Time Is All About Changes

250 pounds of gear for our trip to Savannah Sky, in the Netherlands

Savannah Sky looks happy to finally see us at Port Zelande, Netherlands.  At least ice is off the water!

Walking along the beach with so many kite surfers out on the North Sea.  Brrrr!

Maria inside where it is a bit warmer

Maria liking our full enclosure with the heater on

Golfing with Jim and Tim in Colorado, before we flew away.  It was so much warmer than the North Sea!

 

S/Y Savannah Sky – May 21, 2023 – Log #1

Savannah Sky Position: 51 degrees 45’ N, 003 degrees 51’ E

Port Zélande, Ouddorp, Netherlands (Holland)

 

Time Is All About Changes

 

In April of this year, when we sailed into Grenada on Aspen, we put Aspen’s logbook by itself on the shelf with our hearts in it.

 

Our humor was most definitely in need of repair after all the work we did on Aspen, getting her ready for new owners in Grenada.

 

Today we find ourselves in cold and windy Marina Port Zélande, Netherlands, of all places, and getting settled onboard our nicely floating S/Y Savannah Sky.

 

It is an adjustment getting to know our new boat, having sailed 22 years on Aspen.  Everything is in a different place and all the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and sailing systems are not quite the same, ha ha.

 

Having more room on our 50-foot sailboat is nice but Maria claims there is just that much more to keep clean, ha ha.

 

Savanna Sky was in storage during the winter, so all the dirt and grime had to be washed off, even in 50-degree weather with howling frigid North Sea winds pummeling us at the dock. 

 

The Dutch think it is warm out, for some odd reason, and are walking around in shorts and summer tops in the blustery cold conditions.  Bicycle riders, kite surfers, walkers, hikers, dog walkers and runners of all ages are everywhere.  Geeze, how refreshing!

 

I guess our blood has thinned so much from sailing in the hot Caribbean sunshine that we will have to adjust, quickly.

 

The Dutch seem pretty tolerant of us speaking English, with no Dutch words.  We find Dutch is pretty difficult but Google Translate really helps.

 

Paying for things is a challenge since credit cards are not used by many stores, we quickly found out.  The red X on the ‘credit card machine’ must mean something, I mentioned to Maria at the non-functioning self-checkout kiosk.

 

Oh well, at least IKEA takes our American credit card so we can buy lots of stuff for Savannah Sky.

 

We’ve had friends still ask us, why are we doing this?  Shouldn’t we be thinking of moving to a nice retirement community with lots of restaurants and programmed activities to keep busy during the day as well as people to watch over us should something go medically wrong?

 

Whether it is sailing toward a distant horizon or doing something crazy like buying a boat in Euroland, we understand it all will come crumbling down sometime in the future.  That is true for everyone, if we are lucky enough to live long lives.

 

Our credo is to live life as we want it, for as long as we can, and not let society nor others determine our adventuresome future.

 

We’re all temporaries in this life, as no one gets out alive.

 

Steve and Maria

1.     You can follow Savannah Sky’s route here, once we leave the dock: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SY_SavannahSky/

Fare thee well “SV Aspen”

 

A single picture tells a thousand stories...

 

S/Y Aspen – May 3, 2023 – Log #190 (Finale)

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

Spice Island Boatyard, Grenada, Caribbean

 

Fare thee well “SV Aspen”

 

Ahhh the places we have sailed and the stories “Aspen” could tell.

 

Aspen brought us across so many miles of endless oceans and safely around the world.

 

Nothing was ever too difficult for Aspen as her captain and crew came along for the ride.

 

It was 22 years ago as we watched Aspen take form at the factory in Florida.

 

Today we bid farewell to Aspen, as her new owners, Rachel and Susan, have journeys waiting for them as they sail toward that distant blue horizon.

 

Here is a video we made for Aspen: https://youtu.be/crxIQBSeKC0

 

Sail on, sail on Aspen…

 

Maria and Steve

PS - Also, we’ll keep the blog, if someone wants some fond memories:  http://syaspen.blogspot.com/

 

 

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

Sailing North and Big News

 

Chavez delivering fresh baguettes, bread and croissants in Bequia.  That is Sandy on Dakota Dream getting her daily cinnamon roll too.

Buying eggs from the local fruit stand is always interesting.  One never knows what the daily truck will bring.

Our route up the volcano on St. Vincent “La Soufrière”.  The volcano last erupted in September 2021 - ouch!

Our group of climbing sailors in the cool air, high up on the volcano

Yes, “La Soufrière” erupts a LOT of ash

Dawn on Cat Tales showing the way to climb into the clouds

This area was completely barren in September 2021, after the volcano erupted.  Look how quickly things grow in the tropics.

