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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    Hike to the Boiling Lake IV

    2016年1月27日, ドミニカ国 ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Yes, it boils, yes, you should not fall into it and no, it’s not always full. Apparently this decade it’s higher than usual (in 1988 it stopped boiling and dropped by 29 feet). I find it interesting to say “usual” because the scientists don’t actually know how deep the lake is. There are steep walls packed by loose rock. The edge of the lake is a mixture of pumice and clay. It’s said to be about 200 degrees F. and it only gets hotter towards that grey blue middle, bubbling like a witches cauldron. We ate lunch here then said our farewells to the boiling lake. Our return hike was far clearer and provided us with beautiful surrounding vistas. We also passed other hikers on our return. We were the first to arrive and enjoyed the lake all to ourselves.もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    Back to Antigua - Pigeon Island

    2016年2月3日, グアドループ ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We left Pigeon Island in such awe, it warranted another stop and another day of snorkeling. As did Deshaies. Love to the freedom we lived while in Guadeloupe.

    To the West the sun is setting over a seamless horizon of the Caribbean ocean and I am moving about the boat in vain to gain a stronger internet connection so I may write emails and see what friends back home are doing in winter. I hold my computer up like a baby Simba before yielding to the lack of signal and retire to the bow of the boat to journal about our anchorage instead. (It’s now 3 nights without internet. Scoff at me but I dare you to live your life in the city for 3 days without internet… In many ways I love the detachment but sometimes… after 4 months of traveling further and further away from friends and a steady job… it’s nice to reconnect even for a stalkerish facebook moment.)

    To the East, I see the lush vibrant green mountains of Deshaies Guadeloupe; large formidable cumulonimbus clouds gather on the other side of the mountains. But I feel protected in this harbor. The mountains extend outward like a hug in the form of a U shape. Light waves lull the boat back and forth and I sit here on the bow with the last good beer we stashed away. A crazy Frenchman is blowing a conch shell emitting the deep blast of a horn-sound throughout the entire anchorage for an impressively long time. This moment, this relaxing moment, everything is good. The anchor is set soundly in the sand below, Mike is putting chicken on the grill, and my biggest concern is if some Frenchman decides to anchor right in front of our view for sunset tonight.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    Kristen & Z Visit Antigua

    2016年2月9日, アンティグアバーブーダ ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Up until now, Mike and I had been sailing and anchoring/mooring/docking Gaia just the two of us. For four months we’ve traveled on this 42 foot beauty together. We sleep in a ‘bed’ (in boat jargon, we say berth), called the V-berth (aptly named because it’s in the shape of a V), where our toes touch every night. The living room, dinning room, “back door” (mid hatch), bathroom, and kitchen are all in the same 12.5 by 8.5 feet of space. In case your wondering… yes… yes I did measure that. And in all of this time, in this confined area, and tried with uncomfortable and dangerous sailing conditions at times… we’re still really happy. Any differences of opinions we work out. And I think the worst argument we ever got into was over an anchoring location 2 months ago. That said, I was super excited to have our first visitors in the Caribbean and a bit hesitant… it’s been so long since I’ve seen my Boston friends… how does this friendship thing work again…. will they remember me? do they still like me? I hope Gaia doesn’t make them puke. All these crazy thoughts were lost the second I saw their beautiful (cough..pale…cough) New England faces come out of the airport security line in Antigua! We had a phenomenal dinner; Kristen had an exceptional bass dinner and then we had drinks at The Lime where the bar counter is 6 feet off the ground.
    The next morning we moved to a more scenic part of English Harbor; and snorkeled, saw the museum, explored the old fort, and stumbled upon some spectacular rum. We were only in line to get a gallon of water… but one thing led to another and we had English Harbor rum. That night we hiked to Shirley Point and saw an amazing swimming hole. It was a simple hike and made even better by the steel drum band and local bbq on top.

    The sun set, the air was cool the grass was soft the steel drums melodic… life with Kristen and Z was sublime. And then Kristen kicked a tarantula.
    Yes. Kristen… kicked… a tarantula. And if this picture alone makes you unsettled just think, Kristen was wearing sandals…. So we started the hike back down in the dark with only one headlamp and an iPhone for light. We all moved fairly agile down the path packed with rocks, mud, and roots and then Mike comes to a sudden halt, (Kristen in front) and declares ‘no way’ as he shines his headlamp at the forrest floor. This big guy laid curled up. Mike explained that Kristen had just kicked something and it moved. We saw hermit crabs the size of “your face” and chased schools of fishes jumping out of the water in the dinghy. It was a great night… maybe the rum punch was spiked.

