Sailing At Last

This is the tale of our journey to fulfill a passion of learning to sail and a dream to circumnavigate. Welcome Aboard At Last!

Profile of At Last and the Gorrell's

Who: Mark & Janet Gorrell
Port: Wickford, RI USA

Our Current Position

19 December 2013 | Westerly, RI
17 July 2013 | Mystic Shipyard, Mystic, CT
14 June 2013 | Summit North Marina, Bear, Delaware
04 June 2013 | Point Lookout Marina, Ridge, Maryland
21 May 2013 | Dunedin Municipal Marina, Dunedin, Florida
05 May 2013 | Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
27 April 2013 | 22 56.8'N:073 02.0'W, Nearing the Exumas & Bahamas
23 April 2013 | 18 25'N:064 50'W, The BVI
13 April 2013 | Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
08 April 2013 | Admiralty Bay, Port Elizabeth, Bequia
04 April 2013 | Tobago Cays and Mustique, Grenadines
29 March 2013 | Port Louis Marina, St. George, Grenada
15 March 2013 | Port Louis Marina, St. George, Grenada
06 March 2013 | Between Salvador, Brazil and St. George, Grenada
05 March 2013 | Port Louis Marina, St. George's Harbor, Grenada
17 February 2013 | Terminal Nautico, Salvador, Brazil
04 February 2013 | 153 miles from Salvador Brazil, Atlantic Ocean
30 January 2013 | Island of St. Helena, Atlantic Ocean
29 January 2013 | 14 36.9'S:22 37.3'W, On the way to Brazil
20 January 2013 | 15 55.55'S:005 43.58'W, Jamestown, St. Helena

Beautiful Islands, Beautiful Beaches

04 April 2013 | Tobago Cays and Mustique, Grenadines
Janet
We returned to Tobago Cays and picked up a mooring ball in anticipation of a big BBQ on the beach on Petit Bateau island which is part of Tobago Cays. Charles of s/v Dreamcatcher organized the party with Mr. Fabulous (Jean Claude) who is one of the many men who visit the anchorage with their wooden skiffs offering everything from fresh bread, fresh fish, t-shirts, ice, etc. Jean Claude was happy to organize a BBQ for the World Arc fleet offering lobster, fish or chicken with all of the fixings.

Jean Claude picked everyone up (I think about fifty of us joined in the BBQ) and drove us to the beach. There were big picnic tables and probably another fifty people there. We had a huge table where everyone was able to sit together. The food started coming out and there was more than enough for everyone. When the lobster came out the platter was enormous, each lobster was too big for the plates we had brought from the boat. Somehow we managed to eat and eat, barely finishing all of the food that was provided for us.

The next day Andrea (s/v Anastasia) and I were headed over to Peat Smoke to remove the stitches from David's (s/v Peat Smoke) toe, which he needed after an unfortunate fall into the bilge several weeks ago. Andrea and I had volunteered to help out after David's wife Caroline admitted complete inability to handle the task. Andrea and I certainly lacked the medical training but were quite eager and had some limited previous experience. Andrea had removed stitches from her husband Phil's finger several years prior and I learned to sew in grade school and had removed a nasty splinter from Mark's foot with a scalpel on this trip. David was quite nervous to say the least but the whole event was quite anticlimactic. Andrea was quite skillful with the scalpel and I pulled out the stitches as they were cut by Andrea. We did get several nervous radio calls over the VHF checking on David and the status of his foot. I guess it didn't help that we spent another two hours hanging out on Peat Smoke long after the stitches were removed.

We stayed only two days in Tobago Cays, having already spent a week there shortly after arriving in Grenada. From there we went only a few short miles to Mustique. The island is well known for the 97 private homes on the island, many owned by the rich and famous. When we got there it was Easter week, so 95 of the 97 houses were occupied. As a result we were not able to tour the island but were confined to the beach along the main anchorage and the main port. We could go to two of the very exclusive restaurants on the island but needed to hire a taxi to take us there and back. It left us wondering who exactly was on the island currently and wouldn't it be fantastic to catch a glimpse. We had no such luck!

The anchorage was much calmer than Tobago Cays and we were quite grateful for the peace and quiet. The water was crystal clear and the main harbor only had about 20 boats in it, a far cry from the 50-60 in Tobago Cays. We managed to do a couple of projects on the boat - we finally found the problem with our fresh water pump - a collapsed hose that wasn't allowing the water to flow through it properly. After several hours of working at diagnosing the problem, we discovered the collapsed hose and Mark was able to quickly replace a portion of the hose. Victory!

On our first evening in Mustique, we enjoyed a meal at the very famous Basil's Bar, again no celebrity sightings. We also had an excellent cocktail hour at The View, a local bar overlooking the harbor. There were quite a few World Arc boats there that evening and we ended up back at Basil's for a BBQ with a live band. Overall, the island was a bit expensive but we enjoyed the calm and beautiful anchorage greatly.

