Homeward Bound

Richard, Richard, Anne, Tony, Kay, and Martin
in
Newport, RI

It has been just about two years (682 days to be exact) since we set sail from Bristol for the adventure of a lifetime.  We knew we were heading south but our exact itinerary was planned day by day.  As the cool winds of the New England Fall began to blow, we moved south, mile by mile.  We found our way to the Chesapeake,  then on to North and South Carolina.  Finally we reached Florida at Thanksgiving time.  By Christmas we were in the Bahamas, having left the US only to return a year and a half later.  All we knew was we needed to be below the hurricane zone by June 1.  We headed south, exploring the islands of the eastern Caribbean before settling in Grenada for the majority of the H season.  With a urge to keep moving, we ventured to Trinidad and then on to South America before beginning our journey back north.  

Anchorage on the Way Home

In Suriname we were on the 4^th parallel, a mere 400 miles from the equator.  The Amazon Basin would mark our southern most point of travel. With time spent exploring new islands and ports as we sailed north, we also got to revisit a few of our favorite places like Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, and Anguilla, to name a few.  All in all  we visited over 25 countries and sailed close to 14,000 miles. 

Richard and Kay holding up the 500MT lift at Newport Shipyard

  We made many friends and have become close to a number of them.  We know these will be relationships that we will be enjoying for years to come. 

Now we are back in Bristol with nothing but great memories and more stories than our friends will want to hear.  It time to dream about the next phase of this adventure as we continue to live aboard Atalanta and continue to desire warm weather, calm seas, and new experiences. 

Listening to the Decemberists in Vermont

Thanks to those of you that have followed our blog as we ventured out.  Stay tuned and we look forward to reconnecting with those of you that we have be away from.

Best always

Richard and Kay

Charleston

 We arrived in Charleston at the end of May and have been taking up residence here for the past three weeks.  It is very easy and relaxing to be “dock potatoes.”  Soon after our arrival we hopped a jet and returned to the Caribbean for Jamaica.  Here we celebrated Tara and Chad’s marriage with friends and family.

Upon returning to the boat after a week in Jamaica, we arrived back at Atalanta at 3:00 AM.  After two hours of sleep we woke to the sound of fire and smell of smoke.  Just 5 feet away, the dock ignited from an electrical fire, threatening Atalanta and other boats in the area.  After trying to extinguish the fire (unsuccessfully) and then moving Atalanta, the Charleston Fire Department showed up to put out the fire.  A close call.  Besides having to clean up the soot, Atalanta had no damage. 

Charleston is an opportunity for us to have some family time with Jason, Amy, Ben, and Liam.  Ben has already spent two nights on board and hopes to spend more time.  Kay is getting to be Nana Kay and we are all enjoying the warmth of the sun as we endure the latest heat wave.  Each day, for the past week, has posted temps over 100.  It is making it difficult to work outside on Atalanta but makes beach time that much better.  Unfortunately, while in Charleston, 9 innocent people were murdered at a prayer meeting in their local church.  This event has brought great sadness to this community.  Charleston is a beautiful community that unfortunately has racism in its DNA.  Without radical reflection issues of racism will be a value that permeates this community.  On the surface, Charleston appears so civilized and sophisticated.  Just below the surface, life is less tranquil.  It is time for change.  At the very least, the Confederate Flag does not need to fly over the capitol building. 

We look forward to our last three weeks in Charleston.  With boat work, provisioning, and family time, we will be busy.  Next we head north toward New England for the summer and fall. 

Thanks for following.

Richard and Kay

Leaving the Bahamas for the USA

Wardrick Wells

After nearly two years at sea, we will enter US waters next week.  We continue our journey with Argosea, Tony and Anne’s 47-foot Moody from England.  Being in the Bahamas for the past three weeks has been a treat.  It is one of the most remote places we have traveled.  Grocery stores, chandleries, and repair services are few and far between.  If you have a mechanical issue on board, your choices are to fix it yourself, hope a fellow yachtsman can help, or do a work around until you get to place where services are available.  Although Atalanta behaved well for an extended period, she is now demanding some attention! The good news is, there are hundreds and hundreds of remote cays with sandy beaches just waiting to be your private place.  The water is the clearest and cleanest anywhere we have been and the fish are abundant.  We have been swimming with rays spanning four feet across not to mention nurse sharks 3-5 feet in length.  The snorkeling over coral is spectacular in the Bahamas as well.  We will miss it as we cross the Gulf Stream and enter the darker, colder waters off the east coast.

