Simpson’s Bay Lagoon in St Martin
20th Mar, 2011
We are now back home on Life Part2 in St Martin. We sure had a very busy month in Kelowna, visiting family and friends. I got to spend lots of time with my daughters and grandson Tiago who is so much fun! I miss him a lot, thanks to Skype for allowing me to talk (more...)Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow
11th Feb, 2011
Yep, we are back in the land of snow. In fact, we arrived in Kelowna on Friday, and had an awesome powder day on Monday.And, of course, Ceu got to spend heaps of time with Tiago. Ceu and Tiago enjoying some snow Unfortunately I had to catch up on some business stuff, so couldn’t hit (more...)Ben on Life Part 2
31st Jan, 2011
He finally made it. We picked him up from SXM airport at 9pm, put him in our dinghy, and drove him across the bay to Life Part 2. Ben and Noel and Pinas Coladas Unfortunately, Simpson Bay is quite exposed and seems to often be quite rolly – certainly more bumpy than other bays in (more...)In Sint Maarten – no wifi :-(
18th Jan, 2011
On Friday evening we finally got our prop shaft seal fixed, and so we sailed overnight to St. Maarten as we have a bunch of stuff to orgainize before we fly to Canada. And also Ben is arriving here on Saturday. St. Maarten is hugely different from the other islands. For one thing, it is (more...)Antigua – Home of the Super Yachts
14th Jan, 2011
Well, we have been sitting in Antigua waiting for our spare part to arrive. Three days just waiting for some French guy in St. Martin to get his act together to get the part to us. Now, finally, I went to the airport to pick it up. So, hopefully we will get it all put (more...)Boat Sinking! (well, sort of)
11th Jan, 2011
Here we were, all set to sail to Gaudeloupe, and what do we find when we check the engines before we fire up! The port engine compartment FULL of water. I mean water up to sea level outside. The compartment is separate from the rest of the hull, so only that section was affected, the (more...)Amazing Dominica
6th Jan, 2011
Left Martinique around 10am and arrived Dominica at 4pm. It was a really nice sail with winds up to 20knots. Anchored in Roseau near the cruise ship dock. Two big ships were there for the day. If you like nature, you will love Dominica for its spectacular natural beauty. Amazing rain forests, lush vegetation, valleys (more...)Happy New Year!
3rd Jan, 2011
Finally customs opened and we were able to check in. We are now legal and able to move to somewhere where we can get internet connection out on the boat. It is Boxing day and we went around the Bay to the cute town of Ste Anne. Great atmosphere, very lively and I enjoyed their (more...)And so this is Christmas!!!!!!
25th Dec, 2010
It is Christmas Morning! A wet Christmas it poured all night and still drizzling! I did break the Portuguese tradition for the first time. I did not cook codfish. But it is soaking at the moment and I will cook it sometime this week. We cooked a roast of lamb with roasted potatoes other veggies and all the trimmings. We turned on the candles, the music and Christmas lights and sat down outside for a nice meal with an ocean view and beautiful city lights. It was very nice and peaceful with the occasional fireworks display. Today we will have a Christmas Ham and more French cheese and wine. Right now we are sitting at a café. It’s time for some pain au chocolat and some good coffee. Hope you are having a great Christmas too!Martinique for Christmas!
24th Dec, 2010
We had a lovely sail across from St. Lucia yesterday. The sun was shining, the wind was close hauled about 15kts, and the seas were quiet. After about 4 hours we arrived at Marin Bay, and we short tacked up the narrow channel between various shoals. Why? Why not? We had the time, there was (more...)The world famous Pitons
21st Dec, 2010
We spent the last week in St Lucia. It was a long slow passage from St Vincent, as we had no wind. But just made our grand entrance more dramatic. I was on watch, and Noel got to wake up at sun rise and just when we were right in front of the world famous (more...)Disappointed by St. Lucia
21st Dec, 2010
The first time I went to St. Lucia was 30 years ago, in 1980. The next time was four years later, in 1984. St. Lucia was a tropical paradise, and my favorite island. So I was looking forward to a return visit. How much things have changed! When I was first there, there (more...)Dramatic St. Vincent Volcano
14th Dec, 2010
The last time we were in St. Vincent we had booked a guide to take us up the Volcano. Unfortunately the path was impassable owing to debris from Hurricane Tomas – remember? The one that didn’t happen while we were sitting in Port Eggmont in Grenada? So the guide (Sailor’s Wilderness Tours – excellent) gave (more...)Another episode
12th Dec, 2010
St Vincent was our next stop, where we had previously spent some time and tried to hike up to the Volcano. The trail was in bad shape from the Hurricane. The tour guides had been told the trail was cleared. After we spoke about how important it is for the Tourism Industry to have it (more...)Beautiful Bequia
10th Dec, 2010
After seeing my parents off on their cruise ship again, we did an overnight sail from St. George’s Grenada, to Bequia, one of the St. Vincent Grenadines. Ugh, the sail was long and slow and bouncy. And we had forgotten to take our sea-sick pills before we took off, so didn’t feel great either. Leaving (more...)Return to Grenada
8th Dec, 2010
Where to start? So much has happened since my last posting! That was in St Vincent where I also took my scuba diving course, I was a bit nervous about Diving, but I was so excited when I actually did it. Wrote the test on my Birthday. After that, we made another stop at Tobago (more...)November 28. What a Day! . . .
