Where in the World are Sue and Mike

Jus' Now for Sale

2011-01-27T16:00:00.002-05:00

Perry 43 (Sistership)

With some health issues having developed, we have decided to sell Jus' Now and revise our sailing plans. If interested, please consult a detailed description of our 1999 Perry 43 Catamaran at the links below. Located in Marina Carenero in Bocas del Toro, Panama, she is a beautiful boat and has taken us throughout the Eastern Carribean, the Western Carribean, the Bahamas and the Intracoastal Waterway. Our memories of this four-year journey will not be forgotten. We now hope that someone else will soon be able to enjoy the kind of cruising we have done with this great catamaran.

www.jusnow4sale.blogspot.com
www.scribd.com/doc/46933931/Perry-43-Jus-Now-for-Sale

Salon

November 13, 2009--Change,nothing is constant but change

2009-11-13T14:19:00.003-05:00

We decided to use another site for our blog. Check it out at http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/jusnow/1/tpod.html. Although it's, as always, a work in progress, you can see an ongoing map of our trip in addition to the usual.

A Quiet Hurricane Season Comes to an End

2009-10-24T16:01:00.008-04:00

The hurricane season is almost over so we'll be leaving Brunswick in a week or so. We'll miss the beautiful live oaks (above) many dripping Spanish moss from their branches. The sea oats

(above) are another beautiful site here.

We plan to head south to Marathon for Thanksgiving. Our daughter Brooke will join us there for the holiday much to o

ur delight. Then our friend Steve Olson will join us to cross from Key West to Cancun and points south. We're delighted about that as well.

Brunswick has been a pleasant pause in our travels. It has been great to be stateside enjoying the ease of shopping in well-stocked grocery stores--of course, I mean stocked with the foods I'm looking for. We also have our car here with us, so we're not walking mile upon mile laden with heavy bags of foodstuffs and other goods in often hot, sunny weather.

The first month here in Brunswick was beastly though and with no car then, we trekked several miles to doctors' appointments and grocery stores--and of course West Marine. On July 28th we left for a month-long visit to Bordeaux, France, beating another beastly hot month here in Brunswick. A little more on France in the next post.

While here, we visited my mother in Maryland, pictured here with my brother Carter and me

and with his wife Cindy, below.

I also visited one of my childhood friends, Joan Higbee, and her mother pictured below.

We were fortunate to have visits from another of my childhood friends, Debbie Cofield Forrest and her husband, Bob--an Army buddy of Mike's. Debbie and Bob now live in Luray, Virginia, in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.

And our dear friend and neighbor Rosemary Kernahan whom we knew in Denver, drove from Atlanta to spend a long weekend with us.

July 2009 -- Brunswick, Georgia

2009-07-27T19:50:00.003-04:00

We have been in Brunswick, Georgia, since July 2. It's a cute town with a small historic downtown area close to the marina. Unfortunately, without a car, it is hard to get around. We do tremendous amounts of walking which, though good for us, can be brutal in the hot, Georgia sun.

After one week here, we took off to visit my mother in Maryland--700 miles north. Quite a long trip for a brief visit, but worth it. We spent July 12 at the Delta parade at my brother's house with 78 of his closest friends and a great guitarist and singer, Dennis(?)

Arriving back in Georgia, we decided we should go on to our condo in Punta Gorda, Florida. There we spent a week getting things in order for visitors from France. Pat and Marc Papon of Bodeaux, France, and their sons, will be spending almost a month at our place while we spend a month at theirs in Bordeaux. We're pretty excited about it and thank Intervac.org for providing the basic information that allows people like us to make a match.

We leave for France tomorrow. Our boat will stay here in Brunswick at the Brunswick Landing Marina--safe and sound for the hurricane season. Au revoir.

St. Augustine, Florida--June 18--2?

2009-06-21T15:19:00.005-04:00

Got into St. Augustine late afternoon on Thursday, June 18, outrunning a nasty-looking storm west of us. We are hoping to haul the boat on Monday at the only place between here and Brunswick, Georgia, where we'll be for the hurricane season, that can haul our 22-foot-wide boat. Meanwhile we are enjoying St. Augustine.

In the late 1800s, St. Augustine became a vacation spot for the very wealthy. Henry Morrison Flagler set out to develop the east coast of Florida with the goal of exceeding expectations of the wealthiest American tourists. Flagler College now occupies some of the elegant buildings and has undertaken the restoration of them.

St. Augustine is a tourist mecca identifying itself as the oldest city in Florida settled by the Spanish in 1565.

The pirate ship below gives daily tours around the harbor entertaining its guests with lots of pirate drama.

Another attraction is the sailing ship, Freedom, which caters to the tourist crowd looking for a sailing experience.

We lucked out on our way there when Mike caught a King Mackerel which we later had in the form of ceviche as well as grilled for dinner.

New Smyrna Beach, Florida -- June 17, 2009

2009-06-17T16:43:00.003-04:00

Just a brief update--we are moving up the coast of Florida. Spent several days in Fort Lauderdale, then a week in Lake Worth; then on to Stuart. Yesterday we left Stuart, sailing overnight to New Smyrna Beach, just south of Daytona Beach. We were poised for a possible shuttle launch as we passed Cape Canaveral. However, at 3:30 a.m., the Coast Guard announced that the shuttle launching had been scrubbed. We were so disappointed as we had an excellent vantage point in the Atlantic Ocean just east of the Space Center.

Tomorrow morning we leave for St. Augustine.

USA

2009-06-08T17:09:00.003-04:00

Well, we made landfall--USA--on Thursday, June 4, at about 4 p.m. Lake Sylvia, Fort Lauderdale, was the locale. Thrilled to have decided to keep on going once we reached Gun Cay in the Bahamas. We had sailed all night from Frazer's Hog Cay in the Berrys--a beautiful night sail. Made the decision around 6 a.m. and went for it. Bad weather was predicted for Friday so we were glad to tuck in on Thursday afternoon. And in fact there were some bad thunderstorms on Friday that we were glad to have missed. The only bad thing was that we had to motorsail the entire way. Made good time, but we hate to miss a sailing opportunity. Saw several freighters like this as we made our crossing.

Left this morning for Lake Worth. Anchored here about an hour ago. Having lots of trouble with power so we're all set to take our Xantrex in to the dealer tomorrow. OH, well, ....Could have happened in the Bahamas or elsewhere. At least, we're in the vicinity of a dealer.

The palm trees surrounding the homes in Lake Worth were beautiful.

Turks & Caicos, May 13-19, 2009

2009-05-16T15:17:00.003-04:00

Having recovered from a touch of the crud in Luperon, by Tuesday Mike was ready to go as the weather window was slim to move on. The winds were a bit more than we expected, 20 to 25 knots, and the seas as well--6-8 feet with a 6 second interval. Very lumpy and right on the beam, which made for a very rolly passage! Got into Provo, Turks and Caicos, at noon on May 13, about 24 hours after leaving Luperon.

Traveling across the Caicos banks, an approximate 10-mile stretch, proved a little hairy as we were hoping for good light to watch for the occasional coral heads in the very shallow water. However, it was a partly sunny day with fast moving clouds which caused us to work very hard in searching our way.

We were very happy to reach Sapodilla Bay where there were about 8 other boats, all of which had sailed from the Bahamas together. They were a very friendly bunch with whom we joined at one of the upscale bars Wednesday afternoon after clearing in with the friendly Provo officials.

Thursday evening, the marina manager and owner from a nearby marina, South Side, held a barbecue for the cruisers in the marina as well as those of us in Sapodilla Bay. They came for us and brought us back as well. While there, we met some several cruisers from the Colorado area: Mark & Karen from s/v Susurra

had lived on Lafayette Street in Washington Park;

Jack & Marianne (a former finance professor at UCD) were from Evergreen; and Casey & Luralea were from Ouray. Small world.

Then Friday we joined ten other boaters in Sapodilla Bay renting a van to run errands, tour the island and eat lunch. It was a very fun day ending with a happy hour at a Turtle Cove bar and live music.

Another first while there was a "girls' day out." With the weather threatening storms and high winds, all of us stayed at anchor much longer then anticipated, so we decided to go to the pool at Neptunes, the only nearby, but very nice, restaurant. It has a lovely pool area and they welcomed us with open arms. It was a fun and different day.

When we returned, the guys had gotten together on s/v Lala to help Henryk cook then eat his famous latkes--which of course the girls enjoyed as well when we returned. Henryk and Mariola along with their two children, Rick and Lala, on s/v Lala are from Poland and British Columbia. Lala, age 10, is loving their sailing adventure and gets along famously with all of the adults.

Rick has buddied up with one of the single-handers and since they are traveling as a group some of the time, assists Marc sailing Opal.

The weather, though getting better, is still very windy with higher, confused seas because of a tropical wave. So we continue to wait for some improvement which is due around Tuesday to continue our journey.

Luperon, Dominican Republic, May 4-11, 2009

2009-05-09T18:43:00.003-04:00

Arrived in Luperon at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 4, after a two-day and two-night sail from Boqueron, Puerto Rico. Our new friends, Bruce and Lin, on the sailing catamaran, Alize, stayed in touch with us every hour on the hour during the nights and often during the daytime although we were a few miles apart. Since the seas were a bit confused and choppy through the dreaded Mona Passage (between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic), it was good to hear another boat should any problems develop. Of course, none did.

We were a little unsure of what to expect in Luperon. We had heard it was a very dirty area where one dare not get in the water. However, although the water in the anchorage is not especially clean, the town is delightful. There is a large ex-pat community here. We meet many people who sailed this far and stayed.

The town is full of ramshackle homes, chickens, geese and goats running loose and mopeds zipping recklessly with two or three people or boxed wares. Mike says it reminds him of Saigon. We have found the people very warm, friendly and helpful.

Joined with another boat, Bonnie and Jeff on the sailing vessel Quickstep, in a trip to Santiago, the second largest and oldest city on the island. It was an hour away. We had a wonderful taxi driver, Julio, who took us to the grocery store--a Walmart-type place, where we were able to get among other things prescription drugs over the counter for not too much. Julio took us to a very nice cafeteria for lunch and for $3, we had a full meal--roast pork, rice and peas, salad and fruit. Delicious. Did some other shopping including filling our propane tank for $2--far less than the $20 it cost in Curacao. Julio also filled the propane tank that runs his car!

Meanwhile, we're enjoying the relaxed, friendly ambience here as we wait for weather to go on to the Turks and Caicos. Looks like we'll leave Tuesday morning.

La Parguera and Boqueron, Puerto Rico, April 26-May 1, 2009

2009-05-01T17:30:00.002-04:00

We left Salinas on Monday, April 20 stopping for the evening at Caja de Muertos, a small island about 4 hours west. The following morning we left for one of the larger cities on the south coast, Ponce. The anchorage is not great, so we filled up with fuel and water, anchored for the night and left for La Parguera in the morning.

La Parguera was cute little town with lots of colorfully painted houses dotting the water. There are several lovely mangrove islands all along the coast. In fact, it was challenging finding the route in. We stayed for several days as we could sometimes get the internet from our boat--always a great find. Saturday night we ventured down to Club Nautico, the yacht club. While there, we met some local families who come to La Parguera every weekend. They were having a dinner and included us. Most of the men there were doctors, dentists or business men. The women spoke excellent English and were very gracious. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening.

Monday, April 27, we motorsailed to Boqueron, Puerto Rico-- about 4 hours from La Parguera. The wind has just not been cooperating for sails without motors! Boqueron is a seaside resort with a beautiful beach, lots of cute little restaurants and a great cruisers' bar.

Met a new friend on Attitude, Larry Higgins, who had rented a car and offered to take us shopping in Mayaguez. We've had a great time with Larry and enjoyed his hospitality.

So, we're off to the Dominican Republic tomorrow, weather permitting. Have some pictures I'll hope to add to this soon.

Salinas, April 13-21, 2009

2009-04-26T11:10:00.001-04:00

Just an update--We are still here in Salinas enjoying the town with its great empanadillos, deep-fried turnovers stuffed with crab, shrimp, lobster or beef. We've had the good fortune to meet several old friends here such as Wandering Albatross, whom we met in Buenos Aires last summer, Slow Mocean whom we met in Charleston in June of 2007 and Tevai whom we knew from the Caribbean last spring. This seems to be a crossroads for those going south and those going north.

We rented a car and drove to Ponce about 1/2 hour away. We were there 38 years ago and wow, has it changed. The downtown area has spruced up and is very attractive as a tourist site.

We also drove to San Juan in search of--you guessed it--boat parts. The drive across Puerto Rico was lovely. There are some mountains quite green with several large stands of bamboo. We stopped and had roasted pork at an outdoor restaurant. We were intrigued by the propietor's lopping off some meat with a machete and using a paper plate to catch the grease spills. The pork was delicious.

Our mended sail is now back on the mast so tomorrow we hope to move on.

Puerto Rico April 1-12

2009-04-18T11:33:00.004-04:00

Once again weather prevented our leaving Los Roques until April 1. Even then it wasn't perfect, but we thought we could go ahead and head for Puerto Rico. Although it was a rough ride to start with compounded by several boat problems, it did calm down considerably as predicted. We managed to keep going after having to take down our battenless mainsail after only six hours of our 72-hour trip. Our starboard engine clogged up; the newer wind generator collapsed in the middle of the first night in rough seas; then the port engine cable broke. Fortunately, Mike was able to repair the starboard engine and rescue the wind generator. However, we had hoped for a more pleasant sail instead of a motorsail.

We are now in Salinas a lovely, laid back little town where we've had the good fortune to meet up with several sailing friends including Wandering Albatross, Tevai, Child's Play and Ti Punch. We've also discovered carne empanadillas—spicey beef turnovers-at La Barkita, a tiny outdoor cafe near the anchorage.

We also found a wonderful sailmaker who is mending our sails. Hopefully, we will be ready to move on towards the end of next week.

Back to the East, March 16-31

2009-04-11T19:20:00.007-04:00

Before leaving Spanish Waters in Curacao, we often saw sights like this—sailing schools for anyone.

The beach bars nearby, though not cheap, had excellent local food like fried mero—grouper, one of our favorites, with morro—beans and rice.

On March 3, we managed to successfully travel to Bonaire where we spent a few days waiting for weather. The trip was not a pleasant one as the seas were lumpy and the wind out of the east made it unsailable.

On March 16, we successfully left Bonair. Arriving in Sotavento, we were thrilled to find beauty and solitude except for the nearby fishermen. They came over at our call and traded a wonderful lobster for a small bottle of rum

and a pack of cigarettes. Such a deal!

Onto Barlovento, the next island in the Aves...The water was beautiful with tall scraggly mangroves harboring lots and lots of birds.

Red-footed boobies, frigates and pelicans swarmed amongst the trees, daring us to get any closer to their sanctuary. They squawked loudly as we snorkeled in to check out the reef close by, and we got the message!

A couple of other boats came in the following day, but still it was a very quiet anchorage. By Saturday the weather seemed reasonably accommodating for our 35 mile push onward to Los Roques. Of course, it turned out to be another lumpy, bumpy motorsail, but we were anxious to move on. Our first night in Elbert Cay was miserable with opposing wave actions rocking the boat every whichway unmercifully. The next day we moved onto Carenero, a lovely spot where we again had the good fortune to find the local lobsterman. He traded us a loster for coffee

which we took back the following day to his wife and daughter.

On to Francisqui , another island in the Roques, to wait for weather and get protection from the 13' swell due over the weekend.

On the Move, March 3-13

2009-03-13T10:07:00.000-04:00

Finally, a weather window....and off we go to Bonaire. It was a rough trip, though, with the wind right on our nose, as they say. We rocked back and forth for about 8 hours, 5-7 foot waves crashing over the bough pretty regularly. However, we were glad to finally get out of Spanish Waters, Curacao--not that we didn't like it, we'd just been there much longer than anticipated.

We've enjoyed our week and a half here, reconnecting with friends and enjoying our favorite barbeque at Bobbejan's, the aroma from which wafts across the water to our boat every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll leave for Las Aves; then Los Roques and on to Puerto Rico. However, it all depends on the weather.

We're happy to have one more chance to savor the barbequed ribs at Bobbejan's tonight.

A note to our blog followers

2009-03-03T07:10:00.001-05:00

Finally, we have added more pictures to our Buenos Aires posts. Check them out.

Spanish Waters, Curacao, February 2009

2009-02-18T11:51:00.013-05:00

Spanish Waters anchorage

Enjoying sundowners.

Sunset scene from our "front porch."

Yes, we're still here in Curacao. Who'd a thought???? Why are we still here? Weather and work. Or maybe I should say work and weather. We are having our mainsail and one of our trampolines mended. In addition, Mike has installed one new turbo on our starboard engine and cleaned the other. Major jobs! Many thanks to our recent visitors, the Dariens, for lugging the two turbos from Colorado. We also had our genoa rigged so that it will rollerfurl, which should make a wonderful improvement when sailing in light winds.

And it's Mardi Gras time.

Party boat with rockin' music.

Mardi Gras decorations spring up at the dock.

As time has slipped by, our plans have changed. We had hoped to go west to Cartagena, Colombia, then on to the San Blas Islands. However, there just isn't enough time to enjoy that area and get out of the hurricane zone by July 1, as required by our insurance. Oh, well. Next year!

Meanwhile we are planning to head to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Of course, depending on the weather, we're not sure if we'll be able to go directly there or have to backtrack a bit then go up the island chain. Time will tell.

In the meantime, we're enjoying the cool weather here in Curacao. Because there is so much available in Curacao, we are taking advantage and frequently ride the bus into town ion search of goods. It is almost always a full day by the time we take our dinghy from the boat to the dinghy dock, wait for the bus—often late, walk many blocks to our destination, then ride the bus back to the bus station to board the bus for home. Of course, we often stop at a favorite local lunch spot called Plasa Bieu. It is a series of restaurants under one roof like the food courts in the U.S. That's where we had some delicious chicken satay, which Mike has been trying to replicate at home. We have also had a roti, a combination lunch of green beans, chicken, stewed meat, plantains, and salad placed on something like a tortilla. We sit at picnic benches covered with checkered vinyl cloths. The food is relatively inexpensive and delicious. Our favorite place in Plasa Bieu is called Gracias de Dios. After lunch we wait for the bus which sometimes comes and sometimes doesn't.--at least on time. The other day, for example, after rushing to get to the bus stop, the bus was over an hour late. Apparently the bus driver had had an accident, but of course, there's no replacement bus. By the time we get back from town, the day is usually over for any worthwhile work on the boat. In the evenings twice a week there's a happy hour at the local sailing club, Asiento. On other nights, we often have happy hour on others' boats or our own. Everyone takes their own drinks and a snack or dish to share. Lots of fun! Plus we make lots of new friends.

