Magic box, Happy Hill.

Saturday is turnover day. Not apple turnovers, no. It’s the day between groups of guests on SwimVacation, and a busy day at marinas around the world. The typical turnover day includes hours in several local grocery stores, hauling said groceries from store to van to dock to yacht, coordinating with yacht cleaners, re-fueling, coordinating ground transportation, laundry, and lots of other little details. 

Heather and I have had a goal to make turnover day a little easier on us. We figured that using local folks for crew would help, and we were correct. Chef Mallika and Captain Canyon took the reigns on Saturday, and got er’ done. Heather and I helped around the edges, but were largely shielded from the heavy lifting. 

Chef Mal brought her 3-year old son to the yacht as she was stashing groceries in the evening. I told him that one of the storage bins under the hatches in the floor was a “magic box”. Heather would distract him for a moment while i placed different items in the bin: a carrot, an apple, a tomato, then finally a watermelon. He squealed with delight each time he lifted the hatch, but the watermelon really got him, belly laughing and joyous with wonder. 

We took Captain Canyon out for dinner, walking along the beach to a restaurant on the other side of the cove. It was well after dark, and Island people were still splashing around and partying. Teens gossiped in small groups while we dined on fancy lobster pizza and downed some rum drinks. 

New guests! This week we are joined by Miriam, Myssie, and Rick, all frequent SwimVacationers. We got them settled into our yacht Dlokoko and set a course for Mt. Wynne beach, AKA Happy Hill.

We swam to the shelf reef, and checked out some giant sponges around the corner. Heather tells us they could be hundreds of years old. Our little friends the baby angelfish and her pal the baby triggerfish that we saw last week were still residing under a coconut shell at the bottom of the bay.

After our swim we enjoyed the power loungers at the stern. Laughing and relaxation. Awesome. - HP

We lounged on the floats, I mixed some St. Vincent Sparklers (rum, lime, prosecco), and we watched the sun set in brilliant oranges and reds. Roasted pumpkin soup and yacht made focaccia for dinner. Whipped cream cheese with lemon and blueberry compote for desert. The local bat population put on a show behind the boat. No moon yet. No shore lights. Sky thick with stars. Goodnight, Happy Hill. 

Hopper