Home and Looking Back

We've been home for over a month and Karmela B was safely sailed to Marion, MA over a 10 day journey by way of Bermuda. We had wonderful visits with Ned and Molly. Ned flew into St Kitts and we sailed to Statia, St Barts, Anguilla and ST Martin with Ned. Roger ended up in the ER on St Barts with kidney stones. What an adventure at 1AM but what fantastic care he received at no cost. Could it happen here? St Barts was fun. The food was great and the two harbors were beautiful. Great pizza too.

Rog and I dropped Ned off in St Martin and then lolled around a pool at the Radisson Hotel for the afternoon and then eventually sailed the 14 hour sail to Virgin Gorda. We left at 3AM and had a few hours of night time sailing before the sun rose. 14 hours and I don't bat an eye! I have become a sailor.

We sailed into the Virgins and were reminded of their beauty. We met Molly in St Thomas and then spent several fun days in Vieques, particularly in the small town of Esperanza. Molly loved it. The 3 block town lit up at night like Christmas and felt magical. We kayaked and swam in the phosphorescent bay at night and this just added to the sparkle.

We returned to Fajardo, PR, drove Molly to the airport and then scrubbed and organized the boat for 2 feverish days of hot hard work, but we're both pleased and proud to hand a sparkling Karmela B over to her professional crew.

What a wonderful trip we had. How we loved living on our boat and living on the sea with the sea surrounding us and the winds taking us where we chose to go. The sense of peace and wonder remain, but not like being there. Roger and I will have to organize our lives to include extended sails on our wonderful second home. There is nothing like living out of doors with the smell of the sea and the caress of the wind. Oh, Karmela B, thank you!!!!

On A schedule

Alex flew in to St. Lucia and spent a little over a week sailing the Grenadines with us. We swam with the loggerhead turtles and snorkeled in the clearest, bluest seas. Alex and I made tuna ceviche and we all talked about possible future scenarios for Alex. Law school? Legal aid job? Who knows what NYC holds for Alex. We feel so lucky to have our kids visit with us on Karmela. It's just such a great way to hang out and relax and talk without competing demands. We dropped Alex off in St Lucia and immediately sailed to Martinique, Antigua and then Nevis.

We have made the final decision to hire a captain who will sail Karmela home while we're in Argentina visiting Anna. This means we need to be in St Kitts tomorrow to meet Ned for 6 days and then on the 13th meet Molly in the Virgin Islands. We'll sail with Molly to Puerto Rico and from there, we'll meet Karmela's temporary captain and crew and wish them calm seas and fair winds as she is sailed north.

This voyage has been magical-a long mellowing out, reveling in the outdoors. So much beauty and no where to go and nothin to do for months. It's been amazing how the days just go by and yet every moment we're bombarded with sensual pleasures of sea, wind, color, smells and sounds. If only I were more poetic. But now we're on schedule and it's bittersweet to be ending this part of our journey.

Brevity

Dateline: Antigua (pronounced an-TEE-ga), English Harbour, Nelson's Dockyard for a brief spell, Dolphins accompanying us into Antigua. Baguettes from Isles des Saintes still fresh in the galley and Dominica (pronounced doe - mi - NEE - ka ) still fresh in our minds. Such contrast - Isles des Saintes, part of Guadeloupe, and both decidedly French, with boulangeries, and patisseries, and challenges to our distant use of ze language. Ou ay la twalette, sea vou play? Oy Vay. Dominica, decidedly poor economically, but a land of abundance and magic. Private waterfalls, fruit of every kind every where, a garden of eden. memo to Eve: any regrets about that pomme de terre?

And we are on our way back, via St. Kitt's, Nevis, probably St. Bart's, the Virgin Islands, then Puerto Rico, then ...before long the Karmela B, with cap'n & crew will be back in MA. will have a lot of catching up to do. Is Frank Sargent still governor?

until the blog bug bites again,

fair winds, good luck, best wishes, and don't forget to close the hatches,

lol,

Karmela

Heading North and South

We left Grenada after a wonderful 6 week stay. We made the True Blue Resort our second home where we could plug in, indulge in an occasional G&T, and check in when the Karmela B was on the hard getting her bottom painted and topsides shined. What a lucky lady! Grenada is a warm and welcoming country. The people are hospitable and helpful, whether on the road asking for directions, or getting a lesson on how to take apart a winch. I learned to make a mean callaloo soup and plantain salad and we watched a leatherback turtle come home to lay her 80 eggs and return to the sea. We hope to plan a salon encounter next year entitled "Where the Fugawi and Where are we Going?" Want to join us?

