Cumberland Island and area
May 26 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
On Monday evening at 5:30pm we arrived at St. Mary’s Intercoastal Marina. Colin caught our lines and docking was a challenge but we did it with no damage to Lorena. In the evening we walked the town and ate.
The following morning we took looooong showers, did 3 loads of laundry, washed boat, had GF breakfast sandwich and coffee and Kraken Cafe and went to a bookstore (Hope for the Flowers and Norse Mythology) then at 2:30pm we rode the outgoing current down the river to Cumberland Island, where there was only one other boat. I called Dad once we were anchored but in the middle of conversation Brian spotted something close to shore so I cut the call short and helped to get the dinghy down fast and see if something needed rescued— alligator, manatee, whale. Turns out it was just a couple of Mantees close to shore. We paddles back, in a stiff current. The tides here are 6-7feet and the currents run up to 3knots. The live oaks and Spanish moss from the shoreline was breathtaking.
Wednesday we explored Cumberland Island, seeing more manatees at the public dinghy dock. We wandered around the Carnegie house ruins at Dungeness and saw lots of wild horses, including foals, one of which I touched. We had a long walk on the beach in the Southern End between Dungess and the Sea Camp, and Brian took a quick dip in the ocean.
Thursday morning is reserved for Ashlynn (she is in NB) this week and I always LOVE our catch-ups! We saw a Submarine leave the channel (from the Kings Bay nuclear submarine base), and we went back to the island and walked on Cumberland Parellel Trail and back via the beach and Sea Camp (bugs bad)… saw lizards with red heads and others with blue tails and a turtle in the dunes. The beach was also full of horseshoe crabs. While on the beach we saw a sailboat coming in the channel and determined it was our friend on Carioca (Fiona and Chris), as we left the island, we motored out to welcome them to the anchorage which now had 10 boats and invited them over for drinks (water is all we have, but they brought beer). We caught up with them in the evening after they had walked the shore.
On Friday we headed into Cumberland again for a quick walk to the salt ponds (hoping to see armadillos and alligators), we saw the white foal and another one in front of the castle. Our plan was to go to Amelia Island, but instead we decided to sail the night and go to Wassaw Island on the Odingsell River.
After a passage with not much sleep again… I snoozed alot on Saturday . We arrived at 8am and slept till noon, surprised to see so many weekend boats enjoying the beach on both sides.
On Sunday I had a board meeting for Freeing the Human Spirit and then we took the dinghy to the beach and went for a walk, again, amazed at the number of dead horseshoe crabs… I was able to save one and get it back into the water.
Monday was a holiday (Memorial Day) so still several boats on shore, although the weather was threatening rain so no as many as previous days. We dinghied down the river, through a marsh area to a public dock. We got a the main road, and then took Pavilion trail…which took us over a ridge and to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean which was deserted for miles either way. We enjoyed a nice walk (and my brother Pete called while there). Brian forged for gifts while I was on the phone, bringing me sand dollars, sea urchin and snail shells.
Both Brian and I read Untamed (The Wildest Women in America and the fight for Cumberland Island) by Will Harlan. Normally I am not a fan of historical books, but this one about the islands history and the life of Carol Ruckdeschel was awesome!
As a Canadian I have to figure out the I-94 form and try and determine how much time I have left in the country as they didn’t acknowledge my departure back in November. Brian was dealing with trying to close the KLEB llc and email.
We left on Tuesday at 6:45am to catch the high tide (which was actually at 4:30am), and head to Hilton Head, only 30nm away.Read more
Key Biscayne
May 18 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 28 °C
We arrived Sunday at 1pm to the entrance (which was the earliest I suggested, half way between high and low tide). The tides vary by 4feet…. And coming in we had 5feet under the keel in some spots.
Brian always does a great job picking the best spot to anchor. We dropped the hook and had a nap! You could see city lights (Miami) in the background at night.
Whether it is a day or three days… it always takes up time to recover from a night passage and the following day or two we seek lots of sleep.
On Monday we slept in, and then got to work on boat chores. I fixed the blower fan to cool the engine room. Brian was spot priming and varnishing the outside teak. In the afternoon I hand washed our underwear (we haven’t done laundry since Honduras). Pain had been steadily increasing as swollen veins protruded from my seat. I called Urgent Care and suspected it was a thrombosed hemorrhoid. Creams, wipes, and painkillers were of no use.
Tuesday we dropped the dinghy as I hummed and haa-ed at going to the clinic. The coat would be $350USD and I knew it would eventually fade. I busied myself with fixing the fan to cool the dashboard and read a lot. We bought many books in Key West and I’ve been ploughing through them: Dharma Bums, Gathering Moss, The Life Impossible, Marriage at Sea and Hallelujah Anyway (“Love is hard… love is seeing the darkness in another person and defying the impulse to jump ship.” - Anne Lamott). I also chatted with Andrew, Amy and the kids (Kai and Ella). I try to FaceTime with them once a week.
On Wednesday we finally went to town. We docked at the Bill Briggs National Park with our dinghy and caught a FreeBe to the grocery store. FreeBe is electric cars, using an app the same as Uber, but totally free! We went for Sushi and then to a small park (where we watched small turtles and moorhen birds with their babies - a duck like bird, but no webbed feet, also know as a swamp chicken). Winn Dixie in Key Biscayne was paradise considering the grocery stores we’ve been to the last few months. We stocked up, including a big beef tenderloin, which we regrettably had to return later that day. I opened it to cut it up and the smell was rancid! We were supposed to join some other sailors from Austria for a picnic, but timing did not work, so we met with an old client of Brian’s, who he had helped release from an Uruguay jail.
The next day I was still suffering so we stayed on the boat, read, cleaned, and varnished. My Thursday calls with Ashlynn (and Vinny) are always a highlight of my week. This week she showed me her newest tattoo (Muah Ouah)… I shared it with Andrew, Pete and Dad… it was something mom used to always say 💕
I wanted to take Brian to Wynwood Walls and KYU (a Korean fusion restaurant I had been to several years before with Melanie Lang). My plan was to take a Freebe to the end of Key Biscayne and Uber the rest of the way. Brian had different thoughts…. So we took the bus into downtown Miami and then a trolley (with no A/C) to Wynwood. It took us about 3 hours and by that time someone was grumpy and hungry. After we ate, we went to the walls and walked through, then to grab an ice cream, and a stop for coffee at Panther Cafe (where I met the artist Mark Diamond).
We Uber’s back to Key Biscayne and were having dinner with Arturo (whom we met a few days earlier) and Sebastian (who was also in prison 14 years ago) and their wives. Both families from Argentina. From the penthouse apartment, we were able to see Lorena while we ate a special meal. Sebastian drove us to the national park gates (in his Tesla X bat mobile). The gates were closed so we crawled under the fence and back to the dinghy and Lorena.
We had been watching the weather window and it looked like Sunday or Monday, but on Saturday morning… it looked like that evening would give us the best wind angle, so we decided to leave around 7pm. We went to shore one final time to check out the national park and its beach and lighthouse, before setting off on a 2 day trek to Cumberland Island, Georgia.
We left Saturday at 7pm and arrived at St Mary’s Marina on Monday at 5:45pm. Grateful the dockhand/ manager (Colin), stayed late to help us catch the lines. Coming in the channel we were approached by the coast guard (with a machine gun on its bow), we had the radio turned down so didn’t hear them hailing us on Channel 16. They wanted to know our intentions, and found out they were clearing the channel for a navy vessel. There is a large nuclear submarine dock at Kings Bay (inside the channel).Read more
Key West
May 9 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Key West was awesome and we were in deep need of some rest, while it amply provided. The anchorage was calm and we were on the outer edge of Westeria Island (close to Tank island). Each evening a few dozen boats would parade out to the harbour showing its guest the gorgeous sunsets this location displays! The water was warm, but the current strong so our dips kept us close to the boat.
Our rendezvous into town consistently included the bookstore (used and new), west Marine and Key West Marine and the grocery store called Fausto’s. We also walked the main streets through the town that lead to the water (Duval and Whitehead)… the southernmost point of USA and the beginning of Route One. Lots of roosters, key lime pies, police on horses, and tourist roamed the streets. We bought some new shorts and shirts, and each shore visit also meant an oyster feast and the blazing sights of Flamboyant (Royal Poinciana) in full bloom.
We did lots of boat chores, including the most harrowing, changing the stuffing box/ stern gland flax while at anchor. The bilge pump did its job while we worked as quickly as possible deciding to only replace the bottom pieces with something bigger.
For 5 days I was illegal in the country… wanting to wait before setting the clock ticking again! It was such a relief to check in and get the notification. Grateful for NEXUS as I suspect it helped expedite the process. I was truly concerned, as leaving in November my exit from the country was denied, but I was already 24hrs offshore by this time.
