This turns out to be a great place and we keep procrastinating moving on.
There are starfish and a resident pair of sting rays on the white sand clearly visible below the hull. Susie found a barracuda yesterday which looks quite evil but is smaller than she is so she really has no need to be nervous. Our days are beginning to take on a pattern. We rise slightly before sunrise so as to have the coffee ready to watch the day start. We usually have some projects going on. These are often best started early before the sun is overhead. Temperatures reach, according to the ubiquitous Caribbean weather forecaster David Jones, a high of 82 degrees and a low of 74 degrees in Road Town, BVI. He announces this revelation on the radio in a cheerful, upper crust sort of accent on Zed BVI Radio every morning. This is not hot, particularly given the ever present Trade Winds, but the sun is very intense and you don't want to do anything strenuous in the direct sun or out of the wind during the middle of the day. Our current projects are: install the radio on board, put a protective finish on the teak on board, install all the

things we bought in USVI, go up the mast to fix the anchor light and fix the port lazy jack halyard. Every project involves a great deal of "thinking about". Locating parts, information and tools for the project all take considerable time. For example, the radio project has been going on for three weeks. The VHF radio was moved so the HF radio can be installed. We have the radio installed, the TNC installed. We have a temporary antenna up. Yesterday found us installing the antenna tuner in the aft lazerette. This involved drilling four holes in the aft bulkhead and positioning Susie at the back of the cabin holding the heads of the bolts while I hung upside down putting on the nuts, washers and lock washers. Everything went fine until the last, lower outboard bolt. The reach was just far enough to tip me over into a kind of semi supported handstand. General hilarity punctuated by the recognition that 1) my arms were occupied holding me off the hull 2) my legs could get no purchase on anything but were occupied entertaining Susie by waving about in the air. Should you ever find yourself in such a position, the secret is to get Susie to sit on

your legs, snake one arm back out of the hole and hold the lip while you perform a kind of wormlike action to get out of your hole. Constant giggling from all parties is optional. Generally when it gets warmer we go for a snorkel. This restores equanimity and lowers the body temperature. After a snorkel, we start thinking about lunch. The post-prandial languor lasts until about 3:30 or 4:00 when we start in on little projects until time for sun down. Sundown is a sacred time aboard Eaux Vives and must be treated with awe. Tropical sunsets are glorious and we normally spend an hour of so watching and pointing out the best parts. Preparing and consuming dinner uses up another hour or so and we are usually very sleepy by 8:00. Ongoing activities include much admiring of the view, admiring passing boats, listening to the radio and reading. Days pass amazingly quickly and the boat is slowly getting more comfortable and, if not bristol, at least not disreputable.