tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14328803176102372302024-03-13T16:47:17.032-07:00Volver's Caribbean EscapeVolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-59756216000720522392014-06-06T18:08:00.000-07:002014-06-06T18:16:43.347-07:00All Good Things Must Come to an End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We fly to Toronto tomorrow and it looks like Volver made it to West Palm Beach without any major war wounds. The winds on our final passage were much lighter than forecast. Hence, we ended up motoring for the 2nd half of our journey, which was long and slow. The first night, there was a new moon, and we were surrounded by a halo of lightning storms, with a crown of clear, starry sky overhead. </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The second night, we motored right through horrific lightning storms. Captain did not awaken the first mate for her 4-6 am watch, as he was soaking wet from a deluge of rain, and figured there was no reason for both of us to be suffer through a monsoon. Volver and crew made it through unscathed, and are grateful to have returned safely to resume our land based life. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Captain captured this shot of a large herd of dolphins frolickling in the bow wave while first mate napped</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">We stayed at the Palm Harbor Marina, which is located minutes from downtown West Palm Beach. There was a great clubhouse, with multiple flat screens and good air conditioning. We spent some good times there in between doing the many chores involved in taking the boat apart, getting her ready to go on a truck.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Enjoying the clubhouse at Palm Harbor Marina</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">West Palm Beach has great restos, live music venues, and a movie theatre, as well as a cute trolley to help you get your groceries home. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We enjoyed celebrating another Happy Family birthday, as Michelle turned (a lady never tells) a year older during the last days of full time cruising life, at least for now.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Happy Birthday, Michelle!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We developed a fondness for handmade ice cream at Sloan'</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">s, whose interior is a confection itself. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sloan's downtown West Palm Beach location</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The majority of beaches, shopping, and beautiful gardens are in Palm Beach, which is on an island, just across the Intercoastal Waterway.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Store window, Palm Beach</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This winter was a trial run for retirement, planned for several years down the road, and has been an opportunity to help us answer the question: "Is the cruising lifestyle one we want to adopt for a few years?" We are not sure if we have the answer to this question. Certainly, not in this boat. Volver has been great, but she is a touch on the small side, and her flat bottom boat design, while perfect for Lake Ontario, is less than optimal for the heavy seas we have encountered in the Caribbean: she dances and skates over the waves, rather than plowing through them, as a heavier boat would. Her self-tacking jib design is also prohibitive for adding a stay sail for stormy conditions. And while economical, 29 horsepower is not sufficient to drive her through larger seas when motering/motor sailing is required. To avoid long offshore passages, purchasing a boat and keeping her in the Caribbean is an attractive option to consider. Long term, a water maker would be essential. While water was generally not hard to find, there was never extra to keep yourself and your boat truly clean in the salty environment. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sculpture, Via Amore, Palm Beach</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Watching the children (above) playing</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We won't miss storms, waiting for weather, or being salty all the time. We won't miss the anxiety of navigating the Bahamas, which presents a whole other level of skill involving waiting for good overhead light and tides that makes even short hops between islands a challenge. For example, there was no way to leave our last anchorage at high tide AND cross the yellow banks at high tide to get to Nassau. We doglegged around the yellow banks and crossed just before low tide but in good light. Overall, we experienced more anxiety than predicted. But we accept that cruising is NOT vacation, it is another way of living. The first mate won't miss seasickness, which never fully extinguished, and likely triggers migraines. We won't miss looking for a SIM card or WiFi. We won't miss the paucity of fresh produce and the sameness of the restaurant menus. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CLB_E2rpGDY/U5JVLK3SV2I/AAAAAAAAAvE/uPM24De6-KY/s1600/P1010856_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CLB_E2rpGDY/U5JVLK3SV2I/AAAAAAAAAvE/uPM24De6-KY/s1600/P1010856_01.JPG" height="300" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We spent alot of time in places where you are not warned that the beverage you are about to enjoy is hot, or the rocks at the bottom of the cliffs will hurt you, should you inadvertently fall on them</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We will miss the joys of discovering what each new anchorage, town, and countryside has to offer. We will miss walking slowly, rarely being in a hurry (no worries, we are on Caribbean time), and seeing nearly every sunset. We will miss the majestic beauty of nature at every turn. Cruisers are very friendly and helpful in the islands: we will miss the casual chats with strangers who become friends. Locals were also friendly and helpful and we met many that genuinely welcomed us to their island. We will miss having a flexible timetable, allowing us to stay in many places longer than expected when we wanted extra time to experience the beauty. We will miss dolphin sightings, and turtle watching from our cockpit/dining room. We will miss fantastic snorkeling, enjoying the colourful corals and fish, usually just a short dinghy ride from our anchorage. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We will miss the stars: who knew there were so many up there? </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Shopping on Worth Street, Palm Beach</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda: the wish we did list:</b></u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. Have boat cards made. Very handy when meeting new friends. We appreciated receiving them, especially months down the road when we were thinking, "what were their names?" Photos of people are better than boat photos!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Ensure that your dinghy engine is reliable and can be started by all adult crew members. We think it creates an unhealthy dependency otherwise, and there is little opportunity to escape if the spousal temperature overheats in context of confinement in close quarters. Consider a dinghy with a console.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Install a high quality water filter. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. Ensure that all clothes worn on wet dinghy rides (most rides) are quick drying. Leave the heavy cotton at home, please! This never dries once it gets salty: osmotic attraction of the water in air is powerful. Quick dry clothes are easily rinsed in fresh water with a touch of ammonia (which readily evaporates) and good as new after a quick hang on the lifelines.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. Never sail the Bahamas without the Explorer brand charts, which are both exquisitely rendered and more accurate than other offerings. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. Leave as much junk at home as possible. We could have done without our gennaker (light air sail), 2 sets of cockpit cushions (we use the folding chairs the most when just the two of us), and a bunch of extra lifejackets. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. You can find almost anything you want to purchase in the Caribbean if you travel far and wait long enough. There is little need to mention this, for you will bring many spare parts (fuel filters, spark plugs, etc). We suggest bringing some hard to come by pantry items from home, such as jars of artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, pesto, olives, hearts of palm, smoked oysters, etc, which are great to dress up pizza or pasta salad, or serve to nibble with cheese for a light supper. Our hard to find items included gatorade powder and alcohol based hand sanitizer.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. Buy the biggest inboard engine you can find/afford. You always end up motoring more than you expect. Our 29 hp Yanmar has been a faithful friend, and is an enormous improvement over the 13 hp of our previous boat, but Volver is hopelessly underpowered for the winds, currents and seas of the Caribbean. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">9. It is a long distance from the bow to the cockpit and very hard to hear when the wind is up and especially if the bow person is looking ahead. We used walkie talkies but a wireless headset (we saw some marketed as "marriage savers") would have been useful. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Volver on the travelift</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>The Highlights list:</b></u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We visited: British Virgin Islands, USVI, St. Martin/Sint Maarten, Anguilla, St. Barts, Nevis, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Antigua, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, USA</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Favorite island:</u> Puerto Rico! Beautiful beaches, fantastic snorkelling, terrific anchorages, friendly and helpful people, good shopping, and best restos. What's not to like? </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Captain and Amy on the dock<br /> in their colour coordinated <br />outfits, Palm Harbor Marina</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Runner up:</u> Isle de Saintes. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Beautiful setting, hiking trails, vibrant town and cafe culture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Best tourist attraction:</u> the Botanical Gardens at Deshaies</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Favorite Natural attraction:</u> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Victoria Falls, Dominica</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Best farmer's market/fish market:</u> Roseau, Dominica</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Most beautiful anchorage:</u> Warderick Wells, Exuma Cays, Bahamas</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Best Customs and Immigration process:</u> France! </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Martinique, St. Martin, Guadeloupe, St. Barts (self help computerized system, no hassles!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Best Snorkelling:</u> Cousteau Marine Park, Pidgeon Island, Guadeloupe</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Best Cruiser's Hangout:</u> Tie between Sal Pa Dentro, </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Salinas, Puerto Rico and Chat and Chill/Volleyball Beach, Georgetown, Bahamas</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Best place to stay awhile:</u> Salinas, Puerto Rico or Georgetown, Bahamas</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Best way to miss a wicked Canadian winter:</u> cruising the Caribbean on Volver!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zEWhtU2aOZA/U5JU9DfuKfI/AAAAAAAAAus/HglU5p1Hb18/s1600/P1010841_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zEWhtU2aOZA/U5JU9DfuKfI/AAAAAAAAAus/HglU5p1Hb18/s1600/P1010841_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That's all Folks!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1543878035"></span><span id="goog_1543878036"></span><br /></span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-38539993872237726282014-05-30T10:43:00.002-07:002014-05-30T10:43:27.466-07:00The Exuma Cays<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, if you have to be "stuck" somewhere waiting for weather to pass, Georgetown is not such a bad place to be. But Volver was itching to move when the risk of 40 knot squalls passed. We motorsailed, again, to Cave Cay, where we overnighted in an anchorage we had all to ourselves. Very peaceful. Then we got up and had another motor into Staniel Cay, home of the very hospitable Staniel Cay Yacht Club, host to the swimming pigs, and site of the Thunderball grotto. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h0CeA-GbAYs/U4i2uYgGgtI/AAAAAAAAAr0/k3y3ZWlNnNs/s1600/P1010639_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h0CeA-GbAYs/U4i2uYgGgtI/AAAAAAAAAr0/k3y3ZWlNnNs/s1600/P1010639_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Many nurse sharks sleeping on the bottom of the yacht club floor, waiting for the fishing boats to return, clean their catches, and throw out their fish gut refuse</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The pigs were causing consternation on the mainland, and were brought over to Big Major's Spot, where Volver anchored. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KGMnsyVezcU/U4i2xh27CLI/AAAAAAAAAr4/ZL43NSYkF0Q/s1600/P1010646_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KGMnsyVezcU/U4i2xh27CLI/AAAAAAAAAr4/ZL43NSYkF0Q/s1600/P1010646_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">They are comin' to get you....</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The pigs learned to swim: they will arise from their sleep on the beach at the sound of the dinghy engine and will approach the dinghy by sea. At the time of this photo, we were just heading home from our lunch, empty handed, and had to quickly drive away for fear of upsetting the pigs. They are not poorly fed and are quite large. The townspeople's original intent was to turn them into sausages, but the yachties rapidly became enamoured of the swimming pigs, saving their bacon: who can bring themselves to slaughter a tourist attraction? As you can see, they are reproducing now!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2IhCAGMJV94/U4i24jKH_gI/AAAAAAAAAsA/hoU1gIzsEuo/s1600/P1010665_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2IhCAGMJV94/U4i24jKH_gI/AAAAAAAAAsA/hoU1gIzsEuo/s1600/P1010665_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mamas don't let the babies eat first here</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0RXhHVTxtQ/U4i2740sZ7I/AAAAAAAAAsE/4fGUrNW_yns/s1600/P1010671_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0RXhHVTxtQ/U4i2740sZ7I/AAAAAAAAAsE/4fGUrNW_yns/s1600/P1010671_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">More rain saw us spending less time at the Thunderball Grotto than we would have liked. The best time to snorkel this cave is on a sunny day, at low slack tide, so you can both duck comfortably into the entrance and not be too troubled by strong currents. Unfortunately, it rained for the three days we were there, but the grotto was still quite stunning. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V_YBnNkIZcI/U4i3AEMRJnI/AAAAAAAAAsI/431pwPaG66g/s1600/P1010683_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V_YBnNkIZcI/U4i3AEMRJnI/AAAAAAAAAsI/431pwPaG66g/s1600/P1010683_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Thunderball grotto at Staniel Cay</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0RXhHVTxtQ/U4i2740sZ7I/AAAAAAAAAsE/4fGUrNW_yns/s1600/P1010671_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0RXhHVTxtQ/U4i2740sZ7I/AAAAAAAAAsE/4fGUrNW_yns/s1600/P1010671_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Crystal clear Bahama waters and lots of Sargent Majors</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black;">B</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were beautiful sponges and corals outside of the grotto as well. This was the site where the 1965 James Bond film, "Thunderball" was filmed. As an FYI for boaters who may plan to visit, plan to pick up a few provisions in Black Point, as the 3 grocery stores the guidebook lists are quite meagre in their offerings. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SaJgPtFeoEU/U4i20uuw0HI/AAAAAAAAAr8/P189gm9_cms/s1600/P1010660_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SaJgPtFeoEU/U4i20uuw0HI/AAAAAAAAAr8/P189gm9_cms/s1600/P1010660_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Beautiful sunset, Staniel Cay</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vjnE49jf0aI/U4i3VYhhq4I/AAAAAAAAAsg/a8YojmO2uZY/s1600/P1010720_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vjnE49jf0aI/U4i3VYhhq4I/AAAAAAAAAsg/a8YojmO2uZY/s1600/P1010720_01.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next stop, preceded by a lovely sail in a 15 knot easterly breeze: Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, which is a 22 mile long stretch of protected marine land and sea. </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> We went to Warderick Wells, which likely qualifies as the most spectacular anchorage of the trip, and it receives 100% of votes for most difficult to navigate. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-idhXmV0CYq4/U4i3SCSNCbI/AAAAAAAAAsc/LB3tnR2VyRM/s1600/P1010718_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-idhXmV0CYq4/U4i3SCSNCbI/AAAAAAAAAsc/LB3tnR2VyRM/s1600/P1010718_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">this 52 foot spearm whale died from ingestion of plastic</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The trough-shaped channel is deep, 2 vessels wide, and is filled with a string of mooring balls. The basin completely fills at high tide. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DJ4lU5kMmYU/U4i3lePrPBI/AAAAAAAAAsw/Vxap1j2oj6Q/s1600/P1010744_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DJ4lU5kMmYU/U4i3lePrPBI/AAAAAAAAAsw/Vxap1j2oj6Q/s1600/P1010744_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Volver on mooring ball, surrounded by sandbars</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AbmmHvEJ_jE/U4i3p-bLpDI/AAAAAAAAAs0/Xi1bT43xO6I/s1600/P1010746_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AbmmHvEJ_jE/U4i3p-bLpDI/AAAAAAAAAs0/Xi1bT43xO6I/s1600/P1010746_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Low tide</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K1y4fpc42CM/U4i3dhk2r5I/AAAAAAAAAso/HESABlmEbcM/s1600/P1010736_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K1y4fpc42CM/U4i3dhk2r5I/AAAAAAAAAso/HESABlmEbcM/s1600/P1010736_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is the color of the sea when you start to imagine <br />your rudder is stuck in the sand</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At low tide, you can build sandcastles on the sandbar beside your boat: the Unknown Island gang enjoyed doing this one morning. The sandbar is so close and the water becomes so clear that one starts to worry one's rudder will get stuck in the sandbar. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CyY2sLL9j88/U4i3G-JtiEI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/cSxFPZvsNoo/s1600/P1010705_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CyY2sLL9j88/U4i3G-JtiEI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/cSxFPZvsNoo/s1600/P1010705_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Unknown Island crew on beautiful Barefoot Beach</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There was great hiking. The most popular is the trail to Boo-Boo hill, where one is said to hear moaning of a ghost. At the apex, there is a pile of driftwood mementos people have made commemorating their boats. We discovered a lovely and creative example left by Happy Chaos the week prior, and this was like a gauntlet thrown down for the Unknown Island crew, who got out craft supplies, sanding blocks, paint, and epoxy. </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The sign was edged in sand and seashells and was a clear winner. </span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UmnL7KllsmI/U4i3NsZy6NI/AAAAAAAAAsY/B32P5t1JPYg/s1600/P1010708_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UmnL7KllsmI/U4i3NsZy6NI/AAAAAAAAAsY/B32P5t1JPYg/s1600/P1010708_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UmnL7KllsmI/U4i3NsZy6NI/AAAAAAAAAsY/B32P5t1JPYg/s1600/P1010708_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Causeway Trail</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nearby are blowholes, channels through the rock that are open to the sea smashing into a cave below. Water shoots through the blowholes in rough weather. We had our hats blown off by the force of the breeze through these "rock pipes."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cTe2cytmy6w/U4i3D2AG7FI/AAAAAAAAAsM/WotwA07KKp0/s1600/P1010702_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cTe2cytmy6w/U4i3D2AG7FI/AAAAAAAAAsM/WotwA07KKp0/s1600/P1010702_01.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Crab in the hole</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We walked to barefoot beach, one of the finer examples of beautiful beaches ever, and found the Unknown Island crew covered in sand. We tried to find Loyalist ruins one day, and instead found ourselves lost on the island's Atlantic side. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many animals live here, including the Hutia, an endangered species of rodent that is indiginous only to the Bahamas, and thrives on Warderick Wells. One of these nocturnal creatures had the audacity to scurry into the Captain's path, surprising him, and reminding him of the rabbit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7tbqbV2tl3I/U4i3ZlrNqhI/AAAAAAAAAsk/08oKvWacFRU/s1600/P1010728_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7tbqbV2tl3I/U4i3ZlrNqhI/AAAAAAAAAsk/08oKvWacFRU/s1600/P1010728_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This Bananaquit joined us for breakfast</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIeNBP6mJOQ/U4i3KLKO_ZI/AAAAAAAAAsU/z3rtPyhiCpk/s1600/P1010707_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIeNBP6mJOQ/U4i3KLKO_ZI/AAAAAAAAAsU/z3rtPyhiCpk/s1600/P1010707_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Curly tail</span><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Q2M9VHKAWU/U4i30y07fJI/AAAAAAAAAs8/nqhfFVbtOR0/s1600/P1010772_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Q2M9VHKAWU/U4i30y07fJI/AAAAAAAAAs8/nqhfFVbtOR0/s1600/P1010772_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camo ray on the ocean floor</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We did unexpectantly spent the better part of the day on a sandbar, while we tried to beat low tide by leaving Warderick Wells in the early morning, which eliminated our ability to use visual navigation to any extent. The sand bar clearly appears on the Explorer charts, which we don't have, and is sadly lacking on the NV and Navionics charts, which we do have. So we had breakfast. And lunch. And, since half the hull of the boat was sticking out of the water, Captain stood on the seabed and gave it a good scrub. Then, just as rapidly as the low tide overtook us, it dissipated. Unfortunately, this was 5 minutes too late to slip out unnoticed by Unknown Island, who wisely waited for light and a rising tide. We are mostly over the humiliation and there was no harm done to the boat. In fact, we met another Canadian boat in Shroud Key, who shared our experience and had a good sence of humour about it.</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After much hemming and hawing, we decided to make Nassau our last Bahamian stop. We went to a marina. We spent a little time preparing for the 40 hour passage, and a lot of time submitting our notice of arrival form to the US Coast Guard. We had the kind assistance of a nice tech support person from USCG, who was surprised the bureaucrats in Hampton, Puerto Rico, and the USVI had not insisted we file this form each time we departed US seas. We would not have known had it not been included in our guidebook to Bahamian Cruising. Then we got to be tourists. The downtown looks like many other US downtowns: burned out, except for the area immediately surrounding the cruise ship docks. Paradise Island is home to the Atlantis resort complex, as well as many other hotels. There are beaches, a lagoon, a golf course and gated community, and the Versailles Gardens to visit. For the most part, it reminded us of Florida, as it bore little resemblance to the rest of the Caribbean.