Here in Curacao, so many people are from other countries. Most speak English so we get by quite well.

We think a weather window might be coming up by the first of next week, so hopefully we'll be off.

Above are Esther, Baby Elmot, and Camille of Dutch S/V Al-Um. They brought us homemade butterbiscuit, a Dutch shortbread, for assisting them one night at 2 a.m. They had come into Spanish Waters anchorage under sail hoping to get to their dock, but their engine would not start and they could not sail in. They radioed for help realizing that maybe no one would hear their plea. Fortunately, we did and were able to guide them safely to their slip.

Wow! Wahoo for sale at fisherman's dock.

Fellow boater takes his dog for a "walk."

Curacao, December 23, 2008- Present

2009-02-04T13:56:00.008-05:00

We have been in Curacao, the next island after Bonaire, since just before Christmas. It's another beautiful Dutch island in the West Indies. We anchored in an area called Spaanse Water—Spanish Waters. It's a very international community with many Dutch making this their home. We have met sailors from Germany, Australia, Tasmania, Sweden—the list goes on. One can get most anything here from boat parts to food to other supplies which is one reason it's such a popular place. Also there are competent people who can help diagnose and repair boats, a constant issue for boaters.

We celebrated Christmas and New Years with our good friends Jason and Karen on YOLO. Trying to get started on the boat issues was futile as most people were on holiday. We did, however, have one stroke of luck when we ventured to town riding various busses and walking distances between them—the usual routine--in search of “Carlos” who we learned could test our fuel injectors. Although the business looked closed, a walk to the back of the business turned him up, one of about three people working that day. He not only tested the equipment for us, but did it for free since no one was in the office to tell him the charge. A lucky day!!

On January 9th, our friends the Dariens from Marble, Colorado, arrived. We had rented a car from Imke, a fellow who does many things for yachties, by merely telling him our name and giving him $25. No paperwork. No need to show insurance or driver's license. Just the money and a promise to fill the tank to its present capacity. Oh, well. It worked for us.

This was Larry's and Dana 's third visit on the boat so they knew the drill. When the windy weather settled down, we sailed up the coast to Groot Knip. However, anchoring was not permitted there nor were there any mooring balls. (We had had to make a trip to the harbormaster to outline our travels and get permission to go where we intended. However, the harbormaster did not know about whether there were mooring balls in Groot Knip.) So back down the coast we went until we got to Santa Cruz—a lovely beach. Our YOLO friends joined us later on their way to Aruba. We all snorkeled a bit there and visited another nearby beach with a friendly little beach bar. A few days later we moved down to Santa Marta. Another pretty beach beckoned us, but we would have had to pay to use it. It was part of the resort there. We stayed a few days and were lucky enough to find a fisherman who gave us—yes, gave—us four Wahoo steaks. They were delicious. Despite our efforts to get fish, it has been relatively uncommon to find and be able to buy fresh fish. We learned that there are lots of fish 400-600 feet deep, but of course, we don't fish that deep so we don't catch any.
A return to Spanish Waters on Friday, January 23rd, allowed us to have dinner at the highly touted Equus restaurant. It's only open on Fridays! We all loved it—skewers of melt-in-your-mouth steak or chicken with garlic bread is the entire menu, of course, with wine or some other drink. We now knew why our friends insisted that it's one of the best restaurants in Curacao.
Before the Dariens left, we rented the car again and toured the island. True to the ABC climate,

the island is arid with lots of large cactus covering it. It too is a haven for flamingoes. We decided not to visit the normal tourist places and just enjoyed driving around the island.

The bananaquits are plentiful here and the oriole is the national bird.

The Dutch influence is charming and most prevalent in Willemstad, the capital, where old buildings are being restored and painted bright colors.

The Venezuelan floating market in Punda was a draw for its fresh, delicious vegetables.

Now, we are waiting for sail and engine repairs hoping to move on within the next couple of weeks.

Bonaire, December 15-23, 2008

2008-12-22T14:10:00.008-05:00

After a 6 a.m. start, we arrived in Bonaire at about 2:30 p.m. On our way we celebrated leaving Venezuelan waters and an unusual time zone, ½ hour off of Atlantic Standard time--a Chavez thing.
Tom and Rose from Sojourn greeted us as we pulled up to the dreaded mooring buoy. It’s always a challenge to catch the loop on a mooring buoy with the boathook before the boat drifts over the buoy or away from it. But Tom and Rose held the loops (two in this case) for us making simple work of it! It’s nice to have friends!!
Though a tourist haven for scuba divers, Bonaire is a cute little Dutch island with the same crystal clear water we’ve been finding along the Venezuelan coast. Yes, this island is only 50 miles from the Venezuelan coast, but has ever so much more to offer. We are finding grocery stores that have the food we need. (In Venezuela, they were frequently out of cereal, coke, eggs, you name it!) Not so here. Because it’s small and touristy, prices are on the high side. So we will wait for Curacao, our next island, to do the badly needed stocking up.
We have enjoyed meeting our sailing buddies and, of course, snorkeling. Friday, we rented a car and toured the island which is very arid and sprouts cactus everywhere. There is a donkey sanctuary where old, hurt or orphaned donkeys are cared for. Donkeys were used greatly in the 1800s when workers carried loads of salt to and from the town. Bonaire produces great amounts

of salt and great mounds of salt are seen as one

drives around the southern part of the island. In the 1800s, slaves were brought over from Africa to work in the salt pans. They lived in the tiny huts pictured here and led a hard life until they were freed in 1863. (I am sitting in the tiny entryway of one of the huts that was often inhabited by 4 people!)

There were also beautiful pink flamingoes grazing in the shallow waters.
A highlight of our trip was a visit with s/v Pizazz, a couple from California, who, after sailing for 14 years, built their dream home in Bonaire. They had a lot of information to share on sailing to Colombia, our goal in January.

Las Aves--December 7-15

2008-12-22T13:56:00.004-05:00

The next islands we visited, approximately 30 miles west of Los Roques, was Las Aves. These are two islands, Barlovento and Sotavento, that are beautiful with crystal clear water, great white sand beaches, and wonderful reefs to snorkel. We traveled not only with YOLO, but with some new friends, Tom and Rose on s/v Sojourn from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their refrigeration had gone out so they divvied up their food between YOLO and us until we could reach Bonaire where hopefully they would be able to repair or replace their refrigerator.
We had been advised by some long-term sailors we met in Barlovento, Barry and Candy on s/v Syrius from Cape Town, South Africa, that the coast guard would check us in by radio in the Aves. Sure enough, as we rounded the corner into the Aves waters, we got a call asking us our name and our intentions. They were very nice and that was that, we thought. However, the next day we all got in our dinghies and went to a tiny island about a mile away where we were planning to snorkel. As we strolled around the island, we noticed a boat coming our way with six uniformed men aboard. They motioned to us. Sure enough, it was the coast guard and they wanted to do an inspection on each of our boats then. We quickly understood that we couldn’t do it later when we got back, so off we went back to our boats. It turned out that they indeed were very nice, but went through a long list checking off what we had aboard such as medical kit, flares, weapons (of course, none) etc. They went away happy.

Later that day we all got together on our boat for dinner and games! Tom is a big gamer so we played Sequence and Dominoes--Mexican Train, a very popular game with sailors. Though not our thing, we really did have a nice evening although the dinghy ride to and from was a wet one for YOLO and Sojourn.

Sojourn left a day ahead of us in order to get to Bonaire on a Saturday instead of a Sunday. The other four of us spent our time on Saturday, snorkeling looking for lobster and fish. Voila! Indeed we found them--i.e. Jason and Karen. Jason stalked a lobster and managed to spear it with his trident.

Karen speared a flounder and a grunt. That night we added our fresh catch to our dinner. Yum!

Los Roques, November 13-December 7, 2008

2008-12-20T10:41:00.005-05:00

Another night sail with YOLO and Riga II whom we met in Tortuga, and we were on to Los Roques….a gorgeous group of islands about 80 miles off the coast of Venezuela. This is a whole different Venezuela. Our friends from YOLO (Karen and Jason Trautz) are pictured above in the one beach bar we discovered on Francisquis, an island in Los Roques. The town on the island of Gran Roque is a charming village with streets of sand. Lots of Venezuelans come to relax and enjoy the beaches so there are many party boats--large catamarans that carry pleasure-seeking tourists to and from the various islands. People on Gran Roque seemed laid back and friendly. We met a restaurant owner, Pedro, who spoke excellent English and gave us a lot of valuable information, such as when the “fruit boat” would be in. We were looking to supplement our provisions, but found there were not a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables to be had. Also, Venezuela has the cheapest diesel around so we wanted to fill our boats before leaving.
There were weather predictions for squally conditions so we moved to better holding, Francisquis, a nearby island. There we found a little beach bar which served delicious barracuda, snapper and tuna for lunch--and beer! The lobsters were huge, but expensive so we held out for a local lobsterman’s catch another day. While in Los Roques we sailed to several areas, Sebastopol, Noronsquis, Crasqui and Sarqui to name a few. Snorkeling at Sebastopol was a thrill with huge midnight blue parrotfish, triggerfish --even a barracuda lurking in the reef. In other places, there was large brain coral harboring colorful snappers and goatfish darting in and out of their little caves. We often found our anchor chain surrounded by a school of small squid. When approached, as expected, they sprayed us with ink.
Watching the brown pelicans dive-bomb their dinner was amazing. They perch on the water or on boats in groups then on some signal unbeknownst to us, they fly off in a formation and do a nose-dive one after the other into the waters close by! Usually they sit afterward gulping a fish down the hatch. The scene repeats itself time after time, especially at day’s end. Very entertaining.

Angel Falls, Canaima National Park, Venezuela, October 21-24, 2008

2008-11-01T16:09:00.012-04:00

A four-day trip to a remote area of Venezuela was an adventure not to be missed. It started with a four-hour bus trip from Puerto La Cruz to Ciudad Bolivar. There we saw a different Venezuela--cleaner, brighter and nicer. Instead of the hacienda on a 26-acre cattle ranch as promised in the tour literature, however, we stayed at a hotel near the airport. Not bad, but not great. We were to go to the Canaima National Park in a small plane. These planes only go in the morning, so we had to wait for the next morning.

Our plane ride the next morning provided thrilling views of the countryside--few roads, few communities, lots of green fields, and huge, rocky mesas and cliffs interspersed with rivers. Spectacular views of the several different falls indicated we were almost there. We arrived in time to do a little exploring in the camp before lunch. A stroll through the village revealed the Pemon Indians sitting outside their small concrete homes, preparing food and watching their young children. Older children, dressed in navy pants or skirts and white shirts or blouses, were in the school nearby. The village was attractive and for the most part well-maintained. There were several different clusters of different housing for visitors, obviously an important business. Residents were also busy at work building what we later learned was a high school auditorium.

After a walk on the beach , we returned to the dining area where we were served a grilled chicken lunch. Very tasty. We were introduced to our guide, Pedro, and then shown to our rooms, simple but adequate. At 2:30 we met Pedro for a short canoe ride and then a hike to Sapo Falls. The waterfall was beautiful. We were able to walk underneath the falls as well. Then back to the camp for dinner.

Sapo Falls

Thursday morning after a hearty breakfast of pancakes, eggs, meat and cheese, we met Pedro for the four-hour canoe trip up the Carrao river to Angel Falls. Pedro explained how the Indians make the wooden canoes by felling a tree, then burning the interior and spreading it while hot to make it wider. This process is repeated until the proper width is reached. With just six in our group, our canoe was capable of more speed and than some of the other groups’ and better able to “climb the rocks“, that is, cross the many rapids we encountered.

Our captain, a young Indian man, handled the canoe expertly with a 48-horsepower Yamaha engine. He took extra propellers as travel through the rapids in the shallow water cause lots of wear and tear on the props. And, in fact, midway, he changed the propeller. He also had a helper who rode on the bow of the canoe advising the captain with hand signals and, from time to time, helping steer the canoe with a large wooden paddle.

After arriving at our camp, we started on the hike to Angel Falls.

Pedro told us that although the thick jungle was difficult walking because of the tangle of exposed roots, we should take time to notice the forest. That was hard to do as we had to watch our footing closely. Halfway into the hike, it started to rain. With the rain and the heat, we were soaking wet inside and out. Two hours after trekking up some very steep, rocky paths, we were at the falls. We took only a few moments to enjoy the vista from our high perch in the clearing, then headed back down hoping to beat nightfall which comes early here. However, we didn’t make it and found ourselves trudging through the forest trying hard not to trip and fall or step in the muddy muck caused by the afternoon rain.

Thoroughly exhausted and ravenous, we arrived back at the camp at 6 p.m. eagerly awaiting our meal which we had seen cooking by the fire. Our local Indian hosts, were roasting chickens on a spit over a roaring fire. Served with some delicious rice and cole slaw, the meal was a welcome end to our day’s adventure. We happily collapsed into our hammocks equipped with extra blankets for the cold that descends in the wee hours.

In the morning, after a breakfast of fried eggs, arepas (a round, flat bread similar to a biscuit), ham and cheese and tang, we climbed into our canoe for the ride home. A stop at Happiness Falls was a welcome respite from the canoe. The water was cool and refreshing. In the afternoon, we flew back to Ciudad Bolivar, boarded the bus for the four-hour trip back to Puerto La Cruz. Definitely an exciting adventure for the six of us: Greg Heloskie (S/V VAMOOSE), Shellee Lister (S/V PREFERRED STOCK), Mike, Sue, Mike & Kim Buller S/V CHILD'S PLAY).

Side trip to Mendoza and the Andes Mountains

2008-11-01T16:07:00.004-04:00

The ski area in the Andes Mountains

View of the Andes

A parilla (restaurant) at the ski area

Vineyards at Familial ZucchardiWinery

The Stovers enjoy a fabulous multi-course meal at the Familial Zucchardi winery restaurant.

Lou and Mike enjoy coffee at the vineyard

Buenos Aires, More....

2008-11-01T16:06:00.003-04:00

Wooden lancha on the El Tigre delta.

A day trip to the El Tigre delta started with riding the train from Buenos Aires for about an hour. El Tigre is a resort town north of Buenos Aires. The river is full of wooden boats just like the one pictured above. Houses line the river that extends for miles. The residents use these boats as transportation to and from the mainland. Tourists can catch a ride as well.

Dog walker in Palermo

Is this the real Mike????

Evita's mausoleum in the Recoleta Cemetery

One of the many elaborate mausoleums in Recoleta Cemetery

Dog walkers

Haberdasher assesses Mike as he tries a hat at Plaza Dorrego.

Tango dancers in the square at Plaza Dorrego.

Busker performs in Palermo.

Lots of beautiful buildings line Buenos Aires streets.

Buenos Aires, Aug. 4-28--Neighborhoods

2008-11-01T15:14:00.004-04:00

Buenos Aires is a large city with a population of 3 million which expands to 12 million including the suburbs. It was settled primarily by the Italians and Spanish in the 1500s although many other nationalities, primarily Europeans emigrated to Buenos Aires thereafter. San Telmo is the oldest of the 48 barrios or neighborhoods and is where we rented a two-story apartment with a small rooftop garden. Like many homes, there were several doors for security. To enter, we first had to unlock the door from our street into an entryway. Then we unlocked a gate into a courtyard off of which were several apartments. Unlocking a third door--if you don’t have the outside shutters bolted shut--accessed the apartment. There was a small living room, dining room, kiitchen and bath on the first floor and two bedrooms with baths on the second floor. To reach the second floor, one had to climb a narrow, spiral iron staircase, which could be a little perilous with a suitcase or after a night of debauchery.

San Telmo is a charming community not unlike Greenwich Village. There are lots of apartment buildings, churches, bistros, and restaurants and parillas (pictured here)where grilled sausage sandwiches called choripan, are grilled while you wait.

Up and down the streets were also lots of antique shops, trendy clothing shops, and small grocery stores on every block.

(Mike enjoys shoe shopping in a trendy local shop.)

But one of the best things about the neighborhood was the wonderful market , the San Telmo Market, just a block away. It was a very old structure with stands chock full of fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats and baked goods, and booths of antique or used goods.

Another great feature of the San Telmo barrio was the square called Plaza Dorrego. There one could wander daily through many small booths of jewelry, art, antiques, clothing, handicrafts--any and every kind of ware one could imagine. And on Saturdays and Sundays, vendors from all over came to join the regulars expanding the market to several blocks. There were bands, musicians, buskers, mimes as well as tons of people milling about. In addition there was a café in the middle of the square with white tablecloths and delightful waiters who served hors d’oeuvres, lunches or just drinks while plaza-goers watched a pair of professional tango dancers entertain the crowds.

Transportation was easy in Buenos Aires. The buses are numerous and frequent., though walking was our preferred method of getting around. We visited the posher neighborhood of Palermo, full of upscale apartments and trendy shops and restaurants. Ray and Lou stopped for a picture on one of the main streets in Palermo.

Another ritzy neighborhood, Recoleta, is the home of the famous Recoleta Cemetery. Recoleta Cemetery is a large area with row upon row of mausoleums where the rich and famous buried their loved ones. The mausoleums are mostly marble and granite with impressive carvings and sculptures adorning them.

A large tree-lined walkway from which many side paths lead make it an attractive place for tourists. One of its most famous “inhabitants” is Eva Peron.

Travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina August 2-4, 2008

2008-07-31T15:25:00.009-04:00

Buenos Aires was all we thought it would be and more. Getting there proved a bit of an adventure as do most things in Venezuela. Ten minutes before we left, our travel agent called to say our Brazilian flight on Varig Airlines had been cancelled, but the good news--he had re-booked us on Lan Airlines for the following day. Since we were scheduled to spend the night in Caracas for an early flight the next day, we decided to go on to Caracas thinking we'd see a little of the city since our new flight left 12 hours later. What we forgot was that it was Sunday and most things are closed on Sunday. In addition, our hotel was near the airport, and it was quite costly to taxi into downtown for a few hours, so we hung out near our hotel. We ventured into a casino, one of the few open places but discovered they were very cautious when allowing people in or out. For example, we were not allowed to take our water bottles in with us. Mike was frisked at the door to boot. The parking attendant called the front desk before we entered to tell him that the coast was clear. Translation: No one was lurking about to rush into the casino. Since it was beastly hot and humid outside, the cool air in the casino felt great and caused us to spend a little more time there. When we left about an hour later, the guards went through the same drill, checking to be sure no bad guys were lurking about.

Although the city was not particularly clean or pretty, we did find a pretty good restaurant. We were amazed however when our waitress dropped a lime as she was removing our dishes, she simply kicked it all the way out to the curb and into the gutter.

