We have been at the dock in Nanny Cay the last week so no big news to report. Jim fixed the broken mirror, polished the exterior stainless, and replaced the worn davit lines. Amy has been provisioning and enjoying a stable galley to prepare some awesome meals and treats. Nanny Cay is a small community on an peninsula on the southwest side of Tortola. Besides the large marina, it has a small grocery store, two charter bases, three restaurants, a marine store, a sail loft, some gift shops, a dive shop, and the largest boat yard on the island. Most of the boats at the docks are charter boats (bareboat and large crewed ones) vs cruisers. However, today we ran into our rally friend Chris from Tala who just returned to the island.
We have not left because we have been in a period of high winds for the last several days, also known as the Christmas Winds. Our plans are to go east (upwind), and going directly into the big wind and waves would not be advisable. We read yesterday that a catamaran sank on the way to Tortola from the DR and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard. The winds should settle down below 20 knots today and the waves on Friday. Our current plan is to leave Saturday because tradition says sailors leaving on Friday do so at their own risk. We will go downtown Friday and complete the checkout procedure vs. going by boat, anchoring, and launching the dinghy. Once checked out we must leave within 24 hours. The conditions are not looking conducive for a visit to Saba, so we are currently planning on sailing to Simpson Bay, St. Martin.