Adventures of a Tribe

Exhausting (but fun) day!

Posted on July 29, 2015

I awoke at my usual 3am and lay listening to the thunderstorm outside. Lightning flashed so often it seemed like the skies heartbeat, and I thought of how much of an adventure this day was going to be if the rain didn’t stop.

At 7:30am it felt so good to leave the dock and make our way out of the marina. I told the creatures that we were all going to be drenched for a while, and to dress accordingly, and my goodness did it pour! When we first left it was drizzling, but the closer we got to Bocas the harder it rained.  It was gorgeous.

When we reached Bocas we attempted to anchor close to where the ferry comes in, but it was so choppy and windy, that the anchor just wouldn’t set. We could see the ferry coming closer and I was supposed to be on land when it arrived, so Jonathan and I hopped into the dinghy and went to shore, leaving Captain Jude at the helm to cruise around until we found out where they wanted us. At this point Emma had bailed out the dinghy several times because it kept filling up with water from the downpour.

I finally met the driver, the port captain and the customs agent that were overseeing our shipment, and we unloaded all our stuff onto the dock.

Our good friend Gustavo, who is a water taxi driver, met Jonathan and I, and we loaded our belongings onto his panga. Aidan, Emma and Aundrea came ashore so they could paddle the stand up paddle boards back to the boat, and Jude used her ninja sailing skills and found a place to set anchor.

Finally after 3 hours, we were able to set sail back to the marina.  We were all so drenched and exhausted from lifting all the heavy things and fighting the storm. The boat was so full of boxes and stuff and more stuff!

Here’s my advice to anyone who plans on going cruising:  Before shipping a bunch of stuff you think you might need to your boat, first live on it for a month and decide what you really do need. We didn’t do terribly, but there are most definitely some items we are rolling our eyes at and saying, ‘oh brother!’

Our marina family was worried about us coming back and having to dock in the wind on one engine, so Tony, who owns a catamaran but had never docked on one engine, and Gordon, who owns a mono hull, came to meet us in their dinghy as we entered the marina. Tony jumped on board so we could dock together and Gordon acted as a tug boat.  It worked like a charm and before we knew it we were safely tied back to the dock. I love my neighbors and how everyone watches out for everyone else.

After working for several hours on reorganizing Tanda Malaika, the twins and Aundrea went exploring on the SUP’s.  They had a blast. I’m going to try them out tomorrow.

In the mean time Mycah and i installed the SUP racks onto the boat.  They look pretty spiffy.  We purchased the ‘Suprax’ brand through West Marine. We will be able to put two boards on each side of the boat.

This evening I made the creatures gnocci’s and french bread for dinner and then followed it with home made pina coladas.  They all lay around in a comatose state afterward.

Today’s accomplishments most definitely were achieved due to a group effort.  Everyone worked hard – even in pouring rain, and I am so grateful for and proud of our sweet creatures!

For the second day in a row, Danny saved the day even from 10 000 miles away. Yesterday Emma and Aundrea texted him when I’d run into Bocas, saying they were stranded in the dinghy and couldn’t get it to start.  He coached them through it and they got it going, and today the generator kept going off and the boat kept telling me the batteries were low, so I called Danny and he talked Jude though what to do while I continued to man the helm. He is such an amazing husband, even when he’s not here physically, he’s still very much a part of our daily activities.

Steve and Debbie arrived back safely this afternoon. We were so excited to have them back, but not nearly as excited as Libby was! They were both so tired and immediately went in to bed.  After being taken care of in 2 different hospitals, 2 nights stay, 3 different blood pressure prescriptions and a half hour water ambulance ride, their entire bill came to $180.00!