THE DIARY OF DELPHINUS: SAILING IN THE CARIBBEAN

Fort Lauderdale Boat Show

2011-10-29T18:25:00.005-04:00

Phillip is at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show exhibiting his company, American-Marine Canvas & Upholstery (www.american-marine.com) - and a couple of people have stopped by to see him and commented that they really liked my blog - so to those people, thank you THANK YOU for your kind words! I had originally written the sailing blog just to keep my family updated so they'd know where we were - and I am so surprised and delighted that other people, friends and strangers, have read it and enjoyed it. Someone said to Phillip when he said he had been sailing in the Caribbean something like "Gosh - your wife isn't the one who ate 6 months of chocolate in a week, is she?" Yes. That was me, and while I'm not proud of it, I'd do it again :-)
This man had read about that in my article in Latitudes & Attitudes!

Since we've been on land for the past couple of years, I haven't really updated the blog but have been making the odd contribution to Tripadvisor.com with regard to hotels and restaurants, so if you're interested in where we eat and where we've been, read on....

http://www.tripadvisor.com/members-reviews/chewedpup

my article in LATITUDES & ATTITUDES

2010-02-24T15:13:00.004-05:00

"Latitudes & Attitudes", one of the largest sailing and cruising magazines, published my first article:

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/4d000327#/4d000327/65

I have published other articles in Lats and Atts, as well as Blue Water Sailing - but don't think you can read those online.

Oasis of the Seas - December 19, 2009

2009-12-20T10:34:00.035-05:00

Phillip and I spent a day on Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world. I was somewhat curious about all the hype, but skeptical too. I've seen just about all their ships (they're all lovely) but I wondered just how different she could be, and why the big fuss. Let me tell you, all the incredible things you have heard - they're all true. She's amazing! (**just FYI, they don't offer the "blimp/aerostat" option as it broke free during sea trials and they figured it probably wasn't the best idea after all.)

** A $1 million "experiment, the blimp was filled with helium and for a charge, passengers could be lifted up in the air and view the scenery for miles around. During sea trials, Richard Fain, the Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean, was lifted up in the aerostat to try it out, and seemed to like it very much. Later on that day, the aerostat was sent up again for further trials, with nobody in it. Something went wrong and at first they were just unable to bring the aerostat back to the ship - but then something went seriously wrong and the aerostat broke free and drifted away across the open skies. The Finnish coastguard had to get involved, and followed the aerostat which finally sank downwards (running out of helium I suppose?). Nobody was hurt, but the aerostat experiment was cancelled.)

The charming Schooner bar - very classy.

Dining room - complete with magnificent oversized chandeliers and artworks.

A new addition - one of my favorites! These are installed everywhere on the ship.

One of the amazing pieces of art, at the entrance to the casino.

Wonderful skylights everywhere.

A view down from the pool deck to "Central Park", one of the seven "neighbourhoods" on the ship.

Sun deck area

There is $33 MILLION worth of artwork on the ship. Some pieces are small and subtle, some are huge and overwhelming and literally breathtaking.

One of the things that most impressed us on the ship were these - "Way Finders" - located all over the ship - touch screens similar to the "iPhone" or "Hero" phone - incredibly simple and logical to use - showed you what's going on on the ship at any time, all the venues, shops, activities, locations, and directions, not to mention showing you all the restaurants and their occupancies - so you could decide whether or not it was worth going somewhere. Kind of disappointing to trudge all the way to one end of the ship to a restaurant only to find out it's full - so this is a real GENIUS move!

In the interior of the ship, instead of just having retail space, the cruise ship has opened it up, lined it with cabins with balconies, and created Central Park - open air, with trees, shrubs, flowers, the sounds of birds - it is just wonderful.

Southeast 17th Street bridge.

The zipliner!!!!! You can "fly" across the top of the ship!

A view down to the Aqua Theater with their HUGE screens, the pool (their shows are similar to Cirque du Soleil's "O" which is water based and involves swimming, diving and underwater choreography). Cabins (staterooms) with balconies provide occupants with some great views.

A view down to Central Park.

how to treat your lady right

2009-10-25T16:00:00.002-04:00

Ant and me at the pumpkin patch.

Ant treating Mel to a night out via motorbike (below).

Fort Lauderdale: Sadness as this journey draws to a close

2009-10-13T18:53:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning we left Fort Pierce (where we'd anchored the night before) and let me tell you the INLET there was horrendous. I have never been in such rough waters. For half an hour, Delphinus's bow rose into the air about 20 feet and then dropped (crashed is a better word: it wasn't any kind of gentle descent down the crest of a wave, or even a rough descent as such - it was simply dropping, falling, crashing down so we were almost weightless for a nano-second or two) 20 feet, submerging the bowsprit into the water before rearing out of the water again another 20 feet. The waves were almost on top of each other - even Phillip said it was rough, and he NEVER agrees with me about this sort of thing. It lasted about 40 minutes until we were out of the channel - I hung on for dear life, I couldn't let go of the rails for even a second, or else I'd have been tossed around the cockpit like, well, like an idiot on a boat in very rough seas. Worst seas I've ever been in for sure.

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale and anchored in Lake Sylvia (by Port Everglades) at 4 pm this afternoon, exactly four weeks after leaving Annapolis. It was the most wonderful sailing day today - the best I've ever experienced - light winds, gentle seas, the sun shining, a wonderful breeze - just tinged with the slightest melancholy because it means our trip has drawn to a close. This trip, anyway. It was bitter sweet, seeing the familiar coastline, our condo, the restaurant where we met (Sea Watch), our friend Ree's condo, Fort Lauderdale Beach etc. then turning into Port Everglades and seeing the intracoastal waterway, the New River, all our old "stomping grounds", and then finally anchoring in Lake Sylvia. Who knows whether we'll stay in Florida for a while or if we'll be setting sail to foreign lands again, only time will tell.

To be continued......

Sunday 11th October, arrived Fort Pierce

2009-10-11T16:00:00.005-04:00

We motored down Mosquito Lagoon - what wonderful scenery. We put the sail up a couple of times, but mostly the wind was from the south so it didn't help us at all.

It was a huge, beautiful stretch of open water, very deceiving though because the only navigable areas for us (with a keel of 6.5 feet) are about the size of a normal road (single lane either side). You see miles and miles of open water, yet if you deviate off the plotted chart area even a few feet, you're in very shallow water.

We saw plenty of these magnificent, sort of creepy looking trees along the narrower parts of the ICW, south of Georgia.

Almost home - just two more days and we'll be in Fort Lauderdale.

Stopped in Titusville on the way down - the kind people at the Municipal Dock let us tie Delphinus up there while we went to a great local supermarket (Save a Lot) for provisions - most places charge you for dockage or else insist you buy things from them - they did neither, just offered their kindness to us. As a result, we bought beer, ice-cream, diesel and water from them and thanked them profusely.

We're anchored tonight in Fort Pierce - nice to have some internet for a change - and see the water changing color to blue (from dark green/black). Plenty of dolphins around too! Tomorrow we'll probably do a day-sail on the outside, mainly so Phillip can catch some mahi-mahi. West Palm Beach tomorrow, then Fort Lauderdale Tuesday.

After St. Augustine....

2009-10-09T05:16:00.008-04:00

We've motored and anchored here and there, and are now in Smyrna Beach overnight where we can fortunately get some good wi-fi! Tiny anchorage - but as we pulled in, a guy in a tiny little boat with a fishing rod was screaming (with delight) - we turned to see what the fuss was about - he had hooked a HUGE fish and it was towing him along. It was ENORMOUS - probably about 5 feet long. We didn't see how it ended but as always, I hoped it got away. Poor fish. As I tell Phillip, if he ever catches a fish (or a crab or lobster) and puts it in a pail of water on the boat, keeping it alive - I will name that creature, make friends with it and put it back in the water. He knows how I feel about live creatures..... Even in the Caribbean, when we got those lobsters, I had to get Paul to dispatch them - couldn't have them on our boat or else I'd have put them back in the water. When he catches a fish, I take a photo of it with my eyes shut (so usually only get a blurred shot of the fish, or only its tail or head), then I disappear below and let P take care of everything - but I also ask him every time to say something nice about the fish, once it has been dispatched (he sprays alcohol into its gills and the fish just goes to sleep peacefully - none of this awful bashing and beating that a lot of fishermen do, ugh, so cruel) - so he says a few words about each fish i.e. you were a good fish, a kind fish, with lots of friends, and you will be missed. Something like that.

Don't get me wrong, I can eat the fish, but only when it has been wrapped in plastic and no longer resembles anything that's alive. I can't eat anything with a face. But yes, I can fool myself into eating something that came from the supermarket in a plastic-wrapped carton - the two are not related. And I ALWAYS hate seeing lobsters kept in tanks in supermarkets - if I could, I would grab them all and set them free.

Speaking of which, we ate our last two lobster tails last night (the ones we got in Petit St. Vincent in the Grenadines) with some tinned corn and engine-baked potato and butter sauce of course. I've been pleading with P to please make use of the heat the engine gives out - motoring all day long, that engine really gets up to cooking temperatures, so I finally persuaded him to put our one potato that we had left in the engine and let it bake. We wrapped it up in tin foil of course, wedged it in tightly, and let her sit for a couple of hours while we motored, and guess what - the PERFECT baked potato! Yum! Now we're wondering how we can rig up some baking trays down there - we can bake and cook all day long without using our propane.

Here are some pics of the foggy mornings we've been seeing. This morning we could hardly see the bridge! We knew it was there, but where?

It's very very hot and humid - at night there isn't a puff of air, and if anyone's been to Florida in mid summer and spent some time without air conditioning, they'll appreciate how hot and sticky you can get. Hottest we've had on this trip - well into the hundreds. Oh well.

Tuesday 6th - arriving St. Augustine and leaving on the 7th

2009-10-09T05:05:00.004-04:00

We arrived in St. Augustine about 3 pm, shortly before a massive thunderstorm - dolphins were abundant, and once we'd anchored, just north of Bridge of Lions, I watched them play, jumping out of the water, rolling over, really having a whale of a time (no pun intended). Phillip got to work on the dingy engine, but still no luck. It's such a simple engine - fuel, compression and spark are the three things that make a dingy work, and all three were peachy - so it was obviously something more serious. Not having a dingy is pretty serious as you can't go ashore anywhere without paying to dock in a marina. The following morning we went through Bridge of Lions, and anchored just south of the bridge where P found an engine repair guy who hauled the motor away (we had to dock at the Municipal Downtown Marina and Fuel Dock to fill up with diesel and water) and $180 later, returned the sad verdict that the powerhead had cracked, it would cost almost $1000 plus labour for a new one (not worth it - you can get a new one for that price), so we docked at the Marina again (they were very kind to let us do this), picked up the dead engine and decided to leave St. Augustine. There really was no point in staying - we couldn't go ashore, although it looked like one of the loveliest towns on the trip, and no point in getting a new motor/engine there because they are few and far between and very expensive.

So we left, escorted away by dolphins again. Funny that - we've seen tons more dolphins on the ICW than we did in the Caribbean! AND we also saw an alligator - probably about 5 foot long, we motored right past him, he didn't try to swim away or anything - just lay there looking at us - like he was waiting to cross the road and was pausing to let the traffic go by - and once we'd gone by him, he swam to the other side of the river. Amazing!

Heading to St. Augustine - Tuesday 6 October

2009-10-06T19:37:00.007-04:00

After taking shelter in Fernandina Beach, Florida, we slept for a few hours and then decided to leave, simply because the smells from the factories were awful and the sights were too depressing for words. We only motored about 2 hours, did a bit of channel dredging (the chart pointed out an anchorage in what was supposed to be 12 feet of water, but was only 5 and a half - we draw a 6.5 foot keel, so dredging was the order of the day). Anyway, we didn't (couldn't) use that anchorage but chose one that wasn't on the chart - a really lovely, open water anchorage with nobody around for miles, just the occasional mosquito and midge, the cry of the birds and every now and then the sigh of dolphins breaking the water. Life is good!

Sunset! A steak on the grill, a nice glass of wine... ahhh... NOW I remember why I'm here.

Woke up to a very wonderful, foggy morning.
I LOVE fog - obviously Phillip doesn't, not when it's time to start moving - had to put on our running and navigation lights it was so thick. Doesn't show up well in the photos, I took plenty but they just look like under exposed shots - so I didn't put those in, just some of these when the fog started lifting. The scenery probably looks the same to everyone (boring maybe?), but in person, it was just wonderful.

It cleared up after a while - some beautiful scenery, probably some of the nicest we've seen.

Beaufort, South Carolina down to Fernandina Beach, FL (4th - 5th Oct)

2009-10-06T19:32:00.006-04:00

We spent one night in Beaufort - they were having their annual shrimp festival, lots of little booths with fried goodies everywhere, stalls with jewellery, paintings etc,. the normal wares for a street fair. We walked around and had a milkshake, glad to get out of the roasting heat and humidity, and Phillip took me back to the boat. He wanted to go to West Marine, so set off in the dingy, only to return 20 minutes later, being towed by some kind passersby - the dingy engine had seized. Nothing he could do it seemed to help, and he's very good with engines, he can normally fix just about anything. There are not many boat services in Beaufort, so we hoisted the dingy onto the deck and left Beaufort, SC on Sunday 4th October. We stopped off at Port Royale Marina and Fuel Dock to fill up with diesel, took a stroll to West Marine and Piggly Wiggly (supermarket) and then headed out of the Port Royale Sound, surrounded by literally a hundred dolphins - it was wonderful.

Forecast was for about 6 knots of wind up to 12 knots of wind, and a nice gentle sail to St. Augustine, Florida. Of course that was not to be. At about 9 pm the winds started picking up, I started feeling lousy (I seem to feel seasick the minute the sun goes down) so went below and lay there in pain and misery, feeling the seas get higher and higher and the wind get faster and faster. I felt like I was in one of those large commercial washing machines, although this one was tilted at an angle. The drone of the engine right outside our cabin didn't help either! Our "bedroom"'s outside "wall" follows the curve of the boat, so it's not straight up and down, but goes up at a gentle curve. I positioned myself right in the crack between this curved wall and the mattress, where it's the most snug and you are most secure, not being rolled around like you would if you were just lying on the mattress, and the boat was heeled over so much that I ended up with more of my back on the wall than on the actual bed, if you can picture that. The boat shuddered and gyrated, I got up a couple of times to see how we were doing, but it was a supreme effort so after doing that twice, I gave up. The only thing for me was to just lie there and let this bucking bronco do what she had to do. I would have taken photos of the portholes (under water because the boat was on it's ear) but it was too much of an effort to even lift my arm. Ugh. At about 3 am, Phillip came below to tell me that the wind was directly from the south (on the nose), and that at this rate, we wouldn't get to St. Augustine for another 24 hours, so he recommended turning in to Fernandina Beach, Fl, 18 miles away (still a good 4 hours for us). So that's what we did - but it was still a very rough time - we didn't enter the channel until about 7.30 because it was still dark, overcast, raining and windy and with an unknown port, it's not the wisest thing to enter it in the dark. Anyway, I surfaced about 7.30 am, my eyes wild, my hair in such a state, with so many well formed nests that even the pickiest weaver bird wife would have been impressed, and clung on in the cockpit getting some lovely fresh sea air until we entered the Cumberland Sound. The tide was going in, so we averaged 8.8 knots (for us that's lightning fast) and motored the short distance to this awful industrial looking town (Fernandina Beach), which is at mile marker 717. There are two huge factories (paper I think) on the water, nestled inbetween which is a cute looking town - but the smells and sights of the factories are such a turn off.

Having said that, we were thrilled to be in peace and quiet - Phillip feeling tired after being up the whole night, me exhausted from clinging to life in my cabin all night (I'm entitled to be a bit of a drama queen at this point), feeling awful - so we anchored and went to bed. Still nothing on any of the weather channels about rough winds out there - they still say there are 6 knots of wind everywhere - wait until I get my hands around that fella's neck who reads the forecasts (probably an automated voice).

Tomorrow, Tuesday 6th October, we'll probably motor on the ICW to St. Augustine. I just couldn't face going out to sea again, not just yet. Remind me why I'm here, someone, please?