    Our first sail was from English Harbor to Green Island and good ole Zirolli was behind the helm the entire time.

    We took a break for a late lunch behind a reef where the water was really inviting. In very shallow water and a bit of a current, Zirolli expertly hitched a dock line onto the mooring. And once secured, of course we jumped in and swam in that perfect turquoise-light blue water. After our fill of swimming, we made anchor on the Northeast side of Green Island for the night, which was a real treat. You see, the trade winds always blow from a general Easterly direction…. and East of Antigua is the entire Atlantic Ocean. This allows for some pretty big waves to build up but a reef protects this anchorage from those nasty seas. So our view to the East was the endless Atlantic which falls off into the horizon.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    Antigua - Green Island to Jumby Bay

    2016年2月11日, アンティグアバーブーダ ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    The following morning we made way for Jumby bay, where all the hoity toity folks go to vacation and I can see why. It was perfect. Z anchored for us.

    Our third sail Kristen took over from Jumby Bay to Deep Bay She says crazy things like ‘if I was an actual sailor, I’d probably be better at this.’ but I’ve never had to give her pointers on sailing and she kicks tarantulas and saves dinghies from drifting out to sea. Again, yes. Badass Kristen saved our dinghy. We dinghy-ed to a nearby island to snorkel. We were all floating around, snorkeling, and Kristen looks up and doesn’t see Mike or Kirsten or … a dinghy on land! She looked out into bay and there was our dinghy floating away! K and Zirolli wrestled ole ‘Angry Horse’ (my nickname for the dinghy) back to land for us!

    In Deep Bay we explored more old ruins and we made pizza. I’m starting to see Mike and I don’t get tired of forts ( or volcanos). I think the sun and rum had started to affect us because we all didn’t make it past 10:00 that night.

    We sailed back into Dickenson Bay into the wind and enjoyed a last hurrah dinner on land in a British pub / restaurant (trip advisors reviews said it best with a blunt ‘if you’re not British, don’t bother.’) . Despite the review us “non-Limeys” enjoyed the food, and outdoor seating.

    nd on Feb 13 we said our goodbyes and went on our ways. Different paths to our separate duties. As they left, I laughed at my crazy tarantula-kicking and amazing sailing friends, glad that nothing had changed after not seeing them for months on end.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    Montserrat

    2016年2月14日, モントセラト ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Montserrat home to Soufriere Hills volcano, one of the most monitored active volcanos. Quite the following.

    We left Antigua and headed Southwest to the Northern tip of Montserrat. A rain shower got in our way so no pictures to parade about this time. But the approach to the island was magnificent. Beautiful dramatic cliffs that plunge straight down into clear waters.

    We anchored in the only clearing-in harbor, Little Bay. The anchorage tends to be rolley particularly when Northerly winds prevail. Even in our luck with due East winds, we found the anchorage to be uncomfortable on our ketch. The two masts make our boat more top heavy than sloops or cutter rigs so when a beam side-roller hits the boat we keep rolling back and forth whilst other boats bob like a cork.

    Coming in, we knew the “must-do” tour of the volcano runs around $100-130 USD. Yikes! 4 hours and you see the town Plymouth which was covered in 40 feet of ash, Richmond Hill, and the Volcano Observatory. Since we were just two lonesome folks…. we thought that was outrageous. So we decided to take the local buses which will run you $5.00 EC or $1.85 USD. Yay! Prices I like.

