The Sailing Vessel Alize

Fri July 3 — In the morning, we borrowed the marina courtesy car and went to Beaufort for breakfast. We ate at Blackstones, a restaurant that we ate in when we were here last. Afterward, we drove around, doing errands. Back on the boat, Lin decorated the boat for the 4th of July and I did a few chores. The marina holds a 4th of July picnic, providing food and drinks. Afterward, people go out of the dock to watch fireworks. One of the nearby neighbors is the Marine training camp, Parris Island, and the Marines reportedly set off quite a fireworks display.

Thurs July 2 — We had a leisurely morning and made a few more preparations for getting underway. Out of the blue, we changed our minds and decided to stay in Port Royal through July 4th. We both like it here and neither of us looked forward to spending the day plodding along the ICW. It didn’t take long to re-connect our hose and cable TV hookup and to put the sun shades out. When you enter a foreign country, you are expected to fly a courtesy flag, a small version of the country flag. We strung all of our courtesy flags together (about 16 of them) and flew them in a string on the boat. In the evening, we watched TV and played games.

Wed July 1 — After a slow start, we got moving and had a productive day. We borrowed the marina courtesy car (an F-150 with 180,000 + miles on it) and went to the bank, hardware store and supermarket. Back at the boat, I went to work changing the second engine’s fuel filters. This did not correct the problem that we encountered coming up river to the marina, and I was able to get a diesel mechanic to come to the boat. He agreed with my diagnosis and we (more him than me) fixed the problem. Afterward, I defrosted the freezer while Lin cleaned the boat. In the evening, we put a few things away in anticipation of leaving for Charleston in the morning.

Tues June 30 — We got up a little bit late and relaxed over cups of coffee (me) and tea (Lin). After that, we started on boat chores. I finished the washdown pump installation (the wiring) and tested it out. It is stronger than the old pump. Next, we took all of our anchor chain (all 225 ft. of it) off the boat and treated with Ospho, a compound that is supposed to remove rust and replace it with a phosphate compound that is rust resistant. The chemical reaction was rather impressive. When we put the chain back on the boat, we reversed the chain so that the end that always stayed in the anchor locker was attached to the anchor. Lin also did some cooking and baking and I replaced the fuel filters on one of our engines (will do the other engine tomorrow). When we were coming up the river, yesterday one of the engines temporarily lost power, three times. I’m hoping that the problem was a clogged fuel filter. We’ve decided to extend our stay here by one day. We’ll leave here, anchor out on the ICW one night and then go to the Charlestown City Marina for the nights of the 3rd and the 4th, in hopes of seeing a really good fireworks display.

Mon June 29 — We arrived at the Port Royal Landing Marina (Port Royal, SC) late Monday morning. It was an unpleasant journey but we are now well above Brunswick Georgia. The insurance company would be pleased to know we made it before July 1! The staff were very helpful and friendly and we were soon fueled up and secure on a T-head. Port Royal has serious currents as the water rushes in and out of the inlet through the bridge abutments next to the marina. In the afternoon Lin washed down the boat which was covered with salt and Bruce worked on replacing the deck washdown waterpump. In the evening, we walked to the marina bar/grill for burgers and a couple of drinks. While there, we talked to liveaboards who we met when we were here three years ago. Back on the boat, we went to bed early and slept very well.

Sun June 28 — We woke up fairly early in the morning and prepared to leave the marina. We had to go through the Bridge of Lions which has been under construction for the last 4 years. It’s cost DOT a fortune as the bridge has been torn down and now is being refurbished. The DOT also built a second bridge and has torn it down at this point. The bridge is on the national register of historical sights. They did not change any of the dimensions (it’s the narrowest bridge on the E. Coast). As we were finishing preparations, one of the dock hands came by to help with our lines. The dock hands at the St. Augustine City Marina are GREAT! We went out through the 9:00 AM bridge opening and proceeded out the inlet. We soon discovered why St. Augustine is not considered to be a Class A inlet as we saw breakers along a line of channel markers. The channel had silted in to the point where markers designed to show the location of the safe channel were outside the safe channel. At first, we made excellent time and considered Charleston rather than Port Royal Sound, but we suddenly slowed down (probably ran into an eddy of the Gulf Stream) and reconsidered Port Royal (a shorter trip). We had been told that significant squalls and thunderstorms were not predicted for Sunday or Monday, but then we heard the Coast Guard warning people about a line of severe thunderstorms with rain, hail, high seas and 40 kt winds and urging boaters to find a safe place to go to. Unfortunately, at the time, we were 20+ miles offshore in a boat doing 6 kts. We watched the storms on radar and managed to avoid most of them. However, we were glad that we had dropped our sails when winds got to the mid 30s during the squalls that did hit us. We had gotten forecasts of winds in the 15 to 20 kt range from the west or southwest. What we got were winds of up to 35 kts from the north (on our nose). Well, at least we did get some good practice in raising, lowering and reefing our sails. The seas were kicked up and we pounded and were hit by waves. At 10 PM the winds were 20-35 again. It was an unpleasant journey but we are now well above Brunswick Georgia. The insurance company would be pleased to know we made it before July 1! We arrived at the Port Royal Landing Marina (Port Royal, SC) in the late morning of Monday. The staff were very helpful and friendly and we were soon fueled up and secure on a T-head. Port Royal has serious currents as the water rushes in and out of the inlet through the bridge abutments next to the marina. Lin washed down the boat which was covered with salt and Bruce worked on replacing the deck washdown waterpump.

Sat June 27 — We both enjoyed a restful night’s sleep. In the morning, I spoke with Chris Parker of the Caribbean Weather Center. The forecast for our passage to Beaufort, SC sounds as if the trip should be reasonable if we leave tomorrow morning. Bruce checked with four different sources and all agreed. We hired a taxi and went shopping, West Marine, a supermarket and a liquor store. The taxi driver is a live-aboard who delivers boats and drives a taxi between boat deliveries. In the evening we walked to St. George’s St. (a tourist area) where we did a little shopping and enjoyed a memorable dinner at an excellent Cuban restaurant (Columbia Restaurant). Bruce had a tender steak and Lin had shrimp wrapped in bacon and deep fat fried. The soups and Cuban bread were excellent too! We waddled back to the boat and did a few more things to get the boat ready for sea. Lin worked on our ship’s log.

Fri June 26 — We woke up earlier than usual in order to get through a bridge that doesn’t open from 7:45 AM to 8:45 AM. As we started down the ICW, we heard one of the boats that we had spoken with the day before calling TowBoatUS. They woke up to find that the wind had shifted and they were stuck on the bottom. We called them and relayed our sympathy (there was nothing else that we could do, particularly since two other boats traveling with them were unable to help). The day was uneventful as we made our way along the ICW. We arrived in St. Augustine around 2:00 PM and tied up to the fuel dock to fill our fuel tank. Because we have to stay in a fairly narrow channel, we’ve been motoring for the past four days. Most of the area we passed through looked like a very wide river or bay, but outside of the ICW channel the water was often only one foot deep. Going from the fuel dock to our slip, there was a four kt current and a 15 kt cross wind. There were also barges involved with work on the Bridge of Lions that had to be maneuvered around. St. Augustine has a very historic bridge, the Bridge of Lions. When the bridge became unsafe, they built a temporary bridge, demolished the old Bridge of Lions, built a new Bridge of Lions and are now tearing down the temporary bridge. I guess that it makes sense to them. With attachment to a dock came water and electricity. We turned on the air conditioning, filled our water tank and Lin cleaned off the boat. After dinner, Lin did a load of laundry. In the evening, we played some games, read and checked emails.

Thurs June 25 — We got up fairly early and started our treck along the ICW. Absolutely nothing interesting to report. We did pass three other sailboats, and watched them arrive after we had anchored off of Daytona. There are a lot of comments and jokes about French cruisers because they tend to anchor much closer than Americans are comfortable with. Wouldn’t you know it. The first foreign flagged vessel that we’ve seen was a French boat that came too close to us and ran aground. The couple worked very hard to get off of the bottom and we worried about swinging into them if the wind changed. Just as we were getting very close, they got off and re-anchored. The couple worked very hard and we learned a number of things watching their efforts. We tried to be helpful, but could not bridge the language barrier.

Wed June 24 — Up around 7:00 AM and underway by 8:30 AM. Spent a quiet, uneventful day motoring along the ICW. While underway, we saw several river dolphin and Lin baked a turkey. We arrived in Titusville around 2:00 PM and decided to anchor there for the night. We would not have gotten to the next attractive-sounding anchorage until around 4:30 PM. The sky has ominous clouds and sprinkles on us occasionally. Severe thunderstorms are the name of the weather game in FL these days!

Tues June 23 — In the morning, Bob came to the boat to say good bye. He and Nancy have really made us feel welcome during our stay in Ft. Pierce. After clearing out with the marina office, Bob tossed our lines to us and we were on our way. When we were a couple of miles down the ICW, he took pictures of Alize passing. After an uneventful day of motoring, we anchored off of the city of Melbourne. We chose a spot to anchor which should have been protected from the prevailing winds. Shortly after that, the winds came around about 180 degrees and picked up to a gusty 20 kts. with rain. Fortunately, our anchor didn’t drag and after watching things closely for a while, we went to bed. We were very glad that the intense heat of the past many days has subsided somewhat and that we are fairly comfortable without airconditioning.

Mon June 22 — Nancy came home from the hospital! We spent most of the day running errands and getting ready for travel. Both of the ICW guidebooks arrived. We finished provisioning, including a trip to an excellent produce market… Nelson’s… which is near Bob’s house. We drove from Nelson’s to the Coutant’s where we swam and ate dinner before Bob drove us back to the boat. We did some last minute things in preparation for leaving Tues. AM. There was a very strong thunder and lightning storm during the night.

Sun June 21 — This was a day of more errands and boat chores. In the evening, we went to Bob and Nancy’s to visit and socialize. Bob was kind enough to drive us around and we accomplished many things. Nancy was still in the hospital, so we visited her. We ate dinner at a beach bar/restaurant in Jensen Beach. The food was good and Lin especially enjoyed the margaritas. Yum yum.

Sat June 20 — We attended a Saturday morning flea market at the park next to the marina. We walked through the food booths and bought a couple of things and then went across the street to an area where crafts items are sold. After wandering around in the heat, we went back to the food area for some frozen shrimp and then back to the boat. In the afternoon, we went to Bob and Nancy’s house where we socialized and swam for a bit. In the evening, we enjoyed a delicious meal of steak and king crab legs. YUM! We stopped at the park by the marina to see a patriotic light show with music. Back on the boat, I went to sleep and Lin (who had taken an afternoon nap) stayed and watched a movie. This is really a tough life.

Fri June 19 — In the morning, Janee from the local Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit, and a friend of Bob and Nancy, came to the boat and did a safety inspection. We passed and got our 2009 decal. While Janee was on Alize, Bob came to the boat. Afterward Bob drove us all over Ft. Pierce while we ran errands. Of the two computers we left for repair, one was fixed, the other was junked. The Skipper Bob books we ordered have not come in yet, so we will be in Ft. Pierce through Monday, at least. After lunch/dinner we visited Bob’s wife, Nancy, in the hospital. She is looking MUCH better. Back on the boat, we stowed our provisions.

Thurs June 18 — Plans for the day changed when Nancy went into the hospital during the early morning with a re-occurrence of a medical problem that has been bothering her. We did boat chores for a while before going to Bob’s where we tried to be helpful and ended up spending some time swimming. In the afternoon, we stopped by the hospital to see Nancy, but she was asleep. Afterward, we did some more shopping and took Bob out for supper. We are doing a lot of shopping right now, because we are back to a place where things are available and much less expensive. While on Highbourne Cay, I bought a small box of cereal (unavailable on nearby islands) for $8.45. On Nassau, the same box of cereal cost $5.14 and in Ft. Pierce $3.35. I find this an interesting comparison.

Wed June 17 — In the morning, Lin’s cousin, Bob came to the boat and took us to run a few errands and then to his home. When we got to his house, his wife, Nancy (who worked during the morning) was there and we enjoyed socializing and catching up on each other’s lives. We met their pets Chrissy (short for Christmas; black and chocolate lab mix) and Kara (black lab.) Kara is an avid swimmer and rests on top of Bob on a pool float. Chrissy is afraid of the water but Bob is being patient and hopefully will succeed in getting her to swim! The Coutants loaned us their camper and we went back to Alize in the afternoon. In the evening, we drove to their church for a delicious ham dinner, prepared by Nancy. After dinner, our phone rang, it was a call from our friend, Pete of Peekaboo, welcoming us back to the states. It was really nice hearing from him. Afterward, we went back to the boat and got to bed early.

Tues June 16 — We slept a little during the night. It was very calm and peaceful, but a few times we encountered other ships that seemed to be behaving strangely. For a while, our speed was very slow (5.4 kts at one point). When we hit the gulf stream our speed got up to 9.5 knots, with almost no wind. Lin saw a green turtle as we approached the coastline. There was a big fire in Port St. Lucie. We could see some serious smoke! We arrived at Ft. Pierce around noon. We first tried to go into the wrong marina, but got that sorted out and went into the Ft. Pierce City Marina. This is a much nicer (and less expensive) marina. After putting things away and calling Lin’s cousin Bob, we relaxed for a while and went to bed early.

Mon June 15 — We got up fairly early and were underway by about 8:30 AM. The winds were light and the seas quite calm. We had the sails up, but most of the trip we were essentially motoring. It was funny to go from extremely deep water (1,000 ft. deep +) to 10 – 20 ft. water as we crossed the Bahamas Bank, to extremely deep water again. The bank is amazing! You could clearly see all the way to the bottom which was sandy, or green, or stony at times.

Sun June 14 — We got up fairly early in the morning and motor sailed to Chubb Cay, arriving mid afternoon. We had planned to stay in the marina, but when we learned that it would cost almost $200, we opted to anchor outside of the marina. Good decision, the anchorage was beautiful with clear, light blue, water. We spent a quiet afternoon on the boat and went to bed early.

Sat June 13 — In the morning, we and Martin and Vicky from Arto took a taxi to the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. We and Vicky toured the resort’s aquarium while Martin checked out the Casino. The aquarium is quite nice and we really enjoyed ourselves. After lunch in an open air café surrounded by a pond with a large variety of fish, we took a taxi back to the marina.

Fri June 12 — We cleared out of the marina and got underway for Nassau around 9:00 AM. During the first half of our journey, there were a lot of very dark clouds around us and a great deal of lightning. Later, it cleared up and we arrived in Nassau around 1:30 PM. After docking the boat, we put things away and I did a little shopping in the shopping mall across the street from the Marina. In the evening, we went to Psyche (who were in the same marina) for drinks and snacks with Debbie and Eric and Martin and Vicky from Arto.

Thurs June 11 — We got up fairly early in the morning and finished preparations for the day’s passage. Arto left the anchorage around 7:30 AM, we got underway around 9:00 AM. There was little wind during the day, and what little there was came directly over our nose. We arrived at Highborne Cay at the same time as Arto and went to the fuel dock to top off our tank. Afterward, we went to our slip. Lin tidied the boat up and did two loads of laundry while I checked into the marina, planned our routes for the next few days and made reservations at Nassau and Chubb Cay. The weather forecasts that I downloaded indicated that there may be quite a few squalls going through the area during the weekend, If that happens, we will wait in Nassau for a while before going to Chubb Cay. In the late afternoon, we walked to Stromatolite beach with Arto and introduced them to Stromatolites. Back at the marina, we watched nurse sharks for a while (counted 11 of them, all quite large). While we were talking with them, our friends Erik and Evelyn from Everick stopped by, We haven’t seen them for four years, but heard them on the VHF and talked with them earlier in the day. It was really nice catching up on things with them. If circumstances allow, we will take them up on their offer and visit them in Key Largo sometime in the future. Back on the boat, we read for a while before going to bed.

Wed June 10 — It was a beautiful day in the Land Sea Park. We went exploring in the dinghy for several hours. Unfortunately, the tide was just starting to fall and the current was quite strong, so we couldn’t snorkel some of the better snorkeling spots. We finally went back to a reef that didn’t have any current and snorkeled for a while. After sitting on a swim platform for a while, we went back to the boat. Lin fixed an excellent shrimp dinner and afterward, Arto came for a visit.

Tues June 9 — The morning was a bit overcast, but we raised anchor and got under way around 10:00 AM for the Exuma Land Sea Park. There was very little wind and what there was came from directly astern. It took us three hours to motor the 17 miles to the park. Once there, we took a mooring and then dinghied to the park office to sign in and pay the mooring fee. Afterward, we went snorkeling on a small reef, and really enjoyed the colorful reef fish. In the evening, Martin and Vickie came to the boat and we talked and ate some of the birthday cake that Lin had baked.

Mon June 8 — In the morning, we listened to weather forecasts and got a leisurely start. Our original plan to go to the Exuma Land Sea Park today were changed. Martin on Arto has a birthday in a couple of days and he wanted to go somewhere that had a bar to celebrate, so we changed our destination to Staniel Cay. We anchored off Big Majors (an island) when we couldn’t get into the Staniel Cay Yacht Club and couldn’t get a mooring. The distance to the yacht club restaurant was too far to dinghy in, so it appeared that our plans to go out to dinner to celebrate Martin’s birthday (Arto) would have to be cancelled. However, Martin managed to find someone who would pick us up from our boats and take us to the restaurant and return us to our boats later. We enjoyed a very good dinner. While we were eating, it started to rain heavily and we got pretty wet on the ride back to our boats.

Sun June 7 — We got up around 6:30 AM and were under way by 7:30 AM. Two other boats left the anchorage around the same time as us, Arto and Cloud Messenger. We traveled slowly while in the harbor because of the need to watch out for reefs. After two days of waiting in the harbor to avoid predicted squalls, we were hit by a long line of squalls shortly after we got out of the harbor. Winds were up in the thirties at times, visibility very limited due heavy rain and there was a lot of lightening. Cloud Messenger turned back after they lost there electronics, apparently due to a lightening strike. After a while, things settled down and we made very good time. After coming through a wide cut from the Atlantic to the Bahamas Bank, we anchored off Black Point Settlement around 3:00 PM. Arto arrived in the anchorage about an hour after we did. We tidied the boat up, put things away and spent a quiet evening on the boat before going to bed.

Sat June 6 — In the morning, I did a couple of chores on the boat and then went ashore to do some shopping. In the early afternoon, we took Alize to the local fuel dock, and after anchoring out and waiting while another boat finished fueling, we topped off the tank and then went back and anchored again. Lin spent the afternoon cooking food in anticipation of several days of sailing. In the afternoon, we finished getting Alize ready for an ocean passage and in the evening we went to bed early.

Fri June 5 — In the morning, we went to town to do some shopping. Guess what? It was another holiday, and everything was closed. After walking around for a bit, we went back to the boat and Lin did a load of laundry. In the afternoon, we went in to St. Francis and played Sequence with Martin and Vicky from Arto. When we got back to the boat, four dolphins were playing in the waters around Alize. It is really great when something like this happens. In the evening we read and watched a movie before going to bed.

Thurs June 4 — Using a relay, I got a weather report this morning from Chris Parker, Caribbean Weather Center. It is supposed to be squally today, with even more squalls Saturday and Sunday. The morning has been overcast and rainy, but with no significant rain squalls. We don’t want to be caught out when there are 30 to 50 kt squalls around and will probably stay here for a couple more days.

Wed June 3 — A bright, sunny day. We plan on going to the market for some fresh produce either this afternoon or tomorrow. One of the two weekly supply boats came in today and we want to wait until supplies are unloaded and put on the supermarket shelves. In the afternoon, Martin and Vicky from Arto came to Alize and we played Sequence. Afterward, Lin made a meat pie that we enjoyed for dinner and we read for a while.

Tues June 2 — In the morning, I took care of a couple of minor boat repairs, end-for-ending one of our reefing lines and removing a lazy jack (helps keep the jib from flopping all over the deck when the sail is lowered) that had gotten caught on a spreader. Afterward, I and Martin from Arto went in and cleared in with Customs and Immigration. Afterward, I made a few purchases before going back to the boat, and getting soaked in the process. Next, we went to the St. Francis resort to have lunch and buy internet access cards. We met friends there and spent the afternoon socializing. In the afternoon, we saw a couple of rain spouts coming down the harbor toward us, but both dissipated before they got to us. In the evening, we watched a movie and read before going to bed.

Mon June 1 — We awoke after a sticky night and little wind, but many mosquitoes. We’re don’t know how so many of them got into the cabin. During the night, the wind shifted from easterly to almost due south and the boat followed the wind around, leading to some fear that we might have dragged. When we got in yesterday evening, Debbie of Psyche called us to let us know that Monday (today) is a holiday, Whit Monday (occurs 40 days after Easter) and everything is closed. I went in to town to check in, or at least be able to say that I had tried to, and everything is indeed closed. All of our errands are put off for a day. We spent a quiet afternoon and evening on the boat and watched a movie before going to bed.