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Versailles gardens, Paradise Island</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">12th Century French Cloister, moved to Nassau in 18th C.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Versailles Gardens, Captain at Nassau waterfront</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The forecast is fairly benign, some risk of thunderstorms, but this is almost inevitable at this time of the year, and we hope our last two nights of passaging are uneventful. As much as we are ready to be land dwellers now, we are also lamenting the end of our cruising lifestyle. Last stop: West Palm Beach!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-39405004356435103092014-05-14T11:18:00.005-07:002014-06-06T18:10:32.294-07:00Georgetown<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We can humbly say this is the truth: Volver knows how to time her arrival for a party. Humbly, because there is usually a large dose of serendipity involved. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We arrived in Georgetown just in time for the 61st annual National Family Island Regatta. Old time Bahamian sloops race around Elizabeth Harbour, and in our case, they raced right through our anchorage: some of the boats were close enough to touch, and extend an offer of a beer. The sloops start from anchored position, with all sails down. They are not allowed any gizmos, not even a passive wind indicator. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They are shoal draft, with only about 3 feet under the keel, and have very large main sails and small jibs. They have such a high sail area to displacement area that they employ a great deal of human ballast, who cantilever themselves out over the water on hiking boards. </span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MT7DkQjOdrc/U3O_T4KkvhI/AAAAAAAAAqY/M5M6ZlVHrDo/s1600/P1010527_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Shacks spring up at Regatta park, serving food, drink and music up to the spectators in the Grandstands! We had many glorious days of watching these beauties sail into the sunset. The race seems to be the finale of the Bahamian sailing season, and many boats left at its conclusion, most of them heading back to the US. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Georgetown is a very easy town to like. We anchored across the town off of Volleyball Beach, Stocking Island. This is the home of a cruiser's hangout, the Chat and Chill, and also the St. Francis Resort and Marina, which is very welcoming to cruisers. The Chat and Chill has a Conch Salad bar, where Naldo eviscerates fresh conch 7 days a week, making a ceviche that we indulged in quite regularly. He leave the conch guts on a nearby step, and people help themselves and feed the 7 adult and 2 baby/toddler? stingrays that sleep in the grass nearby and feed greedily every afternoon. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">First Mate "petting" the ray</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We can not comment on the problems of humans destroying the ecosystem by feeding wild animals when we participated. The only thing we can hope for is that the Chat and Chill lives on forever!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, I'm cool. Just hangin' at the Chat and Chill...</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Georgetown is surrounded by many beautiful beaches and hiking trails and the sunrises and sunsets last forever and are characterized by a stunning shade of pink that won't quit. We were able to swim with a wild dolphin, who circled a neighboring boat several days in a row. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not Jaws</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The water was not as crystal clear as one expects in the Bahamas, so the big guy could silently approach and swim right under you when you are still looking for him. He seemed oblivious to the funny looking people with big floppy feet and masks who were chasing him. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it's your friendly circling dolphin</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver spent a week on a mooring ball whilst her crew made a quick dash to Canada to find her a new home. After a year lived outdoors, we decided to find a place we can do more of this: Volver will be moving to Victoria, Beautiful British Columbia. We look forward to new sailing opportunities, and also to our new land life. </span><br />
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-77116842719587856072014-04-13T11:51:00.001-07:002014-04-24T08:48:20.488-07:00Dominican Rebublic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We made it! The reputedly ferocious Mona Passage was a puddy tat: we motored for 13 hours until we had su</span><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">fficient wind to sail. Over the 46 hour passage, the wind kicked up to 20 knots, gusting to 25 on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. Our new friend Charlie (who apologized for this later) had advised that the entrance to the Ocean World Marina was easy for a nocturnal landing, yet we found it quite a challenge when entering at 4 am. There were no lights. There was a green channel buoy on shore at the back of a decorative pond-like area: good thing we did not use it for navigating the non-existent channel! This was placed like a mythical siren, luring boaters to their decidedly un-sexy death! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The narrow entrance channel with surf breaking over reefs to starboard, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">and a nearly invisible, short breakwater extension. The green day buoy</span></div>
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was reflective, but not lit and flashing. You know what they say about</div>
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never entering an unknown harbour at night! To top it off, there is a </div>
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pile of rocks at the end of the fuel dock. Volver is lucky her keel is intact.</div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first mate was up on the bow with a giant spotlight yelling, "turn around, there are no boats here, you are driving into a hotel!" when we saw the Fuel Dock. Happy Chaos was there and they had told us they would leave their radio on, and a good thing, too, for we swung in behind them onto a concrete dock that was about 4 foot higher than Volver's deck, so there was no chance of being able to swing ourselves up that high to tie off a dock line. Saved by the Happy people, again! They came in, many hours ahead of us but also in the dark, with howling 28 knot winds blowing them onto the fuel dock and were also quite disenchanted with the harbour entrance, but had help from some fisherman on the fuel dock to get them tied off. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The surf was breaking over this breakwater!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dominican Republic was a whirlwind. We stayed 2 nights and three days and did a final provision for the Bahamas, where some of the 1000s of islands are visited only twice a month by the mailboat. The mailboat also brings supplies, which are rumoured to be few in number and expensive. Our boat has never been so full of canned foods! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> If you are thinking of staying at the Ocean World Marina, there are a few things to know. Firstly, it is true that the marina staff are very helpful when it comes to helping you navigate Customs, Immigration, Drug enforcement, and Navy officials, all of whom are very interested in your visit, to every port in the DR. You are only officially able to depart between 0800 and 1700, but you can sometimes (randomly?) get permission to leave outside of these hours: you must pay overtime to the many officials for this privilege, and marina staff can not tell you how much this will cost. Some people had difficulty being granted permission and others less so. Given that many boaters are simply stopping here in transit while passaging to friendlier countries, it is important to them to have the flexibility to leave at will, to at least try to stage their arrival time in the unknown harbour for the daylight hours. The navy is on site 24 hours. After they give your dispatch papers, they stay and watch that you leave immediately, even though their paperwork is good for 24 hours.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;">Secondly, the marina water is not safe for drinking despite the advertising "certified municipal water." We found this out by accident minutes before filling up our tanks. The Dominican people do not drink their city water. Thirdly, although it is billed as free for marina guests, the marine adventure park is merely discounted and is still fairly pricey. Fourthly, the free shuttle to the Tropical Supermercado takes you to a store where the shelves are half empty (for example, the sole cheese offerings were kraft singles and one french cheese tray) and the meat is scary looking. It is unfortunate that the marina staff do not share the information one needs to make decisions. There is a full service supermarket/department store, "the Sirenas" a short taxi ride away where you can buy the world (even burata cheese!) for a low price. We have been searching since Martinique for a rubber sealant ring for our expresso pot and surprisingly had success there! Finally, the docks are not 1.5 feet high as the guidebook says, so tie your fenders up high. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We did the usual marina activities: boat washing, laundry, pool lounging (though not enough/ much of this), and the first mate found someone to don scuba gear and scrape the barnacles off the boat bottom, sail drive, and prop. We note the boat is now clearly faster under power, and our wind instrument shows both true and apparent wind speeds, which it has not done for months. Must have been some algae or barnacle growth impeding its' functioning. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Heading off on the 200 nm passage to Mayaguana island, we left at 6 pm, not wanting to hassle with the DR port authorities. We experienced the forecasted brisk breezes of 25 knots, direction of 120 degrees, until 4 am. The swell was generous, probably the 6-8 feet forecast, and at the beam, so the boat was rolly enough that sleep was not so good that first night. Volver handled well with double reefed mainsail alone, comfortably making 7 knots of boat speed. The daytime was pleasant, with lighter air of 15 knots and slower boat speed. There was fishing. We won't talk about the wahoo, whose teeth we could see, and whose flesh we could almost smell simmering in butter and garlic, that got away. We hope to improve the landing on the boat part of this activity. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">During the second night of our passage, just as soon as the first mate sent the captain off for his nap, the wind picked up to 20 plus knots while we had full sails up. It was thrilling, the boat was moving along at 8.4 knots, but we had a preventer to keep the boom from gybing on the aft winch, so the first mate was running up to the foreward winch to trim the mainsail sheet, then back aft to the jib sheet and the helm, and this is not a sustainable night time manoever! So the captain kindly came up and we reefed for the night. We usually do this prophylactically for the solo night watches, but since it was such a calm, light air day, we had not done so. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another noctunal arrival saw us with the hook down by 0330. We stopped at Start point, a roadstead anchorage, which is basically an exposed stop outside an island in the ocean. At this anchorage, the depth goes from 2000 feet to 20 feet in a distance of about 1/4 n.m. Stop quickly before you hit the beach! It was rolly, but safe for 4 hours of sleep until the sun was up high enough for us to enter the unmarked anchorage of Abraham's Bay, which is a reef protected anchorage, completely exposed to the ocean winds. The Bahamas islands are giant sandbars, and the anchorages are studded with reefs and coral heads. Navigation is tricky, and requires someone to be standing watch on the bow at all times. They are also much more affected by storms that affect the eastern seaboard than the more southern Caribbean islands. The storms are supposed to abate by mid-April, but this winter has been exceptional, so there is still a need to keep a very close eye on the weather. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mayaguana island is the eastern most point of the Bahamas, population 400. The 9 foot deep anchorage is a very long dinghy ride from town. We made the trip, did customs, and found the Bahamas Telephone Co. immediately beside the immigration building. An out of date internet source had advised that one can only purchase a Batelco SIM card on one of three large Bahamian islands, and the first mate and capt'n spent our last several hours in the DR panicking, as we were trying to figure out a communication strategy. Owning 7 other SIM cards, we were trying to figure out how to activate just one of them to use for roaming, b/c the US SIM card we bought does not roam in the Bahamas. This panic and frustration was for naught (most is, yes?): the nice lady in Batelco sold us two months of data (it was on sale!), and a pay as you go phone option. Joy: we have access to the weather forecast! Communication has definitely been one of the biggest complications of our trip thus far. We are still tied to the Happy Hour bar/resto for WiFi for the blog, as neither computer has functioning bluetooth; hence, we can not tether the phone data and use it. Happily, the Happy Hour gets you out meeting people. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">April 24 Update: Volver waited patiently for 5 days for a front to pass. We could have travelled a short distance the day after arrival, but our next anchorage would have been very exposed to the high wind and waves that were predicted. Despite Volver and crew having been on the move and very busy for weeks, we easily tired of this amount of resting. Sean, Evan, and the captain took the dinghy over to fish the reef but found it was so choppy they were getting swamped and gave up on bringing grouper home for dinner. Lobster is unfortunately out of season. We are still hoping to hone our fishing skills!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The weather acted as we had read about, but never experienced, in our travels through the Virgin Islands, windwards/leewards. After a front passes, the winds typically drop and change direction from east/southeast to north/northwest. Bruce Van Sant, author of the "Gentleman's Guide to the Thornless Path to Windward" implores sailors (because "gentleman never sail to windward," except when they are going that way of course!) to use this time in the lull of the storm to sail east. We did the exact opposite. Being bored silly, we decided not to wait for the resumption of the trade winds, and we motored to windward: all the way to Georgetown, where we are now sitting and enjoying the sunrise. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The ride was reasonably uneventful. We left at 4 pm. Departure times are marked by a tremendous degree of preliminary mulling about and calculating to predict arrival times coinciding with daylight, preferably with full sun overhead: for example, if we go 6 knots, we'll arrive at harbour at 9 am. But one can not control the winds and seas, despite years of practice trying. The first night, there were lightning storms in the leeward horizon. These were not in the weather forecast. As Charles pointed out on our passage from the states: "this is my future (the windward direction), "and this is my past" (the leeward direction); keeping this in mind, the lightning was only a little scary. Mr. Moon did not come out until 0130, so the starry sky was textbook. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had a companion for the entire first night's journey. Migration is a tiresome thing, and this handsome fellow came along, squawking both his arrival greeting, and again at his sunrise departure. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Capt'n had a conversation with him, inviting him to enjoy our hospitality as long as he understood that the downstairs was off limits. Our hitchhiker was respectful. By her second watch with him, our feathered friend had moved back to enjoy the two hours with the first mate from the comfort of the dinghy. Their conversation was about creature comforts, and he mostly complied. He agreed to having his photo taken, despite the trouble of the flash.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;">The first mate was struck by a migraine the second day and the capt'n kindly toiled alone, relentlessly fussing with the sheets to keep wind in the sails. Like a vampiress, the first mate arose in the dark to take her night watches. They are much more pleasant with music, which does not drain our engine charged batteries under power. We imagine the 2 day passages are similar to the proverbial expression about childbirth: once it is over, the pain passes quickly and you barely remember it. Sufficient amnesia that you are willing to do it again. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So we skipped the out-island hopping experience (we are not much for canned food anyway), and made it to civilization. For many cruisers, Georgetown is the epicentre of the Exuma keys cruising experience. Many boats leave Florida each year, make it here, and go no farther south. There can be up to 600 boats in the harbour at a time. We have not made it into town yet, but there are allegedly many amenities. More later! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Volver's first Georgetown sunrise, reflecting off the mirror-like ocean, appearing as in a watercolor painting</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-7347045000064918662014-04-09T08:29:00.003-07:002014-04-13T11:24:30.203-07:00NOT Stuck on Gilligan's Island (or any other Puerto Rican port)<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Prior to leaving Salinas, we enjoyed celebrating Amy's 6th Birthday at Sal Pa Dentro. Jean and his lovely wife rustled up a cake, candles, and balloons, when she promptly announced the event during happy hour.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sal Pa Dentro: the Cruiser's Bar</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More candles than years old made this tough!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver left Salinas after a nine day stay. We almost forgot how to sail and we definitely forgot about the afternoon screaming mimis that blow, usually up to 25 knots. More properly known as katabatic winds, they howl every afternoon, are created by land effects, and make sailing east along the south coast of Puerto Rico a real chore. Fortunately, we sailed westward. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As we left, we joked about getting stuck in our plannned anchorage, named Gilligan's Island. There are two stories behind this name. The first is that a woman swam to the island and stayed for several years. The second is that a local fisherman looked just like Gilligan, and the name stuck. It's proper name is Cayo de Gorda, but over time, even the charts refer to it as Gilligan's Island. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our trip to Gilligan's Island was no joke. Early in our journey, the winds picked up so we headed into the wind to put a reef in the main. While doing this, the reef lines got stuck in the boom. Once fixed, the main halyard got stuck on the steaming light. The only way to rescue this is to climb the main (really, be hoisted up it in a bosun's chair): not going to happen in 20 plus knots if we can help it. Decided with that much wind we'd try to get there on jib sail alone. We did okay and then the wind stalled, so we used the spare halyard (topping lift) and raised the reefed main. Nice downwind sail until we were approaching our harbour entrance and decided we were overpowered and should bring in the jib. It was now blowing 30 knots, and the first mate could not get the boat headed into the wind unless she powered the engine up to 3000 rpm: fine for a burst, but too high for sustained use. The jib furling line was firmly entangled in the chocks, and stubbornly refused to be pulled in. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Captain went up to the bow to investigate. We were not wearing lifejackets nor tied on to the boat: we don't usually engage in proper safety behavior when we can see the shore (and also the US Coast guard instills a false sense of confidence). Of course, since we were headed into the wind, the boat was now crashing into the waves, which were washing over the bow and the captain. He came back, grabbed a sacrificial life jacket that we keep in the dinghy and went forward again, with a plan to roll the head sail up at the furling drum itself. The sail and hardware and sheets were pummelling him. He then discovered the jib sheet had tied an intricate, houdini-esque, knot snuggly around one of the lifelines. He swore like the proverbial sailor. When the sails were finally put away, it was obvious the jib, which now had a strip of fabric torn loose and flying like a flag, and the sheet (there are no ropes on a boat), which had chunks bitten into it, were both quite damaged due to the flailing about. So was the captain. Both of the lenses were lost from his sunglasses. Fortunately, his eyes were intact. Bruised the lenghth of one side of his body and on his face: pain medicine was offered and ingested, and he was relieved of all other duties for the night. Three days later, his starboard side is an intense shade of purple: he looks like he was flogged by BlackBeard himself.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The high winds howled on into the night, so we were unable to properly inspect the jib prior to turning in for much deserved rest. Somehow, during the night, our mast head wind indicator snapped in two, and had a burial at sea. Or did a bird sit on it, and break it? The first mate will climb the mast up to the point where she stands on the second set of spreaders but she does not go higher. Any higher, and the leverage the keel provides is insufficient, and the arc of swing is too much. The mast head is about 10-12 feet higher than this. If we can find a replacement for the wind indicator, we need to either hire a climber, or else a burly man to hoist the captain up, and a calm day! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next day, the forecast was good, followed by two days of high seas and high winds, so we wanted to get on our way. No three days on Gilligan's Island, please! We readied our little storm jib, just in case. It hanks over the furling jib, which clearly had to remain furled to contain the sail damage. The first mate was hoisted up the mast by 0600 hours, the halyard untangled, and we were off by 0700. We had a 30 nm sail by the crow's route, a little longer when you throw in some gybes. Happy Chaos usually passes us on the way, (we noted on the AIS that they were doing 8.7 knots: no wonder they are so happy!) but we were fast, average speed of 7 knots, with reefed main alone. We were safely at anchor in Boqueron by 1230, just an hour after the afternoon winds set in. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Despite Boqueron being the most popular anchorage on the west coast, there are very few marine services. Our quest to find a sailmaker was unsuccessful. The town residents are very helpful and we were given lots of names and one nice business owner advised that his machine often breaks on sails and he'd rather not, as he had a lot of canvas work scheduled. We were in a bit of a lurch, with a tight schedule to get off to the DR and the Bahamas when the weather window opens up, knowing there is no sailmaker in our single planned stop in the DR, and one sailmaker in the Bahamas, close to Florida. Too much ground to cover to go with no jib!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver owns a sewing machine: broken. Laura from the Happy boat advised, "you are really lucky that we are here!" Yes, we are. And grateful. No professionals, no problem. Sailors are resourceful people. And kind! Thank you very much to Eileen at the marina in Boqueron, who allowed us to use their party room to repair our 50 plus foot long sail with the happy sewing machine. The sail will need replaced, but it should safely get us home now, barring any additional mishaps. