One of the great things about living on a caribbean island is having a lot "outsiders" coming to visit. I've been hanging out with the owner of the dive shop in the Portsmouth area who just happens to also own a cafe which just happens to be on my way home from work. Most convenient for a glass of wine while watching the sun set over the caribbean ocean after a long day's work. (Insert all your sighs and jealous faces and eye rolls here.) This is also the location of a bay (Prince Rupert Bay, to be exact) that a lot of boats, yachts as they are called here, anchor for how ever long their stay is. Yachts mean mostly sailboats, single hulls over catamarans mainly, to the un-marine versed. These are yachts from all locales and crews from all walks of life. Some yachts are owned privately (including this crazy mega yacht "A" that stopped by for a brief afternoon~~you've got to google that boat!), while others are chartered out for different amounts of time. There are the frequent visitors, of which this blog will be expanding on, and those who just pass through. People from UK, New Zealand, France, Canada, US (I even met another North Carolinian), Swiss, other caribbean isles, etc. So it is always an interesting afternoon at the cafe because you never know who you're going to meet (and yes, I've definitely met a few hotties- mostly UK- to flirt with for a time).
Anyway, where is this going..well on Saturday, my friend Orla and I spent a lovely afternoon on a british lady named Susie's boat, "Spirited Lady of Fowley." Susie is one of those frequent visitors. She's been living on a boat and sailing the caribbean for the past 7 or 8 years. Her current boat is a beautiful 54 ft. single hull, which she also races. She rotates crew a lot and I might try to crew for her at some point, maybe as soon as August for a week or so. It just seems like it'd be a fun thing to do and I'd love to learn to sail! Susie is the owner of the dive shop's friend. I think I may have met Susie briefly on one of her prior trips. She's a lot of fun and Orla and I had a grand time just hanging out on her boat, doing some snorkeling off the bow, snacking on yummy caribbean treats, and spoiling her dog Shubie with love and attention (this is whom I'm pictured with). Without hanging out "with the locals" in a spot frequented by "yachties," I would've never met Susie, or the others that I have met and befriended. Hopefully there will be many more friends made and adventures to be had while I'm hanging out in Dominica. My advice to all is to "go native!"
