podróżował/a po 16 krajach. Czytaj więcej
  • Dzień 70

    Sint Maarten

    23 marca, Sint Maarten ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    We left early in the morning and choose to tow the dinghy behind us. Luckily we did as we realized that the bridge only opens at 9:30 and not again untill 11:30, going into Simpson Bay. We just made it in time, in fact we only dropped the main as we rounded the red bouy to come into the channel. I haven’t been at a draw bridge since sailing the Bra D’or Lakes in Cape Brenton.
    It is shallow in the Bay and we anchored near Nicolas and Maria on Blue Magic. Shortly after we got settled they came by the boat to say Hi.
    Brian had made reservations at a restaurant called Tropicana (reviews look great), but Nicolas and Maria were having refrigeration problems and weren’t sure they would be able to come, as they had lots of food thawing and invited us over. They were heading to Island Water World and we weren’t far behind them, although we didn’t see them. We got new breakers, a radar reflector, replaced the watermaker filet er we had given to Mike, and got more varnishing supplies.
    We took it back to the boat and were about to head to get groceries when they came back to confirm they weren’t going to restaurant. We agreed to have a meal with them and Maria came in the boat so we could do groceries together (but first we had lunch), then a big grocery order. The fridges on Lorena are stuffed full!
    Once the groceries were put away, we went for another cruises around the Bay and Brian brought me to Goonies…. But it was loud, so we walked the docks and met Nestor and Yolanda (who were anchor next to us when we came in, and in Jolly Harbour). They invited us on their boat and we sat and chatted for an hour or so, eating some homemade hummus.
    Then back to Lorena to make a quick salad and head to Blue Magic. We had a delicious meal of pork roast, rice, peas and salad, with the ice cream we brought for dessert. After dinner we played Rummikub, and back to Lorena to sleep!
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  • Dzień 69

    Île Fourchue

    22 marca, Saint Barthélemy ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Up and caffeinated before hoisting anchor and heading over to Île Fourchue, it was only a 4mile trek but we wanted to get there early and explore. We didn’t hoist the dingy but towed it behind us.
    When we arrived, similar mooring balls, with just a loop on top. After discussing a few strategies we decided that I’d jump in with the rope and a fender and tie it to the mooring. The ropes were heavy and the current fast, so I had to swim strong to try and reach the boat which needed to turn before I got to it. Eventually we got Lorena attached to the mooring ball, under the watchful eye of others…. Brian somewhat annoyed that no one helped. A few hours later we watched another boat come in and lift the button hole right up through the mooring, easily looping their line through… we felt silly! Always an opportunity to learn.
    I ended up pushing myself to hard and actually struggled to stand, my legs like jelly, after securing to boat. I was really weak most of the day — maybe to much sun or exertion.
    I went for a swim/ float and then had a nap and also helped Brian with some boat chores like soldering the wire that detects the rudder position at the helm, Today was a list day for Brian and he spent time writing his to-do and to-buy lists.
    Later we went snorkeling, brought the dinghy to the area and saw lots of the underworld including a barracuda that was circling us and Brian was worried about the watch in my wrist.
    As the sun was going down we went ashore and Brian headed to do a pastel, and although my legs felt like jello, I hiked to the top of the island and was greeted by a beautiful sight.
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  • Dzień 68

    Anse de Colombier

    21 marca, Saint Barthélemy ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Yesterday Jason and Marcie in the boat beside us (who were also the couple with us in customs) invited us over for sundowner tonight. We weren’t sure if we would be here today (as we had technically checked out), but we decided to stay another day. We invited them and Innisfree for sundowner, but Innisfree was leaving for Gustavio as they had issues with their water maker (Brian gave them a filter which worked) but they still went. So we had the other couple over. He is a physicians assistant (PA) and does telecare from the boat and she is a graphic designer. Nice to meet them!
    During the day I had work stuff as I was preparing for a Board Meeting. While we were having coffee a patrol boat came by and we assumed that we would be in trouble for anchoring, but they were just reminding folks of the 5mile/hr wake zone, stay no longer then 4 days and limit the noise. It is interesting to watch all the boat traffic coming into the Cove. Mainly tenders from super yachts coming in to set up for the owners/guests on the beach.
    We went ashore again and did some swimming and Brian did another pastel. I had forgotten to turn off the inverter, so I swam back to the boat to turn it off and returned to the beach at the same time Brian was finished. I absolutely love the pastel he did today. The colors and light are so vibrant and the water IS the color in the picture!
    This is my favorite spot so far on this Caribbean journey!
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  • Dzień 67

