tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31398307417624110612011-07-30T10:13:22.799-06:00The record of Griff and Cheryl's adventures on Mystic Journey.Cherylnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1891100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-29631441140606908762010-05-05T13:07:00.009-06:002010-05-05T14:06:51.573-06:00

Well, as said, this is long overdue and probably the only one to read it will be me/Cheryl and likely Jason as he has it tagged. Thanks Jason.I will try to make this short. It has been a struggle since I came home, a struggle I am dealing with by recognizing how grateful I am and trying to convince myself that it is what we did and not what we didn't do that is the important thing. After all, how

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-49210263465153148002010-03-22T15:57:00.010-06:002010-03-22T17:40:44.297-06:00

I thought I would give you what is essentially my last post about our 2 year adventure (although my mind has not totally given the journey up). My last post was from East End Bay (part of Fat Hog Bay - I love that name) where I was waiting for Mystic Journey to either be sold or, as it turned out, to take her to Nanny Cay and put her on the hard.Cheryl was a bit concerned about me getting the

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-7635827772085963632010-03-17T13:35:00.010-06:002010-03-22T10:15:58.078-06:00

Griff arrived home as promised on March 1st, minus two suitcases. One suitcase along with those of 11 other passengers was left in Antigua by Liat because the plane was too full for everyone's baggage. They promised to make sure it was sent on to Lethbridge since it did not arrive in St. Maarten before Griff's plane left from there for Toronto. The second suitcase was left at Rob's place in

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-75149905474853206652010-02-23T15:54:00.015-07:002010-02-26T11:27:26.912-07:00

Last weekend was very tiring, but fun and ended with a sense of accomplishment. Debby, my sister came down from Calgary to help me lay laminate flooring in our living/dining room. She had done this before and I had helped Griff lay the same laminate in our study. However, for both of us it had been a while since we had done it.I spent Friday taking out the rug, underlay and all the staples and

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-40599213906063615602010-02-19T14:46:00.013-07:002010-02-19T18:18:20.342-07:00

Actually Paradise is what BVI calls itself on their licence plates but I really think that it is a false claim compared to most of the other Caribbean islands we have visited. Anyway, thought I would update my days here although they are not much different from the last blog I wrote. I am going to try to put in some pictures this time though.So what do I do with my time - well, I work on the boat

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-61138597541870671622010-02-08T14:28:00.012-07:002010-02-08T17:28:29.315-07:00

20 sleeps – that’s the number of sleeps left until Griff is back with me. It has been a long time since I came back to Canada. Not that it hasn’t been busy.When I finally got out to the acreage I discovered evidence of bigger leaks than I was lead to believe by Randy – water spots on the ceiling in the study on the main floor. We decided that maybe it would be a good idea to get our insurance

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-14270751879904852982010-02-01T12:19:00.001-07:002010-02-01T12:50:54.624-07:00

Some of you oldies may recognize the title for the blog. I was going to say still here after all this time but the title fit me better.Well, I am still in East End Bay, also known as Fat Hogs Bay, on Tortola,BVI. We thought it might be better to leave the boat in the water for as long as we could since it supposedly helps to sell boats if they are on the water but it hasn't worked so far. Of

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-71217525513738912372010-01-09T11:30:00.005-07:002010-01-09T12:11:46.893-07:00

When last we posted a blog I was waiting to head back to Canada. I arrived in Toronto New Year's Eve and in Calgary New Year's Day. It was a long and tiring trip with a delay in St. Maarten and an overnight in the Toronto airport. My son Scott picked me up in Calgary and drove me to Lethbridge to stay with my Mom. It took me a while to get out to the acreage. I had to get the key from our friend

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-6604216178586129132009-12-29T05:27:00.006-07:002009-12-30T11:54:04.081-07:00

December 28, 2009For me this marvelous sailing adventure is fast drawing to a close. It's hard to believe that in four days I will be back in the land of ice and snow. I just hope the weather gods will be kind and there won't be too much of the white stuff and the cold temperatures when I first arrive.The most common thing we are asked is what is our favourite island. Any of you that have asked

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-67539097111849458412009-12-24T07:33:00.010-07:002009-12-24T09:17:24.196-07:00

Well, here we are with another year under our belts (does the rope we use to hold up our pants qualify as belts??) It has been a good year although there have been ups and downs just as there would be if we were home.I have mentioned to Cheryl that I will have to be careful that I don't let my "damn, we are selling the boat" mood slip over into my gratitude for all we have experienced this year.

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-4077679510787777642009-12-21T13:22:00.011-07:002009-12-22T08:34:22.193-07:00

Weeee're back!Had a pretty good sail from Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas to Francis Bay although we sailed to the wind and not to specific waypoints. The difference is - sailing to waypoints you preplan your course and sail it based on setting up legs designed to get you from point A to B to C etc, meanwhile missing things like rocks and islands and all that stuff. You put the course into the chart

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-86325354930367076432009-12-18T14:44:00.007-07:002009-12-18T17:34:41.861-07:00

As promised, a small blurb first about the sail to St John, USVI. When we left Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke the skies looked ominous, with a whole bunch of small squalls looming. We had already cleared out so figured, what the heck, we won't have any problems - and we didn't really. I say that now and think of the last blog where I said we are better sailors now than we were then. This kind of

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-29635301987764301352009-12-10T08:23:00.009-07:002009-12-10T09:39:49.884-07:00

Here we go again - time to catch up!!We last sent something about Tortola and what we were doing there so we will move on from there and talk about the rest of our BVI time. We finally met with Clive and talked about the boat and how best to look at our decision to go home and look after our first love - our acreage.For those of you who did not get the message, we have been having very bad luck

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-18373084835957164052009-12-09T16:45:00.008-07:002009-12-09T17:01:04.823-07:00

In the last blog we mentioned the Full Moon Party at Trellis Bay that we decided not to go to. Well later that week we decided to walk over to Trellis Bay to see what it was like. The guide books mentioned that it was a one minute walk from the airport. We had noticed the road sign for it when we walked to the airport (to access an ATM) and thought it was probably more than a one minute walk.

