BVI, USVI, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos and Bahamas

Tuesday, February 10th
Today is bonus day at the DB and my mind couldn’t be further from that, and although I feel sorry for my colleagues, I’m happy to be here and not there. We arrived in Virgin Gorda, BVI on Sunday, after a rough crossing from Anguilla, which took 14 hours. I have to admit, I am just not made for rough sailing. I think that it should be a pleasure and not make me or my children sick. I saw a t-shirt today, which made me laugh. It said, « sailing is a really expensive way to get someplace very slowly, while making yourself sick ». That sums up what I think of rough sailing. I however do enjoy sailing most of the time…its kind of a love-hate relationship. I love the freedom, but I hate being sick and feeling like I have no control over the situation. We spent the morning in Virgin Gorda (after spending 2 days there), and came to Marina Cay today. For the second time in three days, we had to maneuver in the pouring rain…..yuck! Ever since our arrival in the BVI, we have had rotten weather - heavy winds and major downpours. We are hoping that it will soon get better. The islands, however, are beautiful. We went past the baths today …. did a « sail by » as we didn’t want to pay 70 USD just for the pleasure of stopping with every other boat on the Island. The beaches were so full, it was like the south of France in the summer….wall to wall people! We went ashore tonight after spending the entire day hiding out in the boat, from the rain and strong winds. Dinner was excellent . The trip back was an adventure, as the tender motor stopped working and we were paddling against 20 knots of wind and going absolutely nowhere (anyone who has ever paddled with me…ie girl scout adventures…will know how poorly I paddle!). Luckily, a person saw us flailing about in the darkness and threw us a rope and then the dumb motor decided to work again, and Sébastien took off full speed ahead, drenching us all . We are now dry and back in the boat so all is well. Ah, the adventure of living on the water. Now that I’m dry, I can laugh at it…I didn’t feel this cheery earlier in the evening. Tomorrow we are going to Guana Island for lunch (sounds appetizing, doesn’t it….my mother in law keeps calling it Guava Island which gives a much more appetizing picture, than Guana, which is awfully close to Guano). Maybe the guidebook will explain the name… I’ll certainly let you know. Afterwards, we will go to Jost Van dyke, which is apparently the quintessential sailors’ island - completely deserted except for a few bar / restaurants. I can understand why people like the BVI so well, as everything is very close and the islands are really magnificent.
February 14
First of all, Guana Island is apparently named after a rock formation which resembles an Iguana (and not something having to do with bird dung), and it was absolutely gorgeous and a perfect place to stop. Afterwards we went on to Great Harbor on Jost Van Dyke. There are only 150 people living on the island, and my guess is that the island doubled in size at dinner time. We went to Foxy’s which is a beach bar, in the sand, decorated with t-shirts, business cards, baseball caps and, yes, undergarments ( a few men’s boxers…hmm…food for thought). The food was excellent, and afterwards, we heard some live music, and even danced a little with the girls. Foxy, the owner, took a liking to Marie and kept coming by and tickling her or ruffling her hair, and then pretending he wasn’t doing it. It was cute, and Marie enjoyed the attention. The girls open up a lot of doors for us to meet people, because you just don’t see many children on boats here, so people are always interested in our story. The next day, we went back for lunch at Foxy’s after visiting the town (5 shops). In the afternoon (on Thursday the 12th), we went to Little Harbor on the other side of Jost Van Dyke. There are probably about 15 of the 150 inhabitants who live there. There are 3 restaurants. We were on the far side of the bay, so we went to the restaurant on our side and Claude and I had fresh lobster with lime butter - yum!
Yesterday, we arrived at Soper’s Hole wharf. This is kind of like the St Tropez of the BVI. Very wealthy houses and expensive looking boats, and incredibly expensive harbor (4 USD for a 5 minute shower and 2 USD per bag of garbage). The people are nice however, and the internet is free, when you are on land, so its not all bad.
