Back to Red Hook, then Back to St. John

On February 27th we returned to Red Hook Marina to take care of a few things - shopping, refueling, and charging our batteries to 100% in an attempt to get them to work properly (there seems to be a problem that will likely require someone from France to come and look at the boat themselves.) That said, it's been amazing to observe how much trouble shooting Olivier has been able to move through, in large part thanks to FaceTime and other internet communication techniques, but mainly thanks to the fact that he speaks FRENCH! We feel very lucky to have him onboard.

The morning of the 27th in Caneel Bay on St. John, before heading back to Red Hook.

The day at the Marina was very busy and tiring. Less than a day, just an evening and a morning spent provisioning and running various errands. In general, marinas aren't fun: they are hot, full of mosquitoes, busy and expensive. My favorite part about Red Hook are the many pelicans that fly around and fish all around the boats — they are  beautiful and kind of goofy. We also enjoyed eating at a restaurant called Easterly, 

When we get to a harbor we've made an agreement with Ruben and Sasha that we can shop for souvenirs, and this makes the experience of it all less stressful for them. They actually look forward to disembarking. The main boundary is that we can purchase things that fit in our hands, so that they are easy to carry and travel with (it's a soft boundary... Sasha purchased a full pirate set last time. Definitely not travel size.) On the evening of the 27th we returned to the same shop we had visited the last time we were in Red Hook, a family owned place of wonders, with t-shirts, postcards, toys, and these amazing fake food stress balls which we landed on  (except Sasha, who went for a toy air-craft carrier.) I've learned to enjoy watching the kids go about their shopping and I'm always surprised at how carefully they consider an object, comparing it to another, figuring out if its worth it, and then delighting in it so fully. Sasha often asks me to shop for something for myself (although he specifies it should be a shareable toy) and I'm generally resistant, but I've decided to try and go with it. 

When we left Red Hook caught a mooring ball in Hawksnest Bay, on Saint John (anchoring is prohibited in the waters of the National Park.) We spent a very peaceful night there and David and Ruben did something they've never done before: they fell asleep together under the stars. The rain woke them a few hours later and so they moved back inside. It was pretty magical. I got to spend a few minutes with them, before going back "on duty" to lie next to Sasha. I look forward to all four of us sleeping under the stars someday.

The early mornings and the evenings/nights are the best times of the day. There are some really intense hours of heat and sun between 11 and 4.30p. Sasha is back to napping, which makes it easier on the whole boat. He has been swimming and sliding down poles and jumping on the bow's nets and rock climbing on the beach, and more. Our cello teacher, Ms. Jan, called him Mr. Monkey today and I thought it was right on. 

Sasha on the rocks.

Sasha and Ruben each have a drawer for their own things on the boat. Sasha has been saving a tiny oil container that he picked up on the plane ride to St. Thomas and this evening he saw me struggle with our large oil bottle and came to me with his tiny oil. It was so loving. He told me he had been waiting for someone to ask him for oil, but no one ever needed it and he thought it wasn't useful. Until then! He also has an array of tiny hard liquor bottles, just in case you come on board someday and need a drink. 

We have been dealing with a lot of mosquito bites and bites from other tiny insects that are hard to identify. I finally connected to the Kids4Sail group on Facebook and asked around for help. I'm wondering how people deal with this on a boat... maybe there are boat bed nets? Other than mosquitoes, our skin is doing pretty well. We prepared by taking Vitamin A/D/K for about two months before our travels and I notice a difference compared to past travels. 

I worry so much about hydration, sun exposure, mosquitoes, food, keeping the kids cool and a million other things and I've noticed it's absurd how hard it is for me to sit back and enjoy the beauty of the warmth and the sun. There is much undoing that needs to be done for me to be able to receive the pleasure of this experience. On that topic, it will be my birthday on March 3rd and I would like to apply some of the wisdom learned from adrienne marie brown in her book "Pleasure Activism" and see if I can open up to more unwinding. Looking up at the stars at night while listening to the crickets sing is a great starting point. 

One of our two paddle boards. You can barely see Ruben relaxing under one of our blue towels, just behind the paddle board. I try to use him as a model and just enjoy. Both Ruben and Sasha loving our time on Omana.

Today Olivier went about fixing a few more things around the boat. One of the fridge drawers wasn't closing properly (we discovered it was caused by a box of mint that had fallen in the back of the drawer.) We lost a clean sheet to the wind, but Michelle saw it and I retrieved it. Sheets sink in water, so it was an exciting 3 minutes. We listened to  Luis Sepulveda's "The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her To Fly." It made Ruben laugh, which made me happy. 

Ruben listening to the audiobook in the hottest part of the day.

Ruben, David, Michelle and Olivier found a beautiful little reef and Olivier took some great underwater pictures. Michelle, Olivier and the boys identified what they saw right around dinner time and it was a beautiful  marine biology moment. Michelle helped get a delicious dinner together and we tried to eat peacefully while Ruben and Sasha ran around, laughing and arguing and making up games and teasing each other. 

Tonight’s sunset with “Omini,” the dinghy, in the foreground. Omini has a great engine and has been an important part of our adventures, so here’s a photo.

Tonight we’re sleeping in Francis Bay. We saw some large deer on the beach. And tiny fish jumping out of the water, escaping something larger. At night, we sometimes catch glimpses of large tarpons with luminous eyes. Over the next few days we plan to circumnavigate St. John. We need to go back to Red Hook one last time to pick up some packages and final replacements, and then we will head north to the British Virgin Islands in the hope of catching a Northerly Wind to take us down towards the Lesser Antilles. Send us news of how you are doing if you're reading this -- we miss you.