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The trip to the Dominican Republic involves crossing the "Mona Passage." This is short, but feared and revered: more so by boats going the opposite direction (for one heads into the winds and seas). One of the deepest places of the ocean floor meets a long shallow shelf, and this always usually leads to big, confused waves. In addition, there are frequent midnight thunderstorms, so we'll need to be across and out of harms way before that time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many people try to bypass the DR due to security and immigration (bribery) concerns, but there are marinas where the staff ensure there is no nonsense, and given how poorly we sleep on overnight passages, we'll stop to minimize the number of nights of lost sleep. We moved our sleeping quarters to the aft cabin, where one is less bothered by the creaking and groaning of the sails and rigging and the crashing of the waves into the hull. Today, we are cooking some passage meals in preparation for take off on thursday. Currently, waiting for bread dough to rise. Will try our hand at making stromboli: basically, a pizza roll up. Finger food, hot or cold, is terrific for passagemaking. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Puerto Rico has been the surprise hit of the trip thus far. We have not seen half of all we would like to see, and could easily spend another month here. The people are very friendly, and even the strictly unilingual residents try very hard to be helpful. Spanglish and gesticulations are often sufficient. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last year, we were so concerned about how to make it down to the Caribbean safely that we did not much consider our route home. The first mate scowled and said, "I'm never doing this again--we're going to ship this boat home from Florida!" during the long passage down, and that is the plan. The Bahamas are a whole different creature though. Basically a beautiful series of sandbars interrupted by reefs, one has to carefully plan navigation around good sunlight, as there is a lot of eyeball navigation required. Yesterday, a new aquaintance, Charlie, advised, "there are going to be a lot of places where you are sitting with 2 feet of water under your keel. Get used to it and don't worry about it!" There will be a learning curve. In addition, being much farther north, the Bahamas is much more affected by the storms that have been wreaking havoc on the US East Coast all winter. We have to get home to get out of the Hurricane belt, but not so early we still get caught in the cold and stormy weather! </span></span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-77621165112812894172014-04-04T11:39:00.002-07:002014-04-04T12:03:21.390-07:00Isla Del Encanto<br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Spa</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">nish Virgin Islands</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver enjoyed Culebra immensely. The small island has many beautiful beaches, marine parks with turtle nesting zones and good snorkling. Culebra has a population of 2000 people and 1000 golf carts. We rented a rather sorry example of one of these, which somehow got us safely around this small island. They should come with helmets. We were expressly forbidden by the rental company to drive on unpaved roads, but they did not mention the moon sized craters in the paved ones. Adventures are all part of the cruising lifestyle. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This was Culebrita, but there are many long, white, sandy beaches like it on Culebra</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First, we went to Flamenco Beach, which is beautiful, but was a spring break wonderland, with many people in beach chairs and umbrellas, eating disappointing kiosk foods and satisfactory cold drinks. Then we moved to tamarindo beach, which the tourist map states is only accessible by dive boat (not true) and lies opposite the island of Luis Pena, one of the nature preserves. This was a fantastic place to snorkel. The first mate had her first up close and personal encounter with a hawksbill turtle, who was quietly feeding in crystal clear water about 4 feet away. Beautiful markings of its head and feet, good light overhead--no camera. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First thing the next morning we drove the cart over treacherous hills to the Playa (beach) Zoni, which is across from the isle of Culebrita. A bit of a further drive from the town than the other beaches, this one belonged to us alone. Gorgeous, and also good snorkeling. Capt'n was making plans to move on and First Mate advised that we were not finished here. She successfully convinced both Capt'n and the Happy family of the necessity to visit the marine park at Culebrita. The two boats set off for a day trip, and were nestled into the beautiful anchorage of Bahia de Tortugas (turtles) by 0930. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Lighthouse at Culebrita</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Culebrita is not just a gorgeous place to hang: there are places to explore, too. There is a nice hike up to an abandoned lighthouse where you have beautiful views of the other Spanish and USVI. A less picturesque, functioning lighthouse sets on the hill beside the large brick structure. There is also a short hike over large rocks to "the Jacuzzi," which is a formation of boulders forming a natural bubbling pool. The bubbles come from the surf breaking over the rocks. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Hiking to the Jacuzzi</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The kids, young and old, enjoyed waiting by the inlet for a surge to come as the tide came in, facilitating body surfing across the pool. A good swim in the sea and a snorkeling session and it was time to leave, although one could stay in the Culebrita anchorage for several days and not tire of the scenery. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">the Jacuzzi, Culebrita</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the lighthouse, Culebrita (anchorage on the left)</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the trip over to Culebrita from Honda Ensenada, both boats spotted the Bahia d'Almodovar, a beautiful, quiet bay, nestled in mangroves and protected from the Atlantic seas only by a reef, and we knew upon sighting that we'd be sleeping there. Now, Volver shares a name with a film by the sometimes zany, sometimes profound, Spanish director, Pedro Almodovar, in which a sympathetic character, played by Penelope Cruz (Almodovar's longstanding muse) repeatedly returns to the scene of a crime. We half hoped for a film screen to be hidden in the mangroves somewhere, playing one of Almodovar's early comedies, such as "women on the verge of a nervous breakdown" but no luck. The bay was very serene and silent, apart from the surf crashing over the reef in front of us. Some grey clouds moved in, so the photos do not do this anchorage justice. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This guy is trying for the incognito look</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First light, we were off to the largest Spanish Virgin Island, Vieques, and settled into Sun Bay, an anchorage just beside the town of Esperanza. Capt'n has high hopes for any town that sports a malecon (boardwalk), and was mildly disappointed by the town's offerings: a museum, a few guesthouses, bars and restos. Perhaps we are jaded by having settled into so many spectacular places over that last few months, and we found ourselves underwhelmed by the long, palm tree lined, white sandy beach of Sun Bay. It was rolly and since it was just us and Happy Chaos in the anchorage, we solved the problem with stern anchors, that turned the boats into the swell (reducing side to side impact), 90 degrees to the wind. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Vieques may be the best place in the world (and one of three in Puerto Rico) to enjoy a bioluminescent bay, Bahia Puerto Mosquito. At night, best viewed during the dark of the New Moon, chlorophyll producing dinoflagellate plankton glow when they are touched, either by running your hand through the water, or by the surface of your kayak. The plankton thrive because the bay has a very narrow inlet, and the water turns over only once per 13 days (the bay glows because it is stagnant). The health of the Bay has been threatened by ecotourism. It is likely that sun and bug screen and petrol are killing the plankton.</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> There are many companies offering kayaking tours shortly after sunset, and Volver planned to join one of them, toxin free, of course. Our plan was thwarted when Capt'n stepped on a sea urchin while beaching the dinghy. He has a tattoo of 20 or so sea urchin spines embedded in his foot at the ball joint and could not walk on it. Sea urchin spines are venomous and although there are a lot of old wives tales of treatment methods, there is no evidence for anything other than hot water soaks, which are purported to leach out venom. There is a high risk of infection, so Volver had to pass on the tour, and did not contribute to the destruction of Bioluminescent Bay.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The island of Puerto Rico</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We moved onto the island of Puerto Rico itself. Several days lacking wind saw us settling into a marina in Palmas Del Mar, which was nearly empty and had a lovely pool. Wind resumed its usual schedule, and we were able to move on to Salinas, which is a very popular place for live-aboards. It is a large bay, surrounded by mangroves, close to amenities and is very comfortable, as there is no swell. We made this a base for renting a car and seeing the island, as well as doing a final major provision before we make a break for the Dominican Republic (good luck finding much) and the Bahamas (ditto, plus very expensive). </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Salinas is known for its seafood restaurants, especially for Mojo sauce, and the best surround the marina area. There is a town square a mile away that houses the saturday farmer's market, and the town has some interesting buildings. We love the whimsical library with its easy care 'trees.'</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biblioteca Publica, Salinas</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another sea creature sighted: Salinas is home to a fairly rare animal, the manatee. One morning, there was a large splash heard while we were enjoying coffee and the sunrise. The first mate declared, "perhaps that is a manatee." Capt'n insisted they don't jump, and they are also slow and stupid. Then we note two huge animals, the size of very rotund dolphins, with fat heads and tails more like whales, swimming by, one on either side of the boat, surfacing in a dolphin-esque fashion. First mate did not stop herself from saying....I told you so.....</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The market in Ponce</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ponce is Puerto Rico's second largest city, named for Ponce de Leon, the explorer, who was the first governor of Puerto Rico. The island was originally named San Juan (after St. John the Baptist), and the city of San Juan was known as puerto rico (rich port: there was gold in the early days of island history, and the island was also a major portal for trade with South America). Over time the island and the city switched names. Ponce de Leon was often away from the island, searching for the fountain of youth: ironically, he only found Florida, and he died young, killed by native inhabitants of Cuba. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ponce is the home of a beautiful square, surrounded by many mid-17th century buildings. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, most museums, including the museum of architecture, are closed mondays. It was a picturesque city, with a reputedly lively malecon, also deserted mid-day monday. In 2012, the town invited 15 artists to paint Lions, and the resulting sculpture art is fun. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ponce Cathedral</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-guXNLDyeXHc/Uz7mtngdf5I/AAAAAAAAAk8/i__kNgDLuMo/s1600/P1010341_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-guXNLDyeXHc/Uz7mtngdf5I/AAAAAAAAAk8/i__kNgDLuMo/s1600/P1010341_01.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail, Ponce Cathedral</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XHV0WF3TX6Y/Uz7m0WBaEwI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Y193yJnkyxg/s1600/P1010342_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XHV0WF3TX6Y/Uz7m0WBaEwI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Y193yJnkyxg/s1600/P1010342_01.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sneaking into Ponce Cathedral, just as mass was to begin</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first mate needed to rectify some fashion crimes, and we found our way to the Plaza las Americas. This is an enormous mall, which must give the Mall of America a run for it's money in terms of size. Puerto Rico has a population of 3.8 million (there are another 4.6 people of Puerto Rican descent living on Mainland US): they have embraced both cultures. It was a great culture shock for us to leave the plantain culture and be confronted with so many choices for consumerism! Such a contrast to the many places we've visited where we couldn't find a place to buy a SIM card, simple staples like hand sanitizer, and all but the most rudimentary groceries are hard to come by! And there was Chinese food that didn't scare us! God bless America!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We drove to the capital city and checked into a hotel for two nights. We will never take clean, hot running water for granted again, and enjoyed the plethora of hygenic opportunity.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rUzteSCEiBA/Uz7o1IDDVzI/AAAAAAAAAms/hI1P0Va2bnM/s1600/P1010433_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; clear: right; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rUzteSCEiBA/Uz7o1IDDVzI/AAAAAAAAAms/hI1P0Va2bnM/s1600/P1010433_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cafecultura, a fine example of San Juan architecture</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the capital city, we visited old San Juan, which is a walled city, and is a Unesco heritage site. We visited 3 of the forts that were built in 17th century. San Cristobal and El Morro are very impressive forts built by the spanish. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The buildings are concrete and stucco, which is high maintainance in sea air, so there is extensive construction in San Juan.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aLp6Yzb6a8M/Uz7oQMJVyZI/AAAAAAAAAmM/3P0WovUTcbg/s1600/P1010399_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aLp6Yzb6a8M/Uz7oQMJVyZI/AAAAAAAAAmM/3P0WovUTcbg/s1600/P1010399_01.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Cristobal Watchtower: the iconic towers appear on Puerto Rican licence plates</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4Wj4DUUdSI/Uz7oZNb47EI/AAAAAAAAAmU/t-q7AnrgG6Q/s1600/P1010412_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4Wj4DUUdSI/Uz7oZNb47EI/AAAAAAAAAmU/t-q7AnrgG6Q/s1600/P1010412_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of 'El Morro' from San Cristobal<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x2RJJmbOc-A/Uz7olWsBfCI/AAAAAAAAAmc/bJZp4MvwXSs/s1600/P1010426_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x2RJJmbOc-A/Uz7olWsBfCI/AAAAAAAAAmc/bJZp4MvwXSs/s1600/P1010426_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lighthouse at 'El Morro'</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-elKpWtRaZqA/Uz7oN87iTTI/AAAAAAAAAmE/hY6YvoQrORk/s1600/P1010405_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-elKpWtRaZqA/Uz7oN87iTTI/AAAAAAAAAmE/hY6YvoQrORk/s1600/P1010405_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bunkhouse, San Cristobal: we think even Volver's hard bunk would be cushier<br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The third fort, known as Fortaleza, has for many years served as the </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">governors mansion, after the Spanish decided it was too far beyond the inner harbor entrance: if the ships got that far, they had already infiltrated the defences. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GOtS-T-lo_M/Uz7pJG7phCI/AAAAAAAAAm8/AXdADRi7kxo/s1600/P1010438_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GOtS-T-lo_M/Uz7pJG7phCI/AAAAAAAAAm8/AXdADRi7kxo/s1600/P1010438_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Governor's mansion</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We toured the grounds of the mansion, met the first dog, Toby, and the governor himself visited us: he chided some of the tour group about our harsh Canadian winters and invited them to stay in Puerto Rico until the summer. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kQUaDi49KWk/Uz7pPMujJQI/AAAAAAAAAnE/9akEO81bdHA/s1600/P1010440_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kQUaDi49KWk/Uz7pPMujJQI/AAAAAAAAAnE/9akEO81bdHA/s1600/P1010440_01.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The governor himself, second youngest in Puerto Rican history, elected age 41<br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is a fourth fort, known as "el Canuelo," on a small island opposite t</span><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">he bay, which is a public park now, best accessed by boat. We were taking a break from boating and enjoyed the view from land. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bLC0u0M2V0M/Uz7nVbeoOOI/AAAAAAAAAlk/iXSPpHkRUI8/s1600/P1010368_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; clear: right; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bLC0u0M2V0M/Uz7nVbeoOOI/AAAAAAAAAlk/iXSPpHkRUI8/s1600/P1010368_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This virgin Mary is protecting the island</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Old San Juan is rich is architecture, public sculptures, and beautiful views. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yyi-_REGm0Y/Uz7n9TLS6HI/AAAAAAAAAl8/09XaYXGpe0g/s1600/P1010387_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yyi-_REGm0Y/Uz7n9TLS6HI/AAAAAAAAAl8/09XaYXGpe0g/s1600/P1010387_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sculpture garden along the seawall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TLst1VPpfv0/Uz7n0U3bjiI/AAAAAAAAAl0/ZxVXZnUbRYs/s1600/P1010378_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TLst1VPpfv0/Uz7n0U3bjiI/AAAAAAAAAl0/ZxVXZnUbRYs/s1600/P1010378_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice former prison! Now, operated by the gov't tourism agency</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VXMOCzwQTb8/Uz7nvTL25NI/AAAAAAAAAls/r8yEWA2g3A0/s1600/P1010371_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; clear: right; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VXMOCzwQTb8/Uz7nvTL25NI/AAAAAAAAAls/r8yEWA2g3A0/s1600/P1010371_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there are many sculptures and a gallery of <br />
Angel Botello's work in the city</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zQWETl4hb5o/Uz7pEDlNzJI/AAAAAAAAAm0/RyqQE6GAppI/s1600/P1010434_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zQWETl4hb5o/Uz7pEDlNzJI/AAAAAAAAAm0/RyqQE6GAppI/s1600/P1010434_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No Signage to help explain these fun puppets, hanging from the rafters</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We visited the Museo de los Americas, which showcased both history and art of many Caribbean cultures. And then on to the Museo de Arte de Puerta Rico which had a fantastic collection of mostly contemporary art. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5feXNht98AE/Uz7pxWbctZI/AAAAAAAAAnM/ERRJqxjUCUE/s1600/P1010461_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5feXNht98AE/Uz7pxWbctZI/AAAAAAAAAnM/ERRJqxjUCUE/s1600/P1010461_01.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Art and Fashion exhibit at the Museo de los Americas, a riff on Klimpt</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KPqdBK78zb8/Uz7p0HzKaPI/AAAAAAAAAnU/wmq1tB2f05k/s1600/P1010470_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KPqdBK78zb8/Uz7p0HzKaPI/AAAAAAAAAnU/wmq1tB2f05k/s1600/P1010470_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical Day of the Decoration, celebrated in Mexico</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ARGC4WCxSp0/Uz7m4oSC8PI/AAAAAAAAAlM/nMzI-dPLijg/s1600/P1010351_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ARGC4WCxSp0/Uz7m4oSC8PI/AAAAAAAAAlM/nMzI-dPLijg/s1600/P1010351_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Typical Puerto Rican Carnival Costume<br />
(this is in Ponce: the Diablo represents the sins of the last year)</td></tr>