At the airport, while standing in line to check in, we learned that travelers in Venezuela pay (about $5) to have their bags wrapped in saran-like plastic to prevent rummaging by airport workers. So, we did so, feeling foolish, but again--it's Venezuela.

Our trip on LAN Airlines turned out to be wonderful. We were served a full hot meal with real utensils and wine.

We arrived in Buenos Aires the next morning after a brief layover in Santiago, Chile, at about 9 a.m. where we were met by Roberto, a taxi driver who is the nephew of a business friend of Lou's and Ray's, Mike's sister-in-law and brother. As our guidebook suggested, we changed some money at the bank as we left the airport rather than at one of the numerous change kiosks as the rates are much better--generally, three pesos for one dollar.

Lou and Ray had arrived Saturday and were already ensconced in our rented apartment --the entryway is pictured at left--in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. They had had a taste of the charming neighborhood and its plentiful cafes and bars and were ready to introduce us.

One of the favorites' is the historic El Federal Cafe pictured below.

The San Telmo Church below was a familiar site in the neighborhood too.

Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela July 7 - 31, 2008

2008-07-29T13:48:00.007-04:00

After a July 4th barbecue on the beach in Porlamar, we headed out with two other boats, Coqui and Gaia, to Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, our destination for the hurricane season. Since it was 80 miles from Margarita, we had to stop along the way in El Coche. We stayed there until Monday, July 7, as the marina where we're staying was closed on the weekend. We had a long trip to PLC

and although we did catch a fish, it didn't look like one we'd want to eat.

We arrived at our marina, TMO, at about 4 p.m., having started out at 5:30 a.m. The challenge was docking stern-to, that is, backing the boat into the dock, a feat we had not yet experienced and which most boaters shy away from. Yes, it was a challenge for us as well especially with a stiff breeze--the first of the day--off the starboard side. We finally succeeded but it was not easy!

Puerto La Cruz is a small, industrial port city. All of the marinas are located in this one area and all are secured by fences. It is not safe to travel outside the marinas except in groups, and even then, one must be careful. There is a large waterway with numerous canals off the entrance to the marinas. The homes are large and spacious; the condos line bridged canals in a Venice-like fashion. The area is known as El Morro.

Anuncio, Isla Margarita, June 28, 2008

2008-07-29T13:24:00.004-04:00

Anxious to get the local experience, Mike and I decided to take a jaunt to the capital city of Margarita, Anuncio, about an hour away. Although we tried, we were unable to catch a bus at the marina and ended up walking for about an hour into town through some questionable areas. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant. Fortunately it had air conditioning and supplied its clientelle with real knives and forks--not the plastic cutlery that is used in the streetside fast food restaurants that proliferate in Margarita. We were anxious to try some local food. Mike had a delicious chicken dish and I an arepa (a-ray'-pa), a flat, disc-like biscuit about the size of a hamburger bun, often filled with a stuffing of meat, chicken or fish. This was unfilled and a bit plain. Anyhow, we proceeded in search of the bus station, another 20-minute walk in the hot, hot sun. Finally we found a bus heading for Anuncio and hopped on.

An hour later we found ourselves in a charming old city, much cleaner and neater than Porlamar. However, since it was Saturday afternoon, most shops and restaurants were closed. We walked on the square, an ever-present structure in most Latin American cities. There was the requisite statue of the South American hero, Simon Bolivar. We later learned that his statue is featured in all central squares in different poses representing different events.

After finally finding a place for a cold drink, we caught the bus back to town. The buses are all in bad repair, but the fare is very cheap, about 30 cents to go most places in the city. The fare to Anuncio, cost us about 50 cents each, each way.

Finding our bus back to the marina was an exhausting affair. No one we asked had a clue. We were directed around the square in Porlamar whose streets were packed with weekend shoppers. (Porlamar is a destination for Venezuelan--an island with beaches, palm trees and duty-free goods.) To preserve our sense of humor, we ducked occasionally into the ice cold shops which poured air conditioning onto the jam-packed, sizzling streets. Finally, we hailed a taxi. Nevertheless, it was good to see the bustling city, buy some limes from a street vendor who also threw in a banana for each of us, and visit a quieter, more stately city.

Porlamar, Margarita, Venezuela June 19

2008-06-24T14:25:00.007-04:00

Margarita is an island about 40 miles from the coast of Venezuela. It is a resort island for Venezuelans. The anchorage is surrounded by many high-rises reminding us of Miami. As has often been the case, there are many buildings that are in disrepair and lots of construction of new buildings. Gas and water are very cheap here, but we have found them hard to get, an unexpected situation. When we say cheap, we are talking 11 cents for a gallon of gas! Now of course that doesn't include the taxi to get to the gas station--$5 round trip. Bottled drinking water was about $2 for 5 litres and beer is 20 cents a bottle in stores--50 cents at the marina. We are informed that inflation is 30% here and prices are going up, up, up.

Water for our tanks was obtained from a fellow named Carmelo, who promised faithfully every day for two weeks that he would bring us water. Finally, the day before we left, he arrived. He fills tanks on his pirogue, a type of boat used in many islands by the locals.

Clearing in here was an all-day affair. We had to turn over our passports and boat registration to our agent at 9 a.m.. (We were informed it's much better to pay an agent to take care of clearing in because you would spend the same amount using a taxi to get to all the appropriate places not to mention the amount of time it would take.) We were to return at to sign documents and get fingerprinted. We were to return again at 5 to pick up the documents! Whew! Juan Baro who runs Marina Juan and was our agent, has a small shop at the end of a long dock. There he has a book swap and mini-mart. Three days a week he provides a bus to a local shopping mall. Since it was Friday and the bus was there, we went to the mall. Of course, we had yet to obtain any Venezuelan currency, bolivars. Sadly, we found that no one would change our American dollars unless we had passports. Finally, we discovered that we could in fact use our credit card or an ATM card, which we had been avoiding because of the foreign currency transaction charges of 2%. When we returned, Juan told us whom we could see to change our dollars into bolivars. Yes, another trip to town via taxi, but we were successful.

Shopping excursions are made available by Juan Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There is usually a full busload of cruisers anxious to replenish their stores. Purchases made by the cruisers are boxed at the grocery store by a store employee who labels them by the number on a pass Juan provids for the trip. Then they are loaded into a separate truck and delivered to the dock. They are stacked according numbers. Shoppers can claim their loot only when all unpacking has been done.

Then Pedro (in the straw hat), Juan's dockhand, assists each person to their dinghy with a hand cart. All in all, this is a good service and an enjoyable outing.

We met our friend from Grenada, Jose, who has building projects here and in Puerto La Cruz. He graciously carted us all over town to buy a phone and two air conditioners. Again, passports were required to buy anything and the phone company fingerprinted Mike. We had met Jose and his family in Grenada as we were hiking a very steep hill to the bus station when he offered us a ride. The next day his family visited our boat and we made plans to see them in Margarita and in Puerto La Cruz. Jose and Elizabeth prefer living in Grenada, they say, as it is safe. They feel unsafe in Venezuela and don't wish to raise their family there. They visit Venezuela frequently, though, because they still have homes and family here.

With his family still in Grenada until school is over, Jose and his friend Oscar took us to a very upscale mall, Sambil. Very impressive! It was new with all the stores one sees in the states (not the department stores, though) and huge.

Los Testigos to Porlamar, Margarita, Venezuela

2008-06-24T13:58:00.003-04:00

Even though our crossing had been 14 hours and we needed some rest, we had to check in with the Coast Guard. Unfortunately, we could not find the papers clearing us out of Grenada--a must-have in order to clear into the next country. Mike went over anyhow, not knowing what else to do, while I tore our "house" apart. (We have heard tales of other sailors who have not supplied exactly the right documents who had to sail back to the previous port in order to clear out "properly. This was not an attractive option for us.) Finally, in thinking through more carefully where Mike had been when clearing out, I located the documents in the bag he carried fresh ice back to the boat! For whatever reason they simply were not put into the correct place. However, Mike was thrilled to hear me radioing him the good news. Of course, that meant a long dinghy ride back to the boat through a strong current, then back again to the Coast Guard. Mike enjoyed talking with the customs official who said he was a "subofficial". In fact, Mike spent two hours as the subofficial asked many questions in Spanish and Mike tried to understand and answer in broken Spanish. Mike was there so long that when a coworker brought in some pumpking cake, he even gave Mike a piece.

As we were pulling in and anchoring, we saw one of the other three boats waving and welcoming us. It was 'Ti Punch, some French friends we had met in St. Lucia. They invited us over later that evening where we had a nice visit and a tour of a French boat. Although Mark speaks pretty good English, Evaline does not. However, she and I enjoyed trying to converse with my broken French and lots of sign language. It was fun.

We snorkeled around a small island the next day and enjoyed another evening with fresh tuna and Mark & Evaline. Then we moved on to the next bay, Playa Real. There were a few more boats there, but there are no restaurants or homes outside of two or three shacks that seem to provide nothing more than shelter from bad weather. It was a beautiful island.

The next morning we wanted to set out for Margarita early as we knew we had an 8-hour sail ahead of us. What we hadn't banked on was the Coast Guard's not being available until 8 a.m. So, we cooled our heels for an hour attempting to call them repeatedly as we had to let them know we were leaving. Finally, underway at 8, there was hardly any wind. Finally, Mike turned on the engine. Haven't had to do that in quite awhile. The trip was still a slow one although we were entertained by a school of dolphin who played alongside us for about 15 minutes at noon.

As we approached Margarita, a cloud of haze shrouded the anchorage. It was the result of Saharan dust! Fortunately, we were able to anchor with about 60 other boats in a protected area. We were anticipating a tidal wave with some big winds and waves, but fortunately we haven't had much to worry about.

Grenada to Los Testigos, June 15 & 16, 2008

2008-06-24T13:50:00.001-04:00

On Sunday, June 15, Mike went to the customs office to clear out, that required activity when leaving a country. Two hours after getting there, the customs officer showed up--unfortunately, a big waste of time for us with so much to do in preparing for an overnight crossing. However, we were able to get our chores done, moving the boat to a calmer location so Mike could clean the props and sail drives which he does underwater. That requires the use of our Brownie, known as a Hooka, which Mike hooks up to a belt worn around the waist and weighted down to keep him underwater and a face mask to which he attaches a hose that provides oxygen pumped from the motor in the Brownie on board. This allows him to work for extended periods of time underwater. We also spent time putting things away that might come loose and getting other things like life vests, jackets and snacks prepared for easy retrieval when needed. The weather reports indicated that seas were fairly calm and the wind would be favorable for a crossing.
At 9 p.m. we pulled up the anchor and carefully motored outside the bay to set our sails. It was a beautiful night with an almost full moon. The seas were somewhat lumpy but not objectionably so although I felt best wearing my life vest. We saw seven other boats at various times through the crossing, a good many more than we usually do on night crossings. These boats did not appear to be sailboats, rather a couple of freighters and work boats, three of which were anchored.

We arrived at Los Testigos at 11:30 a.m. Just as we were preparing to lower our mainsail, Mike began to pull in our Cuban fishing reel, when he noticed something shiny and silveryon its end. A bottle? A can? Suddenly, he realized it was a fish, a tuna! We were so excited. Hadn’t realized we had a fish because the reel didn’t snap as it is supposed to when a fish grabs the lure. Working quickly because of our need to douse the mainsail to prepare for entry into the anchorage, Mike poured rum (cheap rum) into the fish’s gills thus settling it down to its then calm demise. Ahhh… a great fish dinner long sought was in store!

Island Tour-Grenada, June 7, 2008

2008-06-09T13:26:00.005-04:00

Time to get off the boat and have some fun. With most of our time spent trekking around town for groceries and boat supplies, it’s quite a treat to find some friends and explore the island. Today we decided to take a public bus and go to some scenic waterfalls and then maybe on to the east coast of Grenada. Bill and Soon Gloege of GAIA joined us.

We hopped the local bus and headed to the bus station. Armed with a map and a list of local buses, we hopped on one headed for the rainforest in central Grenada. Bill asked some of the people on the bus which waterfall we should visit and the opinion was that Seven Falls in St. Margaret, about a half-hour away, is the prettiest. So off we went in the usual jam-packed bus traveling at breakneck speeds--for the narrow, curvy, mountainous roads. After a little while, the bus came to a stop and people started getting off. We then realized they were moving to let us off--we were there! Who knew? The bus driver told us to walk up the narrow path for the entry to the falls. We checked to see when another bus would be by to take us onward or back and he assured us that many buses pass by.
Up the concrete road, we were greeted by a lovely woman who informed us of the entry fee of $5 EC (eastern Caribbean dollars), a little less than $2 per person. She also insisted that we take a walking sticks from a stack of sticks outside and use them! She further explained that the path can be muddy and slippery and is steep. Apologizing she said there are usually two guides on hand, but no one was there then. We assured her that was okay proceeded on our merry way. It was a beautiful hike, not unlike the one we made in Dominica to Chaudiere Pool. The forest was deep and thick with lots of bamboo, banana trees and bushes interspersed with the beautiful Hellegonia plants. As we trekked down the steep hillsides, we found steps cut out of mud, braced with rough-hewn wood which made the going in steeper spots a little easier. It took us about an hour to get there, but it was well worth the hike.

Two falls were close together; we had been told we could not go beyond the second waterfall without a guide.

These two were beautiful and more than enough for us to see and enjoy. Mike and Bill jumped into the pool, luxuriating in the cold, clear pool. Soon and I were more timid about our pool venture, but enjoyed a dip.

Afterwards, we climbed back up the mountain forever grateful for our walking sticks. Near the end, we spied some ripe bananas on a tree--a pretty unusual sight since they are always very green. Soon really wanted a banana so went in search of someone to grant permission to take one or to pay for one. Pretty soon, back came Soon with a banana for each of us. We passed a couple of grinning farmers who seemed delighted to have been able to provide what was a delectable snack after our hike.
As we left the park, the attendant told us that we’d probably have to walk to the next town as the buses that went by from St. George’s were always very full. We asked how far it was and hesitating, she said, “Not too far.” Actually it was probably a couple of miles, but after we’d walked about 15 minutes a flatbed truck, named CRAB (all the vehicles have names painted across the windshield) , offered us a ride.

Of course, we were thrilled since there had been no sign of a bus and we were already pooped from our hike. We hopped into the truckbed which fortunately was empty. We were delighted. Of course, two miles down the road in a little town called Birch Grove, the truck driver stopped and said he had to get a drink in the little bar by the side of the road. Bill and Mike decided we should buy it for him since he’d offered us the ride. Of course, we didn’t realize he was also going to play a game of dominoes before taking off. We waited awhile deciding we would either take the bus if it came first, or continue with the trucker if he other choices didn’t materialize. We were getting anxious to get to our next destination, Grenville, a good-sized town on the east coast, because then we had to get a bus back and we had discovered that most buses stop running at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Actually, we had hoped to go north to Belmont Plantation which our good friends on YOLO had recommended, but on the bus one of the passengers informed us that they were closed because they are Seventh Day Adventists and Satuday is their Sabbath. Good Information! This same passenger said that she used to work there and that we should definitely go! Some other time, of course!
We caught a bus about 15 minutes later ending up in Grenville, 20 minutes later. Things were hopping. It was market day, and the small, narrow streets were packed with vendors selling goods and fresh food. We even saw pickled pigs feet in a bucket. Hungry, we located The Melting Pot, a sports bar and restaurant, recommended to us as the place where locals go. It was up a set of stairs, as many restaurants here are, with buffet of stewed chicken, peas, callalou--a spinach-like dish, corn, rice, mac and cheese (a popular dish), green salad, pasta, etc. We loaded our plates then picked a table overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
As we left, we emerged into a full-blown political rally in the form of a parade, with horns blaring, loud music and lots of dancing people. It was wild! Not the first time we’ve encountered this exuberant political rally in the islands.

Our day concluded with a bus ride on the south side of the island and finally back home, getting caught in heavy rain. What a fun day!

Clarke's Court Bay, Grenada - May 24-May 30, 2008

2008-06-09T13:14:00.004-04:00

Had to get away from the rolling! We moved to one of the many nearby bays further east on the south coast, Clarke's Court Bay.

It was much better in terms rolling. The bay was quiet. There were a couple of nice marinas there. One is the Clarke's Court Bay Marina run by Chris and Barbara on MoonSail. They also run the Coconut Telegraph at 8 a.m. in the mornings where cruisers can check in and announce their whereabouts. We attended the cruisers' potluck which they hosted on Saturday night. Had our first brownies in many a moon. Boy, were they good.

It was difficult getting to town though from this location in Lower Woburn. The bus ride was a little longer and one could only get the return bus from the downtown bus station as all of the buses are full along the route. The good news? The bus station is next door to the fish market. We found tuna and bangamary there for $7.50/lb. ec. Delicious fresh fish! Also, the market is nearby where they sell delicious fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, our favorites.

While anchored there, we met a Venezuelan and his family. They offered us a ride as we trekked up a steep hill to wait for the bus. Jose and and his wife Elizabeth have a home in Puerto La Cruz, where we're heading. However, they say Venezuela is not safe; so they prefer to raise their son and daughter in Grenada, a very safe place. We hope to get together when we are all in Venezuela as they will be going there later in the summer.

St. George's, Grenada - May 15-25, 2008

2008-06-09T11:59:00.003-04:00

On to St. George's! We had been waiting a long time to get to Grenada. Having heard great things about it, we were anxious. We had a beautiful sail down the west coast and arrived at Ross Point, just outside St. George's Lagoon. Our mail was waiting--imagine that! We were glad to be in a larger area not unlike St. Martin where there are good boating stores and supplies, good supermarkets, a great outdoor market and lots of good restaurants. St. George's is the home of St. George's University, an international school of medicine. We enjoyed the town of St. George's carenage--a centre-city of sorts. Had a really fine lunch of grilled fish, eggplant, plaintain and salad for $30 EC ($10 US) at a place called BB's Crab-back. The chef himself came out to see what we thought of the meal. Mike even enjoyed the eggplant and plaintain--that says a lot!

After spending some time there, we went to Prickly Bay on the south coast. Although a little rolly, we were able to get pretty good internet service even though we had to pay for it. We had some research to do and wanted to spend some time on the internet so it was worth it. Though not as convenient as Ross Point from which we could dinghy to St. George's, we were able to gt around easily on the buses which work well in Grenada and are cheap. Buses, hmmmmm.... They are mostly minivans with about 5 bench seats that really seat 2-3, but are made to handle anywhere from 3-7. That means a busload is about 20+ people when full--which is often thecase especially when leaving the downtown bus station where they wait until full to overflowing. Cheap: the cost is $2.50 ec per person per ride--about $ .93 US one way. The downside is the speed with which they travel--very high--in crowded areas with people, children, and animals walking in the roadway. Such travels must be very hard on the vehicles with quick stops on sometimes very steep hills. Anyhow, we've learned to close our eyes or look at the scenery. If it's our time, it's our time!