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-24577490934906757922009-12-03T15:18:00.010-07:002009-12-04T05:59:16.263-07:00

So here we were in Virgin Gorda thinking it is time to move. We wanted to see our friend Clive and talk about the boat while we were in BVI so after talking to him on the phone, he suggested sailing over to Fat Hog Bay on Tortola and meeting him there. So we did - sail over that is. As in the other anchorages, there were a lot of mooring balls taking up space and since our charts said the bay was

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-39742281544182713462009-11-30T14:57:00.012-07:002009-11-30T18:00:08.315-07:00

It is easy to get behind - at least for me - so it is time for a catch-up blog. We last blogged from St Maarten just prior to leaving for BVI. It was a Sunday and we were able to catch the 5:30 evening bridge opening and were off for an overnight. Again the winds had been forecast to give us a broad reach - from the side and back. This is normally a good wind for us although Mystic Journey likes

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-17967799431145159962009-11-23T13:26:00.010-07:002009-11-23T14:31:16.818-07:00

Well, there we were in St Maarten to get something for the boat that we couldn't reasonably get anywhere else. The reason we were in there and the resulting non-affordable outflow of our hard earned money is why I titled this blog the way I did. We told you that the alternator went bad in Nevis - so - here are the connections to the expendituresGo to St Kitts Marina to get an expert to look

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-69291550097701814072009-11-21T08:10:00.008-07:002009-11-21T08:59:07.138-07:00

You may remember from our last visit to Sint Maarten that there is a lift bridge that we have to go through in order to get into the lagoon. Friends of ours had told us that the schedule for the bridge now was opening only at 6AM and 6PM instead of three times a day because they were doing bridge maintenance. We arrived in Simpson Bay midday Sunday so we knew we wouldn't be able to go in until

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-15714082054550598812009-11-20T13:08:00.011-07:002009-11-20T14:16:03.198-07:00

Half way up the windward coast of St. Kitts we decided that the wind was not cooperating again - it was from behind us. If we continued on our planned route to Marigot Bay, St. Martin (the French side) it would take until after dark to get there; if we changed our plans and took a side trip to St. Bart's we would arrive there about 2PM. Needless to say we opted for the side trip to St. Bart's, '

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-21752235361817743102009-11-19T07:22:00.007-07:002009-11-19T08:17:26.622-07:00

Well the storm was over and the deck was clean. It was now time to start the engine so we could recharge the batteries. Turned the engine on and no rpm's registering on the tachometer. This is usually an indication that the alternator belt has stretched or broken so Griff heads downstairs to check. The belt was tight and nothing was charging so we turned the engine off and started the AC

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-30324150508969030062009-11-18T15:29:00.006-07:002009-11-19T05:47:37.075-07:00

In the last blog Griff talked about the way the wind did not cooperate with us. When we are planning to sail there are three websites we check for weather forecasts - National Hurricane Centre, Passage Weather and Carib WX. We also listen to Chris Parker on the SSB. He is the weather forecaster for Carib WX and broadcasts every morning at 0700 on the SSB. He had been mentioning squalls with winds

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-70873379101823031272009-11-18T15:05:00.009-07:002009-11-18T18:15:24.071-07:00

Well, looking at the trip we had to make and figuring that we would average 5 kts (this is the figure we use to try to get to our next anchorage in good daylight - we always hope for a 6-7 kt average but 5 is the "safe" number to use) we decided to leave mid-morning to head for Nevis/St Kitts.Since the only wifi site in Portsmouth was down for repairs (again!!), we couldn't look at PassageWeather

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-74613434152071999472009-11-18T14:14:00.008-07:002009-11-18T14:37:14.295-07:00

(ST. LUCIA, MARTINIQUE AND DOMINICA)When last we published a blog we had experienced the ‘perfect storm’ in the Pitons. From there we headed north to Rodney Bay, still on St. Lucia. We were awoken Sunday morning at 0630 by LOUD music from the beach in front of us. This lasted until 1030. It was some kind of benefit for someone or something but we thought they could have started 2 hours later and

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-26286003214339418002009-11-08T13:19:00.000-07:002009-11-09T14:42:17.480-07:00

We left you - or rather we left us in Bequia, getting set to go to St Lucia. It is about a 70 nm trip which we could have done overnight to ensure we reached Rodney Bay in daylight but we decided to go up the windward side of St Vincent to ensure we didn't lose the wind in the lee of the island. That way we could travel in the daytime and the strong winds would let us get to Rodney Bay in

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-33669733895354382932009-11-08T11:51:00.000-07:002009-11-08T11:52:35.272-07:00

This is being written on the 'high seas' 8 nm SW of Les Saintes, Guadaloupe. We left Dominica at 1030 today. We decided that we didn't want to do any tours of the island so there was no reason to stay in Dominica any longer. We had an interesting stay there. The 'boat boys' still are not in cruising season mode. Martin, the 'boat boy' we have used in the past, was borrowing boats so he could do

