Montserrat & thoughts on sobriety

03-04Jun26 Course Change – Montserrat - (Sober Sailors)

The original plan called for Guadeloupe. And then Martinique. Then eventually Grenada. The trade winds had other ideas for us. After days of fighting the northeast trades I began to realize something important. The ocean doesn't care about your itinerary. After going through the numbers and plans. I altered course towards Montserrat. Partly for provisioning partly 'cause it made sense, partly because we were tired. Looking back I probably should have spent more time talking to local sailors before leaving. It's one of the things they say to do and one of the hardest things I find to do. I don't drink anymore. I don't hang out in bars till there be hours anymore. And when you don't drink, a lot of people who do drink don't tend to like to be around you. Either they feel drinking around you will be a problem. It's not for me. Sometimes, you're a reflection what sobriety is. You are the person who looked at the deepest parts of your soul and said I can't do this anymore. I need to change.

Side note: I don't judge people who drink. I used to drink. Some folks handle their drink just fine. I'm not one of them. I'm from Wisconsin. The genetic makeup of where I come from. Wisconsinites once drank a London(s) pub dry in 1.5 days. When the Packers did the Super Bowl there in 2022. I talk to people about how we used to drink. At what age we used to drink, they're astounded. To know that there is no (real) drinking limit in Wisconsin. If parents bring their children into a bar. They can give them alcohol. It's a parent's choice.

Socially, everything wraps around alcohol. When you no longer drink it makes people uncomfortable, who do. I learned I will climb on top of the building drunk or sober. Because as my good friend and I always say. There's always pie. That's kind of our way of toasting all of our successes without alcohol. If you ever do meet us. We'll gladly hang out with you. We will go dancing, play a board games, card games. Talk silly. We just don't drink. I've been clean and sober since July 2014. I live a good life and this is one of the things, I'm doing with my life.

Anyway, soapbox aside: I don't care if you drink. I just don't want to be around anyone who is obnoxious, towards me or anyone else. We talk about this quite a bit, Captain Babe and I. We have no challenge buying a local guide a drink or two for some hard earned knowledge. Local sailors know where the wind bends, where it accelerates, where it disappears. Their knowledge is earned through experience and sea trial and I was beginning to learn a little bit, myself.

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04Jun26 Windlass Problems

No offshore voyage seems complete without at least one electrical mystery or problem. While preparing our anchor our windless suddenly lost power. Anchors have a remarkability to choose the worst possible time to stop cooperating. We followed Was it what followed was another round of troubleshooting, power systems, and electrical circuit boards of patients. Every successful cruising boat eventually becomes part sailboat part Part laboratory part good mojo Fortunately the problem was manageable. They call the tech friend of mine who helped me troubleshoot some things. I really realized I could release my anchor and at least get us anchored so we could rest that night. It was a long night of troubleshooting trying to figure out where to switch is to turn it back on where it is not on and all that Finally we drop the anchor. We got some rest. I sent out some messages on boards and one of our Facebook catamaran owners groups. Someone told me exactly where it was apparently it was in the manual and it wasn't where you think it would be. It was over by the fuel tank way in the back where you could switch it on and off

However this didn't solve the whole issue 'cause at 19 meters I couldn't drag the anchor up. We got up at midnight to make time to make sure we could get to Martinique in time or as per schedule. However before hours of fighting with an anchor that will not come in was troublesome. We are finally able to do it manually with the winches and a couple of ropes bringing her in to three feet at a time It was more a foot at a time over and over again. We finally got it stowed even though after we brought it in it started counting up so even once the anchor was locked in place she believed the sensor showed that we had 24 meters still on. Realizing that there is a sensor error I did some research and it seems like there is a magnetic counter on there that tends to erode it needs to be replaced. One more thing to get looked at once we're in Martinique. Fun. Fun. Fun

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04 -05Jun26 North of Montserrat

After some research it said the best way to get over to Martinique was to go around the north side of Montserrat. To go as West as we could until we lined up with Guadalupe and then head south. If we were real lucky. We might be able to get nice full East wind which would allow us to sail SE. Then something magical happened. The wind shifted. Not a little. A lot. For the first time since leaving the Virgin Islands, the trades aligned with our course. *Patience* came alive. Seven knots. Eight knots. Spray flying. Miles disappearing. After days of fighting the winds, it finally felt like the trade wind was helping us. I remember being at the helm thinking this is what a lot of cruising videos leave out. The beautiful thing about sailing is, it's beautiful, because it's not always easy. Like any kind of hard course or hard instruction. Once you get it done and you follow the rules and the pattern and the flow your ship will come alive. What makes it beautiful is the skills to earn the hard things.