Petit St. Vincent, Petite Martinique, Carriacou - May 9-15

2008-06-09T11:38:00.003-04:00

Our Swedish friends on Maara had told us not to miss Petit St. Vincent. So we headed there next. What a beautiful island. It's a very small island, still part of St. Vincent, with an exclusive resort. Cruisers are welcome to have a drink at the bar as long as they're not too crowded. We didn't try. We just enjoyed the beautiful scenery, the crystal clear water and some pleasant walks on the white sand beach. Mike also cooked some delicious barbecued chicken while there.

We left to go to Carriacou, but first filled up with water at Petite Martinique because water is so cheap there. Petite Martinique and Carriacou are both part of Grenada so we also had clear in to Grenada, but not until we reached Hillsborough in Carriacou. Petite Martinique is a tiny island famous for boat building. The people were extremely warm and friendly. We were sorry there wasn't more to see and do there.

Then we moved on to Carriacou. Because we arrived on a weekend with Monday a holiday, WhitMonday, we didn't check in until Tuesday. We learned that we had committed a grave error. The immigration official insisted that they are always open; that had we checked, we would have found him. Therefore he was going to fine us for not checking in on Saturday. Fortunately, we got through that without a fine, and the official was pleased that we were sufficiently chastised. Hillsborough is a small town. We got a few things at the supermarket there and found a great new deli, Patti's Deli. We spent most of our time in Tyrrel Bay around the corner in an even tinier town. There we found some fun cruisers and a great restaurant--only one--with mussels and pizza. We enjoyed a few days there, then moved on to Grenada.

Union Island, May 8,2008

2008-06-09T11:26:00.002-04:00

From Mayreau, we headed to Clifton Harbor on Union Island, only to clear out of St. Vincent, a requirement before clearing into the next country, in this case, Grenada. We spent a night in Clifton Harbor although it's not one of our favorite places. All the vegetables are imported so are very expensive. The harbor is not as attractive as other harbors as well. And, the last time we were here, a few years ago, we caught our anchor on an underground cable unmarked on our charts. It took quite a bit to get loose including some tangles with locals who wanted to make a few bucks freeing us and vied for our services. All in all, not good memories.

However, we did hook up with an old friend, Tafa, whom we had met on the earlier trip. He had helped us out in Tobago Cays where he works as a boatboy bringing people such things as ice and selling T-shirts. We were able to locate Tafa by asking another boat boy about him and his boat Desperado, which had formerly been spelled Desparado. Tafa came out for a visit which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Mayreau, May 6-8, 2008

2008-06-06T09:37:00.007-04:00

At last we got to our favorite island, Mayreau. Salt Whistle Bay is a beautiful stretch of white sand with a few palm trees overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. A charming little town lies overa steep hill. We fell in love with this island several years ago chartering with friends and have been anxiously looking forward to our return. After leaving Bequia with an overnight stop in Canouan, we pulled into Mayreau at 9:15 a.m., hoping to be able to pick a great spot to anchor which we did. True to form, boats started pouring in to the anchorage. At noon, seven large catamarans with French flags bore down upon the anchorage at their usual high speed screeching to a halt just short of the beach. This entry was dramatic with their great speed and apparent disregard for us and others in the anchorage. However, no damage done. They rafted up in front of us resulting in a large barricade between us and the beach. No harm.

In the morning, a small jazz combo with bongos, etc., began playing on one of the French boats near us. Great music! We were quite excited as they played all morning. However, around 3 p.m. the raft began to break up with each boat peeling away. Now this would have been okay, but they had been partying hard starting early in the a.m. And in typical French charterer fashion, they started leaving the anchorage at high speed, narrowly missing us and others. In fact, many boaters including us quickly hung fenders over the sides as the French were out of control. Fortunately, we all survived--we hope they did!

We stopped at the Island Paradise Restaurant where the cook grilled fresh fish for a great lunch. Anita, our waitress, was so friendly, and we learned that she is hoping to start a grocery store in town with much more than is currently available. This seems like an ambitious endeavor for an island of 300, but she might well pull it off as the island does not have much in the way of provisions. We also stopped in at Righteous and De Youths, a Bob Marley style restaurant, where we had a pricey beer.
That night we were invited for cocktails on Dulcineau, a chartering couple from San Francisco. Bill, a semi-retired dentist, and his wife were spending their last night in Mayreau. They too had enjoyed the French antics as well as the mini-concert of the day.

Bequia and Mayreau--April 29-May 7

2008-05-18T09:26:00.008-04:00

Arising early on the 27th, we slipped our mooring ball and headed to St. Vincent. I was a little anxious about St. Vincent as we’d heard some tales about it not being safe. As we bypassed a couple of anchorages with less than stellar reviews, we saw none of the activity of boat boys waiting three miles out for incoming boats. However, we sailed on until we spotted a beautiful cove where one catamaran was anchored. There was no town, just a long beach with beautiful palms lining it. After the noise of Soufirere, we thought it looked calmly inviting. And it was! Although the original catamaran had apparently just stopped for lunch, only two other boats came in for the night.
Next morning, on to Bequia--a favorite. It did not disappoint. We had been to Bequia on a chartering trip a few years ago and liked it then. There are nice restaurants, good shopping, a market with some pushy Rasta men, and most of all a great dinghy dock. Dinghy docks are of some consequence in that if they are difficult, we tend not to go into town much. If easy, we come and go often. The market turned out to be okay after all as the Rasta men, though pushy, abided by our wishes to look before we bought.
Some of our friends were there as well, and we had a dinner ashore one evening with some and invited some others to our boat for cocktails another evening. Most enjoyable.

From there we went to Canouan, another small island with little to offer.

St. Lucia, April 20-27

2008-05-18T09:11:00.003-04:00

Still no mail! Frustrating! Fellow boaters have moved on but we are still waiting --and wondering. Since we learned that the fellow who brings the mail is taking a couple of days off and the weekend will be here, we decided to go to Marigot Bay just a couple of sailing hours south. Indeed it was a beautiful location. Anchoring was no treat as we had to squeeze into a small area where there were mostly mooring balls. Jean-Jacques, the fellow in charge of the mooring ball near where we parked, was not happy that we hadn’t picked up his mooring for $25 per night--Oh, well…. We enjoyed the location for a couple of days although there wasn’t much to do. Went back to Rodney Bay on Monday hoping to find our mail. No mail, but we did make a breakthrough. The marina manager was in the office and introduced us to the mail fellow, Eddie, who assured us he would look extra hard for it in the Castries post office. On Thursday, we learned it had gotten to the post office and Eddie would pick it up. To make a long story somewhat shorter, Mike and I hopped a bus for the umpteenth time and managed to meet with success. The mail took three weeks! I think in the future we’ll pay for faster service, USPS Express International instead of USPS Priority.
On Sunday, we sailed south to the Pitons, a pair of mountains that are famous for their beauty. Because we needed to clear out of St. Lucia in nearby Soufriere, we picked up a mooring ball there. The bay is very deep so it’s hard to anchor. Sundays seem to be a big party day for islanders. There was a lot of loud West Indies music resounding from the dock. People were dancing and partying all over the beach in town. After clearing out, we looked around the town a bit but almost everything was closed. Back to the boat. We were entertained for the rest of the evening by the activity on the nearby shore: pigs foraging along the shoreline; goats chomping on the grass; and lots of fishermen and boat boys coming and going.
We left in the morning at sunrise for St. Vincent. As the residents of Soufriere--primarily the fishermen--arise at first light with TVS and radios turned on at high volume, awaking at dawn was no problem.

Above is a picture of one of the Pitons. The other is a view of the beautiful Marigot Bay.

April 9 to April 19 - St. Lucia

2008-04-18T10:59:00.005-04:00

We arrived in St. Lucia in the midst of a squall. Very blustery, rainy and ugly!!! Unfortunately, the squalls came up after a beautiful sail leaving Le Marin. For once we were on the much-desired beam reach, thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Ah, well, we enjoyed what we could.

Rodney Bay is another wide beautiful bay, the scene of a Sandals hotel among many others. The area, though a little touristy, is a nice place to be as there are boating stores, an excellent grocery store--the first fresh milk since Antigua, and nice restaurants. We are actually expecting mail to be delivered here, but who knows? It hasn't arrived yet. Wednesday we took a bus to Castries Town, the capital, about 20 minutes south. It was the usual--a van with six rows of seats, usually crowded, that travels at breakneck speed with sudden stops. Castries Town was a huge disappointment--dirty, ugly and totally lacking in charm. It has suffered several fires from which it has never recovered, apparently.

We had the good fortune to run across our friends, s/v YOLO, and enjoyed a great Colorado meal aboard their boat with Karen's brother, Jim, who had just arrived from Denver.

We enjoyed a beach party last night put on by a local family who also run a laundry service for cruisers. They barbecued chicken and served it up with yellow rice, green banana and salad along with rum punches. They had brought in CDs played from a loudspeaker in their van. About 12 cruisers were there. We enjoyed making new friends. This was the last beach barbecue of the season we learned as most big groups of cruisers have already passed through. We were glad not to have missed it though. A fun evening.

We also enjoyed a rustic little restaurant on Pigeon Island called Jambe de Bois. The food was good and reasonably priced, and they have a huge library from which to swap books.

Incidentally, Mike is very proud of himself--he can now fit into my shorts, a feat occurring in the book, "An Embarrassment of Mangoes," that he's been trying to accomplish.

Above are three views from Jambe de Bois of the anchorage at Rodney Bay, then two of the fruitman, who comes around daily selling fruits and vegetables.

March 27-April 8, 2008 Martinique

2008-04-17T10:40:00.003-04:00

A blustery day on Thursday, March 27, resulted in a boisterous sail to Martinique. The waves were tall and choppy but smoothed out a bit after 3 hours as we approached St. Pierre, our destination. St. Pierre, known as the Paris of Martinique, was the first capital of Martinique and appeared to have been very much a first-class European city in the late 1800s. However, in 1902, the island's active volcano, Mt. Pelee, located just above the city erupted. At that time, little was known about volcanoes so although there were warning signs, they were thought to be meaningless. As a result the city of 30,000 people was decimated on May 8. Even the ships in the harbor were destroyed. Only two men survived, one a cobbler; the other, Cyparis, in prison for murder who later became a Barnum & Bailey circus star, survived for four days in an underground cell. The city is now populated by about only 4000. There is an interesting museum regarding the city before and after the eruption.

Moving on, we loved the market at the dock. Lots of fresh, colorful vegetables, fish, meat and other goods. We bought some fresh tuna--delicious! We're sorry we're having to buy fish though. Our fishing has yielded nothing for quite awhile. Of course, also, fishing is not permitted everywhere.

After St. Pierre, we sailed south to Grande Anse d'Arlet, a beautiful wide bay with a gorgeous beach. Stayed overnight then went on to St. Anne, a nice little town outside Le Marin, a huge sailing community in Martinique. After two days, we moved into the Le Marin area in order to avail ourselves of the stores selling cheap wine, French bread and cheese. Of course, the object of our stay was to sample wines and stock up on those we liked. It's the last good chance to buy French vin de pays at good prices. So, we were there for a week or so.

One day we rented a car and drove up to Fort de France, the largest city on Martinique as well as its capital. It turned out to be disappointing--huge, dirty and run down. However, we enjoyed the ride and were struck by the excellent roads and the beautiful countryside. We crossed the interior to go to the east coast which we had heard was seldom visited. Although the ride was enjoyable, the day turned rainy and cold. Vauclin, the town we drove to on the east coast, turned out to be sailing center for the French. Despite the nasty weather, there were one or two fellows parasailing and windsurfing.

We left Le Marin on Wednesday, April 9, to head to our next island, St. Lucia.

Above are pictures of the DePaz Distillery, a street view of St. Pierre, Jus'Now from a St. Pierre street, a view of the Le Marin harbor and the sugar cane fields.

March 23-26, 2008 - Roseau, Dominica

2008-04-07T10:39:00.004-04:00

Having spent quite awhile in Portsmouth, we were anxious to move onward. Roseau, the next big city in the southern part of Dominica, is a port of call for cruise ships--ergo, a much bigger city. Roseau turned out to be a charming city with many windy, narrow streets full of shops and restaurants and grocery stores. The market was a treat, as usual, with lots of women and a few men selling fresh vegetables at reasonable prices. Although prices on wine were terrible, we were able to take advantage of the duty-free prices on liquor.

On Wednesday, we decided to take a bus tour to the west coast just to see the countryside. What an adventure. We found the bus stand with perhaps 20 van-like "busses" parked and waiting for passengers. Each had a destination marked in the window. We found one that was going to Marigot. The driver invited us to get in. We were the first passengers. Now we did expect that soon he would leave, however, that was not to be. It turned out he was waiting for his bus to fill up. After about 45 minutes, we decided that lunchtime was fast upon us and we had better get a bite to eat just in case the trip lasted a long time. Mike left to do this; just then the driver hopped behind the wheel. I told him I'd have to get off if he was leaving because Mike had gone to get food. No problem, he said; we'll wait for him. Well, of course, we waited for not only Mike, but others who were shopping, getting children, running errands. One more half-hour and we started up only to go around the block where the driver ran into a store to pick up a package. Back to the bus stand and more waiting. Soon he started up again for real although we did stop at another store along the way to pick up a package for one of the passengers.

We arrived in Marigot about an hour later after a lovely drive through the magnificent rainforest. The ferns are actually tree-sized; tall palm trees form a canopy over the forest. Banana plantations dot the hillsides. Although it rained off and on for most of the trip, it was beautiful. At one point on a hairpin curve, we had to back up the hill in order to let a tractor trailer make the turn--quite exciting.

Upon reaching Marigot, we were going to find a restaurant for a real meal. Instead another bus driver approached saying he would take us to Portsmouth where we could get a bus back to Roseau, but first we'd go to a nearby restaurant as he had to eat too. This sounded like a good deal so we wend to a local establishment where we had the fish lunch: grilled dorado, green banana, plaintain, salad and dasheen (we think). Not bad, but the most delicious thing turned out to be the drink of guava juice which we had instead of a beer. (When we asked for beer, the bus driver told us that the restaurant was a Christian establishment and did not serve alcohol.)

The rest of our trip worked pretty well except that in Portsmouth, two bus drivers fought over which bus we should get into. Obviously, we wanted the one leaving first as we had spent several days in Portsmouth the week before. On to Roseau. The western part of the island turned out to be dry and not nearly as pretty as the central and northern areas.

Dominica, Indian River-March 21, 2008

2008-03-22T07:20:00.003-04:00

On Friday, March 21, we decided to take the Indian River tour with one of the local guides. One can only go up the river with a guide--it's a national park and they're trying to preserve it. The boat boys who run around the anchorage in colorful skiffs with names like Providence, Cobra, Spaghetti, Ravioli Lover and Lawrence of Arabia will take two to six or even eight people up the river, but rowing their boats, not using their outboards. Our guide, Martin on Providence, was exceptional. A well-mannered, intelligent fellow, Martin carefully arranged a time to pick us up from our boat. He came back a couple of times to update us on the time of pick-up and appeared right on schedule. One other couple joined us from an Island Packet, Boundless. Martin told us the history of the area and pointed out the bloodwood tree, pictured above, with huge gnarled roots. They are over 400 years old. He also pointed out hummingbirds, iguanas, tiny lizards and crabs that were very difficult to see as their coloring tends to make them blend with their surroundings. We heard lots of parrots at one point, but they too blended with their surroundings and we couldn't pick them out. At the end of the river was a very nice outdoor bar. Many of the guides stop their allowing their clients to have a drink. Not Martin. He proceeded to take us on a little hike into the dense forest chopping away the brush with his machete as we went. There we had a "coconut moment." Martin took his machete to a coconut that he found along the way. We drank the sweet water then ate chunks of coconut. Around the outside of the coconut underneath its hard shell is brush-like orangey/brown mass which makes good sponges for washing dishes. So we each got some new dish scrubbers. Along the route back, Martin picked some wild bay leaves for our kitchens. After 2 1/2 hours, Martin returned us to our boats. Above are some of the scenes from the Indian River.

March 17, 2008 - Chaudiere Pool

2008-03-18T09:40:00.003-04:00

Since Sunday, March 16, was Palm Sunday, there was not much going on in Portsmouth. We strolled the town. Things were quiet. Our trip was postponed to Monday, so we were going to catch a bus or hitch a ride to see some of the countryside. However, our plans were foiled--no one seemed to be out and about except for those sitting on their porches or walking to and from church.

Although our day was quiet, we met a lovely storekeeper who sold us some eggs and the three limes she had. A local fellow, brother of the shopkeeper, was very insistent that we buy the six mangoes he had for sale. They were far from ready to eat, but he told us they would be ready in about three days--or, we could eat them in a salad as they were.

Sunday evening we invited our neighbors, Fran and Chris from s/v Changes, over for cocktails. They are from Toronto and have a beautiful Hylas 49. Fran taught 2nd grade in the 70s when they were sailing in George Town, Bahamas. They had wanted to enroll their home-schooled daughter in the school for socialization skills, but were told because of the shortage of teachers, they couldn't take her. So Fran became a teacher there for a season. Now that daughter, a marine biologist, is teaching on the Concordia traveling from the Cape Horn to Capetown, South Africa.

On Monday, we went to Chaudiere pool with several cruisers. The pool is located several miles east of Portsmouth. We hired a local driver, Cornel, to take us there and pick us up. The hike down the mountain was only about 30 minutes, but was quite steep and a little slick with mud.

The entire trail was covered with a spectacular canopy of palm trees and other lush rainforest growth providing shade for the trek. Upon reaching the bottom, we were treated a beautiful waterfall with a refreshing pool of fresh water. Of course, we all jumped in for a swim. The hike out proved surprisingly to be quite a challenge for me. I am truly and shamefully out of shape after over a year on our boat with little opportunities for exercise and workouts. After hiking back up to the road, we walked about 2 1/2 miles to a small town where we were to meet Cornell for the ride back to town. We were very anxious for a cold drink, but the first "snackette" we came to only sold beer, and some of our group wanted a rum punch. So, the shopkeeper hollered down the street to April to open up as there were people who needed a drink. With that the second shopkeeper hopped next door to her snackette and proceeded to serve us all--although the beer was warm!