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-89685813539722346722014-03-20T13:11:00.000-07:002014-03-20T13:17:45.924-07:00Did the Leprachauns steal the trade winds? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Who Stole the Trade Winds?</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;">Volver set off to sea with a plan to cruise overnight to St. Maarten. Mother Nature did not co-operate. She sent us light winds from the South, not the usual 10-15 knot easterlies of the trades and not enough to keep the sails filled while sailing downwind. The swell, smacking Volver on the bum would cause the boom to swing from side to side as the boat rolled in the light air. This is hard on your tackle and your nerves. The first mate tried to serve as human shock absorber, grabbing the mainsheet and trying to ease the boom to each side, but this was a sure step towards shoulder dislocation. All sailors learn flexibility is the key to happiness, but we had some charts of the Bahamas and Puerto Rico set aside for us at a chandelery in </span><span style="background-color: black;">St. M</span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">aarten, and had to go pick them up. So we altered our course to westward to minimize rolling, turned on our engine to assist the light wind, and were snuggled up on a mooring ball outside of Pinney Beach on Nevis by 2230. Up at 0445 and on the road by 0500.</span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">d again by 0500. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-km1LkgvA5wI/UyoOZh8vwtI/AAAAAAAAAgk/qiHJMfAYacI/s1600/P1010120_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-km1LkgvA5wI/UyoOZh8vwtI/AAAAAAAAAgk/qiHJMfAYacI/s1600/P1010120_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Sunrise through the Narrows, the channel between St. Kitts (left) and Nevis</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We spent the next glorious day getting to St. Maarten, albeit in light air. The capt'n was lamenting the motoring aspect of our journey, but was reminded that motoring brings hot water and power, so we listened to good music; it was a beautiful sunny day, no squalls in sight, and we were crossing the Caribbean sea at a place where we could see Nevis, St. Kitts, Statia, Saba, St. Barts, and St. Maarten! We decided to practice an attitude of gratitude and were rewarded shortly thereafter by the arrival of a very large pod of dolphins. Finally, they had time to come and play in our bow wake. Magnificent! Capt'n tried to capture on film. Beauties in motion are hard to film. And, like with most awe-inspiring sights, film fails, as the feeling is not three dimensional! </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rCgT0uuflfc/UyoORg8jv3I/AAAAAAAAAgc/UecCJFLH1iY/s1600/P1010132_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rCgT0uuflfc/UyoORg8jv3I/AAAAAAAAAgc/UecCJFLH1iY/s1600/P1010132_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Not Flipper</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We enjoyed Philipsburg, which is the epicentre of cruise ship tourism: 4-6 cruise ships a day in the harbour, which is surprisingly clean. The water was crystal clear. We could see our entire anchor chain and were able to ascertain that the anchor was well buried, without a need to dive it. Barry the Cuda came to visit frequently. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Barry the 2 foot Cuda</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We shopped, found the 12 metre bar, home base for the 3 Americas Cup boats (2 Canadian, one American), which was a good place to watch some champions league football games, and readied ourselves for an overnight passage to St. Croix. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another light air trip: this one 95 nm, plus some gybing (zigzagging), for we could not make our course on the rhum line. We settled into Christiansted, St Croix, which is the main port of entry for cruisers in this, the largest of the USVI. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">St Croix was owned by the Danes until 1917, when it was bought by the US. There are 5 national park/historic sites comprised of a fort, a church, a scale house for sugar and other traded goods, a market building, where slaves were sold, and a government building, which the US gov't turned over to the territorial USVI gov't for their sole use in 1985. Residents of the USVI get to vote in US federal elections, but unlike the first mate, who does not live in US/ US territory, they don't have to file taxes with the US! Are they not hiding money in offshore accounts? 'Splain me this, Lucy? I mean Barrack! We digress...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Is there a Leprachaun in the House? </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Of course there is!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We were only settled in the the anchorage for an hour or so when Happy Chaos arrived, having sprinted north from Grenada over a very short timeframe. They sprinted in order to make it to the St. Paddy's Day parade and party, which is legendary, and sees people arriving from the mainland US to join the party. Their last name is one of the O' -types, so they can sniff out a St. Paddy's party from across the Caribbean Sea! You can tell from Sean's socks that he came well prepared. </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MoTQAkd9RXo/UyoT5ELV0fI/AAAAAAAAAhs/kSjsW3UmK8w/s1600/P1010191_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MoTQAkd9RXo/UyoT5ELV0fI/AAAAAAAAAhs/kSjsW3UmK8w/s1600/P1010191_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">You know by the socks that this party was planned for months in advance</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, apart from the gorgeous weather and the rum, we think St. Croix has got New York and Boston whipped: the parade is a green, celtic-flavored, carnival! Why the USVI, you ask? Is there a large population of Irish descendants? Not so much. The history we heard from a local woman is of a cement truck filled with rum punch that started dispensing same elixor through the city streets in the 70's and the party evolved from this tradition. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dragonfly</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trapeze artistes</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were jumbies, steel pan and high school bands, mas bands, and yes, a rum truck, pay what you can, in benefit of area animal shelters. </span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXEabM8TdP8/UyoY9pxSTXI/AAAAAAAAAig/-CQScbRTlR4/s1600/P1010228_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXEabM8TdP8/UyoY9pxSTXI/AAAAAAAAAig/-CQScbRTlR4/s1600/P1010228_01.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bdtmqh_rnZs/UyoT52zVFwI/AAAAAAAAAhw/aYnPdHaecaY/s1600/P1010171_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bdtmqh_rnZs/UyoT52zVFwI/AAAAAAAAAhw/aYnPdHaecaY/s1600/P1010171_01.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The two capt'ns enjoyed the libations (the first mates drove the dinghies that day) and the party ashore continued on into the night. The live music was enjoyed from the cockpits of our boats. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the warm up</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The anchorage was a little rolly, being open to the sea and protected by a reef </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">and the marine parks were a little too far to visit by dinghy</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">. There was a horse that came for a swim at first light, and we enjoyed the American and Caribbean culture for a change. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh, no: not the green rum drink!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Capt'n Morgan came too!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Northwar</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">d Bound</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We set off at first light, minutes behind the Happy family, and had a glorious 45 nm sail, true winds 15-20 knots, at 150 degrees, with benign 4 foot seas, full sail up, and an average speed 6.5 kts. We sighted the briny breath of whales, then the whales themselves, shortly into our journey. We think they were grey whales, about 35 feet long, sadly, going the other direction as Volver. By 1430 hours, Volver was settled at anchor in the Honda Ensenada anchorage of Culebra, one of the "spanish virgin islands," islands of Puerto Rico. After making it through the most complex customs process of our trip thus far (funny, going from one US territory to another), we are ready to dust off our Spanish (use of our pathetic french language skills seems to have obliterated our clumsy Spanish) and enjoy cruising the Puerto Rican coast, the next leg of our journey home</span>. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Sunset in Culebra</td></tr>
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-40100760253233636382014-03-09T06:13:00.000-07:002014-04-13T11:34:47.876-07:00Antigua is for Limin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver enjoyed several days in English Harbour, Antigua. This beautiful place is part of the National Parks system. The historic 18th century buildings were restored in 1951. There are several remnants of fortifications. Unlike some of the other Caribbean Islands, there was no back and forth between the Brits and the French; Antigua was always a British colony, and it continues to host a large population of Brits, who seem to both live here and visit here in large numbers. The museum highlighted the maritime activities of English Harbour over time and also the exploits of Lord Nelson. He was not too popular in the islands, for he was charged with enforcing the Navigation Act, after the Brits outlawed trade with the US after the Revolution. He managed to marry a Nevisian, but two years later, he was living with his mistress, her husband, and </span><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">her mother, in England. Apparently, this was a very minor scandal in the UK, and the couple were looked upon as a guidepost for the latest fashions. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approach to Nelson's Dockyard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the nicest Immigration Office around</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The Pillars Restaurant</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The Pillars</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-89H5xlqwyAw/UxxTIj0MpNI/AAAAAAAAAeA/ELfgnEifBtU/s1600/P1010050_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-89H5xlqwyAw/UxxTIj0MpNI/AAAAAAAAAeA/ELfgnEifBtU/s1600/P1010050_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Nelson's Dockyard Museum</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The Copper and Lumber Hotel/former lumberyard</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yz015xTiUns/UxxUZXrUkcI/AAAAAAAAAec/DXuum3lnT2M/s1600/P1010055_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yz015xTiUns/UxxUZXrUkcI/AAAAAAAAAec/DXuum3lnT2M/s1600/P1010055_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Sadly, no longer in business</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1wHkXlCAG48/UxxUo2ij5ZI/AAAAAAAAAek/xXtcgYe1JCQ/s1600/P1010060_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1wHkXlCAG48/UxxUo2ij5ZI/AAAAAAAAAek/xXtcgYe1JCQ/s1600/P1010060_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Freeman's Bay Sunset, view from Volver's dining room</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> We enjoyed hiking to Shirley Heights, where the remnants of an officer's quarter, hospital, and signalling station are situated, and is the site of twice weekly parties. A headache kept us from attending on the designated time, but we could hear both steel pan and reggae bands quite clearly from the anchorage. There was also a hike across to Fort Berkeley, which branches off to Pidgeon Beach, which is in Falmouth Harbour, the next bay over from English Harbour. Falmouth Harbour is easily accessed by foot from English Harbour, and caters to the Superyacht market. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Freeman's Bay from Above (Fort Berkeley is on the spit in the middle)</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CHOpiVMe2Cs/UxxU6OHVJXI/AAAAAAAAAe0/NASzjFvalxA/s1600/P1010069_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CHOpiVMe2Cs/UxxU6OHVJXI/AAAAAAAAAe0/NASzjFvalxA/s1600/P1010069_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">English Harbour (in foreground) and Falmouth Harbour</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Former Officer's Quarters, Shirley Heights</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T5uF8DsGm7A/UxxV_pIXtmI/AAAAAAAAAfU/dtx3v5FtDo8/s1600/P1010072_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T5uF8DsGm7A/UxxV_pIXtmI/AAAAAAAAAfU/dtx3v5FtDo8/s1600/P1010072_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Bath by the Sea, anyone? Shirley Heights</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TpyatYkCFEM/UxxWAxPi1rI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/IHUg-8odBzk/s1600/P1010074_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TpyatYkCFEM/UxxWAxPi1rI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/IHUg-8odBzk/s1600/P1010074_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">View over to the Atlantic side of Antigua</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9IuyUmInp_w/UxxZFe4YOvI/AAAAAAAAAfg/pDxzbEPYcBk/s1600/P1010081_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9IuyUmInp_w/UxxZFe4YOvI/AAAAAAAAAfg/pDxzbEPYcBk/s1600/P1010081_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Ruins on the hike from Fort Berkeley to Pidgeon Beach</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We spent some time at a dock for the first time in 2 months, in Jolly Harbour, Antigua. There are hot showers that work, a hairdresser, wifi, propane, a decent grocer, a pool and a poolside sports bar, restaurants a laundry (sadly, not a laundromat), power, water and a fuel dock. Oh, don't forget TWO book exchanges! We used all of these amenities with enthusiasm. It is a little like being at home, like taking a vacation (except for all the chores, of course!) from our sailing lifestyle. We've been watching movies and listening to music. We usually don't spare the power to do these things! There is also a beach nearby, and a stunning anchorage about 1/2 nautical mile away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We left the dock and went to Deep Bay, which was beautiful and isolated. There is a wreck from 1905, the Andes, visible in the shallow anchorage. Sadly, despite the deep azure color of the sea, the visibility was only 3-4 feet: when cap't went to dive our anchor, he could not even see it lying on the bottom in less then 10 feet of water, so we did not bother to snorkel the wreck. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xz7zFZh42LM/UxxZVk73hII/AAAAAAAAAfk/fy8IwfF3QoI/s1600/P1010102_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xz7zFZh42LM/UxxZVk73hII/AAAAAAAAAfk/fy8IwfF3QoI/s1600/P1010102_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The Five Islands, from the Sea en route to Deep Bay</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We taxied in to St. John and enjoyed the Antigua and Barbuda museum and Cap't picked up his souvenir of the trip, a Windies jersey (West Indian Cricket team). The town was not sparkling or architecturally interesting but it was vibrant, friendly, and safe!</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Capt'n wears his windies jersey while meeting Sir Viv in the St. John Museum</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver planned to anchor in the Jolly Harbour anchorage and set out to do so on a very windy day. First mate was getting seasick at anchor, so we hauled it up and headed back to the dock. First mate advised, we must go to happy hour, and be amongst the people. Capt'n agreed and off we went. We are used to running into people from various boats we've met around the Caribbean, but not so much used to running into yachties who stayed at the dock in Toronto. But Dave, Michelle, and mom Shirley G. just about walked by us despite our mad attempts to grab their attention, eventually we prevailed and were able to have a good catch up over two successive nights happy hours and several buckets of Banks beer! </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Happy Hour at the Crow's Nest: the motley crew</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JaPrzHaHp5k/UxxZYhOYXoI/AAAAAAAAAfs/vauqCk844Zw/s1600/P1010105_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JaPrzHaHp5k/UxxZYhOYXoI/AAAAAAAAAfs/vauqCk844Zw/s1600/P1010105_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Shirley, Michelle, and Dave G. on their lovely veranda</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver is off to St. Maarten today, planning an overnight sail. There is a very benign forecast with perhaps less wind than one would wish for, yet we don't believe it. Time will tell and so will we! </span></span></span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-17873592733971794082014-02-27T09:18:00.000-08:002014-02-27T09:18:30.305-08:004 Countries, 5 Days (this is not the princess's cruise lines)<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver tried to like Martinique, really, she did. She sampled 6 anchorages. St. Anne was lovely, though apart from the beautiful beach, there was little to do. Our guidebook mentioned trails and trail maps but tourist information was closed on Saturday and Sunday and we reckoned they wouldn't speak English and our French never seems to get us to hiking trails, so we left. Went to Anse Mitan, where we could only find a spot to anchor near the ferry dock. The ferry frequently shortcut through the anchorage and slowed just feet away from the dock, causing Volver to rock so hard we thought we were still at sea. Cooking: out of the question! Pretty, with a view of the city of Fort de France across the Bay, but again, little to do apart from sit and sip drinks in the Marina bar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hence, we weighed anchor in the morning and headed over to the Fort de France anchorage. This anchorage is quite nice for an urban area. It is very small given this is the only city on the island, likely only holding 35 boats. It is protected from the prevailing East winds by an old Fort, and has a promenade and a park on its shoreside. The city was not lovely, but was lively enough, with people who live and work there, and little to amuse the many cruise ship passengers. With great effort, we found a nice bistro with a large TV, and were joined by Roman from Barcelona, who also searched the internet to find a place to watch the Barca v. Man City Champions League game. We ended up huddled around a table watching the game on his iphone, as the Bistro was playing the Paris St-Germain Game, of course! Fort de France has a beautiful library, a musee d' ethnographie (en Francais, of course), and good shopping, but not enough to keep us in the city for long. We returned to St. Pierre, very early this time, to a deserted anchorage, which was packed by evening with boats who were either jumping off to the North, like us, or arriving from there. On our way in to St. Pierre the first time, we saw a big jumper, a whale's tail, and a boat stopped ahead of us. On our return approach, we saw 7 boats huddled in a circle, clearly enjoying the whale watching, but they dispersed by the time we got there. Hopefully, we'll have some true whale's tales in the future.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Perhaps the first mate was grumpy, but the only pictures of Martinique are very industrial scenes, grey, smokestacks, and not worth publishing. She forgot her camera on the boat whilst going ashore in St. Pierre, which had potential to be photogenic. St. Pierre is a city that was wiped out by the fire caused by volcanic eruption in 1902, just two years after completion of some major civic projects, including the theatre, completed in 1900. Sadly, the government of the time wished to avoid panic and mass evacuation, so it failed to inform the citizens of the imminent danger of volcanic eruption, and 30,000 people died. There are 5 sites of ruins, comprised of burned stone foundations, including the theatre and the prison beside it, that grace the hillside, and make for a nice walk. There was also allegedly a hiking trail up to a butterfly garden, but we could not do more than get a map of the city out of the French speaking tourist information staff member. We had a heck of a time finding the customs office/tourist info (one and the same!), as it had moved since our guidebook was written, and we asked 4 people along the way, each sending us in a different direction, if they knew at all, so we did not bother trying the local knowledge route.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We arose before the crack of dawn and crept out of the anchorage in the dark, dashing off to Dominica, where we knew we could head to Bala's Bar at the Fort Young Hotel and catch the Canada-US womens hockey Olympic final. The first mate only watches one hockey game every 4 years with intention, and this is the game! We had an exhilarating ride, going through squall after squall, hitting 8.5 knots on the GPS speedometer (accurate!) while overpowered (too much sail up, making the boat less easy to control (stay upright and on course), but we ended up making great time with a third reef, a hankerchief of a jib, doing 6.5 comfortable knots in steady 20 knot winds, gusting to 30 in the squalls, beam reaching. We completed our 35 nm journey, tidied the boat, launched the dinghy, and made our way to town in time for the 1 pm start of the game. The Canadian women did not disappoint! The goaltender for the US team successfully fended off (we think) 26 shots on goal and the Canadians were down 0-2 when they scored their first goal with 3 minutes on the clock in the 3rd period. They scored again, tying the game and earning a sudden death overtime period. Another goal and they won the gold. This game is a good example of why one should never give up hope!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We enjoyed being able to speak English in Dominica, and unlike the first, lengthier visit to Roseau, the Reggae museum/gallery/cafe/bar was open. The menu was extensive and a little expensive and the food was only okay, but the music was great! They were selling prints of Marley and Tosh and Sellasie and there were some framed CD covers: we didn't learn anything in the museum (did we mention the music was great?). They don't make places like this in the French islands. Capt'n says that Dominica does not have a very Caribbean feel: the first mate thinks this is because they are too poor for fripperies like colourful paint and house trim and plaid tablecloths and such. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another early morning, another inter-island passage and we were back in Guadeloupe, at the Pidgeon Island anchorage, where we were once more enchanted and delighted. We'd missed turtles (our taxi driver/tour guide told us they eat them in Dominica) and found them here in droves. The north also saw the return of Pelicans. We did not wish to leave, but sadly, we were not yet in the country legally, and hence, we apprehensively returned to Deshaies, our memory for our last two windy nights there still acute. Fortunately, we experienced a calm night without any complication of dragging boats.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXUH1PwSSnM/Uw9vfvSaMqI/AAAAAAAAAc8/UpaxXcahQ3M/s1600/P1010021_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXUH1PwSSnM/Uw9vfvSaMqI/AAAAAAAAAc8/UpaxXcahQ3M/s1600/P1010021_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Battery Park at Deshaies</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">In Deshaies, we did our duty at customs and again fell in love with this charming place! We walked up to the battery, for we had forgot the camera the first time, and took pictures of the anchorage. Our guidebook mentioned there was a trail to the Beach to the North of Deshaies, and a nice police officer directed us by road. Once there, we walked the beautiful beach and found the trailhead, which we took home. Now, our guidebook failed to mention: 1) the trail is straight up the mountain, although there is sometimes a choice of switchback or straight up, so bring a bottle of water (consider nitroglycerine); 2) sensible shoes only! no flip flops; 3) ensure you have adequate time before sunset, and consider taking your spot tracking device, as the trail is longer than you imagine and not always well marked; 4) by all means, do not let it rain once you hit the summit, as the trail, the tree roots, and the rocks all become so slippery that you have to navigate your way down the hill by running and grabbing trees along the way. Do not mistake the odd cacti along the way for a handhold! Finally, consider leaving the 2 kg pineapple at home. The capt'n remarked that he was glad to know the trail ended at the town cematery, just in case one of us needed to take a very long rest after this walk! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IwlJje1BCC4/Uw9uPwLlL0I/AAAAAAAAAcw/Glwf0bS2nsI/s1600/P1010027_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IwlJje1BCC4/Uw9uPwLlL0I/AAAAAAAAAcw/Glwf0bS2nsI/s1600/P1010027_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Above Ground Cemetary at Deshaies</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">Despite being completely unprepared, we enjoyed ourselves and were unscathed at trails end. We came upon a guy and his guitar, playing the blues in the cemetary. Beauty. Guadeloupe is truly a special corner of the world!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NZ0nlzhbyOQ/Uw9t5RyKG5I/AAAAAAAAAco/mhevanQGaQI/s1600/P1010028_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NZ0nlzhbyOQ/Uw9t5RyKG5I/AAAAAAAAAco/mhevanQGaQI/s1600/P1010028_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The Beast (Gros Morne) we conquered</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">The forecast was for 10-15 knots of east winds with 4-6 foot seas: more than acceptable for our journey to Antigua. We chose not to wait for another day (today), when the wind forecast had some south in it, which would have made for a perfect sail. We suspect this anomolous forecast had something to do with the rest of the weather, for today we are socked in with rain, continuous for hours! So we made a good choice, had a couple of early squalls and reefed down (we're getting good at this!), but made the 42 nm journey to English Harbour by 1330 hours, under clear blue skies. We averaged 6.5 knots in 17-18 knots of apparent wind, wind angle of 60-70 degrees, with double reef main and a single reef jib. An excellent sail. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Leaving Guadeloupe at sunrise<br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">English Harbour is small, crowded, and so well protected there is no wind, and the boats swing in a disorganized fashion: leading to a risk of collision unless you leave lots of room around you. Fortunately, a large Cat was leaving shortly after we pulled in and we took his spot, nestled against the shore, quickly rigged up a spare anchor and set it astern (first time for using every sailing technique you read about!), which keeps the boat from swinging. It works like a charm! Anchorage is gorgeous, and we are ready for the next chapter of our adventure! </span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span> </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_PVYyR5zew/Uw9xLXDJzzI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/fGBzTwccRPI/s1600/P1010045_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_PVYyR5zew/Uw9xLXDJzzI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/fGBzTwccRPI/s1600/P1010045_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Antiguan Backyard</td></tr>