    We wandered to the bus stop with a few locals helping us along the way. Everyone was laid back and genuinely nice. Throughout the day we spotted hints of the Irish past. McCoy Hill, Pudding & Pies stores, green lucky charms over old pubs called Sullivans. A long time ago the Irish laid claim to the Northeast side of Montserrat. The people of Montserrat celebrate St. Patricks Day but for more reasons than one…. there was a great slave rebellion that is remembered on that day. Our bus driver told us about the island and dropped us off at the observatory. He gave us his story in remembering the ’95 eruption. Thousands of people left the island but more relocated, leaving their homes behind. The observatory had a moving and interesting 20 minute video that we really enjoyed. The ’95 eruption allowed for the largest pyroclastic flows to be recorded on camera. Unbelievably enormous blooms of smoke billowed up into the sky for miles and miles.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    St. Kitts Arrival

    2016年2月17日, セントクリストファー・ネイビス ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We had a phenomenal sail to St. Kitts… a nice leisurely broad reach with 4-6 foot rollers trailing us. It was neat to see the Kingdom of Redonda’s cliffs come into view. Its an uninhabited micronation. From 1865-1912 there was a lucrative phosphates export business into Britain. As for the history of this steep little tyke…. look it up…. it’s shrouded in mystery. Apparently a trader in Montserrat noticed no other nation lay claim to the neighboring island. So he took it upon himself to claim it for him and his son.

    As we neared St. Kitts, Nevis came into view. A green island with a great mountain that disappeared into white clouds, it was just as Christopher Columbus had found Nevis. We entered the customs port of St. Kitts in Basse Terre where large rolling waves tore through the anchorage. This was not going to make for a quiet calm night. So we motored into a marina for some luxury sleep. Yay! We cleared in next to two titanic-looking cruise ships…. I will never trust a cruise ship that large. I just don’t get it.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    St. Kitts Touring the Main Land

    2016年2月18日, セントクリストファー・ネイビス ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    The next day we met with our friends Tom/Megs & Nils/ Lisa. While figuring transportation to Brimstone Hill Fort, a street food chef came over to us hurriedly said ‘ I have a present for you.’ then puts two kicking lobsters in my hand and walks away to tend to his grill. …uh…. what?!?!. I eventually gave them back and we found a van to the fort. WOW what a fort, it was so picturesque, standing prominently on an enormous monolith of land. Even driving up to it was fun. A guardhouse on one of the hairpin turns held about 6 lounging cats with a sign next to them that said ‘no dogs allowed’. The fort was very well restored and held really great informational stations. The premises were great to explore and we made the most of it. Especially when we scaled the side of a wall to see the captains quarters….Once we were all “forted-out” we visited an old batik plantation which was immaculate with old trees and lovely gardens.もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    White Horse Bay St. Kitts

    2016年2月18日, セントクリストファー・ネイビス ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    At the end of the day we all ended up in White House Bay to hide from Southeasterly rolling waves for the night. Our friends continued onward to other islands but Mike and I still had some exploring to do in St. Kitts. We explored the bar next to us which was far too posh for us. But it had so many great features, we were suckered into the ambiance and ordered our high-class cocktails. They had a pimped-out dinghy dock with underwater nightlights so you could see the fishes below. The lounging couches had fine wooden pulley system for decorations, sail pillows & throw cushions for couches under firelight lamps, and my favorite, the hammocks that extended over the water with underwater lights below. We met some rad kids from the bay area at the bar who were a riot. And before we left, we laid in the hammocks. The next day Mike threw his phone in the water but with cat-like reflexes snatched it out of the water. We continued the day with a hike with beautiful views of the Atlantic and Caribbean oceans. When we were trying to hail a taxi to reggae beach who else showed up but the rad bay area kids on their scooters. They gave us a ride to the beach and showed us where to eat. Sure enough we had some great cocktails (mudslide!!!) and the best roti Mike and I have eaten thus far. In the end people in St. Kitts want to make sure you have a good time. Great place, can’t wait to return.もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    We're Not Lost, We're On An Island

    2016年2月19日, ボネール ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Sailing from White House St. Kitts to Statia was an active sail. St. Kitts’ towering mountains forced the wind to funnel around the harbor at odd angles forcing sail changes every 30 minutes. Once we were in “open” water, the northerly swells hit us but we were still cruising along at 6.7 -7.1 knots.

    I had my nose in a book so when I saw Statia (St. Eustatius) it was impressive. Straight from the coastline the island shoots straight up a few hundred feet. A slab of limestone greets you from the Southeast known as the White Wall.