Today we 've hired Anderson, a local fellow who paddles around on a surface drumming up business, to clean the sides of our boat. He gave us a reasonable price and seems to be a friendly, goodhearted young man and our boat sure needs the attention. He cleans the hulls by kneeling on his surfboard scrubbing with a vinegar solution. Looks like a hard way to do it, but we've seen the results of his efforts. So we're pleased.

March 16, 2008 - Portsmouth, Dominica

2008-03-16T14:26:00.006-04:00

We left the Saints a little before we were ready because we were anxious to catch up with some friends we had met in St. Thomas, S/V Yolo ( Karen and Jason Trautz). We have a great time with them and knew they were in our next port for only a short time, so we hustled on to Dominica. Yes, we enjoyed a nice visit with Karen and Jason before they took off for the next town, Roseau. We, however, are staying a little because we like Dominica and haven't had much of a chance to explore what looks like a beautiful, interesting island.

Dominica is British and uses the EC dollar, so it's a bit more value than what we get on the French islands where the exchange rate has jumped from $1.50 per euro to $1.63 per euro. There are lush green mountains all around with beautiful trees and flowers. We were going to take a bus ride to the countryside today, but because it was Palm Sunday, we learned things were very quiet. Tomorrow we hope to go to the Chaudiere pool several miles away.

We are finding the Dominicans friendly and have run into boat boys for the first time while on Jus' Now. These men wait in colorfully painted dinghies to greet arriving boats with the idea that they will be your contact when you anchor. They will do things like take you to customs, arrange for tours, pick up fruit or vegetables or collect your laundry--all for a fee, of course. They are usually very nice and polite-- if persistent. Once you name one as your "man", the others don't come around.

One of the things we have also noticed is that since Montserrat, there is no more fresh milk available. All milk is sold as boxed with a shelf life. Even the large stores in large cities don't carry fresh milk. The box milk is not too satisfying to us, unfortunately. However, we have found some delicious locally produced juices, like guava or mango.

One of the things we're not keen on in this anchorage is the music that blares through the anchorage sometimes all night. Although we like the West Indies music, when it repeats over and over at very high volume all night long, it gets old.

We are struck by the fact that there are a lot of rusted old vehicles--boats, trucks, etc.-- on this island. In the French islands, one does not see this. Those islands for the most part are modern, up-to-date, and well-cared for. In the second picture above, you see the truck just abandoned in the center of town. On the top of the truck's windshield is its nickname--Best in Fleet. Almost all vehicles have a name painted across the top of the windshield and are amusing. For example, while trying to hitch a ride this morning, a pickup named, Time Served, passed us. We weren't sure that had he stopped, we would have wanted to ride with him.

More pictures: Next are two of at least four rusted out ships no doubt destroyed in a hurricane, but left to decay right at the water's edge. The fourth picture is of a most unusual house we found on one of the back streets. And lastly, just a scene in the town of Portsmouth.

March 12, 2008 The Saints (Les Saintes)

2008-03-14T09:06:00.003-04:00

We sailed into the Saints at about 2 p.m. finding a large anchorage full of boats. It took several tries for us to get the boat anchored--most unusual. Of course, our windlass is not working properly; Mike has to let the anchor down by hand. (Fortunately, it works well when pulling up the anchor.)
The Bourg de les Saintes is a charming little village with shop-lined streets but also many residences. It seems to be a tourist haven despite many residents. After strolling the main street, we stopped in a lovely modern French hotel called Le Hotel Bleu for a glass of wine. Chatting with the waiter, we learned that he had left Montpelier in the south of France to raise his three small children in Les Saintes. Of course, he has found the island to be very small and may not stay here forever. He was very nice and spoke very good English. Most people we have run across since Guadaloupe only speak French and maybe a smattering of English. Of course, that makes me happy as I’m really getting a workout on my French, something I’ve longed to do since minoring in it college many eons ago.
This morning we went into town at 9 a.m. for some croissants, which we’ve been enjoying since Guadaloupe. However, we were too late for the bakery. They were gone. However, there were still some chocolate doughnuts--pain de chocolat--which of course we bought. Delicious! Tomorrow we’ll have to get into town early to get some croissants.

March 5 - Deshaies, Guadaloupe

2008-03-05T22:11:00.004-05:00

Finally, we made it. After a wild sail, we were happy to find a delightful fishing village of Deshaies (day-hay). It is a picturesque village with around 25 sailboats in its harbor. It feels very European as opposed to the other islands. Of course, French food abounds. We plan to stay here a few days enjoying the town.

In the first picture, you see tourists standing in line to buy a hunk of fresh fish on the main street in Deshaies. The next picture is a scene at the dock where we tied up our dinghy along with local fishermen. Third is Mike enjoying a glass of wine at one of the beachside bars on a very hot afternoon. And last is a shot of S/V Jus' Now through the trees at Deshaies.

February 19-March 3 - Montserrat

2008-03-05T21:49:00.002-05:00

We left Nevis early on Friday morning heading for Guadaloupe. However, it turned out that the wind and waves were from the east, not the northeast, making a sail onto Guadaloupe more difficult. Instead we opted to stop halfway at the island of Montserrat. We headed first for a small bay at the base of the volcano, Soufriere. However, as we neared the bay, great whorls of dust were blowing off the mud flows left by the eruption in 1995. We had read that this sometimes happens and can leave your boat very dirty. So we changed direction and headed north to Little Bay.

On Saturday, we had planned to leave bright and early only to find that the weather was going to be worse than Friday--lots of hard sailing into the waves and wind. In fact, we went out for a quick look, but decided not to go further and returned.

Instead, we hiked into the town. What a hike! Montserrat is a very small, mountainous island. The roads are very steep; the climbing was tough going. We met some sailors on the way who were parked near us--Dan and Jean Osborne, from Punta Gorda. They told us about a little restaurant up the hill so we proceeded there since we were is search of a bite to eat. Ingrid, the owner, introduced herself and served us what she had: curried mutton. It was delicious. Ingrid, as it turned out, is also an Osborne--not related, of course, to Dan and Jean, but very friendly.

We had a pleasant evening with the Osbornes and German neighbors, Willie and Uta, on another boat.

On Sunday, Mike worked on our battery charger which has a habit of acting up quite regularly despite its being brand new. No sooner had he finished, when the alternator on our generator failed. He thought it would be a quick fix, but not so! It was going to need some parts. Big question: could we find these parts on this tiny island??? Mike hailed a local on a passing jet ski who said that he and his seven brothers all worked on cars and mght be able to help.

So on Monday morning, Mike pulled the alternator and went to meet Ol' Jack at the appointed time of 10 am. Around noon, when Ol' Jack still hadn't turned up, a fellow named Tom offered to call him. When Ol' Jack showed up, he took Mike to his brother's auto repair shop where they took apart the alternator and after much searching around found the parts for repair. Mike returned about 3 p.m. a happy man with some new friends to boot.

On Tuesday morning, we were able to leave for Guadaloupe. We were really happy to have had such a great time in Montserrat.

February 25, 2008 - St. Kitts

2008-03-05T21:32:00.003-05:00

After a couple of days in Nevis, we had a gorgeous sail to St. Kitts, a few miles north of Nevis. We anchored just outside the town of Basse Terre, its capital, in what turned out to be a miserable anchorage. It was very rolly and unpleasant. However, we decided just to stay there overnight so that we could enjoy the town for a day and then move on.

The people in St. Kitts were very friendly. The town is modeled after London in some respects with a center square called Picadilly Circus(pictured above). It is much larger than Charlestown and to us lacked the charm of Charlestown. The town has a new area where cruise ships arrive under construction to appeal to the masses. There are lots of new shops being built. The area reminds me of the open-air malls now common in the US. I guess this shopping mode is designed to appeal to the cruise ship clientele.

After roaming the town for awhile, we returned to our boat to spend a very unpleasant rolly night. In the morning, after obtaining fuel and water, we moved to a lovely anchorage a mile or so south called Whitehouse Bay. We spent a day there hiking the main road in search of monkeys that we heard are very prevalent there. We did see one, finally. We saw lots of goats and cows, though. Apparently, the island is preparing for some development in this area. Workmen were checking the water pipes; there were dump trucks moving loads of dirt. Things will be changing this pretty countryside soon. Pictured above is the salt pond area where we hiked.

We left for Nevis to clear out, another necessity, before moving south.

February 23,2008

2008-02-23T14:08:00.004-05:00

We set out to sail to Nevis and St. Kitts on Tuesday, Feb. 19, but somehow didn't realize how long a trip it was--7 hours--and realized we needed to get an earlier start. So instead we sailed up to Jolly Harbour, a pleasant sail but with big, 7-10 foot waves and plenty of wind. When we arrived, our starboard motor failed to go into gear. Uh-oh! So, Mike decided we'd spend Wednesday figuring out that problem before we could go on to Nevis.

Luck was with us, though. Mike soon discovered that the cotter pin had broken and with a new one on board, we were in business in no time. However, we still needed a full day of sailing, so opted to spend another night in Jolly Harbor.

Thursday morning, we took off at 6:30 a.m.--quite early for us. There was a little wind and the seas were calm. Unfortunately, that meant we had to motor a good way before the wind built. Plus there were squalls all around us meaning we couldn't use our spinnaker. However, we enjoyed our day arriving in Nevis about 2:45. We located our friend Clark, who was parked just south of Pinney Beach, without difficulty and enjoyed a pleasant evening with him. We had met Clark in George Town, Bahamas, last February. He has since been down to Grenada where he spent hurricane season and is on his way back now.

Friday we went in to Charlestown (pictured above), the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton and the capital of Nevis. It's a charming little town with colorful buildings on the waterfront and friendly townspeople. We did the obligatory check-in--one can't anchor a boat without ensuring they've let the customs/immigration officials know they're there. Usually there's a fee involved as well. This was no exception. In fact, once again, there was a lot of paperwork to fill out followed by a four-block trek to the police building to have our passports stamped. Oh, well. It was worth it. We are very impressed with Nevis. We lunched at a place called Unella's (pictured above) with a beautiful view of the coast with sandy white beaches and palm trees. Then had dinner with Clark aboard our boat.

Today we moved from Pinney's Beach to Cades Point, three miles north, with plans to snorkel. Because the ocean was a bit choppy, we put off our snorkeling till tomorrow.

February 17

2008-02-17T14:16:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, February 16, we enjoyed an unusual event at The Catamaran Club, outside of whose marina we are anchored. They sponsored a Build Your Own Boat (BYOB) event where different teams from the Wobbly Club competed. All had about two hours to build a small boat of particle board, duct tape, glue, etc.--spartan equipment, you can tell. There were about 10 teams. At 4:30, time was called and the boats were divided into two categories: those that would sail their crafts and those who powered their crafts other ways such as rowing or motoring, etc. There were numerous spectators sharing opinions and watching avidly as the participants hustled to finish their boats. There was even a kids' entry. All had a great time, even the two boats that got dumped in the drink after taking off on the brief path to the finish line.

Above are some pictures of the event as well as one of The Catamaran Club.

Antigua, Feb. 17, 2008

2008-02-17T13:55:00.003-05:00

Sticking to the busses is not without risk. Bus drivers seem to compete with each other on speed, how close they can come to each other without missing a beat, and how close they can come to individuals walking in the street. That said, I'd rather take the bus than a car. The bus system works very well. One just needs to hail a bus which come every few minutes. The price into St. John's is $3, Easter Caribbean, which they state as "3 dollars." One must always make sure that the price quoted is US dollars or EC dollars, as 1 US dollar equals about 2.70 EC dollars. The bus goes to a central bus station across from the market although people get on and off all the way there.

Yesterday we made our second trip into St. John's primarily to go to the market for fresh vegetables. Our trip was fun. There are tons of vendors inside an old concrete hall-like building with a myriad of tomatoes, cucumbers, bora beans (not unlike green beans, but longer) and other assorted known and unknown vegetables. We bought a few things, not much because things don't keep well in this climate and we don't like to throw away food. There were also many vendors set up outside around the market and up and down the streets. Many street vendors are selling CDs which blare on outdoor speakers on each and every corner. St. John's is a busy, busy place with lots of locals and tourists milling about in the streets, vying for space on the limited sidewalks or trying to stay out of the paths of cars, trucks and busses.

After buying a few veggies, we hopped a bus to a large shopping center a little north of town called Woods Center. There is a large, well-stocked grocery store there called Epicurean. We were very glad we'd gone. We were able to get some pork chops, chicken, bacon and other foodstuffs that we hadn't seen in Falmouth Harbor, where we are anchored. There was also a Radio Shack where we searched for a battery charger without luck. After shopping, we hopped the bus back to the main station in St. John's to change to the bus back to Falmouth Harbor. A successful, enjoyable day.

Pictured above are the marketplace and a statue there of the famous Antiguan founder, Sir Vere Cornwall Bird.

Feb. 12,2008

2008-02-12T07:41:00.001-05:00

Since our Christmas and New Year's holidays spent in St. Maarten/St. Martin and Anguilla, we parked in St. Martin to await the arrival of Colorado friends, Larry and Dana Darien. Sue went to Maryland to help her mother move to a retirement home then returned in time for a sail to St. Barth's and on to Antigua.

The Dariens arrived on Jan. 24th. Unfortunately, we had to stay put in the St. Martin area because of weather and waves which prohibited safe travel onward. However,we spent a couple of days in a favorite spot, Grand Case, sampling Germaine's fried chicken and ribs and lounging at the Calmos Cafe, a great beach bar. Finally on Feb. 3 we were able to move. On St. Barth's we visited a couple of favorite haunts from a trip five years ago with the Dariens--a boulangerie with great pastries and a restaurant that promised the Superbowl for Larry and Dana, but in the end couldn't deliver.

A night sail to Antigua proved challenging with higher than expected waves and wind, but we made it. We rented a car which Mike agreed to drive to see the island. Poor Mike! Driving Antigua's twisty, pothole-filled roads fighting the speed -crazed Antiguan drivers took its toll. Mike and I couldn't wait to get rid of the car. We'll stick to busses from now on.

St. Maarten - December 18-23

2008-01-27T16:48:00.000-05:00

St. Maarten is an island half Dutch and half French. We sailed into Simpson Bay Lagoon where many sailboats are anchored and many more megayachts are docked. We had a number of repairs to make on our boat as the crossing from Norfolk the previous month took its toll. One of the most important things to do was to get a new dinghy. The glue holding the pontoons to the base of the boat has been working loose and can no longer be repaired. However, it turned out that there were no dinghies to be had--sold out--of the size we needed. We were stunned. With Ray & Lou, Mike's brother and sister-in-law, arriving for Christmas we surely needed a decent "car" to get around in. Fortunately, two were due in shortly after Christmas, so we put our money down not wanting one to be sold out from under us.

We also needed things like batteries, so we spent the days before Christmas mostly getting our boat "fixed." On the 23rd, there was a dinghy drift where 25 dinghies hooked up to float in Simpson Bay Lagoon singing Christmas carols. Great hors d'oeuvres were passed around too. We ended up at the cruisers' hangout for food and drinks. Lots of fun.

Tortola/Virgin Gorda - December 14-17

2008-01-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

We stayed at Norman's Bight a bit longer than we'd planned because of the threat of Olga. Moved on to Tortola's heading to the west end for continued protection just in case. Spent several days there renting a car one day to see the island. One day on advice we hitched a ride with a neat couple--yes, there was a Colorado connection. It turned out Betsy currently living in Montana and Rick from Seattle could tell we were yachties when they saw us materialize out of the mangroves with our backpacks...What does that say??? Anyhow, they gave us a ride to Road Town, the main city on Tortola and filled us in on how things work on Tortola. Later we rented a car to see for ourselves. Tortola is a beautiful island with an interior of mountains and spectacular views. Although we could not get to Cane Garden Bay, an old haunt, by boat because of the weather, we drove there and were surprised to find that it had not changed a great deal. Stanley's Welcome Bar, the scene of a lot of partying, thirty years ago, was still there as was the local rum distillery--now basically a museum for tourists.

From Tortola, we sailed to Virgin Gorda to prepare for the crossing to St. Maarten, which would take approximately 14 hours. We joined forces with 4 other boats heading there on Monday, December 17. Steve, on Clear Day, hosted a net so that we all communicated at regular intervals to ensure all were safe. We had been hearing Steve over the SSB radio checking on the weather for the crossing. We were happy to see him pull into Virgin Gorda shortly after we did.

Our crossing on the 17th and 18th was okay, but the wind and waves were on our nose the entire making it less comfortable than we would have liked.

Hassel Island, St. Thomas; Tortola, British Virgin Islands

2007-12-13T09:00:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that we are in Fat Hog's Bay in Tortola, BVI. We are power-challenged currently, so we're making the most of the little power we have. Our plan is to leave Sunday as the weather should be better and head for St. Martin. Hopefully, we can rectify the power situation when we get there as there are competent, reasonable repair facilities there.

Just a brief recap of our last few days. Mike got his HAM license while in St. Thomas which means we should be able to get free email more regularly.

We met a couple from Michigan, Karen and Jason from YOLO, a PDQ 42--a BIG catamaran., with whom we hung out for about a week.

We were anchored at Hassel Island, a pretty place with goats roaming the hillsides, a beautiful beach and great scenery. We were constantly watchiing cruise ships coming and going as we were just outside Charlotte Amalie, the capital city of St. Thomas, and seaplanes landing and taking off.

Had a little diversion of a beach party at Honeymoon Bay on Sunday, Dec. 2. Then after a brief stop at Charlotte Amalie, we sailed around the eastern end of St. Thomas to Red Hook Bay for one night; then over to St. John.

Stayed in St. John for a couple of days anchored in extremely rolly, but beautiful Caneel Bay--a bit of a long dinghy ride from Cruz Bay, the center of town. One day we rode the bus to Coral Bay. The ride was a rather exciting one as the streets are narrow and very steep. The bus driver who seemed a little angry would lay on her horn as we rounded blind bends to alert others coming our way. Somehow we got there and back safely.

Coral Bay turned out to be the site of an American ex-pat community with full-time liveaboards enjoying paradis. Everyone seemed to know each other.

Although most things on St. John's were expensive, we did find Woody's with $1 drinks at happy hour as well as some local restaurants with fried chicken and barbecued ribs--mmmm...good.

On Friday we headed over to Jost Van Dyke and Foxy's, a well-known sailors' hangout. Of course, we met some other charterers there from Colorado. We never cease to be amazed how many Coloradans we meet.

With Tropical Storm Olga beginning to materialize, we headed out Saturday with lively sail to Norman Island, the Bight. There we were able to stay out of the weather dangers, although we had plenty of wind and numerous showers. The swimming and snorkeling were wonderful although there wasn't a lot to do. We were anchored right next to the Willie T., a floating bar and restaurant that played a lot of loud music, which was okay. It was also the scene of a lot of partying.