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</span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-6598504804111276702014-02-16T12:54:00.005-08:002014-02-16T12:54:55.288-08:00Green Flash<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Got your attention with that title didn't we! There are several websites that claim these green rays of light are real rather than illusory, and can occur just at the time of either sunrise or sunset. We still think this is a myth but patiently assess the conditions and wait at each sunset for a glimpse. The first mate also was convinced the wild turkeys on the trans-Canada highway that Cap'n kept seeing between Toronto and Ottawa were a myth, until she sighted them.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEB06MkCKW8/UwEdVAJ8rVI/AAAAAAAAAcM/rDCHBIpua3U/s1600/P1000912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEB06MkCKW8/UwEdVAJ8rVI/AAAAAAAAAcM/rDCHBIpua3U/s1600/P1000912.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><br /> <span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cap'n has a fanciful imagination and likes to pull the wool over first mates eyes. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver has had a busy few days and plans to spend today on the beach with a floating noodle and a novel! Our last two days in Dominica were action packed. We did a day long tour of the South Island, hitting Victoria Falls and the Emerald Pool, and dining in Moses's "Rastaraunt" with the crews from Fabuloso, Meridian, and Moon River (Eight adults and six kids). Since the rainy season is over, Victoria Falls was less overflowing than it would have been two months earlier, making the approach less challenging. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HAzCBwIz3Ho/UwEcASPm8kI/AAAAAAAAAa8/5btaJ6R_V2w/s1600/P1000933_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HAzCBwIz3Ho/UwEcASPm8kI/AAAAAAAAAa8/5btaJ6R_V2w/s1600/P1000933_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maintaining stable footing on the Ascent to Victoria Falls</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRIBzwmZ-q4/UwEcRtueFAI/AAAAAAAAAbE/olVw2N77hmg/s1600/P1000936_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRIBzwmZ-q4/UwEcRtueFAI/AAAAAAAAAbE/olVw2N77hmg/s1600/P1000936_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stu, our guide, helping the children</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is a long walk up the sides of the riverbed, hopping from stone to stone, carefully avoiding the mossy, slippery ones, and sometimes using your whole body to wedge yourself between two stones to ascend boulders that are taller than you are! </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nq3jI-1W6tk/UwEcloSegZI/AAAAAAAAAbc/2Xbne52zeyE/s1600/P1000950_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nq3jI-1W6tk/UwEcloSegZI/AAAAAAAAAbc/2Xbne52zeyE/s1600/P1000950_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now where do we go?</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3AfZ0oAmf0M/UwEckDYsxyI/AAAAAAAAAbU/aSil0X6nhuE/s1600/P1000945_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3AfZ0oAmf0M/UwEckDYsxyI/AAAAAAAAAbU/aSil0X6nhuE/s1600/P1000945_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There were many beautiful pools on the way to Victoria Falls</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The path crossed the river several times, and we formed a human chain to get across some of the times. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kd103Gaace4/UwEb_QKjucI/AAAAAAAAAa0/xaddJ30jI18/s1600/P1000935_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kd103Gaace4/UwEb_QKjucI/AAAAAAAAAa0/xaddJ30jI18/s1600/P1000935_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Forming a Human Chain for one of the river crossings</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The reward at the end was a dip in Fresh! water. The catch: much colder than your average bath, and the falls created a 40 knot wind: the water hurt your face! </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1X81-TTpjx8/UwEci6KrOsI/AAAAAAAAAbM/XIkYFx3-vHU/s1600/P1000947_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1X81-TTpjx8/UwEci6KrOsI/AAAAAAAAAbM/XIkYFx3-vHU/s1600/P1000947_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, Glorious Victoria Falls</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Moses lives on a rasta farm at the entry to an unofficial path to the falls. There is a commune-like atmosphere, and many families live and work the farm. The "Rastaraunt" has only one menu item, the "one pot" and this is a stew made from farm grown foods, with a coconut-based broth. It was overpriced (and the kids were not amused), but hey you can't blame the guy for exploiting a captive market. Apparently, a tour of the farm is allegedly included, although not offered to our group. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6ogAxifAoso/UwEb5mL92rI/AAAAAAAAAas/haw5eXwVhHI/s1600/P1000927_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6ogAxifAoso/UwEb5mL92rI/AAAAAAAAAas/haw5eXwVhHI/s1600/P1000927_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The more profitable crop, a sign from a nearby community</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They were apparently quite laissez-faire about their most famous crop, when one of our group walked upon them. From Moses's, we moved on to catch the Emerald Pool before dark. There was a paved path: hence, and a much less challenging approach. Still very cold, and beautiful.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZshNgtkK6og/UwEc45_yM4I/AAAAAAAAAbk/c7MRthebqZw/s1600/P1000954_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZshNgtkK6og/UwEc45_yM4I/AAAAAAAAAbk/c7MRthebqZw/s1600/P1000954_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Emerald Pool</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next morning we got up early to replenish fuel and water and made a quick trip to the fish market, where we filled up the freezer with fresh marlin, mahi-mahi, and small tunas for $3-4 a pound! Freshest fish we have ever purchased and very tasty. They were also selling Lionfish, which is a predator fish, and is endangering the reefs around the Caribbean. In the USVI, one is to call environmental services if one is sighted, and there is a bounty offered in the Bahamas for them. In Dominica, they eat them, and in fact, these scuba divers are allowed to use spear guns in the marine park strictly for catching Lionfish. Desmond says they are tasty, and they are certainly beautiful but sadly destructive, and we did not purchase them.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lpxRDXiMQKY/UwEdHWi7CJI/AAAAAAAAAb8/dYSV1Dcg0bw/s1600/P1000993_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lpxRDXiMQKY/UwEdHWi7CJI/AAAAAAAAAb8/dYSV1Dcg0bw/s1600/P1000993_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lionfish Hunting</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the afternoon, Desmond from Sea-Cat Yacht Services took us by water taxi to snorkel the Champagne Reef, arriving just as the last of the cruise ship guests were leaving. The Champagne Reef has vents where volcanic gases are released, and bubbles like champagne.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ld8eqLr5I-4/UwEc5yA9ltI/AAAAAAAAAb0/RkRkcftZKpQ/s1600/P1000990_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ld8eqLr5I-4/UwEc5yA9ltI/AAAAAAAAAb0/RkRkcftZKpQ/s1600/P1000990_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Champagne reef, Dominica</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> There were many fish: in fact, we caught a feeding frenzy, but still no turtles, rays, or octapus close up. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Nice Coral</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Then Desmond took us over to the little village of Souffriere, where there is a natural hot springs in red rock/sand, that is sitting by the sea, surrounded by a breakwater! Nice, mostly fresh water, almost a bath!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Beautiful Church, Soufriere, Dominica</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We got a bit of a late start the next day for our 35 nm passage to Martinique, but had a fairly good sail, pretty well the same conditions as our last jaunt between the islands. Made decent time, and arrived in St. Pierre around 1530 hours. Sadly, this pretty town is very popular, and there is a very narrow shelf of 25 feet depth for anchoring. We could only find spots of 50 feet depth or more, and could not get our anchor to set after 4 tries (we pulled up small trees worth of weeds each time), and we decided to move on to Case Pilot, about 10 miles south. We were following a catamaran who was doing the same thing. He pulled in, scouted around, and left, so we did not even bother doing so. The anchorage was very small and exposed, and was sure to be very rolly. So, we were really racing the clock now, deciding to try to get to Schoeler, an anchorage that is another 10 miles down the coast, by sunset. We were successful, and found a nice spot right beside the cat we'd been following, set the hook on the first try. By this time, we were tired, hungry, and a little grumpy, when a fisherman came up and advised, loudly, in French, that we could not anchor there. First mate was of a mind to tell him we'll move when asked to by the police or coast guard, as we had two charts telling us we were clearly in an acceptable anchorage. Cap'n says the charts are out of date by the time they are published, so up comes the hook. It took at least 4 times to get our anchor set, and it was dark, so hand signals were not working, and there was a lot of yelling, which I'm sure our neighbor the cat did not enjoy. It was 1930 when the first mate rustled up a box of soup and a chunk of brie and 2030 was lights out. This was not a fun day. Oh, did we mention than the anchorage was so rolly the cap'n barely slept a wink? </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next day, we were underway by 0630, and arrived in Marin, a yachting town at the south of Martinique, after a long motorsail to windward. Marin is the only city in Martinique with a large marina (in fact there are only 2 other small marinas in the whole country (population: 400,000 people, zillions of boats!): 750 berths, 200 visitor slips, is the official word, but we could not get one of them, and in fact, the office staff told us the marina is full and there are no transient slips! We wanted on the dock for two reasons: one, to have a surge-free sleep, and two, to access shore power, as our batteries have not been holding their charge well, and the manual suggests giving them a 24 hour charge before calling in a technician. Fortunately, the long motor sail seems to have helped this problem (cleaned off the plates?), and cap'n is no longer worried. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Marin has little to recommend it except it has every service a yachtsperson could need. There must be 2000 boats in the anchorage. We plopped our anchor down away from the town in a nook called the "Baie de Cyclone," which is essentially surge free. The first night, the boat did not move at all. It was silent. No wind in the rigging, no lapping of the waves as they hit the dinghy, no beach bars blaring music, no sound of the surf hitting the beach (no beach, there were mangroves), nothing. Bizarre, especially, when you look around and see a forest of masts! Each time we went to get a picture it was a bit hazy and grey, so no photographic evidence was obtained. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We did a mega provision. The French islands are the place to buy cheese, baguettes, olives, coffee, sparkling water, chocolate, those little biscuits with chocolate on top, as well as crisps with weird flavours, like carbonara or poulet roti (thought this would be curry flavoured but roti is french for "roast"). Our theory is that the french love to snack, or alternatively, that they have more money to spend on snack foods than people on the english islands. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then, we moved around the corner to St. Anne, which is a quaint village, surrounded by beaches. We can hear the activities at the nearby Club Med at times. This is a fantastic anchorage. At least 300 boats here: we counted 16 abreast on one point, as there is a very generous shelf of 10-15 feet depth. There is a big local spice market. There are supposed to be trails leading to surrounding beaches, but this far, we have not found them, and tourist info is not open on the weekends, so no maps. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We have not fallen in love with Martinique. I guess that happens sometimes. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The good news is we have come as far south as we intend, and we should be nearly done with sailing to windward! We look forward to some downwind sailing! </span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-34225597007406251172014-02-09T13:07:00.000-08:002014-02-09T13:08:30.489-08:00Dominica<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dominican Flag</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver finally had a pleasant sail! Even though the route from Ile Des Saintes to Dominica appeared to be dead South and the wind is allegedly due East (this should be a 90 degree vector and a beam reach, yes?), the wind was still forward of the beam at about 60 degrees, seas were still 6-8 feet (good deck wash!) but it was relatively comfortable with winds of 15-20 knots. With a double reefed main and a reefed jib, we were still doing 6.5-7.5 knots (the latter number being pretty close to our our hull speed, above which we'd need to be on a plane!), and made good time. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Cabrits (two hills), Douglas Bay to the right, Prince Rupert Bay (the Portsmouth Anchorage) to the left</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We got to Portsmouth and went to town to find customs and immigration. The town is more than a little rough around the edges, and the first mate just about said, let's just keep going south! But there were things we wanted to do and so we stayed and found it not so bad. The service people are mostly friendly, and people in town are fine if you greet them first. But the atmosphere is more like a French island, where people will walk by you as though you are invisible. This would never happen in the BVI or on Nevis, where a civilized and friendly, Good Morning! or some such greeting is the norm. In fact, Erla, our tour guide in Nevis, advised that when she was growing up, her mother would smack her if she failed to greet a passer-by! Portsmouth is the first town where we lifted our dinghy at night (lift it or lose it) and we used the interior latch we had installed to lock us inside the boat! There have been two murders and one very violent assault requiring surgery involving cruisers in the Eastern Caribbean this year, so a little prudence is in order. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is also a fairly rigid system of Yacht Services boats who are quite assertive about getting your business. A boat will greet you as you are coming into harbour and will take you to a mooring ball and thread your line through the eye of the pennant, or take you to a good site for anchoring (most people don't need help with this). After doing so, they have staked their claim on you and expect you to take tours with them, pay them for mooring ball, use them as water taxi, etc. They call themselves PAYS (Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security) and they provide valuable services, reasonable prices, and also host a twice weekly Beach BBQ, which is a great opportunity to meet other cruisers (we went, it was fun!). We prefer the anchor, but pay for a mooring ball, in order to contribute to the local economy and support these entrepreneurs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">BUT this system works very awkwardly. We can think of very few other industries where our freedom to choose is so rigidly determined by others. We had a very strong recommendation to do business with a particular provider. In most professions, whether you are a lawyer, a dentist, a doctor, or a yacht service provider, people develop a reputation and receive referrals. The exception is in the cases of crises or perhaps poverty, when people need a legal aid clinic, a free dental clinic, or an emergency ward: in these cases, the service provider is on a first come, first served basis. And this is how PAYS is running their organization, like a crisis situation! But most of the customers are not in crisis. Here is my unasked for recommendation: Pool some cash for administration (Cobra already has an office and admin staff): create a brochure, offer different tours, let people sign up for the ones they are interested in. Then the service providers can focus on developing their services and building their reputations rather than hustling for business. The market is there, the services are great but the delivery model needs fine tuning. We would have spent more money if it was easier to access tours.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Going up the Indian River</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Martin, of Providence Yacht Services, providing us with a fresh coconut</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Tree Roots like sculptures, Indian River</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Enough of my rant. So, we got off to a slow start, but Martin of Providence Yacht Services was able to come through for us. We enjoyed his Indian River Tour, along with Arnaud and Amiee from France, and were able to work on our French. Martin is bilingual, and we told him he did not always need to translate for us! The national park system forbids use of engines on this stretch of the river, so this was a truly relaxing tour, under the canopy of the jungle, by rowboat. Martin was very knowledgeable about birds and plantlife. There are many plants used for medicinal purposes (there was a special plant for low back pain: I hope this means there is no Oxycontin problem here! Still in mourning over the loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman). </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Two crabs eating a mushroom on the banks of the Indian River</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We could not find anyone to drop us off in the Cabrits national park to snorkel (again, system not working) and you are not allowed to tie up yourselves to any moorings. Capt'n stayed in boat while first mate drifted around to the tip of the neighbouring bay/national marine park, Douglas Bay (and she saw new and unidentifiable fish, and Angel fish!) and it was a good thing he did, as the current was so strong she would have drifted to Mexico! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We really enjoyed the walk around Cabrits peak. Our guidebook makes little mention of Fort Shirley, which is a restored Fort, never used in battle, with beautiful views and an interesting history of having changed hands multiple times between the British and the French. There were trails to an unrestored battery on the Douglas Bay side of the peak: nice!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Battery at Fort Shirley, overlooking Prince Rupert Bay</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XwLSeElIirs/UvfcN9dajII/AAAAAAAAAXQ/mBQ3U7Z54FI/s1600/P1000776_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XwLSeElIirs/UvfcN9dajII/AAAAAAAAAXQ/mBQ3U7Z54FI/s1600/P1000776_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Unrestored! Fort on Douglas Bay side of Cabrits</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We went for a land tour with Martin's colleague, Paul Honore: this time we went with 8 German speakers, who had to get by in English. Like Martin, Paul was very knowledgeable about plants and took us to some very off the beaten track places. We visited Joe the Jazz musician, who serenaded us, picked fresh ginger from his garden, and gave us purple yams, grapefruit, bananas, sour oranges, guavas, and gooseberries to sample and take home with us. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Joe, a more colorful character than this picture suggests</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The countryside is one hill and valley after the other. One minute you are on a hill overlooking the tops of coconuts palms and the next you are at sea level, looking at the beach where Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 was filmed (a matter of pride, it seems, this put Dominica on the tourist map?). </span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Eigkilf-Ow/UvfdWETDCYI/AAAAAAAAAYA/9Dp7kWQYl5Q/s1600/P1000832_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Eigkilf-Ow/UvfdWETDCYI/AAAAAAAAAYA/9Dp7kWQYl5Q/s1600/P1000832_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Overlooking the beach where Johnny Depp walked</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We hiked down a very muddy path to the islands only cold souffriere (volcano: apparently this one is so deep the bubbling water is cold by the time it makes it to the surface). There are 9 volcanos on the island, 8 of which are active. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Paul introduced us to many crops that were being cultivated or were growing wild, including cacao, vanilla, coffee, and castor oil (as an aside, most stores have a very large portion of a stack of shelves devoted to castor oil (is this childhood punishment?), but nary a diet coke in sight).</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nsn4CJ0wk48/UvfdJW1eAEI/AAAAAAAAAX4/quCbRPRNTEw/s1600/P1000816_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nsn4CJ0wk48/UvfdJW1eAEI/AAAAAAAAAX4/quCbRPRNTEw/s1600/P1000816_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Vanilla plant: a saprophyte, which lives symbiotically on other plants and requires human pollination to produce vanilla pods</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We brought home ginger, bay leaves, lemon grass, banana leaves, and "boisbody" (Wood body), the bark that is known as n</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">ature's Viagra (just soak it in rum!).</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAB-3JtE67c/UvfeNanH7qI/AAAAAAAAAYY/lzJQxZ2b6lc/s1600/P1000867_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAB-3JtE67c/UvfeNanH7qI/AAAAAAAAAYY/lzJQxZ2b6lc/s1600/P1000867_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Not a fan of food photos, but this was made from the spoils of our tour: grouper with fresh ginger, lemon grass, coconut milk, and thai green curry in banana leaves, beautifully executed by the captain. Just add BBQ and rice!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, we visted the "red rocks," which are the remains of a remote Volcanic eruption. We had to hide in a stand of vegetation when a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">squall roared in off the Atlantic, as the rain came sideways and with a vengeance! We were soaked anyway! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">The Red Rocks, just before the squall hit</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After four nights, we made our way to Roseau, capital city of Dominica, and feel much more at home here. We had contacted a yacht service provider in advance, but no one is aggressively fighting for our business anyway. We were able to catch the first day of Carnival and there was no missing it this week: there was quite a spectacular parade! We noted loud music at 6 am and this was the sound check for the street party,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> heard right across the coast! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">The CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) Steel Pan Band at work</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were many princesses and beauty queens followed by Mas bands and Dancers. The main street was closed, and was lined by bar tents and street food vendors (Cap'n says best bakes ever). They know how to throw a party before getting down to the serious business of Lent, here in Roseau!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GkvGJ6PjR9c/UvfeouKLi3I/AAAAAAAAAYo/d3CSL1hNeQU/s1600/P1000884_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GkvGJ6PjR9c/UvfeouKLi3I/AAAAAAAAAYo/d3CSL1hNeQU/s1600/P1000884_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Many, many princesses on floats opened the parade</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Dancers in Dominican colours</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--xuXd1hwxSw/Uvfe-8l9fXI/AAAAAAAAAY4/d_Rc2Ol_CsY/s1600/P1000889_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--xuXd1hwxSw/Uvfe-8l9fXI/AAAAAAAAAY4/d_Rc2Ol_CsY/s1600/P1000889_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Sure wish we knew the significance of these very heavy and likely hot costumes!