We left George Town with two buddy boats: Steve on s/v Slow Flight and Bob & Judy & Leo (their poodle) on s/v Adastra. Our plan was to make it to Mayaguana Island but Adastra ripped their mainsail so we stopped in Rum Cay to fix the sail and regroup. On the sail from George Town to Rum Cay, […]
We have never seen so many boats – anchored so closely to each other to boot – in one place before. Sailing down the US East Coast and running into the other cruisers, when we asked where they were headed, 98% said the Bahamas. Asked where in the Bahamas, 95% told us they are going to George Town. Once there, a […]
Snorkel over a coral reef or catch up on Facebook? Beach volleyball or bury nose in Kindle? Dinghy over to Surely Boo to play Texas Hold ‘Em or watch a movie? Hunt for lobster or write an eeeeeep blog entry? You’d think we’d choose the former every time, right? It amazes me that we are doing what we are doing, […]
Stéphane’s been bugging me to add music that I like to our iTunes collection. I used to love music of all kinds but for the last ten years or so, I’ve been pretty ambivalent to it; it’s not that I don’t like music, I’ve just forgotten that I love it. So I couldn’t really care less about adding “my” music […]
After a busy, fun week in Staniel Cay topped off by a starter scare, we are ready to move along. Our merry band of two boats has expanded to four: Paul and Phyllis on s/v (that stands for “sailing vessel”) Caper, Bill Roy on s/v Providence, our buddies David and Nikki on Surely Boo and us. The four of […]
Sometimes the engine starts right up and sometimes…well, it doesn’t. So our new routine is Stéphane tapping the starter with a screw driver while I try to start the engine in the cockpit – that was working well enough for us until Compass Cay. In Compass Cay, this new technique did NOT work but luckily our buddy David was […]
You think you’re in the middle of nowhere, swimming with pigs and hanging with a few fellow cruisers and who turns up? A friend from the Liggett days – how random? Stéphane and I have enjoyed hanging with Kish, his lovely wife Rachel, their blue-eyed, sweet daughter, Stella, and the Sablotskys – they are one fun crew! We […]
Seventeen sailboats bob and weave in front of the start- an imaginary line between a yellow buoy on one end and the Race Committee boat on the other. The super-light, fast catamarans sail circles around the heavy, double-ender style boats like us; off our port side a stately wooden schooner glides along, looking crafty; at our six o’clock Dave and […]
We came to Staniel Cay for the pigs but we stay for the festivities leading up to New Years. The people of this place are so warm and welcoming: from Miss Ruth at the island’s new laundromat (where you can enjoy cold beers while cleaning your sheets) to our little friend Vontay who was overjoyed to be Stéphane’s pool partner […]
When we first started getting serious about our sailing adventure, Stéphane showed me a video of a magical place with clear water, white sand beaches and PIGS swimming in the water! Giant pigs, baby pigs, spotted pigs, pink pigs – all running around on the beach or swimming out to your dinghy, squealing their little hearts out because they so […]
Have you ever thought about your relationship with trash? Or about trash, period? I never did. No worries about storing it or disposing of it – we have services for such things! The hardest part was remembering to pull the garbage bin the 30 yards across the gravel of the Little House to the front yard by seven AM each […]
The warriors gear up for battle: armor, masks, spears, belts… plastic bucket? Yup. The boys are hunting for sea food. Stéphane has done his research and knows what kind of fish are worthy of hunting and what kind will make us sick. But really it’s all about the big, red, tentacle-y LOBSTER. Fish is great and all, but lobster is […]
We left Allan’s Cay on Saturday, headed for Norman’s Cay – just a short fourteen nautical miles away. In the Exumas, the next beautiful island is only a short day’s sail away. Plenty of wind made for a really fun sail. We raced Surely Boo but they left us in the dust. So, the Exumas are a chain of islands in […]
The next day, it’s time for a little perspective. We ARE sailors. We’ve sailed from North Carolina to the Bahamas almost entirely on “the outside” (ocean, not ICW). With every sail we make mistakes but learn so much from them. We may not have a lot of experience, but we are gaining it quickly. Yes, things always break but that’s […]
Of all the advice, clichés, opinions, and info we have gathered about sailing over the past two years, the two most common themes we have encountered are: Cruising is fixing your boat in exotic locations. When cruising, the highs are VERY high and the lows are VERY low. While Stéphane and I can vouch for both of these being painfully […]
Passage Weather: winds from N/NE 5-10 knots, waves 1-2 feet Pocket Grib: winds 5-10, waves 1-2 feet NOAA: winds 5 knots from N, waves 2 feet Chris Parker: Go for it Our weather apps, the government, and even the cruiser’s weather god himself, Chris Parker, have given their blessing for the next day’s crossing of the Gulf Stream. Even though […]
The Grizz (Winnebago View - active duty)
1,800 miles and counting
The Hungry hippo (Popup camper - retired)
1,200 miles
The Gruffalo (Tow behind camper - retired):
12,000 miles and counting
The Baby Bison (Tow behind toy hauler - retired):
7000+ miles
Maine > New Mexico + adventures in between
The Great White Buffalo (5th wheel camper - retired):
3,000 miles
Free Range (Slocum 37 sailboat - resting; getting overhauled in Nova Scotia):
Traveled 2,400 nautical miles from Oriental, NC > Antigua (end of the road).