May 16, 2012

Mexican sojourn

The crossing from Cienfuegos, Cuba, to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, took us 3 and a half days and was a fairly straightforward and non-eventful passage. Since our trip from the BVI’s to Cuba, James and I are a lot more comfortable doing longer passages…

April 12, 2012

The kindness of cruising strangers

In order to separate the flesh of a fresh conch from its bone it is important to make a hole in its shell one ring in from the outside at an angle the same as 2 o’clock on a clock’s face – Valois taught us that. Similarly, when laying a second…

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…