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Isn't Carnival a real Scream?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IXTCSXsnWHs/UvffUJtRDNI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/zNyuwz6e69c/s1600/P1000910_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IXTCSXsnWHs/UvffUJtRDNI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/zNyuwz6e69c/s1600/P1000910_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Too hot to even finish the parade!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today is Sunday and Roseau is closed up tighter than a drum. We did a walk through town and declare the finest music to be coming from the Catholic church. They were rocking, with drums and guitars and everything. Not so common in Canada! We wandered through the botanical garden, which is more like a big park, it is open to the public, and largely abandoned. There are some aviaries and we could see some parrots, but not up close. Dominica is home to 2 kinds of parrots that are not found elsewhere: the Sisserou parrot (aka Imperial Amazon), which is found on the national flag, and the Jaco parrot (this has been spelled many ways and is also called the Red-Necked Amazon). We did see some of these parrots flying when we were on tour with Paul in the Northern part of the country. Then we climbed the Jack's Walk Trail to the top of Bruce Morne, where we found amazing views of the city, and much to our surprise, Jesus was looking over the city too. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Surprise at the top of Bruce Morne</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Wp657ZoojI/UvffvHUmaGI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/NjgHakqecyo/s1600/P1000921_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Wp657ZoojI/UvffvHUmaGI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/NjgHakqecyo/s1600/P1000921_01.JPG" height="300" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: small;">The view from Bruce Morne, overlooking Roseau and the Cricket Ground</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We could not find a resto that was open for lunch, so we walked back to the boat. It is a quiet, grey day, and we may have to make our way back to the bar at the only fancy hotel in town and see about watching the futball game: we were there at 0845 yesterday to watch the Arsenal get humiliated by Liverpool. First time in weeks we have found a place to watch a game. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next up: we hope to join Fabuloso for a land tour, do a snorkel tour </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">around Scott's Head then dash off to Martinique. Sadly, our batteries are not holding a charge as we might hope, so we may have to start at the bottom of the country and make our way north, so we can plug into a dock and access services of a boatyard if necessary. Later!</span></span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-66303131812444173402014-02-03T13:29:00.000-08:002014-02-03T13:43:17.005-08:00Iles Des Saintes<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">Volver left Deshaies after yet another challenging night of winds that sent boats dragging, which came after a day of dead calm winds! Fortunately, the high winds started at 1900, and we were able to get some sleep after things settled somewhat by 2200 hours. We got an early start and were rewarded with a brief encounter with a large pod of dolphins who were unfortunately travelling the other way and hence, did not stop to play in our bow wake. It is starting to be whale watching season, and we plan to keep our eyes peeled.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We were disinclined to stop at Pidgeon Island, just 6 nm south of Deshaies, as our guidebook mentioned the potential need for setting two anchors or a stern anchor, and also seemed to rave about it as a diving site rather than as a snorkelling site. However, Zack from the South African boat Vagabund was very convincing: "you must, you MUST! snorkel Pidgeon Island!" He had just left when we met him, so it was very fresh in his memory and we listened. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G5yvjqxtnbw/Uu__iWdBglI/AAAAAAAAAUs/K_d3O2KTrJk/s1600/P1000656_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G5yvjqxtnbw/Uu__iWdBglI/AAAAAAAAAUs/K_d3O2KTrJk/s1600/P1000656_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Interesting peice of coral at Pidgeon Island reef</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We anchored on the mainland and dinghied over to Pidgeon island, which comprises the Jacques Cousteau Marine Reserve. We are glad we did. We found ourselves surrounded by a school of Sergent Majors the minute we jumped off our dinghy, and it just got better. There are actually two islands, and you can snorkel between them. The first mate managed to get a few shots of interesting coral, but between the surging waves and the fast swimming, her shots of fish are only less spectacular than hoped for. After the snorkel, we walked the beach until we walked into Le Touna, and enjoyed the best meal of the trip thus far: Asian, Creole, and French fusion, all at once!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPneDN70bnc/Uu__4NvK4zI/AAAAAAAAAU4/uK4zhvc8Ylw/s1600/P1000685_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPneDN70bnc/Uu__4NvK4zI/AAAAAAAAAU4/uK4zhvc8Ylw/s1600/P1000685_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Enormous peice of coral at Pidgeon Rock reef</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then we anchored overnight without any complications outside the marina at Basse Terre, on the southern tip of the leward side of Guadeloupe. Turns out the whole area closes on Wednesday afternoon, including the marina and the telephone store, so no water or SIM card for us. That rare and revered commodity, the launderette, was open, and we were grateful for that.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nO53zwhHG0Y/UvABnx5S5mI/AAAAAAAAAVA/5b04QqqF31g/s1600/P1000699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nO53zwhHG0Y/UvABnx5S5mI/AAAAAAAAAVA/5b04QqqF31g/s1600/P1000699.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Pidgeon Island Sunset</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After a fairly unpleasant motorsail straight into heavy winds and seas, Volver (and Cap'n/First Mate) find themselves in yet another place they never dreamed they would be: Iles Des Saintes, which is a group of 7 islands/rock formations off the south of Guadeloupe, only 4 of which have anchorages or habitation. We took a mooring ball on the biggest island, Terre D'en Haut, off of the only town in the Saintes, Bourge Des Saintes. It is a charming and colorful village. One could do a study of the gingerbread trim: we saw geckos (the best), doves, butterflies, and many geometrics trimming the houses and stores. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k3_Dp-xxapA/UvAFbqHUfEI/AAAAAAAAAVo/2eIF--vt1Xs/s1600/P1000767_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k3_Dp-xxapA/UvAFbqHUfEI/AAAAAAAAAVo/2eIF--vt1Xs/s1600/P1000767_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Butterfly gingerbread house trim in Bourg de Saint</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e9meZqxPASg/UvAF9iqkTSI/AAAAAAAAAVw/dlFZZkFv_UE/s1600/P1000768_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e9meZqxPASg/UvAF9iqkTSI/AAAAAAAAAVw/dlFZZkFv_UE/s1600/P1000768_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Colourful church in Bourg de Saint</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YNXeZlkr9lY/UvAGlEZfMUI/AAAAAAAAAV8/EpSRgRMdfmI/s1600/P1000770_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YNXeZlkr9lY/UvAGlEZfMUI/AAAAAAAAAV8/EpSRgRMdfmI/s1600/P1000770_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Typical architecture: this is the liquor store, closed on Sunday</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Very shortly after settling in, we were happy to spot Happy Chaos arriving, and were able to help them find and tie up to the unusual mooring buoys without pennants here. It was nice to catch up with them, as we had not seen them since Christmas Day! We tried to enjoy the Carnival celebrations on Saturday night, but we saw no evidence of a parade: we thought we missed it as our dinner went on later than the predicted start time of the Carnival. We did hear a brief spurt of loud music later, once we were back on the boat: perhaps they were on Caribbean time.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Dinner at La Fringale</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">The beautiful indoor garden, including waterfall, at La Fringale</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Salty boat Rum Runner had greeted us and helped us onto a mooring ball upon our arrival to the Saintes, and we joined them for a delicious French dinner at Au Bon Vivant later that evening. We enjoyed getting to know Phil and Judy and picked their brains, as they have a lot of experience sailing the caribbean for the last 5 seasons. The weather settled and they left early the next morning, but not before telling us about a lovely walking path, which we enjoyed. We found the gorgeous beach of the Baie de Pompierre. Ah, this is where all the tourists who arrive each morning by ferry and leave each afternoon go! They walk, rent scooters, and taxi in droves to this secluded bay, which is isolated from the view of Guadeloupe by two large rocky islands, and the beach is shaded by rows of palm trees. We walked to the Baie du Marigot (there seems to be one of these on every island!) but found it less charming. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Beautiful Baie de Pompierre</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ever since we arrived at our first French island, Capt'n has been waxing on about his love of/desire for pain au chocolate. Yet, the morning lassitude has been pronounced until this morning, when we made it to the patisserie in time for the last two! Back at Volver, with a fresh cup of Gwada coffee in hand, Cap'n asks: "Why wouldn't you want to eat one of these every morning?" "Because it would likely kill you in short order!" answers the first mate! Can't begrudge an occasional indulgence, and that was the fulfillment of a good month of anticipatory yearning! You have got to be an early bird in this town: we waited in line at the fish market while the fishmonger filleted 3 Bourse for the guy ahead of us, and when we got to the front of the line we were advised that all the rest of the fish was for restaurant orders. This was before 8 am. Doubtful we'll ever get into town earlier than that! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MaeHmY9gnaU/UvAI6ZgzSVI/AAAAAAAAAWg/s7OkScbmxjc/s1600/P1000729_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MaeHmY9gnaU/UvAI6ZgzSVI/AAAAAAAAAWg/s7OkScbmxjc/s1600/P1000729_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">The view of the anchorage of Bourg de Sainte from Fort Josephine (Fort Napolean is at the top of the hill and cut off in the photo)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kDMAarrY6b4/UvAJy7UFZWI/AAAAAAAAAWo/_7fWU2VHj84/s1600/P1000716_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kDMAarrY6b4/UvAJy7UFZWI/AAAAAAAAAWo/_7fWU2VHj84/s1600/P1000716_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Given the proximity of Forts Napolean and Josephine, we named this goat the Count du Pompierre (Capt'n insists he looks just like Brad Pitt)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The islands had lots of trails to explore. We dinghied over to Ilet a Cabrit and climbed up to Fort Josephine, where there were fabulous views of the Saints, Marie Galante (another Gwada Island), mainland Guadeloupe, and even Dominica was visible in the distance. After our hike, we cooled off and snorkelled the reef south of the island. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">A local artist sells his clay masks/planter on Ile de Cabrit</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FDc0Uymu1K0/UvALAdooQmI/AAAAAAAAAW0/QD8wK50Pt28/s1600/P1000734_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FDc0Uymu1K0/UvALAdooQmI/AAAAAAAAAW0/QD8wK50Pt28/s1600/P1000734_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Ruins at Fort Josephine (plus the king of the mountain)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next up: Volver heads to Dominica, one of the poorest (and therefore presenting a little more security concern) but possibly one of the most beautiful islands of our trip. The island is all about inland exploration: boasting rivers, waterfalls and a boiling lake, bountiful birds and butterflies, and terrific hiking in many national parks. We'll need to hire guides to get the most benefit, as well as address safety concerns. </span></span><br />
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-67491908626353004302014-01-27T09:35:00.000-08:002014-01-27T09:37:10.826-08:00Bienvenue A Guadeloupe<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pop Quiz: All correct answers will be rewarded with a Hershey bar upon our return!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Which of the following two boats would benefit from a consultation with a naval architect?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oicWq_AVOjc/UuaOXSKu21I/AAAAAAAAATE/hFy-txAH_6Y/s1600/P1000571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oicWq_AVOjc/UuaOXSKu21I/AAAAAAAAATE/hFy-txAH_6Y/s1600/P1000571.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this a cruise ship or a sailboat?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tp-ZuEg99U8/UuaOg0SfoyI/AAAAAAAAATM/ft_kOK5co4M/s1600/P1000579_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tp-ZuEg99U8/UuaOg0SfoyI/AAAAAAAAATM/ft_kOK5co4M/s1600/P1000579_01.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not confused about it's naval orientation</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver had a fairly uneventful overnight journey to Guadeloupe. The guidebook mentions to be careful to avoid hitting Montserrat, which is directly in the line of navigation between Nevis and Guadeloupe. This is not so hard, as half of the island is lit like an arbor de Noel (the other half is pitch black, as the volcano has necessitated evacuation). However, there is no mention of the need to avoid Redonda, which is directly in the way of getting past Montserrat. Hint, hint: if any country would like to claim sovereignty over a peice of rock, we recommend building something on it, (like Canada is doing in the arctic). Anything will do, but in this case, we suggest a lighthouse, lit navigational buoys, or even reflective tape! A million stars were out that night, but they did not make up for the absence of Mr. Moon, who did not join us until 11:30 pm: his light was sorely missed. Volver is quite grateful for the accuracy of the charts on our chartplotter, particularly since our paper charts note the last survey of St. Kitts and Nevis was completed in the time of Sir Francis Drake (okay, we made that up, but it does state it was the 19th Century). We were able to sail our course half way (after motorsailing the half of the passage), and we arrived in the very busy, though not too crowded, anchorage of Deshaies by 0800. Once again, we entertained our British neighbours with our fine display of marital harmony, as it was very gusty while we were trying to anchor, necessitating the need for speed to keep from getting blown into your neighbouring boats, whilst desiring the boat to be stopped so as to avoid running over your anchor while dropping it! Best to drive around in circles until we get it right. Glad we could add some fun to their morning! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Deshaies is a fishing village, quaint, and appears to attract both tourists and locals, who come for the fish and produce markets, as well as the view and the beachfront restos. Being one of the northernmost anchorages of Guadeloupe, it is a jumping off place for many places North, and many boats arrive late, stay overnight, and leave early in the morning. As at our last four anchorages, we are awoken here by the soothing sounds of the surf each morning, and there is live music most nights. We were treated to a live latin Sunday brunch performance at Hemingways; the music carries nicely to our boat. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deshaies Anchorage</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are currently 6! Salty Dog boats in this anchorage. One must have arrived later in the evening last night, after Wayne and Mary from Meander invited the rest of us and a South African boat/couple over for happy hour. It was nice to reacquaint/meet new people and we learned good cruising tidbits from people who've been here before.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When Volver arrived in Nevis, we felt as though we finally arrived in the REAL Caribbean. Here, we feel like we have arrived in the REAL French West Indies. Like us, people here are mostly unilingual. Even the tourist information staff only speak "un peu de Anglais." Fortunately, Chick and Cheryl from Great Habit are in the process of selling their boat and generously gave us their copy of "French for Cruisers," which we are studying each morning. We try to spend a few minutes each day only speaking French, albeit quite badly. We do appreciate that Charles has taught us to swear: just take any word associated with the Catholic church, and say it with attitude, but we think this may be just a Quebecois thing. We have learned that it usually works when paying to try giving the nice people 50 euros and hope you get some change!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We visited the spectacular Botanical Gardens. The guidebook did not lie when it advised of a 1.5 km walk straight uphill to get there. One can phone for a shuttle, should one have phone service, but as the nearest place to buy a SIM card is 6 km away, we do not. It was good to get some exercise. Yesterdays walk was thwarted when the trail turned out to be hoping from slippery rock to slippery rock up a river until you find the waterfall. Now is not the time for breaking an ankle or a wrist! As for the trip uphill, we nearly did not make it after the cap'n announced that there was a werewolf between us and the gardens. The fearless first mate blazed a trail, onward and upward, to discover a bull, chained to the side of the road by his horns, yowling in an otherworldly fashion. Mystery solved: fears resolved. The cap'n may have watched too much Buffy in his youth (he says, "of course, Buffy was hot").</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XJdFCB1ilX0/UuaUwE_5GoI/AAAAAAAAAUI/RAaF8BADW4E/s1600/P1000606_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XJdFCB1ilX0/UuaUwE_5GoI/AAAAAAAAAUI/RAaF8BADW4E/s1600/P1000606_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flamingos at the Botanical Gardens</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Besides a gorgeous display of tropical plants, including many trees colonized by orchids, there was wildlife. The Australian lorakeets were no dummies. As soon as you take your 50 euro cent coin out they know they are about to get some nectar, and instantly they swarm you: too colorful to be a scene from Hitchcock, but also less pleasant than alarming! Try and look like you are having fun with those sharp beaks and feet clinging to you! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lorakeets or Lovebirds?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GA6K0fOSTO4/UuaPjaoUpYI/AAAAAAAAATs/sSJaGEfD2UU/s1600/P1000595_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GA6K0fOSTO4/UuaPjaoUpYI/AAAAAAAAATs/sSJaGEfD2UU/s1600/P1000595_01.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four can feed at once</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The parrots were nicer, they also spoke French!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beauty</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GLV4GaVOss8/UuaQKztjBcI/AAAAAAAAAT8/EZoEsfL_pgY/s1600/P1000625_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GLV4GaVOss8/UuaQKztjBcI/AAAAAAAAAT8/EZoEsfL_pgY/s1600/P1000625_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comment Ca Va? Tres Bien, et Tu?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1k5zjluFjV0/UuaV1L1XiQI/AAAAAAAAAUY/wZWfbNmAdgI/s1600/P1000610_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1k5zjluFjV0/UuaV1L1XiQI/AAAAAAAAAUY/wZWfbNmAdgI/s1600/P1000610_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This hummingbird was not shy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bV8v_AhYt18/UuaWS_mmwuI/AAAAAAAAAUc/DiINNYu_Q1w/s1600/P1000640_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bV8v_AhYt18/UuaWS_mmwuI/AAAAAAAAAUc/DiINNYu_Q1w/s1600/P1000640_01.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And for the child in everyone, babies never disappoint!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We tried to rent a car to go exploring the waterfalls in the National Park of the Basse Terre mountains, but the gent at the local rental agent advised that "peut etre" (maybe, maybe not) he would have a car on monday. We've decided to go to a bigger city and rent from the Hertz, so that even if we have to sign a contract in French, if something was to go wrong, our insurance co. can talk to Hertz in English.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We planned to move on today but had a very eventful night, with little sleep, so it became a no-brainer to stay another day. The winds piped up to 25-30 knots with 35 knot gusts. Not only was it very noisy, but we watched about 7-8 boats from the northern side of the anchorage (where we had heard there are rocks and poor holding) leave at 0330 due to dragging their anchors. Then our neighbour started to drag out to sea and we were left with the dilemma of whether or not we should launch our 4 Hp dinghy and go knock on their hull to let them know, not being confident our little engine had the power to keep the wind from blowing us to Mexico. We were relieved to see someone up on their deck, which obviated our need to make that decision. Still not sleeping early in the dawn, we watched a catamaran and a backwards monohull drift out to the sea together in an unwanted coupling, likely having got their anchor chains wrapped around each other. Eventually, they disentangled: only one of them returned to the anchorage. We can see a lot of boats with damage: broken wind generators and stanchions. All this was after a Bavaria 40 went out to sea yesterday and came back without a mast. We don't know the detes, but the talk of the happy hour was that they were dismasted at sea. Although the first mate battened all the hatches this a.m, just in case we needed to get safely to sea, we plan to stay put as long as our anchor/rode continue to perform nicely (thank you to Ron for selling us his trusty CQR: the pivoting shank is most helpful, as Volver skates around like a drunk on ice). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We'll wrap up on a lighter note, with a top 10 list. Here are the top 10 ways you know you are a cruiser:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">10. You have developed a method of collecting rainwater for your solar shower.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">9. You are completely independent of visiting a marina or yacht club for shower or power. In fact, you have learned to lather up in the cockpit despite having made acquaintance with the people in the boat beside you!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. Despite your sincere attempts at hygenic practices, your sense of smell has been trained to be less acute and you accept that everyday is a bad hair day.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. You secretly laugh when well meaning wait staff tries to sell you fancy water imported from France: not only do you drink the local water, you drink it from a hose!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. You are able to ferret out a book exchange in unlikely places (thank you, St. Barth's port authority!). Ditto for WiFi.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. Out of necessity, turtle watching has become your new favorite spectator sport (they have some great yoga moves)!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. You walk into every supermarche you pass, just in case you find something you "need."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. You seek garbage disposal and laundry facilities with the same enthusiasm that you formerly reserved for seeking out the best beach bar. You know the difference between a laundry and a laundromat (hint: someone else folds your small things in the former).</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. You truly are tired (and usually are in bed) by "Cruiser's Midnight (9 pm)!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. The restos you eat at all serve: Rice and Peas, Rice and Peas, Rice and Peas!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Au Revoir pour Maintenant! </span></span><br />