The most exciting part of Key West was seeing a Manatee for the first time…. at the dinghy dock (that was $15/ day). The most shocking was gas price at $7.20/gallon.
Off to No Name Harbour, Key Biscayne outside of Miami next. It was an easy 24hour trip riding the Gulf Stream adding an extra 2-3knots of current.Read more
Longest Passage, double-handed
May 3, Caribbean Sea ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Our passage was supposed to be 4.5 days, as we had approx 650nm to cover. However, the first two days were magical! We sailed with three sails (main, geneoa and stay sail) and averaged 200nm per day. Our average speed was 8.4knots. Now we had about 2knots of current helping us along, which was awesome. We were both at awe as Lorena has never moved so well! We even managed to run the code zero for all of 30-45 minutes.
We left at dawn April 29th and arrived nearing midnight on May 2nd.
We caught three mahi mahi in one day, and the following day a heavy skipjack tuna. The freezer is full, and Brian is happy, although he dropped the fillet knife overboard, nevertheless, he does a great job with just a kitchen knife.
Birds continue to join us on our journey. Not sure if I should be looking at it as a sign from God guiding our journey, or merely as Lorena offering a haven to tired souls.
Our path was supposed to end at Dry Tortugas, but we arrived in the morning and decided to stay in the Gulf Stream and proceed to Miami, as we were enjoying wind, speed and current. We even talked about going to Fort Pierce.
We have a friend, Joe Ricciardi, former Delta Pilot, who was following our trek, our land contact. He alerted us to a small craft advisory near Miami and when we checked the weather ourselves, we saw lightening and made a quick decision to divert to Key West.
The entry in, at 10pm, was scary! The main channel is marked, but it is difficult to tell the distance of bouys or which ones to head towards. We finally made it, around 11:30pm (May 2nd) with a full lunar torch guiding us past each hazard.
We dropped anchor, however, it did not set. Brian was adamant it was fine and we just needed to put more chain out… I was frustrated with that decision. The anchor alarm sounded twice in the night and Brian thought everything was fine. BUT, when we got up in the morning, we had slide 150ft… much too close to the rocks behind Tank Island.
We moved to a new location, behind Wisteria Island. We had friends, the ones who had done the convoy with us, we arrived to Key West the day before (Chris and Fiona on Carioca), but sadly we didn’t see them before they left again.Read more
Glovers Reef
April 29 in Belize ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Our sail from Guanaja, Honduras to Glovers Reef, Belize, was mainly motor sailing with intermittent times to turn off the engine. We were uncomfortably close to the east/ windward side of Roatan at night, not leaving much room for error.
The upside to the engine on, is that when run at 11,000rpm, it only consumes a gallon per hour and gives us lots of momentum (fake wind) AND I can sleep in our bed without the awful sound of the auto helm. I heard Brian moving about and making coffee, so I popped my head out the aft hatch to see the sunrise and instead saw the tension on fishing lines, yelling “fish on.” We reeled in two tuna, and Brian spent the next hour fillet them, while I got the coffee.
I was excited to visit Glovers Reef again, and see Island Expeditions. Ashlynn and I spent Christmas there in 2019. Sadly, I found out that they had just closed down for the season and the last boat left on the morning we arrived. I had emailed them, and the Manta Cay Resort to ask if we could have dinner with them and offer to teach yoga to their guests — that was a NO. Apparently they are an all inclusive, expensive resort!
We arrived around 2pm. The passage in through the reef was unnerving as the water was so clear I could see the reef below and it was hard to tell the depth. We anchored in eel grass and it held nicely for the whole week!
Shortly after arriving, the Coast Guard and fisheries arrived (with their guns). There was a $30usd/ week to stay in the Atoll. They also asked to see our papers… and we had to admit that we didn’t check into the country. It was never our plan too, as we were just going to transit the outer islands and continue on to Mexico. The check-in is on the mainland, which is at least 36nm away. They gave us a warning, told us that others might not let us transit through and told us we could stay for a week and be on our way. We were still considering going to Lighthouse Reef or Sandbore Cay…. Sunday looked good, but I had an FTHS board meeting, so we decided Monday — however, when we took a closer look, we realized that Glovers was a much better anchorage, so stayed put. Our plan was to go to Mexico, check in and wait for a weather window. However, when I started looking at the requirements (Mexican liabilities insurance, captains license, and 400usd to check in, and the same to check out…. Plus the blog posts about boats being boarded and inspected, and sailors charged import taxes for food and extra outboard, we decided to forgo. Next was to contact Chris Parker for a forecast….and finally deciding to race a FRONT (storm) arriving in Mexico on Sunday/ Monday — by leaving Wednesday (April29th) and heading straight to Florida.
Every day we went snorkelling and saw lots of Rays, porcupine puffer fish, lion fish, lobster, sea cucumbers, slipper lobster, angel fish, big ones, of varying colors (some with blue mouth others with white). The coral was absolutely gorgeous, the purple fans, wine and green and yellows speckling the underwater landscape, against the clear blue water. The shelf was our favorite and where we saw the most rays.
We didn’t do much boat work other than dig out the water drenched foam from below the issued water keel tank…. Scraping my hands in the process. I also hand washed our Calvin Klein’s and bathing suits. Otherwise, I was working on Freeing the Human Spirit things, and teaching RWW.
We were visited by bright yellow tiny birds and black ones with orange and yellow…. I love these visits 🕊️!
We made our way to Isla Corisal Resort on Southwest Cay and went to the bar, one of the staff told us we could walk around, and so we didn’t, finding our way to the Island Expedition piece of land with so many great memories. The tents were gone, but the pegs still there, showing how small our cabana was.
The following evening we returned to the resort for super and it was awesome. There was a group of 22 women (from the USA) along with an older couple from Flagstaff, Arizona who were staying at the resort.
The following day we returned as Jill, the bartender, had gotten permission to sell us some fresh fruit and vegetables (for $20)… we were SO HAPPY! By the time we reached Florida the only thing we will have left is frozen fruit (with a busted blender 🙁) and some carrots. It was very kind of the resort to give/ sell us some of there provisions. Brian drew a picture of Jill, and Eddie the owner (who we never met). They also made, by special order some zucchini bread which we picked up the next day, and dropped off the drawings. Brian has also been doing pastels of me.
On our final night we went back and had dinner again. The resort and people were so welcoming! I even got a picture with Mira who was Ashlynn’s dive master when we were there last.
Brian climbed up to the crows nest to try and capture the beauty of this island before we left (and I stole a screen shot from Marisol’s Instagram page) to show you why I’ll go back again someday!
Up at dawn and hoisted the dinghy, closed the hatched and portals and lifted the anchor to set off 720nm to Florida.Read more
Guanaja, Honduras
April 22 in Honduras ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Sadly, El bight was the only anchorage we visited in Honduras. It’s the time of year when Brian is anxious to move on and make sure he is in the USA and away from hurricanes. We tried to check-in in Guanaja but they were having some political issues, and immigration was shut down on the island. We were told that we would have to check in at Roatan.
We had thought about going there and looked a marinas, as we were still concerned about the rudder sound.
On our first day we decided to drop our laundry off at Jessica’s and hike the highest peak on the island, Michel’s Rock. Brian stopped at the 2/3 point and I continued to 7/8th. The trail was difficult to see and we needed to us the All Trails app, but it was burning through our phone power. We both wore pants, but my solo expedition to the top had my arms covered in scratches, my pants throughly stained green and two ticks (one I only found days later).
We went snorkelling on the reef beside the ostentatious Dunbar Hotel. It was clear and felt like snorkelling in an aquarium — saw porcupine puffer fish, squid, angel fish and more. Our snorkelling attempt two days later was cloudy.
We went into the town, twice. The first time we walked around, picked up a few groceries, although not much fresh food. We walked around the town and landed on a large pool that had several nurse sharks, turtles, rays and other fish. We meant a boy named Edwin who was curious about where we were from and the traveling we’ve done. Our second time we came, hoping that the fruit and veggie freighter had arrived. We went to DeBella Cafe and waited, but decided we needed to get going. However, we did by 3lbs of red snapper and a few mangos. There was a lot of police and military presence, which was uncomfortable. We found out that the party that lost the elections had tried to take over again, and a school was burnt down. The main town is an island…. And beside the island are houses on stilts… a fascinating world!
The night before we left, we went to Jessica’s Restaurant (the same women who did our laundry, runs a restaurant). It was on a different part of the cove and once we found it the view was great. The food options were to risky, but we both had a drink and sat with Belgium cruisers from FOX (Carlos and Cathy).
Sadly we didn’t get to ceonnect with Pierre and Laura, although we messaged and saw them working on their forestay. They had problems with it enroute from Providencia and also had this occur:
“Apart this problem in the middle of the trip, we had some emotions when meeting some boats : most of them were fishermen or cargo, but at some point we saw a group of 5 small boats, not really moving, maybe half a mile away.