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-83569750736153748842009-10-31T18:16:00.009-06:002009-11-01T11:21:18.232-07:00

From Union Island we headed over to the Tobago Cays where we stayed for two nights. Everything that can be said about the Cays has probably already been said either by us or by Julie but it is still a beautiful place to lay down an anchor. It was even better this time because there were not a lot of boats there - mostly charters - so we didn't have to worry about other boats swinging or dragging

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-15246515645541852602009-10-29T05:45:00.011-06:002009-10-29T15:43:12.250-06:00

Well, we left Carriacou for Union Island in the morning. We weren't in a hurry because it is only about 8 nm. Had great winds and seas so sailed pretty quickly and when we got to Union we found it relatively deserted. It is really quite early in the season. A lot of people can't go north of Grenada - some even further down - because of hurricane insurance regulations but ours allows us to go up

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-61054405225916962232009-10-22T12:52:00.012-06:002009-10-22T18:11:33.647-06:00

We have spent our last few days in Grenada and now are headed north. Yesterday we went for a two hour sail towards Prickly Bay to test the engine. No problems occurred so we feel confident about heading out on longer trips. The afternoon was spent doing laundry, the last chance for awhile to do it ourselves rather than paying to have it done, and last minute shopping. Bought KFC for a simple

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-56632500972760002009-10-20T09:05:00.008-06:002009-10-20T10:07:57.490-06:00

Finally we are on the move again. Yesterday morning we left Prickly Bay for St. George's Harbour on the west coast of Grenada. It was a great motor sail. Not enough wind to put up the mainsail, but we were able to use the foresail. The trip was relatively uneventful. Relatively because about 1 hour into the trip we heard a loud noise that sounded like a motorboat or a plane overhead. We couldn't

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-55781999583136768582009-10-11T14:48:00.006-06:002009-10-15T18:18:03.068-06:00

So, here we are. Just to finish off our trip to get back here - we had a very smooth time!! Planes were on time, departure gates were close to arrival gates (important since we stopped in Miami and San Juan before we got here), customs were great (didn't ask about the wifi antenna disguised as a fishing pole - well, not really but the package looked the same!!), the pick-up taxi was waiting and

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-51940699750988686802009-10-08T13:49:00.016-06:002009-10-10T16:24:28.120-06:00

Guess it is time to post another blog. A lot has been happening since our last blog which left us visiting with family in Toronto.We headed out west after that. Some of the highlights of the five weeks we spent there:- meeting our newest granddaughter, Eva Frankie. We spent a week at her new home with proud (and rightfully so!) parents Leila and Ryan. It was amazing to watch them as parents

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-81139882574468021112009-08-20T08:58:00.009-06:002009-08-20T09:29:40.544-06:00

August 20, 2009 1100So here we sit in the Toronto airport awaiting our flight to Alberta. We arrived at 0615 for our 0800 flight only to find out the flight had been cancelled because of mechanical problems. We are rescheduled to leave at 1310 arriving in Calgary at 16:24. Because we are travelling with WestJet we were given vouchers for access to the VIP Lounge with free food and internet. It

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-24533939405223342992009-08-11T09:52:00.018-06:002009-08-11T13:10:05.782-06:00

So here we are ready (and willing) to head back to Canada to see our new grandchild, our "old" grandchildren, our families and our friends - but first to Carnival in Grenada.Carnival is a huge thing here, as it is on most of the Caribbean islands. In a sense it reminds me of the winter carnivals I used to attend (in a manner of speaking) at different military postings. Although the carnival is

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-5169002121709946422009-08-06T07:35:00.006-06:002009-08-06T07:44:56.235-06:00

We have mentioned our new cockpit table before. We had been thinking of replacing the old one with a teak one, but the quote we got was way out of the ballpark. We offered our old SSB radio for trade on the Cruisers' Net here in Grenada and had a response. Ted on MAGIC wanted the radio and offered to build a cockpit table for us. We finally got it and have put the final coats of varnish on it.

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-88996876953668801542009-07-19T12:45:00.017-06:002009-07-20T12:05:58.495-06:00

Well, we are still at the same anchorage as the last time we blogged. A little bit of lazy and a lot of liking the anchorage, even though we did have to put out a stern anchor to counteract the roll one night. The anchorage is close to St George's, to Grand Anse (the really pretty beach) and to good grocery shopping plus we are not crowded so overall we are happy. Some people who moved around to

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-53968872347337336932009-07-09T20:07:00.012-06:002009-07-12T13:57:01.062-06:00

Our newest family member arrived on July 4th. My daughter Leila gave birth to her first child and my first grandchild - Eva Frankie. She makes a total of 8 grandchildren for Griff and me. Mom and babe are home and doing well. We are really looking forward to getting back and seeing the new and the "old". Eva Eva with Mom and Uncle Scott Eva with the Oosterbroek CousinsIn the meantime we are

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-47339146332157599242009-07-05T14:19:00.010-06:002009-07-05T14:55:37.124-06:00

As mentioned in our last blog we went out for Chinese food on Friday evening. The evening was organized by Peter on Joule. We went with the usual group plus Roy and Michelle from Bonanza(CDN). That made 12 for supper. We all headed over to the Carenage, the part of the harbour closest to St. Georges proper, in our dinghies. The restaurant is called Flag Restaurant. It was opened before and then

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-91655773863997806362009-07-02T16:39:00.017-06:002009-07-05T14:09:46.334-06:00

