Montserrat – by Andy We left St. Maarten early on July 27 and set sail for St. Kitts. We had great sailing winds for this part of the trip, and we arrived around 3:30 p.m. We had plans of going ashore and helping the local economy, but we could not hail anyone at the marina…
And then there’s this…
As we prepare to turn in Wednesday night, the National Hurricane Center in Miami has given us some unwelcome news. Bad weather is probably headed our way. I used the word “probably” because they predict the above red cone as being 70% likely. We’ve been watching this for a few days now, and the likelihood…
Settling into Sint Maarten
Our journey from Virgin Gorda, BVI to Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten was pretty bumpy and uncomfortable. Some of that was because it was long and windward– about 80 miles southeast, nose straight into the trade winds. We did it overnight, so that we would not arrive in a new port in the dark. Also, the winds…
The Virgin Islands, At Last!
Our trip from Puerto Rico to the east coast Saint Thomas took about seven hours. We had arrived in the Virgin Islands at long last, and since we were still in the in the USA, we didn’t have to jump through any hoops to go ashore. The entire area of the US and British Virgin…
Puerto Rico, You Breakin’ My Heart
One set of trade-offs we are constantly having to weigh is the desire to explore our destinations deeply vs. the risk of being in the Caribbean hurricane zone during the summer months. We worked out a deal with Gratitude’s insurer in which they pay for any hurricane damage as long as we keep the boat…
The Thorny Path, Part 4: The Mona Passage
As a refresher, the big picture of what we are doing is sailing from Florida to the Caribbean. There is more than one way to do this, but the one we’ve chosen is known as “The Thorny Path to Windward”. It’s essentially 1,200+ miles of beating directly into the wind, which is not fun to…
Stories from the DR, and The Thorny Path, Part 3
This is a long post, so I’ve divided into sections. We spent about two weeks in the Dominican Republic, and they were full! It is truly a beautiful country, full of warm people, lush landscapes, and stunning beaches. Meeting Friends Our first full day in the Dominican Republic was blessed by a visit with two…
The Thorny Path Part 2: Turks & Caicos to the Dominican Republic
June 7 – Providenciales to French Cay We left the dock at Turtle Cove Marina around 8:30 a.m. and were met with glassy seas and very light winds. Once again, we seemed to have the ocean to ourselves. We departed at low tide, and I was very happy to have a pilot boat guiding Gratitude…
Turks and Caicos: Diving Paradise
I am writing this post as Gratitude cruises EXTREMELY calm seas. There’s the barest of swells and maybe 2 knots of wind, making it possible for me to sit in the forward cockpit with no fear of getting splashed. We are off the northern coast of the Turks and Caicos, about to turn south once…
The Thorny Path Part 1: Bahamas to Turks and Caicos
(Andy wrote the bulk of this post, but Karen couldn’t help interjecting a few notes along the way. It’s interesting to both of us to see what each of us remembers about this journey.) Monday, May 27: Great Exuma, Bahamas to Calabash Bay, Bahamas We were home for a couple of weeks in May, and…