My first full week on St. Martin was one of relaxation. The easygoing routine that I settled into was less the result of a need for rest than an attempt to slow my rate of spending. The weak dollar makes high living difficult on an island where everything is priced in Euro’s. On Tuesday, Zach […]
St. Martin Est Tres Bonne
The passage from Virgin Gorda to St. Martin was difficult. Although we only had to cover 72 miles, it took us 32 hours of beating into wind, waves, and current before we finally reached our destination. For those readers who are not familiar with the concept of speed, 2.25 knots per hour (2.6 mph) is […]
Audentes Invaded by Southerners
My final week in St. Thomas was spent preparing the boat for the trip to St. Martin and spending time with the friends that I was fortunate enough to meet in Red Hook during that past two months. One addition to the boat that I acquired this week is a 15-foot two-person kayak. On Wednesday, […]
Satori on Audentes
Following the departure of my visitors, I moved the boat over to Christmas Cove, St. Thomas and resumed my normal routine of boat maintenance, reading, and swimming. Twice each day, a tour boat full of snorkelers would arrive to swim around the bay and observe the marine life. These loud, pasty American tourists would float […]
Fear and Loathing in the Virgin Islands
Upon his arrival in St. Thomas, my Uncle Larry was eager to start fishing. On Friday morning, we moved over to Christmas Cove, St. Thomas and found spear fishing paradise. Even a horrible shot like myself could catch a few fish. While Uncle Larry caught a few fish worthy of eating, my fish tended to […]
Sailing with Relatives – USVI
After snorkeling in Francis Bay, St. John’s on Monday morning, we enjoyed a brisk sail over to Jost Van Dyke. With winds gusting to 27 knots, we sped along at nearly 8 knots while flying only the mainsail and staysail on a beam reach. This, along with the fast sail from Jost back to St. […]
Easter in St. John’s
On Tuesday, I returned to St. Thomas, my recent home away from home. After clearing in, I met up with several friends from my last visit. One of these, Zach, had three of his friends visiting. Colin, Jay, and Eugene were on Spring Break from Northwestern, where they are getting their masters degree in biotechnology. […]
Relaxing in the BVIs
On Monday, I endured the first rainy day since I arriving in the Virgin Islands three weeks ago. Beating my way to Virgin Gorda, named by Columbus because he thought the island resembled a fat woman, the island is famous for The Baths, a collection of giant boulders strewn along a section of the shoreline. […]
Exploring the Virgin Islands
After an enjoyable week in St. Thomas, I decided that it was time to visit some of the other Virgin Islands and test my solo sailing skills. My departure from Red Hook Harbor in St. Thomas was anything but pretty. Overly eager to raise the sails, I flailed for a while until I was able […]