    We came to Statia a bit hesitant since the anchorage is rather unprotected and subject to a “bumpy night” if there are sea swells from the North (which there was). Unfortunately, even with a stern anchor out, the rolls could not be ignored and were bothersome. Any trepidation I had for the anchorage left me the second we grabbed a mooring and I looked up at Oranjestad. This place was positively medieval and captured my attention.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    Statia (St. Eustatius)

    2016年2月20日, ボネール ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    What makes the island so fascinating (to me at least) is the history. The Dutch islandStatia trade was an integral international trading post (duty free) between the 17-19 centuries.
    Hundreds of ships would dock/anchor in the bustling harbor ready to sell, barter, and buy between the Spanish, Dutch, English, and Americans (even during wartime periods). The coast looked very different back then with stone trading posts lining the harbor. “Their defense was their utility.” Even now, there are old stone foundations everywhere on this island.もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    Statia - Hike the Quill Volcano

    2016年2月21日, ボネール ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    St. Eustatius was also the first to salute the United States as a sovereign nation (yay!). Back in the day when a ship came into port with it’s colors flying high they would shoot a few cannons to announce their arrival. The receiving port would fire back a friendly fire to welcome the new vessel. The greater number of canon shots the greater the respect for the nation and captain onboard. English hotshot, Admiral Rodney received word of the historic salute, and the British had enough of these “neutral Dutch” providing the enemy Americans with arms and provisions. Admiral Rodney attacked IMG_7587Statia and pilfered the lucrative trading port. It’s said Rodney was suspicious of his “loot” and noticed there was an oddly high amount of burials taking place. He ordered
    his men to open up the caskets only to find…. the towns riches being hidden below ground. As if that’s not enough, Rodney ransacked the Jewish quarters and noticed the people were heavily dressed. He sliced the pockets and hems of their coats. The Jewish townsmen had sewn their coins into the inseams of their clothing. Rodney got that too. What. A. Jerk.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    St. Barts

    2016年2月24日, サンバルテルミー ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    While Statia wowed me with its history, St. Barts was the place to see the new glitzy and beautiful. 30 nautical miles NE of Statia stands the capital, Gustavia. We skipped over Gustavia and anchored in Colombier which was fairly protected. There are 15-18 mooring balls in place so boats don’t anchor in the seabed of grass. Anchors dig into & drag through sand, in turn destroying roots for seagrass and marine life. Sea turtles survive off of seagrass…. Thus, this anchorage is a protected turtle reserve. So of course, after sitting on our mooring ball for 15 minutes a 50 foot catamaran comes racing in and decides to drop anchor in between the rows of tightly packed mooring balls. I cringe and shake my head at the lack of consideration as to where they are about to anchor. The behemoth of a boat tried anchoring 3 times before the owners of the neighboring boats jumped up to tell them they were too close and to anchor elsewhere.

    We took the 1.5 mile dinghy ride over to Gustavia to check in and explore the ritz and glitz. Sure enough, beautiful exorbitant yachts and even some ugly exorbitant yachts lined every inch of marine real estate. On land store after store filled with rows of rolexes shined brilliantly and clothes attached to price tags with far too many numbers before the decimal point hung perfectly. Boaters have a saying that BOAT is an acronym of a lifestyle…. Break Out Another Thousand – for boat repairs/maintenance what have you. The idea of shopping in St. Barts reminded me of this acronym. I found the gelato and local bar more accommodating to my preferences. We enjoyed Colombier immensely. Gustavia was a nice visit but really a busy and bumpy harbor to stay the night.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    St. Martin I

    2016年2月26日, セントマーティン ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    St. Martin was a short downwind leaping sail from St. Barts. En route we passed a curious island, which was mentioned in the guidebook. The island was once lush with green vegetation coating it from coast to coast. Unfortunately the goat population got out of hand and the goats ate the island barren. When it appeared the goats were beginning to starve, the humans intervened and began transporting them off the island. Now, the island is supposed to show signs of green…. But Mike and I could barely see these ‘signs of green’. We suspect there are some sneaky goats still eating their fill.

