THE END OF OUR JOURNEY: We arrive in Maine! June 7, 2011

Nine and a half years after we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, headed for Maine, we have arrived. We passed Cape Elizabeth at dawn on a clear still morning, turned into Casco Bay toward Portland and our destination, at least for now, South Portland.

Ben, Eva and Luke waved us past Bug Light.

Bermuda to Maine

We worked our way north from Bermuda and decided to transit the Cape Cod canal, to avoid strong northerly winds to the east. The weather grew colder; dolphins met us along the way, and a few large ships crossed our path.

        

A favorite Aunt and Uncle stood beside the Cape Cod Canal, and waved us on our way. 

Bermuda

Bermuda Day parade in Hamilton

Charles
and
Carie met us in Bermuda.

Charles stayed to help sail the final leg of our journey.

Passage to Bermuda

Act III visible ahead of Wilhelm's gennaker

We sailed north from the US Virgin Islands to Bermuda in company of Act III, a boat heading home to New Hampshire via Bermuda.  After one difficult night of lightening, rain, and high winds, the trip was a calm one.



We are not the only ones affected by erratic weather - an exhausted bird landed on the boat, so tired and dehydrated that it sipped water from Rob's hand.

St John, USVI. (18.36,-64.75) May 1 - May 9

Matt, Anna and Nina came to Maho Bay, St. John, and we spent almost a week with them. What a special time we had. To see the photo album. CLICK HERE

Antigua. A visit from Blair and beautiful boats! April. (17.00, -61.76)

Blair spent almost a week on Wilhelm while we were in Antigua and Barbuda.  Highlights of his visit included visiting some untraveled spots in the north of Antigua and Barbuda; snorkeling in warm clear water;  watching classic boats arrive for the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta; and spending several days in Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour – a semi-restored area that was a center of British Naval activity in the 1700’s.

After Blair left, we stayed to watch the Antigua Classics Regatta.

CLICK HERE to see more photos

Horse Racing on Nevis. March 27, 2011 (17.15, -61.63)

Strolling around Nevis, we read a poster about horse racing that afternoon. One of the horses was named Obama, and the poster proclaimed "Obama say Limb by Limb we a go cut dem down." We wanted a chance to bet on Obama, so off we went.

 

We learned that race horses in Nevis are primarily rescue horses from Puerto Rico.  Local enthusiasts take horses that would otherwise be put down, and train them. Obama lived up to his reputation and came home a winner in his race, and the track was one of the most scenic anyone could find. Here are photos of the jockeys walking to their mounts, Obama headed for the starting line, horses racing home, and the grandstands.

Throughout the Caribbean we have seen our President viewed as an inspiration and symbol of hope to the people who live here - St. Kitts has an honorary stamp and Antigua has renamed its highest mountain. Many businesses have posted photos of Obama.

St. Martin, Anguilla, Saba, St. Kitts. (Saint Christopher)

In a nutshell, St Martin is the home of mega yachts, Anguilla is like Cape Cod, Saba is a big mountain belonging to Holland, and St Kitts - Nevis is an independent country struggling to find its identity....,
All different, all with pros and cons for the potential visitor.

We didn't take any photos in St. Martin. We've already posted a lot of photos of white beaches, so will skip Anguilla. To visit Saba, we took a ferry from St Martin and climbed to the "highest point in the kingdom of the Netherlands." The extinct volcano rises abruptlyl 2855' from the sea, and the trail has 1064 steps, with a thick rope to grab toward the summit.

Guadeloupe

Another wonderful French island, with baquettes delivered to the boat every day, wonderful French cheese and wine BUT lots of wind, which made our anchorage in Les Saintes very uncomfortable. Another big fort – this one a French fort. The sea between Les Saintes and Dominica was the site of one of the major naval battles in history, between the French and English. It is all very important American history, and the assistance the Colonial forces received from the French  but too lengthy to discuss here. After two windy days in the Saints, we sailed north to Deshaies – the place with the best dinghy dock of all, and waited for a weather window to head north.

Carnivale in the Caribbean

Domincia.  On Dominica, Martinique, and Saint Martin, we enjoyed parades full of enthusiasm and warming up to Carnival. These photos are all from Dominica.

Dominica

One of the least developed of all the Caribbean Islands. In one photo, we are rowing up the river with a local guide. 

This is the only island where there are still descendents of the Carib or Kalinago people who originally inhabited the Caribbean Islands, when Columbus “discovered” them.  We took a tour and bought some baskets that the Kalinago people make, using the same techniques that their ancestors used in 1492. 

We also enjoyed flavored rum – we chose the “Obama Special.” 

Like all these islands, there is a fort – a remnant of the dispute between the French and English that persisted for many years. We visited with our new friends Lance and Susie of “Queen Emma,” from Berkeley.

Martinique

Le Marin, Martinique, after a sail from Bequia past St Vincent and St Lucia. Local boats, les yoles rondes (pronounced similar to “yawl” in English.) had a regatta near the anchorage. These boats have no keel, and a crew of 10 or more men. Three of them use a steering oar about 15 feet long

The rest of the crew coordinate their moves using long wooden poles and remarkable balancing feats to keep the boat sailing through gusts, wind shifts and course changes.