We continued on our way when one of this boat started moving in our direction. It took him maybe 15 or 30 minutes to reach us.
We kept on our way. The boat was strange with 5 or 6 peoples inside, and one standing on the proa and making signs. He asked us if we had something to give them, food or anything else.
We answered we had nothing.
He asked about cigarettes…
We don’t have. Finally he said good bye, have a safe trip and they went back to where they came.
So no problem but some emotions. We still think that we were far enough from the coast !
That is the story about our trip, not completely simple but interesting 🤔
Hope to see you again. Enjoy Belize
Laura & Pierre”
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Our last foray was to get gas before leaving for Belize. The current was strong, but Brian managed it well. We got 130 gallons ($6usd/gallon), earlier in the day, on the dinghy, we topped up the gas and our propane. By 4:30 we were on our way.’Read more
Pirates Passage
April 19 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
The convoy left Providencia on Wednesday morning, except Pierre and Laura, who left Tuesday afternoon and were taking a more direct route to Honduras.
Lady Hawke and Lorena leaving at 8am and the other two at 9am. They caught up to us fast and passed us early on. We had a WhatsApp chat group that I had set up and these were the terms we agreed too:
- We are leaving at 8am
- We will sail on the west side, close to Beacon Cay
- We will communicate via WhatsApp and channel 68 (with check-ins every 4 hours)
- We will stay in visual distance of one another (line of sight might be hard… so screen distance)
- We will keep on AIS but go dark (no lights).
- If any of us run into trouble the others will circle round.
- Brian to follow up with Chris and we will share the forecast.
- Brian will fill a float plan and send out Emergency number for Colombian Navy.
Fiona was the link that kept us together on Whatapp and channel 68, trying to communicate. We sailed initially, then motor sailed and then just motored for the day…. Still having trouble keeping up and running at 1400rpm’s verse 1100. That extra bit doubled our fuel consumption to 2gph. Unfortunately, LadyHawke was feeling the same but didn’t have as much fuel as we did…. So they decided to change course and sail. We continued to check in with them, and watched them in Marine Traffic. They did have an incident where they were approached by a fishing boat near Seranilla Banks, but headed into a squall to reduce visibility and the fish boat stopped the following. Turns out they had a fishing net around their property and that is what slowed them down.
By Wednesday evening we were in a tight pack and had the main out, triple reef and the staysail. We wanted to keep a 1nm distance as we had no lights, just AIS. Lots of cargo traffic through the night which was comforting!
In the morning, the current was helping and the flow seemed to be veering west. Pangolin and Carioca decided to take the cut by Thunder Knoll and maximize the current. We had to decide if we would follow as it was a more dangerous route (concerning piracy) or be left to sail solo. Since we would be doing the majority of it in the daylight, we decided to follow along. The shift helped us to sail better and by noon on Thursday we had overtaken the vessels and were moving along at 8knots. At around 4pm we noticed that Carioca was sailing slow Ina different direction (their mailsail furler wasn’t working). Sadly, they had to move through 35knot winds with full main and decided to go to the Lee side of the Caymans to take it down.
We had another 2 days of sailing…. But it was quiet with very little traffic. We arrived in Guanaja in the afternoon on Saturday.
We had made good time and even ran the whisker pole on the jib the whole night for a downwind run. It made a big difference in our speed (motor sailing at 6.5-7knots).
On Friday night I saw a light off in the distance and casually remarked. Brian tried to investigate and got worried quick. I had determined it was Venus, but he was sure it was an unmarked vessel. A quick check on Starlink (with lat/ long and bearing) suggested it was a planet and the anxiety faded.
However, the rudder noise we heard in Cartagena was back.
Our interaction with wildlife on the passage was neat. We had a barn swallow fist us again. This time perched on the wench and then inside the pilot house. It allowed me to pat it… and it was vocal although I didn’t understand what it wanted (I tried water and nuts), perhaps it just wanted rest. We then had a red foot boobie catch a ride with us in the bow. Sadly, Brian chased him away as he didn’t like that it was pooing on the bow seat. We also caught a Mahi.
Overall it was a safe trip with no issues. Once we got to Guanaja (two days earlier then Chris Parker the forecaster had predicted) we anchored beside Pierre and Laura who had arrived there through the night. A dangerous entry, through the reefs, I can’t believe they did it at night.Read more
Providencia & Santa Catalina
April 15 in Colombia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
We left Linton Bay Marina on April 4th and sailed through Easter Sunday and arrived in Providencia on Monday morning around d 8:30am. The sail and winds were great, and we were on a close haul most of the time, one the same heading. We only ran the engine to boost the voltage for a few hours and arriving… otherwise it was all sail power.
We had a little bird, a swallow, stop on the Davits at the back of the boat, for a rest. So nice to see little creatures up close. It watched as we caught three Mahi-mahi in an 8 minute time span. They were small and a lot of work for Brian to fillet, but good eating!
The check in and out (Zarpe) of each country is a total pain in the ass. We had to use an agent again to check into Colombia, and we were meeting Mr Bush (72 years old) at the immigration dugout. An odd process where they video taped Brian giving the officer his passport, but more relaxed then other spots, perhaps because it was open air.
On Tuesday we went to Mr Bush’s store to pick up passports and we did some snorkeling (eels, rays and more).
On Wednesday we started approaching other boats to see if any were interested in travelling with us toward Honduras. Pierre (French) and Laura (Mexican) on Chogüi are going, but a more direct route through pirate land. Giorgio and Heyoung (Ladyhawke) are planning to go to Cayman ~ Canadian boat and they are Italian and Korean. We already knew Pura Vida (John-Michel and Kimberly) as they were beside us in Cartegena and are heading back.
We went to town and went to the hospital to check on my biopsy wound - it’s ok. Then continued walking and ended up at a Library. Brian was excited and we went back twice to donate 6-8 books in Spanish.
We stopped at a Cafe and meet Charlie Ottley (Film maker) and Guana from Romania (Transilvania). We invited them to the boat a day later and had sundowners, and then a couple games of pool back on the island. Interesting couple who film, Flavours of Romania.
The channel of the Bay is well marked with green and red bouts that flash in the night (and early morning), and for some reason make me feel safe. There is also a mother Mary statue on the hill above our anchorage (Fort Warwick, Santa Catalina). The island was hit hard by a hurricane in 2020 and is slowly rebuilding.
We did more snorkelling, visited lots of grocery stores, especially after the fruit boat arrived (and tried some new fruit including yellow dragon fruit). We discovered the ice cream store and went nearly everyday… and we walked to Almond Bay and beyond, then a few days later, we took a tuktuk to South West beach for an hour, and came back the opposite way, full traversing the island. It is beautiful and I wish we had taken more time to explore beyond what we could walk too.
Two more boats, Salty Dawgs who we knew, Brian on Pangolin and Chris and Fiona on Carioca arrived. We talked to them about a convoy, even though they were also going to Cayman… we could go as far as 18N and then divert WSW. We organized a WhatsApp group, messaged Chris Parker and held a meeting at the ice cream shop. Chris suggested waiting till Friday April 17th, the group wanted to leave on Wednesday (even though there wouldn’t be as much wind). We agreed with 8am Wednesday although Chris wasn’t happy and said we wouldn’t arrive till Monday to Honduras (**we arrived Saturday late afternoon).
We spent a lot of time polishing the stainless steel in the boat, and doing some boat chores. We also bought a machete and more wasp spray for potential pirates. I think we both just wanted to be on the other side of this passage as we had a heightened fear of pirates given what happened in Chiquita Beach.
One the last two days before we left, I cooked enough food for 6 nights… plus boiled eggs and salad for 2-3 nights. I was pleased that we had provisioned well and were ready to go.
The time before we left was filled out with fundraising and work with FTHS, plus teaching RWW classes, although when we are in Belize and Honduras it will be the same as Calgary time and much to early to teach anything but a 9/10am class (which will be 7am).
In all we spent 9 days in Providencia, and enjoyed the people, the ice cream/ frozen yogurt (with currents), getting the boat shiny, and getting some FTHS stuff completed, along with both business and personal taxes. Brian drew portraits of John-Michel and Kimberley (and they were thrilled to get them, asking that he sign them), and a pastel. He hurt his finger on the passage (not wrapping the Genoa furler sheet around the wench when letting it out), so guitar was more difficult. Arrived on a Monday and left in a convoy of 5 on the following Wednesday.Read more
Linton Bay
April 2 in Panama ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
It was mid afternoon when we realized that it was Easter weekend in a few days and if we didn’t get to Linton Bay tomorrow (Thursday) we would have to wait till Monday for our Zarpe (Departure papers). We devised a way plan, and quickly left Chichime and the San Blas Islands, getting to playa Chiquita just after nightfall. We decided to keep our anchor lights off as to not call attention to ourselves as we were the only boat in this uncomfortably roll Bay. After dinner, we took some melatonin to offset the heaving of the boat and fell to sleep. I awoke at 10:30pm to pee and as I was climbing back to bed… I heard someone call out. Immediately I woke Brian and we yelled at whomever was nearby. Rapidly trying to find clothes in the dark and make our way to the pilot house. A man had climbed aboard the boat and said he was swimming, wanted to rest, wanted a life jacket, and upset that his cell phone was wet. I just stood there as they spoke Spanish. Brian had aimed a spotlight at him and calmly told him to leave a few times. Finally he jumped back in the water and it wasn’t untill we put the spotlight on him did he swim away.