Met another great couple who had sailed from London, Graeme and Gyllian Mulcahy. Their visiting friends, Jock and Jill, were delightful as well. They were true cruisers who were making their way all over the islands and further. We enjoyed our evening with them.

St. Thomas, Virgin Islands - Nov. 16-30

2007-12-13T08:58:00.000-05:00

After 11 ½ days of sailing, we arrived in St. Thomas at 1:30 in the morning. It was great to get here especially having had such an exhilarating journey. Lots of wind and waves that our crew, Jeff and Steve, especially enjoyed. We saw only about five other boats the whole time—amazing.

There’s been a bit of rain here on St. Thomas, much to our surprise. Of course, being on foot with numerous trips to town for boating supplies and other provisions calls for rain gear as the skies are sunny one minute and pouring rain the next. Of course, these trips included a trip to have a brand new inverter/charger repaired as well. This is a large, extremely heavy unwieldy box that had to be disconnected removed from underneath the settee and carried by dinghy to a place that would repair it. (They just don’t come to one’s boat!) So Mike and I struggled with it in the pouring rain getting it into the dinghy then from the dinghy up a very steep hill to the shop. Fortunately, it could be and was repaired in a timely fashion but maddening as we had just bought it in Annapolis for lots of boat units, as we call the big bucks.

While in St. Thomas, we rode the open-air jitneys for one or two dollars, depending on how far you go, to shopping areas too far away to walk. It’s a little dangerous walking here. There are few sidewalks, and if there are sidewalks, they’re narrow and end abruptly. Streets are narrow as well and filled with all manner of busy island traffic. The jitneys are fun. They are a safari-type vehicle with four or five benches that seat about 20 people. They come every few minutes, and you flag them down. Of course, if not careful, you can end up in a taxi or a tourist jitney where it costs at least $4 or $5 plus a tip to get where you’re going. K-mart is the big department store here. Imagine! We didn’t spend much time there, but a couple of things such as a bike helmet for Mike –more about that later—were on our shopping list. The bike helmet we determined would be a handy safety item for times when Mike has to go up the mast in windy, inclement weather. This happened on the passage two days into our journey. One section of the radar reflector way up on the mast fell off. With the winds whipping up, Mike felt if not taken down, the sharp edges of the remaining pieces might rip the sails. We were all a bit unnerved when this had to be done just before a stormy nightfall. After raising him ¾ of the way up our 63 foot mast, Mike swung from side to side in the brisk winds barely missing the mast several times as we all held our collective breath. After finally getting hold of the remaining piece of the sharp-edged radar reflector, he was lowered carefully, battered and bruised but luckily no head damage.

Our anchorage at Cas Cay in Benner Bay was a quiet one but more importantly had great internet access, an often difficult thing to find without lugging the computer to shore. There was also a nice grocery store, the Food Center, where we did some provisioning. Had thought about getting a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. Even though turkeys were available, there were no deals like we’re used to in the states.

We decided to go to a restaurant Wednesday night called Buddha Sushi. The meal was outstanding—and that’s a real compliment from Mike who does not like sushi.

Passage Norfolk to St. Thomas, Nov. 4-Nov. 16, 2007

2007-11-18T17:54:00.001-05:00

Hooray! We made it! After 11 1/2 days of sailing the high seas--and some were mighty high--we got there. It was an exciting voyage. Lots of wind and waves and a few storms, but with a crew of Steve Olson, an old sailing buddy from Denver, and Jeff Strouf, a new friend and fellow sailor, we had a fabulous trip. Steve and Jeff were thrilled to be out in the ocean out of sight of land braving the elements. Sue was not; but hard to stay that way when fellow crew were so positive and enjoying every minute of the joyride. We had a few bets on when we would arrive, but we all were pretty pleased to have made it by 1:30 am on Nov. 16th. More to follow.

Norfolk/Portsmouth, October 30-November 4

2007-11-02T16:45:00.000-04:00

We motored the two hours to Portsmouth, where we anchored outside of Tidewater Yacht Marina along with lots of other boats heading south. The weather was beautiful until Thursday, when reports of strong winds were circulating. We decided to move a day ahead of schedule into the marina, Waterside, where we had reservations Friday and Saturday. We were glad we did. Got the last slip available and learned that most of the marinas were full.

Our crew arrives tomorrow-- Steve Olson from Denver and Jeff Strouf from Wausau, Wisconsin.
Steve is an old friend and sailing buddy; Jeff was a guy we met in Oriental, NC who loves to sail and was able to take time off from his job as a firefighter to go with us.

Hampton, VA October 26-30

2007-11-02T16:35:00.000-04:00

After Onancock, we sailed in mounting bad weather across the bay to Deltaville. Publicized in our guide books as quite the boaters' town, we quickly learned that the town is a couple of miles away. There was nothing but lots of fellow cruisers waiting out the weather which continued on a downward slide. On Thursday, we decided to head to Hampton as the weather was only predicted to get worse. It was rather chilly, windy and rainy with 3' to 4' waves, however, with following seas, it really turned out to be an enjoyable sail.

We were glad to get into Hampton, where many boats were marinaed (is this a word?) waiting for the Caribbean 1500 Rally sponsored by West Marine. They are leaving Hampton on Nov. 4, weather permitting. However, with the rather steep price, we opted to do our own thing although we'll be following a similar route.

We enjoyed Hampton. We had a lot of running around to do still preparing for our long offshore trek. On Sunday, my cousin, Debbie, and her husband, Dom, who currently live in Richmond joined us for an enjoyable afternoon.

By Tuesday, we decided it was time to head to Norfolk/Portsmouth.

Reedville, Virginia October 21

2007-11-02T16:30:00.000-04:00

Forgot to mention that we actually went from Solomons to Reedville, first. Reedville is the home of menhaden fishing, a dying industry. We were warned that it would be a smelly place to stay, but we went anyhow and found it to be very attractive although small and lacking in places to go and things to do. However, we weren't really there to do anything but spend the night. It was a waypoint in our travels south. The fishing boats and dilapidated quonset hut pictured above indicate the state of the menhaden fishing industry here.

Onancock, October 22-24, 2007

2007-11-02T16:21:00.000-04:00

After Solomons, we decided to go sailing!!! The weather was right for a change with a good brisk breeze of 15-20 knots. Gorgeous day, great sailing. We ended up on Virginia's eastern shore at the charming town of Onancock. We anchored just off the town dock and enjoyed live music from our boat--but not for long. We dinghied to shore to the music and enjoyed the sunset from Mallard's Restaurant. We decided to stick around for a day since the weather was warm and beautiful and the town delightful. We had a great inexpensive breakfast of a steak and egg wrap at Janet's Cafe. We strolled the town discovering wonderful items for our boat at the Hospice Thrift Store and at the hardware store--an old time shop with everything from nuts & bolts to tricycles to paint--also clams and home-grown vegetables. We bought a dozen clams and steamed them. Delicious. We have lots of experience with all manner of seafood--except clams. We enjoyed them.

Galesville, Solomons--October 18-20

2007-10-19T12:25:00.000-04:00

Finally we got away--Hasn't been easy. At the last minute Monday, we discovered we needed yet another part for our autopilot. Had to wait for it to be delivered--only to discover when it arrived, it was not the part that was bad, but a connection! Mike resolved it and we finally were underway at 10 on Wednesday. Arrived 10 miles south at another charming town, Galesville, where hungry swans hung around our boat hoping for a handout. (They seemed to have successful with the boat parked next to us whom we later found were from Grand Junction, CO.)

Left early Thursday for the 41 mile trek to Solomon's. Bad weather's coming but greeted us a tad early with choppy seas, wind and rain. With the wind on our nose, of course, we couldn't take advantage of it and had to motor through pounding waves. Met our friends Vicki and Porter as we motored in together Thursday at 5.

Bye-bye Annapolis, October 17, 2007

2007-10-19T12:24:00.000-04:00

South!

St. Michael's--October 13 & 14

2007-10-19T12:19:00.000-04:00

Finally left Annapolis for a fun weekend in St. Michael's, a charming sailing town about 20 miles across the bay. Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day as all of the boaters in Annapolis realized as well. We spent a good part of our initial foray weaving between racers--dead serious racers in whose way we did not want to be!

Sunday our return trip was beautiful, but much colder. I actually had to wear several layers of clothing to stay warm enough.

Friends in Annapolis

2007-10-19T12:05:00.000-04:00

As mentioned in the last post, we spent many a pleasant time with Vicki and Porter Howard pictured above. We also met Andrew and Denise Applteton from Kingston, Ontario on a beautiful 52 foot custom sailboat, Samaria II, complete with sitting room for TV etc. We learned that Andrew, who emigrated from Glasgow,Scotland many years ago when he was about 5 years old, sailed across on a boat named Samaria, hence his boat name's origin.

September and October - Annapolis

2007-10-12T15:48:00.000-04:00

We actually have spent a lot of time here in Annapolis. Annapolis is the capital of Maryland and the home of the Naval Academy. We've been getting our gear together for the passage to the Caribbean as well as having it checked out. In addition, the US Sailboat Show was here October 5-8 so we were able to meet with vendors, some we know, most we don't. In addition, the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) held a meeting all day Saturday, Oct. 6. There were various talks on topics such as medical needs for cruisers, rope handling, and traveling around South America. All were of great interest as well as the swap meet where we were able to pick up several books, tools and other equipment for a song.

Have spent lots of time with our neighbors on Cinnamon Teal, a 45 foot Trintella. Vicki and Porter Howard are from Seattle and have been sailing for three years. Vicki was a home ec/math teacher; Porter an electrical engineer for Boeing. They've been great sources of companionship for these last couple of weeks. They will be leaving soon, too, to head for St. Augustine and a new hard dodger for their boat, heading to points south.

Above are some scenes from picturesque Annapolis.

September 21--Annapolis/Rock Hall

2007-10-12T15:43:00.000-04:00

After a week in Annapolis, we were joined by two other old friends, Debbie and Bob Forrest, from Luray, VA. They were able to sail with us to Rock Hall--and we were actually able to sail with our one and only sail--our new spinnaker.

Tuesday, September 4 -- Rock Hall

2007-09-09T12:07:00.001-04:00

Brooke left early on Labor Day to go back to Denver. My brother, Carter, and his wife, Cindy, joined us for a lovely, but hot, afternoon. On Tuesday, September 4, we sailed back to Rock Hall for a few days. Met a couple from Montreal on Manouche, Robert and Danielle, who joined us in a day of site-seeing and shopping in Chestertown and Easton.

In Chestertown, we had lunch at the Imperial Hotel, an old, elegant hotel where Mike had the best oyster and corn chowder he had ever had--Mike, Danielle and Robert are pictured above in front of the hotel. We then drove to Easton, another lovely town where we splurged on ice cream at a place called Rita's. Had dinner the next evening at Bay Wolf, an Austrian/seafood restaurant, in Rock Hall where the food is delicious.

Coming back to Annapolis from Rock Hall, we were thrilled to see the Pride of Baltimore (pictured above), a beautiful old tour boat, as it was sailing near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Our next visitor was an old schoolmate and dear friend, Joan Higbee, who spent an afternoon with us. A little later, Mike and I visited her in Ellicott City, Maryland. She's been restoring a beautiful old house located on three acres on a hill just up from the town. Joan has hopes of its becoming a B & B with its proximity to the popular town below. She's well on her way.

Thursday, August 30 -- Baltimore

2007-09-09T12:02:00.000-04:00

Anchored in the Inner Harbor in the heart of Baltimore City. On one side, the USS Constellation; on the other the USS Torsk, the submarine that sank the last enemy vessel in World War II, and the last lightboat, USS Chesapeake--an in between the dragon paddle boats at the foot of the World Trade Center. Brooke joined us Saturday for an unexpected, brief visit. Celebrated nephew Christopher's 30th birthday with a family party at a restaurant right at our doorstep. Took Brooke throught the National Aquarium on Sunday and visited her grandmother.

On Monday, my brother Carter and his wife, Cindy, spent an afternoon with us. We thoroughly enjoyed their visit.

We really enjoyed the entertainment. Paddle boats in the shape of dragons in green, puple, red , and blue floated by regularly bumping our boat. We were the only boat in the Inner Harbor for most of the time. Brooke was thrilled with all the activity.

Wednesday, August 29 -- Rock Hall

2007-09-09T12:01:00.000-04:00

Onto Rock Hall where we had cocktails and dinner with Lionheart. A most enjoyable evening. We didn't stay long in Rock Hall as we were anxious to get settled in Baltimore, across the bay, to meet Brooke who was coming in for a short, but sweet visit over the Labor Day weekend.

Tuesday, August 28--Fairlee

2007-09-09T11:58:00.000-04:00

After a short sail with our nephew, we motored to Fairlee Creek on the eastern shore. It's was a lovely anchorage and was the location of my great grandfather's home. Met some friends of an old friend, Estee Edwards, Richard and Sue on Lionheart. Estee, a former coworker and friend from Denver, now lives in Long Beach, CA. When she heard we were going to be sailing in the Bahamas this past winter, she told us of her friends who would be on their trawler there. Well, we never saw them there. Imagine our surprise to find them in tiny Fairlee! Unfortunately, we had just missed seeing Estee and her husband, Rick, who had been traveling in their RV a few days before in the area! We ended up spending an enjoyable evening with Richard and Sue the next night in Rock Hall.

In addition to meeting new friends, Mike practiced his skill at crabbing. He managed to snag about 5 crabs which we ate the following morning in an omelet. The crab pictured above, Fred, unfortunately didn't make it --as far as the omelet, that is. We also were enchanted with the ducks who visited the various boats hoping for food.

Monday, August 27-- Havre de Grace

2007-09-09T11:56:00.000-04:00

After spending the weekend, the very hot weekend in Chesapeake City, we motored down the Elk River to Havre de Grace where our nephew, Christopher Seibel, joined us. Chris arrived Monday afternoon. We had dinner aboard after sharing mussels at the Tidewater Inn. In the morning, we motored around for a couple of hours--again, no wind. Chris did a super job of manning the helm. It was a beautiful day and we were sorry Chris couldn't sail away somewhere with us. At least he got a taste of it. Above are some pictures of Chris.

The anchoring in the Havre de Grace area was very unusual. It seemed like there were concrete blocks across which the anchor would drag when we first anchored. So we moved. Then when pulling up the anchor in the new location, it felt that we were caught again on concrete. Not a good experience. Our night was also interesting. The Amtrak railroad runs across the bridge at Havre de Grace. All during the night, long, noisy trains crossed the bridge. Havre de Grace is a charming town to visit, but we were less than entralled with the anchorage.

Friday, August 24 -- Chesapeake City

2007-09-09T11:52:00.000-04:00

Motored up the bay stopping in Worton Creek and Georgetown on the eastern shore of Maryland. The weather had warmed to the 80s. Chesapeake City in the C and D Canal was a neat place. Lots of quaint shops and trendy restaurants. We were treated to music from live bands till the wee hours all weekend. Karen and David King, cousins, visited in the then sweltering heat.

Wednesday, August 21 - Middle River, Md

2007-09-09T11:50:00.000-04:00

Having been at the marina for some time, we needed to move. As it was getting late, we decided to anchor just off the dock of the marina in Middle River, Md where it was rainy and cold--64 F. What a change! However, in the morning we would be leaving for the eastern shore.

Tuesday, August 7--Baltimore

2007-09-09T11:49:00.002-04:00

Motored to Middle River in Baltimore, Maryland tieing up at the River Watch Marina--and air conditioning! Phew! The heat was brutal.

Mike left for Colorado Sunday, Aug. 12, so I stayed with my mom, (first picture), till he returned on the 17th. Spent Mom's birthday visiting cousin Karen (#2) in Pottstown, PA and her daughters and grandchildren: Taylor (#3)and Logan (#4) and Colton (#5).

We spent a few more days at the marina then left for the eastern shore of Maryland.

Monday, August 6 - Annapolis, MD

2007-09-09T11:47:00.000-04:00

We briefly stopped in Deltaville, VA for the next night; then Crisfield, MD, Solomon'sIsland, Oxford, then Annapolis. Each night was just a waypoint for us. We went ashore in Crisfield for some crabs and then again in Oxford where we fought some rain to get into the restaurant. Unfortunately, in our haste to get to Baltimore, we really didn't get to see these places except overnight. Needless to say, we didn't see much. By the time we got to Annapolis, it was very, very hot. We anchored in Back Creek, but decided not to stay more than overnight as we needed air conditioning. We had reserved a spot at a marina in Baltimore's Middle River and knew that we could plug in there and enjoy our air conditioning. That turned out to be a good decision as it only got hotter.

We arrived in Baltimore ahead of schedule on the 7th of August. Unfortunately, we were unable to do much sailing because the winds were extremely light.

We did some sightseeing in Baltimore where Mike had spent some time in the Army. We were shocked at some of the areas we went through--very rundown, often boarded up and in general not where we wanted to be. On the other hand, we had some great homemade Italian pizza at a local pizzeria and discovered a crabhouse, Schultzes', with delicious soft crab sandwiches and hard crabs. Schultzes' is a local place that is packed on weekend nights with people knee-deep in hard crabs.

Wednesday, August 1 -- Hampton, VA

2007-09-09T11:46:00.000-04:00

Finally got out of Portsmouth around 2 p.m. Decided to make as much headway as we could as we were trying to make Baltimore no later than August 9. We got as far as Hampton, Virginia. From the guidebook, we were expecting some nice bars and restaurants, however, everything was pretty much buttoned up. We did go into a hotel by the anchorage, but it was dead. So much for the guidebook! Needless to say, we were up and at it early, heading up the coast for our next stop, Deltaville, VA.

Going up the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay was a little hairy. There were huge Naval warships, as they call them, being escorted by much smaller tugboats. One called to us on the radio informing us that they were going to pass us, then cut in front of us. We, of course, indicated we would slow down and let them by--what choice did we have. All worked out well however. It is amazing to see those huge ships maneuver into a dock amidst other huge ships. They do it adeptly, however.

Tuesday, July 31--Portsmouth

2007-09-09T11:43:00.000-04:00

A small thing of concern resulted in our hauling out the boat on July 8 at Ocean Marine in Portsmouth, VA. That small thing, though not critical, led to other big things and our anticipated two-day stay out of the water turned into the rest of the month of July, as parts were ordered, etc. Above is a picture of Jus' Now as she sits awaiting the work. In the meantime, we visited family in the Baltimore area. A stroke of luck occurred when Mike hooked up with the skipper of Seawalker , Richard Clay, with whom he made an ocean passage in 2005. Note the picture above of the happy reunion. Finally dropped the anchor at Tidewater Yacht Club in Portsmouth signifying the work was successfully completed and we were pursuing our trip.