February 18
We moved on to Nanny Cay, a marina, on the 14th in the late afternoon. Much more our type of marina than Soper’s hole. Mainly boats owned by the people on them (and not rentals), which means that the marina has a lower key ambiance, and usually more serious sailors. We met a few professional captains and hostesses. One is the captain of a 60 ft SWAN, which is, in my opinion, the equivalent of a lamborghini. They are absolutely gorgeous to look at….frankly, they look the way a sailboat does in expensive magazines, or in a movie. I hope someday just to be invited aboard to experience a swan. Anyway, enough boat lust. Hiss He Ho is also a wonderful boat, and tends to stand out in a crowd, because of the beautiful wood work, and its sleek line, and blue hull (although less on this side of the Atlantic, where boats are more colorful, rather than basic white). Anyway, we really enjoyed Nanny Cay, which had a private pool, a private beach, a great restaurant, Pegleg, and the best showers I have ever seen in a marina in my life (we took pictures). Usually, showers in the marina are a step down from athletic room showers in high school. These showers were amazing. The doors were in teck, like the floor off our boat, varnished to a rich mahogany color. The entire bath room was in warm blue grey slate and black marble. The shower fixtures were of the highest quality and art deco. I’ve been in four star hotels where the bathrooms didn’t even come close. Needless to say, we all took at least one shower a day during our stay….pure bliss!!! Sébastien’s parents left on the 16th, and we spent the day in one of the uglier minivans known to man taking care of errands and grocery shopping. We spent most of the morning in the immigration offices. After almost three hours in a waiting room which was packed, we were finally called in and asked to go to door number 2. When we were seated the woman looked at us sternly and said, « What can I do for you? ». All we wanted was an extension of our permit to stay. Sébastien had originally asked for one week, and we wanted to extend another week……we were almost so disgusted that we almost left for good, but we decided to hang in there. I think that I waited this long to get a 10 year permit in France….major bureaucracy!!
Anyway, yesterday, we had almost no wind, and the marina was unbearably hot, so we headed back towards Virgin Gorda. We are currently in Drake’s anchorage on the far side of North Sound, Virgin Gorda. It seems like a pretty calm anchorage, but we actually had to help two different boats who had major problems. The first was a couple of Canadians whose anchor came loose in the middle of the night, and by the time they realized it, they were almost aside our boat. We awoke because we could see their floodlight through our window. It was a little scary, but they finally got their anchor to hold and then we let out a little chain so that they wouldn’t hit us (but not too much because we didn’t want to hit the boat behind us). They left this morning after thanking us profusely. The second incident happened during lunch. We had just sat down to eat and we realized that another boat was drifiting dangerously towards the rocks. Then their tender started to float out to sea, and still nothing on the VHF. We finally made the decision to put our tender in the water and to go see if they needed help. I stayed on board with the girls and Sébastien took off. He recuperated their tender, and although they didn’t seem too worried, he helped them to get away from the coast with their tender (which had a more powerful motor than ours), and to get back on their way. They had rented the boat, but obviously had never sailed before. Its probably better that they weren’t more panicked than they were, but I’m glad that Sébastien could help them. The winds are supposed to increase greatly tonight and they would have ended up on the rocks if Sébastien hadn’t helped to move them. They apparently didn’t bother to check the weather before heading out…..YIKES! Sébastien directed them to a nearby bay which is well protected and suggested they get a buoy. They really appreciated his help and his advice and said that if we caught up with them again, they would be happy to buy him dinner. I’m glad that we can help people, as others have helped us.

We are trying to get back on a « schedule » (don’t laugh) after two weeks with Sébastien’s parents and we are also trying to sort through the chaos of the boat, after having six people on board for that long. It was wonderful to see his parents but as most of you can imagine, living in a boat for a year is cozy for four people and we have used up all possible storage space. Two more people and their stuff sent the boat into overload, and although we all knew it was temporary, its nice to be able to put stuff away again in its place. We are also getting back to school with the girls. They did some school work with Sébastien’s mother, Claude, who helped them with their numbers, but they hadn’t done much else in the last two weeks.