We sat in the pilot house trying to decide what to do next, Brian asking me if I had heard the fireworks earlier. I didn’t. We agreed that neither of us would be able to fall back asleep….and we might be in danger if we stayed. So we weighed anchor at 11:15pm and went to sea. A bumpy night!!
We arrived to Linton Bay an anchored at 7am. I tried to sleep for a couple hours, then we docked…. With some struggle due to angle and current.
We spent two nights at the marina and it was great!! There was a chandlery, a cafe and small grocery store (run by Charlie and his cat Captain) . We hired Luis to take us to the grocery store in town (Portobello), although not sure it was worth it, although the drive was nice.
We shower often, even though they weren’t hot, and were able to get out laundry done. We also managed to get our Zarpe, but they charged $400usd verse $120 had we waited till Monday (claiming that it was a RUSH fee).
We met the owner of the marina, Allen, and told him our story about Playa Chiquita. We had learn from the Chandlery that the fireworks Brian heard were actually gun shots and someone had been murdered. We found the news report for it (https://www.tvn-2.com/nacionales/provincias/hom…) and tried to contact the authorities with no luck. Allen suggested we needed to have wasp spray on the boat as we had no weapons to protect ourselves. We walked to the small Chinese run grocery in Linton, but weren’t successful. In the end Allen gave us one of his bottles before we sailed off to Isla de Providencia.
We made a report of the incident in the Caribbean Safety and Security Net (CSSN), and subsequently a sub stack article was written: https://open.substack.com/pub/loosecannon/p/pos….Read more
Guna Yala Islands (San Blas)
March 22 in Panama ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
The San Blas island are a throw back in time to an earlier century. One where people lived off the land, had little electricity or potable water, no cars only carved out logs, and rules that were developed and enforced by a congress of like people. There are nearly 50,000 Gina’s scattered across 350 islands (and the mainland), who still live life this way. Some islands only have a couple families, some have little bars or restaurants and running water.
We snorkelled and walked the beaches of many of them, some inhabited and others not.
We were in three main island clusters: Salaradup, East Holendes (Swimming Pool, Banadup and Bug island), Green Island, Lemmon Cay (and a quick stop in Chichime), plus a check out at Porvenir (where they hold congress). I wrote an article for the Salty Dawgs detailing our journey to San Blas and the joy of being in these safe islands nestled off the coast of Panama: https://sdsa.memberclicks.net/my-favorite-ancho….
Here we also found new marine wonders… like the mermaids necklace. It looked like plastic in the water, so I removed it and realized it was alive. We looked it up later and realized it is a whelk snail egg sacks. We also found a very rare tritons trumpet (Large snail shell used in Hawaiian ceremonies), lots of big and living conch and starfish and strange remora fish that have suction at the top of there heads to attach to other creatures or boats.
Our next stop is Linton Bay, Panama for a few days to provision and find a weather window to Isla Providencia (Colombia).Read more
Panama Pacific
March 21 in Panama ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Arrived to Panama (another delayed flight) and flew directly over the Panama Canal, which was awesome! Brian greeted me at the airport with some macrons, fresh OJ and an 🍏. Bernie (who join Brian on the passage from Colombia to Panama) was waiting in the parking garage and since my flight was delayed we hit traffic leaving the city. A nice drive to Rio Mar, where he has a beachfront house. The caretaker, Tiburcio opened the gates and to my wonderful surprise, a dog - Lassie. The sweetest, calm, loving dog I’ve been around in awhile! After a beautiful walk on the beach we had a nice meal prepared by his sisters (Maureen lived next door) housekeeper, and went for a walk afterwards.
My Wednesday 6am class was now 5am as Panama doesn’t observe daylight savings. Up early to teach the class and then off to a hike in Cerro Chame. It was a challenge, with lots of stops, but we made it up and it was easier then down as I already had chin splints from wearing tight footwear for Ashlynn’s wedding. I had been stretching prior to the hike…. So I walked sideways or backwards down the mountain.
We stopped at a store on the way back and picked up a few groceries, then back to home base and out to the ocean for a swim. The water was rough and the current strong!
The outside of this place is so amazing, several little spots to do yoga or meditation, little benches and private areas, an outdoor shower and direct beach access and a nice separate bathroom and shower from the house. However, the room configuration, water pressure and maintenance would need to be addressed before I could think about hosting a yoga retreat there.
We went for another walk to Bernie’s old homestead (he grew up in Panama) which is now rented. He also has a home that’s rented in Panama City (and two houses in USA, with Virginia Beach being his main residence).
Thursday morning Bernie, Lassie (the dog) and I did yoga and it was so great to “lead” a class again. Bernie has a daily practice but I struggle with the consistency.
Breakfasts were a delight every morning! I was once again spoiled by having my coffee made for me… and Bernie made eggs in a corn tortilla, arepas (which cheese inside), grilled cheese, fresh OJ and a mountain of fruit. This was fuel for our visit to El Valle. A community nestled into a volcanic crater. We hiked to the top of a hill (much easier then the previous day) and met some school children who were interested in chatting. Part way down we stopped at a cleared piece of land and I explored (spotting a Rufous Motmot bird) while the men stood beside the mud hut. Across the stream lived other natives, perhaps the ones that dragged drink up the hill to sell to the tourists. Near the bottom we stopped at a waterfall pool and took a refreshing dip!
We explored the market, and I had my first Guama (Ice Cream Bean) fruit. Then we visited Bernie’s property (Casa Pangea) where he will soon build, and off to an early dinner at a boutique hotel in town, before heading back to the beachfront.
On the way to El Valle, they were paving the road and there was an hour delay. We were stopped in front of a large haciendas and property (finca) for sale. Brian called to inquire and we stopped on the way back to talk to the gardener and tried to see the place but couldn’t reach the owners/ real estate folk. Back at the beach folk we talked real estate and I peeped for my Friday class while Bernie and Brian went for a walk.
We managed to do two loads of laundry while at Bernie’s, and they needed to be started at 4am due to the low water pressure. After my class, we went for a swim, showered, ate breakfast, went and bought groceries with Bernie’s CRV and back to the house to relax before the driver arrived at 12:30 to take us to Panama City.
The driver/ taxi that Bernie uses came with a nice van and it was a quick drive but for finding the self check-in hotel (Casa Arias) in Old Town, which frustrated him. We finally got there with out 10 pieces of luggage (2 suitcases, 2 backpacks, 1 canvas bag, 1 bag with hiking boots, 1 brown bag, 2 grocery bag and 2 styrofoam coolers). Luckily our room was on the ground floor, although it was the size of a postage stamp. Oddly it was burning man themed, and had a beautiful courtyard, where plants hung from the balconies above and the rain fell into the pool. We spent the rest of the day, Friday, walking around old town, taking in the heritage…. Guessing about the shiny specs on the church turret was made of oyster shells. We stopped into small shops and ice cream stores and ate at a Peruvian/ Japanese restaurant before going back to the hotel. Our picture up was at 4:30am, so a hot shower and early to bed.
It seems the hotel was a popular pick up spot for people heading to the San Blas islands, as lots were up and waiting. The driver only arrived after 5am and only had room for 1 person. Brian. He took 5 pieces of luggage (my clothing), and drove off, leaving me with a number to call. I was pissed! I called Judy Lamb who runs the tour company and she wanted a photo of the luggage (I only took pictures of three). At the same time a driver was arriving (and my new friend of 30mins, Bonnie, was getting on). The driver started to grab my luggage and put it in the van. I went with it (quickly converting my final two bags into one). We took the very back jump seat and ended up with the cooler (which made a terrible styrofoam noise) between us and the canvas bag on the floor under the cooler and my backpack on top of me… with knees to my chest for 3 hours. Still upset but grateful I was enroute although I had no idea that we would be crossing the border back into Colombia, two hours into the ride, or need money. I scrambled to find my phone/ wallet and passport. Brian had called and messaged many times to check on me.
