Antigua

The volcano on Guadeloupe with the cone free of clouds.  This is a huge volcano and still active at times.

The customs officials in Jolly Harbour, Antigua.  Lots of movement and stamping of papers.

Jolly Harbour Marina and the nice docks (with power too).

Great Bird Island and some picnic tables slowly sinking into the sand.

This is what sailing is all about...

S/Y Aspen – March 3, 2016 – Log #141
Aspen Position: 17 degrees 08’ N  061 degrees 43’ W
North Sound, Antigua

The winds of March blew Aspen from Guadeloupe to Antigua, another x-British island sitting in an emerald sea.

Along the way we passed the active volcano on Montserrat before making landfall in Jolly Harbour and meeting with the customs officials.  We got lucky and found the required quarantine dock free of boats so Maria only had to jump off Aspen and quickly tie our lines before we drifted away. 

Maria doesn’t like jumping from a moving boat so with a lot of coaxing from Captain Steve, she managed the 1-foot leap without making a splash in the  bay.  Maria seemed happy with her jump as well, reminding the Captain that her legs are not as long as his.

It only took two days to stock up on vegetables, food, a cheap digital watch for Steve so he can time his wayward runs once again and get on our way.

I kept telling Maria is was only a 3 hour sail, hmmm, to the north end of Antigua and a rumored great anchorage.

Well, luckily, 3.5 hours later, we found Great Bird Island in an area that looked exactly like the Bahamas:  Colorful water, uncrowded anchorages and a deserted island awaited us.  Wow.

We wandered the island on white sand beaches and waded in the water looking for shells.  Now this is how sailing in the Caribbean should be, we both thought.  We had never ventured on this coast of Antigua and wondered why it took us so long. 

A party catamaran full of party people showed up and swam to shore on our private island but they didn’t stay long before leaving us in solitude once again.

This weekend, as you are enjoying life on land, Maria and I will be sailing overnight to Sint Maarten.  Hopefully the stars will guide us there and the squalls will stay away.  Give us a thought or two as you enjoy your restful slumber, knowing we are rocking and rolling in the warm Caribbean breezes far away from land.

Sail on, sail on Aspen…

Also, our book, Voyage Into Hell, is available at Amazon.com

Marie Galante and Guadeloupe

Portsmouth, Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica with Aspen in the sea of boats somewhere

These big boats always want to anchor close to Aspen, for some reason

Hiking Segment #12 of the Waitukubuli Trail, Dominica. 

After the hike and well rested in Portsmouth, Dominica at the restored Fort Shirley

 In case you wondered, yes there is a green flash at sunset if you are lucky enough to see it!

Hiking on Marie Galante and finding a grotto where the Amerindians once lived.  Pretty nice!

 The cave also had a nice water catchment system - what else could you want?

View from inside the grotto.  What a great view the Amerindians had.

They make the baguettes big on Marie Galante

The windward side of Marie Galante

A rather large sink hole on Marie Galante that dwarfs the one in Aruba

There are over 100 old sugar mills on Marie Galante, scattered everywhere.

 The very nice marina in Bas Du Fort, Guadeloupe.  Notice there is only 1 US flag on the dock.

 

Petroglyphs on Guadeloupe.  These date from 300 AD, based on pottery fragments found at the site.

Happy hour on Gosier, a small island 3 miles from Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe that we anchored at.

S/Y Aspen – February 27, 2016 – Log #140
Aspen Position: 16 degrees 13’ N  061 degrees 31’ W
Guadeloupe

Leaving Dominica we had a great sail to an island that has been on our list for a long time, but we were never able to get there because of the wind and seas:  Marie Galante.

This time we got lucky with a weather window and made it there without too much discomfort.

Wow, what a gem of an island Marie Galante is.  They farm sugar cane, cotton and graze cattle on the flat beautiful island.  The island is all limestone so the water is crystal clear and you can really see starfish by moonlight in the anchorage at Saint Louis.

We rented a car for a day and drove nearly every road on the island - that is not difficult because it is not very large.  The beaches are stunning and even though no one speaks English (!) we enjoyed being there.

Another 5 hour sail took us to the mainland of Guadeloupe and the capital of Pointe a Pitre.  It seems that the admiral, Maria, developed a tooth problem when she was in Dominica.

