July 09 Washington DC, Chesapeake Bay, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and Long Island Sound

July 11th
On Thursday, after seeing the orthopedic surgeon and getting a goretex and fiberglass cast, we left for Washington, DC to see our friends Josh and Sara for the 4th of July weekend. We drove into the city and the initial traffic and crowds were unnerving at first! We have lost our ability to be in the city , and it took a little getting used to. The first night, we ate in an Ethiopian restaurant and then went out for some of the best ice cream I have ever eaten. The girls chose cotton candy flavored ice cream, which was an unnatural neon blue! They loved every minute of it. On Friday, we went to the Smithsonian. And not just one museum, but four in one afternoon, with Josh. We went to the American Indian museum for lunch, and saw the entry hall, and the cafeteria, which was excellent, and then we went to the Air & Space museum and saw most of the museum, albeit quickly, and then onto the Natural History museum to see an Atlantic Right Whale, a 42 foot squid and the dinosaurs. We ended with the American History Museum, where we saw the hall of presidents, and a few other exhibits. By this point we were exhausted, and as the ice cream parlor had closed, we had no way to get our energy back, so we went back to Josh and Sara’s apartment, where a fabulous dinner awaited us. On Saturday, the 4th of July, we visited friends of Sara and Josh’s in the suburbs for a pool party and then had dinner at their neighbor’s house. It was one of the best and most memorable 4th of July celebrations I can remember. We had a great time. And the girls were able to see their first fireflys, had their first knox blocks and use their first sparklers! On Sunday, we saw the white house from afar, but it was impressive, none the less. Monday, we took the boat out of the water and went to see my brother and his wife, Kim, in Walkersville, MD, where Kim’s parent’s are from. Kim’s mom invited us to a local restaurant, with great sandwiches. Although our time was limited, it was great to see Al, Kim and Kim’s mom again. On Tuesday, we slept in and headed back towards the marina, to check on the boat and see the doctor again for Marie’s arm. He said everything was fine, and that we should get it removed in Paris, when we return. When we returned to the marina, we had the wonderful surprise of finding our Swiss friends, Chantal and Frédy, who had just arrived from DC in their catamaran. We decided to go out for local seafood, including crab cakes and soft crab, which is the specialty. It was expensive, but some of the best seafood we’ve had during our trip! We left Solomons on Wednesday evening, with a newly painted underside of our boat and a repaired keel. The boat is much faster…almost an entire knot (about 1 mile an hour - almost 20 % faster than before). Sébastien is thrilled! We met Chantal and Frédy on Thursday for fondue (yes you read that correctly, fondue in July…only people who have lived in France or Switzerland understand that! It was super yummy!). Today, we arrived in Chesapeake City, at the entrance to the C & D canal. Tomorrow, we will go through the C & D canal and head up to Philadelphia, to meet my mom. I can’t wait to share Philly with the girls and Sébastien.

July 21st
We are now in Atlantic City, NJ. We arrived on Sunday, in a little anchorage just to the North of the center of the city, which is like a little haven away from everything. It is very well protected and almost empty on weekdays. It has been a nice place to relax and rest before heading to NY. We were completely worn out when we arrived here on Sunday. We had gone to Philadelphia. The first night, we arrived in Essington, which is about 12 miles South of Philly. Essington has a little harbor which is relatively well protected from waves and current. However, it also is next to the Philadelphia airport, to a number of train tracks (with trains going all night long) and a wetlands project with lots of bugs. In addition, they say that it is dangerous to anchor there because people have thrown old motors into the bottom (they were used as weights for moorings which have since disappeared). Also, the local « yacht » clubs are not very welcoming to outsiders. We tried to land our dingy and were told that it was not possible, and that we should go to the municipal dock next door. The municipal dock said «  no trespassing and no dockage at any time ». Luckily, these signs were only for those coming from the parking lot, and not posted on the actual dock, so we didn’t realize it until after out walk about town. So other than the mounds of goose poop, the dock wasn’t too unwelcoming. The public dock was actually a former dock for immigrants coming into the city. They had to go though Essington for medical inspection and were also kept in quarantine there, if they had anything that appeared communicable. The building was built in the late 1700’s and used until the early 1900’s. Anyway, it was an adventure, but certainly not a place I would go back to by choice. The next day, Monday, we finished the rest of the trip towards Philadelphia, to meet up with my mom. The trip up the river to the marina was treacherous, because there were many floating logs just under the surface of the water, and we ran into a few of them. We even saw a picnic table floating by with a seagull who was using it to leisurely raft down the river. It certainly was interesting. The marina was also interesting. There was only one other boat in the entire marina. The location, however, was ideal, in the center of the city at Penn’s Landing. My mom and her cousin, Julie, picked us up on Monday afternoon, and took us back to Julie’s house. We took the girls swimming in a nearby pool and then came back for cocktails and bbq. It was wonderful to be back in civilization and to see Julie. On Tuesday, Julie took us on a tour of the city. We went to the Philadelphia Art Museum, which I loved, and then to a restaurant on the waterfront, called the Waterworks, which overlooks the Schukyll River. Afterwards, we went to the Please Touch Me Museum, which is the Philadelphia Children’s museum. We bid our farewells to Julie and had dinner with my mom. We were all happy, but exhausted. On Wednesday, we visited « Historic » Philadephia, with Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross’ house. On Thursday, we visited the Benjamin Franklin Post Office and the Seaport Museum, and then went out for Philly Cheessteak sandwiches. Afterwards, we wandered around and just enjoyed the city. We ended at an indoor market, with many different vendors. It felt as if I was back in France. We really liked Philly for its human size and we loved how well you can eat in Philly! The food was fabulous!

