A Week Aboard S/V Sabado: 5/14/2023 – 5/21/2023

Hi! Happy Sunday! You can watch our latest YouTube video here!

We took last week off from writing/editing while we enjoyed our first week as newlyweds. ❤️ The remainder of our guests departed, and we spent a few days catching up on the chores we’d neglected. By Sunday, we were back in the swing of things. I did an extra-long online pilates class and went swimming while Ray mixed up his latest cocktail creation using the blood oranges we had picked up from the supermarket.

We spent the day relaxing on the bow, discussing our next move. It’s about time we start heading to Grenada for hurricane season, so we decided where we’d like to stop along the way and started the weather window waiting game… 

To kill time, we tackled a project we’ve been procrastinating for quite a while: properly running our Starlink cable. We’ve had the cord piled up in our cockpit since we started using it because our permanent install plan involved drilling a hole, so we wanted to be sure it was something we’d use long-term before making that commitment. I was a little alarmed seeing Ray so confidently cut the wire and begin drilling while precariously balancing on our dinghy davits in a rolly anchorage…

Together, we stuck our limbs into various compartments, pushing and pulling the cord from one engine compartment across to another, into our cabin, under our bed, and up through the walls into the salon where the plug is. 

Ray spliced the wire back together, plugged it in, and we crossed our fingers it would still work! Sure enough, Starlink kicked back on, and we celebrated with pasta and wine in our PJs. 

Tuesday morning, we realized how big of a mess we’d left behind after that project, so we spent the day putting the boat back together. One of the more frustrating aspects of boat life is the lack of easily accessible storage space. To get the supplies we need to complete a project, we usually have to move 5 or 6 large, heavy containers out of the way, get what we need, then move them all again to put the supplies away. To access the spaces we need to complete the project, we usually have to move more bins, couch cushions, maybe a mattress or a wooden compartment cover, and contort ourselves into strange positions. Typically, preparing for a project and cleaning up after takes far longer and is more physically demanding than the project itself, but that’s boat life! 

We threw a couple of loads of laundry into our washer and vacuumed the interior while we were at it. 

Wednesday afternoon, we checked our mail, then pulled up our anchor and motored over to St. John to meet up with a couple of family friends that were in town. We had a delicious dinner together at Extra Virgin Bistro. It’s always nice when our schedules align and we get to see friends while they’re on vacation! ❤️ Gus and Dawn, thank you for a lovely evening. We hope you have a great rest of your trip! ☺️

That night just before we went to bed, the wind died. Our mooring ball began slamming against our hulls. We tried adjusting our lines, but there was nothing we could do. We laid in bed, eyes wide open, and listened to it for hours. The sun rose, and we chugged a few cups of coffee to counteract the lack of sleep. The wind and current still had us atop our ball, so we started the engines to head back to St. Thomas, where we could anchor. Just before we turned around, we noticed an available mooring ball that seemed to be better positioned for these conditions… We decided to hop on and give it a try. 

It seemed perfectly fine! We spent the majority of the day trying to take a nap, watched a beautiful sunset from our sugar scoop, then headed back to bed.

30mins later, we were awoken by a familiar thud…thud…thud… Our mooring ball was hitting the boat again. We reluctantly got up. Ray started the engines, and I got us off the ball. Leaving and arriving somewhere in the dark are two things we typically try to avoid, but we were in familiar waters and had our previous tracks to follow. Ray stayed at the helm while I sat on the bow as an extra lookout. There was no moon, so it was pitch black aside from the glowing lights of St. Thomas ahead. 

We motored the whole way and dropped anchor in a spot we’d been to many times before. We waited up for a while, set our anchor alarms, and made sure we were in a good position amongst the other boats. Once we were satisfied, we went to sleep, and it was silent.

The following day I was practically launched out of bed. A southerly swell had taken over last night’s calm refuge. I went upstairs, looked at Ray, took a deep breath, and nodded. We were moving again. At this point, we were starting to feel like Goldilocks: this mooring field has too little wind, this anchorage has too much, where can we go that will be just right?!

We scoped out several different spots before settling on Brewer’s Bay. We dropped our anchor, made some pancakes, and spent the rest of the day editing our latest YouTube video and scrubbing off the marks the mooring balls had left on the hulls. 

Today seems breezy but calm. We’ve got our eye on an upcoming weather window, so we’ll likely start preparing for our departure soon. We’ve spent most of this season in the USVI, and although it’s been lovely, I’m looking forward to something new soon! ⛵️

I hope you had a great week! ❤️