Charleston Tour

2009-09-30T19:17:00.008-04:00

We have seen quite a bit of Charleston - it's a nice town. On Monday, our first day here, we were approached by someone who said we should sit in on a time share presentation (yeah yeah yeah, we've all heard about those) - and if we did, we could get up to $100 in cash and/or tour tickets and/or restaurant coupons. So what the heck - for $100 plus a Charleston horse and buggy tour, why not? So we sat through the presentation which was not bad at all - a really friendly and charming woman who was so engrossed in our sailing stories, she almost forgot what we were there for - and after chatting for an hour or so about sailing and traveling and South Africa, she rushed through in half an hour what should have taken 90 minutes - but alas, no sale. Even she could see that with our current lifestyle, we weren't the right candidates for a "vacation club". As we walked out the door with our prizes clutched in our sweaty paws, someone else approached us and said would we like to sit in on a 45 minute travel wholesaler presentation (they stressed that they were NOT time share) ? In return, we could get $75 in cash plus a lunch coupon for $25, so what the heck. And it was great! We went to Hyman's Seafood Restaurant afterwards which had good calamari, but everything else was do deeply fried that P and I felt sick afterwards. I suppose we don't often eat deep fried food and we felt stodgy and lethargic and unhealthy afterwards - so that's the end of fried foods. So on Friday - yes, you've guessed it - another presentation - this time $100 in cash - don't even remember what it's for. But who cares.

We had a lovely Carriage Tour around Charleston this afternoon. Our two new friends, Becky and Marty (Marty's the horse). Becky spoke really fast and with such a thick accent that we only understood 1/3rd of what she was saying - a real shame, because I'm sure it was all very interesting.

What incredible homes!

Some of the homes are quite astonishing.

This reminded me of the African markets we've seen in South Africa and Kenya.

On Monday, I was desperate for a milkshake - we asked a couple of people who said the only place in town was Haagen Dasz - so we went along, had an outrageously overpriced milkshake, served by a semi-rude, disinterested student - only to find out much later on that on Meeting Street, there was a Maggie Moo's - the BEST ice cream and milkshakes around for MILES - and the owner was so fabulous - I fell in love with him at first sight (well, when he offered me numerous tastes of the different flavours) - so everyone - TAKE NOTE: If you're in Charleston and you want an ice cream or a milkshake, AVOID Haagen Dasz and go for Maggie Moos - tell him Jo Jo sent you and he'll give you 10% off everything AND hold an interesting, educated and intelligent conversation with you.

We left on Friday for Beaufort (they pronounce it Boofort), South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

2009-09-28T16:35:00.007-04:00

Some more photos of the Intracoastal - it varies so much from hour to hour - one minute you're crowded in from both sides with oppressive trees and brush and mangroves - the next you're in the middle of an endless lake, hardly able to see from one side to the other - it's amazing!

CHARLESTON!!!
The circle marks where we are anchored (click on THIS),

after about 9 hours of motoring from where we anchored last night - Mosquitoville as we called it - we were in the middle of nowhere, in a narrow part of the river, with mozzies bombarding us in their hundreds down below. Phillip chased after them and to my amazement, he got rid of every single one. At one point, when I went into our bedroom, with all the mozzies in there it sounded like a choir! So Phillip went in and did his duty. We didn't have a spray, so I just listened for the sound of hand-claps coming from the bedroom. Not one was left. I have never been so pleased to have him around. My hero.

Here he is, the Mosquito Terminator.

Charleston!

We're here!!!

We arrived at 4 pm, wind was howling (up to 25 miles an hour) - dropped anchor, got out the frozen margaritas and beer and humus and crackers and are enjoying happy hour!

Docked for the night, Barefoot River Landings in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

2009-09-26T16:20:00.002-04:00

First time I have spent the night on a boat IN a dock! An actual marina! Normally we anchor out, but we had no choice today - the next safe spot to anchor is 5 hours from here and we won't make it in daylight - so here we are, next to restaurants, shops, and entertainment.

http://www.multimap.com/s/yovDNht3

There is supposed to be free high speed wi-fi here, but the only wi-fi I've managed to find is very, very slow. Hence the short blog entry.

Arrived in Cape Fear in huge storm

2009-09-26T10:23:00.007-04:00

Heading for Myrtle Beach where we may anchor - if not, we'll continue towards Charleston, South Carolina. We anchored just off Cape Fear River last night - look at the storm we went through! The clouds looks like breakers on a beach. Was pretty wild, but fortunately the lightning was far away. If you click on the photo, it should enlarge and you'll see it in much better detail.

Earlier on saw lots of dolphins!

Here's a brief video of them.

Some random shots of the ICW

Leaving Beaufort, North Carolina - beautiful

Back Street Pub - now THAT'S a book swap!

2009-09-23T22:01:00.005-04:00

BEST book swap we've ever seen - at the Back Street Pub in Beaufort, NC. All in alphabetical order by author and then by genre - amazing!!!!!!

Norfolk, VA - Beaufort, North Carolina (20 - 22nd September)

2009-09-22T20:50:00.009-04:00

Norfolk, Virginia

Downtown Norfolk Virginia below – the dinghy dock is just outside Nauticus (the museum) and it’s literally two blocks to a fabulous supermarket where they do wonderful wine tasting every Saturday, and two blocks from a big shopping mall. Very well laid out city and a most enjoyable visit.

Shortly after we left Norfolk, we had to go through a lock – the water level drops about 4 feet, so it was all fun and games while I tried in vain to lasso the cleat to tie us to the dock. Phillip had to jump ashore and snag a cleat for me.

Our route has taken us through Norfolk Virginia, down south through the Alligator River and the Alligator River Swing Bridge (after doing a little dredging of our own in a very shallow part of the huge lake-like river, and continued down to the Pungo River Canal, a very narrow, very straight canal that once you enter it, you are committed to going the whole way (about 20 miles) until you get to the other side. It’s too narrow for you to stop in or anchor in, so you must make sure you have plenty of daylight left before entering. We got here at about 2 pm and got through at about 5.30.

Some random shots of the ICW

Here’s baby Em (our boat mascot and major diva) fooling about with the new line we bought for the genoa. She got so tangled up in it and in the end we took pity on her and got her out.

Just incidentally, the other day, when we walked to the Giant supermarket in Annapolis, I noticed this amazing special offer – buy one of these at $1.79, and get two for $4.00. Deal of the century. Naturally I had to point it out to management.

Tuesday 22nd September.
Arrived Beaufort, North Virginia – have done 205 miles since Sunday – doesn’t sound very far if you’re on land but when you’re on a boat, that’s not bad going. Leaving at first light every day (6.30 am ish), motoring for as long as there has been daylight has been worth it. Last night it poured with rain just as we headed for our overnight anchorage in the middle of nowhere, and this afternoon there was a downpour and some lightening but overall, the weather has been fantastic. Here’s tonight’s sunset in the anchorage, which is packed, mostly with what look to be abandoned (or at least empty) boats of all shapes and sizes.

It’s beautiful here, apart from the masses of midges and sbt’s (stinging biting things) that flocked to us around sunset. There is a small island here with wild ponies. Will most likely spend one day here (two nights), then head for Charleston, South Carolina, which is another 200 miles (4 days) as we have a lot of bridges to go through. A lot of them will be on-demand, but some will be set either to the hour or half hour and if you don’t make it, then you have to wait for it to open and queue up with other boats and you lose a lot of time that way.

Norfolk, Virginia down through Coinjock, North Carolina

2009-09-20T20:43:00.004-04:00

Anchored just off mile marker 61 of the intracoastal waterway - we're in North Carolina. We did 61 miles today, through a lock, under many bridges - we didn't do the Dismal Swamp, stopped for fuel and water in Coinjock and anchored just before the big openwater area. Click here for the location on multimap.com

Leaving the Chesapeake Bay - in Norfolk, Virginia

2009-09-18T08:42:00.007-04:00

We left Annapolis on Tuesday 15th September, spent Tuesday night anchored in the Road River. Wednesday, after 11 hours sailing, overnighted in Cornfield Harbor on the Potomac River - BOY was it windy. All night long, the boat was going up and down as if she was at sea in big waves, it was pretty wild. Must have been winds up to 40 knots. Thursday we left at first light and sailed 13 and a half hours down to Norfolk Virginia, arriving at 8.30 last night. Phillip said it's the first time he's sailed the boat in three months - up until now, there hasn't been enough wind and he's had to motor everywhere - so he was thrilled. I, however, spent the last two days in my cabin feeling a little under the weather because it was really rough out there and I am glad to be done with the Chesapeake Bay for now.

If you're ever in Annapolis, do visit the Rams Head Tavern (great happy hour and free food Monday - Friday between 5 and 7) and Davis's Pub - great hamburgers and the best onion rings we've ever had.

We are now anchored just off Hospital Point (Naval Medical Center) right opposite the USS Wisconsin (docked at Nauticus) - and directly across the river from downtown Norfolk.

This is where we are anchored (click on this link below - if you zoom out you'll get a good idea of where we are in relation to Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay)

http://www.multimap.com/s/PV8GjDFm

We'll be here until Monday I hope, then we head down the Intracoastal Waterway.

Back in the USA finally!

2009-09-13T14:14:00.015-04:00

Gosh, what a long time I was away. Health reasons prevented me coming back on 1st July as originally planned, and after minor surgery, I flew to join Phillip in Baltimore on 8th September. It was wonderful spending so much time with my parents and sister though, just so sad that we're all so far apart.

We are in the Chesapeake Bay now, anchored in Back Creek which is just outside Annapolis. If you look below, we're anchored in the spot in the middle of the red circle.

We had some WONDERFUL times here - lovely dinner on Friday night with our friends Tom and Ronnie at their lakefront house with stunning views, at Fox Creek, also known as Old Place Creek. Great fun - eating, laughing and drinking until about 12.30 in the morning - liberal amounts of Ouzo, wine, beer, Bailey's, Metaxa and of course Rum were imbibed by all.....

We also had a lovely dinner last night at Tom and Shirley's house, just off Chase Creek - also another night of great company, good conversation, and wonderful food and wine. (sorry, forgot my camera, so no photos unfortunately).

We plan to leave tomorrow or Tuesday, heading for Fort Lauderdale. We think it will take about a month, depending on whether we stick to the IntraCoastal or if we jump outside and do any off shore sailing. Our first stop is Norfolk, Virginia, which is about 3 days from here, sailing only during the day and anchoring at night.

Weather has ranged from freezing cold (icy!), raining, windy up to 40 miles an hour, to sunny, dry and warm (today). Cold fronts are starting to move through regularly so it's definitely time to head south. Brrr. Had enough of these long, icy, snowy winters when I was went to Cornell University in upstate New York - not to mention living in Manhattan for 6 years.... not for me any more.

London

2009-08-19T08:51:00.006-04:00

I had to delay my return to the US due to some personal issues so I'm still here in London, loving the time with my family. Phillip is on the Chesapeake Bay, near Annapolis and Baltimore - by himself sadly (waiting for me), very hot and humid there, but he's still happy to be on Delphinus.

I don't usually promote other people's websites or put links in my blog but these had me in fits of laughter - if they'll make anyone else smile, then my job is done.

http://emailsfromcrazypeople.com/2009/07/31/everyone-loves-a-party/#more-149

and of course

www.failblog.org (hundreds of pages of real life goof-ups)

Summary of places visited

2009-08-09T08:24:00.005-04:00

A sail through the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to St. Thomas and the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Saba, St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, Guadeloupe (overnight in Deshaies), Dominica (our favorite island), Bequia, Mayreau, the Tobago Cays, Union, Petit St. Vincent, Petite Martinique and Mopion, Carriacou, Grenada, Los Testigos, Margarita (Venezuela) Porlamar, La Blanquilla, Los Roques, Las Aves (Barlovento and Sotovento), Bonaire, and Curacao.

Our sailing adventures in the Caribbean. If you can't be bothered to read it, no problem, here's a daily summary:
* Phillip hasn't thrown me overboard yet, I'm still here (someone has to make him some tasty meals)
* the boat needs some repairs
* the weather is very nice, but slightly taxing on a land lubber
* local people are nice to visitors with money
* it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there
* go ahead and choke on these pictures of warmth and sunshine, na-na-na-na-na!

Thoughts on sailboat life

2009-07-17T06:47:00.005-04:00

A lot of people have asked me whether or not I actually enjoyed the trip, and how I feel about sailing - and I realised that I never mentioned that anywhere. So here goes. I can't say I really enjoyed it too much until Antigua - but up until that point we hadn't spent more than a day in any location (apart from St. Thomas) and I just never felt relaxed - like the minute we anchored we were preparing to leave the following day. In Antigua, due to computer problems, we had to stay there a week and I REALLY enjoyed that - great island, loads and loads of cruisers, and I finally felt happy on the boat. But I don't think it was until we got to Dominica that I really fell in love with boat life - it's the most wonderful island, we met the greatest people and had the best time - and I started sleeping more than an hour at night, and I got used to the boat noises, and I felt safe and secure really for the first time since leaving home. Maybe it was the "boat boys" and their security watches, friendliness, professionalism and the sense that they really take care of the cruisers there - or maybe it was just Dominica itself - friendly, beautiful island. Anyway, whatever it was, it was the turning point - I just loved it from there on. I didn't, however, really love the sailing aspect - mostly the wind was unpredictable, ranging from 3 knots to 30 knots, changeable within a few seconds - seas were mostly around 10 feet and it was just way too boystrous for me to relax and enjoy it. The autopilot was always going off course and I struggled to cope on my own during the day unless it was a really gentle wind. Don't even get me started about overnight passages - they were all BRUTAL - very high seas, strong winds, and as I was struggling to cope with the boat on my own in daylight, there was no way I could handle it at night. I did try one night, but within seconds the autopilot had blown us off course, there were no stars/moon/landmarks anywhere and within about 10 seconds I had us aiming towards Australia and could not bring Delphinus under control. I could barely let go of the handrails in the cockpit, it was so rough - so Phillip realised that perhaps I wasn't ready to handle the boat in hurricane ;-) conditions.
But apart from the actual sailing, I loved loved LOVED boatlife and can't wait to get back to Delphinus. The boat way of life is incredible - so simple, true and calming, with great people, wonderful sights, and dolphins along the way - does life get better than that?

Hopefully we'll do Cuba and the western Caribbean next year if all the conditions are right..... but frankly, I don't care where we are as long as I am on the boat with Phillip, I am happy.

Em

2009-05-24T07:25:00.015-04:00

Em has her own blog now - you can see it at

http://emilyondelphi.blogspot.com/

with Photos!!!!

Back in Florida - last blog until July!

2009-05-23T21:40:00.004-04:00

I arrived back in Florida on Monday 18th, and am staying in Boca Raton for a couple of weeks. Phillip set sail today (Saturday 23rd May) from Curacao to Fort Lauderdale and is buddy boating with Forewinds (Pat and Frank and their dog Chi Chi). Apparently winds are up to 25 knots at the moment so they are having a great sail, and let's hope it lasts so they get here quickly. I leave for the UK on the 3rd June and will only return to the US on 1st July, when I fly to Baltimore to meet up with Phillip, Emily and Delphinus.

It's so strange being back in civilization. The initial buzz I got from seeing a fully stocked supermarket (fresh milk! lemons! red peppers! tomatoes!) faded quickly and within a day I was desperately missing boat life. I never thought I'd say that. The most I thought I'd be able to say was that I really enjoyed it - I never ever thought I'd be pining for our boat and for that way of life, but I am. I can't sleep, either the room starts moving violently when I'm asleep and I wake up in a panic, or I just can't drift off. I miss Phillip more than I thought I would, which I suppose is only natural, seeing as how we've been together in more or less one room for the past 4 months, spending 24/7 with eachother and having the best time. It just makes me realise more than ever what a fantastic time I had, what an incredible opportunity it was, how many idyllic spots we saw and how many great people we met - what a gift it was, I am so grateful and thankful that Phillip has introduced me to this - I definitely see it in my future in a big way.

Anyway, we'll soon be up in the Chesapeake and for now I'm just making the most of my time with my brother and his wife and their two wonderful children.

No more blogging until the Chesapeake!

Some last photos

2009-05-18T07:13:00.005-04:00

This is a view of Maxsea, a chart plotter program that runs on our laptop and is connected to our GPS. Just shows you how way off base the actual GPS was, and it was on BOTH GPS's that we have on our boat. This is because somehow the CHARTS themselves are off the mark - on our boat, Paul's boat, and most other cruisers we met - mainly it happens in Venezuela. Our Raymarine Chart Plotter was also way off in Venezuela - once we got to Bonaire it rectified itself but it's pretty unnerving to try to follow the chart plotter in these waters. You really have to do it by sight. Here we are in Agua Cay, sailing overland, anchoring on land at one point too.

This shows our progress in Spanish Water, the red line shows how we're sailing over land.

The longest floating bridge in the world, in Willemstad, Curacao.