On the Bequia Express ferry at 0630, going to Kingstown, St. Vincent for our volcano climb

Kingstown, St. Vincent

Our climbing bus, led by the tour guide Fraser.  A local guide is required to hike or climb the volcano.

The trail on “La Soufrière” was in really good shape, even after so much destruction following the last eruption in September 2021.

Sailing on Bequia's "Friendship Rose" schooner with so many sailor friends. Charlie and Anina (Prism), Bill and Joanna (Cloud Street), Dawn and Laurie (Cat Tales), Fred and Sandy (Dakota Dream), Linda and Garry (X-July Indian), Barry and Monica (MoBata) and a nice British couple on the far left.  Maria and I are in the picture too, ha ha!

Maria with Savannah Sky at the dock in the Netherlands

 

Savannah Sky being stored for winter in the Netherlands

S/Y Aspen – January 14, 2023 – Log #188

Aspen Position: 14 degrees 04’ N, 60 degrees 56’ W

Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, Caribbean

 

Sailing North and Big News

 

Leaving sweet Bequia, just after midnight, is necessary for Aspen to arrive in St. Lucia before another sunset overtakes us.

 

It was a good sail with Aspen flying along at 6.5 – 7.8 knots, skipping across the endless waves like a thoroughbred horse.  Well, if horses could charge across the water, you might picture that?

 

Twelve hours later we enjoyed peaceful Rodney Bay Marina, after visiting Customs & Immigration of course.  Yes, they even let us into the country, despite our bedraggled appearance, after spending all night and half the day sailing amongst tropical trade winds in the Caribbean Sea.

 

Rodney Bay Marina is recovering nicely from the world shutdown due to Covid.  Restaurants welcome sailors once again and the docks are busy with boats coming and going from all points of the globe.

 

Walking the docks in the marina is quite a reunion; seeing sailors and boats we haven’t seen since 2019.  The friendly comradery doesn’t change, only a few more gray hairs and sun-dried skin with several more wrinkles have changed everyone’s appearance; Except our ageless bodies, of course.  Ha ha.

 

Maria’s and my big news is: we bought another boat.  What???

 

It was a deal too good to pass up, as the saying goes.

 

We purchased an Island Packet 485 sailboat.  Yes, the same factory that built Aspen so long ago.

 

The name of our new sailboat is “Savannah Sky”, because Maria likes that sweet name.

 

She is a 52-foot sailboat, big enough to take on whatever adventure lies on the horizon for us.

 

Oh, there is one more little detail about the new boat.  It is in Rotterdam, Netherlands.  Woa.

 

Ah, it will be a grand adventure sailing Savannah Sky south to the Canary Islands and across the Atlantic to our beloved Caribbean during November 2023.

 

Sail on, sail on Aspen and Savannah Sky…

 

Steve and Maria

PS -

1.     You can follow Aspen’s route here: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SV_Aspen

2.     Aspen also has a Garmin tracker working so you can follow along:  https://share.garmin.com/SYAspen

 

New Years Eve party on Dakota Dream (Sandy & Fred)

Happy New Years Eve gathering on Dakota Dream in sweet Bequia

Hope Bay beach in Bequia with Dawn (Cat Tales)

Hope Bay beach is stunning, after a long hike

The view from Hope Beach, Bequia

Christmas party at the Fig Tree Restaurant, Bequia with Fred (Dakota Dream)

Great friends at the Christmas party at the Fig Tree Restaurant, Bequia. Garry & Linda (X-July Indian), Cheryl (Fig Tree owner and good friend), Fred (Dakota Dream), Dawn and Laurie (Cat Tales)

Just another nice hike on sweet Bequia

Sailing away...

Club Med cruise ship visiting for the day in Bequia

Maria never knows how the eggs will look.  Big and small, they still taste yummy!

 

S/Y Aspen – January 1, 2023 – Log #187

Aspen Position: 13 degrees 08’ N, 61 degrees 14’ W

Admiralty Bay, Bequia, Caribbean

 

Happy New Year!

 

Fireworks painted the night sky in sweet Bequia, celebrating a new year for sailors gathered from all parts of the world.

 

We had a fun celebration on our friend’s catamaran named Dakota Dream (Fred and Sandy, from North Dakota of course).

 

Sandy from Dakota Dream, flew in from North Dakota just in time to attend her own party, with twenty sailors welcoming her back to her watery home.  Going from -10F in the north country to +85 tropical degrees is always a shock this time of year!

 

This morning, things are moving even slower than normal in the anchorage, with the New Year festivities continuing until sunrise on both land and sea.  Sleep will come, once the pulsating music dies down.

 

Happy New Year 2023 to all from Aspen and her crew!

 

Sail on, sail on Aspen…

 

Steve and Maria

PS -

1.     You can follow Aspen’s route here: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SV_Aspen

2.     Aspen also has a Garmin tracker working so you can follow along:  https://share.garmin.com/SYAspen