ATTENTION!! For those who commented on our threat to not put pictures in, don't worry - just practicing my guilt tripping. I probably wouldn't read our blog if we didn't have pictures!!! The reason for the title is it seems that lately we have been out and about constantly. Although since we started sailing we have made friends and had people over and been over to other boats, we have definitely

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-71144837065584652122009-06-27T08:56:00.010-06:002009-06-27T15:46:09.858-06:00

We decided this year we would both go on an island tour. Last year I went on one with Randy and Aleitha while Griff stayed behind to organize the boat work. So decision made we contacted Cutty, the cruisers’ favourite taxi driver and tour guide and off we went. There were 11 cruisers that went on the tour – Teri and Jan on KIVA, Rik and Annette and guest on KOOLAU, Lew and Lyn with 2 guests on

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-74776322979903682242009-06-25T16:12:00.006-06:002009-06-26T08:26:47.632-06:00

The reason I called this the “Semi-Blah” blog is not because we are feeling the blahs but rather that the content may cover stuff that we covered before and it has no exciting high waves, big winds type of sailing in it. One of our readers told us that her prodigy wished we would write more about the “exciting” parts of sailing rather than expressing how we are feeling about what we are doing. I

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-14416386893102601252009-06-09T05:16:00.009-06:002009-06-09T07:18:48.081-06:00

So, what is it about the WINDWARD side that rates capitals. I'm not sure. We have sailed down the islands and then down the islands again and hadn't sailed on the windward side and the thing is, no one else does either. At first glance it only makes sense to do it. One of the most frustrating things about sailing down the Leeward and Windward islands is, you start off from whichever anchorage you

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-62627825425535620462009-06-08T15:46:00.010-06:002009-06-08T16:54:56.391-06:00

Well, Cheryl got us to Tyrell Bay, Carriacou. We seem lately to be getting into anchorages that have a layer of sand over a hard bottom or a layer of sand with weed cover, both the type of anchorage that requires great diligence to "conquer". Tyrell Bay didn't disappoint us. Although we seemed to set our anchor, when we dove the anchor we could see that the hook had not really dug deeply into the

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-34902362787725175972009-06-04T13:55:00.010-06:002009-06-06T09:46:03.633-06:00

Well we decided June 1st would be a great day to move from Union Island. It was after the weekend so we wouldn't have to go to the airport to check out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), therefore no overtime. Not so!!! We should have realized something was amiss when Erika's Marine Services and the Customs office at the dock weren't open. Sure enough after we walked to the airport and

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-88330483725170692712009-05-31T11:41:00.012-06:002009-05-31T12:59:37.593-06:00

Well, after leaving Mayreau we took the long and arduous sail to Union Island (about 3 nm and we only needed the foresail to get here). Union Island is the midway point between St Vincent proper and Grenada and is very handy to Mayreau, Tobago Cays, Petit St Vincent and Palm Island, all part of the Grenadine Islands. The island is only 3.2 sq miles, with a population of about 1900, including Palm

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-46409470021354897462009-05-28T16:17:00.009-06:002009-05-28T17:18:04.303-06:00

When we were telling friends about what we were going to do on our sailing adventure, I mentioned that we would send pictures of us swimming with the turtles. While we were in the Tobago Cays we did just that. Unfortunately our waterproof camera has quit working – for the second time – so the picture of the turtle is one Griff took of one swimming beside our boat. You will just have to take our

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-28379284763304087122009-05-26T09:18:00.022-06:002009-05-26T13:12:24.771-06:00

So here we were in Mustique, supposedly home and playground to the rich and famous – mostly rich. As with most of the islands we have visited, this 1400 acre parcel of beauty was originally inhabited by the Arawaks, to be eventually replaced by the bloodthirsty Caribs, who then succumbed to the even more bloodthirsty British. In order to protect the seven sugar plantations which were subsequently

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-39067069265205207412009-05-16T11:42:00.010-06:002009-05-20T10:46:25.910-06:00

May 15, 2009Here we are again in beautiful Bequia. We stopped here for a couple of days last year with Randy and Aleitha so this blog is going to be a compilation of that visit and our visit this year.Bequia is part of the political entity known as St. Vincent and the Grenadines. St. Vincent and the Grenadines gained their independence from Great Britain in 1979 and is now a parliamentary

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-51645663822320632792009-05-13T14:53:00.015-06:002009-05-14T06:58:25.571-06:00

So, here we are again, with half decent wifi and some time on our hands. Good opportunity to catch up on Mystic Journey's journey. Don't expect anything exciting or life-threatening. I remember when we were starting this odyssey, someone said we should write a book about our adventures and Cheryl said she sincerely hoped that nothing so exciting would happen that people would want read about it.

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-47399472284768629122009-05-12T07:52:00.012-06:002009-05-12T08:35:17.074-06:00

New crew, Judy & Ivor, arrived at the airport on Sunday May 3 to a blanket of hot tropical air - cold, brown Calgary a faint memory. Immediately Ali, the taxi driver, offered to drive us up and across the entire island of St Lucia for a good price.He bought us a cold Piton beer made locally. We stopped at Dennery for a kingfish kabob en-route to Rodney Bay, in the northwest corner of St Lucia.