We had a wonderful week with Kari and we'll pick Alex up in St Lucia the day after tomorrow. We are celebrating our 10th anniversary since we met that fateful lunch date at Legal. We are hanging out 24/7 and for the most part doing great. There were a couple of weeks there where we managed to locate some burrs under each other's saddles.  Burrectomies successfully performed, no one has walked the plank, although there were moments when sailorly self-control was called for....ah, the ghosts!  bligh, blah, ahab, and elijah were visiting... fair winds prevail-no doldrums-no albatross.  By the by, the albatross weighs 26 lbs, has an 11' wing span and circumnavigates the globe 3 x per annum.  (definitely do not want one of those hanging around your neck, thank you very much mr coleridge)

We spent the last week heading north through the beautiful Grenadines. We'll take Alex back down there from St Lucia. The teeny island you see is called Happy Island and Gentil, the owner literally built the island out of conch shells and concrete. It took 7 years to build.He lives there in his 40 feet in diameter home, bar and restaurant.  Solar panels, rain collection system, good music, wifi, and such a view.  He plans to will it to the people of Union Island.  He radiates happiness and smiles like Whoopi Goldberg.

I have to say we like this life. We just miss friends and family. A lot. We have 4 more months before returning to work. It's interesting to not know what will happen each day-what we'll see, what we'll feel like, what we'll talk about.  (besides the weather).  and whether Mick Jagger and David Bowie will greet us when we visit Mustique.  And whether you, dear readers, can figger out which one of us rote witch sentence.  Love, Karmela B, capn and crew

Grenada!

We are still in Grenada and will probably remain here the rest of the month. Kari arrives Tuesday and Alex comes on Sunday. After that we'll get the boat pulled and have her scraped and painted. The repairs have been pretty continuous, the sea and weather are unrelenting. I realize it's not the Karmela B, it's all boats. Attention and repairs are constant to keep boats happy and functional; just money, after all. Go figure.

Mary and Steve and then Claire visited and it was wonderful seeing our friends.  Now they can visualize the life we're living and that's nice for us and them. We really don't do a lot. There's a great deal of staring involved-at the sky, the sea, the birds, whatever. It's amazing that we're not bored, but we don't seem to be. Roger and I still manage to find things to talk about and last night the evening activity was to read out loud to each other.

Grenada is a friendly country. The people make us feel at home, welcomed. Instead of asking at restaurants "what can I get for you?" they ask "are you okay?" Nice. The country is clean and middle class, or seems so from the outside looking in. I'm going to try to take a cooking class if I can find one. We also have a tour scheduled of the medical school on Wednesday. Roger wouldn't mind being on the adjunct faculty. 

Bequia!!!

Charlie writes,
Greetings from Admiralty Bay Bequia! We anchored @ 4 PM atlantic time after a non stop 54 hour run from Virgin Gorda. BVI
We are all fine and happy to be at the top of the Grenadines. We'll easily make Grenada for my flight home and have some time for a couple of stops along the way.
Winds were 20 to 25 kts the whole way, most of the run was with the apparent wind at 60 degrees of the port bow. 2 flying fish met their demise on our deck. The first night we took a reef in the main, last night we left it full and Karmela B sailed fine with the wind blowing 20 to 25. Our course was, generally, 160 degrees and became 180 for the last part of the run. Our first land fall was St. Lucia, about 10 miles off our port side, we then ran down St. Vincent, staying off the coast about 4 miles before making the 10 mile crossing of Bequia Channel to Bequia.
Our first day and night were hard for Laura, who was sick most of the 24 hour period, but yesterday and to day were much better.
Roger and I stood watch in 3 hour shifts the first night, Last night Laura joined in and did 7 to 9 and 4 to 6.
Laura is really pleased at having stuck it out as she was ready to get off the boat after the first night.
Sailing at night is as lovely as I remember, beautiful stars and milky way 'til moon rise at 10 pm
Our only technical problem was discovering this morning that the pin that attaches the tack of the boom to the mast had sheared! Fortunately we were able to secure the boom with short pieces of line and were able to sail the rest of the way here. We'll get a new pin tomorrow.