    Our first landing was on the NW side in Grand Case, which drew us in for the renowned cuisine and carnival Tuesdays. It was a wide but deep harbor and we were both impressed with how flat the anchorage was. From the moment the anchor tugged snugly on the sandy bottom below, I felt at home. Yup, this will do for a week worth of boat work chores. We grabbed ribs and a beer at the closest bar to the dinghy dock (bbq so good it’ll make you cry) and numbered our projects and relaxed, making ourselves at home. We eventually slapped 2 coats of varnish, painted the v-drive, realigned the v-drive, fixed the mizzen boom (again), and genoa sheet block. Carnivale Tuesday finally came our way and the quaint town mainstreet opened up to hundreds of boutiques and food vendors. Music roared from the drum band and whistles while beautiful women wearing elaborate carnival costumes lead the stream of madness. The Heineken Regatta was to take place that week and 20 or so drunken racers made their jovial presence known…. To EVERYONE. We danced to a steeldrum band and drank the local rum punch meeting fellow cruisers left and right. With our fill of Grand Case fun it was time to meet with friends Acedia, Alpha Crucis, & Aggressive in Marigot Bay just 3 miles South.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    St. Martin II

    2016年2月28日, セントマーティン ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Once we put in our hours/days of work and enjoyed our weight of chocolate almond croissants, we decided it was high time go and see St. Martin! There’s a famous lagoon in St. Martin, one side is French the other Dutch. The Dutch side is far more developed (green & red channel markers!!! what? haven’t seen those since Bermuda) and cater to the yachts (both mega and minor). The French side is shallow and spacious – plenty of room to anchor. On the NW side of the French lagoon resides a bit of a wayward mess; i.e. there’s a plethora of fixer-upers biding there time or on the slow march to becoming a reef down below. We really enjoyed happy hour at Lagoonies, a bar on the Dutch side. In our meanderings we “won” a discounted vacation to a timeshare resort. We just had to listen to a pitch and received a free lunch and drinks and $50 to shop with. I got my St. Martin t-shirt and Mike bought his fill in hot sauce. Everyone was happy except for the sales rep.もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    The Bitter End Virgin Gorda

    2016年3月1日, イギリス領ヴァージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    It’s that time again. Full tanks, full propane, full water tanks, and laundry is all set. We chipped away at our seemingly endless list of boat chores and found victory in our accomplishments. St. Maarten struck us as a home away from home and we’d love to return to the island paradise but for now, we’ve made arrangements to pick up friends and sail around the VIs.

    The Virgin Islands are a cluster of islands with all forms of interesting dives, coves, caves, and anchorages for cruisers. The islands provide wind shadows and great barriers to the wild ocean seas making the Sir Francis Drake Channel a very enjoyable place to sail. It’s no wonder hundreds or sailors flock here each winter.
    Our overnight sail was beautiful, we flew the spinnaker for half of the trip and enjoyed a star-studded night. We passed several vessels and I watched a lightning storm pass at a safe distance. En route, I read that the US bought the Dutch portion of the Virgin Islands for $25 million in 1917… nicely done Uncle Sam…. At the time the Virgin Islands were in economic decline from the abolition of slavery. The main export was sugar which had been heavily dependent on slave labor. But far before that ugly period in time; Christopher Columbus discovered the Virgin Islands in 1493 and named the island chain the Virgin Islands after Saint Ursula and the 11,000 virgins. (Virgin Gorda -fat- received it’s name because the island resembled a reclining woman with a protruding belly from the seaside vantage point).

    Having never heard of this Saint Ursula or the 11,000 virgins, I did a little research, I mean, 11,000 virgins… that’s a lot of dames. Why 11,000? What happened to them? From what I’ve gathered from a few sources, Saint Ursula lived between 300-600 AD… (she lived 1500 years ago, & they narrowed it down to 300 years, way to go historians). Ursula was betrothed to marry a complete stranger higher in rank. To meet her soon-to-be husband, she boarded a ship with her hand maidens ranging anywhere between 11 to 11,000 in number. Oh, how stories are skewed sometimes. The long and arduous voyage was miraculously completed in a single day. Taking this to be a sign, Ursula declared she would make a panEuropean pilgrimage with all 11 or 11,000 handmaidens before the wedding (sounds like someones stalling to me). Their journey landed them in Cologne Germany, which, unfortunately was invaded by the Hun troops. The handmaidens refused to be with or marry the invading troops so they were tragically beheaded. Ursula was brought to death by the bow and arrow of the Hun soldiers. One of histories tragic tales, and in part, made immortal by Columbus giving respect to St. Ursula by way of the beautiful island chain we now call the Virgin Islands.

