After nearly four years of cruising we’re back
in the USA. We aren’t certain exactly
how many miles we traveled onboard Atalanta (to be figured out on some cold
winter night) but we estimate between 20-25,000 miles. The adventure is certainly not over yet. After a month at City Marina in Charleston we
will sail to New England, enjoy our family and new home in Vermont for the
summer, and take Atalanta to local waters in RI, MA, and ME. When the leaves
begin to change, that is the signal to once again move south.
Our passage from Isla Mujeres, Mexico to
Key West went well. April Hayes and John Creelman joined us for the three-day/
three-night passage and helped out with watches. We sailed well if not on a bit
more of a northerly course than we would have preferred. Moving to the east is always a challenge
especially this time of year as the trade winds are still evident and weather
tends to move in from that direction.
Once in Key West, our crew departed and we once again became a crew of
two. Our friends Paul and Mary on
Genesis III buddy boated with us from Mexico and continued with us up to Key
Biscayne and on to Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades).
Fort Lauderdale seems to have no shortage
of extreme wealth as we moved along the ICW past miles and miles of enormous waterfront
homes and super yachts of magnificent grandeur.
After spending so much time in
places like Dominica, Guatemala, Suriname, and the Bahamas, we realized that we
did not see this kind of conspicuous wealth anywhere else in our travels.
One of Many on the Intercoastal |
John, Kay, and Richard |
During a brief two-day stop in one of our
favorite cities, St. Augustine, we reunited with friends we met in Guatemala,
Rob and Rhian on Beyzano, who we hope to see in points north later this summer.
We also enjoyed spending time with Jerie and John on Peking who we knew of in
Guatemala, met in Ft. Lauderdale and traveled with for the trip north. Our paths will cross again.
After a fast overnight of motor-sailing, we are
now docked at City Marina in Charleston, SC where we will sit for a month to
enjoy the pleasures of this fine City, visit with family and play with our
grandson Liam.
Also docked here is the magnificent Athena. Athena is a clipper-bowed three masted gaff rigged schooner built by Royal Huisman in 2004 for Internet entrepreneur James H. Clark. She is 295’ long, 40’ at the beam, and accommodates 10 guests and 18 crew. She carries 22, 712 gal of fuel and 6,426 gal of water. She’s for sale so if you are interested in owning a $100 million boat, check her out here:
http://www.superyachts.com/sail-yacht-2276/athena-specification.htm
Also docked here is the magnificent Athena. Athena is a clipper-bowed three masted gaff rigged schooner built by Royal Huisman in 2004 for Internet entrepreneur James H. Clark. She is 295’ long, 40’ at the beam, and accommodates 10 guests and 18 crew. She carries 22, 712 gal of fuel and 6,426 gal of water. She’s for sale so if you are interested in owning a $100 million boat, check her out here:
http://www.superyachts.com/sail-yacht-2276/athena-specification.htm
Charleston has become a home away from home
so we are looking forward to the coming month.
Best always,
Richard and Kay