Sun May 31 — Woke up at 6:00 AM and got underway at 6:45 AM. After picking our way back out across the reef, we headed for Georgetown, a 55 mile passage. We wanted to get in during the early afternoon to have good light conditions for coming through the reefs at the entrance to Elizabeth harbor. We motor sailed at 8 kts during the morning with our speed dropping off to around 6.5 kts in the afternoon. Got into the harbor with no problems and anchored off of the Chat ‘n Chill around 3:30 PM. After putting things away, we relaxed and had an early supper before going to bed. Travelwise, this has been an interesting month. With health issues and waiting for weather, we spent three weeks at Ocean World. Despite that, we traveled several hundred miles, coming from Ponce, Puerto Rico to Georgetown, Bahamas. Most of the distance was in the form of three long overnight passages.

Sat May 30 — The night was uneventful, but very dark. We saw a couple of boats off in the distance, and a pod of dolphin passed us in the afternoon, but that was all. We arrived at Rum Cay around noon, anchored and put things away. I dove the anchor and saw only sand and turtle grass (but no turtles). We spent a quiet day on the boat and went to bed early.

Fri May 29 — We tried to leave early, we finally got underway around 8:45 AM. When I spoke with marina staff the evening before, they told me that I didn’t have to do anything, they would be at the boat with our bill at 7:30 AM, toss our lines to us and lead us out through the reefs. I finally managed to find the staff around 8:30 AM, sitting and talking with one another. After I “reminded” them, they got busy and enabled us to leave. We had planned to go only as far as Mayaguana, but conditions were very pleasant on the ocean, so we decided to go on to Rum Cay, a 195 mile journey, not our originally planned 44 mile day.

Thurs May 28 — Listened to the local cruisers’ net in the morning. The weather forecast looks good for the next few days. We made arrangements to be picked up to go to a barbeque at another marina in the evening. The Turks & Caicos are going through an interesting time. It is a British colony and the British government is taking over the governance of the colony, effective either yesterday or today. Apparently, the local government was extremely corrupt and incompetent, misplacing a variety of things, including $300,000,000. We spent the day finishing boat chores and getting ready to leave in the morning.

Wed May 27 — It’s amazing how 13 or 14 hours of sleep refreshes you. After a little quiet time in the morning, we got busy, shopping for groceries, marine supplies and money (an ATM). Things are very expensive on this island, much more than when we were here two or three years ago. Cab fare for our shopping trip was $60.00 and two
small bags of groceries cost $182.00. Back on the boat, Lin cooked and prepared food. I repaired the broken single line reefing that had broke (new rope and re-attaching a block to the boom), changed oil and filter, starboard engine, filled our scuba tanks and cleaned up the ends of some of our lines with a hot knife. The dinghy had taken on a lot of water while we were in Ocean World and we hadn’t noticed. When we did, the gas tank was floating upside down. When I checked the fuel in the tank, it was over half water. I ran the remaining fuel through a Baja style filter and got the water and other gunk out. In the evening, we walked to nearby restaurant for pizza. While going to the restaurant, I tripped on a step and managed to take Lin with me as I fell to the ground. Fortunately, neither of us was seriously injured. The food was good and after getting back to the boat we played games and read for a while before going to bed.

Tues May 26 — The night was very dark with a lot of lightening off in the distance. The seas settled down nicely and we had an uneventful passage, talking with Psyche and Arto periodically during the night. After crossing the south end of the Caicos bank and going north, past West Caicos Island, we looped around the north end of Providenciales and going east along the north coast of Provo, we arrived off the entrance to the marina around 10:30 AM. It was rather disconcerting a sailboat on its side on the reef to one side of the entrance. Reportedly, it want aground two days ago while leaving Turtle Cove and was eventually abandoned. The owner missed the last channel marker on the way out and hit the reef. We used the free pilot boat provided by the marina to find our way in (and will use it again going out. At the marina, we cleared in with Customs and fueled up before going to our slip. We had an interesting time backing into our stern tie slip. By the time the boat was secured for shore, we were both exhausted and decided to relax for the rest of the day. By 5:00 PM, I was in bed asleep, Lin followed a short time later. I awoke later to a big lightning storm and put out a device that attaches to the mast and hangs a heavy wire in the water that is supposed to protect us from lightening.

Mon May 25 — We were up before 6:00 AM and headed out of the marina by 7:15 AM. The seas were a bit high initially, but gradually settled down. Winds were pretty light and variable for most of the day. We were a bit surprised with all of the junk floating miles off of the coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. All and all, it was a pretty unexciting day, and on a passage, unexciting is good..

Sun May 24 — In the morning I collected weather information and Lin went to the supermarket with Debby from Psyche. Based on the information I obtained, we’ve decided to leave in the morning around 7:00 AM. The rest of the day was spent cleaning the boat, cleaning growth off the props and, checking out with the marina and Customs and Immigration and generally getting the boat ready to leave.

Sat May 23 — Worked around the boat in the morning. In the afternoon we met some other cruisers and played dominoes by the pool. Afterward, we swam for a while before going back to the boat. During the day, we used Skype to call our sons and Lin’s brother and cousin. It was nice speaking with them

Fri May 22 — Up in time to gather weather information in the morning. A large catamaran docked near us in the morning. Reportedly, he came into the marina and tied up on the fuel dock around 11:30 PM because conditions out in the ocean were extremely rough. After taking care of a few boat chores, we went for a swim (at least I did) and then played sequence with two other couples. In the evening, we walked to a local restaurant and had drinks with another couple. Because of the flies, we decided to not eat there, but rather took some food back too the boat. Dinner was pretty good and afterwards we watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Thurs May 21 — Up before dawn and to the marina office by 6:30 AM, where we met Eric and Debbie and were picked up by a tour bus to go to Santa Domingo for the day. The trip was very long, with a brief stop it took us about four hours to get to Santa Domingo. The countryside is beautiful, very lush and fertile, and the mountains majestic. Along the way, we stopped at a cavern with three lakes inside (O.K., but not what we came to see). Santa Domingo is the oldest, continuously occupied European city in the new world and the largest city in the Dominican Republic (population 4,000,000). We visited the Christopher Columbus light house, a huge structure, where Columbus’s remains are said to be buried. It was a UNESCO project costing $35,000,000. Reportedly, when it is lit, a large portion of the city around it loses power. Next, we visited the fortified palace where Diego Columbus (Christopher’s son) lived, a building where a number of DR heroes are buried and the National Cathedral. These were all interesting, particularly the Diego Columbus home. After lunch, we went to an overpriced souvenir shop. After that, it was back on the bus for the four hour ride back to Puerto Plata. At every traffic light in the big cities there were many venders selling a wide variety of things (some of which we couldn’t identify) to motorists waiting at the light. Back on the boat, we read for a while before going to bed.

Wed May 20 — In the morning, I spoke with Chris Parker. I was told that wind and seas are generally mild, but that there are a large number of along the north DR coast and more severe squalls in the Turks and Caicos. The information provided was a bit vague and inconsistent, but we were encouraged to hold off leaving until situation becomes clearer, probably by the weekend. We spent the morning working around the boat. In the afternoon, we went up to the pool area where I went into the water for a while (very chilly) and then we played Sequence with two other couples.

Tues May 19 — I got up early to listen to weather forecasts on the SSB, but reception was very poor and I wouldn’t make out enough of the words to get any worthwhile information. I received an email from Chris Parker telling me that starting on Thursday we should have good conditions for our passage. Late in the morning, we got a taxi to take us to a large store that is a cross between a supermarket and a K-Mart to do some grocery shopping. We got most of what we were looking for and headed back to the boat. Marina staff, as usual, were quite willing to take us and our purchases back to the boat via golf cart. After putting things away and taking care of a couple of minor chores, we relaxed on the boat.

Mon May 18 — We both slept late this morning and spent a quiet day on the boat. Lin heard from someone who spoke with Chris Parker of the Caribbean Weather Center this morning. She was told that there are expected to be significant storms and squalls near the Turks and Caicos until Thursday. We’ll wait and see what develops and possible delay our departure until Thursday. In the afternoon, it clouded over and rained for several hours. Imbedded in the storm was a squall with lightning and thunder and winds up to 39 kts. It drizzled through most of the evening and we had a typical evening of reading and TV.

Sun May 17 — We woke to an overcast day with very light winds. After spending the morning on the boat reading, Lin joined some other women at the Octopus bar & grill for some games. The architecture of the marina complex is very ornate. The Octopus bar & grill is next to the pool, and the roof over the bar looks like a spread out octopus, the pool is free form and runs through a large patio. I and my cold symptoms stayed on the boat and read and rested. In the evening, we had some roast beef and macaroni and cheese for dinner and watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Sat May 16 — I tried to collect weather information on the SSB this morning with no success. After considering the weather information we do have and my illness, we’ve decided to postpone departure from the DR until sometime next week. There is supposed to be a front with squalls coming through on Tuesday, followed by light winds and calm seas on Wednesday. Lin did laundry and cooking in the afternoon while I rested. In the evening, I crashed quite early and Lin stayed up and watched TV.

Fri May 15 — We had a quiet night and woke to an overcast day. I think that some of the germs that we were exposed to in the hospital got to me. I am running a low grade fever and have little energy. We decided to see how I’m feeling tomorrow and early Sunday morning before making any changes in our plan to leave Sunday. We spent a quiet evening on the boat watching TV and went to bed early.

Thurs, May 14 — At 10:00 AM Eric and Debby stopped by the boat and we all walked to the Adventure park. Lin, Eric and Debby bought admissions that included the Sea Lion Encounter and the Dolphin Swim. I bought a general admission ticket and came along as photographer. Lin was assigned different times for events than Eric and Debby. After the Sea Lion Show, she joined a group for a Sea Lion Encounter. Afterward, we went walking around the park and had a light lunch (truly bad food). In the afternoon, Lin put on a life vest and went swimming with the dolphins. They are truly amazing animals. I don’t know. In the morning, I caught her being kissed by a strange sea lion, in the afternoon it was the same thing with a dolphin. I’ve always know that she was an animal lover, but this was a bit much. When we got back to the marina, I went to the marina office and spoke with the staff about getting some coke (there was none when we went to the supermarket. Roberto, the concierge, found a man who went to another supermarket on his motor cycle and purchased some for us. Roberto then delivered it to the boat. In the evening we had a quiet dinner on the boat and crashed.

Wed May 13 — It rained a great deal during the night and into the morning. Lin spent a quiet day on the boat. I did a few minor repairs, including repairing the deck washdown pump. In the evening we went to Psyche and enjoyed drinks, snacks and socializing with Eric and Debby. Back on the boat, we read and watched TV before going to bed.

Tues May 12 — We got up early headed to the marina office to meet a taxi driver. On our way, we met Eric and Debbie from Psyche who had just arrived. We have met them several times down island. After chatting for a bit and arranging to get to together in the evening for drinks. Our driver picked us up at 8:30 AM and took us back to the hospital. After a wait while the ex-ray was processed, we took the ex-ray upstairs to the doctor who looked at it and prescribed more medication for Lin. On the way back to the boat, the driver stopped at an open air market so that we could buy some more produce. Back on the boat, I took care of some minor chores and Lin went to bed. In the evening, Eric and Debbie came to the boat and we enjoyed socializing for a couple of hours. After they left, we had dinner and I read while Lin watched a basketball game on TV.

Mon May 11 — During the night it rained quite a bit, most of the time lightly, but one squall did come through that would have had us taking down our sails if we had been at sea. After a quiet morning, we went grocery shopping. The grocery store provided transportation to the store and back. The store bills itself as a supermarket, but it really wasn’t very super. Our bill came to $4,600, making it appear to have been a very expensive trip, however, that is only about $120 US so I think that we can live with it. Back at the marina, staff took us and our purchases back to Alize in a golf cart. After taking care of a few things on the boat, we went to the marina office where a taxi driver picked us up and took us to the hospital so that Lin could see the doctor again. After examining her again, the doctor ordered an ex-ray, which we were told would be ready the next morning. Back on the boat, we had a quiet evening.

Sun May 10 — It rained most of the night, at times hard with strong winds. These conditions are comfortable when tied to a dock, often very uncomfortable when out at sea. Lin is still not feeling her best, and spent a quiet day aboard the boat. I ran a couple of errands and some minor boat chores. In the evening, we went to the marina restaurant for dinner to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Sat May 9 — We had another quiet night and awoke to a short period of rain. It is interesting to observe how the large islands such as Puerto Rico and Hispanola effect the weather. At night and into mid morning there is typically almost no wind, then from late morning through the afternoon, it is extremely windy. The large islands also collect a lot of moisture from the ocean that goes out to sea in the form of rain and squalls in the evening. Lin is feeling better, but still not 100%. We spent a quiet day aboard, me doing more boat chores, Lin doing a little baking. In the afternoon, Roberto, an employee of the marina, stopped by to ask how Lin is doing. The staff here are great, and he is one of the best, pleasant, friendly, and always to be helpful. Another typical evening, games, leftovers, TV, and reading before going to bed.

Fri May 8 — Enjoyed a good night’s sleep and woke to a calm, sunny morning. Lin is still not feeling well, so we decided to spend a quiet day on the boat. I re-packed our spinnaker and walked around the area, and did some route planning, laying out routes and potential stops on our electronic charts. Our current location provides an excellent reminder that one can’t rely completely on electronic charts. Despite what the chart shows, we are not on dry land. Our slip in the marina is very near the slip we had when here two years ago, right next to the area where the sea lion show is held. The show hasn’t changed, and we hear “Who let the dogs out” and some of the music from the Pink Panther” repeatedly during the day. It gets a little old after a while. We had a typical evening aboard, playing games and watching TV before going to bed.

Thurs May 7 — We slept late this morning and woke to a very windy day. We spent a quiet day on the boat. Lin cooked some food while I did boat chores (finishing canvas repairs, running the watermaker, checking fluids in the engines, collecting weather information and updating our web site). In the evening, we enjoyed an excellent dinner, played backgammon, watched TV and read.

Wed May 6 — Up in time to listen to the morning’s weather forecasts, but SSB reception was very poor. I received a reply to an email that I sent to Chris Parker of the Caribbean Weather Center. He suggested that Friday and Saturday should be good days for our passage to the Turks & Caicos. Another cruiser on the dock told me that he had gotten the same recommendation from another source. Lin has been having severe sinus problems, despite a couple of courses of antibiotics. We went to a private clinic at a local hospital (recommend by marina staff). An ENT specialist there put Lin on an entirely different type of treatment and we will be here for another week while we find out how this different treatment works. Hopefully, this will solve something that has been a longstanding problem. The roads here are interesting. Drivers do pretty much whatever they can get away with. Most of the taxis are motorcycles whose drivers were yellow vests with a special logo and their cab number. If the streets are jammed, they and their passengers go up on the sidewalk. The hospital was very crowded and noisy with ER patients walking around holding up their IV bottles and staff very actively socializing as they work. We used to go to the hospital and back. The driver was very helpful in getting us to the right place and waited for us for over two hours. Total cost including tip, $40.00 US. Back at the marina, the staff was very helpful in translating an instruction sheet that Lin had received and trying to explain what some of the fruits are that are allowed in Lin’s diet.

Tues May 5 — After a long and restful night’s sleep, we both awoke refreshed. We spent a quiet day on the boat, though I did do a little shopping and stitched some torn seams in our canvas. I’m also trying to collect weather information and finding it frustrating when the “experts” don’t agree with one another, often in significant ways.

Mon May 4 — We had a very calm night, motor sailing most of the time because there was almost no wind. We arrived at Ocean World at around 7:30 AM, tied up on the fuel dock and started the clearing in process at the fuel dock. We were the first boat to arrive, but during the morning, a half dozen boats arrived, primarily from Puerto Rico. After fueling up, we went to our slip and docked Alize. After that, we checked in with the marina and then saw several more officials from different government agencies. The clearing here has become much more complex and expensive since our last visit here. While I was doing this, Lin cleaned the boat and covered the sails. After I got back, she did a couple of loads of laundry. In the evening, we played a few games, but gradually faded and went to bed early.

Sun May 3 — Wind and seas were comfortable as we motor sailed along the DR coast. By the evening, winds were quite calm, typically between 7 to 15 kts. It was rather boring, but I’ll take boring over rough weather. Lin, as usual, had great food prepared for our trip.

Sat May 2 — We got an unhurried start to the day, raising our anchor and leaving the harbor around 10:00 AM. Conditions were very comfortable for the first few miles. However, when we were well out in the Mona Passage (between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic). Things got pretty lumpy with winds up to 29 kts and 7 to 9 ft waves. Out in really deep water things calmed down a bit and were fairly comfortable once we got to the northern coast of the DR.

Fri May 1 — We woke up at 6:15 AM after a quiet, restful night. This is a beautiful anchorage and we would like to stay here longer, but we need to be moving on. We raised the mainsail and left the anchorage at 7:15 AM. The seas were almost flat (a very low swell was coming in from the southeast) and there was almost no wind, often less than 5 kts. We saw a couple of turtles and Lin caught a three ft. barracuda. We didn’t realize what type of fish it was until we got it aboard. They’re not good eating fish, but Lin plans to freeze some strips of meat to serve as bait. We motored along the southern coast of Costa Rico, rounding Cabo Rojo (Red Cape) around 11:00 AM. As worked our way up to Bouqueron, the wind picked up to about 20 kts and the seas became short and choppy. In Bahia de Bouqueron we anchored near Satori and covered the sails. After collecting additional weather information and talking with some other cruisers, we decided to leave in the morning for the Dominican Republic.

Thurs Apr 30 — Up at 6:15 AM getting ready for our next passage, a short 22 mile run along the coast. By 7:15 we were off the dock and headed out of the harbor. We had a very calm day, motorsailing in light winds. There were almost no other boats out, but we did have visitors. For about 20 minutes a pod of about 6 brown dolphins played around our bows. It is always such a treat when this happens. By 11:00 we were making our way into an anchorage at Cayos de Cana Gorda, commonly called Gilligan’s Island. It is a very pretty area and we are anchored off of a moderately large resort. We enjoyed a quiet evening aboard the boat and went to bed a little earlier than our usual time.

Wed Apr 29 — We were up at 6:15 AM and got the battens into our mainsail without any difficulty. Afterward, I attached the reefing blocks and everything was done. The rest of the morning (and some of the afternoon) was spent on housekeeping chores, two loads of laundry, defrosting the freezer (after only 8 days), vacuuming, cleaning windows, cleaning the heads, etc. In the evening, Paul and Diane from Satori came by the boat for drinks and snacks. They just came in to the marina and are staying a couple of days while some repairs are completed. We had a very good time socializing with them. Afterward, we had one of Lin’s delicious dinners and read for a while before going to bed.

Tues Apr 28 — We enjoyed a pretty good night’s sleep, possibly because there was no music playing across the harbor. At 6:30 AM we got up and installed our main sail during the morning calm. By 7:30 AM it was installed, but the wind had come around and increased to the point where we had to drop the sail and secure it. After breakfast, I added the lazy jacks and miscellaneous lines to both sails. By 10:00 AM or so, the winds were howling at 25 + kts. By the afternoon, the jib was completely set up and covered. I managed to get on-line and checked emails, got updated weather forecasts and updated our web site. In the afternoon, Lin baked a meat loaf and scalloped potatoes for supper. We enjoyed an excellent supper, played games and watched a movie before going to bed.

Mon Apr 27 — We ran the air conditioner last night and it helped drown out the music. Our repaired sails and new battens were delivered around 9:30 AM. The work seems well done (if expensive) and we were very lucky to have been somewhere where the sails could be repaired if this had to happen. We could have made emergency repairs, but this is much better. Next, we returned our rental car. Because of the broken mirror, it took quite a long time to sort things out. On the way back to the marina, the driver took us to the post office where Lin mailed off a package. We got back to the marina about 11:30 AM to find that the wind had picked up for the day. In the early morning, it is almost dead calm (a phenomena known as the night lee of the island) and by late morning the winds pick up to 25 plus kts and continue that for the rest of the day. We decided to put off the start of re-installing the sails until tomorrow morning. It may take us two or three days to get the sails up in these conditions. We’re concerned that the wind might catch our sails and they would take off on their own or at least become very difficult to manage (particularly with the wind coming from our stern). There are still plenty of chores to keep us busy. Around 6:00 PM the winds decreased a bit and we installed the jib. Afterward, we played games, enjoyed some excellent soup that Lin had created and watched a movie before going to bed.

Sun Apr 26 — We both enjoyed a very quiet, restful night’s sleep. It seemed strange to be on a bed that didn’t bounce around and to not have loud music playing outside. Before going to breakfast, we went on-line and checked emails. The fast, reliable internet connection was a pleasure to use. In the morning, we spent some time on the internet and enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast before checking out of the hotel. We left our luggage with the hotel concierge and wandered Old San Juan for a while. At the Butterfly Store we bought a birthday present for a friend. When we picked up our luggage and the care, we discovered that the passenger side mirror of the car was broken. The car parking company had me complete a form and called the police to file a report. Their insurance will take care of the repair. We had an enjoyable drive back to Ponce, enjoying the scenery and stopping at a large grocery store for some provisions. Back at the boat it was noisy (music from across the harbor) and very windy, but Alize was fine. After many trips down the dock carrying purchases, we were both very tired. We had a light supper and went to bed early.

