Sailing around the world on the traditional gaff rigged schooner Windjammer

After nearly 3 weeks in Antigua where we had great fun preparing and then participating in the Classic Yacht regatta, we dropped off our hearty crew and headed for the island of Barbuda. As our South African friends who we were buddy sailing with said "Barbuda is the real deal". Beautiful sandy pink and white beaches, with crystal clear turquoise water and very few other yachts. This is something we had not seen too much of since leaving Trinidad in February. These places however are not without their challenges and checking out on a Sunday was going to be one of them. After landing the dingy in breaking waves, we then needed to summons a water taxi to take us across the 1.5 mile lagoon to the main town of Codrington. Engine problems sorted, the taxi finally collected us for the bumpy and wet journey across the lagoon. It was 1.00pm and the offices close at 2.00pm. Upon arrival a friendly local offered to drive us to the customs office. Alas, there was no one there. A series of phone calls from our ever friendly driver had the customs officer arriving in 1/2 hr. After completing our customs check in procedures, we needed to visit immigration but the immigration lady was currently indisposed, so we headed off for lunch at a small cafe for lobster and beer where we happened to come upon the port office administrators, also having lunch, they duly took our paperwork, processed them and then returned them to us at our lunch table. It was turning out to be a very pleasant day. On our return for the trip across the lagoon we encountered the local water taxi legend George who took us on a guided tour of the magnificent frigate bird colony and nesting area ,one of the biggest in the Caribbean.

It had been a while since just the two of us had been on our own on board so we needed to lift our game a little and get used to setting full sail on our own again (the single handed race in Antigua had been good practice). Next morning we had a fabulous sail to the island of St Barts (playground for the rich and famous) where we spent 3 days. It was a lovely island and we would have liked to stay longer but we were keen to make a start on the 800 mile passage to Cuba as it is getting late in the season and we need to be heading north to the US around the first week in June. We did 250 miles to San Juan in Puerto Rico where we had a short 2 day stop for reprovisioning. After a 7 hr wait to clear US customs we eventually got to explore the old town of San Juan which was truly delightful. The architecture is very European with narrow cobblestone streets and gorgeous colourful buildings home to quaint restaurants and bars. The restoration of the old town is just abut complete, and the Spanish colonial influence has been brought back to life.

We are due to make landfall in Cuba in a few hours. We have had the wind behind us all the way, so have been gybing our way west and have been averaging around 8.5 knots most of the way. Our plan from here (as much as we can plan) is to explore the north coast of Cuba then head up to Maine and Nova Scotia for the summer. So excited and looking forward to lots of fresh fish, lobster salsa music and exploring Cuba.

Our first blog since the 28th February! - We have been so busy jammin between the islands with various friends on board that blogging just had to take a back seat. Since leaving Trinidad we have sailed up through the Windward Islands, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines including, Union Island, Carriacou and Bequia. After our 2 years in central and South America where we met the occasional yacht, arriving in the Caribbean, one of the most populated cruising grounds on the planet, was always going to be somewhat daunting.

Thirty years ago when we last sailed here the Grenadines was still relatively undiscovered. Today it is a thriving tourist and yachting mecca and in our view completely overcrowded. Almost every bay is filled with bareboaters and seasonal cruisers. Below the cyclone belt, (Trinidad, Grenada, Carriacou and to some extent Bequia) there are also the permanent liveaboards adding to the congestion. Going further north to the French Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe was a breath of fresh air, we had some great tradewind sailing. The French culture, great food and wine which abounds in these islands and notably absent from the south was wonderful. We explored some of the interior and did a number of hikes, including a 3 mile hike along an old canal wall feeding water from the mountains to a distillery in Guadeloupe with 800 metre vertical dropoffs.

Then it was on to Antigua for the Classic Yacht regatta with a great bunch of invited friends we had made during our cruising.
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We are currently sailing down the north west shore of Trinidad on our way to Chaguaramas, ten days after leaving Brazil and we are ready for Carnival. It has been a wonderful trip, good winds all the way, lovely warm weather and great crew. This is definitely what cruising is all about. We are yet to go ashore but the island looks very green and mountainous. The population of Trinidad I believe is around 1.4 million so expect it to be very busy after six weeks at sea. We are ready for the culture shock though! Our plan from here is to haul Windjammer out, either here or in Grenada, so not all party and relaxation just yet as we have some work to complete first. Sails have been stowed and hammocks, awnings, spear gun and snorkeling gear have been moved up to the deck lockers ready for quick deployment. The "Rum cocktails of the Caribbean" book has been located and dusted off....as they say.....no worries be happy!

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