Dear family and friends,
We hope this letter finds you in good health and good cheer. In reviewing the year I am constantly reminded of the good fortune to have both of my (Devi’s) parents in relatively good health. The greatest change in our lives is that Devi’s parents have asked us take over the care of their summer residence in Lenox, Massachusetts. In the past we put the boat on land during the hurricane season, returned to the United States and made the family rounds in about three weeks. This summer we were away from the boat for three months. I will tell you more about that later.

New years 2011 found us in Puerto Rico exploring the island, celebrating holidays with my sister’s in-laws and hiking in El Yunque Forest. It was a nice change to stay in a local marina with a rental car and we made the most of the opportunity to use our Spanish. We sailed to the US Virgin Islands and in early February and our niece, Hunter, and her fiancé Brandon visited us for a week. It was great fun sharing our lifestyle and getting to know Brandon. Many of our cruising friends were in the Virgin Islands and it was fun to dive, snorkel and explore with friends.

We sailed south and arrived in Antigua well in advance of the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta in mid April. Hunter volunteered to work on a Carriacou sloop (a traditional wooden fishing boat) named Genesis. Hunter helped paint her topsides, sand and oil the wood mast and other jobs and his labor earned him a place as crew for the regatta. Devi had a “press pass” and was able to join boats for the race and interview the owners. We had a busy few weeks that remained a highlight for the year.

After the regatta we sailed to Barbuda, only 30 miles away, but a few decades behind in development. Barbuda is a tiny island (62 sq. Miles) that has miles of pristine beaches and coral reefs. We spent almost two weeks exploring the island on foot, by bike, beachcombing and snorkeling. At one point several of our “boat family” was in Barbuda and it was a grand reunion.

We headed south with a few week stay in Grenada and spent time with our fisherman friends Dwight and Steve. Most days ended with Dwight and Steve in the cockpit eating, drinking and sharing stories.
We sailed to Trinidad and got the boat on the “Hard” (land) and worked until it was time to fly to the US. We made stops in Florida to visit Devi’s parents, Raleigh to visit Hunter’s sister, Brooke and family. We bought Brooke’s 11 year old Toyota van and drove it and a bunch of stuff from a storage locker to our new place in Massachusetts. As we settled in we also prepared for very special guests. Jessie (James), Sharon Rose and Julie Rose our dear friends from Trinidad spent five days with us and we were so delighted to be able to return the hospitality that they have always extended to us in Trinidad. We filled the rest of the summer with bike trips and hikes exploring the Berkshire Mountains. We went to a few events in Tanglewood- the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. We both got involved the Harvest Festival for the Berkshire Botanical Garden. Hunter helped with overall organization and Devi managed the recycling and compost program. I continued to write articles for Caribbean sailing magazines through the summer.

We returned to Trinidad in October and completed the work on the boat and got ready for our friends, Dad and Jay from Alaska. We spent 2 weeks sharing Trinidad with Deb and Jay. We went to Asa Wright and birded, hiked, ate lots of local food and listened to pan music. After we returned Deb and Jay to Alaska we got ready to head north. More time liming (relaxing and sharing stories) with Dwight and Steve. We got ready to share Grenada with Janet Kailin, a friend of many years from Olympic National Park. We hiked and explored Grenada, Carriacou and the Tobago Cays in the Grenadines with Janet. We saw Janet onto the ferry to return to Grenada for her trip back to Washington State and prepared for winter in the Caribbean. The famed Christmas winds came howling out of the north and we hunkered down behind Frigate Island beside Union island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The wind has died down a bit and hopefully the seas will also calm down. Tomorrow we plan to head to Bequia.

Our warm (and windy) regards and wishes for a healthy and peaceful New Year,
Devi and Hunter