Sat Apr 25 — After a wait and a phone call, the car that was promised for 8:30 AM arrived at 9:15 AM. We drove to Fajardo on the north east tip of Puerto Rico (100 miles +) with no problems. In Fajardo, we went to West Marine, Wal-mart, K-mart and Blockbuster video where we purchased a number of things that we have not been able to get elsewhere. Puerto Rico is like the mainland US with a Spanish twist. Around 3:00 PM we took off for San Juan. The hour trip turned into a three + hour trip because of a huge traffic jam. We finally passed the cause, a very nasty traffic accident, and headed on to San Juan. We checked into our room and had an excellent dinner. After dinner, we walked to Senor Frog’s (a bar restaurant) and bought some t-shirts. Next, Lin got an ice cream cone and we went back to the room to watch television. Unfortunately, we were unable to get past all of the pay per view stuff and finally gave up on the TV.

Fri Apr 24 — We spent several hours checking emails today. In order to get wifi in the marina, we have to take the computer and external antenna up to an open air pavilion near the office. The connection is slow and somewhat unreliable, but it does work. We also packed up in preparation for our trip to San Juan.

Thurs Apr 23 — Up early in the morning but was unable to SSB reception was very poor, so we couldn’t check in with the Coconut Telegraph or collect weather information. When we checked our sails, we discovered some damage in addition to two broken battens. I called the local sailmaker who agreed to have someone pick our sails later in the day. We spent the next couple of hours getting the sails off our boat and marking spots that need repair. Theoretically, we’ll have the sails back on Monday, but in the meantime, we’re stuck here. Even through we’re tied to a dock, we continue to bounce around. The wind is parallel to the dock and we are slinging forward and backward. The noise and the motion not very enjoyable. In the evening and into the night, we are bombarded with the noise from the promenade across the harbor. For both fun and relief, we’ve rented a car for the weekend and will try to get a room in Old San Juan for Saturday night.

Wed Apr 22 — We raised anchor and left Puerta Patilla around 8:00 AM. The wind and seas were a bit more than had been forecast with gusts up to around 30 kts. With a reef in our sails and going down wind it wasn’t too bad, except that the wind shifted around and (even with the main sail sheeted in tightly) slammed the main sail from side to side. With one engine running the main up with one reef and no jib, we still did more than 7 kts. When we decided to put in a second reef, I saw that the front end of one of the battens was broken and sticking out the front of the sail. At that point, we dropped the sail and motored the rest of the way. We got to Ponce around 2:00 PM and tied up to their fuel dock. While approaching the marina, we were called by Richard on Perseverance and Bill on Wanderlust, welcoming us and offering help with our lines when we got in. Docking was an interesting experience in the strong winds, but with the help of friends on the dock we got in with no problems. After checking into the marina, we straightened up the boat, had supper and read before going to bed.

Tues Apr 21 — We had a quiet night for a change. I listened to the 7:00 AM weather forecast and we decided to stay in Puerta Patillas for the day. We both had a lazy, relaxing day. My chore for the day was defrosting the freezer (an all too frequent task). In the evening, we played games and read.

Mon Apr 20 — As expected, the music coming from the town during the night was very loud. Even at 4:30 AM there was someone practicing guitar chords very loudly. Tried to listen to weather forecast at 8:30 PM with no success. Put up our main sail and raised anchor, getting under way around 9:15 AM. We motor sailed with a following sea for the day, arriving in Puerta Patillas, Puerto Rico around 2:15 PM. I dove our anchor and we went swimming for a while. In the evening we played games and Lin made nachos for dinner. Later, we read for a while before going to bed.

Sun Apr 19 — There is one thing that every Spanish American town that we have anchored off of have in common. The inhabitants like to socialize along the waterfront until quite late and play music very loudly. Esperanza is no exception. There are brightly colored lights strung along the waterfront and the music quite loud. Thankfully, the music stopped at midnight and was not as loud as that we’ve experienced in other towns. In the morning, it rained for a while and after the boat rinsed off for a while we captured some rainwater in our water tank. We went in to town to pay for our mooring. The town’s people were surprisingly unfriendly. While we were in town, someone stole the line for the dinghy’s stern anchor..

Sat Apr 18 — Spent a quiet night at anchor. In the morning, I listened to the 7:00 AM weather forecast. We got underway around 8:30 AM. Winds were very light and seas very gentle. For most of the day, we motor sailed on one engine at low RPM, but still managed to make it to Esperanza, Viequez. Around 2:30 PM. Holding appears poor with a great deal of grass on the bottom, so we took a mooring. While maneuvering around the harbor, things got a little tense when the water beneath our keels got down to 1.7 ft. We saw a spotted ray and a green turtle swimming in the harbor. One of our engines has been vibrating a bit when operating a low rpm, so I used the scuba equipment and gave the propellers a really good cleaning.

Fri Apr 17 — We left our slip at around noon and went around the south east tip of St. Thomas. We anchored in Honeymoon Bay, Water Island (just outside Charlotte Amalie) around 3:30 PM. Winds were light and sea conditions calm for our brief trip. We spent a quiet night at anchor, going to bed fairly early.

Thurs Apr 16 — Another bright, sunny morning. The people on the large sports fishing boats near us were up doing things and making a lot of noise quite early in the morning. Lin spent the afternoon doing laundry and cleaning the boat. I did a few of the things needed to get Alize ready for travel. In the evening, we had dinner ashore and watched a movie before going to bed.

Wed Apr 15 — Up at our usual time in the morning. Since there is no cruisers’ net here, we have nothing to schedule wakeup around. Lin is still not feeling very good (sinus problems), so we decided to extend our stay in the marina to Friday and get her in to see a doctor. She did two loads before we left the boat. The marina office staff directed us to a medical clinic that is just across the street from the office. They were able to see her with very little wait. The doctor agreed with the doctor that Lin saw in St. Martin and prescribed some more of the medication that Lin had been taking. We filled the prescriptions in a pharmacy in the same building and then went grocery shopping. There is a small and cramped but very well stocked supermarket a short a block down the street from the pharmacy. We got our food aboard and, while I returned the shopping cart, Lin stored the food and then started cooking. In order to get on or off the boat, we lean our swim ladder up against a support beam that is part of the dock, and then climb up the ladder. A line is tied to the ladder so that we can lay the ladder down on the swim platform when away and use the line to pull the ladder up when we want to get back aboard.

Tues Apr 14 — We got a leisurely start this morning. I took the dinghy to shore and after a bit of a walk, found Customs and Immigration and cleared out. Back on the boat, we had brunch and got off the mooring around 11:30 AM. It took us about three hours to get to Red Hook, St. Thomas. We fueled up and then backed into our slip. We’re used to a side tie and here we went in stern first, tying our bows to two pilings. After checking into the marina, I used our cell phone to call customs and immigration and clear in. When we were in Ponce, Puerto Rico, we registered ourselves and got “boater’s option” cards. We can now clear into the USVI or Puerto Rico by making one call and giving Customs our boater’s option numbers. After putting the boat to bed, we walked to the “Irish Pub” in the marina complex for dinner. Back on the boat, we watched a little TV and read before going to bed.

Mon Apr 13 — We left mooring around noon for the three hour run to Road Harbor, Tortola. Seas were small and the wind from astern. We ended up motor sailing the whole way, but enjoyed the calm conditions. We took a mooring and settled down for the night. We expected to pay for the mooring, but no one came to the boat to collect. A couple of people from another boat stopped by Alize and chatted for a little while. After dinner of leftovers, we played games and read before going to bed.

Sun Apr 12 — Slept late in the morning. We are caught up on chores and only waiting here while Lin gets better. Early in the afternoon, we looked out and saw another Manta sailing past. With a call on the VHF, we discovered that it was Adam and Jennifer Feldstein on Fastina Lenta. We had not met them before, but I visited their boat later in the afternoon and chatted for a while and they came to Alize in the evening for drinks. They bought one of the last Mantas built (hull # 122) and have had many problems with the boat. They are appear to have most of the problems resolved and are getting ready to take off and go cruising (they live in St. Thomas). Based on their experience, it would appear that during it’s last couple of years of operation, Manta made some design change errors and cut production corners in order to save money. Adam indicated that a couple of Mantas have been sold recently in St. Thomas, and that the sales have gone through very rapidly with owners getting their asking price. In the evening, we dinghied ashore and had an excellent dinner at the Bitter End Restaurant. Back on the boat, we read for a while before going to bed.

Sat Apr 11 — A quiet night, but somewhat windy. Lin is feeling a bit better, and in the afternoon we went to the marina pool and had lunch and read for a bit. On the way back to the boat, we made reservations for Sunday dinner at one of the restaurants. Afterward, we had a typical evening, dinner, games and a movie.

Fri Apr 10 — During the night a front came through with heavy rains that filled our water tank. In the morning, it was quite windy. When we arrived a few days ago, the mooring field was filled with charter sail boats. Today, there are fewer charter sail boats, but a large number of large power boats. Lin is still not feeling well, so we’ve decided to spend a few more days here. We spent a day aboard, and Lin did a load of laundry. In the evening, Lin made some excellent curry and we played some games and watched a movie.

Thurs Apr 9 — We both slept late this morning. Lin is still feeling ill and we are going to extend our stay here until she is a little better. We are starting to feel a little time pressure, but we won’t travel unless both of us are up to it. We need to be in the Abacos (northern Bahamas) in a couple of months and part way up the ICW by July 1st. It sounds as if we have a long time, but between waiting for weather windows and visiting places we want to see we really don’t have a lot of spare time. We recently got a report from a couple on another Manta, who just finished a 5 day, 5 hour run from St. Thomas (USVI) to Georgetown in the Bahamas. It can be done, but is not the sort of passage we would willingly undertake. After a quiet day on the boat, we had a dinner of leftovers, played games and watched a movie before going to bed.

Wed Apr 8 — After a very long night’s sleep, we woke up around 8:00 AM. Lin is not feeling well, and elected to spend the day resting on the boat. Around 10:00 AM, I took the dinghy across North Sound to Gun Creek. There, I caught a taxi to Spanish Town and cleared in with Customs and Immigration. Customs and Immigration do something that I find very strange. Before they would start processing my paperwork, I had to give the Immigration person $0.20. To get this, I took a dollar to the cashier for change and then gave two dimes to the Immigration lady. Then it was back to the boat, poorer by $20.00 in fees and $48.00 for the taxi ride. After a brief stay on Alize, I went ashore with trash to dispose of and a scuba tank to fill. While ashore, I also picked up some pastries for tomorrow morning. During the afternoon, I took care of a few boat chores and searched for an internet hotspot that I could use (BEYC has a couple, but they would not allow me to get on the internet). Fortunately, I was able to get in through a nearby resort. An external, amplified wifi antenna was an excellent purchase. By running it part way up the mast, I can often connect to the internet. In the evening we played a few games and read for a while before going to bed.

Tues Apr 7 — The alarm woke us up at 1:15 AM. By 2:00 the anchor was up and we worked our way out of Simpson Bay. The trip to Virgin Gorda was delightfully uneventful. Winds were low, typically 8 to 13 kts, from our stern and seas were about 3 ft. in long swell (10 sec). We had our sails up, but basically motored the whole way, arriving at the Bitter End Yacht Club, where we took a mooring at around 2:00 PM. Lin covered sails and put things away while I went ashore to check in with the marina and find out about procedures for clearing in with Customs and Immigration. In the evening, we had a British dinner of bangers and mash before going to bed early. We had little trouble going to sleep, despite the noise of partying charterers around us.

Mon Apr 6 — After preparing the boat to leave the dock, we paid up with marina management (we stayed a total of three weeks, so they gave us the monthly rate and didn’t charge for dockage for the last nine days). The wind was pushing us onto the dock, and I couldn’t steer as well as I usually can because our propellers were badly fouled after three weeks in Simpson Bay. We got underway in time to catch the 11:00 AM bridge opening. We were sandwiched between some really BIG boats! After going out through the bridge, we anchored off of a beautiful beach resort and I went to work cleaning the propellers and scraping growth off the bottom. I knew that it would be pretty bad, but didn’t want to get in the water inside the lagoon (imagine 1,000 + boats in a huge lagoon with only two small openings for tidal flow and no pump out facilities). After finishing preparations for making passage, we went to bed early.

Sun Apr 5 — Spent the morning doing last minute minor chores. Lin did laundry and then washed and waxed the outside of the boat. I defrosted the freezer (might as well do it while tied to a dock), filled the water tank and filtered and bottled drinking water. At 2:00 PM, we went ashore and played dominoes with two other couples, Mike and Barbara from Phantasy and Peter and Penny from Inforapenny. It was a real international group with two Brits, two Aussies and us. Afterward, we went out to eat with Mike and Barbara for an oriental meal. Back on the boat, we spent a quiet evening.

Sat Apr 4 — Another day of boat chores. Lin spent the afternoon cleaning the outside of the boat. Between birds and jet planes flying overhead, boats get pretty dirty here. In the evening, we watched a movie before going to bed.

Fri Apr 3 — Most of our boat chores have been completed, and we have decided to leave Lagoon Marina Monday morning (staff are not here Saturday afternoon and Sunday, and we don’t to have to rush our last few chores). In the morning, we dinghied into Marigot for a delicious breakfast of crepes and croissants in an open air French restaurant. Afterwards, I dropped Lin off on the boat and took the dinghy to Budget Marine to get a small leak repaired. While I was doing this, Lin did a load of laundry and cleaned the outside of the boat. With the leak repaired, I went across the lagoon to do some shopping and rent a couple of movies.

Thurs Apr 2 — We listened to the cruisers’ net in the morning, but it was very short and the net controller rather abrupt with people who called in. There was a cruisers’ get together last night and the net controller may have been feeling its effects. After listening to the net, I walked to Budget Marine to return one part and pick up another. Back on the boat, I installed the new windlass motor. I finished the installation after breakfast and everything worked. However, there was still a minor problem with one of the contact switches. Lin spent the afternoon making meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Later in the day, I found a barber shop and got a haircut. On the way back to the boat, I purchased a new contact switch from Budget Marine. While at Budget Marine, I met our friends Brit and Terri from Sea Otter. They said that they would stop by the boat later today. After I replaced one of the contact switches and cleaned up some electrical connections, everything worked perfectly. After a delicious dinner, we played backgammon and watched Sound of Music before going to bed.

Wed Apr 1 — After some quiet time on the boat and brunch of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, we walked to the Grand Marche supermarket, where we purchased a few items, mainly fruits. After everything was put away, I took the lid off of the refrigerator and replaced a damaged section of gasket. I can’t figure out what caused the center section of gasket on both the freezer and refrigerator lids to collapse. An online check with Fedex revealed that the replacement windlass motor had arrived in St. Martin and was on the truck for delivery. It had not arrived by 5:00 PM, when the marina office closed, but Paul from the local charter company received it from Fedex and delivered it to the boat. That was really nice of him. In the evening we went to the marina bar/restaurant for dinner. We should have known better, the hamburgers were OK, but over priced. Afterward, played games, watched a movie and read before going to bed.

Tues Mar 31 — Contrary to current weather forecasts, we got a very breezy day. In the morning, Lin walked to the Dr.’s office to see the Dutch physician that we saw the last time we were here, for a sinus infection. I did a little detective work to locate a source for refrigerator door gasket. From the refrigeration company in the marina complex I learned the identity of the company that I would use if I wanted a custom refrigerator built for my boat. From that company, I learned who they would go to for gasket material if building a custom refrigerator box. Fortunately, that person was next door to them in the Palapa marina complex. She sold me two types of gasket material that could be glued together to make the size and shape gasket that I needed. After gluing two different pieces of gasket material together, I made a gasket that worked for our freezer and installed it. Later, I finished cleaning our rainwater collection system and put it back together. During the afternoon, Lin did two loads of laundry. In the evening, we enjoyed some of Lin’s home made soup for dinner and then played games and watched movies for a while.

Mon Mar 30 — With the weekend over, it’s time to get started on the things we want to accomplish before leaving St. Martin. The morning was spent ordering a motor for the windlass and trying to find gasket material to replace part of the gasket for our refrigerator lid. After walking several miles and checking all of the places that were suggested, I had a possible substitute, but not gasket material that matched that which was used when Alize was built. People in the islands don’t like to tell some “no”, so it is common to be told that they could not help me, but that I should try some other shop which was likely to have what I want. In all, I visited seven different stores, none of which had the part I wanted. In the afternoon, I did a minor dinghy modification, started cleaning the rainwater collection system, flushed out the watermaker and took care of some banking matters. Another typical evening, some of Lin’s delicious cooking, games and TV before going to bed.

Sun Mar 29 — We had a quiet morning on the boat. In the afternoon, we walked around the lagoon to the movie theater and enjoyed a kid’s movie, Monsters vs. Aliens. It was a fun movie and we were clearly the only ones there who got in on a Senior’s ticket. We had a typical evening on the boat, played some games and watched a movie.

Sat Mar 28 — Woke up in time to listen to the morning cruisers’ net. After spending a quiet morning on the boat, we walked to a yard and garden center where Lin purchased seeds several herbs that she uses. We stopped for lunch at Burger King and then Ace Hardware on the way back to the boat. Back on the boat, Lin printed pictures and caught our log/trip record up to date. We had planned to see a movie and then have ribs at a local restaurant, but ended staying on the boat. In the evening, we had pizza delivered to the boat. Afterwards, we watched a movie before going to bed.

Fri Mar 27 — In the morning we made preparations for leaving the marina and going out to anchor in the lagoon for a few days before taking off for the Virgin Islands. We got away from the dock around noon, but when we tried to anchor, our windlass failed to operate. After trying a couple of possible fixes with no success, we went back to the marina and tied up to the dock again. I traced the windlass’s electrical circuits and couldn’t find any problem. A mechanic/electrician from the charter company based at the marina came to the boat in the afternoon and checked things out. His conclusion was that the electrical circuits were fine, but the motor had died. Efforts to find a replacement at local businesses were unsuccessful. The motor’s case is pretty well rusted through, so having the motor rewound is not an option. On Monday, I’ll order a replacement from the states. It appears that we will be at the marina for at least another week. In the evening we played games and read for a while before going to bed.

Thurs Mar 26 — Shortly after 8:00 AM a rental car was delivered to the marina for us. Accompanied by Penny from Inforapenny we took off around 8:30 AM. The first stop was the butterfly farm near Orient Beach. There were quite a few cruise ship passengers there, but we still really enjoyed our visit. Our next stop was the Grand Marche in Phillipsburg where we did some more provisioning. At the Cost U Less (a discount/case lot store) we picked up some more supplies. After packing all of our purchases into our little rental car, the trunk was full and Penny crowded into a small space on the back seat. At the Mailbox at Simpson Bay, we mailed our completed income tax back to the US. They send mail with US postage on it back to the states via Fedex for a small fee. Before going back to the boat, we enjoyed another very good lunch at Top Carrot. Back on the boat, I put purchases away while Lin used the car to go to Ace Hardware for a few items. In the evening we drove to the local theater and watched a movie. Back on the boat we ate some dinner before going to bed.

Wed Mar 25 — In the morning I took Lin across the harbor to get a haircut. On the way back, the prop on the dinghy engine started to slip again. After arranging for Lin to take a bus back to the boat, I made my way slowly across the lagoon. After trying a couple of places, I found a new prop and replaced the old one. In the afternoon Lin did a couple of loads of laundry washed our rugs and I defrosted the freezer (again). In the evening Peter and Penny from Inforapenny came to the boat for drinks and snacks. After they left, we watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Tues Mar 24 — It rained several times during the night, but the day turned clear and bright. I spent most of the day doing minor chores, disposing of waste engine oil, buying a spare engine air intake filter, pumping up the dinghy, and so on and so on. Lin worked on inside chores and then spent the afternoon scrubbing the outside of the boat. We had a typical evening, eating aboard, playing games, watching TV and reading before going to bed.

Mon Mar 23 — We are waiting for our income tax filing to arrive in St. Martin. It is appearing that between waiting for the mail and a large north swell (10 to 14 ft) that is forecast to arrive at the end of the week, we may be here until the first part of next week. I spent the day flushing out the watermaker with fresh, non-chlorinated water and changing the oil and filter of the port engine (did starboard engine a few days ago). Lin spent the day cooking. She made pickles, jalapeno pepper jelly and a middle eastern dip using yogurt and cucumber. We had a quiet evening on the boat playing games, watching TV and reading.