From Nassau, we will spend a little time in the Berry Islands before heading NW to the West End Point of Grand Bahama Island.  It will be here that we will check out of the Bahamas and begin the 380 mile passage directly to Charleston, SC.  The Gulf Stream can either be a friend or nemesis.  It can help move us along at an additional 2-3 knots in favourable conditions and the current can be as high as 4 kts. The rule is never get caught in the stream when the weather has a northerly component.  The wind against the current sets up a sea condition that you do NOT want to confront. 

South End of
Hawksbill Cay

We have sent a detailed sail plan to our friends Richard and Martin so that they can keep track of our progress.  This is a standard way to address the need for verification that we have arrived safe and sound at our final destination.  

Its with very mixed feelings that we return to US waters, having enjoyed the sail south so much.  So many adventures, new places visited, and friends made.

The adventure will continue and we will remain on Atalanta for the foreseeable future as it is our only home.  Once fall begins and winter approaches we will contemplate our southern passage once more.  Stay tuned as there is much more to come.

Thanks for following.  Richard and Kay

Moored at Hawksbill Cay

Murray making a mad dash for the beach

St. Martin to Puerto Ri

Passing whales on the way to the BVI's....WOW!

Since leaving St. Barth’s we visited St. Martin and spent two weeks visiting friends, restocking the boat and taking care of a few minor boat maintenance matters.  From St. Martin, we sailed a short distance to Anguilla.  This beautiful island is home to one of the best restaurants in the Caribbean, the Barrel Stay.  We enjoyed our time at Sandy Ground before heading to the British Virgin Islands.  The BVI’s have a very high concentration of charter boats -- yachts that are rented for a week or two.  Charter boaters are less interested in interacting with other cruisers (like us) and they seem focused on partying as much as possible.  Nevertheless, we found beautiful places to snorkel, hike and spend time with our good friend Conrad who spent two weeks with us.

Conrad

Next we visited the Spanish Virgin Islands which rank high among our most favorite places. Culebra, an island off the east coast of Puerto Rico, is a little piece of paradise.  Absent from these islands are traffic, high-rise condos, fast-food restaurants, and malls. While anchored in Dewey, the islands’ only town, we rented a golf cart to tour the island with Tony and Anne. At 7 miles long by 4 miles wide it doesn’t take long to see the sights. Playa Flamenco is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and we  thought Zoni  beach was even better. We had drinks at the Dinghy Dock while watching 3-foot tarpons swimming tableside, lunch at Zacos Tacos where we guarded our food from taco stealing chickens, and dinner at Mamacitas where they suggest you take a cellphone picture of the menu on a chalkboard and then place your order.

The lighthouse on Culebrita

We moved from Dewey to Culebrita and anchored in one of the most lovely spots we have ever been.  Tourtuga Bay was our access to this spectacular and uninhabited island. Vieques was the next stop where we spent the night anchored in a bioluminescent bay.  Then it was on to Puerto Rico where we tied up at the 1000-slip Puerto Del Ray Marina in Fajardo.  For the next 8 days, we explored the island in our rental a car and visited with old friends who have made Puerto Rico their home.  We drove through the lush tropical mountains over snaking and sometimes bumpy roads on an overnight journey to Ponce. Ponce, founded in 1692, is home to some of the island’s most interesting architecture and a fabulous art museum, the Museo de Art.  Near our boutique hotel, Hotel Belgica, was the Plaza las Delicias with trees, benches, and the famous lion fountain.  Murray enjoyed a leisurely morning stroll and evening walk here.  In the morning we proceeded north in search of the Observatoria de Arecibo.  Hidden among pine-tree covered hills, it is the world’s largest radio telescope. Remember the movie Contact?