Curacao - the end of our Caribbean tour

2009-05-15T07:17:00.012-04:00

The sail from Bonaire to Curacao was the rolliest one ever - the boat pitched and swayed like it was trying to throw us out, I just hated it. The coastguard helicopter flew out and circled over us for a few minutes when we were a couple of miles from Curacao (wonder what that was about?) and we found our way to Spanish Water where we are happily anchored. It's a massive anchorage with about 100 boats, a morning cruisers' net and free shuttle buses daily to the supermarkets. Checking in is a real pain in the neck. You have to take a bus to Willemstad, to the Customs (which are open 24 hours a day - fantastic!) - that's a quick check in with very professional, helpful staff. Then you have to either walk over the floating bridge (which was out of order, naturally, when we were there) or take the free ferry from Punda to Otrabanda and walk about a mile and a half through deserted warehouses, up and down hills, to find an obscure Immigration Office which has limited hours - there you do more check in. Then you have to go to the Harbour Authority which is in the next building upstairs and tell them where you are anchored. This is most annoying because if you want to go to a different anchorage or bay, you have to go back there and tell them where you are going to be anchored. It took us 3 hours to do this process, and is a huge deterrent in moving around the island. If we want to go to another anchorage/bay, we have to move there, anchore, go back to the Harbor Authority and tell them where we are anchored again - another 2 or 3 hours trip, depending on the bus service. So we won't be moving from Spanish Water.

Willemstad is a very pretty, very Dutch town. This is a view of Punda (from the ferry).

We spent some time walking around Punda - at times like this, we could have been back in Rome or Venice for all we knew!

This is the floating bridge (above) - it apparently had broken down the night before so we crossed using the free ferry instead.

Below is Otrabanda where the Immigration office is and the Harbour Authority. What a long walk and not very pleasant, through deserted warehouses etc.

Otrabanda.
Watermaker Barry arrived from Venezuela yesterday and coincidentally anchored next to us - he's coming over today to get things going. Well, he was - but unfortunately he doesn't have the right size membrane for our boat so we have to wait until we get back to the US to sort that out.

We have done a supermarket shop at Vreugdenhil supermarket. On Saturday or Sunday I have to go back to Immigration to checkout, and then when Phillip's crew arrives on Wednesday, they have to go back there to check him in and check the boat out. Real drag.

Anyway, people here (the cruisers) are so friendly - we had two people come over to us on the first day we were here to welcome us and tell us where/how/who/what we had to do and where certain things were. Happy Hour at Asiento Yacht Club Tuesdays and Thursdays, daily supermarket bus from Kimakalki Yacht Club at 9 am every day, one at 10 am from the other dinghy dock, and Sundays you can get a free shuttle to the hardware stores and Budget Marine etc.

So we're all set now, just prepping the boat for Phillip's trip next week. Phillip may be buddy boating with some people we met on Forewinds - Pat and Frank Ready (he did a lot of surveying for the EXPLORER charts in the Bahamas) and their dog, Chi Chi. They are heading to St. Thomas and may wait for Phillip so they can buddy boat most of the way. I fly to Miami on Monday 18th to stay with Ant and family for 2 weeks, then I will go to London for a few weeks and join Phillip in Baltimore around 1st July. Phillip's crew member, Mark, arrives here on the 21st I think and probably the following day, off they leave.

Paul and Joyce are still in Bonaire, diving away, and they hope to get here by Saturday. They are heading to the Rio Dolce in Guatemala where they will leave their boat for the summer.

Anyway folks, can't believe the Caribbean tour is almost at an end - but we are really looking forward to the Chesapeake Bay. So this may be the last blog for a while - when we're both back on the boat, I will do an update. Cheers for now, and Delphinus, happy and safe sailing back to Florida.

Bonaire

2009-05-14T10:37:00.029-04:00

We spent one night in each of the Aves (Barlovento and Sotavento) and then headed to Bonaire, civilization and the internet and of course, some of the best diving in the world.

As you can see from the aerial photo below, taken from another website, you can see how great the diving is. You anchor right offshore off mooring buoys and where it goes from light blue to dark blue is a steep drop off, not a wall exactly, but very steep with great coral and marine life. So one minute you're over 30 feet of sand and the next you're in 60 feet. It's good snorkeling over the sandy areas because all the mooring buoys are tethered to great big concrete blocks where the fish congregate. If you rent tanks or have your own, all you need to do is get them filled and you can drop over the back of your boat and you're in dive paradise.

When we filled up with diesel and water at the fuel dock in Harbour Village Marina, it was a great opportunity for us to put our brand new sail up. The unusually strong winds in the Caribbean this year had taken a toll on our genoa with many rips and tears and repairing the sail wasn't an option any more.

Each buoy consists of two separate buoys which you tie to each side of your bow to make it a very secure mooring indeed. Not the easiest thing in the world with winds blowing at 30 knots but once done, you feel pretty happy about where you are.

Below is one of the 5 resident squid from one of the concrete blocks in the mooring field. They were there every day - really beautiful, shimmering in the sunlight with golds, purples, silvers glittering away - really great and graceful swimmers, so fast.

One of the great things about Bonaire is that the reefs and fish are so protected that they aren't shy - they don't duck off when they see you and whenever I got in the water to snorkel, a group of fish would make a beeline for me and swim around about 2 feet underneath me, and I could almost hear them bickering with eachother "I got here first", "no, I did", "No, I did" - they were swimming around and wherever I went, they swam with me underneath me, about 20 of them. I tried to take a photo by pointing the camera underneath me - as usual I only got about 3 of them on film but there were about 20 of them. As you can see I'm still having trouble using the camera underwater in it's clumsy camera case. When I think I am focused on something, I'm usually about two feet off so I have loads of photos of sand but nothing of the giant barracuda or needlefish swimming in packs or giant angelfish.

I went the Divi Dive Bonaire diveshop, part of the Flamingo Resort, and what a great dive operation it was. I was expecting the usual cattle boats but it was a very personalized, professional service - a great orientation explaining the rules of diving in Bonaire (they are VERY adamant about protecting their reefs, which is excellent - you cannot dive with gloves on in case you're tempted to touch the coral, for example, and you'll be fined if you're found diving with gloves on). I wasn't sure how much weight I'd need, so during the checkout dive (they insist that you have a checkout dive so they can see how comfortable you are in the water, which is a great idea), somehow I ended up with an instructor who was doing a dive referral with a young lad from Scotland and his girlfriend. She was certified and he was in the last stages of getting certified - he needed to show the instructor various things under the water - take his mask on and off, regulator in and out of his mouth, boyancy etc. Not exactly a refresher course but going over the basics. Poor lad, he just could not do the mask on and off. He tried so hard but you could see he was panicking and we were about 15 feet down kneeling on the sand watching him and the instructor (Ruud) and he'd take the mask off, put it on again and then panic and head up to the surface. He must have done this about 4 or 5 times and the last time he did it, even though Ruud had gone over everything so patiently with him, he just said he wasn't up to it today and was going to head in and take the rest of the day off. I think he'd swallowed so much sea water he was also feeling sick. Anyway, Christina (the girlfriend) and I hung back in the water and Ruud said he'd take Gary ashore and then come back and take us on a dive on the reef - which was fantastic.

We were down about an hour and went down to 50 feet - it is such an easy place to dive, and the dive shop was so well equipped I'd highly recommend it. Everything from nitrox to technical diving and the dock was excellent - two sets of steps from the dock right into the water, showers right there, lockers etc., just a fab operation. Ruud was superb and pointed out all manner of things to us. Unfortunately I got cold and when Ruud saw me rubbing my arms, he told us to turn around and head back to the shore. So I rented a wetsuit for the afternoon dive.

We went out at 2 pm on SUNBURST, which was a boat filled with a group from Tennessee, all either dive masters or assistant dive masters, and really friendly people. We went over to Klein Bonaire to do the dive, which was 45 minutes at 60 feet - and we saw all sorts of things - spotted eagle rays, turtles (well, one), blue frogfish, yellow frogfish, peacock flounder, moray eels, loads of blue tang and a host of other fish I couldn't identify, and as we were ascending at the end of the dive, doing our 3 minute/15 feet deco stop, we saw a pufferfish swimming with a group of fish - he must have been about 4 feet long, he was huge, the biggest I've ever seen. Anyway - great dive, very easy and great fun. Wished we could have stayed in Bonaire longer to dive some more but we needed to get to Curacao to start getting the boat in shape for its journey to Fort Lauderdale. We were told that there's a guy in Curacao known as Watermaker Barry who specialises in watermakers and we need a new membrane for ours, so we decided this Curacao is the place to go. Paul and Joyce will stay on a few days longer to dive and then join us before we leave for Florida.

When you see the reefs close to shore, where I was snorkeling, they look pretty much destroyed - thanks to tropical storms and Hurricane Omar from last year - so it's not boat/anchor damage, it's mother nature. Obviously, when you get a little further out, where the boats are anchored, the reefs are more or less OK from there onwards, it's only the shallow areas that were affected.

Las Aves Archipelago (Barlovento and Sotavento)

2009-05-13T16:48:00.022-04:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Aves_Archipelago is a great link to look at - explains a lot more than I ever could! There are two islands that we wanted to see, Isla Aves de Barlovento and Isla Aves de Sotavento.

They were different from the others in that they (at least Barlovento) was a total bird sanctuary with a very different geographic layout (flora and fauna too) from the others.

After we anchored, Paul & Joyce were approached by a coastguard boat. "Uh oh" we thought immediately. However, we could see immediately that these guys were professionals, simply from how they tied up to the LadyH - they kept a respectful distance and 3 of the men stayed on their boat, with only one going onto the LadyH. We were going to the LadyH for dinner that night and Paul mentioned that to the coastguard, so the coastguard said that it would be OK if we dinghied over there and just brought our boat papers, which is what we did. What a true professional he was - charming, polite, efficient, just as they should be. Anyway, it was a relief to get that boat paperwork out the way and it was a pleasure to check in there. Nothing like the Juan Griego coastguard check-in where they rammed into your boat before tying up to your guardrail.

The catamaran anchored there is Selah - a cat we'd bumped into a few times before, usually spending a night or two in the same anchorage before one of us would leave. British flagged vessel (Yasmin is from Australia, Leo is from Rome and Lara the dog is from, actually, don't know where she's from) . We first saw them in Sarqui and our itineraries have more or less been identical except for a day here or there. They are heading off to the Pacific.

This is the island from a distance.

That night in Barlovento we played Mexican Train (Snake) on the Lady H. Another great night! We didn't swim or snorkel in Barlovento at all - there were probably some good areas to do it but I felt that with so many birds on the island, the water couldn't be that clean and I didn't really want to get in the water there.

We took our dinghy up one of the estuaries - not actually a river but a sort of lagoon mouth - the lagoon was long and narrow, sort of like a very short river, but ended abruptly with trees. Birds everywhere - really lovely.

The photo below was taken from inside the estuary/river mouth out to sea and Delphi and Lady H.

The baby birds were adorable - covered in fluff, as if they all had big fluffy hoodies on.

This was the tiniest island we'd ever seen, we actually pulled our dinghies up onto it for a few minutes because, well, it had to be done - how could you go by this island and not go ashore?

Spot the pteradactyl below. Talk about the land that time forgot.

And of course no trip to Las Aves would be complete without some video. These are all of Barlovento. For some reason I didn't take any photos of Sotavento - it didn't have trees or birds like this, it was very similar to all the other places - beaches, reefs, fishermen diving for molluscs of some sort, pretty flat, pretty waters.

and some more....

and of course, here we are pulling into Barlovento with Lady H ahead of us, both of her poles out.

Los Roques - SARQUI and ESPENQUI

2009-05-13T11:12:00.013-04:00

We left Noronqui and headed to Sarqui, which is right next door to Espenqui. Artemo was there so we exchanged hello's (they headed off to Agua Cay that afternoon) and Phillip and I went snorkeling. This was, to me, the most beautiful of all the islands I've seen, just the setting, the abundance of marine life, the clarity of the water - it was just incredible. We dinghied over to Yanqui (a tiny deserted island about a mile from Sarqui) but the beach was surrounded by reefs and while I tried to find a way in for the dinghy, everywhere I snorkeled led to a dead end or rocks or coral. So we abandoned that idea and went to Espenqui to snorkel. The photo below is Espenqui.

My camera is in an underwater casing which is essentially just a strong plastic bag with a lens cover - that's what you see in the top left hand corner (sorry). This is a shot of Espenqui.

Sunset from Sarqui (below). There was an absolute feeding frenzy in the water for about an hour around sunset - constant fish jumping and birds swooping down - not just one fish here or there, but everywhere you looked there were fish jumping. It was amazing.

Espenqui again.

Snorkeling between Sarqui and Espenqui. My camera doesn't do it justice.

There were so many fish, in every direction. We truly believe this is the birthplace of all the fish in the Caribbean - there were just so many of them, all shapes and sizes, from fish the size of a dot in huge massive swarms (that's the only real way to explain them - saying a school or shoal of fish really doesn't express just how huge they were). It was almost like hallucinating - fish everywhere, all directions, up down sideways, glittering in the sun.

This photo below always makes me chuckle - I know it's the fishes' gills but they look like they have great big smiles on their faces. If you click on the photo, it should enlarge.

So many fish - I couldn't resist taking a video, although it's not very good.

My favorite fish is the trunkfish - a huge one swam right in front of me and came so close to the camera. He more or less came and looked right in the lens - of course my camera wasn't switched on at the time (the camera auto switches off after 3 minutes of no use) so I missed the best parts.

After Sarqui, we left for Agua Cay - somehow I didn't take any photos! But after Agua Cay, we left first light for Isla Las Aves.

Los Roques - NORONQUI

2009-05-13T10:56:00.004-04:00

After we left Gran Roque, we headed for Noronqui. Paul and Joyce were staying behind for Joyce to do some diving, and we wanted to get out and explore some of the islands. Noronqui was about a 2 hour sail from Gran Roque and only here did we really realise how badly off our chart plotter was. To get to this anchorage you have to thread your way around a small peninsular and through some reefs and according to the chart plotter, we steered our boat directly across the peninsular - right across the land. So getting in and out, P had to stand on the bow and guide me through the reefs - a little tricky but on the whole, not too bad as long as the sun stayed out so you could see the shallows and the reefs.

Noronqui was a deserted island apart from a permanent wooden "gazebo" on the beach, and when we arrived there were lots of day trippers ashore, loads of beach umbrellas that had been erected, and one other sailboat with more day trippers on it. It was a very steep anchorage so as we motored in towards the beach, we were in about 35 feet of water and not even 10 feet away, a swimmer stood about chest high in the water, looking at us. So that's how quickly it got shallow.

At night all the other people left and it was the first time that we were the only boat in the anchorage. We knew nobody would be coming in at night so we turned off our anchor light (which is in our cockpit and not at the top of the mast) and just enjoyed the night with no lights other than stars and the moon. It was wonderful. During the afternoon we snorkeled on the shallow reef, which didn't get deeper than 4 feet so the marine life was abundant but tiny - and all within arms' reach. I saw a tiny moray eel hanging out with a fish that was bigger than he was, but they weren't scared and didn't even try to move away - and they were about 3 feet from me.

In the photo above you can see the wooden gazebo.

A storm came up the following morning, so we waited until about 11 am to leave (normally we like to leave an anchorage at first light).

Leaving Noronqui I just followed the track from the day before on the chart plotter - it still took me over land but as I knew it was a safe route in, I could trust that it would still be a safe route out.

Ode to Paul and the Lady H

2009-05-13T08:00:00.014-04:00

Here is a shot of LadyH with her spinaker out. Phillip took this picture - I was too busy hanging on - it was VERY rough out there. My camera doesn't have much of a zoom as you can tell.

Phillip and I were thinking and reminiscing about our times with Paul and Joyce and the LadyH and what a gift it has been having the LadyH to buddy boat with. We have had so many great times with them, great snorkeling, fabulous dinners, endless games of Mexican Train and too many laughs to mention. Yes, we know Paul gets worked up about politics and that we are on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to that sort of thing, but apart from that subject, which we steer well clear of if we can, Paul has been such a delight to travel with - helpful, patient, kind, good natured and able to laugh when we come up with constant nicknames for him (Slick, Big Paulie, and our current favorite, Minobio).

One memory in particular comes to mind. Joyce and I were snorkeling in Ave de Sotovento (the Aves islands) and we thought the men were right behind us. Phillip's mask had broken so while Joyce and I were in the water, we saw them in the dingy zooming back to Delphinus (to get a spare mask I thought). Joyce and I carried on snorkeling and assumed the boys were going to be getting in the water as soon as they got the mask. When we next looked up, we saw Paul and Phillip in the dinghy, hats on, sunglasses on, big smiles on both their faces, the dinghy drifting gently by us, and a beer in their hands. Talk about contentment - they looked like the cats that got the cream - so happy, just drifting on the dinghy near us (so they could be there for when we finished snorkeling), chatting away at times, other times just silent, both with smiles on their faces - I don't think I've ever seen them both look happier. (I didn't have my camera with me, fortunately Joyce did and took these pics, which I borrowed from her)

What more could they want? Their own company, on the water in a dinghy and a beer in their hands, they looked so happy. Every time I looked at them I burst out laughing, filling my mask with water, but I couldn't help it - it was the most delightful "kodak moment".. That image will always stay with me when I think of Paul. Phillip is so fond of Paul, as we both are, and I could completely understand this complete contentment, the "all is right with the world" feeling that they had....

