One of the enjoyable aspects of cruising is socializing with fellow cruisers.   Since we moved aboard we have made friendships that equal or surpass any we ever had “on land”, even though our encounters with our cruising friends are often intermittent.   We recently had a happy reunion with long-time friends Ann & Steve (Receta) when we both found ourselves in Colombier Bay, St. Barts.  Actually, it was no accident; we learned via email that they intended to be there and we decided that was an ideal place for us to overnight on our two-day passage from St. Martin to Antigua.  Our get-together over dinner on TT2 was too brief, but we will see them again later in Antigua.

When we got to Antigua, we checked-in at Jolly Harbour, but then moved down to Falmouth Harbour, where we found lots of friends.   Bill & Coleen (Dolce Vita), Dave & Trudy (Persephone), Ellen & Rob (Miclo III), Tom & Leslie (Farhaven), Robin & Cheryl (Just Imagine) and Jack & Jo (Bodacious) were there, the latter of which had a number over for a sundowner, and on another night bunches of us met first at the Mad Mongoose for drinks and then reconvened for dinner at Trappas.   A good-sized troop hiked up to the top of the cliff north of Falmouth, and the next day we took the scenic shore route along the south of the island up to Shirley Heights.   Both walks are just a bit challenging, but well worth the effort.

One of the less-enjoyable aspects of cruising is dealing with malfunctions of vessel components.   When we arrived in Antigua, we discovered that the starboard stabilizer was not centering correctly.   When we moved from Jolly to Falmouth, we did so with just the other stabilizer activated – the one that had days earlier captured a fish trap line and jammed.   Fortunately, that stabilizer was functioning just fine after the removal of the jamming line.

It took a while to diagnose the problem with the starboard fin, but it eventually became clear that the position sensor was not functioning correctly.   Thank goodness I had a spare.   While I had the unit apart, I decided to also replace the bushings for the yoke that moves the fin.   I knew one of the bushings was frozen in its seat, since I had attempted without success on another occasion to remove it, but they both really needed replacing – the fin was starting to squeak when working.  Bill (Dolce Vita) offered to help with the removal, and before it was over we had his wife Coleen involved too, while Barb fetched tools and did the documenting.   We removed the top plate that contained the stuck bushing and took it up to the cockpit, where we had more room and better visibility.   I held the plate on its edge, Bill used a vice grip to grasp the lip of the bushing, and Coleen pounded on the vice grip with a heavy hammer while Bill rotated the bushing.  What a team.   It took a while but eventually we succeeded in removing the recalcitrant component.   Then, a careful cleanup using a Dremel on the cavity for the bushing, removing burrs that were preventing the bushing from slipping easily in and out, and we were done.   It is great to have good cruising friends, and even better when they are so competent and giving and willing to help.