I arrived in Puerto Carti, hundreds of people milling about, wondering where to go, what Panga (boat) to get on. Finally I spotted Brian and we moved my load to his, realizing that our boots and my suitcase was missing an had been off loaded. Finally they arrived in another vehicle and after 60-90 minutes we boarder a boat to Salardup — where Lorena has been anchored alone for 5 days.
The trip reminded me of Ashlynn and I travelling from Hopkins to Glovers Atoll in Belize.
Relief for us both when we saw Lorena and once on her, the batteries had been sufficiently recharged by the sun.
Mentally and Physically exhausted — I went for an unusual afternoon nap, before Brian invited me to snorkel a distant refer that we swam to. Being back on the boat was so nice…. The sun, the sway, the rhythm, the ability to jump off when hot, and my bed all felt great ⛵️!Read more
Montreal ~ Ashlynn’s Wedding
March 16 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
Arrived to Montreal over an hour late, took an Uber to Ashlynn’s and enjoyed time with her, Hugo and friends. They had both just arrived back from Bachelorette/Bachelor parties. They took some down time while I socialized with the others…. Eventually, at 4pm, Hugo rounded up everyone except me, who were going to the Airbnb and took them over. I stayed and had some Ashlynn time…. A mini pedicure and metallic silver toe nails to match her fingers and my toes too.
Both her and Hugo needed to finish writing vows, once they were done, around 8pm, we walked to the Airbnb and Hugo’s parents joined (Robyn, Jeff and Aria were already there).
Ashlynn and Hugo were going to be separated…. So he didn’t see her until the “exchange of vows,” so he stayed at the Airbnb with Jeff and I, and Ashlynn, Robyn and Aria went back to the apartment. Jeff and I rearranged the living room so that the vows would take place in the most picturesque spot, and everyone would have seating.
On Monday morning at 10am, I joined them. Looking around, I decided that I would be most helpful by cleaning (LOTS of dishes, Laundry, bathroom, etc..) so they would have a clean space to return too after the marriage (and when they returned from the honeymoon). Robyn did Ashlynn’s hair, and Aria cooked Finnish crepes, eggs and sausages. Then it was makeup and getting dressed time. After trying on a few, I went with my old dress that I gave to Ashlynn for a wedding last summer, and her shawl. We all got in an Uber and went to the Airbnb where the “ceremony was held.
Brad (Ashlynn’s Dad) and Tracy, Chris and Mary (Hugo’s parents), Griffin (Hugo’s brother), Jeff and Aria (witnesses that went to notary with them), Erica (bridesmaid for BC) and Robyn (bridesmaid for BC), myself and Josh the photographer witnessed the exchange of vows and rings (from 2:40-3:20) Then they left for the notary.
We all met back at Starbar at 6pm. I realized at 4:45 that I hadn’t printed documents I needed for Panama… so a sprint up Saint Laurent to a print shop, arriving 2 mins before closing at 5pm! I went to the apartment afterwards and did a bit more cleaning, then Robyn and I walked to Starbar, passing and ultimately designing a flower bouquet for Ashlynn before arriving.
The first hour was the core group from the ceremony and then friend started to arrive… staying untill 9ish. Walked back to the apartment with Ashlynn and Hugo, to help carry items, and a big goodbye Hug…. Knowing I’ll see them in August for wedding event #2 in BC.
I returned to the Airbnb, chatted with Jeff, Aria and Robyn for awhile and then took my last long hot shower in Canada. My sleep was fitful as I was likely worried about my scheduled Uber and early morning pickup.
I’m sitting on the plane (Copa Airlines) writing this…. And going through the picture of the weekend. Ashlynn looked SO So happy and in her element. I am thrilled that she has celebrated her 10 year anniversary, the way that suited her and Hugo best ❤️❤️.
I haven’t finished my “gift” to them yet, but will continue to work on it for August. Off to Mexico they go, later today and I hope they don’t experience a flight delay, as I have on nearly every flight I’ve taken in Canada this trip.Read more
Ashlynn’s Wedding ~ more pics
March 16 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C
Bonus videos and photos
Moncton - Dad’s 80th Birthday
March 15 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
Arrived in Moncton late on Tuesday (March 10th). Dad picked me up and we spent some time together before I took the Saturn to Pasq and Manju where I stayed for the next couple days. Gobi was happy to see me and consistently tried to sleep with me.
Wednesday morning I taught a class and then went to a class at Inspire in Shediac, and had coffee with Lisa G at the Tate House. I spent the afternoon with Sheila and we went to USVA, and had supper together at the condo with Jamie. Afterwards, I popped into Saint James Gate for a quick hello to Gail
Thursday was a Dr appointment (and surprise biopsy). It was freezing rain and I had to get Pasq to drop me off and pick up as the Saturn wasn’t up for the task. In the afternoon I headed to Melanie’s and then a meal at Moxies. Back to the OWE late in the evening.
Friday I relaxed in the morning (not teaching due to the biopsy), eventually catching someone home at Arlington to pick up my mail, and picking up cake and food for Dad party the following day. I also was working out the logistics to surprise Dad with Andrew coming home. Shelia dropped off van at the airport (with car seat), Andréia rented me her condo and I got groceries and child proofed it. In the evening Pasq and Manju hosted a dinner… with the Silva’s and Sheila and Jamie. The Silvas brought lots of food, including a cashew dish that I’ll have to learn to make as Brian would love it. Made my way to the condo, and Andrew and Kai had arrived and were still up. I got to read Kai books before bed!
Saturday was Dads 80th celebration and we were able to surprise him with Andrew and Kai. Pete and I were also there and it made it special to have us all together. There was about 80 people that dropped into the party. He is loved 💕. Once the party ended I went to Kirsten’s for a few hours to hang out and then back to the house to say goodbyes!
Pete came to the condo and we hung out for awhile, listening to Ms Rachel in the background, while Andrew tried to put Kai to sleep.
Today, Pete picked me up…. I said bye to the brothers and off to Montreal for the next adventure!Read more
Calgary — Welcome Baby Ella
March 10 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
Eight days… and sad to say goodbye after Ella’s 2 week check up. She is such a calm and quiet baby… I enjoyed holding her, and doing all the infant things. Playing with Kai was also lots of fun… it took him a few days to warm up to me, as he was adjusting to no longer having his parents full attention.
Once he did I could read to him and get up with him in the morning, feed him and play together. On Saturday, the family had a photo shoot in a beautiful location. It was the first time I’d experience something like that, and felt honoured and grateful that Amy asked me to participate! 🙏🏻
They have a rental duplex 5 minutes away that they have been renovating and I went there on three different days to help out. As always, I expect to get more done than actually happens… however, I managed to do lots of crack filling, prepped and taped the baseboards for paint, and edged most of the unit for rolling/ painting. It was nice to work with Andrew in this project and also nice to be alone, playing my music and enjoying solitude (something I rather ever experience anymore… It was so good for my soul)! However, I do t miss the winter driving… the truck, parked on ice on a hill, would not back up… and after an hour of trying to g with the help of neighbors… we shouted the hood to find the owner of the car in front of me…. So I could finally get home as Pete dropped by the house for an evening visit.
Amy and Andrew are pros at parenting now. It is so beautiful to see how much patience they have with Kai and one another. How relaxed they are with Ella and how much energy and time they devoted to the kids, their work (rentals and office), and each other ❤️.
Pete dropped by the Duplex with warm drinks one day, and came for lunch at the home on another. We met up with he and the boys, at Fish Park, after the photo shoot and went for a walk. Nice to connect with everyone together! I will see both of them in a week for Dads birthday.
On my last evening, I also got to see long time, admired friend, who helped me start Otesha Consulting— Susannie! I was thrilled to connect with her.
Off to Ottawa for a layover, and quick visit with Rachel before continuing East.Read more
Montreal - Part 1
March 2 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ -8 °C
Wonderful but altogether to short a visit with my beautiful offspring. A direct afternoon flight from Cartegena to Montreal. I arrived around 10pm to the Plateau and dug into some of the thoughtful gluten free snacks waiting for me, while catching up with Ashlynn and Hugo.
On Saturday Ashlynn had a full day planned! We went wedding dress shopping, then did a somatic art and movement class with Erica. Which was so much fun. It made me want to reconnect with scribbling and abstract drawing. Then to the bookstore in Saint Henri to pick up the latest Emily Austin book and have a Taco meal at Freda’s with Erica and Des.
Sunday is apparently Bridge, so Hugo, Ashlynn and I played… she won. We headed to Mile End to visit a GF bakery with a few stops along the way, and after at consignment stores, shoe stores and COTN. Hugo was making Lamb and Risotto so I picked up a bottle of Amarone for the meal.
