Windy Conditions

Since we have been back in Curacao these last two weeks, it has been very windy. Every day the trade winds are blowing over 20 knots and gusting to 30 knots (23 mph to 35 mph). As we continue our preparations to set sail, we are hoping for a break in the weather. Sailors call this a "weather window". The best forecast would be for 15 knots of wind or less, to give us the best chance of a calm, uneventful sail.

1926 Rolls Royce at a recent car show

Our route has firmed up in our minds, after much research and talking to other sailors, we have decided to go north-west from Curacao, through the Windward Passage between Haiti and Cuba, up the Old Bahama Channel to Key West. It is the most direct route, and once through the Windward Passage, we will pick up a favorable current to help push us along.

We have each had minor illnesses which have slowed us down but are now on the mend. Our diligence in using bug spray has kept our mosquito bites to a minimum; the mosquito-borne illness chikungunya is what we do not want to catch. It is endemic on the island; most people who live here have had it, and it can take months to fully recover. No thanks!

In the meantime, we take walks up the hill every afternoon, where we see beautiful views of the sea.

Back Aboard the Debonair in Curacao!

It's back to the tropics for the crew of the Debonair! 85 degrees every day here, still warmer than Minnesota in the warmest fall many remember.

We stayed for three days at a wonderful funky hotel to ease our transition back to a non-functioning boat, before we got all systems back up and running. It's called The Ritz, which was a little pretentious. Clean, affordable, with a fridge, stove, and microwave, it also has an adjoining hostel (one of the few in the Caribbean).

All of the furniture was from Ikea. 

A pathetic Charlie Brown Christmas tree on our coffee table - along with the major defenses we will need here - sunblock, for the strong tropical sun, and bug spray with DEET to deter the mosquitoes which carry chikungunya, a disease most islanders have had. We hope to leave the islands without having contracted it, and the only way to do that is to use bug spray.

A lovely little pool creates a resort-like feel - we would have spent more time pool-side if we hadn't had so much work on the boat!

We rented a cute little Kia Picanto for a week, so we could easily restock the boat. It's a model not sold in the U.S., but we loved the little car - 3 cylinders, 1 liter engine, very high mileage, and all the room we needed. There are so many Picantos on the road here, they must have delivered a container-ship-load to the island.

So far so good with bringing systems on-line with the boat, but I am sure some surprises will await us. We don't mind taking our time with boat work, as the wind is much too strong for us to leave comfortably right now.