Portsmouth was a wonderful town though. It is full of history and has beautiful restored homes along the narrow streets. We stayed in a lovely B & B --wish we had a picture. It was run by a Scottish woman with whom we sat on the front porch and in the morning shared a lovely breakfast of yogurt, fruit, scones, eggs, bacon...and the list goes on.

We also explored Norfolk a bit as it was just across the river. We got there by using the ferry, pictured above. The ferry system works well and is inexpensive--50 cents for those over 60--That's us!

Dismal Swamp and Locks, July 7, 2007

2007-07-13T12:02:00.000-04:00

Our trip through the Dismal Swamp was enjoyable for the most part except for a couple of detractors. As mentioned in the last section, the Pasquotank River was gorgeous, peaceful and serene. It ran right into the Dismal Swamp, a very narrow canal with few other boats—fortunately. We passed at most three other boats and wondered each time if we could manage to get over far enough to let them by. Of course, we did, but it was iffy. We were very surprised at the amount of debris in the water. We were constantly on the lookout for floating logs, tree branches and other possible dangers. Since we were motoring, we didn’t want to chance getting anything caught in our props. This constant watchfulness became wearying towards the late afternoon when the extreme heat coupled with a zillion deer flies finally got to us.

However, along the way we had two locks to go through. The first was the South Mills Lock, pictured above. There we were one of two boats to go through. We had a great time visiting with Jim and Linda Allred on Boogaloo, an attractive trawler. After this lock we came to the Welcome Center where a rather large sightseeing boat, Bonnie Blue, was tied up. Before she tied up, however, we saw her coming and were sweating out her passing by us. We were sure it would be a very tight squeeze. Fortunately, no worries, as it turned out.

Then we traveled to the next lock at Deep Creek in Virginia. While waiting for the bridge to open—which occurs just before the lock—the heavens broke loose with a downpour. It continued to rain as we passed through the lock. The lock tender, Robert Peak, was quite a character. He had a collection of conch shells and gave us a demonstration of his ability to actually play a conch shell. He not only could play different notes, he could do trills! He and Mike were going to have a contest on who could play the best, but we quickly determined there was no contest. Instead he gave Mike a lesson on playing the shell. Robert also gave a short lecture on the history of the Deep Creek lock and the Dismal Swamp, all the time managing the three boats going through.

Shortly after the lock, we found a pretty little anchorage a few miles from Portsmouth, Virginia, where we spent the night before going into Portsmouth on July 8.

Belhaven to Elizabeth City & the Pasquotank River , NC - July 4-7 , 2007

2007-07-13T11:34:00.000-04:00

We left Oriental, NC, a small, but friendly town across the Pamlico River, to Belhaven, NC. Belhaven is a charming small town noted as a place friendly to sailors with old-time July 4th festivities. We arrived around 1 p.m., dinghied to town in search of a town picnic. Some friendly townspeople invited us to join them at their private picnic on the waterfront so we had some fried chicken and moved on to find the rubber ducky contest a few blocks away. Indeed there was no town picnic but instead lots of booths selling the usual things one sees at block festivals including lots of southern food like crackling and barbeque. We found a charming little restaurant, Wine and Words, where after having a glass of wine, Mike managed to buy a coffee mug he wanted. Mind you, the coffee mug was not for sale. The owners use it and others like it. Later that evening, after attending a feast put on by a realty firm for the townsfolk, we were treated to a spectacular fireworks display. We had front row seats as it was right on the water not far from our anchorage.

The next day we proceeded on our way up the Alligator River. We anchored on the Alligator River with the wind whipping wildly around us. The next day, July 6, we proceeded to Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River. Of course, we had to cross the Albemarle Sound, a body of water that can be nasty when the wind is up. However, although we had a lot of wind, we actually had a wonderful sail for a couple of hours to the Pasquotank River arriving at Elizabeth City (pictured above) around 3 p.m. We wandered around the small town on a very hot afternoon somewhat disappointed because the celebrated Welcome Committee, which presents visitors with roses, was not there. It is said that the tradition of giving roses to visitors is to remind them to take time to smell the roses.

With a long day ahead of us up the Dismal Swamp Canal, we decided to get up early enough to make the opening of the Elizabeth City Bridge at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, July 7. The bridge tender opened the bridge a little early as there were two boats already there, ready and waiting. That got us off to a good start up the beautiful Pasquotank River. It was very still—no current, little wind. The reflections of the trees in the water made for a pastoral scene. In fact it was so relaxing that I felt comfortable leaving the cockpit and lounging on the front of the boat.

Georgetown, South Carolina - June 8-20. 2007

2007-06-20T10:31:00.000-04:00

We left Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday, June 7, heading towards Georgetown, SC. As we left the large, busy harbor, our autopilot failed. Bad deal. Fortunately, we knew we could hand-steer the boat especially since we were traveling up the calm waterway to our next destination. We stopped for the night outside a little town called McClellanville, put down the anchor and proceeded to spin in circles as we were beset by conflicting currents from the ICW and a nearby little river. It was 5:30 p.m., quite a bit later than we usually anchor as we’d gotten a later than usual start. We worked and worked trying to still the boat finally putting out a stern anchor as well. Big mistake. That meant the two anchor lines twirled together creating a bit of a tangled mess. In the process, the windlass, our anchor control, broke! Truly a bad day….in terms of equipment. Mike took apart the windlass but couldn’t repair it. At least he was able to fix the controls to pull up the anchor—a good thing, as the anchor rode (chain) is very heavy. In the midst of all this turmoil, we found ourselves aground on a tiny island at the mouth of the river! Of course, we rightfully figured that as the tide rose, we would no longer be aground.

In the morning, we headed for Georgetown finding a marine mechanic who could fix our autopilot—but not till Monday. Alas, our schedule continued to fall behind. Bruce, the mechanic, did a fabulous job and by Thursday, we were all set—except for the windlass. We had ordered a part, but after trying to repair the windlass, we were told it wouldn’t work, and we’d have to order a new one. Of course, we did, but that meant another whole weekend in Georgetown—really setting us behind. Today is Wednesday, June 20, and we’re hopeful the new windlass, which arrived yesterday, will be installed early so we can get on our way.

However, we have had a delightful time in Georgetown, a quaint, historic district with a few good restaurants and charming shops. The town has beautiful live oaks spreading over the streets lined with well-maintained attractive homes—all with appealing front porches. The people here are friendly and helpful. In the marina, we’ve met a few people who have a boat here permanently like Dean Dawson, pictured above with his boat, Pawley Girl. Dean is an avid sports fisherman who has shared his catch with us and even brought us squash and tomatoes from his garden. Bruce Braynerd, the marine mechanic, brought us homemade peanut brittle. We also met a couple from California who along with their two- and four-year-olds were sailing on a large, 42-foot Catana catamaran—they’re picture leaving our boat in their dinghy. Another couple we met in Charleston, Sunny and Blake from Seattle, joined us for the weekend. Before they left Monday morning, Sunny insisted on fixing Korean specialty barbecue complete with sticky rice. It was delicious. We enjoyed their companionship.

Charleston, South Carolina – June 5 & 6, 2007

2007-06-07T08:59:00.000-04:00

We spent a delightful couple of days in Charleston. As we arrived at 9 a.m. on June 5, we sailed past a couple—Sunny & Blake-- on a Manta 42’, Slow-Mocean. They seemed very glad to see other cruisers and almost immediately after anchoring next to them, they came over to tell us of their adventure. They had been caught crossing from the Bahamas in tropical storm Barry. They had weather 30-foot seas for 26 hours and had had to deploy their sea anchor. They were very happy to have arrived in Charleston the previous afternoon.

Later on we all went to West Marine as the City Marina provides a van there. That night, as it was Sunny’s birthday, we had planned to celebrate with a nice dinner in town. However, thunderstorms precluded that, so Sunny and Blake brought their Korean dish to our boat, and we enjoyed a pot luck dinner. Sunny & Blake are from Seattle and spent the winter in the Andros area of the Bahamas getting lessons from a seasoned cruiser on spearing fish and lobsters. ( Of course, it was also our daughter Brooke’s birthday, so we called her to sing happy birthday—the first time we haven’t been with her on her birthday.)

Wednesday, June 6, we joined Sunny and Blake for a walk through the city. Charleston’s a beautiful city with elegant old homes. It was founded in 1670 and has preserved its rich cultural heritage. We ate lunch at a wonderful, non-touristy restaurant, Mistral, across from the market, a group of open-air shops selling everything from hats to jewelry to straw goods. Mike and I restocked our pantry from a wonderful grocery store, Harris Teeter.

South Carolina – May 30, 2007

2007-06-07T08:22:00.000-04:00

We left Thunderbolt Marina on Tuesday, May 29^th, moving a little south to Turner Creek so that we could stock up at a nearby grocery store. Then on May 30^th, we headed north to Hilton Head Island. Again, we motored most of the way with a little help from the wind. We anchored in Skull Creek just outside too great restaurants, Hudson’s Seafood, and Charley Crab. Of course, we had to try them out. Enjoyable.

We left the following morning for Beaufort, South Carolina, a lovely town we remembered from our 2004 driving trip down the east coast. We walked around the town in the afternoon and found a great little restaurant on the waterway. Beaufort has a lovely riverfront walkway with wooden approximately 10 sets of swings along the path facing the water. It too has a lovely historic downtown district. We had some dinner, went back to Jus’ Now and prepared for the next trip to Charleston, a couple of days ahead.

In the morning we had to wait till 9:15 for the Lady’s Island swing bridge to open for us to go through. With a 64” mast, bridges are sometimes a challenge for us. The only other opening is at 2:15 which would have delayed our progress a bit. Our next stop was Mosquito Creek, aptly named. We’d heard about a great seafood place, which though advertised, was closed when we arrived. However, some local fishermen sold us some freshly caught shrimp and we all were happy. Saturday proved to be a rainy day with the effects of tropical storm Barry inundating the area. We stayed put, visiting the seafood place to replenish our supplies.

Savannah, May 10,2007

2007-06-07T08:09:00.000-04:00

We traveled up the Intracoastal Waterway from Brunswick to Savannah for three days. The route was scenic, mostly marshes and trees with many birds and occasional dolphins accompanying us. Of course, many of the areas were narrow, and there wasn’t much wind, so again we motored. Occasionally, we traveled with several other boats plodding along with us at about 6 knots per hour. Most boats however were trawlers or other yachts motoring at much higher speeds. We anchored at three places along the way: Wally’s Leg, Wahoo River and Moon River, before reaching Savannah on March 14. At Wally’s Leg, we had intended to jump in the water for a cool swim in the morning before we left, but just as we were ready, a nearby boater asked if we had seen the alligator on shore. That was all we needed to abort those plans….

As we approached Moon River, the ICW was lined with gorgeous multi-million-dollar homes. It was very pretty. We had hoped to find some seafood restaurants along the route, but no luck.

Once in Savannah, we docked at Thunderbolt Marina, just south of the historic district. We needed a few repairs and planned to visit Denver—a business trip for Mike. After settling on the needed repairs, we were able to make our plans to leave for Denver on Saturday, May 19. On Thursday, we had the good fortune to meet a very nice lady, Brenda Haynes, who worked in a plumbing store we visited after trekking three miles to a Home Depot which did not have what we needed. Brenda befriended us and drove us to get some supplies then to our boat—a welcome gesture as we were exhausted from the heat. Once at the boat, Brenda was joined by her husband, Ken. After a glass or two of wine, they offered to check our boat while we were gone. We drew the line at their more than generous offers to take us to the airport, etc. When we returned from Denver, Ken and Brenda took us on a tour of Tybee Island. We thanked for their generosity with a great meal at Paula Deen’s brother’s restaurant, Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House—for those of you who know the southern gourmet on food TV.

On Friday, we needed yet more hard-to-find propane bottles, and although Mike tried, we were unable to rent a car to get them, a good distance away. As he was repeating his bad luck at 4 p.m. to a passerby, Jim of Wind Dancer III, who had just rented a car for the weekend, said he would take him. Away they went in a hurry. We thanked them with a dinner of low-country boil and ribs shared on their trawler.

Brunswick, Georgia--May 3

2007-06-07T07:53:00.000-04:00

Finally, it was time to leave the

Bahamas

and head back to the states before the hurricane season hit. A good friend, Steve Olson, was able to take some time off and join us for the crossing, a two-and-a-half day trip from Marsh Harbor to Brunswick, Georgia. Steve could not wait to get out on the open water with no land in sight. His help sharing the two-hour watches for the entire trip made the crossing much easier for Mike and me. Fortunately, the crossing was uneventful. Calm conditions though great, with a lack of wind we had to motor most of the way. We were entertained along the way by several pods of dolphin, appearing every once in awhile to cavort around the boat. On our last evening Steve caught a 50-inch dorado, a real treat. We arrived outside Jekyll Island, Georgia, on Wednesday evening and decided to anchor there as it was getting late. The air was murky with the acrid smell of smoke from the

Georgia

fires, and for the first time since we started the crossing, the seas were a little rough. By morning, all had calmed down again.

We went another couple of miles into the Brunswick Landing Marina, recommended to us by some fellow Coloradans (Bryan and Sharlene from Castle Rock) on a catamaran, Tonga Time, whom we’d met in George Town, briefly. We loved the town of Brunswick.. Its historic downtown, a half-mile walk from the marina, has been renovated and boasts a few very good restaurants and shops. Of course, West Marine and the grocery store, where we really needed supplies, were a two-mile walk from the marina. Steve left us Saturday morning to return to Denver. We wish he could have stayed a little longer, but as it turned out, a tropical depression, Andrea, was making its way outside of Brunswick, so on the advice of the weather gurus, we stayed put till it passed. That meant we didn’t get on our way to Savannah until Friday, May 9.

Hope Town April 17-29, 2007

2007-05-09T15:21:00.001-04:00

We spent a week in Hope Town after our friends, Jan and Dutch Daut, arrived from Wyoming. Pete and Amy Brubaker, good friends of the Dauts, live in Hope Town and hosted us for dinners, escorted us on a walking tour of Hope Town, and in general introduced us to the important and fun things about Hope Town. Pete runs the cruisers' net on Sundays and Mondays. We listen to that every morning faithfully as we learn all the activities for the day, the menus in various restaurants, and other information such as new arrivals and departures among cruisers. Since one meets many cruisers throughout the season, it's nice to know when friends arrive or leave.

Anyhow, back to Hope Town. Hope Town is a small, quaint town with colorful cottages all with names like The Jib, Green Shutters, Hibiscus, etc. We frequented Cap'n Jacks, one of the waterfront restaurants where Pete & Amy hang out. Every night there's something going on during happy hour from Bingo, to Trivia, to Red Hat meetings--cards for ladies who come wearing some version of a red hat. Lots of fun. One wonderful day we took advantage of the calm Atlantic side and went snorkeling on the reef in front of the Harbor Town Lodge. Very worth doing! Of course, the precursor of lunch at the lodge and follow-up of drinks poolside provided great enjoyment as well.

Another day we took in the famous Hope Town lighthouse. We climbed to the top--some 100+ steps circling up and up and up. It's the oldest manned lighthouse in the world with a fresnel lens. (Mike says you can google this for more information.)

While in Hope Town, Pete took Mike and Dutch fishing on his fishing boat, Whippersnapper. Alas, the fish weren't biting, so they were back somewhat early. Of course, Jan and I had decided we would shop in their absence and took the dinghy to shore. However, we were chagrined to find it would not start for the return trip. We decided we'd try rowing, but the wind had picked up and the tide was coming in instead of going out. What a joke! Fortunately, just as we were pondering our next move, a dinghy came in looking for a place to tie up. We offered our space, that is if they could get us going. A 12-year-old boy, Nick, hopped onto our dinghy and darn if he didn't start it right up. I'm happy to report this was a one and only occurrence of my not being able to start the dinghy.

Towards the end of the week, Mike decided to take advantage of Dutch's skillful assistance and climb the mast to inspect all the fittings in preparation for our crossing back to the states. Our mast stands 64 feet--not a task I was looking forward to, but Mike said he loved it. Thanks to Dutch for managing Mike's ascent and descent so carefully.

After a week in Hope Town, we headed to Nippers at Great Guana Cay for their Sunday pig roast and of course, their famous rum drink--one apiece was surely enough; then on to Treasure Cay where we walked on one of the most beautiful beaches in the Abacos, enjoyed rum & tonics and pina coladas around the pool, and soaked up the sun. Working our way back to Marsh Harbour, we stopped at Man O' War Cay, a thriving community famous for boat building and its canvas bags of all sorts--totes, backpacks, purses, etc. On our way back to Marsh Harbour we spent the night anchored outside the Sea Spray Marina on Elbow Cay and enjoyed cocktails and appetizers at the restaurant and followed by a gorgeous sunset. Of course, no sunset is complete without Mike signalling day's end by blowing the conch horn given to us by some friends we met in George Town. He has mastered this performance handsomely. The next day we snorkeled at Mermaid Reef where the fish are plentiful, beautiful and seem to look for snorkelers to feed them.

We bid adieu to Jan & Dutch Saturday morning and welcomed Steve Olson Sunday evening. Steve was very excited about being on open water out of sight of land. So the following morning we left at 9 a.m. expecting to be in Georgia by late Wednesday. Although we managed some sailing through Loggerhead Channel near Whale Cay, shortly thereafter the wind died. The good news was that the crossing was very calm with moonlit nights; the bad news was we had to motor most of the way. However, it was a good crossing with Steve, Mike and I taking turns with 2-hour watches. We only saw a couple of boats as we left and a couple as we neared Georgia--with the exception of at least 20 shrimp boats off Jekyll and Saint Simons Island. These were barely visible through the thick haze caused by the wild fires in Georgia. However, we did have occasional pods of dolphins frolicking around the boat. On Tuesday, Steve caught a 50-inch mahi-mahi! What a beauty!

Back In the US

2007-05-05T18:11:00.000-04:00

After the Dariens went home, our good friends Dutch and Jan Daut spent a couple of weeks with us in the Abacos where Dutch has old friends, Pete and Amy Brubaker. We have a lot of pictures and stories about their visit, but that is the subject of an extensive blog. We will try to get our act together and get up to date on our travels and stories about that visit.

For now we are safely tied up in a marina in Brunswick GA, while our weather router talks of hurricane force winds over the course we just travelled. Good timing.

Much thanks to my friend Steve Olson who flew into Marsh Harbor, Bahamas, last Saturday and helped us get here. He caught a beautiful Mahi-Mahi on the way. FIFTY INCHES - that's big! Sadly he left today to return to the work-a-day world.

Hopefully both Dutch and Steve can join us on our trip next November when we head to the Virgin Islands and south.

