I bought a sewing machine a year ago with the thought of becoming a master sewer capable of all kinds of canvas work and sail repair. It has sat mostly idle, but not any more! I am making sun shades for us to hang up in our cockpit and they are turning out great (if I do say so myself!). To prove my industriousness here are pictures of me hard at work….
For the week over New Years we treated ourselves to a nice calm marina attached to a resort in Anse Marcel, St Martin. So not only did we not bounce around and could use our air conditioning but we got to use their pool and beach area! Definitely the nicest place we’ve stayed!
For NYE we dined at one of the resort’s restaurants and then met up afterward to ring in the New Year with Te Mana. The dinner left something to be desired but at least the company was good and we had a fun time after with friends.
In a celebratory mood!
Heather getting down with Stanley!
The beach at the resort was really nice and Ryan wanted to school Russell on his skim board so they went out to play. Sadly, it was Ryan who got schooled since the 8 (almost 9) year old Russell was a little more agile, and closer to the ground so falling didn’t hurt as much! Also, Ryan had been complaining for awhile that he wanted to be a little more European in his swim attire so after finally hearing enough Heather brought him back a skimpy little swimsuit to wear. Ryan, never one to back down, wore his new swimsuit all day at the beach. Enjoy! 😉
Conferring about technique.
And Ryan’s off!
And he’s down…
Russell looks like a natural.
Look at him go!
Ryan did get the hang of it!
You’re welcome ladies!
We did a fun hike right from the marina up and over one of the hills and down to a secluded beach that you could only reach by hiking in. We took Stanley who is always happy to go hiking and had a nice afternoon.
A nice view of the marina.
Heather taking in the scenery.
Ryan and Stanley strolling on the beach.
Stanley has a stick!
On our last day in St Martin Russell turned 9. We celebrated his birthday with Te Mana and the friends they had aboard by going to a park with zip lining and having a great lunch. Ryan and I didn’t bring the appropriate shoes to participate but we had fun being the camera and cheering crew.
Preparing for the adventure.
Darce
Adam
Russell
Emma
Kirk
Happy New Year!
Since it was over the holidays we spent a long time in St Martin. Here are a few of the highlights….
Grand Case: Billed as the food capitol of St Martin it did not disappoint! We had dinner at the lolos (small outdoor bbq places) and each night were left licking our plates! We felt that the atmosphere in Grand Case was more fun than Marigot as there were more people out and about. We went to a Sunday afternoon beach party with a live band and ended up meeting some nice folks. One lady was cruising the Caribbean 7 years ago, came to St Martin and got off the boat to stay!
Grand Case
Stanley watching me swim.
Orient Bay: A long beautiful sandy beach. We saw tons of people playing in the surf and kite boarding. There is also a nudist section but I wouldn’t recommend it…shudder.
One of the biggest attractions on St Martin is the airport. We had seen an episode on the travel channel about crazy airports and this one had ranked in the top 10! So, in our first few days on St Martin we caught a bus over to the airport check it out.
It did not disappoint! The planes come in over this tiny beach and come down just after having reached land. There is a small fence between the road and the airport and people stand there waiting to be blown by the jet blast. I wish we could say that we were too smart to try it but curiosity got the better of us!
There are two bars where you can sit, enjoy a cold beverage and watch the double show of the big planes coming in and the people standing at the fence getting blown around. It made for an enjoyable afternoon!
Ryan watches as one of the smaller planes comes in.
Here she comes! Did I mention how low they get?
Seems pretty clear to me….
But we laugh at danger!
One of the big ones coming in.
Getting closer!
It looks like you could reach up and touch it!
People feeling the blast! Guess they’re not any smarter than we are!
Enjoying the show
A fun couple from Canada we enjoyed our afternoon with.
We have always reserved the right to change our minds and I believe it is a valuable skill to be able roll with life and readjust as necessary. With that said, we are revamping our itinerary for our trip! We had been planning since we began to return to the West Coast and sail triumphantly into San Francisco Bay. With more miles and knowledge under our belt that is seeming less likely. To follow that path we would have to travel 3000 miles from Panama to San Diego (and remember we go about 6 miles per hour!) into the wind and waves. This, while not dangerous, is very uncomfortable and we would basically spend a large portion of our trip “beating ourselves up.” And, we don’t want our boat impounded by Mexico as they have been doing to foreign vessels the last couple months. Since it is not the intent of this trip to wipe ourselves out or to lose our boat we have decided that we will head back up the US East Coast this summer and use our time to better ourselves (Ryan wants to earn his Captain’s license and I would like to learn Spanish and improve in other skills). Our new itinerary is up with our current thoughts.
After our restful and relaxing time in Anguilla we headed over to St Martin / Sint Maarten. The French and Dutch share the island which is kinda cool but also somewhat frustrating when on a boat. It meant that if we were going to go to anchorages on both sides we’d have to check in and out of customs and deal with clearing Stanley through two countries! So, we decided that we would go into the French side and then just taxi and use buses to get around the island.
Our first stop after a nice ride over was Marigot Bay. We found a great spot to drop the hook that was convenient to town and dinghy distance from the lagoon which is in the middle of the island.
Downtown Marigot with Ft Louis above.
Marigot as a town was okay, it had some fun shopping and a few restaurants but seemed to shut down every day after the cruise ship folks left back to their boat. It did have Ft Louis above it which gave excellent views of the harbor and the island.
View of Marigot Bay from the Fort.
View out over town.
For Christmas we moved into the Marina Ft Louis and treated ourselves to some calm and air conditioning! We got the boat decorated and it even started to feel a little bit festive! We kept up the tradition of gorging ourselves Christmas morning having a huge breakfast with cinnamon rolls as dessert! We had even been able to do some shopping and had a few presents for each other.