What a fabulous cook Paul is too - I can't tell you the number of fantastic dinners we've had with them, the garlic bread, lobster, fillet steak, FAJITAS (Phillip's favorite), long cool cocktails in their cockpit, and let's not forget Paul's Salad Dressing. It's just fantastic - I love it SO much that I have it with everything pretty much - salad, toasted sandwiches, lasagna, left over cold fish or chicken, fajitas, hot dogs, garlic bread, humus on crackers etc. I have the recipe but we had a salad dressing evening when, on their boat and under his direction, I made gallons of the stuff so I can take it back up to the Chesapeake. The main ingredient of course is GARLIC (we all ate so much garlic that we turned it into a vegetable!)! I would say there was about a head of garlic in every meal, and we all just loved it.

There were many happy games of Mexican Train where they are constantly accusing Phillip (good naturedly) of cheating or trying to hide the tiles or taking to long to move, or pointing his train at them - really delightful evenings and memories we will treasure. I also have to mention what a fabulous baker Joyce is - the banana bread and banana muffings we have had that she's made, usually warm and dripping with butter - well, pure bliss, just pure bliss.

This photo below captures everything more or less - rum and beer on the table along with freshly baked banana muffins and a huge block of butter for the muffins and good old Minobio.

We are really sad to be getting to the end of the Caribbean trip. They leave from Curacao and head to the Rio Dolce where they will leave the boat for the summer and head off here and there and do their thing. Phillip and I leave for the Chesapeake, but our hearts will be with the Lady H and we look forward to meeting up with her again and some more sailing.

We send our love with you and safe sailing.

Los Roques - GRAN ROQUE

2009-05-12T15:53:00.013-04:00

We loved this little town - doesn't look much special from my photos but it was charming. Sand roads, almost no vehicles anywhere, friendly people, and the best bread rolls we've had in ages!

I couldn't resist taking this photo.

Paul and Joyce came over for dinner and we played Mexican Train, aka "Snake".

We had met up with a Canadian boat (Artemo) in La Blanquilla and they sailed with us to Los Roquas - a really nice family Julie, Graham and two children, Amelia and Alex. The sail from La Blanquilla to Los Roquas was not fun - very gusty winds up to 30 (even 35 knots), waves up to at least 10 feet and to be honest, I hated every second of it. Paul and Phillip have been sailing most of their lives so they don't even notice it. Joyce has been sailing for a couple of years, doesn't get seasick, and their boat is bigger with hydraulics, so neither of them have to worry about going up on deck to adjust the mainsail or anything like that - they just press buttons. Plus their boat is made for downwind sailing - for them to put their side poles out is no big deal, but for us we have to lug this great big pole and physically lift it up, clip it on to the mast, thread the sheet through it and secure it - even when we're on completely still waters in broad daylight with two of us doing it, it is a HUGE task. Phillip has done it by himself in rough waters in the middle of the night (when we left Grenada I think) - at the time I had no idea what he was doing - he just said he was going to put the pole out, like he was going to have a nice stroll round the deck. Once I found out how difficult it it, I gave him a really good talking to about doing it himself. Don't think it had any effect on him though. Having a pole out means you can move pretty fast with a wind right on your tail but it means your boat really pitches from side to side, rolling heavily.

Since then, having helped him do it while we're in anchor, I just cannot imagine how he did it by himself. Anyway, with the wind directly behind us we needed the pole out to secure the genoa in place (or else it flaps from one side to another) - and it was a really rough night. It was so comforting to hear Julie on the vhf asking was anyone else panicking or worried about it - I jumped on the radio and said no, nobody's panicking, this is perfectly normal but it's so lovely to hear someone else who isn't feeling right at home and who is a little uptight about the whole thing and feeling unsure and nervous (like I was). I don't think Paul or Phillip or Joyce can relate to how it feels being brand new to sailing, in the middle of the ocean with high gusty winds, the boat rolling over from one side to the other, in pitch darkness, waves up to 10 feet - I just hated it and when it came time for my watch, I spent 5 minutes up there with Phillip, asking him if his head was screwed on the right way and did he REALLY expect ME to handle the boat BY MYSELF, AT NIGHT, UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, while he went downstairs and slept? And yes, he did. He seemed to think it was no big deal but I would not let go of the bimini rails, I would not budge out of the corner of the cockpit and told him frankly I was terrified and he'd better jolly well stay up there and sail the boat with me. He still looked at me with a puzzled look - like "what are you talking about? this is NOTHING." I got pretty mad with him and he really didn't seem to understand where I was coming from. I HATED it and felt very uncomfortable. When I say I was terrified, I am not scared of the boat sinking or turning over, but one strong gust has the boat off course, sailing down a wave in the wrong direction, the boat flips around quickly, the sails flap like crazy and sound like gunshots going off when they snap in the wind, the boat rocks and rolls even more, things fly all over the place, and to get her back on course is a job - the steering is heavy, and if there's no moon out I find it next to impossible to get her back on course. Yes I have a compass to steer by but it's so darned difficult - I'm looking at the compass and wondering where the heck we are, what direction are we facing, trying to see the radar and chart plotter to see the exact course, trying to find the auto pilot to turn it on again, and in broad daylight on a calm day, I would struggle with all these, let alone midnight on a dark night in rough seas. In the end he sent me below and he stayed up and sailed the boat. He's done that hundreds of times before, so it's no big deal for him to be up all night (and it was only one night after all) but under those conditions, only someone with serious sailing experience could handle Delphinus.

Only later on when I spoke to Julie the following day did she gawk at me in horror and say "YOU'RE KIDDING! He wanted to leave you up there by yourself? NO way would Graham leave me up there by myself, absolutely no way!!!" So that made me feel a lot better. Thanks Julie :-)

Anyway, after that slight digression, one night in El Grand Roque, we walked past them having pizza in a restaurant - they insisted we have a slice or two then and there and later on, they brought more over to us in our boat - how nice was that! (see below)

Such a nice family - we met up with them again in Bonaire too, they are now off to Cartagena.

We needed diesel from the fuel barge - so while we were filling up, they brought out beers for Paul and Phillip and they all had a whale of a time, drinking the beer and filling the tanks. Where else do you get free beer while you fill up?

One small point: as soon as we got to Los Roquas, we noticed that our charts were out (our electronic chart plotter). Not by much, but maybe 1/3rd to a 1/2 a mile - that meant that we'd plan our route in somewhere very carefully but when we saw our boat icon on the dotted route line and we looked up, we were nowhere near where we were supposed to be. Very disconcerting, particularly when you're gingerly finding your way into an anchorage, threading your way through the reefs and your chart plotter tells you you are now halfway across the island itself. According to the chart plotter, many nights we actually anchored several hundred meters inland and goodness knows how many times we steered the boat across land. Apparently it wasn't just us - many other boats had the same problem and it immediately rectified itself once we got out of those waters and into the ABC's. But that's not fun, let me tell you!

Delphinus WITH A FULL LOAD!

2009-05-12T15:27:00.006-04:00

If you click on the photos, they should open up much larger. Try it.

The waterline doesn't look so bad in this pic, does it? We have just arrived in La Blanquilla and are about to go snorkeling.
Under sail with a full load of rum and beer.

Leaving Juan Griego (Margarita). Yes we're just coming down off a wave but look how low she is in the water!!!

Margarita in the background.

Looks like she's about to submerge like a sub.

Juan Griego to La Blanquilla

2009-05-12T14:21:00.025-04:00

Here is a photo of Delphinus as we leave Juan Griego (Margarita) fully laden with rum and beer. See how low the waterline is!!! It's not quite this low (we were just coming down off a wave) but you get the idea. As Phillip says, with the rum stored on the starboard side of the boat, even if we're on a strong port tack our boat will still be upright. And in any anchorage, it will be easy to find our boat - ours is the one listing to one side!

It took a good day sail (50 or so miles) we arrived in La Blanquilla - what a lovely island. Along the way, P caught a 4 foot long Mahi-Mahi (they also call it dolphin, but not to be confused with the Flipper type dolphin). I feel awful whenever we catch a fish and make Phillip say something nice about him after he's done "the deed". By the way, Phillip just squirts some alcohol into the fish's gills and the fish goes to sleep very peacefully - there's no gaff or banging or violence and it really is the kindest way to do it. I can't even make eye contact with the fish while he's still alive or else I'd feel like I'd have to save him, so I just point the camera in its general direction and snap the shutter. Poor fish :-(

The guide books recommend checking in with the coastguard at La Blanquilla so Paul and Phillip dinghied over to the coastguard station and checked in.

We were in the most fabulous little bay, crystal clear water, great reefs, and we did some amazing snorkeling there.

I just LOVED snorkeling in this bay - it was wonderful!

Look how clear the water is - you just jump over the side of the boat and you're in snorkeling paradise.

There were literally thousands of fish everywhere - it was like skiing through a heavy blizzard, almost disorientating because they were coming at you from all directions and you could easily swim through them without them parting for you - as far as the eye could see, there were fish. Amazing. My camera isn't really an underwater camera, it doesn't have much of a zoom and the casing is really just a plastic bag, so my underwater photos aren't great and don't do it justice.

The Lady H sits peacefully at anchor next to us.

Another view of the bay. These photos really don't show how truly incredible the water is - shades of turquoise you just can't imagine.

The following day we moved around the corner to the west side of the island but it was much bigger and very very windy so the snorkeling wasn't nearly as good as the first bay. In fact the first night there it was so rough in the anchorage I felt like we were at sea sailing, with pretty big waves constantly bashing the hull. The following day we moved to a different part of the same anchorage where it was quieter.

Paul and Joyce did a dive - Paul caught a lobster but it got a way (yay for the lobster!) but Phillip and I just snorkeled. Here below you can see Paul with the lobster in his net. I was snorkeling above them.

Here is a photo of some trunkfish that Joyce took. There were 5 of these little fellas hanging around together, so adorable - Joyce managed to get these three on film but look at the expression on his face on the top right - with the big lips forming the "oh". Great shot Joyce!

Another superb photo that Joyce took, of the two palm trees in the bay.

This time the Lady H was anchored just in front of us.

Originally Phillip and I were going to part ways with LadyH there and head to St. Thomas (a 2 night, 3 day sail) while LadyH would head off to Los Roquas and then the ABC islands. Our new genoa sail was being shipped to St. Thomas, so that was the main reason we needed to get there. Anyway, at dinner on our boat one night and after long discussions and looking at the maps and charts, we decided what the heck, let's go with LadyH to the ABC's! We could get the sail shipped to Bonaire from St. Thomas and we heard wonderful things about Los Roquas, so it was decided - no more St. Thomas, but Los Roquas and the ABC islands.

Margarita: Porlamar to Juan Griego and the CoastGuard visit

2009-05-12T07:32:00.015-04:00

After stocking up with rum and beer (150 bottles rum, 12 cases of beer) and lowering our waterline significantly, we headed for La Blanquilla. In order to do a straight shot there from Margarita, we had to move from Porlamar anchorage to Juan Griego which were told was the only other safe anchorage on the island.

Paul & Joyce had wanted to leave on Thursday for Juan Griego (they had all their provisions and had managed to buy all the rum they needed) but because our rum supplies hadn't arrived in full, we needed to stay on one more day. We pointed out that their going ahead by themselves was possibly not a good idea on the basis of safety and security (this was the ONLY place in the Caribbean where we buddy boated for safety and security - all the other places we were together just for fun and laughs and company) so it was a very important point. We didn't think they should go on ahead by themselves and I know we didn't want to go to Juan Griego by ourselves or to La Blanquilla, so we made a decision that if they were going to go on ahead without us, we'd simply go straight up to St. Thomas, which would be the safest route out of there if we were on our own. Everyone had warned us that these parts could be a little dicey, so naturally I was concerned. I guess we made a good point because they thought about it and agreed to wait for us - PHEW!!!! Turns out it was a really good thing - as you'll see as you read on.

Fortunately the rum arrived first thing Friday morning and they also picked up a couple of extra cases, so at 10 am on Friday 24th April, we all left Porlamar together and headed the 30 miles to Juan Griego. Along the way we discovered a leak in our waterpipes (a hose had come off) so again we lost all our water into the bilges. Fortunately we knew that Paul could give us some of his water (he's a real saviour!!!) so when we arrived in Juan Griego, we tied the two boats together (which took some doing) and Paul's water hose fitted right into our water tank so we got about 100 litres that way - thanks Paul, we so appreciated your help!

About 5 pm that day (it was a Friday, can't remember the exact date), a GuardaCosta boat came out with 4 youths on it (all in their late teens) wearing camo gear. They tied up to our boat, not asking permission, and all four boarded us quickly, barely allowing us time to get our fenders out, telling us they needed to do paperwork. I was nervous and called Paul on the vhf to let him know what was going on, and the four guys came down below and searched our boat from top to toe. I can't say it was a comfortable feeling, I had only got my p.j's on at the time so had to rush around looking for a shirt to put on as they came down below, but they didn't care about that. I don't speak Spanish so fortunately P's Spanish was enough to get us by but they looked everywhere, opened every cupboard, every locker, every lazarette, asked all sorts of questions, asked about our alcohol (due to our leak we had all our provisions, cans, tins, jars and bottles out on the table drying), played with the airhorn (made me jump out of my skin, they laughed like crazy), played with our binoculars and just hung around. While not exactly threatening us in any way, we were well aware of the power they had and they intended to show it to us. They showed no respect to the boat, clumping all over our cushions with their big boots, looking in the dinghy and seeing if everything was tied down (it was). We had no firearms fortunately so after an hour, they filled out some paperwork and left. We think that they wanted to see if there was any stuff they could pilfer or come back for later, anything that wasn't secured. Fortunately all our stuff was very secure, we didn't have any firearms so they couldn't confiscate anything and they left empty handed.

They went to LadyH and boarded them. Paul carries a shotgun on the boat and they asked him if he was armed, he of course said yes and showed them the weapon. They tried to confiscate it (Joyce speaks some Spanish and refused to relinquish it, although the coastguard was well within their rights to take it away as it had not been declared.) They told Paul and Joyce that they needed to go ashore to see the big boss. Again Joyce said no, if your boss needs to see us, bring him here. The guards weren't too sure how to handle that, but they took some of the shotgun shells and tried to load the gun. What a disaster if they had managed to load it. Joyce put her foot down and said absolutely NO WAY, you will not load the gun. Anyway, after some very uncomfortable moments, the guards put the gun down and told Paul and Joyce that they were going to give them a gift by letting them keep their gun. In return, Paul and Joyce must give them a gift, and took a bottle of Kahlua and a lot of chocolate. They also confiscated Paul's extra shotgun shells. Then they left. If they had loaded the shotgun, who knows what would have happened, what their purpose was, but even if they were just doing it as a joke, they seemed so immature and childish that they probably would have accidentally shot either one of themselves or Paul and Joyce - it doesn't bear thinking about.

And yes, we had been warned about petty theft in Juan Griego but didn't know it would come from the coast guards!!

It could have been a lot worse, fortunately nothing else happened and at first light the following morning, we left for La Blanquilla. We were all just so thankful that we had buddy boated there and that our boats had been so close together - if only one boat had been there, goodness knows what the outcome would have been but we were in vhf contact all the time and it was reassuring for both of us to know that another boat was right there, just in case. Bottom line - if you're going to Juan Griego, don't go alone - buddy boat with someone.

Chocolate

2009-04-21T12:21:00.007-04:00

See why I'm so happy? this is the chocolate section in Sigo Supermarket.

Phillip's blog

2009-04-19T10:03:00.005-04:00

After 2,500 miles of sailing, constant maintenance, head in the bilge/engine every day, taking apart and putting back together motors and engines, cooking and cleaning and pampering, I am FINALLY allowed to write something on the blog.

Well here we are in Rum and Beer heaven, rum is $1.30 a bottle and beer is 29 cents a can, the only question is how much can we stow. Already have 71 bottles of rum and 8 cases of beer. We will visit the supermarket on Monday to get more and are conducting blind rum tastings to figure out which one is the best ! this is a serious business!

Love the supermarkets here if we use blackmarket to change dollars then every thing is incredibly cheap, and lots of selection.

Boats working well just the usual things breaking, as always maintenance, repair and renewal is the main job when cruising.

Plan to leave Margarita and head to la Blanquilla where we can swap band aids, cokes , candles, pens, paper and batteries for fish and lobster. Before we leave we will clean the bottom of the boat to make sure we can go as fast as possible. Then it's 340 miles to St Thomas where we will get ready to head north.

Joanna is doing very well on the boat for a newbie, learning lots and adapting to the boat life.
and enjoying it apart from the night passages (which she hates).

Random photos in and around Margarita

2009-04-18T13:46:00.007-04:00

I am just posting some photos here, not necessarily in the right order but you'll get the general idea.