    Around 9 AM we passed Sir Richard Bransons famous Necker Island, we made our way through the narrow passage by Saba Rock and found a cozy little place to anchor in the lee of Prickly Pear Island – only a skip away from Saba, Bitter End Yacht Club, and Customs.

    When I was a kid my family and our good family friends, the Lainos, chartered a Beneteau throughout the Sir Francis Drake. It was at the beautiful Bitter End, I learned how to swim by myself. So, revisiting this place was one of nostalgia. Mike and I stayed here for a few days to recoup and play around with my brand new scuba setup! Mike had purchased his own scuba gear last year so it was about time I join him in exploring watery deep. In St. Martin we stumbled upon great gear on sale; new BCD, new regulator/octopus, new shorty wetsuits for both of us, and lightly used tank for $ 1,000. I’m sure if we had reliable internet and searched high and low there’s a better deal out there…. but for the ease of walking in and walking out in an hour or so… we were excited. We pulled off two beginner dives, testing our buddy breathing, clearing goggles 30 feet under water, hand signals, and buoyancy. Even on the overcast day, we had a blast and celebrated with cocktails at Saba Rock. We refilled our tanks, grabbed a cocktail and still had time to spare before we bore witness to the famous 5 pm tarpon feeding. It was my first time experiencing tarpon fish, 4 feet in length, duking it out for dinner bites cast out into the water. Tarpon are notorious for not being “tasty”, so for the most part, they appear to be slow and docile monsters. But toss a piece of shredded fish out to the water and they tear after the treat with furious speed and agility.

    As always I *really* enjoyed our new anchorage, the Bitter End this time, but we had a beautiful down wind sail to make to meet our friends flying in to St. Thomas the next day.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    St. Thomas to St. John USVI

    2016年3月10日, 米領バージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We “quickly” sailed downwind to St. Thomas to pick up Corey and Jamie in the large harbor of Charlotte Amalie.
    It’s a large flat sandy harbor so we picked any old spot away from the ferries only to find that seaplanes had their own unofficial runway at our stern, which we found to be entertaining. Their plane landed right as we anchored so we jetted straight to the airport…. And just in time I might add…. As we bumped into good ole Corey & Jamie at the airport (who had been giddily sipping free rum samples), they immediately steered us over to a long line for car rentals…. Asking us if we recognized anyone… and by George …of all the gin joints… our college friend Sarah whom, we both met through NEUs outdoor club NUHOC, was standing there! We had traveled thousands of miles away from home over the course of 6 months and, still, we serendipitously bumped into friends from home. Everyone was engulfed in hugs and disbelief asking the same dumbfounded question “Wow, what-the, when, how are you?!?!?!”Because Mike & I were so organized our first order of business was to go grocery shopping in St. Thomas. Fun! Our first night we ate out in town, arriving just in time for happy hour. With beer and cocktails in hand, we made a game plan for the next 5 days – Circumnavigate ST. JOHN! Before leaving we meandered the town of Charlotte Amalie, known for its jewelry district. I found the Dutch influence in architecture to be of far greater interest; the buildings were made-up of old weathered stone walls with thick heavy wooden doorways and fat metal latches beautifully fashioned from a time period I can only imagine.

    St. John, day 1: We beat into the wind (‘beat’ is sailing jargon for bashing the bow of your sailboat into or close to the wind – aka not fun sailing) to St. John and hooked onto a National Park mooring. We snorkeled the area, spotting several stingrays and a turtle and the next morning we ran the dinghy onto shore in Reef Bay.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    St. Johns Reef Bay

    2016年3月11日, 米領バージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    At Reef Bay:
    There are ruins of an old sugar mill in great condition complete with an old steam engine built in Glasgow, Scotland. Being the hiking fans we are, we chose to keep hiking and explored the petroglyphs of Reef Bay. These stone carvings are thought to represent a spiritual place for the Taino, Arawak people from pre-Columbian times (anywhere between 600-1,000 years ago). As a kid, I like most, wanted to be Indiana Jones. So crouching down on this uneven rock near a flat pool of water, it was… exciting… to think; 600 years ago someone in this exact spot was carving this image into the stone to honor the spirits and that’s how they spent their day.もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    St. Johns Rams Head & Coral Bay