On Monday I had said I would caulk the bathroom since Ashlynn had just painted it (the color of our wall in the den/ burgundy). We went to the Hardware store and Tapi Go for some Cassava Chesse balls. I worked on clean the bathroom which took longer then extracted, so promised to do it upon my return in a few weeks. Off to the airport, with a layover in Toronto. Sadly my flight was delayed for 2 hours (which meant there was a point where my close friend Kim, from Barbados, and I were only 4 gates apart and didn’t realize it till we were on our planes 🙁). It also meant arriving after midnight in Calgary, where Andrew picked me up. While I was flying… Brian and Bernie were sailing from Colombia to Panama — San Blas Islands (Guna Yala).Read more
Cartegena
February 27 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Feb 16- Walked to Old Town again. Went to Epoca and had the oat pancakes, went to the bookstore and Pezatarian.
Feb 17 — Hired varnish guy, taught a class, walked to the fort and through another neighborhood (Popa). Loud and smelly. Did laundry. Didn’t feel great today, slept a lot and had stomach issues.
Feb 19- Fasting all day as I didn’t feel well yesterday (very bloated). We went for a walk and Brian ate at the Art Hotel rooftop… a fun view of Old Town.
Feb 20- Getsemani, Old Town… went to Cande Restaurant but they wouldn’t let us dine as Brian had sandals (dress code). Oddly I was wearing sneakers as I had a blister trying to break in my new Birkenstocks. We ended up dinning at Pezetarian again… even though I resisted and didn’t want to as I thought I may have gotten “glutened” and realized that I indeed had as I ate something that had cross contamination. The most exciting news — I have a niece (Ella Jane).
Feb 21 - Went to the beach (foot and back massage and Brian had his hair done) went and got groceries and I found a dress for the wedding at the mall. Brian found more books at the bookstore.
Feb 22- Bernie arrived at noon. We lowered the dinghy to test the outboard and ended up rowing all the way back from Old Town, as it died and we couldn’t get it started. Walked to Old Town… went to book store. Bernie made fajitas.. so good!
Feb 23 - Tried to decide what we would do for the week and if we would travel to the Sierras or see something. I booked horseback riding as no one was making decisions. Steak dinner
Feb 24- , went horseback riding, Brian fell off horse dismounting… found our starboard bow line snapped and we hit the old boat beside us, and crushed the back of the transom into the concrete. Got back, traffic bad, so Brian got out and walked while I stayed in cab, Bernie also out and walked to Jumbo grocery store. Started to disassemble bent stations and Brian took outboard to Yamaha shop. Went for coffee in Old Town and bought some coffee at Saint Alberto. Then went for Asian food (Ana)
Feb 25- Taught class. Tracked down workers to fix stantion and to fix the paint and wood in the transom . Brian went up the mast twice to try and fix the steaming and anchor light… didn’t work… Bernie and I went to the Marine Store across the street to get bolts for the stantion and a new LED. Brian went for a shower, and Bernie and I were starting to put the newly varnish flooring into the rudder room when we were swarmed by bees. The… like 500 or more, settled on the aft davit. Brian came back from shower but couldn’t get on boat. He and Bernie got into it, as we were trying to find an unharmed way to get rid of them and Brian wanted to be consulted… as he just wanted them gone. He boarded the boat once they settled, and took the pee jug (a vinegar jug with a she wee, that we use in the middle of the night as it is easier and less noise then pumping the toilet)… he grabbed the life line as we was doing it… and fell in… forgetting they weren’t attached. He had to shower again. He began putting the floors in again, and I got stung by a bee in my palm. Had Tacos in Getsemani.
Feb 26 - Packed, Indian restaurant that was under construction. Gave Javier picture. Customs offical came to inspect the boat hull number and engine.
Feb 27 - taught class, shower … Brian bought a new outboard and I got on the plane to Montreal.Read more
Cape Horn of Colombia
February 15, Caribbean Sea ⋅ 🌬 27 °C
We attempted to leave Curacao early on Wednesday morning…. But in the process of hoisting the dinghy we maligned the arm of the wind turbine…. So we replaced the parts and continued onward. We went to the Curacao Yacht Club only to realize they had 5ft depth, so we back tracked to the other fuel dock… and over flowed the tank. Not a great start to the voyage, but we persisted, nearly missing the channel and getting into the shallows — the frazzled captain made the turn, put up the sail and we were OFF!
We sailed into the night, beyond Aruba, making good time under sail. We were goi g to Jib at 2-3am but waited till dawn, to move the preventer (keeping the boom from an accidental jib). Once we jibbed, it was evident that we would need the engine as we were no longer on a broad reach but full downwind.
Eventually we took the main sail down and put out the geneoa on the wisker pole. We motor sailed like this all day…. However, in the morning we noticed an odd noise coming from the rudder which was a cause for great concern. I asked Brian to check it out, and he didn’t think much of it…. But as the day progressed, and he heard it consistently, he worried. By dinner he had called his friend (Migel from Colombia) and had them put us in touch with the coast guard. They suggested we go into Puerto Bolivar (Cabo de la Vela), but it was not a lite entry and too dangerous for us. We decided to proceed toward Santa Marta. We asked our weather guru, Chris Parker, for an updated forecast — but he was slow to respond.
We took the pole down, and motored with the stay sail through the night. The next morning Brian was anxious that the Gudgeon was the problem. I had no such concern. We checked it out again and finally I put my phone in the water (with a case), and Brian stuck his head in the water…. Relieved that it was not the rudder itself. With that information in hand we decided to proceed past Santa Marta and head directly for Cartagena, aiming to arrive on the afternoon of the fourth day.
We expected the wind and swells to recede after we past Barranquilla, however the swells seemed to get bigger and the wind only backed off slightly. The highlight on day 3 and 4 were the dolphins!! 4 different and distinct looking pods visited us over a 36 hour span. The entrance to the Cartagena harbour at Grand Boca, is very narrow, and has no physical bouys, only marks on the GPS. The charts showed that we had depth to cross prior to the green, but it was wrong and we saw 4ft under the keel… and quickly motored away with me shouting “starboard.” Although we had a slip at Club de Pesca, the wind was high and we opted to anchor and try in the morning. We arrived, ate and went to bed.
Sleep was SO good!!
Today we messaged for help as we knew it would be a tight squeeze and Robe came out with his tender. Unfortunately, with an enclosed pilothouse, Brian cannot hear the shouts of Spanish, and I could not understand. After we burst a fender, I asked Brian to reverse and talk to the workers who were hollering instructions I did not understand. Once we knew what we had to do, the process went smooth and although tight, we managed to get into dock 123. Once in, and caffeinated, Brian dove the rudder again to see if it would give a clue to the noise, we then bleed the lines and tightened the stern gland. Tomorrow we have a guy coming to the boat to help us.
Afterwords, we both had a long shower and washed our hair at the marina… such a highlight. We hadn’t taken an unlimited water shower since Trinidad, over a month ago… the little luxuries!!
After getting the electric hooked up, we turned on the A/C and went for a walk in the old city, having a nice dinner at Mar Y Zielo.Read more
Goodbye Curaçao
February 11 ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
It has been a jam packed time in Curacao…. And I’ve enjoyed every moment!
Christel gave us her car, and much was amazing!! Although I used it to get to and from the Studio (Movements Yoga and Pilates: https://www.movementscuracao.com/). I went to Christel’s Power Yoga class on a Sunday and taught the following Sunday. I taught two classes on Monday (Feb 2nd and 9th), a Yin in the morning and Flow in the evening, was a second set of hands for Christel’s waitlisted Yin and Sound on Wednesday night (which is how we started 3 years ago), I helped with an influencer event on Friday night and had a meeting with Edward and Kim (Kura Botanica and Spa 8) about running a retreat in October. Sadly I didn’t attend any classes (but also taught my regular Wednesday and Friday morning classes for RWW).
With Brian, we went snorkelling to Tug Boat Beach and to Mambo a couple times. We also drove to Piscetera (but didn’t swim), and swam also on the last day at playa Caracasbai, with Joeny, Wouter and Christel. We swam often around the boat, however, the current was really strong!
Friends came to visit the boat: Diana and her two daughters, Ingeborg, Michelle (Christel’s mom), and Wouter, Joeny, Christel (and their friend Dave). As that crew was leaving (they swam/ SUP to the boat), Coast Guard decided to board us (but Brian was taking Wouter back to land as he was starting an on call shift. We had the papers they asked for, although it was blowing hard that day and I was upset that their boat may have scratched Lorena.
One of our days was spent trying to get our yellow fever vaccination, make sure we had the “card” and see if mine could be updated (as I had the card but it says in expires after 10 years, but Doctors now say it is lifetime). Luckily we ended up at Dr Allard office. I knew both his (Chris) siblings (Harry, whose house I stayed at when Christel was pregnant, and Eline who helped us build the website for Movements). It took the whole day, but we were grateful to get it done…. Although we are no longer in need of it, as Santa Marta (our original plan for Columbia) is now off the table due to weather and we are heading to Cartagena.
