Thursday, April 13, 2023

Another Sailing Season Come and Gone

 

Jolly Harbour, Antigua

Care to ROW across the Atlantic Ocean in this?  Yes, this is one of the finishers in Antigua.

Aspen resting at Jolly Harbour, Antigua

Maria in her hiking outfit at Deep Bay, Antigua

Sunset on top of St. Kitts, as seen from Deep Bay Antigua

Dominoes with the family (Zach, Heidi, Nik and Sir Timothy)

Hike up to the Fort at Deep Bay, Antigua with the family

Zach and Maria enjoying time in Aspen's cockpit

Our Rocna anchor holds really well!

Sailing with the family in Antigua

Zach in his normal beach attire

Maria waiting patiently at Nelson's Dockyard for Zach and family to arrive.

Happy Hour on the Boardwalk at Rodney Bay, St. Lucia: Dawn & Laurie (Cat Tales), Fred (Dakota Dream), John (Stop Knott), Steve and Jen (Tanglewood) and two more wayward sailors.

Fred and Sandy (Dakota Dream), walking with us in Jolly Harbour, Antigua

The lovely waterfront at Le Marin, Martinique

Fred (Dakota Dream), tackling a slightly uphill section of trail

St. Pierre, Martinique with Mt. Pele in the background.
 

S/Y Aspen – April 14, 2023 – Log #189

Aspen Position: 12 degrees 00’ N, 61 degrees 00’ W

Spice Island Boatyard, Grenada, Caribbean

 

Another Sailing Season Come and Gone

 

Where did the time go?

I have been remiss, not posting any blogs lately.  Time just kept flowing like an endless sea, slip sliding away.

 

Springtime in the Caribbean found Aspen and crew sailing northward from sweet Bequia to St. Lucia, Martinique and then direct to Antigua where we met Zach and his family for a great Easter visit.

 

We met up with so many friends along our journey, as happens amongst wayward sailors: Dawn And Laurie (Cat Tales) and Fred and Sandy (Dakota Dream) always kept conversations fresh and lively, as the rum flowed.

 

Old haunts on St. Lucia were full of happy hours and many more new and old friends at Rodney Bay.

 

Then there was French Martinique where rum, wine and cheeses put our ambitions at bay for nearly a month.

 

Antigua was on the northern horizon as Aspen flew across waves, giving us a really good sail to English Harbour and our meeting with Zach and his family.

 

English Harbour was a spectacular setting for Aspen, tied at the 1745 restored dockyard quay that Admiral Horatio Nelson built.

 

A week spent amongst Antigua’s welcoming bays was an interesting change from the more rustic yet friendly islands further south in the island chain.

 

All too soon, it was time to point Aspen’s bow south to Grenada, taking 56 hours of unfriendly seas to make landfall in Grenada once again as we prepared Aspen for storage.

 

Moving 22 years of accumulated possessions off the boat was a challenge we don’t wish upon anyone.  Luckily, we found a storage bin(s) large enough to hold our precious belongings before Aspen was safe and secure on dry land, waiting for her next adventures.

 

Sail on, sail on Aspen and Savannah Sky…

 

Steve and Maria