harbour, our destination for today.

Our arrival at Jolly Harbour was a disappointment. Not a soul to be seen, the marina is closed for the night, no one around. So our only alternative is to moor at the petrol station. Nice place. But it can’t be helped, we still want to have dinner and Petra and Martin have to leave for the airport early tomorrow morning.
So we have to make do and set out to find something eatable. By chance we meet a wedding party and they seem to be having fun. We find a nice steak house, Peter’s, and here the chef himself grilles, and really well.
So we get back aboard full and content, take a nightcap and say good-night.
To you we once again say, … what the next week has brought us
… here, in one week:
same time same place!
so long

Diana + Thomas

Speaking about meeting again, on Sunday, January 13 2002, between 16 and 18 o’clock there will be a report with and about us, on UKW at SWR3.
So, if you feel like it, listen or check the internet www.swr3.de

Now, since we didn’t want to make any changes, the culinary tip is still missing.
That won’t be a menu today, but really only a tip!
As a reminder: in the last week of last year we caught a barracuda which we of course ate - and it was prepared like this:
Sour the fish filets (sprinkle lemon juice onto them), sprinkle salt and pepper on, dip them in flour, in scrambled egg (raw) and then into a very tasty mixture:
100g bread crumbs
approx. 50g freshly rasped parmesan and approx. 30g rasped emmentaler, add 3 tablespoonfuls of freshly chopped dill. Mix everything well, cover the fish filets with the mixture and fry them until they are nice and golden brown. Serve with rice or salt potatoes, maybe with a salad or light vegetables, whatever you prefer!
Enjoy!

Wait, maybe there will be something new?!
The following is written in as a foreword in a small book:
Every day, taken for itself, only shows you a small part of your existence. Nevertheless it holds the entire richness of life - every new morning is an invitation to be happy. But day after day one has to become aware of this gift again. The daily needs demand their right to often. But to live means, apart from all beauty and joy, to master challenges, to overcome anger and darker hours. And that makes it especially important to stay alert and open for the many chances that only wait to be taken.
After all, days are the steps on the path of your life.

This booklet contains the words of great poets and philosophers, words that invite you to take a brake, to think, to sharpen your consciousness, to question, words that give comfort and trust in the power of being and its possibilities.
And in future there will be a few words from this booklet on our pages.

We’ll start with the words of Elsa Triolet
“Have a goal, dream, practice your imagination, think, discover, invent, open the doors to the unknown!”

Would we be travelling, if those words weren’t true?