    2016年3月12日, 米領バージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We spent the rest of our day grabbing a mooring in Salt Pond Bay and hiking Rams Head and snorkeling crystal clear waters. Rams Head is a high jagged bluff on the south east side of St. John and has a bloody past. In 1733 a great slave rebellion took place on St. John, lasting for several months. French & Swiss troops eventually arrived putting a stop to the insurrection. The grim denouement of the rebellion ended with a group of 300 slaves jumping to their death at Rams Head point instead of returning to the overlords and torturous life of a slave. We arrived at the SW summit and looked around at the steep and dramatic cliffside and jagged rocks below. An impending rainstorm brought strong winds tearing over the summit so we looked around silently and quickly returned to the boat in awe. A tiny lizard attacked me on the way back, jumping onto my hand for an instant before flinging itself off into the bushes. Taking me by surprise, I screamed. Mike laughed and recounted the time a flying fish almost hit me in the cockpit on our passage to Bermuda.
    Our next anchorage was a sporty sail into Coral Bay where we made an impromptu stop at a floating bar. We were only going to check it out but the proprietor was so damn friendly…. And how do you say no to rum punches at a floating bar, I have not yet found the strength or craziness to say no …. So out of the dinghy onto the floating pontoon. There was a bed on the other end with a long curtain to partition his room off and in the center there was a circular glass floor under a glass table. At night, you could turn on underwater lights and watch the tarpon swim underneath. There was a full kitchen/bar setup, bathroom, and even a second floor to sunbathe on. He explained how he built the entire set up from scratch and wanted to put it up on a B&B site. He plans to offer a package deal where he’ll captain the vessel out to anchorages around St. John and leave you with a couple kayaks, then he would return and move you to a next destination. For a more adventurous demographic, I could see this working out beautifully.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    To Jost!

    2016年3月14日, イギリス領ヴァージン諸島 ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    Our last few days we explored Jost Van Dyke enjoying pain killers from the Soggy Dollar Bar, (supposedly where the recipe was created) and danced on the beach with a bunch of spring breakers having a good time.
    The Soggy Dollar gets its name from boaters arriving, throwing down their anchor, then swimming to shore for a drink; there’s even a line with clothespins to dry out the sopping-wet tens and twenties. After enough partying we spent the night off Maho Beach and dinghied into Cruz Bay where by Corey and Jamie’s combined worldly knowledge won trivia night! Technically we didn’t win win, the bar tenders won but they had won every trivia night for the past month and we had the severe disadvantage since teams were allowed to buy the moderator drinks in exchange for points…. Bartenders won again but team Masshole Sailors came in second place.    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    Scuba Time St. James USVI

    2016年3月16日, 米領バージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Again alone on Gaia, we provisioned diesel, dinghy fuel, water, laundry and refilled scuba tanks in Redhook, St. Thomas. We made a quick motor around the bend to Christmas Cove on St. James and partook in the novelty of Pizza Pi, a steel-hulled sailboat that will serve pizza via VHF & dinghy. A nice and fun treat! We fell in love with Christmas Cove and since the moorings were free… stayed a few nights. We dove on Calf Rock (3/4 mile dinghy ride WSW). It was a fun little dive where beginner divers become certified, actually, where Mike got his very own PADI cert years back. We ended up navigating through some narrow valleys in the rock, which proved to be really fun UNTIL… Mike picked up a broken off piece of coral with a neat little brittle star crawling on it, then dropped it. The shell swirled and swiveled round and round ever so delicately skimming my lower thigh just below where my shortie wetsuit cut off. For such a slight and momentary contact, it felt extremely sharp but I paid no attention to it for the first few minutes. My leg began stinging immensely and the area of contact felt tingly. I’m no expert but I know the words tingly and stinging don’t belong when you’re 40 feet underwater in a rock slit. So I motioned for us to return directly back to the dinghy something was not okay. On our return we followed a turtle, saw a grouper, and Mike even touched a trunkfish!