We left on Thursday morning, for a trip back down the Delaware River. Because of the current, we were only able to make it to Delaware City, DE. We stopped in an anchorage just outside the city, because our keel was too deep to enter into the inner harbor. We then took our dingy in to visit the city. It reminded me a lot of my hometown, Rockton, IL. It was a quaint little town, but there wasn’t a lot to see for a tourist. We wandered among the shops, ate ice cream and went back to the boat. We knew that the next day, down the Delaware River would be a long trip. On Saturday morning, July 18th, we went from Delaware City to Cape May, NJ. Cape May is a big sport fishing area, and there were few sailboats. Our next stop was Atlantic City, NJ. We had only planned to stay for one night, but we were lucky enough to meet up with our Swiss friends, Frédy and Chantal again, who had found a wonderfully calm anchorage, next to Brigatine Beach, just on the other side of Atlantic City. It was nice to have a place to stop and relax. We spent the next two days there, and of course, visited Atlantic City. When I was little, everyone in the family called my Grandmother the Jersey flash, because of her driving. I now truly know what they mean. The drivers in Atlantic City make the Parisians look tame (even the bus drivers). The girls enjoyed the Boardwalk and seeing the opulence of the Casinos. We took a ride on the ferris wheel, which they loved. It was nice to see, but not really my thing. The next day, we left for Sandyhook, NJ, which is 76 miles away (remember that our average speed is about 5 mph). We left at 5:30 am and arrived at 8: 30 pm. It was a very long day and we were happy to finally arrive! We celebrated with our Swiss friends, with a bottle of Champagne, because we had finally made it to New York (well almost…we could see NYC in the distance). At 7 am on Thursday morning, we once again set sail, this time for NYC. We had to leave early, because of the tide, to make sure that the current would be with us, and not against us, for our trip into the city. I have to say that the arrival by boat in New York harbor, is one of the most spectacular things I have done. We sailed right next to the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson. Our marina is across the river from Manhattan and we have a magnificent view, especially in the evening. I have to be honest, as , frankly, I was prepared to not like NYC. I had been here before when I was 16 and found it overwhelming, and the people very rude. I guess that living in Paris has softened my vision of « rudeness », and frankly, I loved it and had a wonderful time. We actually stayed in a marina on the New Jersey and which was a nice compromise. We were only a fifteen minute train ride from Grand Central Station, but life was a little more quiet and less expensive than it would be if we had been in the city. We spent the day yesterday touring the City. We started with the Empire State Building. We only looked at it from the outside. Frankly, waiting in line for one hour to pay 80 dollars to take an elevator for a nice view is beyond my comprehension. We then had lunch and continued our stroll up Fifth avenue. We visited St Patrick’s cathedral and then went over to the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). It was interesting to visit the museum with girls because they have a wonderful way of seeing abstract art, and it was a discovery for all of us.

July 31st
On Saturday, the 25th of July, we continued visiting the city. We visited Times Square. The girls loved all the things there were to see and the huge TOYS R’ US, with a life size mechanical dinosaur, a statue of Liberty made of Legos and a Barbie castle you could walk (and shop) in. Then we headed into the suburbs to the charming city of Dobb’s Ferry, to visit my cousin, Aaron, his wife Jen and their two sons, Kai and Chase. The girls were thrilled to have some « kid » time with Kai and we were excited to spend time with Aaron and Jen, who we hadn’t seen in a while. When we finally arrived back in Jersey City, we were once again exhausted, but happy. Marie declared that it had been a great day because there was adult stuff and kid’s stuff! On Sunday, we had hoped to get to the Statue of Liberty, but never really got our act together to get going early enough. We later our found out that our « laziness » had actually saved us, because it isn’t open on Sunday. We spent the afternoon with my mom’s cousin, Julie’s son, Jeb and his wife Katie. They live in the West village and we went out for a wonderful brunch and then walked around and discovered the neighborhood. Late afternoon, we stopped for a tapas snack and then went back to their apartment. They graciously offered to babysit while we went out for a dinner just the two of us. This was only the fourth time since we left in October, so it was a great treat! The girls had a wonderful time with Jeb, Katie, and their dog Peanut, and so did we. Monday morning we finally got organized and made our way to the Statue of Liberty. The lines were long and you couldn’t actually visit the statue (you had to buy the tickets in advance online!), so it was a let down. We did, however, visit Ellis Island, which has a wonderful museum and we learned a lot about American immigration. Around two, we headed back to downtown Manhattan. We had a late lunch and then, as it was pouring, went to the Smithsonian American Indian Museum (in DC, we had only seen the cafeteria, so it was nice to see exhibits). There was a wonderful exhibit on the dresses of Native Americans. It was very interesting. Afterwards, we went towards our train station and ended up going past the twin towers site. Unfortunately, it just looks like a big construction site, so its hard to understand what really happened there just by visiting the site. We went back to the boat and prepared our trip for the next day.

On the morning of Tuesday, July 28th, we left New York Harbor, with beautiful, sunny conditions. We went under the Brooklyn bridge and the Manhattan bridge. They were impressive. We were happy to have sun as our trip in had been under a dense, pea-soup fog, with grey skies. Everything looks better with sunshine. We made it to Manhasset Bay on the 28th and spent two days there. The anchoring had fabulous holding, the town dock and internet were free, there were no bugs and the people were lovely. We found a West Marine store, a grocery store and a hardware store. In one of the antique stores, we met the two owners who had traveled extensively, and had a beautiful collection of antiques. They even gave the girls each a present. Marie received a Winnie the Pooh porcelain sculpture and Constance a Minnie Mouse tea pot. They were both thrilled with their « souvenirs » and look forward to displaying them in their room at home. In the hardware store, we met the owner, Patty and her dog. She was wonderful and made us feel as if we were coming for a visit instead of to a store. She even helped me to find a place to get my hair cut. And not just any place. The person who cut my hair, Mr. Franco, used to be the personal hairdresser for Jaqueline Onassis Kennnedy and for George Bush Senior. Needless to say, my hair looks wonderful. In addition, he was also a charming person, who has traveled the world, and who knows how to make a woman feel special (homemade cappuccino for me and a banana for Constance). We had a fabulous time in Manhasset Bay. It is wonderful little town, with incredibly friendly people.

Next we moved onto Oyster Bay. Because of the time we arrived, how far away we had to go to find an anchorage, and the bugs, we decided to stay in the boat. We moved onto Jefferson Port on the 31st . We did visit Jefferson Port. Frankly, after Manhasset Bay, I guess that everything is a let down. It was a very expensive little town, with people who weren’t very welcoming. In addition we had rotten weather, which reminded us of the storms we had in Spain in November. Not a bad experience, but nothing that would make us want to return.

June 09 - Georgia, SC, NC, Virginia and Maryland

June 3
We have spent the last two days visiting Savannah, Georgia and we are enchanted by the South. We are now heading towards Charleston. We stayed in the Isle of Hope marina. The people in Savannah were wonderful to us. One day, while waiting for a bus, a woman stopped and brought us to a local grocery store, so that we would have a better choice of buses. She said that she « knew her cruisers », bu their disheveled looks and backpacks, and always tried to help them out. I guess that with the girls we aren’t too frightening. We then took the bus into Savannah and spent the rest of the day wandering around downtown. Even our bus driver was an absolute sweetheart. She got so carried away telling us where to go and what to see that she missed a bus stop….ooops! In the late afternoon, we took a ghost tour by horse drawn carriage. Apparently, Savannah is one of the most haunted cities in the entire United States. It was a pretty way to see the city and the girls were thrilled by the horses. Afterwards, we took a leisurely stroll down to the waterfront, looking for a restaurant. We went towards the Pirate Haus, which is known to be haunted, but the elegant ambiance in the evening didn’t really go well with our attire, so we ended the evening at a hamburger place in downtown. Our taxi driver back to the marina was with someone who grew up in the area and who had worked on his daddy’s shrimp boat until he was about 18. He talked about the area and interesting things for us to see the next day in our rental car. On Tuesday, we went to the Crab Shack on Tybee Island. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was a lot of fun. With our tummies full we headed towards the lighthouse. Unfortunately, it is closed one day a week, and we just happened to choose the wrong day. We decided to head to Hilton Head, for some outlet shopping instead. On the way, we stopped and bought some South Carolina peaches and local vine ripened tomatoes at a local farmers markets….YUM! The shopping in Hilton Head was fun, as always, and after dinner, we came back to the marina. One thing we love about being in a marina (in addition to the obvious laundry, flush toilets and hot showers), is the fact that we frequently meet other boaters also traveling on the ICW. In the Isle of Hope marina, we met a Canadian couple from Nova Scotia. They sold the area so well that we can’t wait to get there for a visit. We don’t know if we’ll make it during this trip but we will surely go there in the next few years. They said the coast is beautiful, the weather is clement (relatively so for Canada) and the people speak French and English. Sounds great!

