GTFO

The day we have been desperately waiting for has finally come. Repairs are finally done, the mast is back on and we are ready to be put back in the water. It was beginning to feel like we were in the Hotel California, where you can check in but you can never leave. It was the longest five weeks of my life.

Yesterday we hired a driver to take us grocery shopping, so we were completely stocked with provisions. We began the daunting task of cleaning the outside of the boat. The boat sits on the downwind side a dirt driveway and people have been constantly driving fast up and down it kicking up tons of dust. The boat had a very thick layer of ground in dirt everywhere. There wasn't any point in cleaning it before because as soon as you wash it down it just gets dirty again with the next wind gust, so we waited until this morning to really clean it. And we finished just in time.

The boat lift arrived at 2 pm, got the slings under the hulls, lifted the boat up and took her to the water. For the last week Mike kept saying, "we're almost there". But I didn't feel like it until this moment, for anything could still go wrong, causing us to spend more time in this dust bowl. But now it was true, we were almost there. Just a few more feet and we'd be splashing.

It was pretty windy and there was a ripping current. Not the easiest conditions for pulling the boat out and away from the dock, but Mike did an outstanding job. What a wonderful feeling to be back on the water, with the wind in our faces and waves below us. We were finally home again.

We drove the boat out of Clark's Court and headed around to St George's where we got a mooring ball for the night. I really never thought I'd be so excited to be going back to St George's after our last time there. It's noisy, lots of car horns, and there's a lot of boat traffic. But after being on the hard for long it was a welcome relief.

But we are excited to leave St George's and start heading north. Tomorrow we will leave and sail up to Ronde island, then up to Tyrell Bay in Carriacou where we will finally check out of Grenada. Before completely leaving Grenada, we will stop one last time at Anse La Roche and have our farewell lobster dinner at Tim's Sunset Grill. We have had an amazing time in Grenada, but we are ready to move on and experience some of the other islands in the Caribbean.