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-82697369947710335002014-01-22T10:36:00.000-08:002014-01-22T10:36:58.518-08:00Farewell to Nevis, for now!<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver has enjoyed the quiet island (pop'n: 12000) of Nevis for the past week, and is preparing to set sail for Guadeloupe. We hoped to break the 70 nm journey up into two stints of 35 nm, stopping overnight in Montserrat (the volcano is currently inactive!), but the seas are kicking up, so it is advisable for the boat with a seasick first mate to change plans and make an overnight passage to Guadeloupe. We have checked out with customs, and are partially prepared: the hatches are being battened, the passage meal is made, and we are stopping at the Double Deuce Beach Bar for some lunch and WiFi, and will take them up on their website's claim of helping with the acquisition of water. There is no marina to easily access fuel and water, despite having 100 mooring balls! We finally used the new wagon to acquire fuel and it was very effective!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fuel Acquisition the hard way<br /><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br />There are lots of animals. Here are some egrets at the site of some plantation ruins we visited when we took a taxi tour around the island with David, the Rasta Reggae artist, who treated us to his own music along the way. <br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zC3OXT87Pbs/UuAE3fKtmuI/AAAAAAAAARg/gZzkI7DY1UQ/s1600/R1000522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zC3OXT87Pbs/UuAE3fKtmuI/AAAAAAAAARg/gZzkI7DY1UQ/s1600/R1000522.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A Mosquito problem waiting to happen</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had our first monkey siting at the Golden Rock Resort, which is a former plantation, now a small, quiet resort, with beautiful landscaping. The new owners have an interest in art, and are starting to furnish it with some funky modern peices. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TBpKCD7cefM/UuAGn7WLQ2I/AAAAAAAAARs/b4txoDYg_BA/s1600/R1000560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TBpKCD7cefM/UuAGn7WLQ2I/AAAAAAAAARs/b4txoDYg_BA/s1600/R1000560.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lounge at Golden Rock</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DjQX9P3RioA/UuAHUL86VxI/AAAAAAAAAR0/5raB-r43TY4/s1600/R1000534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DjQX9P3RioA/UuAHUL86VxI/AAAAAAAAAR0/5raB-r43TY4/s1600/R1000534.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">the Dining area at Golden Rock</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4HtSMIXvqVY/UuAIDEU2znI/AAAAAAAAAR8/xaDyj1iaseg/s1600/R1000552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4HtSMIXvqVY/UuAIDEU2znI/AAAAAAAAAR8/xaDyj1iaseg/s1600/R1000552.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ruins at Golden Rock (the honeymoon suite is in the former windmill that powered the sugar refining process)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We digress: here is a monkey!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BHRpHANTy1Q/UuAJRpcNPqI/AAAAAAAAASI/KoHWUVZYN8Y/s1600/R1000550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BHRpHANTy1Q/UuAJRpcNPqI/AAAAAAAAASI/KoHWUVZYN8Y/s1600/R1000550.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Shy Green Vervet monkey</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We met Chick and Cheryl from PEI and enjoyed Happy Hour on their boat, Great Habit. The four of us took a guided hiking tour through Gingerland, which is the area that has historically been the bread basket for both St. Kitts and Nevis. Our tour guide, Earla, was very knowledgeable about local history, and she focussed on the foods and agricultural practices in the area. There is a problem with the monkeys, who are not native to the islands, but are thought to have been imported in the 17th century by the (darn) French, who kept them as pets. They are quite the nuisance to the farmers, for they take one bite out of a fruit or veg and throw it on the ground. Earla advised that fortunately, there is always a goat, sheep, or donkey around to eat the rest, but it certainly cuts into productivity for the farmers! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rasta horse in Gingerland</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br />There were stunning views during our walk around Gingerland. We could see Antigua, Montserrat, and Redonda, as well as Nevis Peak (which is really three peaks). Redonda is a rock that is in the middle of the triangle created by Montserrat, Antigua, and Nevis. Apparently, Montserrat and Antigua are both laying claim to the rock, even though there is nothing on it, and no apparent potential for income generation or inhabitation. Nevis has only gained independence from the British in 1973, and have no interest in it. It seems as though it is most proximal to Monserrat, by the map. </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XkiyQAa30Tk/UuAMj0D0coI/AAAAAAAAASg/KqjMA5rYGcQ/s1600/P1000567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XkiyQAa30Tk/UuAMj0D0coI/AAAAAAAAASg/KqjMA5rYGcQ/s1600/P1000567.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Redonda, with Monserrat in the background</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yZ1pW3wWmh8/UuAOaOwsqPI/AAAAAAAAASs/MVeMoCooVFE/s1600/P1000568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yZ1pW3wWmh8/UuAOaOwsqPI/AAAAAAAAASs/MVeMoCooVFE/s1600/P1000568.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sheep in the Gingerland cemetary</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We've truly enjoyed our time here. The sea is clear, the land is beautiful, the people are genuinely friendly, the food is good, and there were no Megayachts until yesterday. </span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-85100186102950753292014-01-17T12:18:00.000-08:002014-01-17T12:18:25.317-08:00Cheeseburger in Paradise<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Warning: this blog entry may be characterized as having too many pictures! Yet Volver has had some fairly photogenic days since our last entry!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We left Grand Case and went around the corner to Anse Marsel. The guidebook did little justice to the quiet beauty of this small anchorage, which was replete with turtles, and where we could check out with customs and immigration. It did have two big hotels and the beach was dominated by their beach bars but we enjoyed our night there, despite sleeping little, because there was so little wind the boat kept riding noisily on top of her anchor chain, right beside our heads!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We woke at 5 am, unsure if we were going to make the trip to Nevis or not, and left in the dark, shortly after 6. The seas were much closer to 7 ft than 5, and we decided to stop into St. Barth's after watching this beautiful sunrise!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">St. Barth's was not really our cup of tea. We only went to the capital city of Gustavia, and think the anchorage around the corner, Anse du Colombier, would be more our speed, as it is a marine park, where there is no anchoring and more turtles than people. The anchorage in Gustavia is really crowded, and rolly, and the shops have nice familiar names, like Gucci, and Dior. Not the kind of shopping we prefer, like good bakeries and produce stands! And after our very early lunch in the anchorage, and considering our plan to get up at 5 am again, we wanted an early dinner in town but could not find a resto that was serving food before 6:</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">30.</span><div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were some creative shops, including this one, with manical mannequins that we enjoyed!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Double Exposure? No, the mannequins went inside to join Bob for lunch break!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yesterday, another day of wakening at dawn and leaving in the twilight. We left the "renaissance" islands, heading to the islands that Chris Doyle, author of a popular guidebook calls, the "islands that touch the clouds. These are Saba, St. Eustace, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Montserrat. Of these, the only island that has a GREAT anchorage is Nevis, hence our choice. <br /><br /></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We lost the race to St. Kitts to this 115 foot sloop, the Manutara, shown here stealthily passing us, although we put up a good fight, and the Cap'n says we checked their PHRF rating and he is convinced we won on corrected time. St. Eustace is in the background.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">View from our new home #1: the Four Seasons Beach Bar</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">View from our new home #2: not one but 5 beach bars for us Plebes!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Cap'n has fallen in love with Nevis and is ready to move here! Unfortunately, last night, there was a big fire in town, and it turns out it was the treasury building that burned down. No job for Cappy! Haha, he does not want one anyway! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We'll sign off for now. Plan to stay for a week or so, will likely make some day trips over to St. Kitt's before heading south. </span> </div>
Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-7838444338688756502014-01-12T12:01:00.000-08:002014-01-12T12:01:01.304-08:00St. Martin the French<br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver had a good trip from Anguilla to Marigot Bay in St. Martin, despite having a limited sail plan (no lazy jacks on the main and since we really are lazy Jacks we didn't relish the idea of flaking the main after use in 20 knot winds). The journey was short and it marked a first for us in the caribbean: we went out and were not caught in a squall (they usually come just when you want to moor, whether this be at a dock (hardest), mooring ball (not as challenging), or at anchor (easiest). We went to the marina for the first night, which offered 2/4 of the luxuries we were counting on: laundry and water yes, hot shower (no, the pay showers were freezing! better the scrub in the cockpit with the room temperature fresh water on board), wifi, offered but neither of us could connect. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Marigot is the favorite "large city" we have visited thus far. Great shopping, cafes, markets and a proper village with sidewalks. We enjoyed it quite a bit, although the anchorage was a little rolly. We discovered the joys of the "lolos," which are a cluster of restos offering creole food for reasonable prices. Very good local chow, with lots of locals enjoying, unlike the pricier marina area, which can look empty unless there are cruise ships about. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We found ourselves surrounded by eight boats with Canadian flags one day! Go Canada! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then we were off to Grand Case, which the guidebook describes as the culinary epicentre of St. Martin. There is a long beach, a large anchorage, a little rolly at times, especially during the frequent 30 knot gusts (good anchor holding, no evidence of dragging), and a single street that is lined on both sides my many restos, cafes, and beach bars. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We went to snorkel the reef in between squalls today. Visibility only fair, there was quite the surf coming in between the island and the reef, which is a marine park. There were some interesting fish, and some coral. The first mate found it helpful to use a lifejacket in the strong current. Remind me to do that more often! It appeals to the chief safety officer in me. Speaking of safety, here is a shout out to Brian and the team at the GTAA. The two safety vests are being put to good use. At night, put on the binnacle, one is assured of finding their boat in even the most crowded anchorage, with the weakest flashlight around. Sometimes the first mate wears the 2nd one, assuring both of us we won't get T-Boned by a local in a hurry (this happened to someone last year) but causing the cap'n some embarrassment. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We have a pet turtle at our boat. No, we don't feed it. And it is very camera shy: as soon as it pokes its head up close enough for us to take it's photo and we grab the camera, it takes a dive! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We were hoping to leave today, Sunday, but the weather window looks like Wednesday will be the better day, with a forecast of 10-15 knots and 5-7 foot seas. We don't know if we'll go to St. Barth's, to St. Kitts, to St Eustatia, or to Guadeloupe and the Saints (16, 70, or 130 nautical miles, respectively!). I guess we'll sort that out in the next couple days. We do have to go around the corner to Anse Marcel to check out with immigration and this limits our departure time. It would be nice to stick around Grand Case for tuesday night, when they close the street for Harmony night (lots of live bands).</span><br />
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-86542339437376495172014-01-06T14:48:00.000-08:002014-01-06T14:50:58.502-08:00Happy New Year from St Maarten!<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver arrived safely after a fairly long but uneventful overnight motorsail to windward. St Maarten is the place for shopping and provisioning. There is an American hardware store (ACE) with American prices! and there are vegetables and other luxuries galore! There are many megayachts based here, and others come to provision before going off to prettier places. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We spent an uneventful New Years Eve in the Simpson Bay Lagoon, on the Dutch side. We did bar hop, and at the St Maarten Yacht club the first mate met Paul, who is on the steering committee for the Heineken Regatta, scheduled for 62 days from now (there is a large digital clock counting down the days, hours, and minutes: clearly the raison d'etre of the yacht club). Paul insisted he will personally sign our application form, should we choose to participate. I advised him that Volver has an arch and jerry cans on the rails, and he and his friend John assured me there is a special class for cruising boats, which they called the "agricultural class". Bovine racing, anyone? Anyway, they were fun, we'll think about it. All in all, we were fairly underwhelmed by the celebrations, but at least we made it up past "cruisers midnight (9 o'clock) and were awake for the fireworks. We've heard the party was much better at St Barts. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We did enjoy taking a long dinghy ride across the large lagoon (12 sq. miles) to Marigot Bay, on the French side, where we shopped with the cruise ship people (sarongs and t-shirts all around after sunset) and enjoyed a fabulous tropical French meal. the French side is very different! The Dutch side is quite American in flavour, a little run down, cars everywhere, no sidewalks, but Marigot Bay town was clean, lots of sidewalks and cafes in a central village. Nice. We ran into fellow Salty Dawg Archie there, and had a nice catch up, as we had not seen him since Hampton. He is making his way home to St Lucia, after three years of cruising the coasts of eastern Canada and the US. He had a break-in while he was at a mooring ball, through his front hatch that was closed but unlatched. A good warning for us: we did not lock a thing for the 6 weeks we were in the BVI, but know it is time to be more cautious</span><br />
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</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a result of the sun and the constant rain, there are rainbows, everday, often full on from start to stop, which we don't tend to see on land, yet no pot of gold, nor leprachauns have yet to be sighted from Volver. We will post the pics when it happens. You will hear it first from us, your news source for treasure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">As usual, nothing works. Capt'n spent hours yesterday fixing the dinghy engine. Sewing machine broken again (no technician in the Caribbean), first mates computer disabled. There were more pics on her computer destined for the blog, will sort later. Took the half made boom tent in to the sail loft and will have to return in 4 days time to retrieve it. In the interim, we are done with this city life, and will go to Anguilla for a few days. We want to be somewhere you can swim and snorkel and hike. The captain did see a small ray trying to fly out of the water and we saw a mountain goat (on the witches tit) and turtles, but mostly this is a citified spot, with a major airport too close (reminding the Captain of his past life). At least we have seen none of the feared disease carrying mosquitos. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">We are hale and hearty and wish all our friends and family a happy and healthy year in 2014! </span> </span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-50455894819777484122014-01-05T14:08:00.001-08:002014-01-06T14:32:56.393-08:00Greetings from Anguilla!<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver arrived safely in the lovely harbour of Road Bay, Anguilla to find fine sandy beaches, many beach bars and restos, and squalls aplenty. As usual. Also as expected, one always motors more than they anticipate and eat out more than planned. Our journey here was not bad: 2/3 of our 15 nm (nautical mile) trip was made with jib alone, the other 1/3 was motoring to windward. We left our sail cover at the sail loft in St. Maarten, and we do not wish to lower our mainsail (raising it is not a problem!) without our lazy jacks, for it is a huge endeavour to contain a large, loose sail in high winds, and we expect it to interfere with docking or anchoring. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So we have not cooked a single thing since here. As is often the case, we are out and about and end up finding a place for a late lunch. Then, despite our best intentions to cook a fabulous meal each day, we end up eating cheese and crackers for dinner (or if we are flush, in the cap'ns eye, we'll have crisps on board). Today is no different. Despite having a menu of thai green curry shrimp, we ended up going on a high speed boat to Sandy Island, a marine park, where we enjoyed the sun, and the surf, and less so, paying for the privilege of using a beach chair and eating overpriced food and drink. Unfortunately, the winds and the surf were so high that snorkeling was prohibitive, I guess, unless you were tethered to your dinghy, which we did not bring! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are great marine parks around. There is only one where you are allowed to anchor at overnight and the winds are up again. We saw a Canadian boat anchor outside of Sandy Island but the sailors did not leave their boat and come ashore, which must have been their plan. They kept going up and checking on the anchor. We don't blame them in this wind, which is why we paid for the shuttle. We are a little disappointed in the lack of shelter for these marine parks. The first mate really wants to snorkel from the dinghy and try out her new dinghy ladder, so she can hoist her hulk up without embarrassment. We watched people from a megayacht trying to jump into the dinghy from the surf (someone just hoist her up by the bum, please!): why don't they have a dinghy ladder, all that money? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">The Beach bars are fine. There was live music all the time on the weekend and most nights of the week. The food has been touted as exceptional but thus far not met expectations. The best meals we have had on our whole trip have been made in the galley of Volver. Currently, enjoying the happy hour bevvies at Roy's and MUST make our way home and back to take advantage of the very large book exchange! The first mate has ten books set aside to pick up! There is a lot of waiting, sometimes for weather, sometimes for bridges, sometimes for happy hours. We pity the sailor who does not read. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Volver returns to France tomorrow, to Marigot Bay, SXM (the airport code for St. Maarten, which seems to permeate the island). We have a reserve at the marina, first marina since dec. 23 when we didn't stay, and we hope to water, launder, and wash in hot water for a really long time, as well as use the free wifi. Charging batteries in a quiet manner and buying groceries, as well as basking in the French seaside ambiance. We have to pick up our boom shade from the sail loft, and hope to download some good TV shows we've been missing. Love Ray Donovan, don't want to miss a second season. As for the future, the winds are up again. 20-25 knots, 7-10 foot seas. We may spend a bit more time in French St. Martin before heading off to St. Barths. </span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-82791320028929440042013-12-25T08:31:00.003-08:002013-12-25T08:31:45.744-08:00Merry Christmas from the Bitter End<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver has been quite relaxed and is enjoying the Holiday festivities. There was a carolling boat, which was raising money for BVI search and rescue, and a Christmas eve parade of lights, which we enjoyed despite the downpour. Several well lit boats wound their way amongst the very full anchorage in the North Sound. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> This is Stray Cat, which is a charter boat! Way to show the spirit!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also for Christmas eve, there was the Hobie Cat beer can regatta, the object being to get close enough to the committee boat to pick up a beer! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">Volver has been joined by Happy Chaos and Unknown Island. Co-incidentally, the three Hanses from Toronto are moored in a triangle with only a small dive boat in the centre. Seems to happen wherever we go. Although in this case, the Capt'n alerted Happy Chaos to a lone but slightly hidden ball that had just been vacated and was obscured by the early morning sun (He contends a beer is owed to him for this, and intends to announce this later today, when we actually see Sean!). And we held onto our ball while going over to Leverick Bay on monday by leaving the dinghy behind. Good thing too, because even though we paid for a night on the dock, the marina is completely exposed, and the boat was rocking so hard the lines were creaking, and we developed a fear our cleats would be lifted out of the deck. From experience, there was going to be no sleep that night, so we headed home. Clean laundry, ice, water, and a little bit of battery top up, but no happy hour with the accordian playing pirate guy, no pool, no downloading shows for later viewing! The first mate said, the sheets are no longer salty! The capt'n asserts that we are just like a potato chip when getting into bed: covered in salt and grease! There was no room at the inn when we made our way back, so it was a good thing we paid for our dinghy to sleep there! We enjoyed that mooring ball that night!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Happy to return to the calm of a mooring ball after an unpleasant experience at the dock!</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">Christmas day plans are to have a potluck/beach BBQ with Happy Chaos, Unknown Island, and Fabuloso. Everyone is cooking up a feast, lots of Indian food, and we are hoping for clear skies. We made friends with the bar staff at the Sandbox yesterday (in fact we told her the chicken roti surpasses all others: slow b/c she was making the roti to order), so hopefully we can seek shelter inside if need be, as long as we buy some bevvies from them! We have a loaf of bread rising at this time, will need to wrap up soon! </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">No Christmas pressies for Volver. Every morning when we wake up in the Caribbean (and don't have to go to work) is a gift! The weather is still not our friend, and the captain has listened to Peter, who expressed disappointment in the output of his wind generator, and appreciation of his gas generator: hence, he now concurs with the first mate's assessment, and agrees to pick up a gas powered generator. Home Depot in St. Thomas may by our best bet, if we are not going to suck it up and head to the windward. It looks as though there has been a lot of mosquito fogging going on, and Sin. Maarten is probably safe, when met with sufficient DEET power (and the dutch side was always said to be safe, although the first mate suspects mosquitos don't respect international boundaries!) </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver (and it's capt'n and first mate) wish everyone a fabulous, healthy, and peaceful holiday. We leave you with this beauty of an orange sunset. </span><br />
