I knew it was a bad omen when the captain came on the PA and announced, ‘Folks, we are going to have to hold here on the tarmac to burn off fuel as we are currently overweight for take-off.’ Karen and I did a long, slow turn towards each other, meeting eye-to-eye. Friends know us as repeat luggage offenders with our overpacking of checked bags, and this flight was no different. We were headed from Boston to Grenada for the start of season 8 onboard Sea Rose, and we were packed to the gills. Our checked luggage included four additional solar panels in a long thin box encased in a bright orange duffel bag. I had tried to check these exact same solar panels on a pre-trip to Grenada back in September, but JetBlue rejected them outright, saying they do not accept items in cardboard boxes. This time, safely disguised in their duffel, the agent swiftly sent them on their way, without a moments hesitation, to the baggage conveyor and into the hidden inner sanctum of Logan’s luggage underbelly. Now, to hear our plane was overweight, we could only chuckle. Season 8 was already off to an ignominious start.
Truth be told, we were a little out of our element, heading to the boat in December. We had spent a splendid summer in New England, the first since 2016, when we began this off-kilter idea of sailing in retirement. We normally would be coming home at this time from a season in Europe to spend a Fall in the grandeur of changing leaves and the cooling air as prospects and plans were made for winter outings. But instead, we had hauled Sea Rose out in Grenada in April after spending the winter in the Caribbean, following our Atlantic crossing with the ARC+ rally, which in turn followed a busy summer of 2024 starting in Tromsö, Norway. We were inverting our plans, sailing in the winter in the Caribbean, avoiding the drama of summer hurricanes and heavy rains, and spending the summers at home.
Continue reading “Getting The Band Back Together, Ep. 221”