29th Nov, 2010
Pirates of the Caribbean, Walliabou, St. Vincent Thank you everyone for the Birthday wishes…. I sure had had a fantastic day, lots of sunshine in the morning, a hike through the rain forest big shower, got soaked! Came home got changed and headed to Walliabou, it was the main location for (more...)10 Knots! Woo Hoo!
23rd Nov, 2010
Leaving from Mustique we had to motor sail until we cleared Bequia. Reason is that there is a lot of westward current, and with the trade winds at almost NE we just couldn’t lay it. But, once past, we freed off, unrolled the genoa, eased off the mainsail with its one reef in, and let (more...)Swimming with Turtles (Tobago Cays) and Schmoozing with the Stars (Mustique)
22nd Nov, 2010
From Carriacou we had a short sail to the Tobago Cays. The Tobago Cays are idyllic. You know those brochure pictures of turquoise seas, sandy beaches, a few yachts dotted around at anchor, and turtles swimming just off the beach. Well, this is it. Did I say turtles? Yep. Not just one or two, but (more...)Sail to Cariacou
15th Nov, 2010
We just arrived in Cariacou but before we left we had to finish our tour of the Grenada. We took the bus to the nearest point and stopped at Seven Falls, where we had a guided tour through rain forest and up to the falls. Although 2004 Hurricane Ivan did huge damage to this Island, (more...)Another Day in a Sailor’s World
9th Nov, 2010
So we took off this morning from the boat all ready to take the bus and explore some more of this beautiful island. This time we wanted to hike up to these really nice Water Falls. Pack sack..lots of water, a little cash and 2 Jabsco parts to return or exchange at the hardware Store. (more...)Well, That Was Exciting!
31st Oct, 2010
Tomas, now a full Category 2 Hurricane, battered St. Lucia and St. Vincent all through yesterday, leaving many homes without roofs. This will take them a long time to recover. Trinidad, Tobago received lashings of rain. Meanwhile, here on Life Part 2 in Port Egmont, we had a flat calm with grey skies all yesterday (more...)Sitting Waiting for the Storm
30th Oct, 2010
Waiting for Tropical Storm Tomas in Port Egmont, Grenada So, after sitting out the hurricane season in Canada, here we are in a sheltered little lagoon in Grenada waiting for Tropical Storm Tomas to arrive. Here’s what happened: Yesterday, in Prickly Bay, I was working on the electrics and Ceu was doing a wonderful job (more...)adventures of my own
26th Oct, 2010
Wow….it has been a long time! So much has happened since I introduced myself here and into this sailing Life. Any ways, South America was amazing. Hard to say which part of it was my favourite but Iguazu Falls in Brasil and the whole 45Km of Inca Trail and Machu Picchu are sure on the (more...)FIVE Hours to Travel FIVE Miles???
23rd Oct, 2010
10 am we weighed anchor to sail a few miles east to St. David’s harbour. Just to visit a different place. We knew it would be a beat (upwind) the whole way, as well as straight into the west flowing Equatorial Current. But we never expected it to take 5 hours to complete the journey! Each time we tacked we seemed to be retracing the exact path we had just sailed. Still, it was a lovely sail in a nice 20 knot breeze. St. Davids is very small – just 8 other boats moored here – but a good WiFi connection through Grenada Marine. We will chill out here for a few days before going back to Prickly Bay to get our new Wind Generator installed.Ah! Domestic Bliss (and Scary Monsters) – a day in the life of the Galley
22nd Oct, 2010
[Video:Baking Bread On Board] [Video:Giant Lobster] What’s life really like on board? Well, pretty much like at home, I guess… Today Ceu baked some multi-grain bread, and bought a giant 5lb lobster from a passing fisherman. The only problem was that it was way too big for our pot. So we had to do it in two parts – first the head, then the tail. But it tasted Oh! So GOOD with garlic butter and fresh bread. After that we had a couple from Victoria, BC visit, along with their 4 year old daughter, come over for drinks. They were about to depart for St. Georges and then ports north, while we were headed off to St. David’s harbour. And so to bed. Another day in paradise.It’s Good to be Home :-)
18th Oct, 2010
It’s a beautiful morning. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and it is a flat calm in the bay outside of St. George’s, capital of Grenada. In the distance I can hear a cock crowing and a dog barking plus, of course, a few cars driving (oh, well, can’t have everything). I have (more...)6 Days to Go
9th Oct, 2010
Heading back to the boat on Thursday! Arrive Grenada Friday evening. Had a good two months in Canada. Caught up on a lot of business stuff. Having bought a new business the day before we left Canada back in May was interesting. Fortunately my partner Darren was able to put in a bunch of work (more...)In LA then Back to Canada
14th Aug, 2010
“But I’m sad to say, I’m on my way. Won’t be back, for many a day” Yep, sadly we left Life Part 2 in Whisper Cove, Grenada. I am now in LA for a brainstorming session with Bob Proctor, and Ceu is back in Kelowna with her ‘Lovey’ (Tiago, her grandson). I will be back there too in a week, and we will probably stay in Canada for a couple of months while we ride out the hurricane season which is still predicted to be a very active one. While here I plan to figure out some LED bulbs to cut down our energy consumption. Anyway, not much else to report for now.Arrived in Grenada!