Sun Mar 22 — We slept late this morning and got up to a bright, sunny day. After a lazy start to the day, we walked around the lagoon to the movie theater and watched a movie called Race to Witch Mountain. Didn’t think that it was a very good movie because the characters didn’t click together, but it was nice to get off the boat for a while. Shortly after returning to the boat, we went to the boat next to us for drinks and snacks with Peter and Penny on SV In for a Penny II. They are an Australian couple who are sailing around the world. We had a very nice time and really enjoyed socializing with them. Their boat is three years old and really beautiful inside and out with ample space and an escape hatch in case they tip. We’re told it sails well on the ocean. They are having a second autopilot installed on their boat before they take off across the Pacific. Back on the boat, we watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Sat Mar 21 — Up in time for the morning cruisers’ net. Later in the morning, we took the dinghy to Marigot. After eating some pastries for brunch, we walked through the open air market and made a few purchases (mainly seasonings and produce). Before going back to the boat, Lin got an ice cream cone. The ride back to the boat was pretty bumpy, but we stayed reasonably dry. In the afternoon, we dinghied across the bay so that Lin could try to get a haircut. They gave her an appointment for the middle of next week. Back by the dinghy dock we met Jay and Jennifer from Rum Runner and stayed and talked with them for a while. In the evening, we took a taxi back to Marigot to the La Vie en Rose for a belated dinner to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary (the anniversary was actually February 9). The dinner was excellent and we had a very good time. The last time we ate at this restaurant was over a year ago with our friends Pete and Kathy. Our taxi driver was a very interesting person, intelligent, articulate and well educated. He explained that this was not his real job, but he drove some times on weekends to help his uncle. He works in the St. Maarten state department as protocol officer. When we got back to the marina, he told us that he wanted to give us an anniversary present, and refused payment for taking us to the restaurant and back. Back on the boat, we sat on the trampoline with a glass of wine and listened to the live music at the marina bar.

Fri Mar 20 — In the morning we walked to the Grand Marche to do some provisioning. This is an excellent supermarket, but expensive (like everything else here). Four hundred dollars later, the management of the store provided a car and driver to take us back to the marina. After putting things away, we got in the dinghy and went across the lagoon to play dominoes. There were only about six of us, but we had a very good time. Back on the boat, we had leftovers for dinner and watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Thurs Mar 19 — We listened to the cruisers’ net in the morning. From the weather forecast given, it sounds as if we’re missing a short weather window and that conditions will not be good for travel through most of next week. I walked around in the morning, getting a filled CO2 tank for our soda machine (they could not fill the second tank) and getting the dinghy fixed (it had been loosing air). It turned out to be a loose valve that was easily fixed (no cost). Afterward, we dinghied across the lagoon and ate lunch and ran some errands. For lunch, we had a Greek platter and a Mediteranean platter, all very good. Back on the boat we relaxed for a while and then I changed the starboard engine oil and filter (port engine tomorrow).

Wed Mar 18 — We got up in the morning in time for the cruisers’ net. I worked on the electric winch, which had stopped working, and walked to a couple of stores to buy things needed for the boat. I played with the cable TV connection and finally got it working. Actually, the dockmaster solved the problem when he remembered that not all of the cable connections on the dock are connected. We moved the line to a different connection and the problem was solved. I also tried a few things to repair the electric winch. After trying a few things, I tried to contact a company that works on boat electrical problems. I finally spoke to someone who agreed to come by the boat and check out the problem at the end of the work day. However, before he arrived, I discovered the problem (with suggestions from Richard on Perseverance), and fixed it. In the evening, we went to a weekly cruisers get together on the other side of the lagoon. It was quite a long dinghy ride (the lagoon is huge and a number of the islands that we’ve visited would fit inside of it). We had drinks and dinner with Jay from Oasis and Debbie and Glenn from Psyche. Back on the boat, we watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Tues Mar 17 — We both enjoyed good nights sleep, and got up in time for the morning cruiser’s net. Beautiful, clear weather and sunny blue sky. Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Lin is feeling a little better but is concerned at the fatigue that seems to be bothering Bruce! Had 2 men come and inspect the rigging. Other than a bit o’wear on the boom, the rigging is in good shape. The men cleaned and lubricated the slide. Discovered our electric winch isn’t working. If it’s not one thing, it’s another on a boat. Right? Boo hiss. Bruce ran errands and worked on the anchor winch control. He also installed custom made bars in the hatch we keep open most of the time and finished repairing the windlass. In the evening we had leftovers for dinner, played games and read for a while before going to bed.

Mon Mar 16 — Up in time for the cruiser’s net in the morning. Around 8: 00 AM, I took our empty propane tank to one of the local chandleries to get filled. I stood around talking with other cruisers until a person arrived to collect the tanks. Afterward, I went back to the boat to collect items needed for some of my remaining projects. Around noon, I took our scuba tanks to a scuba shop and got them filled. Other tasks included get a smartcard for one of our cell phones so that we can use it in St. Martin and chasing down a Fedex shipment. In the evening, we played a few games and had some leftovers for dinner before going to bed.

Sun Mar 15 — It was a noisy night with periods of strong wind and heavy rain. We were both glad that Alize was attached to a dock. Our rainwater collection system captured quite a bit of rain during the night. In the afternoon, we walked around the lagoon to the movie theater and watched a movie called Gran Torino. We enjoyed it very much. Back on the boat, Lin prepared an excellent pork tenderloin dinner. We played games and read before going to bed.

Sat Mar 14 — Woke up early to a bright, sunny day and listened to the local cruisers net.. Richard from Perseverance picked Lin up at 8:00 AM to go to the Saturday market (produce, spices, handicrafts, etc.) in Marigot. I stayed on the boat and tackled some of my boat chores. Lin got back to the boat later in the morning and we both worked on chores around the boat. In the evening, we enjoyed listening to a singer/guitar player who was performing at the marina bar before going to sleep.

Fri Mar 13 — We woke up around 8:00 AM . Its amazing how rested you feel after 13 hours of sleep. The day was spent on maintenance chores that we’ve saved for St. Martin. While Lin was fixing brunch, our gas stove stopped working. I replaced fuses, gas solenoid and the switch and circuit breaker. When I was done, everything worked and we could eat. The rest of the day was spent doing some repairs and setting things in motion to take care of others. I took care of our windlass problem during the afternoon. It included un-jamming some chain and repairing a switch. In the evening, friends (dick and Jane from Cheetah II, Dave and Michelle from Danielstory, Hunter from Arctic Turn and new friends Horst and Shariffa from Sunborne) came to the boat for drinks and pizza. We had a great time socializing and eating. After they left, we went to the marina bar to listen to the music (a group from Australia) before going to bed..

Thurs Mar 12 — We had a pretty good night passage, with a full moon, 15 +/- kt winds and a fairly calm sea. We made better time than initially anticipated and had to keep slowing ourselves down. We arrived off of St. Martin in the dark and had to waste time waiting for daybreak and the bridge opening to allow us to enter Simpson Bay. Initially, we had planned to go in on the French side of the lagoon, but at the last moment, I decided that I wanted to go in through the Dutch bridge. The Dutch bridge is much wider (56 ft vs 36 ft on the French side), it is nearer the resources that we will need for repairs, and we like one of the marinas there. We had planned to anchor out on the French side, but now we can’t use our anchor and need to go somewhere where we can tie ourselves to something (a mooring or a marina dock). As we were coming in, Harriet from Perseverance called on the VHF to welcome us. When we couldn’t reach anyone at the marina via VHF, she called them by phone and reserved space for us. We went in through the Dutch bridge at 9:30 AM and docked at the Lagoon Marina. Entrance to the dock is quite shallow and we ran aground a few times. Once docked, I checked into the marina and then took the dinghy to Customs and Immigration and cleared us in. The rest of the day was spent securing the boat and taking care of a few maintenance problems. Lin napped for a while (and slept some during our passage). I worked on some of the chores we have to complete while here and finally went to bed at 7:00 PM. Lin stayed up and watched a movie.

Wed Mar 11 — Lin got up early to wish the people on Jule a safe trip south. I got up and collected weather forecasts. We spent the rest of the morning getting the boat ready for the sea. I also went ashore to drop off trash and clear out with Customs and Immigration.
We raised our anchor at 2:30 PM, but had a little excitement when the anchor chain got very thoroughly jammed in the windlass. Fortunately, I was able to get the anchor aboard and secured. While this was going on, Lin discovered that our wind speed/direction instrument was not working. We discovered that the problem was a loose connection and quickly corrected the problem.

Tues Mar 10 — We got up in time to listen for weather forecasts and check in with the Coconut Telegraph. Most of the day was spent with boat chores. Lin did some cooking and baking, preparing food to eat during our passage to St. Martins. Around 4:00 PM, we called Chris, Cathy and Jane on Jule and invited them over for drinks and snacks in the evening.. They came right over and we visited for a couple of hours, before returning to their boat to make final preparations for their departure in the morning. They are headed south, through the island chain.

Mon Mar 9 — In the morning, Chris, Cathy and their friend Jane from Jule stopped by Alize to say high. After a little discussion, they invited us to their boat for drinks and dominoes in the evening, they even offered to pick us up from Alize (their boat is about 100 ft. from ours). We spent a quiet morning on the boat, we went to the pool at the resort next to the marina. For a small fee, they let us use the pool. We swam, read and sunned. The folks from Jule also came to the pool for a swim, and we got to talking about cruising destinations. At 5:30 PM, our ride arrived and we went to Jule for drinks, snacks and dominoes. We had a great time and got back to Alize around 9:00 PM.

Sun Mar 8 — Quite windy overnight, but we slept well. We got a late start on the day, but I did a few maintenance chores in the morning. In the afternoon we went ashore to return a video tape, dump trash and walk to the beach. Outside the marina and around a headland, there is a beautiful, long, white sand beach. We walked to the end of the beach and ordered sodas at a beach bar where a pan band was playing. After listening for a while, we walked back and rented beach chairs and an umbrella near the Castaways restaurant. After sunning and reading for a while, we went to the restaurant and had burgers for dinner. The food was nothing special and Lin’s fish filet burger had quite a few bones in it. We got back to the boat as it was getting dark. It was nice to get away from the boat for a while.

Sat Mar 7 — It rained during the night, and there were periods when it was extremely windy. However, we still managed to enjoy a good night’s sleep. In the morning, we noticed that the anchorage outside Jolly Harbor had pretty much emptied out. I went ashore and paid for three more nights on our mooring and did a little shopping. By mid morning all of the moorings in the mooring field were taken. People who came in and took a mooring said that it was very rolly outside and most boats had pulled out their anchors and dragged at least once. The moorings here are much too close together, and it can be a bit nerve wracking having other boats as close as they are here. The man on the boat behind us actually stood on the bow of his boat and pushed himself away from us with his foot while tying up to the mooring. The afternoon was spent doing minor boat chores (me) and cooking (Lin). In the evening, we tried to watch a movie that we’d rented without success, played some games and read.

Fri. Mar 6 — Shortly after getting up, I went on-line and collected some weather forecasts. We would like to start moving north again if we can get reasonable weather for travel. Unfortunately, NOAA and the Caribbean Weather Center disagree on one significant point, NOAA predicts an 8 to 12 ft. northerly swell and the Caribbean Weather Center does not. Such a swell would make conditions untenable for anchoring off of the next few islands that we will be visiting. In the afternoon, we went ashore and stocked up on beverages at the local supermarket. Back on the boat, Lin made an excellent soup, which we enjoyed for dinner and we read for a while before going to bed.

Thurs Mar 5 — Had a good night’s sleep. No loud music and the water was flat calm. Reported in to the Coconut Telegraph on the SSB in the morning. It is nice listening in and learning where our friends are. After breakfast, we went ashore and checked out restaurants in the marina complex for dinner tonight with Rob and Sue from Catalyst. After picking a restaurant and making reservations, we went to the Epicurian Supermarket and did some shopping. The prices are higher than we would pay in the states, but the selection and quality excellent. Back on the boat, we put our purchases away and Lin made pickled beets and applesauce. In the evening, Rob and Sue picked us up in their dinghy and we went ashore to the Italian restaurant in the marina complex. The food was very good and we had a great time socializing. Back on the boat, we went to fairly early.

Wed Mar 4 — Got underway around 7:15 AM. Winds and seas were pretty boisterous as we went around the north end of Guadeloupe, and we put a second reef in the main when the winds got up into the low 30s. Things settled down as we got away from the island with winds around 20 kts for most of the trip with 6 to 8 ft. swell from the east. We had originally planned on going to Falmouth harbor, but were making a consistent 7 to 8 kts and decided to make the longer trip to Jolly Harbor. We arrived in Jolly Harbor around 2:30 PM and took a mooring. Lin took care of cleaning up the boat and putting things away. I cleared in with Customs and signed in with the marina (for the mooring). On the way to Customs, I ran into our friends, Rob and Sue on Catalyst (another Manta). The difference between officials on the different islands is quite striking. On the French islands, Customs and Immigration procedures are treated almost as a joke. On the former British islands, these things are taken very seriously with a lot of carbon paper, rubber stamps and numerous forms. Before going back to the boat, I stopped by the very excellent supermarket in the marina complex for cheese and wine. Back on the boat, we played games, ate and read before going to bed.

Tues Mar 3 — Had a very rolly night last night, enough to disrupt our sleep at times. Got under way shortly after 9:00 AM. Conditions were pretty mild while we crossed the eight mile channel between Guadeloupe and the Saints. Once we were in the lee of Guadeloupe the seas were quite calm and the wind quite variable, going from almost no wind to winds close to 20 kts that veered around and came at us from all directions. We dropped anchor off Deshaies a little before 2:00 PM. After tidying the boat up a bit and putting things away, I started the generator so that Lin could do some laundry. The afternoon was spent with boat cleaning, baking and laundry.

Mon Mar 2 — Big Papa’s was noisy again last night, really makes it hard to sleep. In the morning, we finished preparing for sea and left Prince Rupert Bay around 9:30 AM. Winds were predicted to be in the lower to mid teens for our passage to Isle des Saints. We put a reef in the main when the winds, shortly after we rounded the tip of Dominica, got up into the upper teens and lower 20s. When they got to the low to mid 30s, we put in a second reef. After that, we had a very nice run, though the seas did get a bit bumpy at times. We got in to the anchorage at Bourg des Saints around 2:00 PM. The first place we anchored put us too close to another boat, so we moved. Our new location at the back of the pack of boats was safer, but a bit rolly. The anchorage is pretty deep, 35 to 45 ft. deep and we put out all of our anchor chain, 225 ft. of it. We plan to stay on the boat today and move up the west coast of Guadeloupe to Deshaies tomorrow.

Sun Mar 1 — Neither of us got much sleep last night. Big Papa’s Restaurant played its music very loud and very late last night. This turned into a very busy day. After taking care of a couple of boat chores, I went ashore and cleared in and out with Customs (and Immigration). In Dominica a Customs officer takes care of everything and can clear you in and out for stays of up to 14 days (nice system). After dropping trash off near the town dock, I went back to the boat for Lin. We went walking ashore and stopped for a soda and then walked back to the dinghy. Back at the boat, I picked up a couple of jerry jugs and went ashore to fill them. Back on the boat, it was boat chore time again. Lin spent the day cooking and we had a real feast in the evening, turkey breast with stuffing and a fresh salad.
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Sat Feb 28 — Got under way at 8:40 AM. Conditions were a bit windy and bumpy as we came around the north end of Martinique, but settled down to fairly swells for a while and then nice, gentle seas. The wind was strange, coming from first one direction, then another and ranging from 20 kts to 5 kts. The seas were calm enough that Lin was able to bake bread during the trip. We had planned on stopping at Roseau, at the southern end of Dominica, but were making very good speed, so we kept going to Prince Rupert Bay (another 19 miles). As we neared Prince Rupert Bay, we were approached by a couple of boat boys, first Eric Spaghetti and then Cobra. In the bay, Eric helped us tie up to a mooring for the night. Another boat boy approached us and offered to pick up ice for us. After a quiet meal aboard, we played some games and read before going to bed.

Fri Feb 27 — In the morning, we got under way around 9:00 AM for St. Pierre. Conditions were excellent and we had a very pleasant sail. After anchoring in St. Pierre around 2:00 PM, we spent a relaxing afternoon and evening on the boat.

Thurs Feb 26 — In the morning, I took the dinghy to the Customs office in La Marin and cleared out. After I got back to the boat we went ashore for a walk around town and did a little shopping. Afterwards, we walked to a restaurant on the beach and had lunch. We had a very pleasant conversation with a young French family who spoke excellent English. When we got back to the dinghy, we discovered that someone had stolen most of our gasoline. Fortunately, they left us enough gas to get back to the boat. In the evening, we went to shore to a cruisers’ happy hour. We discovered that several cruisers lost gasoline during the day and one lost his gas tank and had to row back to his boat. Despite that, the get together was a lot of fun. Bob from Tranquila brought his guitar and we had a sing along. Back on the boat, we made preparations to go to sea.

Wed Feb 25 — The day is pretty cloudy with periods of rain. Spent a quiet morning on the boat and in the afternoon took the laptop ashore to a restaurant/bar that provides free Wifi (you are expected to buy a drink). The French use the word wifi, but pronounce it weefee.

Tues Feb 24 — Neither of us had much energy today. We did a few minor chores, but spent most of the day reading. In the evening, I read while Lin watched the second half of Gone With The Wind.

Mon Feb 23 — Got off the boat around 8:30 AM and went for a walk around St. Anne. There is one gas station in St. Anne (owned, we’ve been told by the mayor’s brother). It on the highway, a short distance out of town. There was a line about two blocks long of cars whose owners hope to buy some gasoline. The gas station was not open and no one appeared to be working there, but people stood by their cars, socializing and hoping that the station would open. Back in the main part of town, we joined the line of people waiting to get into the supermarket. After ten or fifteen people left the store with their purchases, about 10 of us were let in. The shelves are fairly well stocked and we were able to get most of what we wanted. Afterward, we went across the street to the bakery/restaurant for coffee, quiche and a couple of baguettes to take back to the boat. I waited in the restaurant while Lin went to the produce market. After a couple of stops, we went back to the boat. The afternoon was spent doing minor boat chores.

Sun Feb 22 — Still very windy, but sunnier. In the afternoon, we went ashore to dump our trash and get on the internet at a local bar/restaurant. Lin got emails from some cruising friends, a couple in Tonga and another couple that is in Yemen. It was interesting reading about their travels. In the evening, we had a quiet evening aboard and played a few games.

Sat Feb 21 — Very windy day with gusts around 40 kts and periodic showers. I ran a few errands in town in the morning, but stayed on the boat for the rest of the day. Lin is not feeling very good and took it easy on the boat. In the evening we had a quiet meal aboard, played a few games and read before going to bed.

Fri Feb 20 — Got up early in the morning and joined Tito and Roberta in St. Anne’s at 7:30 AM for a walk. We walked along a road that goes around the town, two or three miles. Afterward, Tito, Lin and I went to a little restaurant for espresso and pastries while Roberta went to a local grocery store for a few supplies. It was very pleasant, sitting watching the boats in the harbor while drinking our espresso. In the afternoon we joined a group of about 40 cruisers for drinks and snacks at a dive shop (closed for the day) that is next to the dinghy dock. It is a nice group and we enjoyed socializing.

Thurs Feb 19 — Had a rather disrupted night’s sleep. It rained a couple of times and a band at the Club Med (we’re anchored just off their beach) played loud music until after 2:00 AM. In the morning, the weather was sunny but very windy (as predicted). At 9:45 AM, we picked up Roberta and I took Lin and Roberta to a dinghy dock, from which they plan to walk to town. I returned to Alize and spent the next few hours taking care of a few chores. When Lin got back to the boat, she spent the next few hours making little curried chicken meat pies to take to the evening’s happy hour. Squalls came through the anchorage with heavy rain and high winds several times during the day. The evening’s happy hour was postponed until the following day because of the weather and we spent a quiet evening on the boat.

Wed Feb 18 — At 8:30 AM I picked Tito up from his boat and we made the long dinghy ride to the Customs office in Le Marin. After I cleared in, a very easy process of completing an electric form on a computer terminal, Tito did some shopping at the chandleries and we drank coffee at a local restaurant. Back at the boat, we discovered that our friends on Perseverance had decided to go back to Rodney Bay. Between the general strike here, lack of wifi and an incident in which a cruising wife was harassed by local kids on the dinghy dock, a number of boats are unhappy with St. Annes. They have decided to return to Rodney Bay to wait out a few days of large, north swells that are predicted to arrive soon. We spent the day on the boat, where Lin did a lot of cooking and baking and I did boat chores such as re-rigging the lines for our spinnaker. In the evening, Roberta and Tito came to Alize for drinks, dinner and socializing.