Yes there is a dentist in Dominica but you would not want to go there.  X-ray is a foreign word to them.

So we waited and luckily found a spot in Bas du Fort Marina at Pointe a Pitre with a dentist close by.  The office was modern and the dentist even spoke English.  Maria ended up with a root canal with a lot of infection so it was good she didn’t wait until we were back in Colorado, as the captain advised her.

Since we had a pretty secure place in the marina to keep Aspen we even rented a car and toured Guadeloupe.

This island is huge and the sights are really interesting, as the pictures show.

Sail on, sail on Aspen…

(Also, our book, Voyage Into Hell, is available at Amazon.com)

Martinique & Dominica

Lunch time in Martinique on Grand Anse, St. Anne.

Grocery shopping in the French islands is always a treat.  Notice the baguette!

A great lunch spot in St. Pierre, Martinique.  Luckily the volcano wasn't erupting.

Beach day at St. Anne, Martinique for the girls (Maria, Dawn (Cat Tales), Lorna (Peace & Plenty) and Michele (Tarentella)

Even the guys had a beach day (Captain Steve, Al (Tarentella), Laurie (Cat Tales) and Brian (Peace & Plenty)

Maria and Dawn (Cat Tales) admiring the burned ruins from 1902 when the volcano buried St. Pierre, Martinique.  St. Pierre was once call the Paris of the Caribbean.

Just another happy hour with our sailing friends.

 Maria, Lorna (Peace & Plenty), Dawn (Cat Tales) and Captain Steve onboard Tarentella

Maria and Cindy (Sitatunga) on the hiking trail in Dominica.  You can see the steepness behind the girls!

Captain Steve and Laurie (Cat Tales) trying to figure out where they were and where the next Boa might be hiding!

Boa that Captain Steve leaped over!!!!

S/Y Aspen – February 17, 2016 – Log #139
Aspen Position: 15 degrees 34’ N  061 degrees 27’ W
Portsmouth, Dominica

Two Islands, one very French and the other:  The Nature Island of Dominica; one of our favorite islands in the Caribbean.

There is great food, French wine and cheeses and beautiful beaches throughout the flower island of Martinique.  Every morning I bring a hot baguette to Maria after my run through the bucolic countryside, as she waits patiently for my return and the start of breakfast.  What a way to begin another day in the tropics.

The hiking trails on Martinique are well marked with beachside restaurants to greet us after a long walk amongst the sparkling white sand beaches.

Sailing north to the next island brings a completely different experience.  English speaking Dominica welcomes with open arms, hoping we will stay a while and enjoy nature on its’ own terms amidst smiling local faces.

The Waioukubuli National Trail traverses the length of the island, over 100 miles, and is the longest trail system in the Caribbean.  Most of the trail is rated moderate to difficult, as we completed Segment #12 this year with our Canadian sailing friends, Dawn and Laurie (Cat Tales), Cindy and Don (Sitatunga) and Gilbert and Diana (Serenada).

During our 5 hour hike of only 6 miles we came across a Boa Constrictor, vast fields of callilou, root crops, bananas, plantains, oranges, and quite a few other tropical delicacies. 

Boa Constrictor???  Oh yes, it was a big one at about 5 feet in length.  Luckily Captain Steve was leading the group and stepped over a large log.  As his foot hit the ground, what happened to look at his tasty shoe?  Boa!

It has been quite a while since Captain Steve used his basketball jumping skills but they came into good use once again.

Mr. Boa slowly slipped away, taking no interest in our group of hikers, luckily.  Whew.

The steep ups and downs of the trail made for good laughs, once we found an establishment at the end that served refreshments.

That is just another example how we spend our time in the tropics aboard Aspen.

Sail on, sail on Aspen…

Entertainment in St. Lucia

Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, where Aspen is enjoying some time this winter.

Happy hour in St. Lucia with some of our sailor friends (the boats are:  Cat Tales, Stopp Knot, Little Wing, Ventoso, Golden Fleece, Sitatunga, Silk Pajamas and Vision Quest)

One of our hikes in St. Lucia went to the old fort and eventually to the top of the peak in the distance.  If you notice, it is a very hot and steep hike but the views are incredible.

Maria enjoying the views from the top of the peak, high above the fort.

Maria basking in the warm sunshine after her climb above the fort.

Steve holding a palm tree up along the shore of the Caribbean Sea.

