Apr 07
We left Les Saintes, a small island group just south of Guadeloupe and headed for Martinique. We passed Dominica knowing we would spend much time there in the near future and were in a hurry to meet up with our friends John and Ellie of SV Serenity who were waiting on the southern end of …
Feb 14
We upped anchor and headed out of Falmouth Harbor, Antigua early in the morning headed for Deshais, Guadalupe. It was a glorious day with moderate trade winds from the north east and a gentle swell. Mermaid was in fine form plowing through the azure Caribbean at eight and a half knots with the apparent wind …
Feb 05
Robin flew to Juneau to spend the holidays with the grandkids. Stacy and Frank were busy with work and theater so Nonna got to spend lots of quality time with the kiddos. Lots of cookies were baked as well as some delicious meals. Autumn and Kaash enjoyed painting wrapping paper, science experiments, ice skating and …
Feb 03
We flew back to Antigua and stayed in the same “villa” near the Jolly Harbor Yard where Mermaid was hauled out. The unit we rented may be called a villa by the locals but it’s not what comes to mind when we use the term. It did have Air conditioning, good internet and was clean …
Dec 02
Antigua gets quite hot during the summer months and is in the “hurricane belt” so we decided that somewhere else was the place to be. We put Mermaid on the hard in Jolly Harbor and flew to Grenada for a few weeks R&R before flying to Alaska. We spent a month in Juneau sightseeing and …
Jun 07
Antigua is steeped in sailing history. Back in the 1700s the British and French fought it out firing big cannons at each other from close range in the waters nearby. The Brits had the winning hand and the old English traditions left an indelible mark on Antigua from Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbor to the …
May 31
St. Barts is different from many other islands in the Caribbean in that it’s language, cuisine and culture are distinctly French. Because there were no plantations on St. Barts few slaves were brought in and so today the reggae and rasta culture seen on other Eastern Caribbean islands is largely absent. St. Barts seems to …
May 31
The Cruising Outpost Cruiser’s party, Carnival and the Heineken Regatta beckoned so we headed back to Sint Maarten and anchored in the lagoon. First up was Carnival. It was held in the afternoon in Marigot over on the french side. Robin and I dingied over in the morning and showed up early on the parade …
Apr 04
Anguilla is only a short hop from Saint Martin where Mermaid had been anchored for a few weeks but it’s a big change in culture. St Martin is hustle and bustle with cruise ships and big jet planes dropping off loads tourists daily. Anguilla has it’s share of tourism but it comes in a much …
Apr 02
St Martin is an island shared by two nations. The French side occupies the northerly half with the Dutch in the south. While this arrangement could be quite inconvenient, people are allowed to pass freely between the two jurisdictions and moving the boat between them requires a relatively painless check in and check out. After …
