Author Archives: Mark
Ponce
Our first order of business in Ponce was to take an Uber to PF Chang’s. How very American is this? We have both been longing for Chinese food. It was a regular part of our life in Atlanta but we are finding it harder and harder to get good Chinese or Thai food in the […]
Boquerón
Our stay in Puerto Real was a little bit longer than planned. I think the close proximity of the awesome bakery might have had something to do with this. It’s hard for me to get motivated to move away from daily fresh bread and pastries. We purposely skipped a weather window to move east along […]
Rincón, Puerto Rico
It didn’t take us very long to scope out a bakery near the marina. I’m talkin’ real bakery here. This is the kind of shop where you walk in and the smell of fresh baking bread hits you hard and makes you want to stuff everything you can get your hands on into your […]
Skeletons in the Closet
You know when you start a conversation with a couple of sailors who have a waving skeleton hanging on their boat the next few minutes are bound to be entertaining. It’s only six months to Halloween, so why not hang out the skeleton. Meet Ed and Annette. His name is Slim. Slim was found at […]
We’re in Puerto Rico
We just made a 405 nautical mile sail (466 miles) from Providenciales Island in the Turks and Caicos to Puerto Real in Puerto Rico. Our passage took us around the west side of West Caicos and then southeastward along the northern coast of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. We have seen an unusual amount of […]
Providenciales – Turks and Caicos Islands (Part 2)
Everything on Providenciales is new. In the early 1960 only about 500 people lived on the island. There were no cars or electricity. Then the building started. A huge Club Med was one of the first resorts. Exquisite beaches like those found on these islands attract tourist. Today the full-time population is about 30,000. And […]
Providenciales – Turks and Caicos Islands (Part 1)
On our way to the Turks and Caicos Islands we sailed south of the Tropic of Cancer. This is a line of latitude at about 23° 26′. This marks the northern edge of The Tropics or West Indies. We are now in the West Indies. To answer the question posed in my previous post about […]
Passage from the Bahamas to Turks and Caicos Islands (Part Two)
Hanging out in Abraham’s Bay on Mayaguana, we killed time until the winds died down. Well actually, they died down yesterday but we are giving the sea a day to settle down a little bit from the 2 days of strong northeasterly breezes. And, it rained yesterday most of the day so we stayed put. […]
Passage from the Bahamas to the Turks and Caicos Islands (Part One)
We have sailed south this year down the Exuma Islands of the Bahamas. These beautiful islands offer a glimpse of a time gone by. The local residents are happy and content with island life. Unlike the metropolitan areas of the USA and Europe, there is not very much to spend money on here on these […]
Hallelujah. Got Milk!
We landed in Staniel Cay. This is a big stop for tourists because of the swimming pigs on neighboring. Big Major Cay. Staniel Cay is the first island south of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. So, boats heading south are usually in need of fresh vegetables, bread, eggs and milk. We too need all […]
Hunkering Down for a Blow
The cruising life is not all grins and giggles. We are currently working our way southward down the Exuma Islands of the Bahamas. In previous posts, I have mentioned we have held for weather or moved to a safer area. We received a few questions about what this really means. I thought a couple of […]
Seeking a Safe Harbor at Cambridge Cay
To quote my favorite author, “It was a dark and stormy night…” Well, it isn’t stormy, yet. But, is sure as heck is dark. We have been blessed with really clear skies the past couple of days. This is good for three reasons. First, it’s not raining. Second, our solar panels work better without clouds. […]
Close Encounters of the ELSP Kind
Every now and then we have a day that puts a bounce in our step and wind in the sails. Last year I posted an encounter with some dolphins generating a memory I will cherish forever. I didn’t think that could be topped. I was wrong. We are on a mooring buoy at Warderick Wells […]
Shroud Cay
A friend in Canada sent us this picture today: We sent this picture back to him: We departed Highborne Cay knowing we were in for some strong north winds for one night so we tucked in behind a small island called Elbow Cay just a little west of Shroud Cay and set the anchor. […]
Highborne Cay – Exuma Islands
Yey! We are in the Exuma Islands of the Bahamas! Our route here was a little unconventional. We departed Bimini and sailed (meaning we motored) for a full day across an area called the Great Bahama Bank. For miles and miles, the water is only about 20 feet deep with no land in sight. At […]