February 23
After another week in the BVI, we finally headed out to St John today. Frankly, I’ve had enough BVI for a lifetime, I think. I’m glad I saw it, but I have absolutely no desire to go back. For those who love the BVI, I can understand, but I also think that there are some amazing islands to visit in the vicinity (USVI, Anguilla, St Martin, St Barths, to name a few), where the local people are much nicer, and the food is less expensive and better tasting. Our last few days were expensive, dealing with a lot of cranky people who felt that ripping off the tourists was a fun game. We did eat in one great restaurant (very simple, but great food), called the Jolly Roger on Soper’s hole. Nice staff, good food and good live music on Fridays and Saturdays. And we did meet a nice couple, on a beautiful boat named sapphire, who gave us faith in human kind by lending us a free mooring they had. We had some tough winds the last two nights in the BVI (like about 70% of the time we were there) and being on a mooring was reassuring. Once again, the sailors we met who actually had their own boats seemed a lot more serious (ie didn’t come into a full harbor under full sail….and …uh…naked…., didn’t party on the boat until 3 am, actually respect the « no wake » zones, etc, etc) and a lot more courteous, and we met some very interesting people who we hope to see again (perhaps on the American coast), who shared their experience with us.
We arrived in the USVI today, and are thrilled. Customs took about four minutes, with a smiling customs officer and very simple, easy to follow rules. We don’t even have to do clearance out when we leave. We can stay pretty much as long as we wish. Their mooring system is an honor system, and the moorings are free in the daytime and 15 USD per night in the national park. The water is clear and there are an abundant amount of mooring buoys. We even saw a baby shark swim under our boat as we were tying up to our mooring.
In addition, we seem to have left the charter boats and cranky locals behind us in the BVI. People are genuine and friendly. We had sunshine the entire day and a breathtaking sunset. Things are definitely looking up and we are thrilled to be here.
Its now the 24th, and I am truly thrilled to be in the USVI. This is my kind of sailing. The harbors and anchorages are active, but not filled to overflowing. There are very few charter boats (sorry to those who charter, because some who bareboat are very competent and courteous sailors), and very few mega yachts. We left them in our « wake » so to speak, in the BVI Tortola. The only annoying thing is that the ferries from Tortola seem to have followed us, and you just can’t seem to get away from them here. The local ferries are more respectful of no wake zones. We went ashore at the American Yacht club today. It is currently revamping and « modernizing » and will most likely become pretty exclusive when its done, but right now, it is very pleasant and comfortable. We are also back in America and therefore back to civilization. We found a pharmacy and a grocery store with fresh veggies and meat (good quality and reasonable price….quite a treat after the BVI…better products and about half the price!!). The local people are charming, and the other sailors are very pleasant, and our boat is back to being a normal sized boat, instead of looking like a tender.
My mom arrived on the 26th of February and we continue to be enchanted with the USVI. We went back to St John for a few days, and have spent the rest of the time in St Thomas. We rented a car one day and went to Kmart, Subway and off to play tourist shoppers in Charlotte Amalie. We have had a great time. The snorkeling is amazing. Yesterday, we even saw a dolphin in the harbor, while we were having breakfast. I bet that few people can top that. It was wonderful. My mother seems to be adapting to life on the boat very well. We have had great conditions, but I’m glad that she is enjoying herself so much. Today, it is March 5th, and we spent the day at Coki point beach. The snorkeling was wonderful. We are in a harbor on the other side tonight, called Water Bay. There are very few people who actually anchor here, and I think that the locals were surprised yet pleased to see us here. Once again, the people continue to be incredibly friendly and very helpful. We were also able to find some local Caribbean food, which my mother has been looking forward to trying, so we will take her tomorrow. All in all our time in the USVI has been idyllic, and I would suggest it to anyone who is looking for a nice place to cruise instead of party. Tommorrow we are going to head up the island towards Puerto Rico. We will cross on Sunday to Isla Culebra. I’m looking forward to getting to a latin culture with an American mix. I think that I will really enjoy PR.