The next day we left Georgia and ventured into South Carolina. I waved to Hilton Head longingly, as we passed the Harbor Town lighthouse and we continued on our way. Our next stop was Beaufort, SC (pronounced BEW-FURT). Beaufort is a charming little town. We walked around, went to the library, looked at the beautiful houses and enjoyed the waterfront. The girls loved the playground and were thrilled to meet kids their age. Afterwards, we went to a little restaurant, called Nippy’s, and had our first shrimp burger and shrimp dog. The food was great and the people even better. We definitely recommend this little restaurant to anyone looking for a good, quick meal, with great taste. One of the owners drove us back to our dingy from the restaurant because of pouring rain. We really appreciated it! We only had to get from the dingy to the boat, as so although we were drenched, we didn’t get sick because it didn’t last very long. This is definitely one thing we hadn’t factored in in traveling at this part of the country at this time of the year. It rains (usually storms with lightening, heavy winds and rains and occasional tornado / waterspouts) basically one day out of two. When you are living in a sailboat this is always an adventure, as most of what we do takes place outside of the boat (like eating, for example). We can eat inside, but with the heat from the day and the windows closed to protect us from the rain, its like eating in a sauna, so we prefer, when possible, to eat outside.

After Beaufort, we headed up the coast towards Charleston. We arrived in Charleston on Friday night, and were thrilled to find some friends we had met in the Bahamas, Chantal and Frédy who are traveling on their catamaran Micromégas. They had been there for almost a week and were waiting for a weather window to continue their journey. We were thrilled to see them and were able to spend the day with them on Saturday, getting a first glimpse of Charleston. Our first stop was to see a civil war submarine (apparently the first to go into battle), called the Hunley, which sank as soon as it achieved its mission of sinking the enemy ship. The funny thing is that it had already sunk twice before on test missions, taking the entire crew with it both times. I guess that third time really wasn’t a charm for this vessel, which was truly destined to sink. The boat was actually brought up by Clive Clussler and they are in the process of slowly studying it. They almost left it at its final resting place because they were afraid that it might disintegrate. Luckily, that was not the case and we are able to see it from afar (it is in a big holding tank full of water and you can only peer in from above). Afterwards we went to Magnolia plantation on the outskirts of Charleston. Magnolia was a rice plantation . We took a tour of the slave quarters, with an interesting description of their life at the time of the plantation. The family is actually still in contact with descendants of some of their former slaves (many of who continued on working at the plantation once they were freed). We also visited the house, and learned about its history and the fact that it had been rebuilt 3 times. The grounds were gorgeous, with lots of peacocks, ponies and many beautiful flowers. On Sunday, our friends took off and we visited downtown Charleston on foot. We visited the low country Children’s museum, complete with a life size shrimping boat, which was a hit with the girls. We also visited the Joseph Manigault house, which was an urban plantation. The house was beautiful and had also been through many transformations (including a period as tenements and Military headquarters), with much of the original house layout and even moldings miraculously remaining intact.

Our next stop was about 3 miles from Georgetown, SC, in a quaint little anchorage. As the sun was setting, there was complete silence and it seemed that it was one of the most peaceful places on earth. However, once the sun set, we had the worst mosquito infestation that we have had since leaving France. There were so many mosquitoes in our nets that we couldn’t sleep because of the horrible buzz. When we were finally able to kill them mortalities were staggering! J We had planned to stop in Georgetown the next day, but as it had a wood pulp factory and the wood was blowing the wrong way, the stench made that impossible. We therefore continued our trip up the wacammaw (?) river towards Myrtle Beach. This stretch of the ICW is known to be one of the most beautiful. The cypress trees with draping Spanish moss and the birds were just amazing. Almost by accident, we decided to stop in a marina, called Osprey Marina. We didn’t even realize that we were actually in Myrtle Beach. Once again, we were truly delighted by the marina, where the staff was wonderful, and the bugs were non existent. We particularly enjoyed talking with one of the staff members, Sherry, and hope to see her and her son William (who is the girl’s age) in France some day. We also met a couple, Dick and Carol, who is doing the same trip as we are, up to Block Island, in a power catamaran. We had a nice evening with them and look forward to seeing them later in our trip. We also took the girls to the beach in Myrtle Beach and really enjoyed it. We are very grateful to our driver for taking us there! The next day we left hoping to make it North Carolina. We did…kind of…. We anchored in South Carolina, in Calabash creek and went into the nearest town, Calabash, NC. We didn’t even realize that we were in North Carolina until we saw it written on the shrimp boats in the harbor. Calabash is a shrimping town, with excellent seafood restaurants on the waterway. Atkins, beware, tho’, because this is NOT a low-carb town. Everything was fried (I had never eaten a fried oyster before, but I loved it). My two side dishes were baked potato and hush puppies (yummy with whipped honey butter!!!!). We think that it was a dry county, as there was no beer on the menu, but we may have just been in the wrong restaurant. I ordered unsweet tea (sweet tea makes my teeth hurt…sorry to all of my Southern friends, but I just can’t get used to it!). It was yummy, and although it took three days to digest, I loved every bite!

We finally made it to North Carolina on the 12th of June. We went through the last pontoon bridge on the Atlantic just as we entered the state of NC. That evening, we ended up in Wrightsville, right near the beach. The girls were thrilled. I was happy for the beach, but the groceries were becoming are little critical, and their « grocery » in town didn’t have much more to offer than a 7-11. We did however, get to eat boiled green peanuts for the first time, and although they were out of a can, I really enjoyed them and will buy more if I find them. I have to admit that I was a little wary of boiled peanuts, and hadn’t tried them yet, but the fact that there were directions on the can (to heat them, for example…something I certainly wouldn’t have thought of) and that one of the people I met said she really liked them, made me anxious to try. The girls also really liked them. The vote is still out for Sébastien (but he doesn’t like Jello, so there’s no accounting for taste, eh ? J). Wrightsville was beautiful and I am very happy to go to the beach on this side of the Atlantic, because the beaches are wide, the sand is soft and the water is warm. However, navigating or even anchoring in Wrightsville and/ or the ICW for that matter in this part of North Carolina is really not fun. In Georgia and most of South Carolina , the boaters were relatively courteous, slowing down for us as they passed, respecting no-wake zones, etc. Ever since we hit Myrtle Beach, and on into NC, people have been incredibly rude on the water. We have seen a number of smaller boats almost flip over, because of the wake of the larger boats. It is definitely survival of the fittest and its unfortunate because it makes boating a lot less fun and more dangerous. We are hoping that this will get better as we head up the coast.

