August 9, 2015 was a regular Sunday in New Orleans. It was expectedly hot, humid, cloudy, and the summertime sluggishness had settled over the city like a smothering blanket. It did not feel like a special day for us, yet it was arguably one of the most momentous days of our lives. After our morning […]
Posts with the Diving tag
One Happy Island
Seven years ago, we visited Aruba for the first time on a brief dive vacation. We would look out at the beautiful, calm anchorages and proclaim that one day we would arrive on our own boat. After more than 7,000 sea miles, we made good on that promise to ourselves. Unlike the other islands of […]
So Dushi
The three day journey from Martinique to Bonaire took us just as long as expected, but smooth sailing it was not. With the wind almost directly behind us, we were moving fast; but also rolling from side to side with every wave. For three days and nights, we rolled every 6-8 seconds. We did not […]
A (Not Final) Farewell
That dreaded time for cruising sailors was fast approaching – haulout time. A necessary evil of the cruising life is that you periodically must have your home lifted out of the water and placed on stilts. While in this unnatural state for a boat, all types of bottom maintenance can be performed, and ¡Pura Vida! […]
Chasing Waterfalls, Again!
There are some islands that are worth visiting, and then there are islands that are worth visiting over and over again. On our way south this year, we could not skip Guadeloupe and Dominica. These two gems of nature take our breath away every time we are there. For this blog, I will let the […]
“Snow” in the Caribbean!
We were ready for a bouncy ride. The winds had been howling for days and the seas built up from the east, the direction we were headed. The winds were not letting up anytime soon, so we decided to go. It was only a 20 mile passage from Saba to Sint Eustatius (aka Statia), so […]
It’s All Uphill!
After packing in a bit more fun at carnival and the beach, and saying sad goodbyes to dear friends, we were finally ready to pull ourselves away from St. Martin and be on the move again. Before heading too far south, we explored two nearby islands that we had missed on our previous travels: Saint-Barthélemy […]
Going Dutch (and French)
The unusually smooth sail across the infamous Anegada Passage belied the chaos we encountered upon arriving in Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten. We were tired from a sleepless, all-night sail, and just wanted to drop the anchor and rest, but it was the final regatta day, and hundreds of boats, both competitors and spectators, were crisscrossing […]
Reuniting with Friends and Virgins
After a spectacular two night, three day passage from Guadeloupe in near-perfect sailing conditions, we dropped anchor behind Long Reef off the coast of Christiansted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. We were home! Our arrival excitement was magnified by knowing we were about to reunite with several friends we had not seen in quite some […]
The Joy of Rediscovery
Arriving in Îles des Saintes, Guadeloupe, was like a homecoming. We visited here last year and fell in love with the quaint French town of Terre-de-Haut, the outstanding diving and snorkeling, and the panoramic view of small, lush, mountainous islands capped with centuries-old fortresses. This is one of those special places that we can visit […]