I got to show Brian the two yoga studios, Peitermaii and Otrobanda, and both bridges. We actually got to see the Queen Emma Bridge opening.
We went to La Reina and the Nut Boise for gluten free treats. We went to 4 different grocery stores while on the island and of course Budget Marine (and Freedom Marine).
The last day, our outboard stopped working so we took it to Yan Tuk and not only did he get it to start spitting water again (the thermometer was gone), he taught us how to do it and how to change the impeller! He was very very kind and we were grateful… although we still ended up rowing back as something else seems to have gone wrong.
We went for dinner with some other sailors (Burger Haus), went to Disboer with Christel and gang, and Nut house with just Brian and Hofi Cas Cora for bunch and a tour of the farm. We also had a meal (wraps) at Christel’s house… and swam in the pool with Joeny who is so adventurous and growing.
We climbed seru kabritu… a had a great hike with Michelle. We also explored the fort on a different day.
I enjoyed watching Brian with Joeny… he will have fun as a grandpa someday.
We stayed the entire time in Spaanse Waters and Brian seemed content there. The wind was wicked for a few days, but there was no swell and good sleeps! There was also always LOTS of activity happening: racing, wind surfing and wind foil, tour boats and more. Anglo, from the Mermaid, took us to our boat the night it died (we rowed the whole way next night). He came on board for awhile and he also lives on the boat.
Brian thought Curacao was like Southern California and loved the climate, and the bay. I was worried he wouldn’t like it… but it was magical for him too!Read more
Klein Curaçao 🇨🇼
January 29 in Curacao ⋅ 🌬 27 °C
We arrived at dusk, had supper and went to SLEEP! So grateful for a safe, and relatively quiet passage. We had a few rigging things to adjust and fix (our errors), but otherwise, we rested!
We were concerned that we may have dropped anchor too close to the tour boats (9 in total showed up), but they all maneuvered around us. We set to shore, and enjoyed walking around the island, seeing the lighthouse (1850) which we observed sailing towards the island and actively flashing through the night.
As we swam to shore, we noticed that an anchor was tangled in containers/mooring, so Brian set about finding the owner. We chatted for a few minutes to owners/ captain of Aqua Azul business and adult son Jacob…. Who had placed the anchor on purpose.
With all the people and the boats I expected an increased noise level, but it was just a humm on the boat, and enjoyable to people watch after we swam back. We also worked on getting all our charts in order, syncing with the chart plotter and updating active captain and Navionics app. This met Brian had to reach out to his ex-wife for the Apple password in order to do a much overdue update. She graciously obliged and I don’t think we will have any glitches with Active Captain again…. and we now have charts on Navionics and the Chartplotter for the rest of our journey through South and Central America.
At 4pm the last boat left and all was quiet again. The anchorage was a bit more rolly in the evening…. But we were still grateful to sleep in bed! 🛌 Only some music and a dog wandering (must be the caretakers) were signs that someone was still on little Curacao!
After two nights, before the Mermaid and other tour boats arrived, we hoisted the anchor and headed to Spaanse Waters, dropped the dinghy and headed for Customs & Immigration (after I filled out Sail Clear and our Digital Immigration cards online).
Christel is in Miami and returning to Curacao on Friday… and we will use her car, and then figure out our time on the island. It feels so strange to be here on Lorena, to share this Alice of heaven with Brian (and hope he loves it as much as I do)! My 4th time here since 2023.Read more
Double handed passage
January 27, Caribbean Sea ⋅ 🌬 27 °C
Day 1 (Jan24) - beam reach, great speed (8-9knots). Wind speed not working well. At dusk we lost the outhaul and turned engine on… spent over an hour trying to fix it as the sun was going down, and was able to fetch it out of the boom using a snake and then using stainless steal wire, get it up through the pulley and attached back on the main sail clue.
We decide to just deploy the geneoa as it was a broad reach with not a lot of wind. By 8:30pm, we had to turn the engine on again as we were back winding.
We usually use active captian…. And Brian turned it on, but the main screen started flickering and I think he finally believes me that it is causing problems with the Gramin….so he turned off the iPad, and we will sail/ motor through the night.
Day 2 (Jan 25) - We had a great day of sailing (although motored last night and will motor through the night tonight. Lorena has difficulty on a downwind run and the autopilot doesn’t work well. We only encountered one vessel, a passenger ship, that came within half a mile of us… we hailed them on the radio a few times but they didn’t answer so we adjusted our course untill they passed. All systems are working well!
Day 3 (Jan 26).. the morning started with making coffee while Brian was in the head. Suddenly I heard a ratcheting sound, and within moments realized “fish on,” I quickly stored the coffee (things spill easy when you are sailing), raced up to the deck … but just as I was getting to the reel, and tried to tighten the drag, all the line was out and it snapped off. Brian, who LOVES catching a fish 🎣, had tried to make quick business of his morning ritual and was sad to learn that no fish and the line and lure were gone…. As was the lure on the second fishing line. The poles go out at dawn and come in at dusk. He spent the morning repacking the spool/ reel.
With the wind behind us, the lines were getting tangled often, and at one point, when Brian was trying to clear them, they got tangled in the wind turbine. It has now stopped turning.
At dusk, we decided to drop the sails and point in the direction we wanted to go verses jibbing the entire time. We have been consistently moving at a good speed (6-8knots) — rigging and bottom paint has helped.
Day 4 (Jan 27) — final stretch! My calculation is that we will arrive before dusk, which is a big relief! Usually we both sleep in the helm and watch the iPad (active captain) every hour or so. However, my shoulder and neck has been really sore. I’ve had to take pain relievers but so far nothing has dulled the ache.
Brian is able to sleep in most conditions… however, my body takes a few days to find the rhythm. My nervous system is hyper vigilant and simply won’t allow me to find a restful state, resisting my bodies plea for sleep. I also have an aversion to the auto pilot squeak/moan. It reminds me of the noise of monitors in a hospital room. It is mounted right behind the aft cabin wall, so unless the engine is on, or my ear buds in and music is full blast, I cannot lay in my bed.
Around noon, as we were drawing close to Bonaire and other Venezuelan islands, I noticed that we didn’t have the full detail in the chart plotters map. When we zoomed in… same issue as Trinidad, although I KNOW we had purchased the map. We called Garmin and they were great! Explained how to download the bits of chart we needed. Thank goodness — as even with the charts (with inaccurate depth reading) anchoring was tricky! We tried to anchor, then moor, then back to anchoring again.
I knew the boats left Klein Curacao at 4pm…. So we slowed our approach (as I wanted to stay two nights — without checking in). The island (small reef) is uninhabited except for a caretaker. By 5:30pm we were settled at anchor and had dove in to ensure the anchor was set.
The water is blue /turquoise, full of fish, and a delight to swim in after a long passage!Read more
Peakes (#2)
January 24, Caribbean Sea ⋅ 🌬 27 °C
Just more videos and photos….only 2 videos and 20 photos allowed per post.
Peakes Yacht Services (#1)
January 23 in Trinidad and Tobago ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
I no sooner got back to Trinidad and Lorena then I hoped into boat chores for a full two weeks!
Some days were easier than others, with a break at the “study hall” to work, read or write, while Brian drew. A chance to get away from the noise, the chemical smells and the heat of the yard.
We had a lot of work done in Lorena:
- mast taken down and new rigging, new mast head (for code zero), Genoa wire halyard, fixed furler on intermediate fore stay and painted parts of the mast.
- painted lower half starboard and polished the boat.
- bottom paint (using Carolina riper) in a burgundy color
- had stay sail re-sewn and taupe covers for the windlass and mast boat made.
- had a worker shine the portals
- We had the transom, tea seats, helm floor, helm table and drawers, crows nest, forward hatches and vents all stripped. We then put 2 coats of primer, sanded, 3 coats of gloss, sanded, and 3 more coats of gloss.
- we had teak gaskets made for the helm windows and epoxied them in. We also replaced pieces of teak veneer in the crew head and bunk (which we had to prime and gloss).
- cleaned, painted and lubricated the prop
- washed the dinghy, upholstery, and carpet.
Except for hiring a taxi for a few hours to take us to the Macqueripe beach and the Bamboo Cathedral… we were in the Yard. I did escape for a grocery run each week, which was provided by the Peakes shuttle (Mr Errol). We went to Massey, Price Smart (like Costco), Westbees, and Blooms (frozen high quality meat).
We also frequently went to Patches, the restaurant in the yard, and had a mango (Brian’s) and passion fruit (mine) smoothies. Our server was Natisha a sweet lady with a big heart!
Tim & Babs, who we visited in the Chesapeake last year were at Peakes, and so was Jim and Arden. We went to the Wheelhouse with them once (and on our own another time).
I felt sick one day (after returning from grocery shopping) and the smell of bottom paint and varnish was too much… so I took a room for a night. The a/c was nice and I taught yoga the next morning and Friday morning as well. I continued to teach RWW classes on the boat too.