Last night, we anchored in a military basin, which is considered an official anchorage, near camp Lejeune. At 7:30 pm, an army officer came by and told us that the anchorage was officially closed for the next three weeks and that we would have to move. So, as a very ominous storm approached, and we were less than an hour from sunset (and 3 hours from the next official anchorage) we headed out to find another anchorage. Another boat suffered the same fate, and so we followed each other to a new anchorage. Of course, once we anchored, the sky opened up and the rain fell in sheets. We had invited the other boat to come over for a drink, which they did when the rain let up. Their names are Peggy and John and they are originally from Rhode Island and are making their way up the coast just as we are. We will probably also see them again, en route and if not, at least hope to meet up with them once we arrive in Rhode Island.

Today, we arrived in Swansboro, NC. It wasn’t our official destination, but as we were passing it about noon, we decided to come in and have lunch . Because of the bad weather (again!) and the fact that there was a supermarket nearby, we decided to stop here for the night, as well. The town is quaint and worth the stop. The big news of the day is that Marie lost her first tooth …literally…she woke up from her nap with a big gaping hole…we think that she must have swallowed it. The tooth fairy came to the boat, and as requested brought some money from the Bahamas as well, because they have prettier money, with dolphins. She also brought a quarter from IOWA, where Marie’s Godmother lives. The girls are making a collection of quarters from the 50 states, with Sébastien’s help. We will head to Beaufort, NC tomorrow morning.

June 15th
Today we arrived in Oriental,NC. We tried Beaufort, but were only able to do a « sail by » as there wasn’t enough room for us to anchor and we didn’t want to pay for a marina. We therefore added four hours to our trip and ended up here instead. This may have been a happy coincidence, as we couldn’t get the motor to turn off when we arrived. We even tried the emergency switch, which had been installed at the request of our insurance, in case of an engine fire, and found that that didn’t work either (another example of poor work done by the people who worked on the boat before we left France… frustrating!!!). Anyway, although we were finally able to get it to turn off, after Sébastien messed with the engine, we are going to try once again tomorrow morning, before leaving, because Oriental is the « sailing capital of North Carolina », and would probably have someone who could fix it if indeed it is really broken. Never a dull moment when you live in a sailboat!

June 16th
We are now in Dowry Creek, and basically our neighbors are birds, frogs and mosquitoes. It is very peaceful here, but there isn’t a whole lot here. I wouldn’t mind having a house around here, but its frustrating in a boat because you just can’t get out and do anything. We still have no phone reception. Oh well.


June 25th
Today, we reached mile 0 of the Intracoastal Waterway, and we are now in Norfolk, VA. We have done a lot in the last few days. On the 17th of June, we arrived in the Alligator River Marina, which is, as many had written on the internet, a Shell station, in the middle of nowhere. We had to wait an entire day to get a rental car. Our American cell phone did not work at all and our French one only worked if you stood really still in one place in the driveway, and the wind didn’t change directions. It was almost as bad as South Caicos, and we were in the US! Luckily, once we had our car, we felt like we were back in civilization fairly quickly. We spent the weekend in Greensboro with my brother Alan and his wife Kim. We still love Greensboro, and think that it’s a great city and were happy to be back! Sébastien and I were able to get away Saturday for our official 10th wedding anniversary to a great bed and breakfast and out to dinner at a restaurant called Lucky 32, while Kim and Al took care of the girls. This was actually only our third evening out without the girls since we started the trip in October. It was wonderful to just be a couple and not have to cut anyone’s food or go to the bathroom 6 times in the middle of the meal! We really want to thank Al & Kim for keeping the girls as well as my dad and step mom and my mom for their thoughtful gifts which made our anniversary extra special! On Sunday night, we headed back to the Alligator River Marina. The Alligator River Marina is near the Outer banks of North Carolina, which aren’t near much of anything else. On Monday, we visited the Outer Banks. It is definitely worth the trip, but I would suggest renting a place there and staying for a week. The landscapes are breathtaking. Our first stop was on Roanoke island to see the representation of the ‘lost colony’ . I was afraid that it would be a little like an amusement park, but it actually ended up being more like a permanent reenactment, with various actors around the area who explain life in the times when the colony existed. It was very well done, and we learned a lot about the settlement and life in colonial times. Next we headed to the official outer banks. As I said, the scenery was breathtaking, with sand dunes, and with the shallow ocean just beyond. We were able to go up in the tallest lighthouse in America, Hatteras lighthouse, on the end of Hatteras island. We also saw our first drive-thru beer store, which was an old garage, which probably had done oil changes in its former life, and was now a place to get your beer. It was an odd concept. On the way back, we decided to go via Elizabeth City, a place we would be going through in a few days by boat. It looked a lot shorter on the map than it was in reality, and turned out to be about two hours out of the way. The countryside was nice, but it made the cornfields in the Midwest that seem endless not seem too bad. It was a very long trip back and although we thought the Outer Banks were lovely, we wouldn’t want to live there.

We finally left the Alligator Marina on the 23rd of June in the afternoon, after finally turning in our rental car (and now that I know where the rental car lady was coming from, I am surprised that we had a car at all….remember Elizabeth City?). We didn’t go very far, but were happy to be on the « road » again. We finally did make it back to Elizabeth City , but only stopped briefly, and decided to head to our next destination, as we really wanted to get through the Dismal Swamp Canal today. Last night, we slept next to the Dismal Swamp Canal, basically in the middle of the ICW. This was ok, as there was no one else there. It was a little eerie, actually. We had put the fan on inside our boat, because it was so hot. At one point we stopped it, because we heard all kinds of odd noises around the boat and feared that someone was coming upon us in the night. We discovered that it was actually all of the wild animals in the forest around us. It was how I would imagine a night in the jungle sounding. We decided to turn the fan back on, so we could sleep peacefully.