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-40446216824455053132009-04-30T10:14:00.014-06:002009-04-30T15:00:17.091-06:00

Griff's last blog left us heading to sea again. Since then we have sailed to Martinique and back. No WiFi on the boat there and the keyboards ashore were French so we decided to wait until we were back here in Rodney Bay to do the blog. French keyboards are different. You have to shift to get numbers and some of our common punctuation marks. As well the letters are arranged differently. For those

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-15065797233060317582009-04-21T15:25:00.010-06:002009-04-22T09:54:18.776-06:00

Well, it has been a week and 2 days since Jason left St Lucia and one week since we left the Perry's in the Pitons to come to Rodney Bay. When Cheryl blogged last, she related the problems we had when we arrived here and noted that we enjoyed the sleep that night. Onward, ever onward.Our intentions in coming to Rodney Bay were to re-provision, clean up the boat a little and move up to Martinique

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-1386740265645805282009-04-15T09:47:00.005-06:002009-04-15T15:23:30.147-06:00

Before reading this entry check out the link to Facebook in the comments for Jason's blog "Vacation to this!?!" and the pictures added to our blog "St. Lucia and Part of the Family".The days after Jason left were busy ones. The day he left we went snorkeling again with the Perrys. Amelia is quite adept at diving down and pointing out various aquatic creatures. She pointed out sea worms, flamingo

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-81437558925120452022009-04-14T21:08:00.004-06:002009-04-15T06:18:50.791-06:00

Ok, I sit here 2 days removed from sitting on Mystic Journey's deck with Dad, Cheryl, Julie, Graham, Amelia, and Alex in warm, sunny 30 degree temperatures. It snowed today. All over Alberta. And it was cold. And windy. As if I needed a reminder of where I'm not.The BadSo, you know that grimy feeling you get at the end of a camping weekend? As far as I can figure, that's what living on a sailboat

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-36649777818747462132009-04-12T13:12:00.007-06:002009-04-15T09:32:46.824-06:00

Well, as promised, this blog is about Jason's visit with us and Artemo. To begin - I had made arrangements with Foxy Johnny (yes, he calls himself that), a local taxi driver, to pick up Cheryl and I and take us to the airport to pick up Jason. Foxy J does not have permission to come into the marina to pick up fares (I guess he doesn't want to pay whatever that privilege costs) but he dinghies

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-38372582396719103412009-04-03T08:19:00.010-06:002009-04-03T18:47:03.669-06:00

So, we have been here for 8 days and they have been pretty busy ones. It is completely great having the Perry's here and being able to have the kids to stay over a couple of times. To back up a bit....we left you with us anchoring by Pigeon Island out of whatever north swells will be happening. The first thing we did was go the marina where I dropped Cheryl off at Artemo while I went to customs.

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-22906410571048057982009-03-30T15:53:00.011-06:002009-04-01T06:59:54.852-06:00

First of all, to answer some questions that "Sitting in the Bush" asked (I shouldn't really unless you tell us who you are (I have an idea) but - what the heck!)Is Jason sailing? - as much as he wants - we will likely go down to the Pitons, which is about a 3-4 hour sail. After that it is up to him.Markets and Food - there are usually fresh veggie markets nearly everywhere and fish is also

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-25516017799006231122009-03-24T09:30:00.019-06:002009-03-24T10:51:47.875-06:00

On Sunday we decided to head back to Cabrits National Park and hike up East Cabrits. We went with another Canadian couple - Randy and Susan on NANCY DAWSON out of Halifax. They are headed to Antigua to sail in the Classic Regatta in April. A classic yacht is one that is of a design that could have been built out of wood, has a full keel and has a keel hung rudder. They have been busy cleaning up

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-30708605308718659872009-03-20T07:36:00.018-06:002009-03-20T09:17:19.781-06:00

When we decided to come back to Dominica this year we planned on seeing parts of the island we had not seen last year. The island is just as lush and green and the people as friendly as we remembered. Our first indication that our memories of the island were true was the arrival of Martin in his fishing dinghy PROVIDENCE. If you remember, Martin is the 'yacht service provider' (Boat Boy) we used

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-45470505288698479842009-03-14T15:40:00.015-06:002009-03-15T18:18:28.061-06:00

We spent most Saturday in Portsmouth with Tom and Kathy from the boat YELLOW ROSE. They are from Michigan and are the couple we mentioned in the previous blog who asked us for information. We headed ashore right after breakfast to take in the Saturday morning market. It was just like the farmers market at home. There were some stands under a roof, but the majority of the vendors were set up at

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-14417434780343286942009-03-13T06:58:00.011-06:002009-03-14T15:39:37.655-06:00

So here we are again - blogging, this time from Portsmouth, Dominica. We just wanted to update everyone on how we got here, what we are doing and what's next.We had planned to leave Nevis on Wednesday the 11th and sail overnight to Portsmouth but after our first REALLY rolly night (during the bad weather the wind had kept us into the waves so there was lots of rocking but not much rolling) on

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-39840799316361949072009-03-06T13:30:00.014-07:002009-03-07T06:34:48.053-07:00

This is going to be a blog about a lot of different things.When last we wrote we were headed to Nevis from Major's Bay. We arrived, picked up a mooring ball and went to check in with Customs and Port Authority. Because St. Kitts and Nevis are the same country we didn't have to go to Immigration. Customs just looked at our clearance from St. Kitts and clarified when we were planning on leaving.