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-53565950017318518602013-12-22T07:33:00.000-08:002013-12-23T06:07:27.777-08:00Bitter End, Redux<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver has returned to where she started, the North Sound, Virgin Gorda. We arrived slightly grumpy and starving, after a long slog to windward (put on the engine, let auto drive, and suck it up, while reminding self, "we've seen worse!"), which was punctuated by squalls that completely impeded our visibility (and we could see on our AIS that there were four boats headed straight for us!), and wrapped up with an entertaining display of marital disharmony, while we tried to pick up a mooring ball in gusty conditions. Five tries is a charm, truly! The captain suggested the first mate pissed someone in authority off, for the gusts would always arrive when she had successfully manoeuvred the boat to within several feet of being successful. Gratefully, we hopped in the dinghy, and went straight to the Fat Virgin Cafe, where we first dined upon completion of our passage. The quest for the best chicken roti, started by John and Judy, has been repeated by the captain. His verdict: best roti itself: the Fat Virgin wins, hands down. The award for the best filling, however, belongs to Foxy's Tamarind Cafe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We exercised our perogative to change our minds and went to the USVI, St John to be precise. The island is mostly a national park, and was spectacularly beautiful, with few boats and fantastic snorkeling. We saw turtles and a ray. The town of Cruz Bay was charming, the immigration process a breeze, and the National Park Information Centre was helpful. Armed with info, we choose to head over to Waterlemon Cay. Our brain really wanted this to be watermelon, and read it as such many times before getting it right. What is a waterlemon, anyway? A gorgeous anchorage! Of course, there is no anchoring, mooring balls only, to protect the reef. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first day, we swam to shore with shoes in our snorkel gear bag (no dinghy dock, no dinghies on the beach!). We did a mile long walk along the shore, then up to explore the ruins of a sugar plantation, which was situated on a hill with a terrific view of the Bay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That was a much longer swim than anticipated, and didn't leave alot of energy for exploring the reef too much, given the very strong ocean going current in the "no boat" exclusion zone. So the next morning, we moved the boat closer to shore so our swim to shore was shorter, as we needed to conserve energy for the days hike across the island (over the hill) to visit the small community of Coral Bay. The park info promised donkeys and goats (don't be afraid of the noises in the night, donkeys are not your friend, please don't pet them! So much more safety information in the USVI than here in the laid back, BVI), but only delivered copious droppings and one goat on the trail, although the goats were herding themselves in droves through the village of Coral Bay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The hermit crab population was quite prolific and unexpected at the top of a mountain, where we saw "NO CRABBING" signs. The grade was fairly steep and in full sun for the walk home, so we were glad we had obtained sustainance at Skinny Legs cafe. Despite being quite fatigued and having burning quadriceps upon return, we had good energy to use some upper body muscles and snorkelled the reef. Always use the buddy system when the surfs up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We reluctantly left, and headed for a night in Road Town, in order to do a big provision. Sadly, there was no room at the marina, and we spent a very rolly night anchored outside the inner harbour, sleeping quite poorly. No pool, no laundry, no charging up the batteries, but we'll do all these things tomorrow, having made a reservation at Leverick Bay Marina. There are lots of Salty Dawg boats here in the North Sound, but we have not heard of a lot of organized activities. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The wind and seas continue unco-operative although the forecast suggests Christmas Day would be a good day to transit, with still east winds, but 10-15 knots of wind and 3-5 foots seas (current conditions 25 knots, 7-10 foot seas). The wrench in our plans for getting to St. Marten is a current CDC travel advisory. There is an outbreak of both Dengue fever (no prevention, no treatment, potentially life threatening, and of chikungunya virus (no treatment, RARELY life threatening) in St Marten. Of course, there is prevention, don't get bit by mosquitos. However, the captain has no need for bug spray when the first mate is nearby, as she is an insect attractant, currently covered in "no see'em" bites, despite generous application of bug spray. We really wish to buy a wind generator there: duty free, lots of boatyard expertise. Will likely head to St. Kitts or Martinique instead. More later, we have to try and find a place to watch the Barca game! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Pizza Pub: Volver's home club burgee shows up in the strangest places!</span></td></tr>
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-63594578406863031122013-12-15T11:48:00.003-08:002013-12-15T11:48:13.082-08:00Indolence<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver is at Jost VanDyke. Azure seas, gentle breeze. We have dined at the iconic Foxy's and had to stay for several hours due to the promise of an upcoming Barca game (they handily beat Villa Real 2:1). Next thing we knew we were back at the boat, eating crisps for dinner. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We did have the perfect, though very short sail over here. 13 knots of wind on the beam, gusting to 20, 1.5 foot seas. Now, if only we could have that wind pushing us to St. Martin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today, wake up, note that the boat is filthy, inside and out, perhaps we'll scrub after coffee, or after the squalls pass, or after lunch. No, never mind, we'll get in the dinghy and go around the corner to White Bay and have a swim and a lounge on a noodle and drink an overpriced beer at the famed Soggy Dollar. We stopped there during our honeymoon but didn't see the point of paying when beer on the crewed charter was so convenient and free! Unfortunately, it tasted exactly the same as the one down the road for half the price! We might have known this; but I guess we can tick it off the bucket list!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Came home and noticed people pointing off the bow of their boat. This is very common, and is often entertaining, as people are usually picking up a mooring ball. But we knew this couple had arrived several hours before. The eagle eyes of the captain spotted the two dolphins swimming around our anchorage! Awesome!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We have decided to return to Road Town, pay the nice people some money, and have our Visa extended, and then make our way back to the Bitter End for the Holidays. Bill and Linda, organizers of the Salty Dawg Rally, encouraged us to buy some decorations in the US, for the North Sound prides itself on it's Holiday Spirit, but we had no intent of still being in the BVI! We are also short of power, and will probably buy a wind generator in St. Martin. Perhaps a small string of LED lights would be in order! Don't want to be the only grinch in the crowd! Speaking of the holidays, the first mate missed Girl's Baking Day today, now an annual tradition! Always fun and gets us into the mood for celebrating. Hope Emma, Faye, and Grace enjoyed the day! </span><br />
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Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-54037503913394810282013-12-13T13:26:00.000-08:002013-12-13T19:50:28.280-08:00Still in the BVIs<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are in Soper's Hole, tied to a dock to access some power, water, and wifi, after 5 days on a mooring ball. The marina guide advertised laundry and an ice cream shop also, but they were just kidding! Today, we got out the sewing machine and did more repairs: even fixed the dodger of our neighbor, who just arrived after a very difficult passage (10 days from Florida, on a 52 foot boat), and who had a rogue wave blow out the zipper on their brand new dodger. After recovering from their hangovers, their task for today was to find someone to fix this, and they would have been out of luck had Volver's sewing machine not been employed from the easily viewed cockpit, as there are very few boat services here! They wanted to pay for this service but I'm not operating a business illegally from the marina! We started but did not finish completion of a boom shade (thank you for the fabric John and Judy), which will help with shade and hopefully with ventilation, as it has been raining so much we've frequently had to close our hatches for the better part of many days. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We enjoyed the beautiful sunset here, while on the mooring ball. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Of note, please see the mangled block from our unintentional jibe, which the captain has hung from the arch, as a badge of honor, rather than as a badge of shame. Perhaps it is a rememberance: never again. The first mate does not know: why is it there, and what does it mean? </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After leaving Nanny Cay, we went to Norman Island, "the Bight," where there is good snorkelling. While there, the first mate got to climb the mast three times in 20 knot gusts! We waited until the gusts slowed to a rate of every three minutes, from every one minute. Technically speaking, she was hoisted, but this is hard work for the captain, so she tries to help. There was mild fear at times and there is still significant bruising of the sternum, one thigh, and one shin, where she was shimmying to try and lessen the captains load! And now we have new lazy jacks! Then we went to Peter Island, another cute anchorage. We took the ferry into Road Town and did another big provision. Left our dinghy on the beach all day, tied to a tree. We were hoping it would still be there when we got back with more groceries than planned, for it was far too far to swim to our boat! Fortunately, the BVI are a pretty safe place: hardly anyone locks up anything!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It looks less and less like we will make St. Martin by Christmas. Fellow Salty Dogs Bill and Maureen from Kalunamoo visited today and gave us a synopsis of the latest weather update from Chris Parker. He says this uncharacteristic weather has lasted for 6-8 weeks, and shows no signs of abating until December 23. The winds continue to be straight from the east and seas are 8 feet, which would make for 24 hours of very unpleasant motoring. Even though Christmas is not that big a deal for us, I'm not convinced I want to spend it beating to windward or searching for a place to stay. I suspect there will be very little movement around that time. So we can either "import" our boat to the BVIs (ie., pay them $200 if we stay longer than 30 days) or we can leave. The advantage of staying would be to take the opportunity to join some fellow salty dogs in the Bitter End for the Holiday Festivities, and this departure point would give us a better point of sail than if we left from the USVI.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The plan. as of this minute, is to head to Jost Van Dyke tomorrow. Party central there, but not much else. Hopefully we can find a laundry! Amazing how much time it takes to just live down here! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">BTW, the first mate was quite convinced she was the cat whisperer in Nanny Cay, when cats would follow her and nudge her for more cuddles, but it turns out that the cats are so loved and cared for, with shots and immunizations and food, that they are just suckers for a tummy rub. Here is a tree cat, same thing in Soper's Hole. All of them have names and can be picked up if you dare.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soper's Hole Tree Cat, Pusser's Bar and Restaurant<br />
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<br />Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-27094669825740786402013-12-05T12:47:00.001-08:002013-12-13T12:50:09.306-08:00Jumbies No More!<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver is still in Nanny Cay and things are looking up.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We have been here 9 days. Many people have helped us fix the boat. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Corrosion is killer. The fridge was fixed after Alfred was able to ascertain that nothing was wrong with it apart from corroded wires. We could not find the original ones, despite Herculean efforts, so we ran new ones. Also not fun. Then the entire 12 volt system was acting up (no lights, fans, or water pressure!) and the main switch to the 12 volt panel was the culprit: it was, you guessed it, corroded. The captain is still working on re-wiring the anchor windlass, brand new but corroded! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are just waiting for the sails, which were promised for today, but the Quantum fellow forgot to order the jib clewboard when we gave him the sails last week and also does not have our two broken battens in stock. We will leave Saturday, with or without a jib, and may have to return to retrieve it upon future completion of the work. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Captain's birthday yesterday. We celebrated by going into town where we were able to get so soaked in a downpour that our shop in the super air-conditioned store for a massive provision was painful. All limbs went numb! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The barber had a long lineup and the captain didn't wait. The first mate found a set of clippers for sale and now she can add "Ship's Barber" to her "Linked-In" page. The captain is happy with the result: he thinks he looks younger. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TVBsIv1MEn8/UqtyhYwfO2I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/R4UCplZmnow/s1600/IMG_20131206_120649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TVBsIv1MEn8/UqtyhYwfO2I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/R4UCplZmnow/s1600/IMG_20131206_120649.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We were able to eat well (they had decent steaks! not so common in the Caribbean). We were down to emergency food: the first mate made curried Textured Vegetable Protein the night before! It just tastes like the sauce, not so bad, really, but the captain decided it looked scarily similar to worms. The big provision was rounded out by the addition of the snack food we call "Sin," which is Chicago Mix popcorn: a mix of cheddar and caramel corn that tends get hoovered up quite quickly in our household. I thought there was a nine month reprieve from that temptation but not so much! </span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is a Salty Dawg party tonight in downtown Road Town and the organizers have arranged a shuttle to pick up people from Nanny Cay and from Soper's Hole. Should be a good turnout for the BBQ. We can pretend this is the captain's Birthday party.</span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">It still rains all the time. We finally got our new table mount back from the stainless steel manufacturer (it was rebar and this corrodes quite handily), so the first mate needs some dry time in the cockpit to get to some sewing repairs. The forecast is for 25-30 knot winds coming from the East, which will likely lead us to postpone the 100 nautical mile journey to St. Martin for a while. We hope to spend the Holidays there. We look forward to changing locations soon. We'll probably visit Jost Van Dyke, Peter and Norman Islands while we are waiting for the sail repairs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">More later, hopefully after we've moved somewhere away from all of the boat repairs! </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"></span><br />Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-37683342964961368752013-11-29T16:36:00.000-08:002013-11-29T16:36:44.210-08:00Happy Hour<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy hour at Captain Mulligan's, Nanny Cay, BVI. Fridays at 6 is the time to go for free BBQ ribs and chicken wings. The Capt'n enjoyed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first mate had her locks chopped off a little shorter than anticipated, leaving her captain quite convinced he is now cheating on his real wife, who is not a grey haired old lady, who is somewhat boyish in nature. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Selfie, Mulligan's Happy Hour</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nanny Cay is the place to be for repairs. All the boats on C-Dock are in the process of working with various trades to get ourselves back to the life of being cruisers. Guess who we found on C-dock? Happy Chaos and Unknown Island, of course! They are both having their rudders replaced and these will have to come from the factory in Germany (under warranty). There was a problem with the electrical connectivity that caused rudder post corrosion. They are both lucky to have caught the problem before a crisis occurred. Volver is of a much older vintage, and does not appear to have the problem. Although we have not lifted the boat for a proper inspection, we don't have the "ground" that appears to be responsible for their troubles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Volver has enough electrical problems of her own. Bill and Linda Knowles from the Salty Dawg rally directed us to Lincoln (behind Quantum) to sort out our alternator problem. In less than a one hour service call he was able to determine that the two guys at the Bitter End did not know how to install our alternator, and he fixed it quietly and left. But Alfred the fridge guy has been here twice and no luck. The first time, he was here for 2 hours just trying to access the compressor, and left advising that we must tear up the boat before he can help us. The captain spent the entire afternoon, but eventually was able to remove the compressor from it's bracket and expose it sufficiently. Called Alfred, he comes this morning and tells us the compressor and the controller seem fine. Can we please re-wire the system and then call him again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes, we can. This takes several hours. Much dirt, more intimate aquaintance with the bilge (truly thought they were all cleaned) and when we figured out a way, we hoped to just hook up the wires and ask Alfred to inspect. The wires, when tested by touching the batteries, turn on the compressor and Bob is your uncle! Not so soon hopefulness, for as soon as the circuit was closed we lost power to the entire boat! Yes, we need Alfred. This will have to wait until next week. It is friday, and he is on family time now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Both of our sails are in to the sailmaker and we have asked him for a quote for new windows for the dodger. People kept falling on them and they are horribly yellow anyway. We bought new lines for the 2nd reef. Have not heard from New England Ropes about how we can cash in our raffle winnings, so we have held off on buying a replacement for now. We need a bunch of new blocks and a rigger to come and do some work on our boom but no luck in getting him to come for a visit so far. We somehow ended up with a piece of re-bar in our cockpit table instead of stainless steel, which nearly rusted itself in place, and caused rust stains to permeate the binnacle, so we have a stainless guy replacing that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We've run out of groceries again and it is a </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">$32 cab fare to get more. We hoped to have a fridge/freezer by the time we needed to buy meat/fish again. Does not take long when you are buying a 3 day supply. Veggies are still unrefrigerated but the fridge is stocked with cold beer. One has to prioritize. We are back to creative use of tinned tuna and the restos. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Are we having fun? Some. I think we feel stalled. Waiting all the time. Capt'n not sure if he can live with so little structure: wants to have a functional boat now. Wants to sail now! We've done nothing but plan, organize, repair, and spend money for months. Would like to start reaping the rewards. If we could access retail stores more easily we would be happier. Eating well is a very important part of our happiness. I bought my folding MAC wagon and would be happy to cart it around town and fill it up and enjoy the shopping in Road Town. But Nanny Cay is where it is at for concentrated Trades people, and that is what we needed, so here we are, rounding out the better part of a whole month, without much in the way of produce/refrigeration!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This weekend, we have laundry, some sewing, but mostly a lot of waiting. There is a beach, pool, and a beach bar. We'll do some of that, and pretend we are tourists on vacation. I did not mention that it is raining here, alot. Pretty well as soon as you get your hatches open to vent the heat out, the wind starts up and you know you have 5 minutes. Then, a few drops, then a deluge. More significant when your dodger is elsewhere as your companionway is unprotected! The rain also starts when you have left the boat and are about 50 feet away: too far to turn back, but we wouldn't anyway. It is a warm rain, and you'll never get anywhere if you wait for it to stop. I should not have spoken. such a nice night. I have challenged the Gods. Gotta get cover now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432880317610237230.post-67539715633109165002013-11-24T08:01:00.000-08:002013-11-27T21:42:39.841-08:00We Made Blue Water Sailing Magazine!<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sadly, they reference our blown out mainsheet and the good luck we had to win a replacement! Even more sadly, the first mate can not figure out how to cash in her winnings!</span><br />
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<a href="http://bwsailing.com/cc/2013/11/21/update-salty-dawgs-in-the-sun/"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://bwsailing.com/cc/2013/11/21/update-salty-dawgs-in-the-sun/</span></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not sure if you need a subscription to access the article.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This just in, the first mate was finally able to wrestle Windows 8 into submission and was able to update the 2 last BVI posts with some photos. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wish us happy sailing (we will leave whether or not we have paid the mechanic by tomorrow, he seems to be on Caribbean time w.r.t getting us the bill) and happy boat repair in exotic places! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1ozTZItD5Q/UpIjhZUmxNI/AAAAAAAAAHM/8OFo7vaPVkY/s1600/DSCN0361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1ozTZItD5Q/UpIjhZUmxNI/AAAAAAAAAHM/8OFo7vaPVkY/s1600/DSCN0361.JPG" height="302" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fooled you, this was in Melbourne</td></tr>
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</span>Volverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18000773057445116662noreply@blogger.com1