Sailing Blog
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 […]
Time to Leave Turks and Caicos Islands
If the British Virgin Islands are the play ground for charter boats, the Bahamas are the play ground for beginning cruisers, I think I will dub Turks and Caicos Islands the turnstile for the Caribbean. All of the cruisers we met in Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) were on their way someplace else. Some boaters […]
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 […]
Communication on a Boat-Part Two
A few years ago we went to some seminars at the St. Petersburg Boat Show. One of the seminars was about docking, mooring and anchoring. We had anchored before but mostly in the bay. We had never moored. We thought it would be a good idea to hear what the more experienced boaters had to say. The […]
Trash Day
We have not been in a place to drop off trash since we left Bimini. The Exuma Land and Sea Park’s rule is what you take in you must take out. We had a month’s worth of trash. Two contractor size bags full of smaller trash bags. We double bagged the larger bags to keep […]
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. […]
A Tale of Two Snorkelers
We had a little bumpy start to our cruising season this year. We were stuck for weather. Then, stuck again for weather. Stuck for engine troubles. On our way again. Hop. Hop. Hop. Then Ahhhhh….we arrived at our long awaited destination. The beautiful Exuma Land and Sea Park, (ELSP). Last season we rushed through the […]