March 15th
We arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday March 9th on the island of Culebra. Once again, the customs officials were courteous and efficient. The island of Culebra was quaint, and I wish that we had had more time to spend there. On Tuesday, we arrived in Farjado, on the mainland. Our first impression was not good, but has greatly improved since then. When we arrived, we realized that there was no easy way to get to customs. We had to anchor in a bay across a channel from the city and take our tender over, where there was absolutely no docking for dingies. We ended up tying our dingy to a pier which had almost self destructed during the last hurricane. Using the few remaining lats, we were able to make it to shore, above a sewage filled beach. Not exactly very welcoming. When we arrived back at our boat we were ready to cast off. However, we decided to go to the Marina on the island which is near the bay we were in, and in the last few days, we have completely fallen in love with the area, the people, the food, etc. We are in a bay near Isleta Marina. We would like to be in the Marina, but the prices are far too high. We are able to enjoy the services of the marina (other than the electricity which is becoming critical), without actually docking in the harbor. In addition for a 5 dollar dingy fee, we have unlimited use of the ferry which leaves every 15 minutes to take you to the city across the way. Every single person we have met has gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. There is a little restaurant, which has only been in business for 3 months, called Mangos, which is trying to get off the ground. The food is excellent, the prices are very reasonable and the owners and regular clients are wonderful. We would probably stay here for a long time if we could! On Tuesday evening, we had dinner at a place called Rosa’s. I had a fabulous shrimp and rice soup with cilantro, called Asopao (or hearty soup) . Sébastien had lobster stew and my mom had mashed plantains and beef. We were all thoroughly satisfied with our first taste of Puerto Rican food. On Wednesday, we went too El Yunque National Park. El Yunque is a rainforest. My first rainforest, and I loved it. The vegetation was dense and beautiful. We had a tour with a park ranger who has worked there for 10 years. She showed explained many different aspects of the vegetation and the animals who live there. The view was fabulous. On Thursday, we went to Old San Juan. We got there late and the weather wasn’t that great so we just stayed in the center of town and enjoyed wandering among the old buildings. We happened upon a fabulous restaurant once again. I had mofango with shrimp and Sébastien had cilantro chicken. I love the food and people on the island. I know that I will definitely come back here someday for another adventure!!
Rosemary arrived on the 15th in the afternoon. We spent Monday getting ready to leave, and the next three days working our way down the PR coast. The sailing was long, but not too uncomfortable and the anchorages were beautiful. We spent Thursday in a town called Boqueron, filling up water jugs, fuel and getting ready to head to the Turks and Caicos. Once again, I regret having spent so little time in Puerto Rico as I loved the people, the ambiance and the food. I bought myself a wonderful hand painted t-shirt, with our boat, Hiss He Ho, painted into the background.
March 22
We arrived today in the Turks and Caicos, after 60 hours of crossing from Puerto Rico. The weather, as usual, did not follow any of the previsions that we had before leaving and instead of diminishing from 10 to 7 knots, as expected, we actually got up to 28 knots. This is normal for any of our crossings, and we have come to expect it (although I can’t say that we would be disappointed if it didn’t happen). We did however, see one truly amazing thing, as we crossed. We saw a mother humpback whale and her two babies who did a show for us for over 45 minutes just before the sun set. It was absolutely amazing.
