What Happens When…

What happens when half the crew leaves the other half of the crew onboard On Delay? Well, when the half that left is typically the half that works on the postings and the stories, then you, our reading public, is left sort of, out in the cold.

By most standards this could be considered unacceptable which is the inspiration for this post…to explain what this half of the crew has been up to that could prevent such regular contact with the “outside”:

1. Sailing – Yes, we did that. The two of us. Slow and some wind. It was fun.
2. Fishing – We did that too. It turns out that when you want a fish for dinner, none can be had. Life is full of disappointments so we worked through it.
3. Scuba Diving – Yep, Pete and Gayle are certified scuba divers for up to 60 feet as beginners with an end dive level of 130’ with special training. The fish at 60’ are pretty nifty to me, so I am happy there. Lots of eels, big fish, coral and stuff.
4. Grass Scrapping – Ok, less fun, but true, the water, while the color of the sky and delightfully pleasant swimming temperature, it turns out that these same qualities foster the growth of green and red grasses.
5. Baby Crab Avoidance – What? Yes, with the removal of the grass on the hull comes the avoidance of dime sized crabs that bite when you eradicate their homeland. Some are beige, the cutest ones are red with bright blue buggy eyes. All of them will be homeless tomorrow.
6. Charging System – Emm Hmmm, did that too. We experimented with the charging system and the solar panels to optimize and learned a lot, particularly that the new charger will save us a HUGE amount of time and diesel.
7. Driving Practice – Sigh, while not the strongest of dinghy drivers, I can get the dinghy back to the boat from shore and attached to the boat. A good thing considering that the dinghy is our “car” and the boat is “home” and sometimes, I may need to drive the car to other places.
8. Aloe Factory – Aruba is the single largest supplier of the world’s aloe. We went to the 23-employee (yes, they all wear many hats) factory, took a tour, and enjoyed the learning. The shampoo and conditioner is meant to fix dry hair…more to come on that.
9. Ostrich Farm – While there is no ostrich on the menu, Harold, the guide, gives a mean tour, including a feeding frenzie of young ostrich. Small heads = small brains and therefore, according to Harold, ostriches are not the sharpest tools in the shed.
10. Movie “Ruby Sparks” – Dinner and movie seems lavish, but we did it, complete with popcorn and water!
11. Clean – We have no elves onboard. Elves sometimes clean. Not here.

We watched most all sunsets, waived to lots of airplanes, kept the Coast Guard on their toes, did laundry (onshore and onboard), cooked, slept, swam, and read. Now we are planning our October and November activities including preparation for the return of the regular editors. Soon, they will return (Sunday, specifically) so the posts will be more regular, promise.

10 thoughts on “What Happens When…

  1. Even though you already told me about the baby crabs, I enjoyed reading about them again. I have a very distinct image of them jumping at you. 🙂

    • Baby crabs and we found a wiggly creature in one of the barnacles. Tomorrow we make the starboard hull creatures homeless and mow the grass (we could scratch warning words, if so inclined).

  2. Nice to hear from “the other half” :). Sounds like you’re surviving well enough somehow. Thanks for the update, looking forward to the next installment!

  3. Excellent posting. Guess no elves kicking around to do that either. Our elves haven’t shown up to clean here for eons. Thought they were on delay w/y’all. You’ve got sea, land, and air well covered glad to hear it!

  4. AMAZING all you have to do that we don’t even “think about”!!!! Loved this post! Thanks.

    Love you,

    Sharon

  5. I have always preached crab avoidance.

    Sounds like you guys are having a good time. Are you ever planning to return?

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