Below is the view from Marina Juan (just off the dinghy dock).
Another view from Marina Juan

My first view of Margarita. Very built up as you can see - quite the holiday destination for mainland Venezuelans.

Below is the boat's mascot, Emily (we call her Em for short), our baby leopard, who is hamming it up for the camera now, as she steers the boat. LadyH is in the background. Em loves kitkats, small sips of rum, dressing up, playing the fool, crispy bacon, Jack Johnson (singer), long ocean passages, the TV series "LOST", and being told bedtime stories.

This looked spectacular when I saw it. However, in the photo, it just looks very average (rainbow).

Delphinus under sail (video)

2009-04-18T11:59:00.006-04:00

Joyce took this one of us leaving Union (Petit St. Vincent, Petite Martinique and Carriacou are in the background).

Isla de Margarita - PORLAMAR

2009-04-18T11:49:00.008-04:00

Most of the supermarkets in the Caribbean were the size of someone's average bedroom, with a few limp things on a shelf here and there, so it was a joy and a delight to walk into Sigo in Porlamar, on the island of Margarita. It was just HUGE (just like a normal Asda, you know, the big ones) - so many different types of fruit and veg, I didn't recognize them all - it was almost overwhelming to see so much, such a huge variety again - here's a quick shot of the fruit/veggie section. Tomatoes weren't great, can't find lemons ANYWHERE, and no red peppers either - but otherwise a real abundance of everything.

There is a large chocolate/alcohol (duty free) section too with kitkats and Lion bars being about 60 cents each (so you know I was happy and stocked up) - and of course the men found not only the rum they were looking for (Cinco Estrellas) but they found the OLD rum that started their love affair with rum - the rum Paul said was no longer made.... the Tres Coronas. They also bought lots of Cinco Estrellas and lots of Tres Coronas. Our total supply now is 78 bottles of rum, and plenty more to come. They've gone on a beer run today, beer is about 30c / can, not bad. I stayed on the boat to do the blog and do some skyping.

Margarita is nice. We are anchored in Porlamar, which is the biggest city here

and the anchorage is VERY rolley - so much so that everyone has put out a bridle, which is an extra rope from the stern of the boat that hooks onto the anchorline and sort of pulls the boat around a little and makes it very stable, so that it doesn't face directly into the wind. That reduces the amount of swell that we feel, so it's not too bad at all. Porlamar is a pretty big place, lots of tall buildings, very built up, all kinds of shops, boutiques, supermarkets, banks etc., just like any normal city.

We are anchored near Marina Juan (www.marinajuan.com) - Juan runs an office there attached to a dinghy dock where he hosts a variety of services - laundry, phone, fax, propane, bus service into town, book exchange etc. We checked in through him which costs a little more, but the extra $20 we give to him is well worth the above services which are included. Yesterday, for example, we caught the free bus into Sigo (the supermarket), shopped away to our hearts' content and bought several cases of rum, paid for it. One of the Sigo personnel loaded all of it into boxes, taped them up very well and loaded them onto the bus for us - then he came back with us on the bus, helped unload the boxes and made sure they all got onto our respective dinghies - and all we had to do was tip him a dollar or two. What fabulous service! I only wish I was more of a drinker because then I'd be in seventh heaven - still, the chocolate section kept me entertained - never seen such a selection of chocolate from all over the world. Even in airports, duty free, you don't get it like this - really something to behold. I'll try to get photos next time I go there.

Prices are very reasonable if you exchange dollars on the b/m (which is what we all do because they really want US dollars here) - Phillip got 9 gallons of gasoline (petrol) for 60 cents. NO, that's not 60 cents per gallon, that's 60 cents total. He went to the gas station and filled up his gas tanks. However, we needed to fill up the big boat with diesel, so the fuel boat came around and they charged 60 cents per gallon for diesel (same for petrol). Hard to believe really.

When you walk the streets here, you get hassled all the time by people wanting to exchange money with you. We have been warned over and again not to do this because it's a scam - you think you're getting x number of bolivars, but you're not. Either that, or they're fake bolivars.
Phillip has ordered some more rum, hopefully it will arrive on Wednesday. After that we head to la Blanquilla

http://www.explore-yachts.com/charter/blanquilla.htm

It's supposed to be gorgeous there, hope to do some scuba diving there and then Paul and Joyce head off west to Bonaire and Phillip and I probably will head to St. Thomas or St. Croix. We were hoping to go to St. Lucia but don't think the wind will get us there - so if we go to the USVI we can either sail back to Fort Lauderdale via the Bahamas, or else I can fly back to FL and Phillip can sail right up to Norfolk, Virginia (he'll have to get a crew member). Just haven't decided yet.

Margarita - fruits and veggies

2009-04-18T11:27:00.002-04:00

Grenada to Los Testigos 10th April

2009-04-16T16:29:00.019-04:00

The part FINALLY arrived on Saturday morning. Phillip went in to Budget Marine to pick it up and "discuss" the total lack of customer service he had received. The part had been on the island since Monday, and the Manager, Nicholas George, had told us we'd have it by Wednesday. We went in three times on Wednesday to pick it up, and were told each time that it would be ready shortly. Then we were told "tomorrow morning 10 am", so Phillip went in at the appointed time only to find Nicholas setting out for the airport to fetch the part. No problem, P would be back at noon. At noon, no sign of NG or the part. Going in twice more that day, still no luck and even worse, they refuse to monitor the vhf radio so we kept calling and calling them, to save us the trip in, but no reply. Another cruiser heard us and kindly called Budget Marine on his cellphone and was told NG would be back at the store at 4.30 WITH the part. P again went in at 4.30, banged on the door for 15 minutes, no reply. Friday the whole island was closed for Easter, so we knew we were stuck until at least Saturday - but why did NG never contact us? Never once call us on the vhf (we'd told him over and over again we monitor 68 and could he please call us as soon as he had the part). So Saturday P went in to Budget Marine, got the part, and he and NG "got into it" - P told him what terrible customer service - simply the lack of courtesy, not a single call, not a single update, no communication whatsoever, and reminded NG that we, the customers, pay his salary and that without us, they wouldn't be in business so wouldn't it behoove him to provide a little courtesy and customer service? NG went up the wall and more or less kicked P out of the store, and even followed him down to the dinghy dock telling him off and saying "how dare you speak to me like that and how dare you say that you pay my wages" etc. Apparently it was pretty nasty - those of you who know P will know it takes a LOT to get him riled up - he's always calm and unemotional (unlike me), so if he got upset, you know it was a pretty tense situation and well deserved. A lot of anxious cruisers were waiting for his return, knowing the situation and wondering if it had come to blows, some had a few wagers going on I think. Fortunately it didn't but I'm sure a photo of P is plastered to the wall of that store with the words "BANNED FOR LIFE." All we can say is, if you need a part special ordered, DON'T go through Budget Marine. Order it from the US and ship it down.
I must add, in all fairness, when the part first broke, we were in Union and we called Budget Marine in Grenada and spoke to NG there and ordered the part - he was most helpful at that point and immediately got the part shipped to Carriacou where we picked it up (only to find it didn't fit) - but he was very helpful at that point. It was only when we got to Grenada (we obviously had to exchange that part with another one) that things fell apart.

So P fixed the engine with this part and while we had planned to leave first light Sunday morning, we were restless on Saturday night, couldn't sleep, so 11.30 pm we left Grenada and headed for Los Testigos. Ugh. Another night sail. Great moonlight to begin with - it was like sailing in daylight, but after a few hours, the moon went in and it was dark again and very very rolley. The wind was directly behind us, P had to put the pole out which involved him going out in the dark on to a VERY rocking and rolling deck and putting the "pole" out which basically keeps the genoa in place for when the wind is directly behind you. Not an easy job in daylight with 2 people working on it on a still deck, so I don't know how he managed in those circumstances. I couldn't have helped him, it was way too rough and I would have gone overboard in a heartbeat, and I was not a happy camper until P was back in the cockpit with me. But it had to be done or else it would have taken twice as long to get to our destination. Paul and Joyce sailed next to us and we arrived Los Testigos around 3 pm, had a nice quiet evening and next morning checked in with the coastguard (not to be confused with customs).

This is Paul and me chatting on the beach near the coastguard station.

Nice, friendly guards in camo gear greeted us and we filled out the necessary paperwork. We then walked through the tiny village, all just shacks with the barest of essentials but everyone looking happy, and we walked back along the beach. At one point Paul pointed out "Look! A pig in the water!" and we thought he'd finally lost it. Turns out he was right (see below).

The owner said he gets so hot, she brought him down for a swim and a grovel in the sand, which he loved! Great pictures Joyce.

This is South Observation Bay in Los Testigos, where we anchored.
Delphinus and Lady H, side by side. I have to say the water in these photos looks fabulous - much better than it actually was. It was pretty green, but somehow looks lovely and turquoise here.

Below is the tiny island where we went snorkeling (lousy visability and strong current).

After anchoring, Joyce and I went ashore for a walk up the big hill/dune there. I couldn't make it all the way up - I was wearing flipflops that wouldn't stay on my feet and the sand was burning so hot that I couldn't even hotfoot it up to the top of the hill - so I quit after yelping halfway up the dune. We found this little fella on the beach (blue bottles as we South Africans call them) - but Portuguese Man O'War is the more popular term.

Here is a photo Joyce took from the top of the dune.

Again, the water looks fabulous - but in actuality it was green and not nearly as clear as it appeared. Oh well!
We had dinner the following night at a tiny restaurant called The Green House/Casa Verte (I use that word loosely - it was someone's home - the owners serve up either lobster or fish for guests on their veranda), and it was just delightful. The food was superb (our bill for two of us with 3 beers, 1 sprite, 2 lobsters, was just US$26), the view exceptional. In their garden they had goats, chickens, sheep, turkeys, baby chicks, 2 dogs and 5 puppies (1 month old - Joyce and I tried our best to persuade our men to let us have one each, sadly to no avail), and during sunset, the owner came running out with binoculars pointing to the ocean. About 4 miles away was a sperm whale leaping out of the water. I didn't have my camera, fortunately Joyce had hers and took some photos - it was a fantastic sight, leaping out of the water for ages, thrashing around, hitting the water with its fluke.

Fantastic evening and a great sunset.

Would I go back to Los Testigos? Only if we were going that way anyway - it's pretty but the water isn't a patch on Tobago Cays, so the snorkeling is only average at best - so no, I wouldn't make a special trip. But glad to have been. Left for Margarita on Wednesday the 15th. RUM HERE WE COME!

Update (Thursday 9 April)

2009-04-08T13:17:00.008-04:00

Spare part still hasn't arrived... grrrr...... should have been in our little paws yesterday 10 am. Anyway, we can't do anything except sit and wait.

Once the spare part has arrived and once it has been installed, and providing nothing else goes wrong, we will head to Los Testigos in Venezuela (supposed to be one of the most beautiful spots around - a group of 16 gorgeous islands make up this Archipelago)

http://www.lostworldadventures.com/countries/venezuela/vzregions/islands/lostestigos.htm

To get there, we'll have to leave Grenada around 3 or 4 in the morning to make it by nightfall (to avoid doing an overnight), we'll have two days there to dive and catch lobsters and then off to Margarita to take on some ballast (rum). Apparently the exchange rate is excellent, so even if the wind is blowing 50 knots on our return, and on a strong port tack, our boat will still be standing upright with the rum on the starboard side, keeping her level. So that's the tentative plan, but as you know, our plans change several times in a day.

Phillip really would like to stay here to do the "hash" where a group of people meet at a local bar and run around the island, meeting back there for some rum. He's doing it purely from a cultural perspective - he feels he should learn more about and interact with the locals and other cruisers and the fact that there is rum involved isn't a contributing factor as to why he wants to do it (he tells me with a straight face.) Whenever I ask him about it, he says with a surprised look "What? There's rum involved? I had no idea." (sigh). He sounds like a regular alcoholic, all this talk of rum - but he just enjoys a tipple before bedtime and that's about it. Honest! "It's a cultural exchange, that's all it is. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, that's what I say. If I have to drink rum, I have to." :-)

For more details see

http://www.grenadahash.com/content/category/3/7/25/

The next Hash is on Saturday - we may still be here, we may not be (depending on when this spare part arrives), so if we're here, then he'll probably do it.

Grenada

2009-04-08T12:11:00.016-04:00

We really like Grenada a lot - probably our second or third favorite island after Dominica and Antigua.

We are anchored in Prickly Bay because a) Budget Marine is here and we need the part to repair the cooler and b) hothothotspot has a wifi spot here (which we need). It's a nice big bay, a bit rolling at times but fine for our purposes. We took an island tour with Cuddy which went from 9 am until 6 pm - good tour, stopping to pick the fruits and point out scenic/historic spots, we took a tour of a rum distillery after a wonderful lunch, saw the crater lake, rain forests, waterfalls etc., and while we like it a lot, it doesn't really compare to Dominica - but then where else does? Dominica is just a gem! people are nice here, MUCH nicer than in Union, there are great markets and supermarkets in St. George's, the infrastructure here is a lot better than Dominica (better roads etc.), and if Phillip didn't have to go back into US waters for green card purposes, we would stay here during the hurricane season because it really is lovely. Some wonderful anchorages nearby, great beaches, plenty to do - but we have to get back so that's a moot point.

My birthday was on Monday 6th, thanks to everyone who called and emailed me - we had drinks with John Cooper (see notes below) and then dinner with Paul and Joyce on their boat, so it was a lovely day. We found kit kats in CK's (about 3 miles from here) at a very reasonable price, so I bought out the entire stock (only 2 small boxes) - wish they had more.

For some reason, the beach scene below really reminded me of the Ramsgate lagoon (in South Africa), near the Blue Lagoon teahouse.

This was one of the many bays in Grenada - lined with fishing boats.

The house below is called a Janet house - they are all over the island and were gifts from Venezuela after Hurricane Janet tore through here (1978 I think) doing terrible things to the island.

For those of you wanting to get a good deal on a light aircraft - this is the place to come - a couple of "fixer uppers" right here, just need a lick of paint and new tyres and you're ready to go.

This is a papaya tree - can't remember if it's male or female.

This is the other papaya tree - the opposite gender of the one above.

These are cotton silk trees - the cotton used to be used for stuffing pillows, but now no longer used actively by Grenada.

Incredible flowers - such bright colors - hard to describe how vivid they are and the photos don't do them justice.

Nutmeg trees. The natural shape of a nutmeg tree is like a Christmas tree - but most of the trees on the island were damaged by Hurricane Ivan last year, so there are very few Christmas tree shaped nutmeg trees here - thankfully the trees have grown back so nutmeg abounds.

There were so many fruits and veggies - hard to remember them all (but I'll try). Guava, sapodilla, breadfruit, lemongrass, lemons, limes, mandarin oranges, sour oranges, pineapples, bananas, cocoa beans (you can suck them if you like - they are covered with a thick goo that tastes nothing like chocolate and is not really to my taste), papayas, nutmeg trees, sugar cane, mahogany trees, silk cotton trees, grapefruits, starfuits, tomatoes, noni fruit, cashew nuts, cinnamon, bay leaves, mint, aloe, turmeric, callabash, coconuts, dasheen, tania, coffee beans, and many more I'm sure I've forgotten.

Some crazy hairpin bends!

The crater lake in the Grand Etang rain forest. Phillip and I went for a wander in the actual rainforest - we could have spent hours there, it was lovely, cool, dark, with some wonderful trails laid out.

These are mona monkeys (see below for description thanks to Wikipedia). The Mona Monkey (Cercopithecus mona) is an Old World monkey that lives throughout western Africa. The Mona Monkey can also be found on the island of Grenada as it was transported to the island aboard slave ships headed to the New World during the 18th century. This guenon lives in groups of up to 35 in arboreal regions. It mainly feeds on fruit but sometimes eats insects and leaves.

The Mona Monkey has brown agouti fur with a white rump. Its tail and legs are black and the face is blue-grey with a dark stripe across the face. The Mona Monkey carries food in cheek pouches.

By the waterfalls, this little girl was hamming it up for her parents (who were taking photos) - she was a doll!

Annandale waterfall. As usual, Joyce is right there in the water - a real water baby! Phillip watches (and is probably making fun of her) - if you look closely, behind Joyce under the waterfall, a local is taking a shower - not just a rinse off, but a full scale shower with soap and shampoo.

Andreas and Phillip in the back of the mini van.

Andreas and his wife Cathy are from Germany on board SV Aphrodite - they've done a lot of sailing around the Middle East and Europe and are good fun. We're going to the Dodgy Dock tonight with them for happy hour and dinner.

We met up again with John Cooper - we first met him in St. Thomas when he helped Phillip fix our wind generator - on board the catamaran Durban Dancer - he's a Brit from Staffordshire and we just loved him - full of fun, great personality, has you in fits of laughter all the time with some great stories - he was here getting his cat in dry dock for the hurricane season and we managed to have a quick drink with him before he returned to the UK. Hopefully we'll catch up with him again next year, he is a real trip and someone we'd both love to spend more time with.