Today, we went through the Dismal Swamp Canal. We also went through our first and second lock (one at the beginning and one at the end) and went on a US Warship. Let me explain. The Dismal Swamp Canal was started in 1793, and hand dug by slaves borrowed from plantations in the area. The beginning and the end are not at the same water level, and therefore you need to go through a series of locks to get in and out of the canal. This was actually easier than we thought. The canal itself was very scenic, but we did hit a number of fallen tree trunks, which were just below the surface. I don’t think that any permanent damage was done. When you leave the canal, which is very bucolic, and you feel like you’ve been thrown back a few centuries, you are « plopped » out into the harbor in Norfolk. The contrast between the two is staggering. You leave this pleasant canal, where you have been for the last 5 hours and enter into Norfolk, which I believe is one of the busiest commercial and military harbors in the world. It is a world of tug boats, barges, and military vessels of all sizes. We anchored at hospital point and headed over to waterside across the bay. There is a building there called Nauticus and our lock operator at the second lock had also served as a tour guide and had mentioned that we should go to Nauticus, because the first two floors were free and we could visit the USS Wisconsin. This is how I came to be on a US Warship. When we arrived, it was five minutes to closing, but they let us on., so all I can really say, is that it is very big and very grey (apparently the grey they used is a peacetime grey). It was quick but I enjoyed it and the maritime museum seemed very interesting also, even though, that too, unfortunately, was also very quick, because it was also closing. This evening we had a fellow boater, Jay, over for cocktails. We had met him at the lock this morning, and he talked us through our first lock and gave us our first flyswatter, which is one of the most useful inventions for someone traveling by boat on the ICW at this time of the year. The horseflys and dearflys are abundant and they are nasty little buggers! We had great cocktails with Jay and hope to catch up with him again in New Jersey. Tomorrow we are going to head towards Williamsburg.

June 27th
We arrived in Yorktown, VA yesterday evening. This is a great little town, with a beautiful waterfront, known as Riverwalk. Last night, just as we were arriving, they were starting to set up for a free « shag » music concert. Shag dancing is similar to the « rock » which we dance in France, so Sébastien and I were thrilled to « cut a rug » on the dance floor in the middle of the street., after an impromptu picnic on the green. This morning we went to the farmer’s market on the same square as the dancing last night. This location is wonderful….Very central to everything! We were able to buy fresh fruits and veggies - it was almost like being back at my market in France. I was thrilled! Afterwards, we took a free shuttle to Williamsburg, which is 12 miles away. The shuttle is run by the National Park Service and links Yorktown (where the English surrendered in the American Revolution in 1781) to Williamsburg and to Jamestown. We spent the day touring Williamsburg, and learned a lot. The big surprise is that the redcoats had landed for this weekend and we were able to see them throughout the town, doing various activities. We were also able to see their encampment, complete with tents, and everything needed for their daily lives. We saw the women preparing the food and embroidering. The town is very authentic, and the tours in the different buildings were very informative and I now have a much better idea of life in colonial America. I think that Sébastien probably had the most fun of all of us, because he had never had this version of American history He was completely enchanted, and I’m thrilled that he and the girls are able to see American history « come to life » during this trip! Tomorrow we continue our journey towards Washington, DC, where we will spend the fourth of July with some friends from the states and some friends from Switzerland.

June 29th
Once again, we are checking out different medical facilities for Obama’s healthcare system. About four hours away from our destination Marie came upstairs with a crooked arm and tears…, yes, another broken arm! Aren’t we excited? Our original plan was to arrive in Solomons, MD for the night. We had met a couple, Maggie and John the weekend before in Greensboro, at our Bed & Breakfast and we were hoping to see them again, possibly for cocktails. Instead, we called Maggie in a panic and asked if she could recommend a way for us to get to the emergency room. After spending her weekend in MA and driving all weekend, she was exhausted, but she came and got us at the marina, and took us to the hospital emergency room, and stayed with us until Marie was ready to go home at almost midnight! In short , she was our guardian angel and really made dealing with Marie’s newly broken arm much easier. For this, we can’t thank her enough! In addition, we discovered a little piece of paradise, which is only 56 miles from Washington, DC, called Solomons Island, and we fell in love. The area is a sailor’s paradise, and we met a number of wonderful people. If we could figure out a way to move there, we probably would, because we just felt as if we had found the place we needed to be. Of course Marie’s arm was an ordeal…again….but this time less expensive than in the Bahamas and a very positive experience!

May 09 Here we come USA..Florida and into Georgia, via the Intracostal Waterway (ICW)

May 16th
A lot has happened in the last few weeks. We left the Bahamas at the end of April. We went to The Grand Bahama Yacht club in Lucaya first and then onto West End to anchor the night before leaving. The yacht club was fabulous and the anchorage in West End was nice too. Our final night in the Bahamas, two spotted dolphins came to say goodbye to us, just like on our last day in the Turks and Caicos. It is even more special when it happens at a time like that.

Our crossing went very well, and the weather cooperated mostly. We had been worried because all of the guide books talk about the Gulf Stream and say that the crossing can be very tough. The weather was in our favor and all went well. We reached Lake Worth Inlet around 5 pm and my mom’s cousin, John’s house around 6:45. We were thrilled to see John, Annie, his girlfriend, and her grandchildren. We called customs and then enjoyed a well earned glass of wine. We had a great time the first few days with John and Annie visiting West Palm Beach and the surrounding areas and going to Sunfest (a local festival with live music, art, etc.). We quickly got reacquainted with the pleasures of living on land. We also did some stock up shopping and were able to get the alternator replaced. The following week, we visited the Everglades National Park and the Alligator Farm. We were all able to hold a baby alligator and Sébastien got his first experience with a snake and we took our first airboat ride. We also visited Robert is Here, a fresh vegetable and fruit stand, where you can order the most amazing key lime milkshakes in the world. On Thursday, May 7th, we went to Orlando to meet my mom for a wonderful trip to Disney World. We had a great time. I hadn’t been there since I was a teenager and neither Sébastien, nor the girls had been to the one in Florida. We visited animal Kingdom on Friday, the Magic Kingdom on Saturday, Epcot on Sunday and Disney Hollywood Studios on Monday. My mom had reserved a hotel in the resort, so travel to and from Disney was easy and no stress. We also had a meal plan, and were able to eat yummy, well balanced meals most of the time. On Sunday, to celebrate Mother’s day, we went to one of the French restaurants. Although the menu was a little strange (lobster bisque followed by mac and cheese or a croque monsieur, which is like a grilled cheese with ham), the food was excellent and so was the service. In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant, and were able to have the last seat on the terrace, with a fabulous view of the fireworks. On Monday, at MGM studios, we were able to see the tail of the Space Shuttle, which has just been launched. We were all exhausted from 4 days at Disney, but we had a wonderful time. We went back to John’s house on Monday night. On Thursday afternoon, much to my chagrin, we left to continue our trip. Now that we have been in the boat for a few days, I’m doing better. I really liked being with John and Annie and their dogs and cats. I really liked having air conditioning, a real fridge, a real shower and flush toilets. We also made our plane reservations, so I know that I will return with the girls to France on the 13th of August. Hopefully Sébastien will be able to join us, if the boat has already taken off. Yesterday to go from West Palm Beach to Fort Pierce, we decided to go outside, instead of staying in the ICW, the Intercoastal Waterway, which was originally put in place during the civil war. We decided to go on the outside because there were a number of bridges between the two that you have to call to open and they are frequently on restricted schedules, and our trip would have probably taken much longer. Getting in and out of the inlets was difficult, but the rest was fine. Of course, the wind was supposed to be 13 knots and instead got up to 21 knots, and the waves were also much taller than expected, but the trip went well. The most exciting thing is that we had a group of 6 spotted dolphins, which stayed with us for almost 15 minutes, playing with the boat. They were beautiful and this time, I was able to take some pictures. We also saw two sea turtles, but they were too camera shy. And last night, when we were anchored, a small spotted ray did his flying fish act next to the boat and although we have no pictures, he was beautiful. Today, we are in the ICW, as the conditions on the outside were too rough to go out. Since we only had one bridge that we needed to call for opening (the others were all higher than our mast), it wasn’t too bad. The trip has been leisurely, with a light breeze and little traffic, and even some dolphins who followed us for a few minutes. We’ve seen some beautiful houses and some interesting birds. I personally, enjoy having a boat which is flat and batteries which will be fully charged at our arrival! Tomorrow is Sébastien’s birthday.