Comments
Vessel Name: At Last
Vessel Make/Model: Island Packet 465-02
Hailing Port: Wickford, RI USA
Crew: Mark & Janet Gorrell
About:
Hi, We have been sailing for more than twelve years, chartering in the BVI, Leeward Islands, Chesapeake, and Florida. We completed many US Sailing certifications. We have been saling At Last for the last four years in New England between Nantucket and NYC. Mark has crewed on deliveries to St. [...]
Extra:
For those of you who know Mark, you would agree that he is a very conservative and risk adverse person and one who suffers terribly from motion sickness. So, you must be wondering how he could give up the security of a wonderful job to sail around the world, especially in this economy. Well, [...]
Home Page: http://sailingatlast.com
At Last's Photos - Main
Back in the US and heading home
1 Photo | 2 Sub-Albums
Created 3 June 2013
Our time in Marigot Bay, Rodney Bay and other photo albums commemorating our trip
1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 19 April 2013
Stops in Grenada and the Grenadines
1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 28 March 2013
Carnival and Old Town in Salvador
25 Photos | 1 Sub-Album
Created 17 February 2013
Photos of this unique and friendly island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean
18 Photos
Created 16 February 2013
The pictures from our stops in Richard's Bay, Durban, St. Francis and Cape Town.
1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 14 December 2012
Halloween party and a visit to a volcano
21 Photos
Created 23 November 2012
Our time in Mauritius
46 Photos
Created 23 November 2012
Our visit to the atoll of Cocos Keeling, Australia
23 Photos
Created 21 October 2012
35 Photos
Created 18 September 2012
Our time in Mackay, Cairns and Darwin Australia
1 Photo | 3 Sub-Albums
Created 5 September 2012
Our time in Port Resolution, Dillon's Bay and Port Vila
43 Photos
Created 17 July 2012
Our time in Denarau and Musket Cove, Fiji
20 Photos
Created 6 July 2012
Our visit to Vava'u Tonga
56 Photos
Created 21 June 2012
The Islands of Suwarrow and American Samoa
27 Photos
Created 8 June 2012
1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 29 April 2012
Rangiroa
26 Photos
Created 29 April 2012
This gallery include the passage from the Galapagos and photos from Hiva-Oa, Oa-Pou and Nuku Hiva
1 Photo | 3 Sub-Albums
Created 11 April 2012
These are pictures of the passage to the Galapagos and our experience on the islands of San Cristobal, Isabella and Santa Cruz
2 Photos | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 2 March 2012
Here are photos of the passage to Panama, the San Blas Islands, the transit through the canal and events yet to come.
11 Photos | 6 Sub-Albums
Created 22 January 2012
A compendium of pix of our various excursions around St Lucia
5 Photos | 2 Sub-Albums
Created 6 January 2012
These are pictures from the last of the Leeward Islands.
25 Photos
Created 19 December 2011
Photos of Terre-De-Haut, an island part of Les Saintes southeast of Guadeloupe.
13 Photos
Created 18 December 2011
Here are more photos of English Harbour taken form At Last as we left Antigua for Guadeloupe
10 Photos
Created 16 December 2011
These are the pictures of our passage from Antigua through our stay on Guadeloupe
28 Photos
Created 16 December 2011
These are photos of Admiral Nelson's Dockyard and our trek to the top of Shirley Heights overlooking English Harbor
42 Photos
Created 13 December 2011
Here are some photos of the islands as we were leaving Nevis, passing Montserrat and arriving at Antigua. A pleasant 50 mile motor sail into 10 knot head winds. I took a nap for 90 minutes. Blogging keeps me up late at night.
15 Photos
Created 13 December 2011
Pictures of Nevis
14 Photos
Created 11 December 2011
These are pix of Saba, Statia and St Kitts as we passed by them to sail to Nevis
18 Photos
Created 11 December 2011
Pictures of his homes and yacht on the island as we passed headed for Anguilla
11 Photos
Created 5 December 2011
7 Photos
Created 2 December 2011
Some of the photos of the passage that hit the cutting room floor
27 Photos
Created 22 November 2011
These are pictures of some of the results of the recent outfitting for the trip
8 Photos
Created 19 October 2011
These were taken last year sailing in Long Island Sound by Yacht-Shots. My colleagues at Baystate Health were kind enough to have three copies of one these photos printed and framed for me as a going away gift. A large one for home, one for the boat and one for my desk. Very Special!
7 Photos
Created 19 October 2011
This is a compilation of photos taken over the first four years of cruising on At Last in Naragansett Bay and Long Island Sound with close friends, family and the Cruising Club of New England, a wonderful group of sailors.
55 Photos
Created 1 October 2011
At Last is painted in January of 2008
4 Photos
Created 1 October 2011
At last is delivered, commissioned and has its maiden voyage just in time to be in the 2007 Newport Boat Show
6 Photos
Created 1 October 2011
These are pictures of the layout of the IP 465 and the interior of At Last
12 Photos
Created 1 October 2011

Profile of At Last and the Gorrell's

Who: Mark & Janet Gorrell
Port: Wickford, RI USA

Our Current Position