Sailing passages are always weather dependent, and this one is no exception. Our weather router emailed us early this morning to tell us that the forecasts had changed, and our Thursday weather window suddenly looked less favourable. We could still go, but we’d be facing a lot more up-wind sailing and a weekend full of changeable winds, rain squalls, and possibly even a few thunder and lightning storms. We looked at all the options and consulted with our boat buddy friends, and made the decision to delay our departure until Monday. None of us want to be sailing in heavy rain, and the threat of lightning storms while sailing just isn’t worth the risk – especially when a few days’ delay should clear that weather away and give us more typical weather patterns for this time of year.
And so we wait. Today’s last minute provisioning run became shopping for a few day’s worth of food (so as not to eat the carefully planned provisions), and tomorrow’s departure from the marina can be through the 10:30am bridge instead of the 8:30am one. After so many weeks of busy preparation, it will be nice to have a few days to relax before we leave. We are staying in the marina until Thursday, and then we will move around to the French side of Sint Martin, just for a change of scenery. And if we end up stopping at the French bakery for croissants and coffee one morning, it’s a risk we’ll just have to take! 😉