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-10755817908196560152009-03-04T13:58:00.013-07:002009-03-04T15:22:44.233-07:00

Well, it is now the 4th of March and we are overdue with for a blog so here goes. We left you - or you left us - in White House Bay, St Kitts. Some of the things to catch up on there - we mentioned the boat Catalyst in the last blog. Well, we ended up going for potluck snackies on their boat along with another couple from the boat Piquet (pronounced PK for Peter and Karen - cute eh!). They were

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-64701311174041194602009-02-25T06:30:00.000-07:002009-02-25T06:33:02.076-07:00

(Written February 21, 2009; posted by SSB February 25, 2009)Well we did make it to Basseterre, St. Kitts before the north swells hit. However, we were not prepared to deal with a SE swell in the harbour. The first couple of nights were horrendous. We even had a stern anchor out to hold the bow into the waves, but the boat rocked and rolled like Jerry Lee Lewis all night. On Friday morning the

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-10953516973562817792009-02-20T06:56:00.007-07:002009-02-20T07:09:10.654-07:00

Just a short blog to mention a couple of things that popped into our minds and as well to talk about another first. I will try to keep it short but you know me – short and Griff and not usually compatible concepts. I guess first things first – we sailed from Jolly Harbour yesterday. The forecast for the rest of the week is for big northern swells and either quite high or quite low winds so we

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-33141330101718271392009-02-16T15:24:00.003-07:002009-02-17T05:15:31.384-07:00

Well, we made it to Jolly Harbour from Falmouth Harbour although still in Antigua. We have also provisioned the boat so the cupboard is no longer so bare. So what's next. Well, next is now slightly different than the next was before.Quite often we get asked what our plans are for the next week, for the next month, for the next year so since changes are afoot, perhaps now is a good time for an

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-42090511544408145142009-02-09T09:12:00.009-07:002009-02-09T10:06:33.978-07:00

Well, here we are, still in Falmouth Harbour in Antigua but at least we are ready to sail. Just to update, we have been waiting since Holly and Joe left for the parts for our staysail problem to arrive from the US and for our chart plotter to come back from repair. We had broken the ball joint on the staysail - it fastens the top of the stay to the mast - during our Curacao to Antigua voyage and

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-82398117479610411542009-02-07T07:23:00.005-07:002009-02-07T14:19:13.727-07:00

Every morning, Monday to Saturday, Caribbean cruisers turn their SSB's (single side band radios or ham radios) to frequency 4060. This is the frequency for the Coconut Telegraph or Net. The purpose of the Net is to keep cruisers connected and informed.One cruiser acts as control. His/her job is to keep the communication flow organized. The Net always starts with a request for priority traffic or

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-77776914770254416432009-01-31T01:06:00.026-07:002009-02-01T13:09:07.466-07:00

Here we are still in Antigua awaiting the arrival of parts to fix the staysail furling system. We decided to do some land exploring while we are in Antigua this time.We wrote about our trips to St. Johns and Deep Bay with Holly and Joe and now we will fill you in about our time in the English Harbour area. This area consists of two harbours, English and Falmouth, which are separated by a narrow

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-42062735770287146642009-01-20T15:23:00.015-07:002009-01-22T17:18:31.694-07:00

Well, believe it or not it has been exactly 365 days (January 20, 2008) since we landed at Beef Island, Tortola to go to Nanny Cay and pick up Mystic Journey for the beginning of this life adventure. We thought it might be a good idea to reflect a little on how that year has affected us and what we might have found out about ourselves and our view of the world. I am doing the initial writing on

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-56874181079377040202009-01-17T12:31:00.013-07:002009-01-19T11:15:58.789-07:00

One great thing about having guest visit us is that we have the opportunity of having pictures taken of us doing things while sailing or working on the boat. Normally we are both busy doing our part of the task that we cannot take pictures. We would like to thank Holly for taking the following pictures.Griff half way up the mast(Cheryl is at the winch lifting him up) Climbing back onto the boat

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-85115237295410926572009-01-17T11:23:00.014-07:002009-01-17T12:31:15.308-07:00

Well, it is now Monday the 12th of January and after a very windy night that left Holly a little nervous (she had heard the story of the Perry's and Mystic Journey's dragging anchor at Santa Marta) the day arrived bright and sunny. About Holly's unease - I had, for my own peace of mind, dove our anchor the day we arrived and was happpy to see that it was buried so deep that only the end of the

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-8305608534018782502009-01-15T13:18:00.013-07:002009-01-17T05:47:51.171-07:00

Well, it is Thursday afternoon and Holly and Joe will be getting on the plane to go back to ice and snow about now. We took them in to the marina here at Jolly Harbour earlier today to catch a taxi to the airport so now is the time to reflect on and share the visit.We had originally intended to join them on the 2nd or 3rd of January at the villa they had rented for when they arrived on January 1.

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-78591779093105312562009-01-14T20:30:00.000-07:002009-01-15T17:40:28.288-07:00

Well, we have come to the end of our voyage on the good ship Mystic Journey. I wouldn’t say that our journey was Mystic, rather well planned and a very special experience, since the captain and co-captain knew what they were doing!!!(although Joe and I tended to be in the way of the ropes and the thingies that they needed to keep an even keel ….)However, the beaches and the beautiful trees and

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-704986541919187672009-01-13T14:43:00.007-07:002009-01-15T04:46:10.966-07:00

It's been a week now since "THE TRIP" ended. We've had time to relax and reflect about how the trip went. My final thoughts are going to be what I remember most about the trip.As Griff mentioned we didn't get rained on, but we were wet most of the time. This was mainly from waves spraying into the cockpit, but also there seemed to be a fine layer of moisture on every surface. I'm not sure if it

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-53573982546466478222009-01-08T15:25:00.002-07:002009-01-08T15:39:39.535-07:00

Well, it is time for a blog about “the trip”. I was thinking about how to describe our journey from Curacao to Antigua and realized there was not really a lot to write about but there was so much we learned.Back to basics – in case you have missed out last blogs, we spent Christmas with Rob and the Perrys at Lucy’s Place, a villa we rented in Santa Marta Bay. On the 27th we sailed to Spanish