Getting in the Christmas spirit!
For Christmas dinner we went out with our friends from Te Mana who had Kirk’s parents visiting as well. It was a delicious dinner with great company and all in all we enjoyed our Christmas.
A lovely sunset on Christmas.
Heather and Kirk from Te Mana.
Enjoying our dinner.
After we left the BVI we had a 15 hour overnight voyage against the wind and currents to Anguilla. I had actually believed that once we got down here from Virginia all the hard sailing was over! At least our friends on Te Mana were out there with us and we were able to break up some of the monotony by chatting with them over VHF on the way. So, after getting beat up all night we arrived in Anguilla (pronounced Ang- gwilla) at 8am relieved and excited to be somewhere new!
Te Mana at anchor in Road Bay, Anguilla.
Our first view of Anguilla. It is pretty flat with lots of beaches.
We relaxed our first day there and got in some sleep after being up most of the night, but the next day we wanted to explore! We rented a car with Te Mana (Kirk, Heather and Russell) and set out on our journey. Our first stop was unfortunately the clinic where Kirk was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot! Luckily the health care was first rate on Anguilla and he got a foot brace, some crutches and medications and we were sent on our way!
The island is small enough that we probably drove on every single road as we traveled around. Our first stop was lunch at Shoal Bay which was billed as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It was quite nice and we enjoyed our lunch and a swim in the sea. Ryan drove us around and they drive on the wrong side of the road there! Luckily there was only one near miss!
Ryan at the wheel.
Russell and Heather. Russell enjoying his coconut while we’re waiting for our lunch.
Kirk and Russell
The water here is gorgeous!
Russell is part fish and part monkey!
View of the gorgeous beach.
We agreed that this beach is prettier than the one in Anegada BVI which was previously our favorite.
Does anyone else think Ryan needs a haircut?
Kirk broke his foot but was able to make it around on crutches!
We next went and visited one of the fancy resorts on the island, the CuisinArt, which was quite nice (but as we realized later in the week a total dump compared to the Viceroy). 🙂
Right down the beach from the CuisinArt is Dune’s Preserve the home of the famous Anguillan musician Bankie Banx who according to one article we read about him is as famous for spreading his seed as his music! We were lucky that Bankie was in attendance and got our picture with him!
At the CuisinArt
View of the long pool.
Looking toward St Martin
Villas at the CuisinArt.
Dune Preserve which has a tree house vibe.
The famous Bankie Banx. He was not performing while we were there but serving up drinks (and having a few himself). 😉
Outside of the Dune Preserve.
We finished off our day exploring with an attempt to catch the sunset (fail) and a mexican dinner (win). What a nice day on a pretty sweet island.
Couldn’t quite get the sunset.
Russell showing off his acrobatics….if he wanted he could have a career in the circus!
The next day Te Mana left to head to St Martin, but not before we got this awesome photo of their boat beneath a rainbow!
Now just Ryan and I we needed to rent a car again to take Stanley to the vet to get his health certificate. All countries require a health certificate to let the dog in although I don’t understand why anyone would be traveling with a sick rabid dog…
Anyway, taking advantage of the car we drove around the island some more to see some of the places we missed the first time. We had an awesome lunch in Meads Bay. I had super fresh fish that was amazing and Ryan had a cuban sandwich that he sucked down in record time. 🙂 After that we visited the Viceroy resort which was pretty posh, but it better be for $800 a night!!! We ended up finishing our day listening to music at the Pumphouse, a local restaurant that had a fun mix of locals and tourists. Everyone we met as we went around the island were extremely friendly and nice. It really is the island of happy people.
Straw Hat restaurant in Meads Bay.
Beach at Meads Bay
Ryan slightly exasperated at having yet another picture taken.
First views of the Viceroy.
Viceroy villas.
Viceroy bar.
Lastly, here are some photos of our boat at anchor in Road Bay Anguilla. And some of the sights in Road Bay. This is a place that we would love to go back to.
Considering that we’ve chartered in the BVI twice before and at this point been there almost a month it’s hard to believe there are places we haven’t been. But there are and we found them! We spent our first ever night in Little Harbor on Jost. This was a great place and we were able to dinghy from there over to Sandy Cay (what our friend Greg calls the best example of a deserted tropical island) and then over to the other side of Jost for a hike to Bubbly Pond. Plus we got to see what we’ve been missing all this time at Sydney’s Peace and Love. Our friend Jack is always going on and on about their painkillers! 😛 Well none of it disappointed and it was fun to see something new in a place we feel like we know so well.
The famous Sydney’s Peace & Love
The view from Little Harbor
Sandy Cay has a beautiful beach, some palm trees, a small hill and lots and lots of hermit crabs!! We set off to walk around unwisely leaving our shoes in the dinghy. It was okay at first when the trail was sand but then it turned to rock, and then to mud! And all I could picture was squishing a poor hermit crab with my bare feet! Luckily that didn’t happen and the view from the top was worth a little discomfort.
After our Sandy Cay adventure we headed back over to Jost to check out the bubbly pond. This was a fun walk and it took us about 15 minutes to get there. It’s called the bubbly pond because the waves come crashing through this small area and make it all foamy in the small pond. Pretty nice and a good way to cool off after that walk!
The Baths are probably the most famous spot in the BVI. On the quarter mile hike you scramble up and over boulders and wade through water and are rewarded at the end with Devil’s Bay. It’s very nice, just don’t go when the cruise ships are in!
You have to swim in from your boat. It’s quite the trek!
This may just be the most photographed spot in the Baths!