Getting Ready March 12, 2009

Roger and I are getting ready for the big sail to Grenada on Saturday. Charlie will be here this afternoon and after a day of getting to know the Karmela, we'll be off on a waning full moon and good seas. Exciting. We're getting the boat tuned and in ship shape for the 3 day voyage. 

We are in Nanny Cay in Tortola, having spent a couple of nights in Maho Bay on St John. The picture is of a nurse shark who just loved the moldy bread that I threw out of the boat. The shark had dinner and then came back for breakfast the next day-he loved the Healthy Choice whole wheat bread. 

Life is good.

The Virgins; March 5

Roger and I are drinking home made root beer in Cruz Bay, St. John. It's pouring out and it's a nice change. We're biding our time until next Thursday, when sailor friend Charlie Chamberlain joins us for the 3 day trip to Grenada. Three days nonstop ocean. Roger's excited and I'm mixed. I'm looking forward to the experience but am also a bit daunted by it. 

John and Helen visited and were our first overnight guests. Once we got their head to flush, the accomodations significantly improved. We sailed together for 3 days and then they went off to spend the rest of the week on St. Thomas. They treated us to a wonderful dinner at Zuzu in St John the last night we were together. Roger got his hair cut in Red Hook. He was starting to have long hair ( at least in the back of his head), but no more.

Life seems to be getting up, swimming, eating stretching, admiring ocean, clouds, birds and islands, reading, drinking and then finding another problem with the boat and then going to a marina to get it fixed and so far thanking the heavens that nothing so far has been too serious. Roger is very tuned into Karmela, so he identifies problems quickly. He'll know this boat well by the end of this adventure.

Next blog will be from Grenada I imagine....yikes.

Untitled

Untitled seems like the only reasonable start to the skipper's reveries on this voyage.

I don't know where we are  though I know the lat/long puts us at Leverick Bay on Virgin Gorda.

On a hill, overlooking the stereotypical beautiful multi-colored waters of the Caribbean.

Yesterday I was walking down a dock to get block ice, a rare commodity in these parts, vaguely remembering I unsuccessfully tried the same thing at the same dock a couple of years ago, but insisting that I still give it a try once again...and then it suddenly dawned on me:  I have nothing to do.  The identity/anxiety attack did not begin as I still have lots of report writing to finish and send back to Boston.  

But this is a low-impact time down here, and it's actually fun to do some brain work while exploring existential entropy with sunscreen and demon rum.  Ah, for the life of a pirate.

More to follow sometime in the future if the creek don't rise and the good Lord is willing.

Fair winds,

Roger

 

St Croix to Virgin Gorda

Rog and I headed out from St Croix Friday at about 8:00 AM and had a one tack sail all the way to Virgin Gorda. we had the added treat of a pod of about 14 dolphins swimming along with us for over 5 minutes. We couldn't believe it. By 3:00pm we moored off of Spanish Town in Virgin Gorda where we looked out at very big cruse ships, motor and sail. The Stanzlers and Ellen and Ben joined us for the afternoon and then had us for dinner at Little Dix. We loved having friends aboard and Little Dix was simple and elegant with a spectacular setting.

Psychologically, it's been  wild and crazy, for me anyway. The captain can speak for himself.  I have found myself worried about whether I'm having enough fun, whether I have enough to do, whether I can entertain myself, whether I can handle being so aquatically dependent, whether we can afford this. Today I feel happy and settled and feel like this angst is all about being insecure about a life change (albeit time limited) and just going with it and figuring out how to manage all these issues. Finally, Roger and I can do whatever  we want, and will. It's a big adjustment, all of a sudden having no schedule and a completely different lifestyle. So, next, John and Helen arrive on Saturday and we're going to figure out how to have the boat scraped, painted and waxed. Karmela needs constant grooming...All is well, continually interesting.

Looking out at the BIG boats off of Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda

Harris goes up the mast

Karmela's topping lift is replaced

Our topping lift had snapped on the way to St Croix so we waited for 4 days to get it fixed. Happily, Harris was able to get to the top of the mast and run a new line through the mast. Now our boom swings free again, rather than resting on the canvas cover of our cockpit. We are finally ready to head to Virgin Gorda to see Margie Stanzler and family if the weather will permit us to sail. It's very windy and choppy. We hope tomorrow will be better.