For now we are heading up the ICW to Savannah GA in a few days, then we will leave the boat in a marina for one to two weeks while we visit Denver. Then on to Maine via the Chesapeake, NY, etc.

Marsh Harbour April 4 2007

2007-04-07T17:07:00.000-04:00

Yes, Dana and Larry Darien arrived in Marsh Harbour as expected on March 16 with a dramatic sailing experience. After a harried trip through Denver's airport having to pack and repack bags that were too heavy and rushing to make their flight, the Marsh Harbour flight was its usual hour late arriving at 8:20 p.m. as the skies were breaking loose with thunder and lightning. We dinghied four heavy bags and people to our nearby--thankfully--boat. A squall came through at about 1:30 a.m. sending all hands on deck for a couple of tense hours. The rain was pouring; the wind was blowing; Captain Mike was trying to take up some anchor rode when the anchor broke loose. However, being the good sailor he is, Mike was able to sail the boat slowly until he could get the anchor down again expertly avoiding the nearby boats in the crowded anchorage. My expensive foulies paid off handsomely in the cold chill early morning rainstorm. (This is a little thick--m.)

Unfortunately, the weather remained rather chilly and somewhat windy so none of us got to snorkel as much as we would have liked. However, we found some excellent restaurants and bars and did some fine sailing. Great Guana Cay, the home of Nippers beach bar, was the site of a Sunday pig roast. Then we sailed through the Whale to Green Turtle Cay where we remained several days because of the weather. Black Sound's settlement, New Plymouth, was a small but enjoyable town with friendly people. In White Sound, the Jolly Roger Bistro was our favorite place. Larry and Mike found a huge lobster in one of the snorkeling adventures, but he was not about to be caught. Hope Town, home of the famous lighthouse, was great fun--expecially the good times at Cap'n Jack's and Harbor's Edge restaurants/bars. We met friends of our next visitors, Pete and Amy. Pete runs the Cruisers' Web on Sundays and Mondays, something we enjoy greatly every morning at 8:15 a.m. Larry fished faithfully and caught a beautiful little squirrel fish not once, but three times at Matt Lowe's Cay. Of course, we threw him back. Wild nights of games of Wizard and Phase Ten kept us going. We were sad when the 31st came and still no really good snorkeling. We bid adieu to our good friends till the next time. (Of course, the days have been perfect since!!!) Mike even caught a fish yesterday albeit very small as we sailed to Treasure Cay to hide out during a westerly cold front.

Royal Island, Spanish Wells, Harbor Island—March 3-11

2007-04-07T16:06:00.000-04:00

It was a long trip from Governor’s Harbor to Royal Island. We knew there was little wind and we would have to motor-sail, but we thought it was worth it. Fortunately, we left early, about 7:30 a.m. and arrived at a tricky cut, Current Cut, just around slack tide, 1:30 p.m. This was important because we needed to get through this narrow cut before the tide changed as it’s very strong. Mike skillfully maneuvered us through the cut at just the right moment—phew! We arrived at the charming anchorage of Royal Island around 3 p.m. Royal Island has recently been bought by a private company to be developed into a resort. Cruisers are not permitted on land, although they can anchor there. It’s an especially good anchorage because boats are protected from the wind in all directions, an unusual much-sought after situation. While there, four boats from Nova Scotia joined us along with several others. The Canadian group was a lot of fun and invited us for fresh seafood chowder on Saturday night. Jan, on Te Amore, had gone out with 15-year-old Carley, who was sailing with her parents, to harvest lobsters and fish with their spear guns. On their return, several fruitful hours later, we offered our frozen catch from a few days earlier, but Jan wanted only her freshest seafood for the chowder. Instead we brought hors d’oeuvres. With ten of us in the cockpit of their 47 foot ketch, there were a lot of mouths to feed. Jan and her husband Cameron have been sailing for a number of years. They served on the Ship of Hope in Africa, having to pay for the privilege of doing so, working with Africans in need of medical care. Jan and Cam also play large African drums which they played in the anchorage but also will use in Marsh Harbour with a Rake-and-Scrape band there. Rake-and-scrape is a kind of Bahamian music made from raw materials such as a saw, a board, etc. Apparently it’s pretty good. I haven’t heard it yet, but I hope to soon.

After listening to our weather guru, Chris Parker, which we do faithfully every morning at 6:30 a.m.—one of cruel twists of fate not allowing us to sleep in now that we’re retired—we could see that we had a few days at least before the weather would permit a crossing from Eleuthera to the Abacos, so we decided to take the hour trip to Spanish Wells, pick up a mooring and explore. On Monday, we did just that having the good fortune to park next to our “old” friends, Margie and Ron Rogers on Amarige. Spanish Wells was settled by the Eleuthera Adventurers, English Puritans seeking religious freedom. They shipwrecked nearby in 1648 and founded this charming, quaint town. It is a very clean town with brightly painted cottages. It is much larger than the other towns we’ve visited so far with about 1500 residents. Most of the boys leave school at age 14 to become lobster fishermen, earning very good salaries.

We joined our friends, Margie and Ron, Tuesday for a ferry trip to nearby Harbour Island, a posh resort known for its pink sand. What an enjoyable change of pace. Harbour Island is very picturesque with many upscale shops and restaurants—truly a tourist haven. We walked the pink sand on the Atlantic Ocean past several expensive-looking beach homes and lodgings. The one-hour ferry trip gave us views of the sparkling turquoise water from its top deck. After walking the entire island for six hours, we were ready to return to our quiet mooring. Because the weather was still less than encouraging, we stayed a few more days in Spanish Wells. On Friday, we moved back to Royal Island in hopes that the weather would soon change. By Sunday, it looked like the weather window we’d been eyeballing for Tuesday, was dissipating, that maybe we should try for Monday in marginal, but not unacceptable conditions.

Sunday morning brought in an influx of sailboats with similar thoughts. One group mentioned that if we could go ashore, we could have a get-together that evening. However, since that wasn’t viable, everyone ended up on our boat for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres—about 20 people. Everyone in the cruising community seems to really enjoy meeting other cruisers—we’re no exception.

The following morning, knowing that the wind was blowing about 20 knots and the seas would be 6 feet 8 seconds apart, about 6 of us took off at 7 a.m. for the Abacos. We’re glad we did, even though it was a bit of a rough ride. The weather window was closing down with no good future opportunity in sight. Our friends the Dariens are due here Friday, so we are ready to meet them.

Eleuthera

2007-04-07T15:55:00.000-04:00

The following morning we sailed on to Arthur’s Town at the end of Cat Island to jump off to Eleuthera the following day. We covered 60 miles on Wednesday anchoring at Rock Sound at 5 p.m. The day started out as a pretty good day, but at 2:30 it became squally with lots of wind and choppy seas. We were glad when we got anchored.

Rock Sound is one of our favorite places. The people were very warm and welcoming. As we walked along the road looking for a restaurant, a group of schoolgirls outside for recess, waved and yelled, "Welcome to the Bahamas! We hope you like it here." Later on, we were invited by a new bunch of cruisers to join them for dinner at Rosie’s, a beach bar on the Atlantic side of the island. Rosie’s son would come by van to pick us all up at 2; then we would comb the beach and wait for dinner to be prepared for us by 5 pm. It worked very well. Even Rosie’s dog, Teddy, who faithfully guarded the front door, welcomed guests. The meal was a typical Bahamian meal: cracked conch, deep-fried grouper and lobster, barbecued chicken, cole slaw, peas and rice, and potato salad. The only missing item was macaroni and cheese, a staple we’ve found wherever we eat. We did not order any of this; Rosie just prepares the meal for a flat price of $15 each and serves it family style. (Incidentally, Bahamian dollars and American dollars are used interchangeably.)

We haven’t talked much about the Bahamian food we’ve had, but one of our favorites is conch salad, a dish similar to ceviche only with conch instead of fish along with very hot little peppers and chopped tomato bathed in the juice of a lime and an orange. Very tasty, but very hard for us to prepare because we have yet to find a conch nor even begin to remove it from the shell, quite a feat we’ve been told.

As we were anxious to work our way to Marsh Harbour, knowing there might be weather delays, we set out the next morning for the next town, Governor’s Harbour. Of course, we took an hour to visit the unusually well-stocked grocery and hardware store in Rock Sound. Unfortunately, the wind was very light, so we motor-sailed arriving around 3 p.m. A walk around the picturesque town with its Victorian houses—the first of that kind we’ve seen—confirmed our feelings about Rock Sound. The next morning we decided to keep moving and headed for Royal Island from which point we could jump over to the Abacos when the weather was right.

North to the Abacos—Cat Island

2007-04-07T15:49:00.000-04:00

We left George Town on the Feb. 24^th having enjoyed spending time with a former computer fellow who enriched us greatly not only with his brilliance, but with lots of sailing computer programs and movies and receiving a much-treasured conch shell from another friend for use as a horn. It’s tradition in the Bahama anchorages to blow the conch horn at sunset. Every evening those who have them blow a deep resonant sound that takes a little practice to master. Mike’s getting pretty good by now.

We spent the next two days in a fancy new marina as the weather was predicted to be bad yet we still wanted to get a little north since we need to be in Marsh Harbor—some 160
miles away—by March 16. Although that sounds like a lot of time, with weather being a little iffy, one never knows that one can sail. We enjoyed the company of some new friends from Punta Gorda in Emerald Bay Marina. We also visited the Grand Isles Resort, included in the marina fee, for swimming in a luxurious setting. Although it was too windy to sail, the day at the pool was fabulous.

On Monday, February 26, we left for Cat Island, 30 miles across the Exuma Sound, very deep water. The sailing was wonderful, but we really enjoyed catching a huge, 50”, 30 pound, dorado (mahi-mahi). Mike worked for 1 ¾ hours landing that fish. At the very last moment, the rod and reel broke; Mike was able to pull the fish up into the boat flopping its heart out. But, alas! Not for long. We got 8 good sized fillets and some wonderful sashimi out of that fish. He was a beauty!! A bit of costly catch as well, since we now will have to get a new rod and reel.

We anchored at New Bight, a small town famous for The Hermitage, a miniature replica of a European Franciscan monastery built by hand by Father Jerome, known for the churches damaged by hurricanes he was sent to restore in the Bahamas. It is situated on the highest peak—207’ above sea level—in the Bahamas, Mount Alvernia. Father Jerome used hurricane-proof stonework with thick walls and barrel-vaulted roofs. Leading up to the Hermitage he also constructed the Stations of the Cross. We were very impressed at the hard work that must have gone into this building.

George Town Feb. 9-23,2007

2007-04-07T15:41:00.000-04:00

George Town is quite the place for the cruising community. When we arrived, the number of boats in Elizabeth Harbour was 279. ( I’m using the British spellings as the

Bahamas

are British and spell their words as the British do.) Elizabeth Harbour is a long wide beautiful harbor with several main beaches: Hamburger Beach, Monument Beach, Volleyball Beach and Sand Dollar Beach. You can see the influence of the cruisers with these names. The hub of activity for the cruisers is on Volleyball Beach. Every morning at 8 a.m. on the VHF Radio, one of the cruisers broadcasts announcements for cruisers. Most people monitor this so that they know what’s happening. There are announcements as well from the George Town businesses. Currently the cruisers are preparing for the big cruising regatta to take place February 27 and 28. There will be a pirate contest, volleyball, tennis, golf and bridge tournaments plus assorted activities for the kids. Yes, the kids. There are many of them sailing with their families ranging from ages 5 to 18. The parents are home schooling their children and find that very rewarding—although apparently some of the teenagers do not!

There is a lot of dinghy activity here. Most people park their boats and use their dinghy to get back and forth to town, to others’ boats or to activities on the beaches. What is amazing to me is that most couples stand up in their dinghies for the 1-2 mile ride. Apparently it makes the dinghy more stable and allows more speed.

In the evening we often get together with new friends we’ve met for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres or an occasional dinner on board someone’s boat. Most of the cruisers are professionals—engineers, professors, etc. Some others we’ve met are carpenters, fish industry workers and one was a steeplejack. Most are very friendly.

Feb 8 Lee Stocking Island

2007-02-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

February 8, 2007-Lee Stocking Island

We are anchored here today hoping to take a tour of the Caribbean Marine Research Center located here. These waters are protected from fishing in any way as the CMRC does extensive research on marine life. Since we last wrote, Mike and I have anchored at Black Point, Little Farmers Cay, Rudder Cut Cay and Lee Stocking Island.

Black Point—Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2007

Black Point is one of the largest settlements in the Exumas with 80 residents. After checking out the two restaurants in order to make a dinner reservation, the proprietor, Simon, told us the cook might not be there that night. Why, we asked. He told us she was cooking for the town picnic to be held at 7 p.m.; then added that we should plan to attend: free food and beer. We thought that was a great idea and invited new friends, Karla and Keith from Lioness to join us. We were there at 7, but not a sign of anything going on except a couple of island women who assured us it was going to take place. We waited and waited and waited. At 8:15 about to give up, up rolled a couple of pick-up trucks laden with vats of food, pop, beer. Bahamian music started blaring from well-placed ooutdoor speakers, and the party was on. Sure enough, standing in the buffet line—taking care not to be at the front of the line—we were given plates piled high with turkey, dressing, fried chicken, barbequed chicken, macaroni and cheese and rice and peas (beans). Plus Kalik, the wonderful Bahamian beer. What a feast! There were men and women, teenagers, children—some standing around, some playing basketball, some dancing—but everyone was doing their own thing. No couples or families. The men hung together, and the women hung together. Kids danced up a storm—by themselves. We had an enjoyable evening at this twice annual event.

While in Black Point, we hiked the island across to the Exuma Sound—a body of water on the east side near the Atlantic, much rougher and deeper than the Exuma Banks, a very shallow body of water we’ve been sailing. The land is mostly limestone with mangroves and other low-lying plants, few trees taller than six feet. We came across a couple of rusted out trailers and a few boxes of panels for a house, but whatever the project, it had been abandoned. We also found the beginnings of a marina that had been expected to be built according to our guidebook, but looked like it, too, had been abandoned. It must take a tremendous desire plus the where-with-all to actually make a go of building a project on most of these rugged, remote islands.

Little Farmer’s Cay, Feb. 1-Feb. 4, 2007

We traveled on to Little Farmer’s Cay for the big festival known as the 5 Fs: First Friday in February Farmers Cay Festival, billed as a major event in the islands, a reunion of sorts for Bahamians. There was to be a regatta of the Caribbean sailing sloops plus lots of games, contests, and food. Terry Bain, also known as Ocean Cabin on the VHF radio, organized the cruisers who arrive early as we did to assist in planning events for the cruisers. His free rum punches encouraged those of us who wanted to let others do it to participate. One of the events, the best legs and bums (for men) contest even brought Mike into the running. Although he didn’t win, he provided great entertainment!

Part of the weekend’s activities included a regatta for the Bahamian sloops. The nine Bahamian sloops competed in a regatta Friday & Saturday providing a lot of enjoyment for the cruisers and Bahamians alike. Anchored (unknowingly) at the finish line, we had the catbird seat for the racers! Below are pictures of some of the nine participating boats.

These girls in the picture loved having their pictures taken as they were seeing each other at the reunion, another facet of the 5 Fs.

Sunday, Feb. 4-Friday, Feb. 9

Mike and I picked our way through the very shallow waters from Farmer’s Cay to Rudder Cut Cay where we spent a couple of days because of rain and squalls. Three boats came by our first night—before the squally weather—to invite us to participate in a float at sunset. We all brought drinks and snacks, tied our boats together, chatted and watched the sun set. A lovely evening—with more new and old friends!

We hiked Rudder Cut Cay. We learned that it had been owned by a Florida insurance businessman whose business went belly up. The state of Florida seized the property and the house and grounds fell into disrepair. We also learned that David Copperfield, the magician, has bought or has plans to buy the island. He also owns Musha Cay, a beautiful island just to the west with a posh resort.

On Friday, we took advantage of calm seas in the Exuma Sound to go into George Town. There were about 21 boats that we could see taking advantage of those seas along with us. About three miles outside of George Town, Mike caught our first fish, a dorado, about 37 ½” . It was quite a thrill and is providing some delicious meals.

Interesting People

2007-01-26T14:49:00.000-05:00

Interesting People – Staniel Cay

While at the Staniel Cay Yacht club, our friends with the sailing kayak, Laurie and Dave who we met at Shroud Cay, came in. It was nice to chat with them. They run a Chinese medicine business in Nelson, British Columbia. Nelson is just over the border between Vancouver and Calgary. One look at the pictures of their kayak lets you know just how crazy they are. Ah to be young like that!

Staniel Cay 1-24-07

2007-01-26T14:46:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 – Staniel Cay

It was dead calm with no wind, so we motored to Staniel Cay, about 20 nautical miles, where we expected to have mail awaiting us. Haven’t had mail since Dec. 13!!! Unfortunately, despite the plans that we made to receive our mail there didn’t happen—No surprise. The Staniel Cay Yacht Club has free internet service so we were able to track down our mail sent from St. Brendan’s Isle ( our mail service), but in spite of prior arrangements for its delivery, it took yet another call to get it on its way. Should be here today, Friday, January 26. In the meantime, we are enjoying delicious conch bits and pieces at the yacht club and great Kalik beer, the local Bahamian beer. Also, heard that the late-night talk show host, Conan O’Brien, was staying at the yacht club as well. (A local pilot shared this information pointing him out in the restaurant.)

Weather was extremely windy yesterday. It was dicey getting in the dinghy and going to the yacht club. Balancing a computer wrapped and re-wrapped in plastic bags and a backpack for mail made for an exciting trip in the bouncy waves. When we got there, we were watched a local fisherman extracting and cleaning conch, expertly. Tried to make some calls using our Skype connection (low cost telephone service through the Internet), but the connection was poor, so we didn’t continue.

We walked around the island for a little admiring the brightly colored houses. There was Burke’s Blue Store and Hugh Smith’s Pink Store both with similar groceries like corned beef, soup, cosmetics, paper goods—a limited supply and somewhat pricey. In the pink store, the friendly Bahamian storekeeper wearing a black velvet cloche hat promised to hold a loaf of homemade bread for us on Friday, since the day’s supply was already gone. We’re looking forward to that.

Around 4:30 we started our dinghy ride back to the boat. It was a little scary—high waves, rolly seas—totally fraught with peril. We toyed with moving our boat to a less bouncy anchorage, but decided to stay put. Squalls went through during the night. Lots and lots of strong wind and rain, but we remained safe and sound. Frequent checks on the anchor proved we weren’t going anywhere—a good feeling. Looks like we’ll be staying put for another two days as there’s a nasty weather pattern in these parts.