Tues Feb 17 — Up fairly early. Lin cleaned windows and secured loose items on the boat. I went into the water with the hookah (sp?) and cleaned the props. We raised anchor and got underway at 10:15 AM in company with Perseverance. We had a beautiful sail to Martinique. Our batteries are low so we kept one engine running. Arrived in St. Anne around 2:00 PM and anchored near our friends Tito and Roberta on Allujah (sp?). During the crossing from St. Lucia we saw two very large turtles swimming on the surface. There were many boats out today, taking advantage of the first good sailing day in a while. After getting the anchor down, we covered sails and prepared the boat for a few days at anchor. Lin did a load of laundry and we ran the watermaker for a while. In the evening, we had a quiet meal aboard, played some games and went to bed early.

Mon Feb 16 — It was a rainy days with periodic windy squally. We spent the day getting ready to leave for Martinique. At 9:30 AM I took the dinghy to the marina and met Roger who works on outboards. He took the prop to a machine shop and had the bushings re-pressed. In light of the island wide strike in Martinique, grocery store for a few last minute provisions, bought some liquor and filled jerry jugs with gasoline. I also cleared out with Customs and Immigration and worked on getting the boat ready for the sea. In the evening we went to Perseverance and had drinks with Perseverance, Asseance and Beesmaj. Back on the boat, we had a quiet dinner and went to bed early.

Sun Feb 15 — Tried to update the log today and discovered that the first half of February and the first half of January were both missing. Needless to say, I was not happy with this. From now on, I’ll create these logs locally on my computer and then copy them to the on-line log. This has been a quiet day and it has been raining for the past hour. We have an interesting neighbor in the bay. It is somewhere between a mega yacht and a cruise ship in size. Behind the three story structure at the front of the ship (and in front of the helipad) is a deck where a large power boat and a medium sized sailboat are stored.

February summary (from my feeble memory). At the beginning of the month we were in Rodney Bay Marina. The marina is undergoing a complete facelift and really is very nice. We stayed there for a week while we got some work done. On February 2 we left the marina and anchored off Pigeon Island. This is a lovely spot and we have really enjoyed being here. We have been doing typical cruiser things, boat repairs, cleaning, getting together with other cruisers, shopping, etc. In the evenings we frequently sit on the stern watching the sunset. Three times, we’ve seen the green flash. With a clear horizon and the right conditions there is a green flash just as the sun sets. There is a small restaurant/bar on Pigeon island and we’ve gone in there for drinks or food a couple of times. Its interesting to walk around the island and look at the ruins of the old British fort.nic pirates have struck. All of the February log has disappeared as well as the first half of January. Tomorrow I’ll start again, but the first half of this month is gone.

Sat Jan 31 — We both enjoyed a good night’s sleep. If we stay two more days, we qualify for a weekly rate for our slip in the marina, so we’ve decided to stay until Monday morning. In the morning, I ran a number of errands in the marina complex, then I spread all of our anchor chain on the trampolines and washed all of the salt off (and washed out the anchor locker). I started re-marking the chain (adding markers to let me know how much chain has been let out). In the afternoon, we caught a maxi and went to the movies. After watching a very interesting movie (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) we ate some pizza (Dominoes) and caught a maxi to the supermarket. We took another maxi back to the marina where we watched another movie (Wag the Dog) before reading for a while and going to bed.

Fri Jan 30 — A couple of squalls came through during the night with a lot of rain and very strong winds. They would have made life very interesting if we had been out sailing. Even anchored, one of us would probably been up on anchor watch to make sure that we didn’t drag. The morning was overcast and rainy. During the day, I did a few minor boat chores and made preliminary arrangements to have Alize hauled out of the water when our replacement thru hull/valve arrives, including getting recommendations for workers to complete the job. Since the thru hull is below the waterline, I would prefer having someone with more experience than me do the work. In the afternoon, Lin did a couple of loads of laundry. Our plan is to go anchor out tomorrow with a full battery bank, full water tank, full fuel tank and no dirty laundry. In the evening, we joined a group of cruisers going to what was billed as a fish fry in nearby Gros Islet. The original group of five had grown to twelve. When we got there at around 6:15 PM, things were just getting set up. The streets had been blocked off, creating a five or six block area where people could walk, socialize or dance. Gros Islet is a small village located just outside of Rodney Bay Lagoon. A lot of the houses had interesting gingerbread trim, but the whole village looks run down and poorly maintained. There were a few food venders and a lot of venders selling beer, rum and other mixed drinks. A truly amazing quantity of beer and liquor was trucked into the area as we watched. There were also a lot of large loud speakers playing different music at very high volume. As the evening progressed, more venders set up stands and the crowd got bigger and bigger. Off on a side street, a boxing ring was set up and the St. Lucia Amateur Boxing Association put on a number of demonstration matches. It was an an interesting evening, but not something that we would do again. Back on the boat at 10:00 PM we read for a bit before going to bed.

Thurs Jan 29 — It was very windy during the night and the noise kept both of us from sleeping well. We can tell that it is the middle of winter here. We have not run the air conditioner since coming to the marina and it is actually cool at night. I’ve thought about getting under a sheet and Lin actually got under a small blanket one night. In the morning, I worked on boat chores and Lin prepared food for this evening’s dinner. We’re having Chris and Barb from Moonsail and Richard and Harriet from Perseverance over for dinner. Lin spent the day cooking and baking followed by cleaning the lower portion of the port side of the boat. I worked on minor repairs, did what I could to expedite getting our new thru hull/valve and washing fuel spills off the back of the boat and waxing the area afterward. In the evening, our friends came to dinner. Lin prepared an excellent meal, as usual, and we had a good time socializing. After everyone left, we cleaned up and read for a while before going to bed.

Wed Jan 28 — We both had a hard time sleeping last night and as a result slept in late. We have decided to replace our damaged thru hull/valve before leaving St. Lucia. If we don’t do it here, we won’t be someplace where they have the facilities to haul our catamaran out of the water and also speak English. I’ve arranged for to have a valve built and sent directly to us and also for an agent to handle importating the part into St. Lucia (the only country that we’ve encountered that requires an agent for this). It will probably take a week to get the part here, and then we’ll have to arrange for a haul out and a mechanic to replace the valve (I don’t want to do this job). We had hoped to be headed north as soon as the weather permits, but this will probably keep us here for a couple of weeks. Oh well, there are certainly worse places to be. In the evening, we joined Perseverance and Seabatical up at one of the bar/restaurants in the marina complex for sundowners. Afterward, we came back to the boat for dinner and a movie before going to bed.

Tues Jan 27 — Very windy in the morning and it rained a lot during the night. After the person arrived to repair our outboard, I went to the marina office and picked up our mail and then picked up our filled propane tank. Back on the boat, I reassembled the high pressure of our watermaker with the new membrane. Much to my relief, the watermaker seems to be working quite well. The product water tastes and smells fine and the particle count is high, but I’ve been assured that when you replace the membrane, you have to run the system for an hour or two before the particle count comes down. I also tested the repaired outboard, and it has more power than it ever had before. The implication is that things can be done to outboards, that are not allowed in the states, to significantly improve their performance. Lin is taking advantage of our unlimited water to give the boat a good washing. In the evening we ate leftovers, watched a movie and went to bed

Mon. Jan 26 — Windy morning. I worked on our leaking thru hull/valve and may have made some progress. I arranged to have our outboard picked up and serviced tomorrow morning. We have to go into the marina for a couple of days for this. Around 11:00 AM we raised our anchor and took the boat into the lagoon, to the fuel dock, where we fill our fuel tank and a couple of small jerry jugs of gasoline. Next we went to the marina where we docked Alize. The rest of the afternoon was spent taking care of a number of chores. Lin did three loads of laundry and defrosted the freezer. I dropped off a propane tank to be re-filled, purchased some items from the chandlery, consulted with the local Spectra dealer and picked up a part needed in order to re-install the watermaker. After finishing our chores we got a couple of drinks and sat on the deck and talked. Our friend, Anna (she and her husband Joe are crewing on a boat that we keep meeting). Her husband is back in the states for a few days and her mother is visiting. They had met a group of Australians and were going to an Australia day party. In the evening, we ate aboard and watched a movie before going to bed.

Sun. Jan 25 — In the morning, I removed the old watermaker pressure vessel and, with help from Richard from Perseverance, removed the old membrane. I have two set of instructions for installing the new membrane and re-assembling the vessel, so will talk with the company that sold me the new membrane to confirm the proper procedure (and buy a replacement for a plastic fitting that I damaged while taking the vessel apart). At 1:00 PM, we picked up Harriet from Perseverance and went to shore to play dominoes. I had the best game that I’ve ever had. After the game, we went to one of the restaurants in the marina for an early supper. Food was O.K., but the service left something to be desired.

Sat. Jan 24 — Slept late after a quiet night. It is bright and sunny this morning and rather windy. We spent the morning doing a few boat chores. We joined Perseverance and Jay from Oasis at noon for pizza at a place that Perseverance claims makes the best pizza in the Caribbean. After eating their pizza, I’m inclined to agree with him. After lunch, we walked back to the hardware store across the street from the marina, but it was closed. Lin and Richard (Perseverance) got ice cones at one of the marina restaurants and we sat and socialized for a bit. Arrangements were made for dominoes on Sunday afternoon. Back on the boat, we read and checked our email before going for a swim.

Fri. Jan 23 — The morning was overcast and rainy. I hooked up the rainwater collection system and managed to collect a little water. We finally managed to connect to the internet today through one of the nearby resorts and sent out a few emails. During the afternoon, Lin did some baking and I worked on a few more items from my to-do list. I got a call today to tell me that the new membrane for our watermaker had come in, and picked it up from Customs. In the evening, we went for a swim, enjoyed a meal of leftovers, played games and read before going to bed.

Thurs Jan 22 — In the morning, I took the dinghy to shore to clear in with customs. After clearing in, I checked with the marina about slip availibity (want to tie up at a dock when we get ready to get some work done), purchased some parts and checked on the status of our watermaker membrane. Back to the boat to eat before we went to the grocery store to do a little shopping. In the afternoon, I took care of some minor repairs and then went back to shore for some more parts. This is a nice place to anchor, but there is one problem. People staying at the resorts frequently come flying through the anchorage at top speed, coming very close to the boats and creating noise and wakes and making it unsafe to go swimming off the boat. In the evening, we enjoyed a meal of leftovers, played some games and read before going to sleep.

Wed. Jan 21 — The alarm woke us at 6:00 am and we had our anchor up by 7:00 AM. We had a bright, sunny day with good winds. There was a swell coming out of the east with nine foot seas, but a long period between waves, so we slowly went up and down. Between Bequia and St. Vincent, we got some strong gusts and put a second reef in the mainsail. Despite that, between engines and sails, we maintained speeds between 7 and 8 kts. Because we were making such good time, we decided not to stop at the Pitons (tall volcanic peaks on the southern end of St. Lucia) and continued on to Rodney Bay. We managed to do 72 miles in a little under 10 hours, and anchored in front of a string of resorts at the southern side of Rodney Bay. It was getting dark by the time we got things secured on the boat and we were pretty tired, so we decided to put off clearing in until the morning. After a quiet dinner and a few games, we went to bed early.

Tues Jan 20 — We slept in a little, but got up in time to do a few chores around the boat before getting in the dinghy and going to shore. We joined a large group of cruisers watching the presidential inauguration at the Salty Dog. I find the amount of interest in the islands in the American Presidential election somewhat surprising. Island residents and cruisers from around the world have been enthusiastically rooting for Obama for months and are really glad to see him in office. After the inauguration, we did a little fresh produce shopping, I cleared out with Customs and Immigration and we got the boat ready to go to sea.

Mon Jan 19 — Bright, sunny morning. Did a few boat chores including going under the boat to clean the props in anticipation of leaving for St. Lucia on Wednesday. Made a run to shore during the afternoon and bought several large bottles of drinking water. In the evening, we stopped by Gemini (a boat we know from Clarkes Court Bay) for drinks and snacks. Afterward, we dinghied to shore and ate dinner at the Salty Dog, pretty good food and a great location with a fantastic view of the harbor. We made arrangements with the owner to bring a group there tomorrow to watch the inaugural acceptance speech. Back on the boat, we both had diffficulty sleeping, but eventually got to sleep.

Sun Jan 18 — A squall came through in the early morning and things got a little wet in the head before I realized that it was ra

Wed. Dec 31 — In the morning, we got on a bus with a group of cruisers on a bus going shopping. After we finished at the local supermarket, I took the bus back to the marina while Lin took a maxi to downtown St. George’s for a little more shopping. Back on the boat, I worked on the watermaker and getting rid of a funny smell on the boat. In the evening, we joined folks from Perseverence, Catalyst and Jolly Friends at a restaurant called Mona Lisa. When we got out of the cab, we followed a group into what we assumed was the restaurant. It turned out to be a private home, but the people seemed used to this sort of thing and directed us out the back door to the restaurant (there were no signs identifying the restaurant). We found out that the restaurant was normally closed on Wednesday and opened for us, turning away other people requesting reservations. The owner was a young man from Spain. We had several courses of appetizers followed by an excellent meal. It was a very nice evening. After dinner, we returned to the boat and watched a movie and drank champagne before going to bed.

Tues. Dec 30 — Nothing special to report. We spent the day doing boat chores, had a quiet dinner aboard, watched a movie and went to bed.

Mon. Dec 29 — After a slow start to tme morning, we took a cab to the New York Bagel place where we joined Andrew and Kerri from Mariposa for brunch. Afterward, we walked, first to the local Honda dealer and then Ace Hardware, in search of new spark plugs for the dinghy outboard. No luck. Next, we took a maxi to the Spice Land Mall to provision at the IGA supermarket. We got most of what we were looking for. We met Cal, Linda and guests from Calabrese at the store and took a taxi back to the marina with them. We first met Cal and Linda in 2006 at a bonfire at Exuma Land Sea Park in the Bahamas. Back at the marina, we put groceries away and borrowed a few movies from Cal and Linda. After a dinner of left overs, we watchhed a movie that we had borrowed from them before going to bed.

Sun. Dec 28 — We slept a little late this morning, no cruisers net on Sundays. The day is sunny and windy. We spent the morning reading, relaxing and doing a few boat chores. At 1:00 PM I want to the marina bar to play dominoes with Noi of Rogue and Heather of Asseance, but Lin decided to remain on the boat. Had a good time playing dominoes. In the evening, we had a quiet meal aboard and read for a while.

Sat. Dec 27 — Periodic rain throughout the day. Christmas decorations were taken down and put in a large ziplock for storage. In the afternoon, we joined a group at the bar and played Sequence, a board game we purchased several months ago during our visit to the states. While we were playing, an ice cream truck visited the marina. It was “Brian’s Ice Cream, a pick up truck with a wooden shelter built on the back that played traditional ice cream truck as it arrived. Lin got a vanilla and sorrel ice cream cone that she waid was very good. Afterward, we went back to the boat and Lin prepared food for the evening’s potluck dinner. We had a good time at the potluck, but have really gotten potlucked out. Back on the boat, we watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Fri. Dec 26 — It is Boxing Day, a national holiday in Grenada (and other former UK islands). In the past, the nobility would box up unwanted gifts and give them to the servants on the day after Christmas. The winds and seas are quite high at this time and and it doesn’t appear that we are likely to leave Grenada during the next few days. There have been reports of several vessels going from Grenada to Bequia that arrived with torn sails. A small (9 meter) sailboat coming from Trinidad to Grenada called in a Mayday. The owner was picked up by a cruise ship and opened the seacocks on the boat, sinking it (rather effectively ending his sailing career). Most of the day was spent working around the boat. In the afternoon, we dinghied across the harbor and to Whisper Cove Marina for a potluck lunch and sing along. There were almost 100 cruisers there and we had a really good time eating, socializing and singing. In the evening, we watched TV before going to sleep.

Thurs. Dec 25 — The day started off pretty slowly with little Christmas fanfare. At 1:45 PM, a taxi picked us up to go to a Christmas potluck at the Tiki bar at Prickly Bay Marina. A group of us had planned to meet at a restaurant for lunch, but when the prices were suddenly doubled, it became a potluck. We had a great time with a very international bunch of people. After snacks and a meal, we played Mexican Train Dominoes. Around 6:00 PM, our taxi took us back to the marina. We stopped at the bar/social center where a potluck dinner was just ending, and got into another game of dominoes before going back to the boat. Back at the boat, we called our sons and other relatives to wish them a Merry Christmas.

Wed. Dec 24 — After listening to the morning net, I joined a group going by taxi to the grocery store. After doing a little shopping, it was back to the boat. Lin spent the day baking, creating cookies and breads to give to friends. The evening was spent quietly on the boat.

Tues. Dec 23 — Very windy day, and we were glad to be tied to a dock. Lin spent most of the day cooking while I read and worked around the boat.

Mon. Dec 22 — This turned into a housekeeping day. Lin did a couple more loads of laundry and changed shower curtains and window covers. I filled the water tank, filtered a few bottles of drinking water, arranged to have the dinghy motor worked on (again) and re-made the bed, vacuumed the main cabin. According to the marine weather forecast, conditions out on the ocean are expected to become pretty rough during the next few days (unless you enjoy 15 ft. waves). Even in our protected bay it is pretty windy and we bounced around a little. Looking out toward the ocean, we can see see the waves breaking across the reefs. We may be staying in Grenada for a little longer than originally planned. In the evening, we met other cruisers in the marina bar/social spot. The plan had been to play dominoes or a board game, but Steve and Anne from Receta were there and we spent the time catching up with them. Afterward, we ate dinner on the boat and watched a movie before going to bed.

Sun. Dec 21 — Spent a quiet day working around the boat. In the afternoon, we joined ten other cruisers on a trip to hear a concert of Christmas and classical music. The concert was in a church in Grenville, about an hour drive from the marinas. The music was excellent. Afterward, we went to a restaurant in Grenville that is normally closed on Sunday evening, but opened just for us. We got back to the boat around 11:00 PM.

Sat. Dec 20 — Listened to the cruisers net in the morning. Afterward, a taxi picked us up and we met some friends, Richard and Harriet from Perseverence and Steve and Hope from Starshine, at a bagle shop. The bagels were excellent and we really enjoyed catching up on things with old friends. Back at the boat, we did a few boat chores and read. In the evening, we went to a potluck dinner at the marina bar/social center.

Fri. Dec 19 — Up in time to have brfeakfast with Mike before the taxi came to take him to the airport. It was overcast and rainy and we spent most of the day on the boat, reading and doing minor boat chores. In the evening, we ate some leftovers and watched a movie, A Christmas Story, before going to bed.

Thurs. Dec 18 — In the morning, we caught a taxi and went downtown to a mall that caters to cruise ship passengers and to the open air fresh produce market. We Lin bought a new hat and we bought some fresh produce. Mike got a spice assortment to bring home for a friend. Back on the boat, we spent a quiet afternoon and Mike took the kayak and explored the harbor some more. In the evening, we enjoyed a meal on the boat before going to bed. As he has most other nights, Mike stayed up after we went to bed to look at the stars.

Wed. Dec 17 — Happy Birthday to Lin. This was one of the big birthdays where the number ends with a zero. In the morning, we went on a snorkeling trip. The owner of the dive overation picked us up at 8:30 AM and took us to the dive center. With just the three of us aboard (and three crew), the dive boat took us around Salinas point and past St. Georges to two snorkeling sites. The seas were pretty high and visibility not very good. After looking at a few fish at the first site, we went to the underwater sculpture garden. We saw several sculptures on the bottom, including a ring of children, all facing out, a man sitting at a desk with a typewriter in front of him, a woman praying and a woman with a large hat. Back at the boat, we showered and got cleaned up. Michael took the kayak and went exploring while Lin and I rested on the boat. In the evening, we went to dinner at a very nice restaurant, called The Aquarium, to celebrate Lin’s birthday. Back on the boat, we talked for a while before going to bed.

Visit to a beach during our island tour

Tues. Dec 16 — We were picked up in the morning for an all day tour of the island. Lin had organized the trip, and we had a total of twelve people on the trip. We visited a waterfall, a rum factory, a chocolate factory and a nice beach. The hike to the waterfall was long, steep, muddy and slippery. I only hiked part way, before deciding that the trail was too steep and slippery for me and I turned back part way. At the waterfall, Michael jumped from the lower falls. Back at the boat, we enjoyed a leftover turkey dinner before going to bed.

Mon. Dec. 15— We spent a quiet day around the boat. In the afternoon, we went exploring in the dinghy. However, it was not running well and died when we tried to idle the engine. In the afternoon, we met some other cruisers at the marina bar/social center and played pool for a while.

Please note, we have changed the software used to create this web site. With the new software, it makes more sense to create new entries above older entries. Therefore, the order of entries will be newest entry at the top of the log in the future.Mon.

Dec. 01 — I woke up in the morning with increased problems with breathing. Called the pulmonary specialist that I saw a few months ago and scheduled an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. Later, I went to Budget Marine for a part and then finished re-installing the rainwater collection system. We also arranged for someone to take our empty propane tank out to be filled. The task took him quite a long time. The first place he tried was on strike, so he went all the way to Trincity Mall (a long drive). When he got there, the place had just been robbed and armed robbers stole all of the security guards’ guns. I’m glad that we weren’t there to share the excitement. In the evening, we enjoyed a quiet meal aboard and watched a movie.