Map of the Caribbean

Sunrise in and heading out of Vieques

From Vieques to St Croix

Roger and I decided to leave Vieques after two nights and sail to St Croix. We left just after sunrise, as you can see, and arrived in St Croix at about 4:30 in the afternoon. We sailed for 6 hours and motored for 3. It was a rough, rainy, beat against the wind journey where we were exhausted and thoroughly nauseated. I wasn't scared, just worried that I hate sailing. The only fun was sitting on the trampoline in the pouring rain, yellow slicker on and guiding streams of water down our arms and back, bouncing like  jelly beans as we crashed through the waves.

Having now been in Christiansted, St Croix for almost 24 hours, I can attest that it was well worth it. We are in a safe anchorage with sting rays jumping out of the water and oyster catchers and herons nearby. We also have access to free internet. I think we may be beginning to get into the groove. This is a pastel town with welcoming people and great places to shop and eat. Ruby has settled in with Robin and Hana, so all is well.

Cap'n speaking:  no, not thoroughly nauseated - just moments of minor queasiness...no shoveling or mopping up req'd.  We're beginning to meet some most interesting folks - people who left the hurly burly hustle and bustle of business on the mainland for the more leisurely pace of island life....At this moment, with barely a cloud in the sky, there's a small white sail beginning to appear on the horizon...everything moves slowly unless the wind is 25 knots.  We're on the boat now-it's always moving, fast or slow, but always moving.

Happy Valentine's Day

Rog and I are now on Vieques. Pretty sparse. A nice fellow in an inn is letting us use his Apple. I will make this brief. We spent last night off the south western coast of Vieques, having sailed from Isla Palomino. At that small island there were iguanas everywhere with white heads and orange legs hanging out in the trees. 

I have been in a small crisis for the past 2 days. I think I'm overwhelmed by the idea of being on this big sea and knowing so little about how to survive on it without Roger. So, I hope to turn the corner from feelings of utter incompetence to learning mode. I hope to learn some sailing abilities so I'm not so frighteningly dependent.

Other than that, the water is lovely and Roger and I seem to have launched this adventure.

still not far from Fajardo

Well, let's see, we had a nice few days with Roger's mom, Margie. She wined and dined us around town and at the Conquistador. She also gave us a micro wave for the Karmela which makes making coffee a breeze(winds are currently on our minds). Good for her for getting on the boat and braving the seas and lines and sun!

Now we are bouncing back and forth from Isla Palominas and Fajardo for electrical concerns. I think the word is shake down. That's okay, every time we're back in Fajardo I can use the computer and stay in touch with Mary around Amanda's progress. It sounds like it will be today!

Isla Palominas is lovely, especially in the morning when boom boxes aren't blaring. The island is full of huge rabbits and has a nice trail to the top where you can see Culebra and Vieques and the Virgins. 

What do I do all day? Clean a lot (oy) read and stare out at the ocean. Roger putters with the boat. We swam and walked and ate grilled chicken with spanish rice after having scorched the pork beyond recognition.

It's really pretty. See the rainbow? Wow.

San Juan,Fajardo and Isla Palominas

Ann and Zig get us to Logan January 31,2009

We made it

It is February 4th and we're in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. We left the day after Anna flew off to Buenos Aires. As you can see we brought many, many suitcases. What have we been doing? We've been spending a lot of money setting the Karmela up. I hope this stops soon or we'll be back in 7 weeks instead of seven months. We have been strolling the aisles of Walmart, West Marine,Grande supermarket, Bed Bath and Beyond and Sears. Days of pulling things off aisles and bringing flimsy bags of food, boat stuff and even a microwave back to the boat.  Our boat absorbs it all though and she's looking good.

We managed to sail out to Palomino Island yesterday and the sail was a perfect run. Wind behind us, smooth waters, aqua sea. It was nice. 

Margie Fox, Roger's mother is visiting for 4 days and we're trying to be entertaining with moderate success.  We'll go out to dinner soon and after she leaves, the eating out will be seriously cut back. 

I'm still not skinny. Roger is looking better, more relaxed although today he complained of being so parched he was fartin dust. Better go get a dust buster for the captain.