It’s February! Where did January go?

The last blog entry was a month ago and I wonder if my desire to keep this blog going was declining. After all, the last blog was about Gemini’s AI take on our life on Kalunamoo and I thought it did a good job. Maybe even better than I do! Our cruiser friend Bob did a similar post and AI gave a good description of his and his wife’s life aboard their boat. Maybe .I should let AI take over the task of blogging. Much like how Predict Wind’s computers tell me that the sun is shining or how Googles Copilot keeps trying to break in while I type these blogs asking “what’s my point?”. Intrusive AI is as annoying as auto correct. The Seven Seas Cruising Association’s new HAL app AI rakes the internet and delivers personalized, easy to understand, real-time information for cruisers worldwide. Can all mysteries be solved? Is artificial better than real intelligence?

Believe it or not, there are actual blogs between the various AI chat applications: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/best-of-moltbook

You can “listen in” and lurk behind the scenes of what these AI chat boxes are actually saying to each other. I can only assume that some of it is coded so only the AI app themselves can understand what they mean. Who could tell if they plan to take over the world? Or have they already?

This brings me to what we did in January. We flew back to Antigua the day before New Year’s Eve and then sailed over to Falmouth Harbor. We were awakened by the midnight fireworks and went back to sleep. In the morning it was January 1, 2026. That was no surprise.

But January was going to be different for us. Our Canadian friends were coming down to stay on board for over two weeks. We first met Roman and Olha thirteen years ago while anchored in Middle River FL. They were on their boat, Moya Maria, waiting to cross to the Bahamas as were we. They came over for sundowners in their dingy. Olha climbed aboard with crutches in hand. She broke a leg in the Erie Canal on their way south. That was the beginning of the never-ending stories, we heard from them for years. During this time, we crossed paths, buddy boated at times, visited them in Canada and kept in touch. They since sold their boat and live in Canada. I can fully understand their desire to get some place warm in January.

We picked them up in Falmouth Harbor amid the mega yachts and dinghied them out to Kalunamoo.

The week before they arrived the weather was dry and the winds were calm. The day they came, the weather turned windy with more than the usual shower activity. I wondered if some of that Canadian weather didn’t tag along on the plane with them. The weather didn’t interfere too badly but a planned sail to Barbuda didn’t look too promising. Antigua, however, has multiple places to sail around as we planned day by day. Having cruised themselves, they understood the ad hoc “living conditions”.

We managed to sail/motor from Falmouth to Jolly Harbor, Deep Bay and Great Bird. Swam on various beaches, played games (including a new Canadian board game: Super Tok), had movie nights, made boat repairs, karaoke, cooked meals, discussed world events and I believe, we all had an enjoyable time. The highlight for us was that they are both good cooks and so meal time was a real treat. Among other things, Roman bakes great bread, Olha makes great salads, Maureen serves great appetizers and I make great rum punches. What’s not to like?

I don’t think AI could have helped us have a better time together as we told each other’s life stories and experiences. Their family’s emigration to Canada from Ukraine, with multiple stops in between, gives one a good perspective of a challenging life affected by world affairs. But that is really the essence of the cruising life most cruisers experience. And one of the major attractions. Up close and personal is something that AI is missing, although it is quite capable of imitating it. We may not be cruising to distant shores, but we do meet people from those shores and there is nothing artificial in that.

Where else but English Harbor can you meet people who just rowed across the Atlantic Ocean? Or invite neighbors who just sailed in that day for cocktails? Or play a karaoke pirate? That is what cruising is all about.

We will start heading south when the winds cooperate. Making our way down the islands to Trinidad. And yes, this blog will continue without AI. It will be powered by my feeble organic intelligence (or lack thereof).