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 …
Feb
11
There was more we would have liked to see and do on Culebra but the Christmas Winds were taking a short break and we took the opportunity to get some easting done. We checked out, said adios to friends and headed out of the anchorage. St. Thomas is not far from Culebra and we had …
Feb
10
We’d planned to set out early from Ponce, Puerto Rico and head east for the Spanish Virgins. The plan for the first day was to make a stop at the fuel dock to take on diesel then hop down the south coast of Puerto Rico and spend the night at Patilla. Fate intervened. As we …
Feb
09
After a four day passage from Santa Marta Colombia we arrived the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club on the south coast of Puerto Rico just after sunrise. We had reserved a slip but it was hours before they opened. Robin hailed them on the radio anyway and the security guy at the fuel dock responded …
Jan
15
Sometimes going from point A to point B is not even close to a straight line! Our intention was to go from San Andres (a small island off the coast of Nicaragua that belongs to Colombia) to the Dominican Republic or Jamaica if necessary, then hop along the southern coasts of the DR to Puerto …
Nov
01
We headed out of Bocas Del Toro, Panama early in the morning and headed north for San Andres, Colombia. There was little wind and we motored through flat seas all day and night. We were planning on stopping at the Albuquerque Cays, an atoll about 30 miles south of San Andres, but when we arrived …