Mai 21st
Today we are on the way to Daytona. We ended up spending Sébastien’s birthday in the boat. I guess this is appropriate. In the evening, we got out in India Atlantic(?) and walked around. The next day, Monday, we went to Titusville. It was a cute little town with very friendly people. We tried to walk around to find a place to eat, but there wasn’t much open by the time we hit town. Since Monday, the weather has been very uncooperative. Heavy rains and heavy winds. Not great weather for navigating. On Tuesday, we left for New Smyrna Beach. I started my spa treatment.: first, with the early morning mud bath, while lifting the anchor. I followed with a light, whispering sub-tropical rain while waiting for the bridge to open and ended with a cleansing heavy tropical rain, with heavy winds when we anchored. Needless to say, I didn’t realize that it was a spa treatment for which I should have worn my bathing suit, and so I got the pleasure of selecting four different outfits in a 24 hour period. The fun continued into the evening with heavy winds (37 knots), sleeting rain, tornado watches and flash flooding. Given the weather (and our lack of sleep), we decided to stay in New Smyrna yesterday. About three in the afternoon the rain seemed to calm down to a trickle, so we decided to go on land. The girls hadn’t been off the boat for over 36 hours (and neither had we), so we thought that it would be nice to get out and run a little. We tried to figure out where to dock our dingy and finally settled for a dingy dock in a private residence, which we thought was closer to stores and restaurants than it really was. We started our adventure by tying off to a dingy dock which was literally under water. This should have been a clue (remember what I said about flash flooding warnings). We continued walking around the neighborhood, hoping to find a way out to stores or restaurants. As we walked, we saw water fowl gathered on the …uh…lawn, which had been temporarily transformed into a pond. Many of the sidewalks were also underwater. And of course, about 6 minutes into our walk, the heavens opened up and we were drenched. We decided that wet for wet, we might as well continue. We walked for a while and realized that it was really only a residential neighborhood and that there wasn’t much to see. In addition, Marie who has been fighting bronchitis, was starting to chill a little (despite the water being relatively warm). We turned around and headed back, getting strange, amused looks from passerbys in their warm, dry vehicles. When we reached the dingy dock, which was even a little further under water, and the dinghy, Marie proclaimed « This was the most fun I ever had going to a pool ». Ah, the wisdom of youth…she certainly looked as if she had gone swimming, completely dressed of course. We went back to the boat and changed into dry clothes (our boat is humid inside and out from all of the wet clothes we are trying to dry). Afterwards, the rain really calmed down and we went to the other side of the ICW to the little downtown of New Smyrna Beach. Of course, once again, it was closed because we arrived so late (almost 6 pm) but it was charming and it was nice to walk and remain dry. We then treated ourselves to a dinner at a restaurant called Jason’s Place. I had ginger sesame seared tuna. It was delicious. Now we are on our way to Daytona (actually to Port Orange, a city right before Daytona, because the marina is much less expensive). We will try to get Marie’s cast off and will also rent a car to go see Henry Young , from my mom’s side of the family, in Tampa. Henry has followed our trip faithfully from the beginning, and I am looking forward to meeting him after corresponding with him for the last year. Henry and his wife and little girl did a similar type of trip a number of years ago and spent a year as well. I remember my mom telling me about his trip and thinking that it was amazing, but could never happen to me. I guess that you should never say never. Anyway, the rain continues today. I am very glad that I over packed, because I am finding clothes that I had forgotten that I have…..which is a good thing because otherwise I would have run out of dry underwear and other essential clothing items.

May 27th
We are now in Ferdinina Beach, and will officially leave Florida tomorrow. The last few days have been wonderful. We spent time in Port Orange next to Daytona, in a very nice, small marina, called Seven Seas marina, which is apparently the least expensive marina on the entire East coast. The owner and his staff were very friendly and helpful. We arrived when there was major flooding going on, so it was a little complicated, but that seems to be the story of our life, and this year. Many of the major roads were closed, so getting from one spot to another was definitely a challenge. Apparently they never have weather like that. The people from Daytona seemed to take it as well as possible. They kept a sense of humor about it and also seemed to help one another out. It was nice to see. On Friday, May 22, after a doctor’s appointment, we went to Tampa to see Henry Young. Henry, who had never actually met us before, was a wonderful host. He is currently doing historic restoration on his bungalow. He took us for a walking tour around his neighborhood to show us what some of his neighbors had already done to their homes. We ate in a restaurant, which was in a house which had been moved (because the city wanted to tear it down), restored, and turned into a restaurant. Next door, in another house owned by the same couple, was a spa, which I went to on Saturday morning, as a late Mother’s Day gift to myself. We had a wonderful time visiting with Henry, seeing his home and neighborhood and seeing Tampa for the first time. We went back to Daytona on Saturday afternoon. When we took our rental car back to the airport, a man named Darren offered to drive us back to the marina. He was getting a rental car because his four cars and two houses were under water…as he put it « I always wanted lake front property , but this is a little much ». He had never been on a sailboat, so we invited him aboard for a little tour. I think that he was surprised that you could live in a space that size on the water. He was a really nice guy, and said that he hoped to go to France one day…perhaps we’ll see him again. We left on Sunday morning to continue on our journey. We arrived in St Augustine on Monday, Memorial Day. We spent the day visiting the historical area, including the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the US and the Catholic cathedral, which is significant because St Augustine is apparently where American Catholicism was born. St Augustine was a beautiful city, rich in history and we really enjoyed our day. Yesterday, we spent the day sailing to Ferdandina Beach. We hadn’t meant to come the entire way in one day, but we made great time (sometimes going at 7.5 knots), and decided it would be nice to have an entire day here. This city is also charming, and one of the most peaceful places I think that I have ever visited. Once again, we ate in an old house which had been restored. The other houses in the historical district are absolutely stunning. In France, I get a lot of comments about the fact that the US doesn’t have much history. This always irks me. Indeed France is a much older country, but we do have a lot of wonderful history in the US, which is just as interesting and just as important in understanding our country as it is today, and I am happy to be able to share some of it with the girls.