Unfortunately, as I said, we then arrived in South Caicos, of the Turks and Caicos and we were hoping to find civilization and were poorly disappointed, especially as our dear Captain said that we had three days of sailing from PR to the Turks and Caicos, and we had already been sailing pretty much non-stop for the last 6, because we had done the entire southern coast of Puerto Rico in the three days leading up to our crossing. I guess that the best way to describe South Caicos is to say that it is actually about a mile beyond the end of the world. I tried explaining this to my dad, when I was finally able to talk to him, but he didn’t believe me at first. I’m told that its charming, if you don’t spend too much time there. Unfortunately, as I had a medical emergency, and it was Sunday night, I was unable to appreciate its charm. The people who live on the island were, however, charming. The one doctor on the island came into the clinic at 7 pm on a Sunday night with her two nurses to check me out. Unfortunately, her conclusion was that she didn’t have the equipment to do anything for me and that I would have to fly to Provo the next day. People from the Center for field studies, as well as other cruisers we met in the bay, helped me enormously and my friend Rosemary and I were able to get all necessary information to get off the island the next day at around 5 pm, which was a relief. I say around, because traveling by Turks and Caicos Airways is an experience in itself. The airport is a one room building, with a little bar and some bathrooms. You can actually check your luggage and then see it being put on the plane out the back door. There is one airline employee who sells tickets, takes reservations and boards and un-boards the planes. The schedule is written in Magic Marker on a piece of paper and tacked up with masking tape (this is apparently new, and I was told, an improvement, as it didn’t exist a few weeks ago). They tell you to be there an hour early, but a person from the Center for Field studies warned me that he did that and that his plane had actually taken off an hour and a half early. I found the one taxi in town, as I was not up to walking the two miles to the airport. For a five minute ride, one way, it cost us 7 USD per passenger (we had been told that it was 5 USD). When I went to purchase my tickets, they said that I must pay the 140 USD in cash, as they had no credit card machine (and there is no ATM machine on the island…only a bank that operates for 2 hours on Wednesdays) . I didn’t have the cash, so they were nice enough to call Provo and to call my credit card in (she called on her cell phone, as there was no phone in the airport). Our plane took off around 5:45, and we had a 22 minute journey to Provo. I knew that the plane would take off before dark, or be canceled, because the runway has no lights. Once we arrived in Provo, we felt that we were, kind of, back in civilization again. We took a taxi to the clinic (who couldn’t figure out where it was, even though it is apparently one of two on the island and has been there for 50 years). The staff was professional - I even had a German doctor, named Beate. After my intervention, my friend Rosemary got me back to the hotel we had reserved, and ordered pizza. After all of the time we had just spent in the boat, and then in the boat in South Caicos, our hotel felt like a 5 star palace. We each had our own comfy, soft bed, which didn’t move, as well as flush toilets, and hot, clean showers and air conditioning! We were in heaven. The hotel was nice, and actually run by a French man (although we never met him, because he kept very strange hours). We took a taxi to our first stop, Turtle Cove Marina, where we boarded a tourist submarine, to explore parts unknown, in air conditioning and without being wet. We enjoyed our tour and saw many beautiful fish and coral reefs, in one of the national parks. The guide explained the damage done to the coral and the island by the last two hurricanes. Apparently, the Turks and Caicos hadn’t been hit by a hurricane in over 23 years. Therefore, when they were hit by two, in a period of three days in September 2008, they were completely unprepared and many homes and businesses were destroyed. Also much of the coral was destroyed, as they were hit at the lowest possible tide. Many of the larger fish also disappeared for this same reason. In our « submarine » we could see the