Thursday, February 20, 2020

Afloat again, at long last

We left Raconteur on the hard for about 19 or so months. We’ve been immersed in the design (summer 2017 to spring 2018) and construction (July 2018 - now) of a house in Guilford, Connecticut designed by our son-in-law Rus and his firm, GRT Architects, and build by the incomparable Rich Gagliardi and an amazing team of builders, craftsmen and artisans. 
It was a loooong time to leave a sailboat on the hard; JP and Susan have overseen and dived into the restoration or replacement of nearly every major system on board: electrical, solar, main engine, dinghy engine, water maker, plumbing...and now I’m here in Grenada to enjoy the results for a few days. We’re in Mt. Hartmann after a few nights in Prickly. We’ve done a couple of moderate walks to dine at Spice Affair and Secret Harbor. Tonight, taxi (vs. very wet dinghy ride) to Nimrods in Lower Woburn for food and cruisers jam night. Our old friends Magus made their way into Mt Hartmann overnight but we haven’t hailed them yet. Off to the shopping bus tomorrow: Food Fair for fruits and veggies, IGA for everything else, then doubles and cappuccino! What’s not to love?
Weather is that wonderful mix of winter warm and Caribbean cool, with regular rain showers and the odd gully washer. 
It’s going to be a short-ish season, probably; JP and Susan will make their way to Europe to see Roger, take a river cruise and see Ken and Indrani in Zagreb in early May. I may get down to the islands for a second visit, or not. Planning on a real sailing season in 20-21, and maybe a discussion about when (if ever) to head north. A few photos of familiar spots, just for a little color.