View of St. George's.

Petit St. Vincent, Petite Martinique and Mopion

2009-04-02T05:18:00.013-04:00

Joyce on the Lady H, with Petit St. Vincent in the background - look at the color of the water!

Left Union (was glad to leave, to be honest) on Monday and went to PSV (which is part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and PM (part of Grenada) - just beautiful islands. PSV doesn't really have much on it, just some kind of resort where each villa is so secluded that you never see your neighbors and when you want room service, you raise the flag at the villa and someone comes in a "moke" (like a golf cart). Here are the photos of PSV - you can see the beautiful beach, it really is gorgeous, and the water was amazing.

(Below photo: that's Union in the background and PSV on the right with the great beach).

The photo above of PSV was taken from PM, just a stone's throw away as you can see.

The photo below is of Delphinus and Lady H, anchored off PSV .

Sunset from PSV with Carriacou in the background.

PSV had the most wonderful beach, Phillip and I snorkelled a lot and went ashore, he cracked open some coconuts for us (yum). PM was delightful - not much there, a couple of supermarkets, a bank, and a post office, and of course a hidden away rumshack where the boys bought some rum (I tasted it, it was really more like firewater with a drop of benzine added in - not sure if P really liked it, it was too hot for him I think), but the people were so friendly, what a change from Union. It became one of our favourite islands.

We came across these three goats in Petite Martinique and of course I had to take photos.

Paul and Joyce filled up at the fuel dock and the following morning we bought lobsters from the boat boys (EC$10 per lobster). We would have stayed another night but the weather deteriorated the next day and Joyce and I decided not to dive after all - so we left for Carriacou, passing tiny Mopion on the way. We had hoped to have lunch on Mopion but it was rainy and squally so we didn't. Just a tiny tiny tiny sandy atoll with an umbrella on it!

In Carriacou, we checked in at Hillsborough (the only customs on the island), wandered around a little and then sailed to Tyrrel Bay for overnight - Joyce had to pick up a diving tank from the dive shop there. There wasn't much there apart from the bay itself, so I didn't take photos and don't have much to say about it. Spent Tuesday night there (31 March) and left there 1st April for Grenada (Prickly Bay). Great sail here, about 35 miles, took us 7 hours and Phillip caught a 4 foot Mahi Mahi - yay, fresh fish for dinner!

Below is one of my favorite pics of me and Joyce, snorkelling in Bequia with Moonhole in the background.

Tobago Cays

2009-03-28T09:35:00.015-04:00

We are now in Union (Clifton Bay), and are waiting for a spare part (something to do with water in the transmission fluid - we had to flush it out yesterday and the pump snapped, spraying me with transmission fluid - I was covered top to toe with it! Very funny (guess you had to be there)). Anyway, we hope to get the part tomorrow and then we can leave - we aren't enamoured with Union, the people are not exactly the friendliest we've come across. Internet was down for a few days, so I'm trying to do the blog while it's up and running.

Tobago Cays was our next stop after Mayreau - Phillip had been telling me for ages that this was the best water in the Caribbean, and that it would take my breath away, and he was right. Spectacular!

We went snorkeling out on the reef - really excellent, tons of marine life - but the highlight was this spotted eagle ray - he spent ages digging around with his little face in the sand for food and didn't mind if you got fairly close. What a cute little stubby face!

They have an area roped off by one of the islands (Baradel) where there is a turtle reserve. You can snorkel and dive in there, but of course, no boats. Joyce, Phillip and I spent about two or three hours snorkeling here and everywhere we looked, there were turtles, it was just fantastic. You could get up pretty close to them too before they'd swim off - it was delightful (Joyce took her heavy duty underwater camera along and got some great shots).

Joyce and I climbed to the top of Petit Bateau to take some photos - this is me back down on the beach watching about 6 needlefish stalk a school of fish.

Sunset - Tobago Cays

View from top of Petit Rameau

Joyce!!!! Full of energy and like a mountain goat, quickly climbed to the top for a photo session!

Mayreau

2009-03-28T09:01:00.003-04:00

We spent a couple of nights in Mayreau, a nice small bay filled with charter boats mostly, and only a couple of cruising boats. Very secluded, not much on the island apart from a beachfront restaurant and some t-shirt/souvenir sellers.

Above on the right, those are the Tobago Cays. Very close (took us 45 minutes to get there).

Bequia continued

2009-03-22T15:37:00.006-04:00

This is another great shot of the small laundry/ice boat coming around!

We are anchored in Admiralty Bay, in the capital of Port Elizabeth. Can anyone spot Delphinus? Paul and Joyce on the Lady H are in front of us.

(scroll down for where we are)

Yesterday we checked in, took a taxi to the turtle sanctuary (well worth seeing, very sad how the reefs are dying and the turtles are being wiped out). It is run by one man, no aid at all from the government, the only support he gets is from the tourists and visitors - he needs publicity and funding to support his turtles.

http://turtles.bequia.net/

Then we went to the old Fort which has been restored into a magnificent villa and spent a few hours talking with the owner, Otmar (most charming) and loving the views. What a fantastic setting.

http://www.grenadines.net/bequia/oldfort.html

Today we went snorkeling in the Moonhole area - houses carved out of stone, kind of eerie in my opinion, couldn't imagine who would want to live there.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Mayreau - apparently from here on, the water is just incredible - best water in the Caribbean (including the Tobago Cays). I don't think we'll have internet access for a week or so, not until we get to Union.

Night Passage

2009-03-21T12:50:00.007-04:00

For those of you who have not sailed in a boat, I'm going to describe what it felt like to me, as a newbie, doing an overnight passage. This was my second overnight passage - the first one from Virgin Gorda to Saba was on a relatively windless night, so we had no sails out, only the engine going, so all I had to do was watch out for other vessels on the horizon. This time, the wind was in full force so when I tried to handle the boat (for the first 10 minutes of my watch), I was completely out of my depth - the wind kept gusting and blowing the boat off course, so the autopilot would disengage and the boat would come round into the wind. Not knowing how to accurately trim the sails, I'd have to call Phillip, or else I'd just set the boat back on course but it was only minutes before the autopilot disengaged. This is all due to the strong gusts of the islands - firstly being in the lee of the land and the channeling effect of the wind on us, and then inbetween the islands - where it gusted up to 30 knots. There was no way I could cope with the boat by myself, even in broad daylight and as soon as it got dark, I started to feel really seasick and could only crawl away into my cabin to lie down - Phillip sailed the boat by himself the entire night, while I lay in my cabin with a pillow over my head, feeling ghastly. I couldn't go up above deck (in the darkness, no horizon to see, it just made me feel even worse), so I was literally in the cabin for 12 straight hours, lying flat, wedged in the corner up against the wall so that I couldn't be thrown about at all.

The boat was heeling over "on its ear" ( as they say), so when I looked out the portholes, all I saw was rushing water, a glimpse here and there of sky, but mostly all I could see was underwater. The first time I saw that I thought we were sinking or about to turn over and called Phillip in a panic - but he explained that it's perfectly normal. So I would say I'm relatively used to it and it doesn't alarm me as much as it did before. It's still unsettling though to look out a window and see under the water.

The motion on this passage was wild - the wind ranged from no wind to 30 knots, and it would blow up in a matter of minutes, so one minutes we'd be fairly flat, the next the boat would literally take off and heel over in seconds, always making me squeal in fright. When I was lying flat in the corner though, the motion from side to side didn't really throw me around, but it transferred my body weight from one side to another, and the motion up and down would cause my body, particularly my boobs, to be weightless for a short period of time (nano seconds I suppose although it felt like longer) before they'd join me back on earth. It's like being in a rollercoaster.

The sounds of the boat were what I found so hard to describe, and the only way I can do that is to compare them with things that you probably know or can relate to. The sound of the water rushing by, separated only by a thin fibreglass boat wall, ranges between the sounds of river rapids very close by, to the sound of firemen with their pressure hoses trained on the portholes, to a group of people with buckets of water tossing them hard against the hull of the boat. Then I could hear washing machines and dishwashers, and it made me think aha, this is what it's like to be a load of laundry - noise, motion - all just like being inside a washing machine. I could hear noises on deck I could not decipher - from the miaowing of a cat (or should I say many cats), to the whine of a dog, to the sounds of three men scuffling on deck - which turned into an aggressive fist fight (with no voices obviously, just the thump and grown of three men fighting hard, staggering around the deck, falling, kicking etc) - then I could hear paratroopers landing on the boat - about 4 or 5 of them, some of them landing hard, some softly, all dragging their parachutes with them. Many paratroopers landed that night, too many to count. Then I could hear thumping and knocking, and the occasional banging, as if someone was standing off the bow with a hammer, randomly clouting the hull from time to time. I heard pots and pans flying around the saloon (they weren't imaginary, they really were flying around, even though they'd been well secured), the chopping board kept taking off like a missile, the door (although wedged tightly) constantly banging.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the wind generator! Fortunately, thanks to John Cooper in St. Thomas, it has stopped growling (he and Phillip tweaked the wires), so now it only howls like the tube (subway) hurling through a tunnel next to you, or a freight train. Sometimes (like now, in Admiralty Bay in Bequia), it is a gentle soothing sound, but on that night passage it sounded like some kind of angry engine with the throttle turned up high, the sound going up and down depending on the gust of wind that was hitting it.

I could hear the lines creaking and knocking, the sound of Phillip trimming the sails, winding them up, letting them out. I was sure I could hear him running up and down deck (I couldn't - he didn't leave the cockpit the entire time), people throwing chairs, dismantling furniture - you name it, I could hear it. It's loud down below - don't ask me how anyone can sleep through that, particularly with the motion side to side, up and down, back to front - my legs would go in one direction, my head in another, my tummy and chest in another - and yet people still tell me it's the most soothing sleep I'll ever have. I think they're nuts. All I know is that I hated this passage and was so glad when the dawn came. I was staggering up to the cockpit (really ready to be violently ill) and was greeted with Phillip saying look - DOLPHINS! And there were about 30 - 40 dolphins swimming alongside us, some under the bow, some jumping out of the water, it was an incredible sight - and took my breath away and while I still felt really ill, I wasn't - just kept an eye on the dolphins and tried to appreciate them for what they were. Normally I'd be so excited and I'd rush up front to take pictures, but this time I just grimaced at them and watched them from the cockpit, holding on tight. What a great sight.

Bequia

2009-03-21T12:20:00.006-04:00

Arrived Bequia after a rough (Phillip calls it "boystrous") 28 hour sail from Roseau in Dominica (did I tell you I HATE HATE HATE overnight passages?) - we saw dolphins along the way (see photos and video below) - two lots, one small pod that swam under our bowsprit for about 10 minutes about 9 am, just after leaving Roseau, and the other lot at dawn, while we were sailing off St. Vincent (it was too dark to take photos of them).

This pod was huge - about 20 - 30 dolphins that swam under our bow for about half an hour - fabulous. It really is a privilege to see them. Bequia is the gateway to the Grenadines where apparently you get the best waters in the Caribbean - can't wait to see/swim/dive them.

This is the laundry, fuel and ice barge that goes around - call them on channel 67

if you have laundry to be done or need ice. Very convenient but quite expensive. If you get diesel from them, it costs about US$8 a gallon. If you buy the fuel on land, diesel is $2.75 a gallon. A bit of a project, taking your fuel cans there to fill up, but so much cheaper. Internet is slow - too slow unfortunately to do a skype session with anyone or even make a VOIP call. But at least we can check our emails and do the blog!

Delphinus in Dominica

2009-03-17T14:58:00.001-04:00

Dominica Island Tour (pronounced DominEEka)

2009-03-17T11:59:00.025-04:00

Some general photos of Dominica. Banana trees everywhere!

A point worth noting, for those of us who remember the movie "Body Heat" with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner, the final scene of the movie (girl on a beach) was filmed in Dominica.

We bought tomatoes from the market - the sweetest, juiciest tomatoes we've ever had! Delicious with mozarella cheese, pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil :-)

Did a fabulous tour of the island yesterday along with 3 other couples - left at 8 am and got back to the boat at 6.30 pm, just in time to go over to the Beez Neez (Pepe and Steven) for drinks and snacks. The tour took us all over the north of the island, from Portsmouth (where we stopped at a pig farm

to see several HUGE pregnant sows, through Dos D'ane, Bense, Calibishie,

We were told many times that Pirates of the Caribbean (1 and 2) were filmed here and shown the sites where they actually filmed the scenes - beach and jungle. Below is the road they built in the jungle for the dolly to run along.

I never saw any of those movies so it was lost on me, I'm afraid but obviously the people of Dominica are very proud of it!

These are jelly coconuts - you don't eat the meat on these, only drink the milk.

(where we had lunch)

to the Carib Indian Village and then to Red Rock. Red Rock is a beautiful area - the shape indicates the previous lava flow from the volcano and the little stones are pumice.

View from Red Rock

back through Bense to Chaudiere Pool (waterfalls).

Before the waterfall, we stopped to see the ruins of an old mill with a water wheel.

Chaudiere Pool is located at the top of the Hampstead River (miles and miles down a really rough dirt track with huge potholes - you really need to be in a 4-wheel drive instead of a minivan although the minivan coped just fine in 1st gear) and then down the very steep valley sides (over 2500 feet almost straight down) through the jungle to the valley floor.

It was a STEEP climb, both down and up.

There you clamber over plenty of rocks and boulders until you get to the waterfall. Going up was pretty brutal, very steep, but everyone managed it just fine although we were all breathless when we got to the top. Dillan (our guide) refreshed us after the hike with banana, raw cacao pods, grapefruits and guavas,

plucked fresh from the trees around us. During the tour throughout the day, every now and then Dillan would pull the bus over and pluck something from the trees or bushes - cinnamon, lemons, limes, guavas, grapefruits, lemongrass, nutmeg, lantana, passionfruit, soursop, papaya, cashew nuts, bayleaves, breadfruit, breadnuts, noni (apparently a miracle fruit that cures all types of ailments, but smells really awful), bananas (the blue bags protect the bananas from birds and bugs)

we even stopped for cassava bread and coconuts (drank coconut water and ate fresh coconut).

At one point, we saw HUGE orange coloured fruits in a tree, the size of cantaloupes - turns out they were apricots (not yet in season). We saw mangoes and avocados on the trees although they weren't in season, and saw plenty of dasheen and tannia for sale along the roadside. Pineapples weren't in season, although we did see some plantations. Bananas everywhere! What a lush island, a real "Garden of Eden" and definitely our favorite island so far. We'll be back!

Phillip (and Dic) opening up an almond

This is the tiny port/customs in Anse de Me (the main ports are Roseau, pronounced Rose-oh, and Portsmouth).

More photos of Dominica

a Cashew nut (still attached to its fruit)

Beautiful bright flowers, unfortunately the photo doesn't do them justics

Antigua (Jolly Harbour) to Dominica

2009-03-14T07:18:00.021-04:00

Phew. Finally managed to get internet again.

We got P's laptop fixed finally (thanks Lorenzo, of Caribit in English Harbour - you were great!!!), hooked up sailmail and watched the Maltese Falcon depart under sail (lovely sight) - that was Monday 9 March.

First thing Tuesday morning we left Falmouth for Jolly Harbour. Can't say we were crazy about the policies in English Harbour (Falmouth is just around the corner) - having to pay about $50 for one week just to anchor in Falmouth Harbour. We would understand if we were in English Harbour (the national park and a protected site), but Falmouth Harbour is just one giant bay with no special services, a few shacks here and there, some small shops, but nothing worth $50. If we'd only known how wonderful Jolly Harbour was (nothing to pay), we'd have gone there first and checked out of there. So we left Falmouth Harbour and sailed up to Jolly Harbour and took some lovely photos of Antigua along the way.

Took us about 3 hours to get to Jolly Harbour, but it was just wonderful, the seas were gorgeous and Antigua looked most enticing.

The photos don't do it justice - the water looks so bright, as if it lit from below.

The sea was that light aquamarine/turquoise that you dream about.

The customs people were fabulous, nothing to pay to check in (although you pay for the mooring buoy) and the actual harbour was delightful - lined with houses, close to restaurants, banks, a casino, superb shops, an excellent supermarket (pricey but rivals any Waitrose, Publix, M&S and with the best selection of Indian foods I've ever seen in any supermarket anywhere). Below is the view from the customs office in Jolly Harbour.

Some lovely resorts on Antigua (see below).

In Jolly Harbour, we picked up a mooring buoy, set off to find the Rum Shack (also known as the Bolands Post Office) which was a couple of miles away - not exactly where you'd expect to find some of the best and cheapest rum in the islands!!!