The best part of staying at Peakes was the great bathroom and shower facilities all over the yard. I truly enjoyed LOTS of hot showers in an air conditioned bathroom. We also had to pee in a bottle at night (on the boat, on land)…. So the gallon vinegar bottle got trekked to the toilet each morning.
We splashed on Wednesday, Jan 21…. And I got to drive the boat to the well. Brian posted a video of it on FB, but I felt bad as the guy could lose his job for doing such a thing. It was FUN though!! As soon as the boat went into the water, we hoped aboard to make sure it was ok…. I was particularly worried about a through hull fitting that we (I) had epoxied and put back it. Sure enough, it was leaking worse than before. We had to get hauled back out and with a wonderful crew (Shiva … who does glass work) got the problem fixed (we tore out the thru hull and replaced it with a valve), and we’re back in the water within 90minutes.
We got the premium dock, the facedock, which was awesome, as the rest were med mooring.
The riggers came back to the boat to finish up and of course we still had lots of varnishing left.
On Friday afternoon we checked out of Trinidad, took one last shower, said goodbye to Danielle, Purusha and Christopher in the office and planned to leave early Saturday morning (Jan 24th) and head to Curacao.Read more
Barbados
January 10 in Barbados ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
I was in Barbados from January 7-10th to visit a friend, Kim, who lives part time in Barbados and the other in BC. She lives on a farm and is currently building her home in Saint Lucy.
Tristen took me to the airport (taxi) at 10am, after I taught an early morning RWW class. My flight left at 1:30… Ricky picked me up at 2:30 as he was closer and didn’t have time to pick Kim up and get back. He had brought Bond (Kim’s favorite Bull) to the abatoir.
It was a nice drive, an hour, back to Plan B. I got the tour and the grand vision of the home and farm (a lot of work so far, and still much more to go). We walked out to the tree and the swing to watch the sunset, and got the tent set up on the second story. So much fun to just hang out with a friend.
On Thursday we went to the beach and Speighttown, We feed the sheep babies (Sunshine and Lollipop), and Kim feed the chickens. Then we took a drive down the west coast stoping at a beach to swim and take a long walk, then another beach for a ginger beer and swing.
I slept so well while I was there, barely waking up to even go pee— very restful.
On Friday we went to Cluffs (a local beach) that is hard to find and beautiful! I did some yoga on the cliff top and down at the beach. Ricky cleared the walking path for us, and had cut some hay that he was pilling into the trailer. We then went to a beach and restaurant called Larry Rogers in Mullins Bay. Right left to finish feeding the animals and we attempted to catch a bus to Spiegttown, but ended up walking. We hung out at Little Bristol’s and met many of Kim’s book club friends. Ricky picked us up.
Saturday we went for a long walk past the animal flower caves and to an old deserted hotel, and beyond. It was a great 7 hike, and my day started with warm Brownies and coffee for breakfast!! Mmmm
Kim, Ricky and I drove the east coast (Atlantic side) down to the airport… making a few stops along the way. The line up at the airport (for security) was horrendous. They waited for me untill I was through the security doors. We arrived two hours before and I basically had time to walk to my gate and board the plane back to Trinidad.
I had no problem getting back into the country as I had a letter from Peakes stating I was crew on a vessel in the yard.
Errol, the Peakes driver was picking up another person at 8pm…. We didn’t get back to the yard till 9:30ish. Brian was going to make supper, but I didn’t want to eat much that late… so we ate light and went to sleep!Read more
Trinidad
January 7 in Grenada ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
Turns out Flamingo Bay is private and during a morning swim with the fish, Dwight came by in his dingy and told us to move to Dragon Bay and come to the underwater sculpture gardens. He indicated that he would be there to help us grab the mooring, but he was not. We ended up grabbing a dicey mooring where the line was fraying and decided to go for another snorkel…. We went out around the point and into the next Bay… where lots of boats moored to take advantage of the sculpture gardens. My favorites were the mermaid, person in prayer, turtle and dancer. We had been in the water for the better part of 2 hours when we decided to head back. At the point the current became fierce…. Brian, also struggling, suggested we swim out and then back in. We tried for awhile but for every 10 strokes we only moved a foot (like being in a lap pool). Finally, fatigued, I stopped and started to flag down a boat (a family we had briefly chatted with earlier … 8 year old son named Crew and his parents). They eventually realized that I was asking for help and came over with the dinghy. I climbed in and then they fetched Brian who was still unsuccessful trying to make some distance. They took us back to Lorena and we chatted for a little while (Dwight also visiting for payment).
We did some light boat chores, and then smoke started to roll in from the dump, so we moved to St George’s to grill the steak and get some sleep…. Brian ready to sail and me holding back to sleep. During the day we got the news that the USA bombed Venezuela — the American and the Canadian had very different views on what this meant for our safety.
At 11:30pm after messaging surveyors for insurance, and trying to figure out the Trinidad immigration requirements… we left Grenada. It was a beautiful sail during the night and Brian slept most of the time while I was in watch, starting to nod off around 6am.
I went below after breakfast to get some sleep in the forward crew bunk (as the noise from auto pilot in our aft room is so loud). Unbennounced to me, Brian had landed a tuna and when I got up he was just finished filleting it. I took over and prepped it for freezing.
We filled out the float plan and health clearance and sent it to all 5 people on Saturday evening… on Sunday we started calling to find out next steps. Jesse James finally indicated that we could not clear customs untill we had health clearance which the marina would have to do… so we needed to run the Q flag untill the morning. With that info, plus the fact that out Garmin Chart-plotter maps were good for Tobago, but not Trinidad…. Lead us to Scotland Bay. We arrived around 2:30pm and anchored. We went for a swim in the murky waters (although saw lots of fish), and tried to relax. Unfortunately the party noise got incredibly loud and Brian could not bear it. The bay was small and very deep and we were big (with three other boats in the area)…. We tried several times, into the dark of night to anchor but ended up back in the same spot. About 30 minutes later the noise died down.
The sleep was divine…. The first time since Saint Lucia that we were not rocking. The Bay reminded me a lot of Cape Brenton and it was a magical morning! As we left the Bay, moving 3nm to Chaguaramas, dolphins joined us, to my delight! 🐬
We got to the well to be hauled out and had to wait so thought about grabbing a mooring, but the boat around d us was empathetic that we were to close. We got to the well and were told to go to the office to get out haul-out card. We went to see Danielle and she realized that we were no checked in. There were not hoppy, but started the process — we needed health clearance before going to custom and immigration…90 min later we got it and we’re heading via dinghy to the office. Customs was fine, although so many paper forms to fill out. Immigration asked for papers we did not have, so we had to go all the way back to the boat and return. It was already past 11am (and they had another boat scheduled to splash). Finally we were cleared into the county and got hauled out at 12:30.
I had secured a room for two nights and the motel on premises and once the boat was on the blocks we inspected the damage we did hitting the rocks in Mystic. Nothing structural, but we will need a glass guy to fix it. That day and the next two days spend hiring contractors to do various things to Lorena: re-rig the boat (remove the mast), fix the code zero attachment, paint the bottom, repaint starboard side below the rub rail, remove varnish on the chairs, crows nest and helm floor, plumber for aft head, carpet for aft cabin, carpenter for teak in forward head and cabin…
On Wednesday I taught a class, packed and left for Barbados for 3 nights.Read more
Happy New Years!
January 2 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
It has been a few days of consistent sailing. We left the Pitons and Saint Lucia ad had a fantastic sail to Bequia, dropped the hook and settled in for New Years Eve.
The fireworks were at midnight, so we went to sleep and once the clatter started we arose and watched the spectacle. The next morning, after some reading and writting we set sail again, and the wind God’s were kind. We journeyed to Petit Saint Vincent and marvelled at the pristine beach on this exclusive private island. We, went for a swim in the turquoise waters and although not much marine life, the water was crystal clear!
This morning I taught a fitness class and after sweating profusely, I jumped into the water in my birthday suit.... Cooling down, before heading to the next destination. Today’s sail had more swell then wind and it met motoring for the majority of time.
We were going to anchor in Halifax Harbour, Grenada, but the smell of farbage was overwhelming.... So we decided to head to Dragon Bay and pick up a mooring ball. We took a few tries to grab it, but finally got secure, but not without my reading glasses flying off my head. We went for a swim, as it was 5pm, and lots of fish welcomed us in this Marine Preserve Bay. All the boats left the moorings, which made me suspicious... Turns out we are in Flamingo Bay, not on the charts (the bay before Dragon). This Bay is rolly as well. It woll be nice to have sleep in a calm anchorage or on the hard soon.
Tomorrow we will head to St Georges, only another 10miles... And at midnight we will set sail for Trinidad.Read more
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