damage done by the hurricane, but also by passing boats who drag anchors, hit coral or throw things into the ocean, as if the world was their garbage can. If anything, this year has certainly made me realize how important our environment is and how much we abuse it in developed countries (and how nice it is to have clean water that comes directly to the house and electricity). Anyway, I diverge from my story. After our tour, Rosemary and I went to the Tiki hut for lunch and then we decided to walk around to get a feel for the area. After looking at the map, we realized that we didn’t want to pay the high taxi fees anymore, and that we would rent a car. As I was on strong painkillers, and don’t really like driving on the left side of the road, Rosemary agreed to be our driver, and I was the navigator. Its a good thing that the island is small and has a lot of roundabouts. We eventually got to where we needed to go. My navigating consisted of telling her when to « hug » the curb, to stay on the correct side of the road. Most of the roads I chose were limited to 20mph (although no one except tourists actually respect this). Our car was named « blinkin »(others included Drano and Bite me) and was pretty scary. We had fun and laughed a lot, which was good for us. We spent most of our time shopping and looking for a spa (which we never found) and our hotel (which, happily, we did find). Apparently, the major telephone operator was out when we were there. This didn’t seems to surprise anyone else on the island except for Rosemary and I. Also, only certain foreign credit cards can take money out of ATM machines in the Turks and Caicoos. We both went back to the airport on Wednesday. Rosemary took off for Chicago, and I took off for South Caicos. Luckily, I knew that I could definitely count on Turks and Caicos airways to bring humor to my day. I had pre-reserved the ticket the day before for the 1:00 pm flight. When I arrived at 11:00 with Rosemary, they sold me my ticket and checked my luggage in. Rosemary and I had lunch and then went our separate ways to our respective « loading zones ». I was there at noon. I saw little activity, but figured that was normal. I proceeded to log-in to the free wifi network (miracles abound) which was called « horsecock« (yes, I thought this was an inappropriate name for a wifi zone, but it was free, so I have no scruples) . At 1:15, I saw people lining up for « security ». I asked for which flight and they said for the flight to Grand Turk at 2:00 pm. I was a little worried, but someone assured me that this flight frequently stopped in South Caicos to let passengers off, so I got into line. A person from the airline asked me which flight I was on and I told him. He went into a rage as he reached the ticketing counter, and asked who had sold me a ticket for this flight, which no longer existed (apparently because the pilot couldn’t arrive before two). He told me not to worry and that they would figure something out. I was a little worried because Sébastien and the girls were actually waiting for me in the airport, and I couldn’t , of course, get a hold of him, as the cell phone networks were still down. They said that they would get me on the 3:30 flight, but I knew that it would be complicated as we needed to get out of South Caicos that evening before 4:00 pm, in order to have good light to see the coral pods and to see our way into the other anchorage we would leave from at daybreak the next morning to come back to Provo. Luckily, there was one other person who also had a ticket for that flight. They, therefore, found a plane which was about the size of my mini-van, but probably from the early 1980’s and they found a pilot. They shut the two of us into this little tuna can, where we could actually see the white sky through the doorframe (reminded me a little of my dad’s pinto from my childhood). The nice thing is that I could see my luggage in the back just by turning my head, as Turks and Caicos Airways is notorious for loosing luggage (especially on a flight that doesn’t exist). The flight itself, other than being a little surreal and downright scary, was actually amazing. The view was absolutely gorgeous, and I was able to see the route we had planned for the next day. The person who was sharing my flight was going to South Caicos to repair a motor and was hoping to get back the same night. He had done a lot of navigating in the area and knew it well.