Tues. Dec. 02 —. We both had a poor night’s sleep and overslept, missing the cruisers’ net. After brunch, I took care of a couple of chores and then took the water taxi across the harbor. After getting a haircut and doing a little shopping, I returned to the boat. In the afternoon, did a couple of chores while Lin washed the outside of the boat. Just as she was finishing, she slipped on a step and hurt her ankle. Despite that, we went to the movies and then out to dinner with Lin limping along. Back on the boat, she took something for the pain and went to bed.

Wed. Dec 03 — Lin is still in a lot of pain, so we arranged for a driver to take her to a local clinic in the morning. She came back with an aircast, medications and a follow-up appointment for Friday. I went to the clinic in the afternoon to see the pulmonary specialist, and came back with some medications and a lab test to follow-up on Friday afternoon. Our planned Thursday departure has been moved to Saturday. In the evening, we got some take out pizza and watched the fourth Harry Potter movie, before going to bed.

Thurs. Dec. 04— Up in time for the cruisers’ net in the morning. Both of us are feeling better than we had been. We did a couple of loads of laundry and took care of a few minor boat chores. In the afternoon, Lin made a curried chicken and pineapple salad, one of her experiments that worked out quite well. In the evening, we played some games and watched a movie before going to bed.

Fri. Dec. 05 — After the morning net, Lin joined the group going to the supermarket. While she was away, I ran a few errands, including checking weather forecasts and arranging to recover our shotgun from Customs tomorrow (when we plan to leave). In the afternoon, one of Jesse’s drivers picked us up and we went to West Shore Medical Center. I had my TB skin test read and picked up the results of recent lab work (both came back with the hoped for results). Lin saw an Orthopedic specialist who told her that her injured ankle was doing well. In the evening, we joined Receta, Assiance and Southern Cross at The Lure for dinner. The restaurant is very close to Coral Cove and the best restaurant in the area (if somewhat pricey). It was really nice to get together with our friends. We really enjoyed the get together, and look forward to seeing these people again up island. We probably won’t see Southern Cross until we get back to the Chesapeake. They are headed west, we’re headed north, but they’ll be staying in Oxford, Maryland next Summer. Back on the boat, we slept for a while before going to bed. We’re both anxious about making an overnight to Grenada tomorrow. We’ve done many overnights in the past, but we’ve been away from sailing for a long time, and cruisers have been bothered by unidentified boats several times in recent months on this passage.

Sat. Dec. 06 — We said our good byes on the morning net and then finished getting the boat ready for sea. Another cruiser stopped by the boat and asked if we could carry a wind vane (steering device that uses wind to steer the boat) to Grenada for them. No problem, so they came aboard and tied the device down on one of our trampolines. Around 2:30 PM, we went across the harbor to clear out with Immigration and then Customs. We had a few problems because the checkout procedure was more expensive than anticipated and I had to make an extra trip across the harbor for more money. We finally got cleared out and re-claimed the shotgun that Customs had impounded in 2007 and subsequently been unable to find and return to us when we left. We had contacted the US Embassy about this and with their help, the gun was somehow found. We finally got underway around 5:00 PM. Our plan to go east along the north coast of Trinidad before turning north toward Grenada was scrapped because of our late start. Weather forecasts had predicted 10 to 15 kt. winds from the NE to E and calm seas with a long NE swell. Wrong (as usual), winds were pretty much from the north, at times up to 30 kts. The night was uncomfortable with a lot of slamming and banging, but otherwise uneventful. Lin, unfortunately, was not feeling well, and the corkscrewing motion of the boat made her seasick. Not a fun night.

Sun. Dec. 07 — After a lumpy, bumpy night, we arrived safely in Clarke’s Court Bay, Grenada around 7:30 AM. Just about everything that been left out or on a shelf had ended up on the floor and neither of us had managed to sleep. Instead of anchoring out, as initially planned, we called the Clarke’s Court Bay Marina and took a slip for a couple of nights. Bob, the owner of the marina, wasn’t in yet, but another cruiser, Doris from Isle Escape, answered the VHF and offered to help with our lines. By the time we got to the dock, Doris and Bob were both waiting for us. We quickly got tied to the dock, and Doris brought me a fresh cup of coffee (very greatfully received, Lin is a tea drinker and was on her own). After settling in a little, I got cleaned up and checked into the marina. Originally, we intended to stay for a couple of nights, anchor out for a while and then come in for one night when our son, Mike, arrives next week. Bob offered a discount for staying at the marina for the whole time, and we took it. Next, I took a cab over to Prickly Bay and checked in with Cusoms and Immigration. Other than being chastized for going directly to Clarke’s Court Bay and not taking our boat in to Prickly Bay (an official port of entry), check in went well. Back on the boat, we finished putting things back together and then took naps. In the evening, we joined people in the bar for happy hour, played a game of pool and then went back to the boat and ate dinner, before I went back to bed and Lin stayed up and read for a while.

Mon. Dec. 08 — The cruisers’ net here starts at 7:30 AM, but we both overslept and missed it. We spent a few hours puttering around on the boat, taking care of a few minor boat chores. In the afternoon, a young lady stopped by the boat with an invitation to come play dominoes at the bar/social center. Needless to say, we took advantage of the opportunity to avoid work and enjoyed a few hours of dominoes. In the evening, we ate some leftovers and watched a Starwars movie before going to bed.

Tues. Dec. 09 — Woke up in time for the morning net. We introduced ourselves to the net and took notes on upcoming activities. Lin spent most of the day cleaning the outside of the boat. In addition to general dirt, it was covered with dried salt from our passage from Trinidad. A few of the waves went completely over the top of the cockpit (glad we have a fully enclosed cockpit). I took care of a few minor chores such as defrosting the freezer. In the afternoon, we went to the bar/social center and socialized with some other cruisers. Afterward, we went back to the boat for a leftover dinner and a movie, then read for a while and went to bed.

Wed. Dec 10 — Listened to the cruisers’ net in the morning, then took the dinghy across the bay to Whisper Cove Marina, where a bus was scheduled to take a group of cruisers shopping. When we got there, we learned that the van had not shown up. While coming back across the bay, we detoured to greet Chuck and Barb on Tusen Taak II, who were just coming into the bay. Back at the boat, we called a taxi to take us to town to shop. After buying a few things at Island Water World (ship’s chandlery) we took a maxi to the grocery store. There is a very nice supermarket on the island that brings in typically American foods for students at Ross University (primarily medical students). Afterwards, we got a bite to eat and took a taxi back to the marina. After putting things away, Lin did a load of laundry and I took care of a couple of minor chores. In the evening, we walked over to the marina bar/social center for Hamburger Night. The burgers were good and we really enjoyed socializing with our friends from Mariposa and Isle Escape. A pan player entertained the group and after he finished, they played the movie, Captain Ron. We went back to our boat and watched the same movie, but in a more comfortable setting.

Thurs. Dec. 11— Up in time for the cruisers’ net in the morning. Spent most of the day doing boat chores. We got a shipment of mail, and caught up on a few things. Lin tried to do some baking in the afternoon, but was quite frustrated by an oven that would not stay lit. In the evening, Kerri and Andrew from Mariposa came to the boat for dinner and Mexican train dominoes. The food was very good and we had a great time socializing and playing dominoes.

Fri. Dec 12 — After the morning net and breakfast, I joined a group of cruisers taking a bus to town to shop. For two and a half hours I went from store to store getting things that we need and topping up our cell phone with additional minutes. Lin stayed on the boat and tried to catch up on all of her accumulated emails. In the afternoon, we joined Doris and Kelton from Isle Escape for a drink and to share information about Trinidad. Back on the boat, we ate some leftovers and watched a movie before going to bed.

Sat. Dec. 13 — In the morning, Lin joined Doris from Isle Escape to take a maxi to the fresh market. Kelton took them across the harbor by dinghy to catch the maxi in Lower Woeborn, the small town across the harbor from the marina. I stayed on the boat and took care of a few minor chores. In the evening, we went to a potluck dinner at the marina bar/social center. There was a good group and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Sun. Dec. 14 — Lin woke up early and went to work on our Christmas cards. I joined her a little later and by late morning, we had our cards and annual letters ready to go out. We emptied out our spare cabin in preparation for Mike’s visit and made the bed. Lin did a couple of loads of laundry. A taxi picked us up at 9:30 PM and we went to the airport to meet Mike’s plane. It was a little late, but he eventually arrived. We were really glad to see him. Back at the boat, our very hungry son enjoyed some turkey and trimmings.

Sat. Nov. 1 — Up around 7:00 AM, to breakfast at 7:30 AM. After breakfast, we went for a walk in the butterfly farm for a while and enjoyed all of the Morpho butterflies. At 8:45 AM we checked out and boarded a boat to take us back up the river. The captain stopped once during the 1 1/2 hour trip to let us look at a crocodile. At the end of our trip, we boarded a bus to head back to San Jose. The bus was crowded, but most of the group were dropped off along the way to go on other activities. Four Americans (all ex-teachers) and very nice people, who we had enjoyed socializing with at Mawamba Lodge, left the group at the lunch stop to go white water rafting. Back at the Balmoral Hotel, we checked in and then did a little shopping (groceries and books from a book store that specializes in English language books). We walked down the walkway that goes through town, stopping for an exotic dinner at MacDonald’s and an ice cream cone. Afterwards, we sat in a large town square and listened to a group playing live music. Back at the hotel, we prepared for the following day and Lin got dirty clothes ready for laundry.

Sun. Nov. 2 — We were scheduled to be picked up at the hotel lobby at 5:45 AM, but the travel agent failed to make the necessary arrangements. The tour guide finally picked us up at 6:30 AM. After riding on the bus for two or three hours, we arrived at our destination, and boarded a 71 ft. catamaran, Manta Ray 2, to cross the Gulf of Nicoya. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to reach Tortuga Island. The crew of the boat circulated offering passengers drinks and freshly cut fruit. We enjoyed several hours swimming and soaking up the sun on Tortuga Island. The island and the beach were beautiful. One of the few permanent residents on the island is a collared Peccary (small, long haired pig like animal) named Serafina, who seems to think that she is a dog. She really enjoyed being petted and having her stomach scratched. The crew of the boat served an excellent lunch on the beach. After lunch, a large flock of vultures collected in the trees, waiting for the crew to dispose of leftovers. Around 3:30 PM, we boarded the boat and headed back to the mainland, then boarded the bus for the long ride back San Jose.

Mon. Nov. 3 — After breakfast, we were picked up in the hotel lobby at 8:00 AM by our tour guide. We rode through beautiful scenery for a couple of hours before stopping for breakfast at a nice restaurant that also has a large area selling locally made souvenirs at very good prices. The restaurant/shop is in an area known for its skilled artisans. We did our part in supporting the local economy. We ate lunch at a restaurant in the town of La Fortuna, in sight of the Arenal volcano, Costa Rica’s most active volcano. While we were eating, the volcano had a minor eruption, with a large cloud of steam forming around the peak of the volcano. Lunch was typical Tico (Costa Rican’s nickname for themselves) fare. The basic staple in the Tico diet is either beans and rice or rice and beans. In addition, there might be eggs (breakfast), some type of meat and plantains (lunch) and a variety of things at supper time. Lin elected to get a massage, while the rest of the group boarded the bus and went to Tabacon Hot Springs and Spa to enjoy the water. The resort us beautiful and we enjoyed soaking in the hot water coming out of the volcano. It felt great to sit under a waterfall of very warm water. After her massage, Lin joined me soaking in the water. At 5:00 PM, we boarded the bus to an outlook to look for volcanic activity in the dark. Unfortunately, it had clouded over, and we couldn’t see much. Lin (and some of the other people) saw one glowing rock shoot out of the volcano and roll down the side of the volcanic cone. We boarded the bus and went back to the Tabacon restaurant for an excellent and very elaborate buffet dinner. After a long bus ride back to San Jose, we arrived at our hotel a little after 10:00 PM.

Tues. Nov. 4 — Woke up in a leisurely fashion and had breakfast in the restaurant downstairs. Bruce spent the morning updating this log and going to the post office to buy stamps and send out postcards. Its an interesting 15-20 block walk to the post office and back, through city parks and past unusual shops. In the early afternoon, we were picked up for a city tour (originally scheduled earlier in our stay, but re-scheduled because Lin was not feeling well). On the tour, we met Ken and Deanne, two very nice people (Americans) who were on the tour with us yesterday. We really enjoyed talking with them and getting to know them a little better. The tour was interesting and we learned of some things, such as the National Theater and the Gold Museum, that are within a couple of blocks of our hotel. After the tour, we looked around for someone place to have supper, but finally settled for the KFC across the street from the hotel, followed by desert at the hotel restaurant. There are a number of Costa Rican places in the area, but neither of us was up for more beans and rice. Back at the hotel, we were upset to discover that Cable TV was out and we would not be able to watch the results of the US elections as they came in. We did manage to follow things over the internet, and eventually the TV came back on. Both of us were tired, so we went to bed a bit early, but only after seeing that Obama was well ahead in the race.

Wed. Nov. 5 — Up at our usual time and downstairs for breakfast. Afterwards, we re-organized our stuff and re-packed suitcases. I ran a few errands and picked up a few last minute things. We also used the phone and internet to make sure that our travel plans for tomorrow are all set to work smoothly. In the evening, we called a cab and went to a restaurant called Cafe Mundo for supper. The restaurant was very nice, we sat outside on a porch, surrounded by trees and bushes. Their four cheese pizza was great and we really enjoyed ourselves. Back at the hotel, we purchased some orange juice and pastries from a nearby store, finished packing and went to bed.

Thurs. Nov. 6 — Up at 4:45 AM, we ate a little breakfast and then went downstairs to check out and wait for our ride. We got to the airport in plenty of time and checked in with our two airlines, Lin to go to Philadelphia and me to Trinidad. We sat together and talked for a while and then went to our two boarding gates. My flights to Panama City and then Port of Spain, Trinidad were uneventful. One of Jesse James’ drivers, his cousin Mathew, was waiting for me, with his wife and child in the back seat. We got to Coral Cove with no trouble. I enjoyed talking with Mathew’s family. At the age of three, the son can count to ten in both English and Spanish and name most of the colors, a bright (and happy) child. After checking into my room, I went downstairs for some pizza and then went to bed.

Fri. Nov. 7 — Got up fairly late in the morning. My body’s calendar is two hours off from local time, and 9:00 AM locally seems like 7:00 AM to me. After getting up and moving, I went to Aikane (Alize is fine) to get a few things. I stood out on the highway waiting for a maxi, and a young woman (who I had held the door open for in Aikane) stopped and gave me a ride to CrewsInn. I checked in with Customs and Immigration, changed some US dollars into Trini money and got a haircut. Next, I went to CrewsInn and visited with Perseverance, Kiva, Receta and Tranquility. While I was on Receta, Lin called. It was great to hear her voice and learn that she was doing well in Pennsylvania. After that, I went to the local supermarket (read that as a 7-11 like store) and took the water taxi across the harbor to Coral Cove. While visiting with people, I accepted an invitation to join a group of Manta owners at Joe’s’ Pizza and had to turn down an invitation to the Wheelhouse Pub for shrimp or steak. Back at the hotel, I purchased laundry tokens, and went to the room for a nap. At 7:00 PM I got together with the Manta owners’ group at Joe’s Pizza. There were seven of us, Richard and Harriet from Perseverance, Phil and MaryAnne from Calypso, Jay from Oasis, Mike from MT Nest and me. We ate, drank and talked until the restaurant closed at 10:00 PM. We were all tired, so plans to go to a nearby bar for Karaoke (sp?) were scrapped. Back in my room, I went to bed.

Sat. Nov. 8 — I slept until quite late, in fact, housekeeping woke me up at 11:00 AM. My body is two hours off local time, but this was still quite late for me. I spent a lazy day, finishing unpacking and sorting clothes for laundry and buying some laundry products.

Sun. Nov. 9 — Another lazy morning, but did manage to do three loads of laundry before walking around the harbor to CrewsInn for the weekly dominoes tournament. Didn’t win, but had a good time. In the evening, I went to Calypso (a Manta docked at Coral Cove) for a pot luck dinner. The pool/picnic area was already full of people, so we stayed on Calypso. Phil from Calypso has a guitar and an electric keyboard, Mike from MT Nest brought his saxophone and Richard from Perseverance brought a very good singing voice. We had a great time singing along with the music. Afterward, I went to my room and slept.

Mon. Nov. 10 — Up in time for a 10:00 AM meeting at Aikane to discuss the work being done to Alize. Not much has been done, so far, but with launch only eight days away, things are starting to happen. It turns out that replacing the inner seals on our sail drives was not included in our original quote, so I’ve had to hire a mechanic to do the work. Fortunately, his rates aren’t too bad, especially when you consider that he has to move each engine in order to change the seal. Said he should be able to complete it in one day. Spoke with Lin, she seems to be doing well, but not enjoying the cold Philadelphia weather. In the evening, I got a salad from a restaurant downstairs and watched TV in my room before going to sleep.

Tues. Nov. 11 — Got picked up at 10:00 AM for a 11:00 AM dentist’s appointment. I shared the ride with Calypso and Perseverance, who were off on a major provisioning trip. The dentist took a few x-rays and declared my teeth to be in good condition and then cleaned the teeth. Back at the room, I spent some time online and using the phone to clear up some business. At 4:00 PM, I joined a group of other cruisers going to the movies. With a group of Manta owners, I saw a rather poor movie, Burn after Reading, and then had dinner. After getting back to the room, I watched TV for a while, enjoyed a phone call from Lin and then went to sleep.

Wed. Nov. 12 — Listened to the cruisers’ net in the morning, and shortly afterwards, I got a call about having our life raft serviced. We haggled over the price a little and then I arranged to be picked up to get the life raft from Alize. On the boat, there is a lot of activity. A crew of three are replacing the saildrive seals, a rather major project that involves moving each engine a little distance. They expect to be through today. Two men are working on the hull, one scraping off paint stripper and old paint, the other putting on a second coat of paint stripper.the primer coat. I did a few minor chores, then left for the day to get out of their way and because I couldn’t get much done with all of the work going on. Going back to Chaguaramas, I caught a ride with a Budget Marine delivery truck (I was going there anyway and thought I might as well ask for a ride). Shortly after I got back to Coral Cove, the electricity went out. After a couple of hours, I decided to go swim in the marina pool and it started to rain. Around 6:00 PM, the power came back on, and I went downstairs to get a pizza for dinner.

Thurs. Nov. 13 — Up in the morning and spent some time getting the room ready for Lin’s arrival. Around noon, I caught a maxi to Aikane and did a little work on the boat. The mechanic and his crew have finished replacing the inner saildrive seals, and preparation of the hull for painting is going well. It took me a couple hours to finish my chores, and as I was getting ready to leave, MT Nest, with Mike on top playing his saxophone passed. The boat is being splashed and Mike asked if I would like a ride back to Coral Cove, an offer I gladly accepted. We had an uneventful trip back to Coral Cove and after MT Nest was well secured, we sat and talked for a while.

Fri. Nov. 14 — After staying up until around 2:00 AM and talking, we both slept late. Lin is not feeling well, so elected to stay in our room while I took a batch of stuff to the boat and worked on a couple of chores. There are a lot of people working on the boat now, but all on the outside. After unloading things on the boat and working for a while, I took care of some business with Aikane and then went back to the room. In the evening, we joined Perseverance and Calypso for dinner (a nearby restaurant has a weekly special on steak (tasty but very chewy) or shrimp kabobs. After eating, we went back to the room while the rest of the group went to another restaurant for karaoke.

Sat. Nov. 15 — We both slept late again this morning. Lin is still not feeling at her best, so elected to spend the day resting. Around noon I took a backpack full of stuff to the boat, to look for something and to pick up a couple of things. Next, I took a maxi to West Mall to try and find a battery charger for Lin’s camcorder. The electronics store had a couple of “universal” battery chargers, but nothing that would work with our camcorder. After a couple of small purchases and lunch, I took another maxi back to the hotel. The rest of the afternoon was spent loading programs that Lin had purchased in the states onto the computer.

Sun. Nov. 16 — After a leisurely start to the day, we went to the boat around noon. A crew was polishing the boat when we arrived. Lin finished getting the refrigerator/freezer ready to restart. We again to remove an external zinc that has become a problem. After working on it for a while, we agreed that we could not solve the problem and that it will have to be taken care of by Aikane. Unfortunately, the boat can’t be launched until the potential leak around the studs that hold the zincs in place have been taken care of. Using “earmuffs”, designed to push fresh water through outboard engines, we got cooling water to our engines and test ran them. Both started and ran without any problems. While we were doing this, the skies opened up and I got pretty wet. We completed our chores just in time to go to CrewsInn for dominoes. After dominoes, another couple dropped us off at a restaurant near Coral Cove, where we had dinner. After walking back to Coral Cove from the restaurant, we watched TV for a while and then went to bed.