We met with "Bushy" (John Bush), the owner, who has been here pretty much his whole life, and Phillip asked for a sample of the rum, expecting a tiny tot in a small glass. Bushy plonked a glass on the counter and filled it halfway up - enough rum in there for about 5 people. Anyway - we sampled it (good stuff) and P bought 5 gallons of it, loaded it in his rucksack, shook Bushy's hand (although Bushy is the kind of person you'd like to spend a few days with - a real character), and we walked back to the dinghy dock, Phillip whistling all the way, laden down but a very happy boy.

This is approaching Jolly Harbour

We visited Budget Marine (for spare parts for the water pump, what else), went to the supermarket, filled up with fuel and water and at first light the following morning, set sail for Dominica.

We sailed down past Guadeloupe (we spent one night in Deshaies - which looked very nice but we didn't go ashore) and Les Saints on the way. We sailed alongside Indian Summer for a while and decided to take some photos of her in full sail - just in case we ever met up with them at an anchorage, we could show them hey, this is you under sail! Always a nice thing to see (your own boat under sail)... turns out they were heading for Dominica too, so we had cocktails with them last night (Dick and Lizzie, he's a retired doctor originally from Wales, she's a nurse in London) - really nice people and they loved the photos.

This is Indian Summer with Guadeloupe in the background (and Les Saints)

Phillip caught a fish - about 3 feet long, with a blue stripe along the top, white meat - we have no idea what it is. Anyone? Anyone? Possibly an amberjack? Anyone know if we can eat it???

The sail to Dominica was fabuous - we averaged about 6.5 knots with great wind on the beam and arrived Thursday 12 March. A "boat boy" met us before we got into the bay - what a wonderful system - well organized, a group of them with walkie talkies, small dinghies and boats, provide a whole host of services to the cruisers here - anything from bringing you fruit and veggies, doing your laundry, arranging tours of the island, to cleaning the bottom of your boat, filling your propane tanks etc. They are fabulous, hard working, polite, and a real boon to us.
We are anchored about 100 yards offshore, by the Purple Turtle (where the antenna is for internet).

This is the Purple Turtle under rainy skies.

And under sunny skies....

Weather is very changeable here - one minute howling a gale (think it's katabatic winds), then the mountains are gloomy and covered with grey, threatening clouds, then the sun comes out, and then it rains. The sea is "refreshing" (i.e. cold) and winds are cold too - Phillip thinks it's colder and windier than he ever remembers it. Wonder if that has any significance for our upcoming hurricane season.

So far, Dominica is our favourite island - we just love it. LOVE it! Went to the local Saturday market yesterday, wow, what a great sight - just about every fruit and veg you could imagine (apart from mangoes and red/green peppers, which is of course what we wanted) - bought a huge bunch of bananas for EC$1 (US$1 = EC2.65), a bag of small sweet tomatoes (we ate those with mozarella cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil on fresh white rolls yesterday, mmm) for EC$4, 5 huge lemons for EC2, carrots EC$4, eggs EC$8, onions EC$4, huge bread rolls EC$1 each. Just pity no mangoes or peppers.

I left my camera at home, happily though Joyce sent me these four pics she took and said I can post them here, thanks Joyce.

We'll be here until Tuesday or Wednesday, then have to do one overnight (ugh) passage to get to Bequia where we meet up with Paul and Joyce (who left this morning) to do some diving. From there on, we'll be buddy boating with them for a while.

Antigua continued

2009-03-07T16:02:00.009-05:00

For those of you checking the blog website every day, eagerly anticipating what thrilling and exciting adventures we're up to and hanging onto every word (which is most of you, I'm sure), we're still in Antigua. Phillip's boat laptop (with all the nav charts) crashed, so we had to get a new one put in which took a couple of days - essential for navigation and weather charts and sailmail. We had decided to leave Falmouth Harbour today for Jolly Harbour (great supermarket there and Phillip has to meet his rum contact there) but last night and today winds were about 30 knots, and of course, as we would be heading north, they are coming directly from the north. It's only 6 miles, but it would probably take us 6 hours, straight into that kind of wind into 9 foot seas. No thanks. So we're hanging out here. Internet connection on the boat is awful - maybe cos the boat is constantly twisting and turning in the wind, so we had to resort to coming to the Mad Mongoose to use the free wifi here. This is supposedly their webcam
http://www.madmongooseantigua.com/index.php?p=webcam
but I can't be bothered to download the software to make it work - but you're welcome to try it.

The Maltese Falcon is in the harbour, world's largest sailing boat. She's beautiful. Available for only 300,000 Euros a week. Anyone? Anyone?

This is Nelson's Dockyard.

And this is the building where the Customs office is.

Weather up and down - when it rains, it rains. When it's windy, boy is it windy. But it's all good!!! Very glad to be here, Antigua is really nice. Saw a mum and baby dolphin yesterday swimming round the boat, and videod them leaping out of the air, but of course, at a distance - so they just look like dots on the horizon, not worth posting, but I wished Annabel was here so she could see them. She would have loved it!

Hope to catch up with Paul and Joyce in Dominica next week and hope to do some diving in Bequia. That's all for now.

Antigua

2009-03-02T15:39:00.008-05:00

Sigh. What a hideously long and boring blog the last one was. For those of you rolling your eyes, don't worry, I will try to keep this short and sweet.

We left Nevis and headed to Montserrat where we planned on staying overnight and then heading south to Guadeloupe/Les Saints. It was a long, hard slog and yes, the wind was on the nose, up to 30 knots, so it was a hard, 10 hour motorsail that yours truly didn't enjoy. I spent half the time lying on my bunk fighting off seasickness (I.WILL.NOT.SUCCUMB). Got to Montserrat literally minutes before it got dark, and spent a comfortable night there.

(This is Montserrat - see all the sulphur clouds? We could smell it as we sailed past).

The following morning set off at 7 am, and a couple of hours later we got an email from Paul saying there's no fuel (or diesel) in Guadeloupe. Then our autopilot stopped working and that's our most crucial piece of equpiment - can't sail without it - so we turned around and headed back to Montserrat. Just as well because later on we found out that Guadeloupe has strikes, unrest, cars being set on fire, shots fired (yeah yeah, I know, just a regular Saturday night for most of you), but no place for us to go as we REALLY needed to get diesel. Anyway, instead of going back to Montserrat (no services, limited supplies and stores), we headed off to Antigua instead. Thank goodness we did - what a fabulous place! Full of stores and supplies and services, we can now get internet on the boat through hothothotspot and boy, is that luxury.

FALMOUTH HARBOUR

We arrived here 5.30 Friday night after another 10 hour slog with the wind on the nose, Phillip using the wind vane to steer the boat, and we anchored in Falmouth Harbour. What a lovely quiet anchorage - full of mega yachts and 200 feet sailboats - just amazing - everyone arriving for Antigua Sailing Week (end April/beg May). Checked in Saturday morning and P worked on the boat - managed to fix the autopilot AND the watermaker (no easy feat I can tell u), we dropped the sails off for repair and just were thrilled to be in such a lovely spot. Met some great people already who have given us the lay of the land, went to St. Johns today to look at one of the markets (pretty poor really, two fruit/veggie stands open and the produce not much to write home about - I think the Saturday market is the one to go to, apparently that's just excellent), then went off to Woods Mall to the Epicurean supermarket (ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS!) - managed to find some Lyall's golden syrup so we can finally make flapjacks. Been into English Harbour - also lovely and quaint, did a tour of Nelson's Dockyard, and are just chilling for the next few days. Our itinerary may change now - so watch this space (as I'm sure you all are, eagerly anticipating our next step).

Cheers from lovely Antigua.

Jost van Dyke, White Bay, overnight passage, Saba and Nevis

2009-02-22T12:56:00.018-05:00

We left St. Thomas on 14th February, eager to get out of Charlotte Amalie because we'd been stuck there so long, thanks to whatever chest ailment I had that I just could not shake) and various "projects". For future reference, whenever you see the word "project", know that it means something broke on the boat that needed immediate repair that requires at least two visits by Phillip to find the right parts.

JOST VAN DYKE

We headed for Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands because it was on the way to Anegada, one of the islands Phillip has been promising to take me to ever since I met him. Why Anegada? He says they serve the best crayfish in the world - when I heard that, it was a case of "say no more!" It was too far to sail to Anegada in one day, so that's why we stopped in Jost Van Dyke, the home of the famous Foxy's Bar, which is a huge establishment serving dinner (all you could eat bbq on the night we were there), great drinks, right on the beach, and everyone who has ever been there leaves a souvenir strung up somewhere - a t-shirt, a cap, business cards, photos, a shoe, a pair of panties, men's underwear even - pretty much whatever you have on that you think you don't need any more that night.

http://www.foxysbar.com/home.html

This is Jost Van Dyke. Around the corner in the next bay is the Soggy Dollar Bar, aptly named because a lot of sailors and cruisers just dive off their boats and swim to shore, so their money is wet when they order drinks.

This is the Customs office

We really liked it in the bay, it’s pretty, an easy anchorage, but not the kind of place you want to be for New Year's Eve - there are so many boats that they are tied up 5 or 6 abreast and it literally takes you three or four days to get your boat out of there, once other people have untied from you.

Proof I was there :-)

When we tried to check out of customs on the 15th, (the following day), we got one of those "non-cooperative, I'm the boss, you'll do as I say" customs officials. We explained we wanted to spend a day in Anegada, and that it would still take us about 2 days to get there, so could he be so kind as to put on our customs departure form a date two days from now. NO, came back the resounding answer, you have one day to get out of the BVI's. When we asked why he couldn't put the date as two days from now, he explained the logic: "What if you like it there and want to spend more than two days there? NO, you have one day." (Can anyone understand the logic behind that?)

So we left Jost van Dyke with only one day to depart the BVI’s and headed towards Marina Cay, a pretty spot with a Pusser's Store,

http://www.pussers.com/outposts/marina_cay

a hotel, and just a nice place to pick up a buoy. After buying some postcards and pancake mix and taking photos, we headed off towards Cooper Island, which is a great island to swim and snorkel with turtles, something I was really keen on doing. For some reason, Phillip decided we'd be better off on Guana Island, in White Bay - something to do with a better angle of departure to get to Saba, so sadly I didn't get to swim with the turtles, but obviously fate had something else in mind for us, with our change of plans.

We arrived in White Bay, a charming anchorage, very quiet, and no other boats around apart from a few fishing boats moored to buoys.

http://www.b-v-i.com/GuanaIsland/default.htm

We anchored and watched another boat (charter boat) glide in slowly and try to anchor.
Sometimes the people on charter boats don't have a clue what they're doing, and we have spent many a happy hour watching them spin around in circles, throw the anchor and bounce it off the bow of the boat leaving great big dents in the chassis, or just give up and leave. After a few minutes of watching these people try to anchor, we noticed the boat going in circles and the owners struggling with something on the bow - Phillip knew immediately they were in trouble (his experienced eye I guess?) and leapt into the dinghy, raced over and offered assistance. They had unfortunately got their anchor wrapped around their keel, and the woman on the boat's blood sugar was very low (she was diabetic) and needed to get some food, so they were in a bad way. Their boat was within feet of a moored fishing boat, and Phillip arrived just in time to help them fend off. He got in the water and unwrapped the anchor chain and helped them anchor safely - what a blessing we'd anchored in White Bay

because it could have turned out a lot worse for these poor people. They were so appreciative of his help, they gave him a bottle of Rum (so you know how his eyes lit up) and he invited them over to have drinks with us that evening. They are from England, Mark and Caroline, and were the most delightful people we could have hoped to meet, just wonderful. We had the best evening with them (it was Mark's birthday), and were very sad that we were leaving the following morning and couldn't spend more time with them. Just lovely people. So it was obviously meant to be - that we missed out on Cooper Island and the turtles for the greater good.

Before they came over for drinks, Phillip and I went ashore for a stroll on the beach and P shimmied up a tree and got two coconuts - he opened them on the boat, one of them was bad and after he'd thrown it overboard, we noticed with horror a brown scorpion in the cockpit - thankfully it hadn't stung him or else we'd have been in serious trouble.

P tossed it overboard and got onto the more important job of opening the second coconut, which was delicious.

After White Bay, we headed to Leverick Bay (Virgin Gorda) where we loaded the dinghy onto the boat and prepared for our overnight passage. We sailed right past Necker Island (see below)

and headed to Saba. This was my first overnight passage and not something I particularly enjoyed. I did my watches OK, feeling a bit queasy (which, admittedly, I blame on my day old sweet and sour chicken) but had to wake P twice when things didn't seem right with lights on the horizon. The first time was just a sailboat on an almost parallel course to us - just edging a little closer every half hour, so P changed our course briefly to we made sure we missed it. The second time, I'd had my eyes on a red/green light far behind us (if you see a red light on a boat, it means it's going from right to left, or starboard to port. If you see a green light, it means it's going from port to starboard, or left to right. If you see both red and green navigation lights on a boat, it means it's heading right towards you). I watched the red and green light approach slowly for about an hour and a half and saw it getting closer and closer and saw that it was on a direct course for us, and was a big vessel. I woke P who guessed that this tanker hadn't seen us, and it was within a mile of us - so he put the spreader lights on, and as soon as they went on, the tanker's course changed ever so slightly, so in the end it went past us to our starboard, but within a quarter mile - much too close for comfort. P also called them on the radio to make sure they'd seen us, and got a belated "roger that" when it had pulled ahead of us. They obviously hadn't seen us until the spreader lights went on, but that was a very close encounter and not something I had enjoyed. The key to successful night navigation is to assume that every boat you see hasn’t seen you, and it’s your responsibility to avoid them, not the other way around. We have a friend (who shall remain nameless) who recently bought a sailboat. He didn’t take lessons and figured he’d pick it up on the way. He is too afraid to take the boat in and out of a marina, so the boat is mostly docked and he doesn’t leave town. On those times he does leave town, he’ll sail for ages (he motored single handedly from Fort Lauderdale to the Chesapeake Bay) by himself. I asked him how he copes with sleeping – he said he sets his autopilot and then goes downstairs and sleeps. I said “what about collisions with other boats, aren’t you afraid of that?” and he said no, that’s their problem, he figures everyone else out there needs to watch out for themselves, it’s not his problem. How he hasn’t ended up in an accident, I don’t know.

SABA

The next morning when the sky began getting pale I saw Saba in the distance, hiding behind clouds, very hard to spot. Can you see it?

As I watched the sun rise, to my amazement, I saw a massive dolphin leap out of the water about 40 yards ahead of the boat to our port. I rushed forward to the bow (well, staggered forward holding onto everything I could) and watched, holding my breath, as we passed over about 5 or 6 dolphins, and they continued leaping out of the water, within 10 yards of the boat - they were MASSIVE dolphins, biggest I've ever seen - it was the most spectacular sight and I was privileged to see them.

We arrived in Saba around 10.30.

http://www.sabatourism.com/

Saba (pronounced say-bah) is a huge extinct volcano that rises out of the sea to great heights. The lower parts, the cliffs that are mostly visible when you arrive, seem very rugged and barren, with seagulls in their thousands wheeling around crying mournfully, giving it an almost hostile and inhospitable appearance.

You feel as if you've stepped straight into a David Attenborough documentary and almost expect to see him wrapped in an orange rain jacket with a film crew, creeping up on walruses or seals. The south end of the island is where you check in with customs, and the appearance is that of a construction site - certainly not the prettiest port we've ever seen

but the welcome we got from the marine park official was wonderful - warm, welcoming, helpful - everything that Jost van Dyke was not. It cost us $8 a night to use one of their mooring buoys (and covers their marine park dues and they even give you a couple of whistles!), and then we went to check in at Customs and got another warm welcome ($20 for check in) - the customs guys were helpful, they called us a taxi and made us feel very much welcome. We waited for our taxi at a restaurant overlooking the ocean called In Two Deep – we had been waiting outside for the taxi, but the owner came out and asked us to come and wait inside, out of the heat, and we chatted with a couple of colorful locals there while we waited for the taxi. When the taxi came, Donna, our driver, explained that we could have an island tour for $50, or else just go to the towns and look around. We opted for a look around because we wanted to get back to our boat by about 3 so we could go and snorkel. Donna fearlessly drove us through "the Bottom" and onwards and upwards through hairpin bends and cliffside roads.

Below is "the Bottom",

the town consisting of the Saba University School of Medicine (see below) and most of the official/government buildings.

She then took us on a hair raising drive up steep roads with less than a foot to the edge of the road, a small protective wall and then breathtaking drops down sheer cliffs. The only comparison I could make would be to Capri in Italy - incredible views of surrounding islands (Statia, St. Kitts in the distance), shimmering blue sea as far as the eye can see - just stunning.

Saba is NOT for anyone with Agoraphobia or Acrophobia. A couple of times I just shut my eyes and pointed my camera out of the window, just hoping to get a good shot but afraid to see what I we were driving past.