He showed me the ship channel, and advised me strongly not to take it as it had changed a great deal during the hurricanes. He said that many of the markers had been removed and that parts of the channel were now full of sand and had not been redrawn. He said that in our boat it was a dangerous endeavor, even with a retractable keel. This information was very helpful for Sébastien and Hyde, the cruiser we had met in South Caicos, who made the same trip with us. We had a fabulous cruise the next day, and for a special treat at the end, went to South side marina, where we were welcomed with open arms by the entire staff (including their furry friends Jemma and Effie). We rented a car on the 27th and 28th and visited the island, with Sébastien and the girls. The first day, we went to the conch shack with John and Nadine, who were from South Caicos (visiting professor) and who helped us make the trip from South Caicos to Provo. They made us laugh with their stories of living on the island. They are in their second year of living there. They come twice a year for two short trips of three months. Unfortunately, short trips to South Caicos seem like a long trip to anywhere else. They explained that they had originally bought their food on the island, but that after a number of packages of pasta with bugs, they decided to ship what they needed from the states. Apparently, life on the island is pretty much what you expect when you arrive. Electricity comes in spurts, and is not always available. Neither is telephone or internet access. Fresh running water costs a small fortune, and fresh vegetables only come to the island once every two weeks. They have to get water in a small bucket from the ocean to flush their toilet, and they have a cockroach, which they have affectionately named Larry (sorry Dad), who lives in their bathroom, and two scorpions, without names, who live in their kitchen. They said that life on the island is always interesting, even though its not always easy. For instance, one of the boats they work with doesn’t have a battery that works. They therefore use the battery from one of the women’s husband’s trucks, because they don’t have a choice for now. Also, sometimes flights are cancelled because donkeys are running loose on the runway, and they can’t seem to find anyone to chase them off (John suggested they put an add in the local paper, which doesn’t probably exist, saying « Ass chaser wanted, experience a plus« ). In addition, this community, which mainly lives from fishing, has a fear of rain water. People who spend their lives in boats and soaking wet will not leave their house when it rains because they think it makes them sick. I like adventure and off the beaten path, but South Caicos was even too much for me.
Provo was nice. If someone paid for me to go back to a luxury resort for a week, I wouldn’t say no, but I certainly wouldn’t return to the Turks and Caicos for any other reason. The people are nice. The conch is good (but not more than once) and the scenery is gorgeous (but not easily accessible to those who are in a sailing vessel). We are now in the Bahamas, and I prefer it (although we still haven’t seen much life here, either, I still have hope). The scenery is breathtaking (and not only when you are in a tiny airplane and your breath has already been taken away….), and the navigation seems a little easier than in the Turks and Caicos.
April 3
We arrived in Clarence Town on Long Island in the Bahamas today, in the Flying Fish Marina. The surrounding area is beautiful. It is nice to be in a Marina, as we have been sailing non-stop since we left the Turks and Caicos on March 31st. We arrived in Mayaguana on the 1st after 10 hours of sailing. We moved on to Plana Keys the next day, and after hours of sailing, we were able to go to the beach for a few hours in the end of the afternoon. Yesterday, we moved onto Lovely Bay, where we had planned to anchor. Unfortunately, the anchorage wasn’t really adapted to the weather and would have been hard to get out of had we waited longer and the weather had turned, so a 4 hour day sail turned into a 9 hour sail, arriving in a bay just after sundown (oh goody!). The anchorage was actually easy, and mainly sand. However, the wind turned in the middle of the night, and we were all in the equivalent of a washing machine. I even asked Sébastien to come to my side of our V-berth, to act as a book-end, so I could stop moving and get some sleep. He did, and we did, but no for very long, as it is really too cozy for two people. We had been sailing with two catamarans, Windflower and Micromégas. They both had equivalent nights to us, and finally one of them decided that he just couldn’t take it anymore at 6 am and he left for a more sheltered anchorage. He called us about 7, as we were getting ready to head out and we all made plans to talk further during the day. Finally, we all ended up together in flying fish marina, thanks to Windflower’s captain, Hyde, who has been our « cruise director » for the last few days and called ahead to get a spot for all three boats. Windflower’s crew is from Australia and Micromégas is from Geneva, Switzerland. We had cocktails on Micromégas and then moved onto the little restaurant at the marina. The fish was excellent, and the conversation was wonderful. After two nights, we left the marina on Sunday, and spent the night in an anchorage nearby.
April 7
We left yesterday and came to Rum Cay. We headed into the Sumner Point marina to seek shelter from a front which was planned for the next 12-24 hours. Today, we had that front, complete with lots of heavy rain and high winds. It was so strong that it even knocked out the internet connection for about 4 hours. Now is the calm after the storm and we will leave the marina tomorrow. We are off to an Island called conception island, which is apparently part of the Bahamas National Park system. It is completely uninhabited and known for Its snorkeling. We are looking forward too it.