    Back on the boat I cleaned the wound with salt water and vinegar. I had read somewhere you should use salt water as opposed to fresh and vinegar will reduce the sting. It worked but I had a patch of bumpy irritated skin, which lasted for a few weeks. We ended up identifying the cause of the irritation as fire coral. Fire coral can grown on anything. So watch out!

    Once I got over the trauma of my scuba buddy slashing me with fire coral…. We went diving again. We dinghied due south to an extended point of rocks called The Stragglers; hooked onto a mooring and descended next to the rocks. At 25 feet we heard a boat engine. I looked at Mike & tried to decompress my BCD so I’d sink further to the bottom and closer to him. Hearing the motor get closer, I looked behind me and to the surface and I’ll be damned! A medium-sized powerboat went right over our heads! I was more angry than scared that time… We continued onward and sure enough I heard another engine. This time I kept turning in circles to see if I could locate the boat. No sighting of it but I was breathing hard out of fear. I reminded myself we were in 30 feet of water and floating close to the coral heads and continued the dive until I was cold. Those two encounters served as a strong reminder that the safest place to descend and ascend is on your mooring ball line; that and there are a lot of stupid and oblivious boaters out there. (Respect dive flags, and popular snorkeling/dive spots boaters! And don’t be wanker watch where you anchor!)

    The caves are from Normans Island where the dreaded Willy T resides    もっと詳しく

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  • Kir McLinnGone Sailing for a YearKir McLinn

    Scuba on the RMS Rhone

    2016年3月17日, イギリス領ヴァージン諸島 ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We eventually left Christmas Cove for Cooper and Salt Island of the Channel Islands, to dive on the famed RMS Rhone. We descended at the stern to 35 feet and descended our way forward to the bow (the bowsprit lay at 90 feet). Within minutes of our descent we encountered a giant green moray eel….. swimming! He swam right between us! I didn’t realize they ever left their little caves… This beast was at least 10 feet long and slithered through the water gracefully, finally diving into a compartment in the back of what was once part of an engine. I thought it exquisite but cute; while its head & body was hidden about 3 feet of its tail was still exposed as it had outgrown its old hiding spots. Mike later said he had the urge to pull on the tail; needless to say I’m glad he suppressed his 10 year old self. We swam back and forth over and under the old engine room and decaying hull. The RMS Rhone broke in two and now rests on its side so you can see old portholes from above and swim into what once was the deck. We saw some enormous lobsters and beautiful angel fish. The amount of coral and fish life was amazingly bountiful and beautiful.dive site.
    But not so much that it took my mind off the fact that I was now 90 feet underwater and every inch of me was compressed by more than a few atmospheres. It’s a little alarming how long it takes your air bubbles to reach the surface at 90 feet. Feeling a little cold and recognizing I was approaching low air, we both slowly ascended on a mooring line – zero complications. No fire coral to report of.

    Background on the RMS Rhone:

    RhoneThe RMS Rhone was a 310 ft mail steamer. Powered by sail (2 masts) and steam engine. On October 29 of 1867, Robert F. Wooley captained the ship and was preparing her for the return voyage to England. The end of October generally marks the end of hurricane season, so when a Northerly wind began to blow and barometer began to fall, he dismissed it as a northerly front. At the time it was a beautiful day but the captain directed the ship to Road Town, Tortolla to weather the “storm”. At 11 AM, the barometer fell to 27.9 and the sky darkened quickly. Immense winds blew from the NNW destroying the main sails & rigging. A lull passed over so the captain made a the quick order to anchor. But the shackle of the cable caught in the hawsepipe…. (And translation for all the non-maritime folk… ‘messed up their ability to anchor – real bad’.). They were forced to drop the 3,000 lb. anchor and all 300 ft of anchor chain (trans: ‘seriously not good’). Captain Wooley took the appropriate option of weathering the storm out at sea. It was with full engines running, the RMS Rhone turned out to cross the Sir Francis Drake Channel and pass the Channel Islands. By that time the RMS Rhone had almost navigated its way through the Channel Islands, the SSW winds had started up in full strength and forced the RMS Rhone into the rocks, just off of Salt Island. The boat heeled over and broke in two, sinking instantly. There were crew and passengers onboard; of the survivors, I believe, 18 or so crew & 2 passengers survived the sinking.    もっと詳しく

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