30 AUG 2012 - Storms are bouncing across the Atlantic, but it's time for Impi to sail again

Well here we are … I have not updated our news in a while as mostly we have been sitting at the dock having got Impi ‘hurricane ready’ for Isaac which sadly played havoc with parts of the USA  … a number of other weather systems were being hurtled off Africa in our direction ... One I have been keeping an eye on is 'Leslie' ... however, although the system is moving in our direction the computer simulations show it missing our position by curving up above us to the north ...

We had become a bit lazy thinking we would rather keep an eye out for weather than undo all the ropes and get Impi out and about the islands again.

Well, all that changed today. Ana and I most definitely are not ‘dock people’ … we need to be out sailing and/or at anchor rather than tied to some structure, and whilst we are grateful to have a ‘place of safety at the dock’ during hurricane season, we are really revelling in the breeze and surrounding beauty here at Deadman’s Bay off Peter Island.

Of course this would come as no surprise to those who read our news … Peter Island is our favourite island in the whole of the BVI’s and we have adopted Deadman’s Bay as our ‘home base’ for the months we will be here!

Having arrived in Deadmaan’s Bay, we were delighted to catch up with Andrew, Carolyn and children (The Fehrsen family) who kindly invited us around for supper.

The day was hot, the breeze was light and there is humidity in the air which I am struggling to cope with.

We were very much against air conditioning on the boat as we can’t help but feel it is unhealthy for one, however, I have finally decided that the one thing lacking on our boat is exactly that … and so with Kent’s assistance (Just Catamarans in Fort Lauderdale) we have ordered our new units from the USA and hope to install a system which will prove to make the heat more bearable during the nights.

The decision has been to go for a system which runs on 220V with a cycle of 50 and/or 60Hz (changeable). This means that in the event of being at a dock, the system can be used in the USA as well as in other countries around the world. We have opted to go for compact units with ULTRA SILENT motors … a system which will utilise electricity via a running generator initially to rapidly cool down the boat interior, and then to ‘switch over’ to a small unit in our bedroom which will draw relatively little power via our inverters and battery bank to maintain a coolness all night long without the need for the generator to run whilst sleeping! We look forward to the arrival of these units and I must admit that deciding which air conditioning units to go for, which vents and bends etc. etc. has been pretty technical.

Ana has been smiling at me as I have literally been crawling into every crevice of the boat with tape measure in hand working out where and what ‘fits best’ … people always say that fitting items into a boat requires ‘compromise’ … giving up space for comfort …

Unfortunately this does not ‘sit too well’ with me and invariably I am determined to ‘discover hidden corners and pockets’ which are not utilized in order to fit additional systems which add to our sailing comfort.

However, in the case of air conditioners we may have to sacrifice a little!

Of course a huge consideration is always the ‘balance of the boat’ … something I have been very careful about when fitting appliances. Another is ‘distance from energy source’ … I like to keep wiring as short as possible as well as plumbing etc.

So … this is a project I am looking forward to!

Anyway, back to the day …

I had unstrapped the dingy and decided to give the motor a good ‘burn’ since it had stood for the week we were tied to the dock. I really enjoyed this as I sped across to Deadman’s Chest tucking into the little ‘cove’ on the NW part of the island.

Here I sat in the setting sun … and pictured 15 men on the Deadman’s Chest … the lyrics to ‘the chant’ which goes:

Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest,

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Drink and the devil had done the rest,

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum’

I sat there for a while … in the distance the sun was setting and the clouds were glowing a distinctive orange … my mind was carried back to the early 1700’s … days of the pirate known as ‘Blackbeard’ (Edward Teach) and the number of mutinous men he had marooned on Deadman’s Chest as punishment. The island is wild, yet small … without water. Each man was given a cutlass and a bottle of rum and Blackbeard hoped this would cause them to kill each other, but when he arrived after having left them for 30 days he found that 15 men had survived.

I sat a little longer … pelicans swooped and caught fish, small waves crashed onto the shore … below the dingy the water was crystal clear … the place is mysteriously eerie but also provides a feeling of ‘solitude and peace’ … there are not many boats to be seen in the BVI’s at the moment and certainly none at Deadman’s Chest!

After gathering my thoughts back into reality, I fired up the engine and headed back for Impi. Here Ana was waiting for me … she had showered and dressed to go out to the Fehrsens.

Tonight we had a great time with the Fehrsens on board Champolion!  As usual Carolyn cooked up a lovely supper which had me asking for a ‘second plate’. This was followed by cake and coffee …

We had taken some photo’s from Champolion of Impi which was hovering at anchor as the full moon reached up into the evening sky …

Of course we had a lot of fun and laughter discussing a variety of topics which hopefully will solve much of the world’s problems ;)

The Fehrsen kids delighted in showing us their new laptops

 and Mathew gave us a display of his ‘swinging ability’ by swinging across the roof of Champolion from side to side using a boson’s chair tied off to the boom.

Midnight came too soon and it was time to dingy back to Impi for a good nights sleep … we are so happy to be here again!

Other news has been about the spate of earthquakes happening here. We certainly have not felt any of them but none the less they are happening.

According to the United States Geological Survey, a series of earthquakes of at least 4.4 magnitude on the Richter scale occurred on Wednesday, which included tremors of 4.4 magnitude, 4.7 magnitude and 5.2 magnitude.

A 4^th earthquake recording 4.3 rocked the area 85 miles north of Road Town and several others followed.

Another has happened 65 miles off Anegada … and apparently a number more not recorded.

So … the British Virgin Islands are in a seismically active region …

 Lets hope there won’t be some abnormal ‘waves’ to be encountered soon!