We are really enjoying the ICW. The scenery is beautiful and it’s a wonderful way to discover a part of the US that I know little about. Yesterday, we saw our first shrimp boats, and today we had a huge plate of peel and eat shrimp - yummy! Tomorrow, we will leave Florida and head to Georgia to Cumberland island, where apparently we will see wild horses, loggerhead turtles and possibly even an armadillo or two. It is part of the Georgia National Seashore, and should have great trails and a beautiful beach.

May 29th
Yesterday, we arrived in Georgia, at Cumberland Island, which is a national park. I realized yesterday that we have visited 4 US national parks in the last three months (in the USVI, Puerto Rico, the Everglades in Florida and yesterday in Cumberland island), and that we are extremely lucky to have done so. Cumberland Island is beautiful. When you walk through the forest to the beach, you pass through a dense forest of tall old oaks, with branches that come down to meet you, covered with Spanish moss. It feels like something out of a magical, mythical forest and you are sure that a unicorn will appear at your side. Five minutes later you enter into a world of sand dunes, covered with grass, where you can see wild turkeys and wild horses. And three minutes later, you are on a 20 mile long, wide sandy beach. We also took a tour of the Dungeness ruins. Dungeness was originally owned by a General who served under George Washington. Later it was owned by the Thomas Carnegie family, before becoming a National Park. The house that remains is from the Carnegie era and is interesting to see, even though it was destroyed by fire a number of years back. On our walk back, we saw a wild turkey and a number of very friendly armadillos. We also met a family, with a little girl named Julia, who is Marie and Constance’s age. They were from Augusta, GA, and Julia showed the girls how to look for shark teeth and gave them their first shark tooth. The island is covered with shark’s teeth, because the sand that is dredged from the ICW is deposited on the roads of the island.

We anchored near a nuclear submarine base last night. The park ranger who gave us the tour of the Dungeness ruins said that they never know officially when a submarine is going out to sea, but you can tell by the helicopters, coast guard boats and other boats which swarm the area. Her information turned out to be very useful, because last night, we saw a submarine leave the dock while we were anchored and this morning when we went by the submarine base, and were just barely able to get through (they closed the ICW behind and let us through, luckily), because they were getting ready either to put another submarine out to sea, or to welcome one back. It was a little scary to have all of the coast guard boats around us, with the helicopter flying overhead. We were glad to understand what was going on.

Today we visited Jekyll Island. It was very hot outside, and the walk was long, but the visit was nice. The beach was beautiful and the historic downtown, with the millionaires homes tour, was interesting to walk around. We had hoped to get to the Turtle Center to learn more about the loggerhead turtles, but we arrived too late. We did however find freshly squeezed lemonade and butter pecan ice cream, so we were all thoroughly sated! J

April 09 Bahamas

April 17th
Things have been busy the last few weeks. The biggest news is that Marie broke her arm just as we were about to head to Conception Island. She reminds me of that song « no more monkeys jumping on the bed »….She was …uh… »taking a nap », and apparently fell out of her bed. Explaining this at the hospital was frustrating, because no one really believed me. As this happened on the least populated island in the Bahamas (except for the uninhabited islands -Rum Cay which has a population of 100 people), it was, of course, even more of an adventure. They called the two town nurses in who told us that indeed it was really broken (which we had already figured out, by the unnatural angle of the bones in her arm) and that we had done a good job of wrapping it (they even had to use our splint to rewrap it back up because they didn’t have one). We then had to find a flight off the island. Of course, there are only two or three flights a week, and even those aren’t always available, and one had left just a few hours prior to her accident. In addition, it was Easter weekend, which meant that everything was closed from Thursday night until Tuesday morning and that airplane were full, getting families around the islands. As usual, good planning on our part. The people on the island were wonderful, however, and found us a spot on a private plane, which just happened to be going to Nassau the next morning. Marie and I got our first ride in a private plane…It was definitely a nice way to travel. When we arrived at the airport, in the executive lounge, I had a difficult time reaching my insurance to find out who was picking us up, so we didn’t end up getting to the hospital until around 2 pm. We decided to go to the private hospital, because all of the Bahamians warned me to avoid the public hospital, which is much less expensive, but highly understaffed and overcrowded. I spent 5 hours in the hospital and 2300 USD later, we left with a plaster cast. Marie was very well behaved and very brave. We spent the night in Nassau and flew back to Stella Maris, Long Island, the next day. Sébastien and Constance met us in Stella Maris. It was a complicated,, lonely navigation for Sébastien, and he was happy to have us back. It was also our first anniversary of our tenth wedding anniversary, so it was nice to be together. Those who followed the trilogy, know what this means - as we celebrated our wedding three times, we take advantage of all three dates to celebrate each year. Anyway, it was nice to be together and we went to a wonderful restaurant, Two Sisters, in a little community called Burnt Ground. We both ate grilled fish and the girls had grouper fingers, and we were thrilled to have such good food in such a nice ambiance. We left the next day for Georgetown, after spending a little time doing some grocery shopping, and filling up our water and fuel tanks. We arrived in Georgetown in the late afternoon and headed into shore. We found a great grocery store on land and checked Easter service mass times at the Catholic church. We were hoping to find a place to get our alternator repaired and had heard that Georgetown was the place to do that. We therefore decided to stay until Tuesday, when all of the businesses would be open again. We took advantage of being on land to stock up on fresh food, water, fuel and get our laundry cleaned. On Tuesday, we tried to find someone to repair or replace our alternator but we soon realized that it wouldn’t happen on Georgetown. Georgetown is a very small town and not the booming metropolis that the guidebooks make it out to be. There are a few restaurants, and a couple of grocery stores, a number of liquor stores and about 5 churches, but there isn’t a whole lot else to do… We did however, catch up with our friends on Windflower and Micromegas, who came into Georgetown on Tuesday. It was wonderful to see them again, and we were saddened to leave them again the next day. We almost didn’t leave because our propeller alternator had become loose when Sébastien had tried to fix the other alternator and we realized that neither was charging. This would have been a catastrophy, because we would have had no electricity on board. We realized quickly that a cable was loose and that we were fine once it was firmly in place. We went to Farmer’s Cay the first day, but only arrived at 6 pm, because of our late start, so unfortunately, we did not see much. We went on to Staniel Cay the next day. The anchorage was ok, but frankly, I think that it was overrated. Sébastien and Constance went snorkeling in the caves, and enjoyed it. As Marie can’t swim, she and I stayed on the boat and did « girl » stuff. We did, however, meet two French boats. It was nice to see other European boats, because there are so few in this part of the world.