Arecebo Radio Telescope

Tara, Kay’s daughter, was our constant companion in Puerto Rico and we were so sad to say goodbye as she returned to reality.  We are also departing Puerto Rico and will make the 400-mile sail to the Bahamas.  We hope the passage takes no more than three days of nonstop sailing and are looking forward to exploring both the Exuma and Abaco Islands.

Thanks for following.

Richard and Kay

More Pictures:

El Yunque
Rainforest
Puerto, Rico

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El Yunque
Rainforest
Puerto, Rico

Old City
Puerto Rico

Richard and Tony

Richard

Tara

Culibra

San Juan

The Baths
BVI's

Swimming off of San Juan

The Baths
BVI's

Saint Barths

One of the best parts of traveling for a number of years in the Caribbean is the opportunity to experience islands affiliated with rich and diverse histories.  Most islands have ties to England, France, the Netherlands, Spain, or the US.  Some, like Saint-Barthelemy, have Scandinavian roots and many have changed hands several times through the course of history.

The "Scooter Gang"

After sailing these waters for over 550 days now, we’ve discovered that certain characteristics associated with the various islands have much to do with the history of colonization and their relationship to the slave trade of the 1700 and 1800’s.  St. Barth’s never participated in the slave trade or developed sugar plantations so their economy grew based on salt trade and now tourism. Discovered by Columbus in 1493 and named after his brother Bartolomeo, St. Barth’s was settled by the French in the mid-17^th century, became Swedish in 1784 and was returned to France in 1878. It is the only Caribbean island with a Swedish heritage.  The street signs are written in both French and Swedish.

Worlds most dangerous airport

Gustavia is a charming port lined with red roofs, filled with yachts, and a playground for the rich.  The yachts that congregate here are more than impressive and come in sizes large and XXXL. Atalanta is dinghy-sized in comparison to many anchored near her.   Le Carre’Or is the Worth Avenue or Rodeo Drive of St. Barth’s where window-shopping is the only affordable thing unless Chanel, Hermes, Yves St. Laurent, Jimmy Choo, etc. are included in your budget.  The official 

Nero

currency is the Euro and even with the reasonable exchange rate at this time, we always check the price. We were told that even the very wealthy clientele that visit St. Barth’s say, “It’s too expensive.”

We rented scooters – an ideal way to experience the island.  It is spectacularly beautiful and very hilly so each bend in the road offers a new breathtaking vista of the picturesque coastline.  We traveled St. Barth’s roads with Ann-Sofie and Jonas from Lady Annila and fortunately we found a lovely stop, Restaurant L’Espirit, near Anse de Grand Saline for liquid refreshments just across from salt ponds that remained active until the 1970s and now provide a haven for migrating birds.  We visited an immaculately maintained French cemetery where each grave is whitewashed and covered in brightly colored plastic flowers.  On All Soul’s Day a candlelit procession is the focus of the festivities.

We are anchored in Anse du Grand Colombier, a beautiful cove on the northern tip of St. Barth’s, with Lady Annila and Argosea. The water is turquoise blue, crystal clear and two turtles formed a welcoming committee upon our arrival. The bay has been a part of St. Barth’s Marine Reserve since 1996 offering protection from anchoring, spearfishing, jetskis, etc. so snorkeling is on our agenda.

After a week or so in St. Barth’s we plan to take the 18-mile hop to St. Martin, a divided island where one half is French (Saint Martin) and the other Dutch (Sint Maarten). One of St. Martin’s claims to fame is a collection of the most extensive yacht services north of Trinidad and is the last place to put in for repairs before Puerto Rico.  Fortunately, Atalanta is in good shape and most systems are working well although we might have an electrical issue looked at if we can find the right person for the job.

Thanks for following our travels.

Richard and Kay

Kay's next ride

Don't we look "hot" in our helmets