Saba

Next in the line of countries that you can be forgiven for having never heard of was Saba. It's a small hunk of rock with fewer than 2000 people calling it home.

It was a short stop for us, and we were the only cruisers there at all. We took a mooring ball on the leeward side of the island and swam in the afternoon. The next day, we took the dinghy around to clear in and clear out, and once we lost the island's protection from the wind, we found ourselves in a washing-machine of huge waves coming from every direction. It was a bit unsafe and even a bit more scary.

While we checked in, V found a stranger who hospitably offered to drive us up the steep hill to the nearest town for lunch. The island is lush and green and very pretty. The buildings are well-kept. It definitely deserves more time than we gave it.

We returned to the boat for more swimming, and almost, that was it.

The rolling mechanism in our starboard davit broke while we were putting things in order to sail. It didn't really hinder things, but leaving it alone would cause the line to chafe over time. There's also a bolt on the davit arm that keeps it from rotating around, and that has become sheered off. We're still able to use the davits, but it's a little bit of a worry.

The swimming pictures look scary. But it wasn't frightening there at all. Just sort of dark, with on and off sprinkles.

And then this video, which just scares the shit out of me, just because of the dark sky and the water-level camera.