Yesterday, we went to Compass Cay. The navigation was very tricky, but the view was worthwhile. I have rarely seen anything so beautiful. The colors were gorgeous. Today we are in Warderick Wells and the beauty continues. We spent the afternoon hiking on one of the trails and then went to a little social on the beach. Our contribution was birthday cake, which was gobbled up because so few people actually do any real baking. We met a lot of great people who we hope to catch up with again on our travels. We met some Canadians, on Sein Finn, and a number of Americans.



April 21
After leaving Waderick Wells, we went to Shroud Cay, which is also part of the National Park, like Waderick Wells. We were able to navigate with our dingy in the mangrove. It was amazing - beautiful and very quiet. At the end, you reach paradise, with beautiful aqua water and gorgeous, soft white sand.

We arrived yesterday, April 20th, in Nassau and its nice to be back in civilisation. Its also a little daunting, as we have been away from city life for so long. We need to get used to being with people again. For the last month, we have been with very few people and spent most of our time in anchorages in the little cocoon that our boat has become. The Far Bahamas that we started in here, as well as the Exumas islands, are far from civilisation. Some of the islands have no inhabitants…others as few as one or two hundred. Sometimes it has been hard, because modern comforts such as internet and cell phone service are not a given. Neither are fresh fruits and vegetables or fresh meat. Some of the grocery stores that we’ve been in consist of one room the size of my living room. One even had live goats and chickens running around in the back yard, that you could hear and see through the screen door. You can usually only buy canned and dry goods in stores such as this. The few vegetables you see are sometimes for sale, but sometimes just the family’s personal stock, as they use the refrigerator which is in the store. It is hard to detect the difference. Being used to modern comforts, this can sometimes be disarming. However, now that I’m back in civilisation, I miss it. The Bahamas are amazing. I am finally starting to get over my boat culture shock (I know, it’s about time….) and getting a little worried about returning to real life. I think that being in the states will help, and it’s probably good that we are going though the states and going to large cities, as that will help with some of the culture shock we will have when we return. This year has really changed us all. Its funny because not too long ago, we were asking ourselves if we are really getting everything we can out of this year. The answer is yes and no. Partially because we like our modern comforts and because living on a boat is more complicated in terms of modern comforts, we’ve possibly missed some of the enjoyment of this year. But I think that it has been a very rich experience for us and will continue to be so. We are getting to know ourselves, and each other much better. I certainly didn’t think that I could handle being with my children 24/7 and actually it’s not too bad. There are days when it’s tough for us and for them, but its actually going much better than I thought. I also realize that despite the fact that I am really not meant to be a teacher, that I have actually taught a lot to my children this year (including how to speak in English fluently and how to start reading in French). That is a big accomplishment. They have taught me things too, like how to take the time to look at the fish swimming around the boat, or the pretty flower or lizard on the path, and how to see things again that I usually « don‘t« have or take the time to appreciate. The relationship we have with our children has also changed. We realize that Marie and Constance are indeed becoming « big girls »….our babies are growing up and its scary but its exciting too, and I’m so glad that I had this year away from everything to really enjoy the time I spend with them. No stress, no harried schedules, just quality time. I’ve also become a much better sailor and although I still have a lot to learn, I have much better reflexes than I did at the beginning of the trip and I can finally share some of the passion that Sébastien does for sailing. I can officially now say that I am hooked on sailing. It depends on the day whether I love it or I hate it, but it is now in my blood. I can’t believe that I’m admitting this on paper, but most people probably aren’t surprised given that I am the one that decided that spending a year on the boat was a good idea. I think that this year has also taught me to be happy with what I have and that « stuff » won’t necessarily make me happy (even though I still really like stuff). I look at the people that we meet who live on these islands. They don’t have lots of stuff, but they do have family, friends and their faith and they are truly happy. I think that we can all learn from that.


April 26th
Today, we are in the Berry Islands in Great Harbour. While eating dinner, we met the lead singer of the beach boys, Bruce Johnston. A very nice guy. We also met three of his friends including one who has also sung with him, John Day, and Caroline, his girlfriend. They both spoke French…it was fun to speak French again. Perhaps we will see one or all of them again. As I said, we are currently in the Berry islands. Yesterday, we were in Chub Cay. Not very tourist friendly. Signs all over basically telling us to go away. There isn’t even an official dingy dock and the marina doesn’t really welcome outsiders. The Bahamians, as usual, were wonderful, but we didn’t even meet many of them. Today we are in Great Harbor and this island has much more promise than Chub Cay, which is good because after our trip today, we are ready to take a little break. We averaged 3 knots, and sometimes fell to 1.5 knots, because of the winds and currents which were against us. Poor Sébastien was just horrified, and frankly the thought of doing another 60 miles like that (at between 1.5 -3 miles an hour) is beyond my fathoming…., so we are going to wait a day. Afterwards, we will head onto Grand Bahama and then to Florida. Florida is my light at the end of this tunnel. The last few weeks in the Bahamas have been great, but I’m ready to move on. This area is only for sport fishing, and so we are not really in our element. The cruising is not that great and the islands don’t have much on them for cruisers. Tonight was an adventure, because after our dinner, we had to get back in our dingy. We of course were completely lost in the mangrove leading up to the marina, because we had come during daylight and high tide, when it was already confusing. Of course, on the way back, in the dark, the dingy motor also stopped working for awhile, and we had to row over to shore (I am getting a little better at rowing, thanks to the dingy…). Sébastien was able to repair it and then we were back on our way…but we weren’t sure where to, as we couldn’t seem to find the exit to get out of the mangrove. It took us awhile (and I was trying to figure how we were all going to sleep in the dingy, without the girls getting sick and Marie getting her cast wet), but we finally got back to the boat. I informed Sébastien that the next time he suggested going out to dinner that I would not be going…. Living in the boat is a daily adventure. I just finished reading the Zahir from Paolo Cohelo. It’s a strange book, but one of the lessons is interesting. It tells you to not spend time worrying about who you were but instead to concentrate on who you are and who you want to be . Basically, you need to not let the past hold you down from accomplishing what you want in the future and that you shouldn’t have regrets about your past…because you can’t do anything about it….you can only change the future. It kind of goes with the philosophy of this year for us. This year has not always been perfect or easy, but we will never regret having decided to do it. The rewards have been much greater than the inconvenience, and as a quote that one of my friends sent me from Mark Twain said, « In 20 years, you won’t regret what you have done, only what you haven’t done ». Life is short and so is this year, so we are trying to get as much as possible out of it.

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.