Mon. Nov. 17 — Up in time to listen to the 8:00 AM cruisers’ net. At the end of the net, I took a maxi to Aikane to discuss a repair that needs to take place before Alize can go back into the water. After a meeting with people at the yard, we agreed that the extra zinc on the starboard hull will be removed, the free turning studs removed, holes glassed over and a smaller zinc installed on a single hole. This will eliminate the water intrusion through the old holes through the hull. The problem arose when the old nuts, securing the zinc, became frozen and the studs started freely turning, creating a potential way for water to get into the boat. Because of the additional work, our launching will be delayed by one day, and we will be launched at 9:00 AM on Wednesday. We were told that the bottom of our boat will have to be painted blue, rather than black, because the company that distributes this brand of bottom paint got a bad batch of black paint. This was not welcome news, but there doesn’t appear to be much that we can do about it. In the afternoon, I went back to the boat to drop off a few things and check on progress. Work seems to be coming along nicely, and things look good for a Wednesday morning launch. In the evening, we went down to Joe’s Pizza for dinner. Mike from MT Nest joined us and we had a good time talking. Back on the boat, we watched a movie on TV before going to sleep.

Tues. Nov. 18 — Up in time to listen to the morning cruisers’ net. Most of the day was spent making sure that everything that needed to be done before Alize can be launched has been done. In the evening, we joined a group going to Movietown. There were two buses taking cruisers to the movies, but the other turned back because of bad traffic. Traffic headed toward Port of Spain was really backed up because of mudslides in POS. Our normally 20 minute ride took over an hour, and we got out and walked the last little bit. We enjoyed the latest James Bond movie, and dinner afterward before catching our ride to the hotel. Back at the hotel, we finished packing up and getting ready for the morning.

Wed. Nov. 19 — Up at 6:30 AM, to Aikane by 8:00 AM. We took care of a few last minute preparations while Aikane finished getting ready to launch Alize. At 9:00 AM, we were trailored across the highway (with police stopping traffic) and launched. By 10:00 AM, we were at Coral Cove, where the dockmaster and Mike from MT Nest caught our lines as we backed into our slip. The launching and getting into the slip at Coral Cove were anxiety arousing, but everything went smoothly. The rest of the day was spent checking out of our hotel room, putting our stuff away on Alize, buying a few groceries and generally settling in. In the evening, Mike joined us for dinner on Alize (sadly, he is leaving early in the morning).

Thurs. Nov. 20 — Up in time for the cruisers’ net. Afterward, we prepared lists and started working on items to be completed before we can leave Trinidad. In the afternoon, Lin went to Aikane to deliver some beer that had been promised to the crew who worked on Alize. We got a lot done today, but there is still a lot left to do before we can leave Trinidad. After a quiet meal on the boat, we read for a while and then went to bed.

Fri. Nov. 21 — Listened to the cruisers’ net in the morning. Afterward, Lin went to the supermarket to do some provisioning and I took care of a couple of my pre-departure chores (changed oil, oil filter and fuel filters on starboard engine). Around 10:00 AM, our inspected and re-packed life raft was delivered to the boat. After lunch, I went to Aikane and paid the last of our bill. After getting back to the boat, I put the dinghy in the water and ran the engine. The engine started easily, but I couldn’t get it to keep running. I’ll get it checked out early next week. We read for a while in the eveniong and went to bed early.

Sat. Nov. 22 — Up early and picked up at 6:30 AM to go to the fresh market. This is the first time I’ve been there. It is huge. There is a really big building, filled with stalls and many more stalls outside. I understand that you can pick your chicken while it is still alive and return a little later to pick it up butchered and cleaned. We bought some shrimp and a lot of produce. On the way back to the marina, the group stopped at a supermarket, and we bought more food. The rest of the day was spent putting provisions away and minor boat chores. In the evening, we went to the pool area for a swim (or as much of a swim as you can have in a 12 ft. x 12 ft. pool), ate dinner on the boat, watched a movie and went to bed.

Sun. Nov. 23 — Up in time for the cruisers’ net in the morning. Afterward, Lin cleaned the inside of the boat and I replaced our damaged solar panel (bought the replacement in Grenada several months ago). In the afternoon, we walked around the harbor to CrewsInn for the weekly dominoes game. We both did reasonably well, but nothing spectacular. Back on the boat, we took care of a few more chores and then relaxed. After a nice meal on the boat, we read for a while before going to bed.

Mon. Nov. 24 — After listening to the morning net, we went to work on our chores, Lin cleaned the outside of the boat while I took care of some paperwork, arranged to have our outboard engine repaired and confirmed that our sails are being delivered today. Lin went on the weekly trip to Hi Lo Supermarket while I ran errands and, after the sails had been delivered, put the jib on the boat. In the evening, we had a nice dinner and read before going to bed.

Tues. Nov. 25 — In the morning, Lin and one of Jesse Jame’s drivers ran errands and picked up more of the things we need before we can take off. While they were away, I replaced the oil, oil filter and fuel filters on our port engine. When Lin got back, the next few hours were spent storing provisions. At 3:30 PM, the technician arrived to pick up the outboard for servicing. At 4:00 PM, we joined other cruisers for the weekly trip to Movietown, where we saw a movie called The Secret Life of Bees. Back on the boat, we organized things for the next morning.

Wed. Nov. 26 — Up a little early. One of Jesse’s drivers drove me over to Customs so that I could talk with them about getting our shotgun back when we leave Trinidad. At around 8:30 AM, Jesse’s van with Lin and another couple picked me up at Customs and we drove to the Asa Wright Nature Center for the day. After a hike with a naturalist guide and an excellent lunch, we sat on the veranda for a while and watched the wildlife before getting on the van to come back. On the way back, we made a brief stop at a hardware store. In the evening, while Lin was cooking a roast, the power went out. It got to be pretty hot in the boat with the oven on and no air conditioning. After a few hours, the power came back on and we turned on the air conditioning.

Thurs. Nov. 27 — Up in time for the cruisers’ net in the morning. Afterward, we set about putting up the mainsail. During the afternoon, the zipper on the front of the mainsail cover died, so the cover went back to the sail loft for repair. Lin worked on our annual letter and mashed potatoes for a cruisers’ Thanksgiving potluck dinner. In the evening we joined a group of about 40 cruisers for an excellent Thanksgiving dinner. Happily, we found that our assigned seats were with Jesse James and his family. Jesse might not be a cruiser or an American, but he is a great friend to all Trinidad cruisers and we really enjoyed talking with him and his family. After dinner, we walked back to the boat and watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Fri. Nov. 28 — Lin spent most of the day doing laundry while I took care of some boat chores. In the afternoon, our outboard motor was delivered, running quite well. A little later, our mainsail covered was delivered. After dinner, we walked to the restaurant in another marina for some Parang music. On the way, we met Don and Don from Southern Cross and another couple, and sat with them. This music has a very latin sound, but I’m not sure how else to describe. Back on the boat, we watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Sat. Nov. 29 — Lin got up early in the morning and joined the 6:30 AM group going to the fresh market. I spent the morning putting the mainsail cover on. In the afternoon, the wind decreased and allowed us to raise the mainsail and secure the last three battens. In the evening, we enjoyed a good meal on the boat and watched a couple of movies.

Sun. Nov. 30 — Another sunny, hot, humid day. I cleaned our rainwater collection system, removing hoses, cleaning them and then re-installing them. In the afternoon, we walked around the harbor to CrewsInn to play dominoes. We both had a good time and got middle of the pack scores. In the evening, we ate on the boat and watched a movie before going to bed.

Wed. Oct. 1 — Almarante Estellar in Cartagena.Up at 5:00 AM for a 5:50 AM pickup for a tour of Santa Marta, a city about 200 KM north of Cartagena. The bus was quite full and only two other people on the tour spoke any English (unfortunately, the guide was not one of them). North of Cartagena, we passed through several small towns, and then a large, industrial city (don’t remember the name). Before we got to Santa Marta, the highway passed between a mangrove swamp and the sea. On the land side of the road, there were shacks on stilts and fishermen paddling dugout canoes upstream to fish. On the seaward side, there were small fishing camps and fishing boats drawn up on the beach. Families in the fishing camps lived in tent like structures that had a roof but no side walls or floors. Along the highway, people on bicycles, donkeys and motorcycles and modern cars, trucks and busses. There were numerous donkey and horse drawn carts, and three wheeled bicycles with a bench in the back that served as taxis. In Santa Marta, we visited the monument to Simon Bolivar. This is the site of the hacienda where he lived during his last few years and where he died. We got a very nice tour of the monument and the hacienda from a young, bi-lingual, guide. We did not get a chance to spend any time in the botanical garden. Afterward, we went back to the town of Santa Marta for lunch and some time to wander around the area. Lunch was marginal and the hotel where we ate rather run-down. However, we did enjoy swimming in the hotel’s pool before wandering around the area until we found a place for Lin to get an ice cream cone. Back on the bus, we headed back toward Cartagena, stopping along the way to use the toilets and get a bite to eat. At one point, we were waved to the side at an army checkpoint. A young man carrying an assault rifle walked through the bus, opening parcels and checking personal belongings. He didn’t bother with us, a couple of middle aged, gringo tourists. Passing back through the large industrial city, we were struck again by the large number of people living in rather squalid conditions. Back in at the hotel in Cartagena, we spent some time cleaning up and getting ready for tomorrow’s tour before going to bed.

Thurs. Oct. 2 — Almarante Estellar in Cartagena. We got up around 7:00 AM and went down to breakfast at 7:30 AM. The buffet was excellent and live music was playing. At 8:30 AM, we went to the lobby to wait for the ride to our tour of Isla de la Rosario. The bus arrived around 9:00 AM and we got to the dock to catch our boat by 9:15 AM. The covered, small power boat, with about 30 people, finally got underway around 10:00 AM. Going out of the harbor, we passed between Fort San Jose and Fort San Fernando, built during the 1700s to protect Cartagena from pirates such as Sir Francis Drake. The ride to the islands lasted about 1 1/2 hours. At Isle Lizamar, most of us waited at the resort while a few went snorkeling, $50.00 US seemed a bit steep to rent a mask and fins for an hour for two. Next, we went to the aquarium on Isle de la Rosa. The aquarium was small, but nice. The biggest part of the aquarium was a series of outside areas, each screened off from other areas, each with a large population of a specific variety of fish. When the guide approached each area, the fish inside swarmed to his location. When he threw bait fish into the tank, there was quite a feeding frenzy. There were turtles of various ages, trained dolphin, manta rays, nurse sharks, various types of fish including big tarpin, and various small species in aquariums. We would have enjoyed an opportunity to spend more time here, but the group got back on board the boat to go back to the resort for lunch. Lunch was local fare and fairly good. After lunch, we got back on board the boat and went to another island to swim from the shore. As we approached the island for a swim, we saw a large group of locals (30 +) running down the beach to where the boat was landing. As we had feared, they were venders hoping to sell to the tourists onboard the boat. When we landed, we were surrounded by locals, hoping to sell us some merchandise or give a massage (the first women we had seen on the beaches). We couldn’t help but compare this scene to the the eating frenzies we’d seen at the aquarium. After leaving the beach, we headed back to Cartagena. As we approached the harbor, the boat ran out of gas. Eventually, the boat tied to a fisherman’s fuel dock and the captain bought a few gallons of gas. Back at the dock, there was no bus waiting for us, so we took a taxi. In the room, we took showers, ordered a sandwich from room service and watched the vice presidential debate on TV before going to sleep.

Fri. Oct. 3 — Almarante Estellar in Cartagena. Enjoyed another good night’s sleep. Our bed is very comfortable and being on the 19th floor, we miss most of the traffic noise. The view of both the city and the ocean is splendid!

A couple of side notes:

The currency here is confusing. On the islands, local currency was typically pegged to the dollar at rations between 0.78 to 6.0 per US dollar, After a while, it became easy to convert costs in local currency to US dollars to get an idea of what the actual cost (in a unit that we are familiar with) of an item. Here, the peso is the local currency and 1,800 pesos is the equivalent of $1.00 US. As an example, the taxi ride back to the hotel from the boat last night cost 5,000 pesos or about $2.80 US.

I find the people in Columbia to be a curious mixture of pushy and courteous. It is a little hard to explain, but as one example, on our trip yesterday, there was a man who repeatedly pushed past others to get somewhere first (off the boat, or somewhere the group was going). However, he would often turn around and offer to assist others. This sort of behavior seems common among the people around us.

In Ecuador and Columbia we are very aware of the people around us carrying guns. In Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador, there were armed people everywhere on the streets. In addition to the military and the police and the traffic police, many of the shops had one or two armed security guards controlling its doors. In Cartegena and Santa Marta, there aren’t the armed security guards in front of shops, but there are frequently armed troops and police and traffic checkpoints in the rural areas.

We spent most of the day relaxing and resting up. It may not be obvious from this log, but the past few days have been pretty tiring. In the evening, we had dinner in one of the restaurants downstairs in the hotel, El Alcatraz. The food was O.K., but not that interesting. Afterward, we went swimming in the 5th floor pool before coming back to the room to watch TV before going to bed.

Sat. Oct. 4 — Almarante Estellar in Cartagena. Up around 8:30 AM and downstairs for the breakfast buffet around 9:00 AM. We stayed around the room for a while and Lin caught up on her e-mail. I went across the street and bought a watch from one of the street venders. I sent out an email and spoke with the hotel bell hops, trying to make sure that a shipment of mail that was delayed would get forwarded to us at our next hotel, Hotel Anaconda in Leticia. In the early afternoon, we took a taxi to the old city and walked around for a bit. We visited the modern art museum, a museum of the Inquisition and re-visited the gold museum. The museum of the Inquisition was in a beautiful building, with many enclosed courtyards, that housed the Inquisition and the Inquisitors during the 1500s. We saw many of the original torture instruments. After leaving the museums, we did a little shopping. Lin looked at some emerald jewelry, but decided against buying anything. We had a late lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Afterward, we walked around a little bit more and then took a cab back to the hotel. We bought some toiletries at shops near the hotel and then returned to the hotel, we played dominoes for a while and then watched TV.

Sun Oct. 5 — Almarante Estellar in Cartagena. Up in time for breakfast in the morning. Spent the day packing and catching up on emails and relaxing in the room. In the mid afternoon, we went for a walk on the beach. A bigger collection of beggars and venders were out. The shore was extremely crowded, but we walked along the edge of the surf. The water didn’t look inviting and with the huge crowd, the quantity of beer being consumed and the absence of any restrooms, we didn’t want to go swimming. After walking around for a while, we stopped and got a bite to eat at an open air restaurant near the hotel. The food was pretty good, but old ladies (beggars) standing and watching us eat with sad expressions on their faces detracted from the meal. Back at the room, we finished packing and watched TV for awhile before going to bed.

Mon. Oct. 6— Almarante Estellar in Cartagena. Our wake up call came at 6:00 AM, followed in a few minutes by room service with complementary coffee and tea. We checked out of the hotel and waited around for a few minutes for our driver. At the airport, we checked in with Avianca Airlines and, after waiting for a little while, caught our flight to Bogota. At Bogota, we had to claim our bags, since we were transferring to another airline for our trip to Leticia. We had to catch a bus from one terminal to another, but, part way there, the bus died, blocking access or egress to a number of boarding gates. The driver could not re-start the bus, so we transferred to another shuttle bus with the nose of an incoming jet almost touching the stalled bus. We check in with COPA airlines, caught a fast McDonald’s hamburger and boarded our flight to Leticia. The flight was uneventful, and on arrival at Leticia, we were surprised by the large number of military personnel at the airport. Leticia is on the borders of Colombia, Brazil and Peru, and each nation maintains a large military presence there. After clearing customs and immigration (not much to it since we had never left Colombia) we were met by our guide and taken to the Anaconda Hotel for the night. After checking in, we got a quick walking tour of Leticia and lunch. The town is pretty small, but lively with people on motorcycles going everywhere. We walked down to the river and the fish and produce market. There were many fresh fish for sale, including a lot of Piranhas. It was explained to us that elsewhere piranhas eat people, but here people eat piranhas. We went by taxi to the border between Colombia and Brazil, and took a picture of Lin standing both countries at the same time. On the Brazil side of the border, the city is called Tribinita, and to add to the confusion, is in a different time zone. You don’t need to show your passport or go through Customs and Immigration to go from Colombia and Brazil and Peru here. After touring the area for a bit, we went back to the hotel, where we watched TV for a while and then went to sleep.

Tues. Oct. 7— In the morning, we packed to be away for a three day trip to the jungle. After breakfast, Willy met us at 8:30 AM and we walked to the waterfront and caught a ride on a small, fiberglass that had a large engine on the back. The engine (typical of boats here) was an air cooled gasoline engine, mounted on a double pivot, secured to the transom of the boat. There is a control handle that sticks out from the front of the engine and a long shaft with a propeller on a long shaft (10 ft. +/-) coming off the back of the engine. The boat was quite fast and agile. After a 45 minute ride upriver, we landed and climbed up a steep bank. With our rubber boots (rented from the tour company) on, we walked for a little over an hour to the reserve. Along the way, we saw a number of animals including leaf cutter ants (looking like a parade of green banners), squirrel monkeys and morpha butterflies. These large, iridescent blue butterflies were our favorites when we visited the Butterfly Farm in St. Martin with our friends Pete and Kathy. The reserve consists of a dozen or so thatched roofed, wooden buildings on stilts sitting on the edge of a lake, surrounded by jungle. Birds and other animals wander at will among the buildings. In addition to the birds, there is a Capavari who frequents the place. This is a very large rodent (its head is at knee height) with course hair, webbed feet and a square snout. She (Pepita), seems friendly enough and inclined to follow people around on the walkways. After lunch (quite good) we got in a dugout canoe with Willy and another guide and paddled around the lake, looking at the different plants and animals. Along the way, we pulled up to the shore and a number of monkeys jumped into the canoe to feed on the bananas we had brought with them for them. They were weren’t aggressive, but were very interested in the bananas. Willy is an excellent guide with a reasonable command of English and a great deal of information that he is willing to share. Back at the reserve, we rested for a while and then enjoyed dinner. After dinner, we got back in the dugout and went looking for Caimen (small alligator like animals). We only saw one (or at least the reflection of its eyes), and it submerged when we got too close. When they can manage, the guides grab these animals and bring them into the boat so that tourists can get a close look at them. No success, this evening. Afterwards, we showered and went to bed, quite tired out by this time. The beds are not very large and everytime one gets up to go to the bathroom (a treck down one of the raised walkways), the mosquito net has to be re-secured afterward. I don’t think that either one of slept very well this night.

Lin and a Capaverti

Wed. Oct. 8 — Up in the morning in time for breakfast. After breakfast, we went across the lake by dugout canoe and then for a three hour walk around one end of the lake. The walk may have been largely a time killer, but it was very interesting seeing more of the jungle. One of our guides (Charles) walked ahead, clearing the trail for us. Because of the fast vegetation growth, the path needs to be cleared regularly. Willie stayed with us, point things out and explaining things in English. Along the way, we passed through a “chagra”, an area that has been cleared and burneded off and planted with different types of plants. We picked cucumbers, cilantra and hot peppers to bring back for lunch. While we were away, a large group of tourists (17) had arrived. Fourteen of them stayed for the afternoon and then hiked out take a boat back to Leticia. We (the two of us and four of the newcomers) enjoyed a good meal and sat around talking and solving puzzles before going off to bed.

Thurs. Oct. 9 — Up early this morning for an early breakfast before leaving to return to Leticia. Over my first cup of coffee, our guide, Willy, told me that we would be catching a later boat, and would not have to leave before 7:30 AM. After breakfast, we sat around and talked with others for a while and then put on our rubber boots and started the one hour hike to the boat landing. At the boat landing, others were waiting around for their boats. A boat put in with several of the reserve’s employees aboard, one of them carrying an Ocelot. I never did understand why they arrived carrying an Ocelot, but after Lin’s picture was taken with the Ocelot in her lap eating a bowl of milk, the Ocelot was released into the bushes. Our boat arrived a little later, and we had a fast ride back to Leticia. After checking back into the Anacoda hotel, we rested for a bit before going out to lunch. In the afternoon, we were scheduled to go kayaking on a nearby lake, but I got caught up in trying to get our package of mail (that arrived at the hotel in Cartagena after we left), forwarded to us. Lin went kayaking and had a great time. I had limited success and a great deal of frustration. In the evening, we went out to eat at a local restaurant before returning to the hotel.

