April 11, 2012
Clandestine mangos in the mangroves
Now that it is April we can relish the fact that its mango season. However, we don’t get our mangos from the shop or the market… no, now we get them in darkness in the bushes. Welcome to Cuba, communist land where no man owns what he works for. Here…
April 5, 2012
The slobbering explosives dog, the drugs bust, the salsa-dancing thieves and other notes on Cuban bureaucracy…
I’d just nodded off and am jolted awake by the incessant thumping of the officer’s fingers pounding the computer keys as he continues to write up our statement. It’s 5am and James and I are still at the police station, having escaped the drugs…
March 30, 2012
¿Puede indicarme el camino a Cuba?
So, after talking about it and planning it for some time, our big jump over to Cuba is finally happening. We’re leaving Friday morning and should have a week at sea in order to arrive in Santiago de Cuba. It’s our first big journey as [...]
March 29, 2012
Any pets, guns or jetskis?…
…Is the first thing I am asked when we arrive in Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. The question is asked in a dead pan, humourless voice, by an official at a tiny ferry dock. I am too tired to really register what is being said, so my “No…no,…
March 25, 2012
Jet blast at sunset
So the infamous Andy Grant has been in Sint Maarten for a while before we arrive and has already found a rather unusual leisure pursuit: aeroplane jet blasts. There is a lovely beach on the west side of Simpson Bay lagoon which is just by the…
March 21, 2012
Many hands make light work
Sint Maarten / St Martin is dual owned Dutch and French even though it’s only a tiny island. It’s an absolute boating mecca as the Caribbean’s two biggest chandlery stores are based here so it’s the best place to stock up on any spare parts etc that…
March 20, 2012
One night in Statia
St Eustatius, also known as Statia, is a tiny island, only about 3 miles wide, with around 3,000 inhabitants, lots of wild screeching red parrots, roaming donkeys and small flocks of wandering goats. Although so very small it is a country in its own…
March 14, 2012
Uncommon courtesy
You may have noticed that there are several photos of flags dotted about the surroundings pages. Our boat is British registered so we fly a large red ensign on the stern. But, what those of you not part of the boaty world may not know, is that while…
March 12, 2012
Rolling, rolling, rolling…
The first post I wrote about anchoring waxed lyrical about the sheer joy of the freedom to drop the hook whenever and wherever you can. Beautiful turquoise waters, stunning wildlife and a sky fit to burst with stars can be the rewards of a…
March 10, 2012
Camp coffee and Ouzo…
...Sounds like a horrid combination doesn't it? Well, it was the brain child of Chris, James's older brother, who visited with his wife Jane in St Kitts over the last few days. It was so nice to have proper contact from home and our first proper…
March 4, 2012
On flip-flops, rambo and the monkey dance
So who should we bump into in Antigua (not literally - see below!) but Andy Grant! The sailing guru who we crossed Biscay with. He crossed the Atlantic in his boat, Olympus, with our friend Oli and arrived into Falmouth harbour on Christmas eve. It…
March 2, 2012
Bad things happen in threes
We had a series of misadventures within about a week of each other. First off, in the Îles des Saintes, we dropped our keys overboard. The keys were for the boat itself, the outboard and for the dinghy padlock. Stupid us for not putting a float on…
February 20, 2012
A hop, skip and a jump
I thought that it was important to write something about our passage-making these days. Moving up the islands in the East Caribbean has been quite a varied experience. First of all because each island itself is a distinct, individual country of it’s…
February 14, 2012
The middle of the butterfly
So, for those of you who have not brushed up on your Caribbean island topography, Guadeloupe looks like a lopsided butterfly. Its western wing is called Basse Terre and is covered in mountains and volcanoes with clouds hovering at their summits; its…
February 7, 2012
All change
We sailed from Portsmouth, Dominica, to Terre d’en Haut on the Îles des Saintes on February 6th. This is where we parted ways with Lisanna and Paul, our crewmates since December 1st, who are flying onto Cuba before heading back to real life. This…
February 5, 2012
Land of rainbows
Approaching Dominica we understood instantly why we were given a warning about tricky anchoring there. It looks like something prehistoric. The island is so mountainous and steep-to that the coastal waters are mostly too deep to drop the hook…
February 4, 2012
The French Caribbean
Martinique, our playground for the last week or so was a strange beast. Imagine everything that you have pictured in your mind about a tropical Caribbean island; then add the rastas, resplendent with their dreadlocks and spliffs; include the…
January 30, 2012
Island style
This is a long overdue post all about St Lucia. Overdue largely because we needed a break after crossing our first ocean. We were straining our eyes, scanning the horizon for that first glimpse of land, all over-excited. But, we’re sailing, so, once…
January 19, 2012
Rodney Bay, Marigot Bay, Castries, Anse la Raye, Soufriere, Pigeon Island
We've been tripping along the Western coast of St Lucia; visiting mangrove bays and palm tree beaches; snorkelling among brightly spotted eels, luminous fish and giant sea urchins; diving off the boat to swim in beautifully clear waters; gorging…
January 18, 2012
A Hard Day’s Night
We are now fifteen weeks into our trip and I thought that it was high time to elaborate on a term that I’ve thrown around rather a lot: nightwatch. Contrary to what my father may think, when you are on a long passage such as our Morocco to Canaries…