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-30079209060059038452009-01-01T04:50:00.000-07:002009-01-01T04:51:40.823-07:00

When we sailed to Spanish Waters it was our intention to clear out of Curacao on Sunday and then leave on Monday for Antigua. However, when we got up on Sunday we decided we all (Rob included) need a day of rest and relaxation so except for a couple of boat chores that's what we did.Unfortunately the anchorage in Santa Martha was very muddy and our anchor chain came up "wrapped" in mud. Griff

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-44687457353919558112008-12-29T12:35:00.008-07:002008-12-29T17:47:55.446-07:00

Well, Cheryl left you with us leaving Santa Martha Bay with Rob on board and heading for Spaanse Waters. We had struggled with whether we should leave or not because the weather forecast was for lots of rain and some squalls. They were forecasting only minor increase in winds within the squalls so we weighed that against the need to get Rob to a more accessable place for the airport and our need

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-39000536938952513762008-12-28T06:55:00.009-07:002008-12-28T18:24:51.008-07:00

When we last wrote we were in Santa Martha Baai awaiting the arrival of family to help us celebrate Christmas. Christmas is over and we are back in Spanish Waters waiting for a weather window to head north to Antigua. What happened in between you may ask. Some expectations were met, others weren't.We headed up to Lucy's Place on the 19th to meet Daniella, the rental agent, and await the arrival

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-28219964461794876872008-12-20T07:01:00.004-07:002008-12-20T07:08:25.241-07:00

Clarification about the Donkey Sanctuary in Bonaire. The Sanctuary is run by a non-profit foundation and is staffed entirely by volunteers. If you want more information or to see pictures of the donkeys you can go to http://www.donkeycam.com/Query – Does anyone know the “proper” procedure for getting rid of a Canadian flag that is too tattered and torn to be flown. We have a couple now that have

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-5507105120147336202008-12-08T13:18:00.015-07:002008-12-08T14:12:55.906-07:00

Our time in Bonaire is coming to a close. We will be leaving in a couple of days, weather permitting. I thought I would catch you up on what we have been doing with our time since we finished painting the coach roof. By the way it looks great.We spent one afternoon with Tom and Bonnie from Toujours going snorkeling. They really wanted us to go diving with them, but I could not get diving gear as

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-66958104689426868222008-12-04T13:34:00.010-07:002008-12-04T14:53:34.432-07:00

Well, today we experienced an event that gave both Cheryl and I real "cause to think". I am not sure whether I had mentioned this before but when we were in Nanny Cay getting the boat ready to sail, another yacht came into the slip beside us that had just broken it's mast off at the 1st set of spreaders while sailing in a stiff wind around the eastern side of Tortola. At the time I was kind of

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-87580671726679085782008-11-29T09:16:00.017-07:002008-12-01T11:59:55.016-07:00

Saturday, November 29th. Today saw the arrival of Sanikolas. As per tradition in the Netherlands he arrived by steamboat (tugboat) from Spain (Klein Bonaire) to greet the children of Bonaire. He was accompanied by a troop of Zwarte Piet (Black Peter) and his ship was escorted by a fleet of little sailboats captained by children. There were booths set up in the park where the children could get

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-13629913246744931372008-11-27T15:03:00.015-07:002008-11-27T17:51:45.382-07:00

Well, for those of you who read Castingoff's blog, you already know a bit of what I am going to tell you but for those of you who don't, here is the latest skinny on our tentative plans for the next little while. First I guess I better rehash a little of what our plans had been. We are in Bonaire at the present moment and intended - and still intend - to go to Curacao. We had planned to meet with

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-862641104261552462008-11-22T11:07:00.007-07:002008-11-22T11:57:11.919-07:00

Well I've been back home now for 2 days. I can't begin to express how glad I am to be back on the boat with Griff. The flight(s) back was exhausting. I left Calgary, in a snowstorm, Tuesday at midnight MST and arrived in Curacao Wednesday at 8PM AST. That included 3 hours in the Toronto airport and 3 hours in the Miami airport. I was happy, excited, relieved and much more to see Griff in the

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-38730056723217424252008-11-17T16:17:00.001-07:002008-11-17T16:19:39.272-07:00

Well, Cheryl sent a blog at the beginning of her visit to Canada so I will send one as her visit winds down and let you know what has been going on here - work, work, work, and now rain, rain, rain.End of BlogActually, it has been an experience being here by myself. Unfortunately, there has not been a lot of exciting things done but I learned stuff. First I learned that I haven't changed in

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-32234795390375703702008-11-12T16:05:00.006-07:002008-11-12T16:23:18.330-07:00

Well I am half way through my trip back to Canada. Thought you might be interested in how I have found it. After 16 hours of travel, between airtime and layovers, I landed in Calgary in light snow. Fortunately Leila picked me up at the airport and the car was nice and warm. The weather has been warmish for this time of year and the wind has been blowing as normal. The only thing I am having a

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-76789890942824582682008-11-01T08:49:00.025-06:002008-11-02T07:17:09.218-07:00

CORRECTION - CORRECTION - CORRECTIONSome research from a better source than our primary (after we drove so far on the tour we figured something was wrong) tells us that Bonaire is 112 square miles with a population of 14,006 as of December, 2006. Sorry for the poor info beforeAs promised, our "Tour of Bonaire" blog. Actually we didn't tour the whole island, just part of the north. We picked up

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-4094537122087917332008-10-28T16:14:00.014-06:002008-10-28T19:04:28.133-06:00

