still afloat

classic boat racing in Antigua

on the start line with little wind

good to be out in the dinghy but not so good for sailing

another day overlooking the classic boat regatta

one of the old classics although some are reproductions and are new

We have been busy doing a whole bunch of nothing which is sort of what cruising is all about. The life here in the Caribbean is not so much about sailing as it is about visiting fellow cruisers up and down the islands much the same as we do when we cruise up the west coast of BC. The distances between the islands are only about twenty to thirty miles apart so it is very easy to go from one to another. This makes it easy for anyone who wants to boat here as you never really need to do an overnight passage let alone weeks of passage making.

Our travels took us from Dominica up past Guadeloupe to Antigua. We met up with s/v Infini whom we had met a number of times in SE Asia and around the world so it was fun to meet up and go out for dinners etc. We also met up with the Oyster boat group who was having their annual regatta around the island. I sailed in it in 2009 on s.v Seamist, which is my only experience of racing sailboats, and it sure is different than cruising them. We had met a few of the Oysters on the way up through the islands so had fun visiting with them and feel we have made some new friends who we hope to meet again in the future.  

 We went with them up to Barbuda an island belonging to Antigua with very few inhabitants and spent five days watching turtles swim by the boat and swimming ourselves.  It has miles and miles of pink sand beaches with no one there so rather a south pacific feel to the place. We were last here with L&G in 2009 and nothing has changed which is nice. We sailed back to Jolly Harbour and then around to Falmouth harbour where we met up with s/v Imagine again and spent a week watching the classic boat race week. Lots of fun to see these old boat with all their sails up. Unfortunately there was little wind so they were sailing very slowly but it did give us the opportunity to go out in the dinghy to watch the start of the different classes start their races. This went on for five days and there were a lot of parties at night which the crews of these boats really enjoy!

When in Antigua we met up with other boats that we have not seen since we were in the Caribbean in 2009 so it was lots of fun reconnecting with them all. We even met up with s/v Unicorn who we sailed with in the EMYR in Turkey in 2007. The sailing community is really very small and that is what we will miss most if we sell Kilkea II but as of now we plan to move ahead with our cruising plans as if she does not sell.

After leaving Antigua we started to head south and stopped for a day in The Saints which are a small group of islands on the south end of Guadeloupe and are a meca for day trippers coming from the main island. After they all leave in the late afternoon the place takes on a completely different feel. From here we did a four hour sail to the Sunset Bay Club which is on Dominica and has four mooring buoys which are free to use. The owner, Roger, invites yachties to use the pool and all the facilities of the resort which we happily did. Their specialty is lobster, lots of lobster! It was almost all we could do to eat it all along with a nice bottle of wine and a beautiful sunset with Kilkea II anchored out in front. This was our second visit and if we are ever back this way we will be sure to stop in again.

The next morning we were slow to get going so we just sailed to St Pierre on Martinique.  We just spent the night and then sailed to St Anne and with the winds not favorable we had to do a number of tacks before we could drop the anchor. Again a short night and in the morning we moved back into Le Marin marina as some folks wanted to view Kilkea II. We had ordered a couple of parts in from Amel and have installed one and will do the other in the next day or so. There is a manifold in the engine room that distributes sea water to a number of systems on the boat and as it is made of copper we have misgivings on its integrity so have organized to have a new one built this time out of  stainless steel. It will take a week to do this so we will just hang out here and with the a/c running onboard it is very comfortable. One of the nice things here is the country being French you have all the good breads and cheese so not too tough.

Once we get things fixed up we will go to St Lucia for a couple of days and fill up with duty free fuel. Then we will make the decision if we are going to go directly to Trinidad or hop through the islands. It is not very far being just over two hundred miles away so we can easily sail it in a day as long as the winds are ok. We do want to get home and see all the family and friends. In Trinidad it will take us a week to put the boat away with taking all the sails down and putting up the canvas cover once we are back on the hard.