The old fort on Pigeon Island

This cannon is a little bigger than the one at our house in Colorado!

It looks like party time in Rodney Bay with the anchored boats and airborne jet!

S/Y Aspen – January 31, 2016 – Log #138
Aspen Position: 14 degrees 04’ N  060 degrees 56’ W
Rodney Bay, St. Lucia

The sailors in the Rodney Bay, St. Lucia received a call for assistance on their VHF radios one afternoon while many of us seemed to be enjoying a lazy day on our boats, Aspen included.

It seems a Hobie Cat from Sandals Resort was headed out to sea without anyone on it.  Well, there had been two people on the Hobie Cat but now they were floating in the water some distance away, wearing their life jackets, as the unmanned Cat enjoyed a fast sail westward.

Several sailors went to retrieve the wayward Hobie Cat as another sailor rescued the two people floating in the sea, unharmed but not happy.

It seems the happy couple was sailing the Hobie Cat in the Bay when the husband/boyfriend decided it would be fun to push his wife/girlfriend overboard.  The wife/girlfriend was very quick witted and grabbed the husband/boyfriend and drug him overboard with her, leaving the stunned husband/boyfriend to ponder what idiotic thing he had just done.

It turned out no one at Sandals Resort seemed to be paying attention to the departing Hobie Cat nor the floating people.

Luckily a sailor in the anchorage was watching the activities and called for help. 

These are the antics we sailors love to watch, as long as they turn out alright.  You gotta love it.

Aspen is off to another island this week, Martinique, as the winds and waves rule our lives.

Sail on, sail on Aspen…

Also, our book, Voyage Into Hell, is available at Amazon.com

Sailing Slowly North

Aspen at Rodney Bay Marina, St. Lucia.  We are back on the grid!

The mega-yacht Venus.  Designed by Steve Jobs of Apple fame.

The front view of Venus, a floating city.

The recycling area at Rodney Bay Marina.  Isn't it nice?  When the truck appears to haul the trash and recyclables away everything goes together into the same truck of course.  So much for that concept!

The start of the World ARC around the world voyage.  Several of our friends will be back in a couple of years when they finish!

Jeremy and his wife Janis from the sailboat Raylah who we last saw in French Polynesia in 2010 appeared in St. Lucia.  It was great to catch up with them.

Our friends Charlie and Anina from the sailboat Prism who were with us watching the start of the World ARC out in Rodney Bay.

The new party boat, the Pearl, at the dock in St. Lucia.  The previous party boat, Brig Unicorn, sank on the way to St. Vincent 2 years ago and was replaced.  Watch out when you are out sailing here!

Some of the party crowd on the Pearl in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia.

This is Duco on the sailboat Briet.  He sailed on his boat with us from Panama to Australia to complete his circumnavigation.  Now he is back in the Caribbean before continuing onward.


S/Y Aspen – January 18, 2016 – Log #137
Aspen Position: 14 degrees 04’ N  060 degrees 56’ W
Rodney Bay, St. Lucia

We had a really nice sail from Bequia, past the volcano on the north end of St. Vincent (notorious for nasty weather) and then alongside the Pitons on St. Lucia to our final destination of Rodney Bay on the north end of St. Lucia.

Aspen sailed well enough to pass 2 catamarans too!  If we get the wind on our beam Aspen can rock and roll just fine, thank you.

Rodney Bay is a center for sailors from all over the world and the place where Aspen and her crew finished their circumnavigation in December 2013 if you remember.  It is a great place to visit.

We are surrounded by sailors from The Caribbean, France, Germany, Poland, Israel, Holland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Australia, England, Canada and of course the USA.  It is a potpourri of nationalities to say the least.  Figuring out what anyone might be saying is quite a challenge too with the different accents.  But we all get by and the beer and rum flows nightly on the Boardwalk in the marina.

I forgot to mention that our favorite mega-yacht, Venus, is also here.  The ship is massive and lights up the entire harbor during the night with their deck lights.  If only Steve Jobs could see her now.

There was a gathering of sailors one evening onboard the Pearl, a replica pirate ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie fame.  At least 50 people enjoyed telling sea stories and the rum and beer flowed freely.  Such is the life of wayward sailors in these little latitudes during our sailing season.

Sail on, sail on Aspen…