**Bon Bini. Kon ta bei?** (see below)Just thought we would give you some information about Bonaire. It has about 40,000 people on an island covering 10 sq miles (some of the Dutch people around Fort Macleod have bigger farms than that!!). There are 4 languages spoken here - Dutch, Spanish, English and Papiamento (a mix of mostly African and Spanish. The theory being it came from the pidgin used

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-59085973225907480382008-10-25T06:58:00.017-06:002008-10-26T16:34:49.821-06:00

So, Cheryl got us to Customs and Immigration in Curacao. They were very accommodating and we went through with no problem. Next morning, Tuesday, we were able to leave with only the minor problem of the anchor chain jamming in the chute that directs it below decks. The skies were fairly clear but there were lots of clouds on the horizon so we knew we might run into some weather.Our first

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-74363720733791096082008-10-20T07:47:00.015-06:002008-10-24T07:13:36.673-06:00

We have had the opportunity to do some sightseeing while here on Curacao. We spent a couple of days in Willemstad, the capital, and then rented a car for the day and drove to the west end of the island to check out the villa where we are going to spend Christmas with Rob and hopefully the Perry's.A bit of history first. Curacao was 'discovered' by the Spaniards in 1499 and taken over by the Dutch

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-81144994910275768612008-10-17T13:35:00.001-06:002008-10-18T11:38:07.347-06:00

Julie asked us to take a video of the storm. That was not possible. However, here is a video of a squall that went through the anchorage this morning. Look at this video and imagine the wind blowing at 35 mph, it raining and it is the middle of the night. That is what the last couple of nights have been like. THE SQUALL!!! Same View after the Squall Since I seem to be having luck

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-26078542690287333692008-10-15T12:52:00.014-06:002008-10-16T17:32:37.764-06:00

Well, when Cheryl left you, Omar had been upgraded to a Tropical Storm due to the increase in wind speed. We had pretty well been confined to the boat since Monday when this weather started and that was not due to change soon. Being "confined" to the boat is not too bad when there is room to move around. Sailing for 3 days from Grenada we were able to wander around the boat, on deck or below, so

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-64817561170717925562008-10-14T06:46:00.006-06:002008-10-14T12:57:49.470-06:00

The past 24 hours has seen a lot of excitement in the Spanish Waters anchorage. It started yesterday morning about 0845 when a call was heard on the VHF asking how to contact the fire department because there is a fire at Sarifundy's. The information was given to call 911 which was done. Now you may be wondering what is Sarifundy's. It is a floating bar/restaurant that serves as a social

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-87082167836698849162008-10-09T11:46:00.018-06:002008-10-10T07:08:41.357-06:00

Griff says it is my turn to write a blog so I will give you some of my impressions of the trip here and Curacao.The three night trip seemed long at times. I couldn't really get into a routine to accommodate splitting the 24 hours into watches (where only one of us is at the wheel). We basically just set up watches during the night. I was amazed at how easily we slipped into the habit of using

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-88621310287125409632008-10-07T17:17:00.016-06:002008-10-08T17:45:52.180-06:00

Okay - as you must have known because you were faithfully following our position reports, we did not stop for long in Bonaire. When we were about halfway up the coast towards Kralendijk, where the moorings and customs et al are found I happened to be re-checking the guide book and lo and behold it said that "early in October" the Annual Bonaire Regatta is held. Of course in this case early meant

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-55076358749918448222008-10-07T15:07:00.014-06:002008-10-07T15:44:52.279-06:00

Alright – we start the rest of the Grenada to Bonaire Blog. I am not going to do a play by play of the rest of the voyage. I think I will just try to figure out what people would find interesting about the whole trip. People have asked us at various times about various things so if I can remember some of them I will answer them in relation to this trip. First of all, sleep, or lack thereof. As

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-38301957301765269182008-10-04T01:24:00.000-06:002008-10-04T01:29:06.793-06:00

Next DayWell, although I didn't get back to this last night, at least I didn't forget. Last time I talked about sailing with the Perry family and what a great time it was. We had been scheduled to leave the next day for Bonaire, with a stop to drop off a part of another boat in Los Roques. I am not going to describe locations - the internet is a great source of information - but I will say the

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-68757944557619751612008-10-03T00:29:00.000-06:002008-10-03T00:33:40.800-06:00

A Catch-Up at Sea I'm writing this as we sail to Bonaire (with an Angel of Mercy stop in Los Roques to deliver a part to a boat. It is a Cataraman - Mustang Sally - but we can excuse that because they are Canadian!!) from Grenada. We thought it was time to catch up with the last few days because Bonaire will start a new page in our adventure book.After Cheryl's delightful birthday party at the

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-25005803963373922472008-09-30T19:58:00.008-06:002008-09-30T20:11:47.291-06:00

September 29th - My birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I received many e-mails wishing me a happy birthday. The Perry's invited us over to have dinner and a sleep-over. Millie worked all day decorating for my birthday and they had made a birthday cake. I was very touched by it all. Especially when the cake came out and they clicked on the computer and there were the Spark's kids singing happy birthday with

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3139830741762411061.post-67114783040933331892008-09-30T16:32:00.009-06:002008-09-30T19:49:24.128-06:00

You are probably wondering about the title and how these two things go together. Read on.Last Thursday we walked to Martin's Marina. We were able to get some pictures of the bay and the infamous dock that we had our adventure on. The previous week I had announced on the Cruisers' Net that I was looking for a used sewing machine. The girl in the office at the marina had told Griff she had one for

Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0