10th Aug, 2010
[Video:Arriving in Grenada!] Well, we finally made it! We had a peaceful 24 hour sail from Martinique to Grenada, past St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Steady trade winds to start with, which then dwindled to motor sailing past St. Vincent. Grenada is lovely. And so nice to finally have (more...)Trying to get to St. Vincent
3rd Aug, 2010
[Video:Leaving Gaudeloupe for St. Vincent] We stayed in St. Martin a few days to get some rivets sorted out at the front end of the boom, and the, with Tropical Storm Colin on the way, we decided we should get a move on and sail to St. Vincent, which would be (more...)Our First Night Passage: BVI to St. Martin
27th Jul, 2010
[Video:Sailing at Night] Conditions couldn’t have been more perfect! The wind was in the right direction, so we sailed close hauled the entire way, and needed only one 2 mile tack at the end to take us straight into Simpson Bay. We had a clear sky, with just some scattered clouds, (more...)First Week Living Aboard
24th Jul, 2010
Here is a 4 minute video after our first full week on board: [Video:First Week Onboard] Sorry about the wind noise, will try to do better next time!Our Tour of Brazil and Peru
19th Jul, 2010
Brazil and Peru were interesting – but huge. Everytime we went to a new place, it was a full day’s traveling. Floating past caymans in the Pantanal, Brazil We first went to Campo Grande, where we met someone who introduced us to Pousada Santa Clara in the Pantanal, which was excellent. Cheap, (more...)The First Two Weeks of Life On Board
22nd Jun, 2010
So, it finally happened. We got off the plane with all six items of luggage safely with us. After all the planning, dreaming, and packing we had finally arrived in Tortola. We loaded all our stuff into the boat, and stepped aboard. This was it, the start of our adventures in Life Part 2. (more...)Adding Depth Markings to Anchor Chain
20th Jun, 2010
One of the fundamental keys to effective anchoring is to use the correct length of anchor chain (called the rode) for the depth of the anchorage. Too little and you may end up dragging your anchor. Too much and you might swing into the other boats in the middle of the night when the (more...)Wow! We made it!
30th May, 2010
So, here we are, sitting by the pool in Tortola with a cold drink in hand! The last week has been totally crazy. Went to Joshua’s graduation, which was lovely. He had a BIG grin on his face all day,. Then we had to get him through airport check in with all his gear, including (more...)Boat Insurance – To Get, or Not? That is the question.
19th May, 2010
Or at least it was the question at the start. You see, many cruisers sail without any insurance. The main reason is that it is darned expensive. Typically 2-3% of the value of your boat. So on a $240,000 boat that works out at $5000. A year. Then you have to consider there is a (more...)Sooo Busy
30th Apr, 2010
Well, we are back on track, but goodness it has been hectic trying to organize everything. So here is the plan: May 30th – travel to BVI along with Jessica (Ceu’s daughter) and six heavily packed boxes/suitcases full of all the stuff we have been gathering for the boat. We will then do an “owner’s (more...)Aagh! Departure Date Delayed!
24th Mar, 2010
I can’t believe this! Somehow there was a mix-up with Conch Charters and they have booked Life Part 2 out for Mid June to Mid July! And we were just about to book our tickets to the BVI for May 31st. Just as well we didn’t 🙂 So, the plan now is to do some travelling first – maybe around BC, or maybe go to Brazil to see friends of Ceu’s, and then head for Life Part 2 on July 18th. All a bit of a shock, but I guess it doesn’t really matter in the end. Just a bit frustrating, as we were all set to go.How it All Started
24th Jan, 2010
How did it all start? Don’t remember, really. It seems that somewhere towards the end of 2008 I suddenly had the bright idea of sailing around the world. I have raced dinghies for years – Fireflies, OK’s, Lasers, and Formula 18 cats for years, but had never really seen the point of big boat sailing. (more...)