Fri. Oct. 10 — After breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we went next door to the computer store to check our email. No new information about our wayward package of mail. As we stood at the desk waiting for our guide, Fed Ex called. With the help of the guide, we arranged to have Fed Ex deliver the package to us in Leticia, hope it works. We and the guide got on a fast boat and went down river to a town in Brazil, where we went to a museum of native culture and then to lunch. We took moto taxis (motor cycle taxis) from the museum to lunch and then back to the river. Lunch was quite good and the setting very pleasant (on the edge of a small lake). On the way back up the river, we saw a school of gray river dolphins. We followed them for a while as they moved down the river, feeding. We are currently in the dry season. Banks on both sides of the river are quite high, 30 + feet in many locations. Many floating buildings (houses, grocery stores, mechanics shops, etc.) sit on the mud along the sides of the river (built on bases of large logs), and houses at the tops of the banks are built on stilts. During the rainy season, the floating buildings will be above the level of the banks and the houses on stilts will be barely above water. Back at the hotel, we went next door and got on line again. Afterward, we went for a swim in the hotel pool. There are two large Macaws and two green parrots that live in the pool area, squawking at bathers and anyone else who wanders through their territory. At 7:00 PM, Jenny (from the travel agency) came to the hotel and took us out to eat at a local restaurant. Dinners are included in our tour package, and though no-one ever told us this, Jenny comes by the hotel every evening when we are there to arrange dinner for us. We have missed her a few times, because we were never told about this arrangement. Dinner was pretty good, but we weren’t very hungry after our large lunch.

Sat. Oct. 11 — We took a boat up river to the Brazil National Park, a 239,000 acre national park and preserve. During the trip, we saw many gray dolphins, Lin and Willy saw some pink dolphins, but I missed them. After checking in at the national park, we took a boat trip, in a very unstable boat, up-river with another family. We went up a tributary to a quiet lake where we saw many kingfishers and other birds. On the way back, we stopped at Puerto Norino, the only other town in this Colombian State. It is a very interesting place. There are about 7,500 inhabitants and no cars or motorcycles, except for an ambulance and a tractor used to pick up trash. There are narrow (10 ft. +/-) walkways going up the hill and across the hill. People walk to get wherever they want to go. The town is very clean and quiet. There is a large, flat area in front of the town where girls were playing basketball and, on an adjoining field, boys were playing soccer. Many families sat in seats around this area, socialiazing. It appered to be a very nice community. This area will all be a few feet under water during the rainy season. After the boat took us back to the park, we enjoyed dinner and went to bed early. Our bunk beds are in a large, dormitory style room that sleeps up to 34 people. the showers and toilets are in another building, reached by a raised walkway. We did not sleep very well because of the noise and the light.

Sun. Oct. 12 — In the morning, a Ticuna indian guide, Lee, came for us in a dugout canoe. With our regular guide, Guillermo (aka Willy), we paddled across the Amazon to Macagua Island (macagua is an indian word meaning blowgun). We landed in a chagra, an area cleared for cultivation with the trees burned off and planted in various fruits and vegatables. We hiked most of the length of the island, seeing many beautiful butterflies and birds, including oropendula birds (last seen at the Asa Wright Nature Center in Trinidad). When we got back to the boat, Lee and Guillermo had the very difficult job of paddling us back upstream to the park. Lin and I were wise enough to sit quietly and not try to help out, otherwise, we might have all ended up swimming. Along the way, we saw some pink dolphin. In the afternoon, we took another boat downstream to the village of Macedonia, where the Ticuna indians hold a crafts market. Lin bought some beautiful, carved animal figures and some jewelery. The craftsmanship is quite good and the prices very low. A carved dolphin, that took someone quite a few hours to cut, smooth and polish cost the equivalent of $3.50 US. Back at the park, we enjoyed another very good dinner, socialized and played games for a while and went to bed early.

Mon. Oct. 13 — It was a rainy morning, so we decided to postpone the morning’s scheduled trip to the village of San Martin until the afternoon. The boat turned out to be unavailable in the afternoon, so we spent the day at the Parque lodge. In the afternoon, we went for a walk on a long, raised walkway that makes a long arc through the parque. Enjoyed seeing the different butterflies and birds that frequent the forest. Later, Willy, our guide, showed us his personal museum. These are all things that he has collected over the years. Examples included a pirahanna lower jawbone, sharp enough that it easily cuts hair, fossil bones and a pipe made of clay and tapor bones used by the natices to shoot tobacco up their nostrils. After dinner, we played games for a bit and then went to bed.

Tues. Oct. 14 — Up at the usual early hour. After breakfast, Lin went on a trip up to the canopy of the forest. I decided to stay on the ground. First, she put on a climbing harness and was lifted up to a platform that is 120 feet above the ground. Then, she and a couple of guides were lowered about 20 feet onto a swinging walkway for a 50 yard + walk through the canopy of the forest. She had a couple of hand holds for added security, but it was still pretty scary. At the end of the walkway there was another tree, where she was lowered to the ground. One of the guides lowered himself head first, traveling very rapidly until almost on the ground. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the parque, playing games and enjoying lunch. Our boat arrived around 4:20 PM and took us down river at high speed, stopping to pick up other passengers along the way. The driver didn’t seem to understand the concept of a full boat, and just kept picking up more passengers. Back in Leticia, around dark, we had to disembark quite a distance from the normal landing because the water level had fallen since we left. We had quite a walk ahead of us to get back to town, but fortunately, the tour company had sent a taxi for us. Back in the hotel, we relaxed and re-packed and I had a hamburger for dinner.

Wed. Oct. 15 — Had a restful night’s sleep, but it gets light and traffic noises start early here. After breakfast, we collected valuables that had been left in the hotel safe and set about packing for the trip to Panama. Did a little bit of shopping and checked email at the internet hotspot next door to the hotel. Our ride arrived at noon and we went to the airport. Willy, our guide for the previous week, went to the airport with us and helped us get through the different officials and a couple of people who wanted to “help” us for a few dollars. The flight before ours had problems and as a result, we were about 40 minutes late taking off. At the Bogota airport, someone from Aero Republica helped us rush through the airport and go through all of the necessary officials. After getting to our departure gate on time, the flight was about 30 minutes late taking off. In Panama, we slowly worked our way through Customs and Immigration and found our ride patiently waiting for us. After a very long ride to the hotel, we got checked in and enjoyed a snack in the on site restaurant. We enjoyed a good night’s sleep, except for the itch of all of our bug bites (a parting gift from the Amazon jungle insects). It is quite a transition to go from a bunk in the jungle, to an austere room in a frontier town to a very nice room in a 3 or 4 star hotel in a large city, in two days.

Thurs. Oct. 16 — We slept fairly late this morning. At 8:15 AM, the tour company called and told us that they planned to pick us up at 9:00 AM for a city tour. We hadn’t known about this and re-scheduled for tomorrow morning. Lin got up and prepared our laundry to send out. A week in the jungle results in a lot of stinky, dirty clothes. Breakfast was quite good, a buffet with very good food. Afterward, we walked around the hotel and checked out the pool and the gym. At noon, we took a free shuttle to a nearby shopping mall, the Albrook Mall. It is quite large, with a variety of shops and many restaurants. We purchased a few things from our shopping list, but were unable to find several others. We wanted to get some English language books, but only found two small, religiously oriented book stores. It doesn’t appear that reading is a popular pastime here. The driver was late picking us up, but finally arrived. Back at the hotel, we spent a quiet evening checking emails and watching TV. Our laundry was delivered to the room around 9:00 PM. The laundry service here is very expensive, but we really needed to get the cleaning done.

Fri. Oct. 17 — Had a good night’s sleep. The Panama Canal is about 150 yards away from the hotel, across a highway, railroad track and narrow riverbed. We can hear and see boats going by in the canal. Opposite the hotel, on the canal, is the Miraflores Locks, the first locks on the Pacific end of the canal. Our guide, Ricardo, picked us up at 9:00 AM for a tour of the locks and Panama City. We started at the visitor/tourist center a the Miraflores Locks. It was very interesting with an observation platform for watching boats going through the locks, a small theater showing a movie about the history of the canal, a small museum and an exhibit about the future development of the canal. After leaving the visitor’s center, we drove to the old part of Panama City. We visited a Catholic whose congregation buried parts of its golden alter (1 1/2 inches thick in places) and covered other parts with mud to protect the alter from the pirate Henry Morgan when he raided Panama City during the 1600’s. The story goes that he felt sorry for the poor congregation with it’s shabby alter and donated money to the church. The driver gave us an ongoing lesson on buying good quality molas (several Kuna Indian women had set up shop on the seawall and were selling molas and other handicrafts). In the afternoon, we drove to the hospital in Balboa where Lin’s brother, Howard, was born and took some pictures. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the post office in Balboa to buy some post card stamps. During WW II, when Lin’s parents lived here, it was a U.S. Post Office, the post office that they would have used to send mail back to the states. We had the guide drop us off at the Albrook Mall and did a little more shopping and got something to eat. Afterward, we caught a taxi back to the hotel, where we watched TV for a while. We tried to contact the tour company to find out what time we were being picked up in the morning, but only managed to leave a couple of voicemail messages.

Sat. Oct. 18 — We had a good night’s sleep, but set the alarm for 7:30 AM in order to get up fairly early. I awoke early and, not knowing when our driver would pick us up, took a shower at 6:00 AM. At 6:30 AM, we got a call, the driver was waiting for us in the lobby. We managed to get downstairs by 6:45 AM, where our driver greeted us and took us to a boat for a partial transit of the Panama Canal. We boarded a boat called the Pacific Queen for a trip halfway through the canal. We went through all of the locks on the Pacific end of the canal, getting off after we got to the large, manmade lake in the middle of the canal. Most of the passengers continued on the the Caribbean end of the canal, but we had decided that four hours on a tour boat transiting the canal was sufficient. The trip was fascinating. Our tour boat, and two sail boats traversed the locks together, with the tour boat tying up to the side of the canal and the sailboats rafting up alongside of the tour boat. After we entered a lock, the gate behind us would close, and when we were all securely tied together (and the tour boat tied to the side of the lock), the canal operators would flood the lock. It became quite turbulent as water flooded into the lock through a series of large pipes set in the bottom of the lock. After we had risen 25 to 30 + feet, the boats would un-raft and the gate ahead of us open. This process was repeated three times, until we were all at the level of the large manmade lake in the middle of the canal. After we left the last lock, we passed several Panimax vessels, ships built to the maximum side that the canal can accommodate (120 ft. wide and 1000 ft. long). A new, larger set of locks are being built, parallel to the current locks. When the new locks are completed in 2014 (the centenial anniversary of the canal), the capacity of the canal will increase greatly (both old and new locks will be in operation) and much larger vessels (up to 180 ft. wide) will be able to travese the canal. After getting off the tour boat, we got in a bus that took us back to our starting point, Flemanco Island. Once there, our driver picked us up and took us back to our hotel. We spent the afternoon relaxing and napping. In the evening, we went to the restaurant in the hotel for dinner. The food isn’t bad, but not worth going back again if we can find somewhere better. After watching TV for a while, we went to sleep.

Sun. Oct. 19 — Up and packed at our usual time, enjoyed breakfast and checked out of the hotel. Stored most of our luggage and reminded staff about mail coming via Fed Ex. Picked up at 10:00 AM. It was a very long drive. We passed many walkers wearing purple robes, going to the Festival of the Black Christ, in Portobelo. There were also many police checkpoints. In Portobelo, there was a large crowd in party mode. What should have been a two and a half hour drive took five hours because of the checkpoints and the crowds in Portobelo. We finally arrived at the dock and took a fishing boat out to Bananas Village Resort. The island is very beautiful. We swam, relaxed and enjoyed a good dinner. There were several frogs hopping along the beach, first time we’ve seen frogs near the ocean. The room was very large with a great view.

Mon. Oct. 20 — We enjoyed a good night’s sleep, breakfast and a swim. Checked out of Bananas Village Resort around noon, got to the mainland at 1:00 PM. The party was still going on in Portobelo, and the festival is not supposed to peak until tomorrow. The pilgrims were still out in force, walking along the road to Portobelo. We were still seeing them when we were 40 miles the other side of Portobelo.One man was making the treck on his hands and knees. Back at the Holiday Inn, we discovered that the hotel had refused to accept delivery of our mail. They were very apologetic, but couldn’t get our mail delivered before we left the next morning.

Tues. Oct. 21 — Up at 3:45 AM, driver picked us up at 4:30 AM and took us to a small airport near Albrook Mall. Security arrived and checked our bags around 5:15 AM. The plane, a De Havilland Twin Otter took off at 6:10 AM. Our directions, from the travel agent, were to get off at the second airport. Our bags were unloaded at the first airport, and when we discovered this, had them put back on the plane. We got off at the second airport, and discovered that the pilots had reversed the order of the two stops, and we were in the wrong airport. The people there made a few calls and eventually I spoke with the captain of the boat we are going out on. He said that he would get to Porvenir around noon. We ate lunch and played dominoes while we waited for his arrival. He showed up around noon and anchored offshore. It took two dinghy trips to get us and our luggage out to the boat. We motored to a small island where four families live, harvesting coconuts. The captain bought six lobsters from local fishermen in a dugout cano. We walked around the island for a while, saw some of our fellow plane passengers, and swam for a while. Dinner consisted of lobster, salad, fried potatos and wine. We went to bed early. The captain is an interesting sort. He is a Kuna Indian and seems to really know the islands. He is also a good cook. The boat is a small (34 foot) catamaran, maintenance and cleanliness are marginal to poor, and we discovered that it has a resident cockroach population and that the toilet doesn’t flush very well.

Wed. Oct. 22 — Up early after a poor night’s sleep, the bunk needs a better matress. Breakfast consisted of coffee/tea, juice toast and fried egg. Swam over to the boat of some cruisers that was anchored close to us. Met Breeze and Debbie on Blue Sky, very nice people who offered us books from their on-board supply. Later, they came over in their dinghy and bought us books. We all went ashore on a small island and bought cold beers and Lin bought a mola. Back on the boat, we had a good supper, a lobster & rice dish and went to bed shortly after dark.

Thurs. Oct. 23 — Stars really brilliant last night. Both us slept poorly. Said good bye to the people on Blue Sky and motored to Salad Island. Did some kayaking and bought three molas from a woman who came out in a dugout canoe. Raised anchor and sailed to another island for the night. I borrowed a hand GPS from the captain and discoveed that we are at 9degrees 30 minutes north and 78 degrees west. We are close enought to the coast of Panama to make out houses on land. After another good dinner, we played yahtzee and went to bed early.

Fri. Oct. 24 — There was a major lightening storm during the night, then it rained for a while.We all raced around closing hatches. Lin stayed up and enjoyed the lightening show. In the morning, we did some snorkeling and the captain bought some lobster from a man who paddled out in a dugout cano. We sailed to Coran de Jesus in the morning (the town where we were originally supposed to meet the boat) to get supplies. We left a load of dirty clothes with a friend of the captain’s who does laundry.

Sat. Oct. 25 — Anchored off of Corazon de Jesus for the night. Many small, biting insects made the evening unpleasant until Lin sprayed everything with insect repellant. The shipment of provisions arrived on the morning plane. In checking our travel documents we discovered that the travel agent in Trinidad had made a mistake in our airplane tickets for the trip from Panama to Costa Rica. We decided that we needed to go back to Panama a day early in order to straighten things out for our trip to Costa Rica. We were sorry to miss a day in the San Blas, but glad to get away from the boat we were on (the dirt, roaches and poor maintenance were getting to both of us). We made a couple of calls using the captain’s cell phone and changed our flight date (back to Panama City), made reservations at the Holiday Inn and arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport. We spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling and swimming. Another good dinner and an uncomfortable night on the boat.

Sun. Oct. 26 — Upped anchor in the morning and moved to another island where we did some snorkeling. After lunch, we sailed to Corazon de Jesus, where we picked up the laundry that we had left to be cleaned a few days earlier. It arrived, missing a t-shirt and a pair of pants that couldn’t be found. We weren’t happy about loosing the clothing, but happier paying $3.00 than we would have been paying a hotel $50.00 for the same size load. We spent the night anchored offshore, and managed to get some sleep.

Mon. Oct. 27 — Woke up at 5:45 AM and the captain moved the boat closer to the airport and then took us by dinghy in to the airport. Our plane was about half an hour late, but eventually arrived and took us to Panama. A driver was waiting at the airport for us, and took us to the Holiday Inn. After breakfast and a shower, I got on-line and changed our flight to from 6:55 PM to an 11:16 AM flight. Then, I called the local travel agency and arranged to be picked up at the hotel, not the local comuter airport, and taken to the international airport. The next item to tackle was our missing mail. Fed Ex is holding the mail in Panama and could deliver it to the hotel tomorrow, but we’ll be gone. I finally got a taxi and went to the Fed Ex facility and picked up the mail. It contained absentee ballots, some meds and misc. mail. In the evening, we ate dinner at the hotel restaurant and finished packing for the morning.

Tues. Oct. 28 — Up at our usual hour, enjoyed breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Our driver was waiting for us, so as soon as we were checked out of the hotel, we went to the airport. Things went smoothly and we were in San Jose, Costa Rica by 11:45 AM. A driver met us there and took us to the Balmorah Hotel, in downtown San Jose. After checking in, we got a few things fixed in our room, internet access, an electrical cord, ice and Coca Cola. We relaxed for most of the afternoon, but I did work on getting an insurance bill paid and exploring the neighborhood. The hotel is in a somewhat rundown section of San Jose, and the driver warned us about going out at night. However, there are several restaurants, including a KFC (Lin loves fried chicken), and two places that sell ice cream cones very near the hotel. After watching TV for a while, I picked up some fried chicken and we ate in our hotel room. We enjoyed a pretty good night’s sleep, but Lin was up a bit because of hives/itching.

Wed. Oct. 29 — In the morning, Lin’s hives/itching were bothering her a great deal and she also was having trouble with sinus infection and headache. We talked to someone at the hotel office and arranged for a physician to see Lin after breakfast. Shortly after we got back to the room, two Paramedics and an interpreter from the hotel came to the room to see Lin. After they left, she slept for most of the day. I walked all over town, trying to mail off our absentee ballots in time for the upcoming election and to cash some travelers checks. At the post office, I discovered that it would take eight or more days to get mail to the states, meaning that our ballots would arrive well after the election. After four tries, I found a bank that would cash some American Express Travelers Checks. Remember how their ads indicate that they can be cashed anywhere, don’t believe it. We’ve managed to cash travelers checks only twice, both at the main branch of the national bank in a major city of the country (Bank of Colombia in Cartagena, Colombia and Bank of Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica). Their ads say “don’t leave home without them”, my advise is “don’t leave home with them” if you want to be able to spend your money. After a 10 minute taxi ride, I found the local Fed Ex office, and for about $60 US (taxi and shipping) managed to send our absentee ballots off in time for our votes to count. In the evening, we ate downstairs in the hotel restaurant (actually pretty good) and watched the Phillies play in what proved to be the last game of the World Series. After dinner, we watched the end of the game from our room. Great game, especially since the Phillies won.

Thurs. Oct. 30 — Up very early in the morning to check out of the hotel and get picked up at 6:30 AM to go to Tortuguero National Park and the Mawamba Lodge. We drove for about three hours, across the country to Port Matina on the Caribbean side of the country. Along the way, we stopped to watch a three toed sloth in a tree, and for breakfast. We passed through huge banana planations (Dole, DelMonte and Chaquita) and stopped to watch a banana processing station. At Port Matina we boarded a riverboat for a two hour ride to the lodge. At one point, the captain stopped so that we could look at a large crocadile (8 to 10 ft. long). It was raining when we got to Mawamba Lodge, so, after checking in and taking out stuff to our rooms, we watched a movie about turtles and conservation. Later in the afternoon, we walked around the lodge grounds, visiting an area where red eyed green tree frogs are raised (huge, bright red eyes and bright green skin) and mesh enclosed areas Morpho butterflies and Blue Jean Poison Frogs are raised (separate enclosures). While in the Blue Jean frog enclosure a Red Eyed tree frog took refruge on top of my head and rode around for a while. This is a very international group, with people from many countries. After a couple of months around people who spoke Spanish and very little English, it was a pleasure to meet up with some Americans. We met a group of four Americans (retired school teachers) who were traveling together. They are very nice people and we really enjoyed socializing with them. After an excellent dinner, we walked along the beach toward the nearby town. While walking on the beach, we saw baby Green Turtles coming out of the sand and heading toward the water. The whole group stopped and watched while a total of eight turtles made their way to the sea. Because of the turtle delay, we didn’t walk back from town until after it was dark.

Fri. Oct. 31 — Rained during the night. Despite that, we got up in time for a 6:00 AM boat ride through the national park. During the ride, we saw many species of birds, Howler Monkeys and a Basilisk Lizzard. If we get this web site changed over to a different format, I should be able to post a picture of it. Most of the group left for a walk around 10:30, but we elected to stay in the cabin and rest.After lunch, we saw a three toed sloth that is in a tree above one of the cabins in the lodge. We spoke with someone who saw it yesterday, and predictably, it hadn’t moved much since then. Later in the afternoon, we went for another boat ride. Didn’t see many animals, but the scenery was beautiful. After dinner, we went to bed early.