    Gustavio

    20 marca, Saint Barthélemy ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Wow, just wow. The color of the water, the sound of the birds (doves), the landscape and beach are all so beautiful in this cove!
    We had to take the dinghy into Gustavia to check in. It was a 2.5mile ride, and nice to see some of the yachts— it is with good reason that one of the immigration questions is “do you hav a helicopter on board.” Initially we split up and Brian was to do customs and I to find the laundry mat. He got frustrated and the laundry was on the other side of the cay. We took the dingy over and got the laundry started, then went for a walk… first to Fort Oscar but got send away by police who are occupying the area, and then to fort Carl. My cardio is not as good living on a boat and I felt the hill climbs! Then we went back to customs and checked it…. Frustrated by the process along with another couple! We returned to laundry mat at put the clothes to dry and went to get some food. The sushi restaurant was closed but we found another place and had a Greek salad and a piece of tuna tartar for $40 euro 😵‍💫.
    We told Innisfree (Mike) that he could use the boat for his conference call and that we would be back by 2pm, so sadly we left without getting to explore much.
    Back to the boat am put away clean clothes and got ready to leave the boat so Mike could do his call. We went to shore and anchored the dinghy, had a swim and then Brian found a spot to do a pastel and I went for a hike to the top of the beautiful trail with birds and turtles, trees and large rocks with interesting formations.
    When we got back to the boat, Mike was gone but he had another call at 6:15… so we hustled to make food before his call. He ended up doing it from the bow of his boat (using Lorena’s Starlink).
    When they refer to paradise in the Caribbean ~ it is here!
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  • Dzień 66

    St Barth

    19 marca, Saint Barthélemy ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Up early, coffee in metal mugs as we secured the dinghy and left Nevis to sail towards Saint Barth’s. It was a beautiful sail! I tried out my she-pee for the first time underway with great success. As we approached St Barth’s the boats got bigger and bigger. We decided to skip Gustivo as it looked rolly and we went directly to Anse de Colombie. What a beautiful spot! We decided to anchor even though there are moorings. Once settled we went for a swim and the water was incredibly clear. You could see the bottom even though it was 20 feet down. We went to the mooring closest to us and pondered taking it, but a Cat came in and scooped it up. Often we swim to see if the anchor is dug in and here you didn’t need google to see that we were set securely. It’s a magical spot! Czytaj więcej

  • Dzień 65

    Monday meetings

    18 marca, Saint Kitts i Nevis ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Still feeling the blues….. not the sky, not the sea but just me. I have three conference calls peppered throughout the day, so that we can travel again tomorrow. Between call 1 and 2 we took the opportunity to get in in the dinghy and head to customs to check out (same people served us…. Lovely Alica and the snarly women who seemed to hate the world). There we ran into Jeff and Melissa, Salty Dawgs on a large Catamaran (with a sweet puppy) and chatted for a few minutes before heading to Best Buy where we stocked up. I treated myself to some Welch’s fruit snacks — sometimes it is nice to see familiar food and brands, although we eat very well.
    Back to the boat and we were supposed to check out and leave by 2pm but decided that we would get to Saint Barth’s in the dark. I was able to secure my third meeting for this evening so we stayed and between call 2 and 3 we went for a long walk on the beach and unfortunately we swamped the dinghy as we did not haul it far enough up the beach. It was filled with water and sand… yikes! A few kind souls (two Canadian women from Brockville and a guy from NY) helped us to empty the water and sand (Brian removed the engine). Then put the engine back on and we used the defined swim line , to pull ourselves back towards Lorena, and by some miracle the outboard (Yamaha 9.9, 4 stoke) started. I had a call in 5 minutes from the time I got back onto the boat.
    The view here, the volcano in front of us is pretty, but it will be nice to move on tomorrow.
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  • Dzień 64

    The Big Swim

    17 marca, Saint Kitts i Nevis ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Back in the routine of coffee and writing, but disrupted by the roving police boat that insisted we move to a morning ball immediately. Brian saw others getting ready and he wanted to get to a ball closeby first so we mobilized quickly and took the dinghy and some rope out to the mooring and then moved the boat to it. We then made a second pot of coffee and Brian was testing some alternator issues, running the engine to charge, to no avail. Tired, stress, to much coffee, to little patience or something else lent itself to frustration and hurt. Craving solitude I left the boat and swam quite a distance to shore, where I found a quiet spot away from humans to cradle my soul.
    I had a conference call at 2pm and Brian, helping our neighbors who were rowing came to shore, and fetched me at the same time. We had invited Innisfree (Mike and Glenda) over for dinner in the evening. After my call Brian we went for a swim and then left the boat so Brian could do a pastel, then into town for a walk around, visiting the statue of Hamilton (one of the founders of USA Coast Guard as well as legal matters), born in Nevis.
    Back on the boat we tidied and hosted Innisfree. They brought Salmon and beet salad and we had MahiMahi green beans and orca. Great meal and company….. interesting couple. She owned a yarn store in Vancouver (wet coast wool) and he was an engineer involved in Fusion.
    Anxious to find my pillow and sleep off the stress of the day!
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  • Dzień 63