We had lunch in a wonderful restaurant (Eden) in the town of Windwardside, which is a charming town high up, surrounded by lush rainforests, teeming with tropical birds, lizards, monkeys and a variety of small animals. It is delightful - we felt a distinct drop in temperature, but what amazed us was the difference in the surroundings - from the forboding, austere cliffs at sea level to the delightful, almost alpine feeling of the higher up areas.

Lunch was fabulous, the food had a definite European flair, not surprising as the delightful owners, Norbert (Executive Chef) and his partner, Nina, who share their Dutch and Norwegian heritage and cultures through their menu and superb cuisine.

http://www.edensaba.com/

We had one of the best home made hamburgers we've ever had while trying to take photographs of the elusive resident hummingbird who fluttered around until the second I grabbed my camera - then he either sat on a branch preening himself and ignoring me, or turned his back to me and snubbed me. The minute I put my camera down, up he flew, darting in and out of the flowers - just a joy to watch.

We wanted the Saba stamp in our passports, but when Donna took us to the immigration office in the Bottom, the office was closed, so no luck there. Phillip managed to find some cheap rum ($4 per bottle, not as cheap as Venezuela but he felt compelled to buy some.)

The roads were treachorous - some of them so steep and windy I don't know why there aren't more accidents there. I think tourists renting cars must find it very difficult - I personally wouldn't drive there if you paid me!

Snorkeling that afternoon was a huge effort. We had to take the dinghy around the west side of the island and motor about 20 minutes along sheer cliff faces, rocky unwelcoming beaches and huge boulders, to moor on the snorkeling buoy provided by the island.

We had been assured of turtles and barracuda, but alas we didn't see anything apart from four scuba divers, a surprised looking parrot fish, and a handful of indistinguishable fish swimming through the boulders. There was coral - nothing really stunning, but the visibility was excellent, so we'd rate it about 5 out of 10. We had moored Dephinus on the south side of the island near the customs building but the swell there was rough and our boat was rolling around like a bucking bronco, so we decided to move the boat to the west side, near where we'd been snorkeling, as the sea was definitely calmer there. We moored in the shadow of the cliffs, about 100 yards offshore and had a relatively easy time until about midnight when the swell picked up. We had been warned about the swell, and all I can say was that the warnings were not enough. The boat tossed and leapt around, heeling over until I could see our portholes in our cabin were going below the waterline, and well secured items on the tiny shelf above our bunk leapt off, a tube of face cream hitting me on my forehead and cutting me (well, it was a scratch but there was blood, therefore I am considering it a huge cut, almost worth of stitches and it means I couldn't possibly do any cooking or cleaning for at least a month). Neither of us could sleep so at first light, we pulled in the lines and off we set to St. Kitts. It was a rough trip - but the final images of Saba were of her covered in cloud, like a tablecloth, with a brilliant rainbow, and grey, angry rain clouds all around.

Leaving Saba behind.

We hit several squalls, the seas were rough, so I was not a happy camper until we hit the quieter waters of St. Kitts and Nevis.

We anchored the first night on the south side of St. Kitts, in Majors Bay, sharing it with three other boats until Paul and Joyce arrived on their lovely boat, the Lady H, and anchored next to us. We went and had drinks with them, but we were all so exhausted that after half an hour, I just stood up and said sorry, I need to go to bed. That's the lovely thing about them - they're great friends and there is no need to stand on ceremony - they felt the same way I think (tuckered out), so we left and headed to our boat. In the night, winds must have reached 40 miles an hour - it was HOWLING - but the boat just bobbed up and down gently like we were on a mill pond. We must have been so sheltered in that anchorage that even though we could hear and feel the wind, the water in the anchorage was not affected at all – definitely one of my favorite anchorages of all time. The cloud cover was remarkable – as you can see from the photos, I took a pic of the Lady H in the morning with Nevis in the background, and 20 minutes later I took another photo – you couldn’t even SEE Nevis through the clouds and rain. See below for the photos of the Lady H, before and after the rain arrives.

We've now moored off Charlestown, Nevis (anchoring is not allowed as there is sea grass for the turtles in the bay), and after checking in with the police/immigration, we checked in at customs and had a delightful half hour talking with Andreas, the customs official, a charming, witty customs official who had us chuckling from the minute we walked through the door. Since we've been here, we visited the hot springs (the photos are really worth a thousand words) where the sulphuric water from the volcano bubbles through into a manmade tiled tub the size of a Jacuzzi, with about 5 steps into it. The water was HOT (yes, I know, it does say Hot Springs, but you don't expect it to be quite that hot), and it didn't smell of sulphur (obviously it is filtered) and it gave Paul a chance to soak his back (the heat helped him a lot).

We went to the supermarket and I couldn't resist taking a photo of these chicken stock powder packets.

We were there on Phillip's birthday. Unfortunately by mistake we'd left the water pump on the boat (something we NEVER do) and of course when we got back, one of the internal screws had broken and all the water on the boat had poured out into the bilges and engine compartment, all the 80 gallons we had left and had worked so hard to save. Phillip had a spare pump but that broke too, so he had to salvage the deck wash pump, remove that and install that, and hopefully we'll be OK until we reach Trinidad where we can buy a new pump. It was really upsetting. We skimp and save our water, showering for maybe 3 minutes a day if that, trying to save every drop - and there it was, wasted in the bottom of the boat. Thank goodness Phillip is so handy, and also thank goodness we were in port because we were able to shower on Paul's boat, he gave us 5 gallons of water, and we had enough fuel to run the water maker for about 20 hours to make some more water.

We were also very lucky in that a friend of mine lives on the island and runs one of the 5* resorts, the Nisbet Plantation, and he invited Phillip and me to their weekly beach bbq and dance, which was absolutely fabulous. The Nisbet Plantation is on the north of the island, just a tad to the east so that we're actually facing the Atlantic Ocean (which would explain why the seas are so rough), and while it was blowing a gale, the bbq was outstanding. Grilled snapper, grouper, wahoo, mahi mahi, tuna, shrimp, a wide variety of salads and home made dressings, not to mention a great selection of desserts. It was excellent, made better only by the kind offer of my friend to host us as his guests for a couple of days (I think he could tell I needed a couple of nights in a still bed with lingering hot showers). I could have kissed him. So here we are, in the lap of luxury, being pampered and spoilt, sleeping in a king size bed with Egyptian 600 thread count sheets, and only having to make decisions about what time to go for breakfast or dinner. To say it’s gusty is an understatement – it is blowing like crazy at the moment. Walking on the beach is a painful, stinging experience and if you’re outside, you have to lean forward into the wind to make any progress. Just crazy!

http://www.nisbetplantation.com/

What a wonderful resort - only 36 rooms, so it is very exclusive, and was the home of Lord Horatio Nelson and his wife, Fanny Nisbet. Lady Hamilton was his bit on the side (in England), so this was an actual plantation. We had dinner in the formal dining room both evenings, The Great House, where the food is absolutely superb and service is second to none. It really is great being able to log into the internet again and make phone calls to family and friends - what a luxury it is to have wifi again after not having it for a week. We have had the most wonderful time in this marvelous, exclusive resort - thank you to our friend for his kind hospitality. He invited us to stay longer, but we're anxious to get back to the boat as we don't like to leave her unattended for too long. Too bad, I could easily manage to stay a few more nights :-)

Our future plans:

We hope to leave Nevis on Thursday or Friday and head south to Montserrat where we will anchor overnight (won't go ashore though). There is a 15 mile exclusion zone around the south of the island, due to the eruption in December last year. After that we head to The Saints which is part of Guadeloupe, but we won't go ashore in Guadeloupe due to the civil unrest and strikes. After the Saints, we want to spend a week in Dominica, which all the cruisers we've met says is one of the most wonderful, friendly and beautiful islands in the Caribbean. After that St. Lucia to pick up spare parts for the water pump. Then we hope to spend a night or two anchored off Palm Island (a private island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines) where I have another friend at another resort. We won't go ashore in St. Vincent because they have the highest crime rate in the Caribbean. After that, we hope to get to the Tobago Cays where Antony and Mel are hoping to come and visit for a few days - supposed to be the most beautiful waters in the Caribbean. After that, Trinidad (Phillip says Scotland Bay has the best phosphorescence he's ever seen - at night, you stamp your foot on the boat and all the water around your boat lights up - it's truly something to be seen to be believed). After Trinidad, we have to go to Venezuela, the island of Margarita, to stock up on RUM (which really is the sole purpose of this trip). These are our plans today, but as you all know, once we get underway, there is a 90% chance that our plans will change on a day to day basis.

Still in St. Thomas

2009-02-10T11:47:00.015-05:00

We are still here!!!! I picked up a nasty bug (bronchitis? or something like that) - managed to find a doctor here on the island - a great doctor actually, in the Yacht Haven strip mall - she works with Red Hook clinic and was really outstanding and put me on antibiotics - saying there is a form of whooping cough going round the island too - maybe that's what I have? Anyway, 10 days later and I wasn't really feeling much better, so I called the doctor - he called in a prescription for a very strong cough mixture - so I am on that. It cost $110 for a small bottle (yes, $110!), and the doctor said it's very strong - so here's hoping :-)

P is working on boat projects as usual - we have a brand new water heater, new hoses for the propane gas tanks, and a whole host of new fittings that we needed. Plus an MP3 player - while I was sick I loaded all the CD's we had onto it so now we have hours and hours of uninterrupted music to listen to instead of having to get up every few minutes to change a cd. Yay. We hope to leave St. Thomas on Thursday and will head for Virgin Gorda, then Anagada - so we will no longer have access to our cellphones, but hopefully we will have email from time to time.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JOYCE who is now a certified PADI Dive Instructor!!!

The next two paragraphs are purely about our water filter system - so for those of you interested, read on. For those of you who couldn't care less about water filter systems, ignore the next two paragraphs (the ones in italics)!!!!

The v-clamp broke on our Seagull IV water filter system - we had to get it welded (were without water for 2 days) and we asked the manufacturer, General Ecology, to send us a new one. They did (we had to pay for it) but as it was under 10 year warranty, we didn't think we should have to pay. We had a heck of a time trying to convince them that they should reimburse us and in the end, after much begging and pleading, they said we must send them back the broken v-clamp so they can inspect it, and then they will reimburse us the cost of a new one (plus the shipping). So we are out of pocket for what it cost to weld the v-clamp, but more than that, I don't like that we more or less had to beg them to honor their warranty. They said they'd never known one to break before, sounding very suspicious (as if we'd used it for other purposes, or misused it, or something). Honestly!

We had recently purchased replacement cartridges for the Seagull RS-1SG system from a FANTASTIC and helpful person, Neil, www.supremeh2o.com who sells them for $99 (for two, including shipping), which is cheaper than anywhere else we could find. These are PurestONE replacement cartridges and will fit any Seagull IV System perfectly, and we could not tell the difference in taste between them and the Seagull. Apart from the fantastic customer service, we liked that thePurestOne Cartridges will pull out MUCH more lead, mercury and arsenic from your water than the Seagull, if that happens to be your problem. The PurestOne has their own water purification systems, too. Again, they're about HALF the price of Seagull IV, but they have a Lifetime Guarantee on the housing and clamp. The Seagull IV is only guaranteed for 10 years, and as I mentioned, I had one heck of a time begging them to make good on their warranty, whereas PurestONE would replace it for free, including shipping, no questions asked. All I know is that if we have any more problems with Seagull's systems, we are going to dump them and go with PurestONE instead.

On to nicer things. We followed this turtle around for ages in Leinster Bay - it was fabulous!

And here's one of me on the bow sprit, looking out for dolphins. Haven't seen any yet :-(

Back in St. Thomas

2009-01-28T12:09:00.009-05:00

FRANCIS BAY ABOVE

We left here and spent the night on an island called St. James in a lovely bay called Christmas Cove, then stopped by Francis Bay (also beautiful), then over to Tortola - checked in at customs at West End/Soper's Hole (cost us $23 for a one month stay), then problems with the boat (inline blowers broke - not surprising after the thumping Delphinus has had on her way down here) - had to go to Road Town in Tortola for parts. Not expecting much, but found a good chandlers called Golden Hind - unfortunately they were out of inline blowers but recommended Parts and Power - FANTASTIC place - www.partsandpower.com Tel: 284 494 2830 - has just about every part you could wish for and the owner, Tom, will do his best to get parts to you wherever you are. Phillip (Captain Ron to some people) fixed the boat and we headed to Leinster Bay in St. John (USVI) which was outstanding - what a lovely bay. LEINSTER BAY PICTURED TO THE RIGHT

One night moored there, then off to Christmas FRANCIS BAY PHOTO ABOVE

Cove again - best snorkeling around for miles. We anchored there but there were very strong winds which blew all the boats around. When the tide started going out, we found ourselves scraping the bottom and adjusted our position a couple of times. Then about 2.30 am, we were woken by more bumping and scraping - and thank goodness because when we went above deck, we saw one of the catamarans had blown free and was just drifting, literally 40 feet from us. We watched him get closer - then P leapt into the dinghy and pounded on his hull, woke him up - by this time the boat was 20 feet from us. By the time the owner had woken up and was on deck - the boat was literally 10 feet from us and getting closer. P got on his boat and they started his engine and pulled forward, but he was literally about 6 feet from us when they started pulling away - not a nice feeling. P went and helped him anchor again, we managed to reposition ourselves in deeper water but it was a pretty disturbed night. Then back to St. Thomas yesterday. Lovely hour long sail with the wind behind us. Will be here for a few days - so if you need to email us, now is the time. Otherwise, don't know when we'll be back on the internet.

For the last three or four nights, there have been very strong winds - up to 30 miles an hour. Apparently they're called the Christmas Winds - and when our wind generator catches them, it sounds like a freight train. Or if you have seen Crocodile Dundee II, where he calls for help (in the outback), he puts something on a rope and winds it up in the air making a really loud sound - hard to describe, but that's what our wind generator sounds like in these winds.

Wednesday - leaving tomorrow for St. John

2009-01-21T10:44:00.003-05:00

Hope to leave tomorrow for St. John - look at this link for more details http://www.virginislandsmap.com/ but we hope to be there a few days enjoying turquoise waters, flat seas and lots of fish and turtles. Here's a shot of Delphi in Charlotte Amalie, and another of a grey day in St. Thomas. We won't have internet access for a few days (we don't think) but will be on our cellphones.

Charlotte Amalie - St. Thomas

2009-01-20T09:33:00.002-05:00

I arrived on 14th January, and joined Phillip on Delphinus (coordinates: 18 20 343N, 64 55 71W). We're anchored in Charlotte Amalie which is very convenient to the internet cafe, post office, Kmart, Pueblo (local supermarket) and transport. For $2, you can take a local bus to Home Depot and CostULess (like Costco). Lots of turtles in the bay. We're waiting for a part for the water filter, and when it comes, we'll leave for St. John and the BVI's. This is more or less where we are anchored, although the photo isn't mine - I got that somewhere on the internet.

Sunday 11 January - arrival in St. Thomas

2009-01-11T20:08:00.002-05:00

They finally made it - with east winds hitting them on the nose and a really hard windward slog, it took them 14 days. The steering chain broke just off Puerto Rico, so they had to go ashore to fix it, as well as a water leak (one of the pipes) but this afternoon they called from just outside Charlotte Amalie, to say they were just about to enter. PHEW!!!!!!

Delphinus departs - Sunday 28 Dec 2008

2008-12-28T13:46:00.002-05:00

At 9.20 am, Delphinus departed from Lauderdale by the Sea - on board, Phillip (Captain of course), 1st Mate Lloyd (Phillip's friend and a sailor since he was 7 years old), and Bobby, the deckhand. They estimate 8 - 12 days, depending on the wind and seas, and are heading out about 350 miles to longitude 65 (also known as highway 65) where they will turn south and head straight to St. Thomas and the Virgin Islands. May the sun be on their faces and the wind on their backs. Bon voyage!

Dry dock - Dec 18th

2008-12-19T18:24:00.007-05:00

Delphinus was in dry dock having her hull and bottom painted and waxed and buffed and polished, and she looks lovely.

She looks so small - she's not really.

About Delphinus

2008-12-13T14:18:00.008-05:00

This will be the online "diary" of our sailing trip - we leave in January for the Caribbean for six months, and then on to the Chesapeake Bay in June when hurricane season arrives - there we hope to spend five months.

Our sailboat is Delphinus (Latin for dolphin and also a constellation in the northern sky). She is a 44 foot Endurance, a bluewater boat meant for long distance and deepwater sailing. She will be our new home for the next 11 or so months.

My husband, Phillip, sailed her over from the UK to the US (before we met), up and down the east coast of the US and down to Venezuela. We were also married on Delphinus in May 2007. He always said he wanted us to take some time off and go sailing - but I never quite believed it would happen. 2008 was a bad year, and it made me really want to take a break from land-life, spend more time with Phillip, and have some FUN - hopefully our family and friends will come over and visit us and have some fun too.