to hang around in after dark, but we decided to do what we had to do to make it work. We arrived at the dinghy dock in the pitch dark. Not a light around to see our way and if we hadn't done a trial run the day before, we wouldn't have known that half the boards were missing on the dock! A local named "Chili" came running to us telling us that he would keep our dinghy safe, which for once, we agreed needed attending! We sat in the bar for several hours and finally at around 11:00 without Ron
and Judy and with the bar and restaurant closing, we told the personnel there that we would be leaving and asked them to keep a lookout for our friends if they happened to arrive late. We paid Chili for helping us with our dinghy and made our way back to the boat. Our plan with Ron and Judy was that if they had any complications we would check our email. Of course, I had taken my laptop into the Hummingbird, but their wifi wasn't working, so the first thing I did after returning to the boat was
to hook up all the connections to check my email through Ham. Night time propagation isn't ever good for emailing, but I set up anyway. Just as I tried to get through, we heard Ron's voice on the VHF radio as clear as could be...meaning only one thing -- they were in the area!! They had arrived at the Hummingbird minutes after we left. After some complication with the security man who had only minutes left on his shift and stated they didn't have a VHF radio, they managed to get his replacement
security man to let them in to use the radio. Laurie quickly lowered the dinghy from its davits and made his way back in to pick them up. By the time we went to bed, it was an unusual 1:30 am, a far cry from the usual 9:00 bed time we're used to!
Minutes ago, Judy and Ron were picked up by Shane who will deliver them to the shore where they will take a tour of the Botanical Gardens, the Diamond Falls and the drive-in volcano. We'll see them at some point this afternoon and do a little more snorkeling before we head to the next bay (between the Pitons) tomorrow morning.
I'm hoping that Jeanne and Doug made it home safely and I'll probably find out when I send this email this morning. They will be amused to know that after they left, it rained solid for 2 days and cleared just in time for Ron and Judy's visit!