    Nevis

    16 marca, Saint Kitts i Nevis ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Tired, we near Nevis and realize that we need to be alert for all the fishing pots. The night went quick and with no real incidents, but our core will be sore as we were tossed about a lot, and I have lots of bruises from trying to stabilize while in the galley.
    We came into Charlestown, where customs is and tried to find a yellow quarantine mooring ball, but non existed so we anchored. The mooring is a new procedure for me so we had a few squabbles but figured it out.
    We needed to move fast as customs closed at 1pm and it was 11:30am when we arrived. We lowered the dinghy and headed to the wharf. On the way, people were rowing so we tried to help them by giving a tow. The wharf was high and I got our dinghy tied and was about to tie the other when the dinghy when under the wharf and I fell off, into the water. Unfortunately I had a backpack with all the passports, clearance documents and my phone. Brian was able to grab the backpack and get it off me quickly. And I was able to get back in the boat. On the wharf, soaking wet, we headed to customs and immigration. The officer, Alica, was so nice and brought tons of paper towel, and gave me a chair. She took my shoes to dry in the sun and Brian did the same with our documentation. We did sail clear but also had to fill in there country form online. I took my dripping shirt off and hung it on the balcony…. So there I sat in my shorts and sports bra filling out forms, tired and wet. I ended up putting my info first, and then added Brian but when it came time to choose relationship (and earlier I had put me single and he married ….. since divorce is in the works and no separate checkbox)….. my options was declare married, parent, sibling or caregiver, so I chose the later…lol
    After we final got done at customs and went for a little walk to buy some fruit and groceries (at Best Buy…. A nice store with decent prices and familiar brands). Then we headed back to the boat and went to anchor at Pinney Beach.
    We took the dingy for a little spin and visited the Canadian neighborhoods…. One was two couples… from Burlington and NFLD. The Nfld guy, Daniel, was a professor of naval architecture at MUN. Then we went to Innisfree as they were Salty Dawgs, and Canadian (Ottawa and Vancouver). They invited us on and we chatted for a little while, before heading back to Lorena.
    We had supper and were off to sleep really quick!
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  • Dzień 62

    Triple Reef

    15 marca, Caribbean Sea ⋅ 🌬 29 °C

    The fishing pole was out and we nearly caught one on the voyage but it got away! Brian had gone to lay down in the aft cabin when the rod went off.
    The day today was more spicy, maybe because we were tired or perhaps due to the increasing winds.….. I tried to get some sleep in the aft cabin midday but the auto helm has a high pitched noise that made it difficult.
    Early in the evening we put a triple reef in the main and at one point tried the stay sail but the vibration was to much so we switched back to a furled Jenny. We have been casual about the watches, both sleeping in the helm and have the alarms on (but no radar deflector). When wind drops or one of us moves, the other wakes. It seems more relaxed and less stressful then last night. Unfortunately the wind meter has failed us, and gusts are supposed to happen up to 37knots… we resigned ourselves to the current condition and should be in Nevis by mid morning tomorrow.
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  • Dzień 61

    300 nautical miles

    14 marca, Caribbean Sea ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Up and started preparing for the passage. I made food that we could easily accessed without cooking as the winds were going to be significant. We got the dinghy hoisted and we were off the hook by 9:45. We headed west as I misunderstood Chris Parker’s forecast numbers to be the bearing, not the wind angle…. But Brian corrected course.
    We cut the engine around 10:30 and were under sail all day. The water is beautiful, the winds are strong, the conversations delightful…. And my sailing gear - a tank top and underwear.
    We had gnocchi for supper and afterwards, around 7pm Brian announced he was going to sleep. He dozed on and off while I wrote and thought. It is hard to read as the sea state has picked up to 4-6ft swells, the wind in 17-20knots but forecasted to pick up during the night, and our speed is 6.5-7knots, on a heading of nearly due North (005).
    A boat / cargo ship passed us and came within 2nm during the night on my shift. It set off the alarm, and made me nervous. I didn’t catch much sleep and was happy when daylight arrived!
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