Finally!

Vessel Name: Katahdin
Vessel Make/Model: Cambria 44
Hailing Port: Cape Elizabeth, ME
Crew: Larry and Cathy Clough
About: We have been cruising Maine waters for 30 years on a Pearson 26, an Ericson 34, and now a Cambria 44
Extra: On our first journey south we left Maine in early September of 2011 to travel to the Caribbean and back over 9+months. Now we've begun our second trip, taking it at a bit more leisurely pace.
18 May 2016
25 March 2016
09 March 2016
21 February 2016
26 January 2016
05 January 2016
18 December 2015 | Jolly Harbor, Antigua
06 December 2015
21 November 2015
17 November 2015
13 November 2015
19 June 2012 | Portland Harbor
16 June 2012 | Provincetown, MA
12 June 2012 | Great Salt Pond, Block Island, RI
Recent Blog Posts
25 May 2016

Hashes, Hikes, and Hauling

Hashes, Hikes, and Hauling

18 May 2016

Grenada

At the end of March we sailed along the east coast of Grenada from Carriacou to the bays at its southern end. Since we were not sailing in the lee of the island we took a precautionary seasickness pill, Stugeron, which is not available in the US but which, as a non-prescriptive medication, can be purchased [...]

06 May 2016

Carriacou, Grenada's Grenadine Island

I'd like to fire myself as a blog writer. I have no excuse for waiting a month before writing about one of the most enjoyable islands we've been to. In my defense I'd say that to start writing about Grenada and its islands is to acknowledge that the incredible sailing adventure we've experienced would [...]

25 March 2016

The Grenadines

The Grenadines

09 March 2016

St. Lucia

St. Lucia

21 February 2016

Martinique Sud, and a Sample of our Daily Life aboard Katahdin

Today is February 21st. We left St. Pierre on the 8th and meandered our way down Martinique’s west coast to St. Anne at the southeast tip of the island. Along the way we overnighted in 3 anses (anse is a Creole word for bay), with decent snorkeling and hiking, 2 nights in the yachting center for [...]

Exuma Cays Sea and Land Park

28 March 2012 | Warderick Wells, Exumas
Cathy/partly cloudy and windy
For the past 5 nights we have been in one of the highlights of the trip, moored at 3 different anchorages within the Exuma Cays Sea and Land Park, which covers 176 square miles and 15 major cays. The Park is located towards the northern end of the Exumas chain, about 50 miles south/southeast of Nassau. During this time we’ve stayed in 3 different mooring fields, Cambridge Cay, Hog Cay, and now Warderick Wells. These have been gentle mooring fields, well-protected in almost all directions, but still experiencing a strong current as they lie within a short distance of the Exuma Sound and the many cuts into the Exuma Banks.

What have we like about these so much? It has varied with each setting. In Cambridge Cay there was snorkeling just off the boat, and neat trails on the island, and a cruiser get-together on a sandy cay. In Hog Cay there was some snorkeling nearby, and we toured the southern end of Warderick Wells. But at the mooring area at the headquarters is where we really started our hikes.

There are countless trails on this 3 mile long slender island, many of which are over very uneven and sharp-edged eroded limestone, which we found to be quite a challenge unless we are wearing the sturdiest shoes we own. In fact, on our first hike up from Hog Cay we were wondering if we would want to do more of the same over the next few days. The thought of falling down on top of jagged limestone was intimidating. However, we found that the eastern trails were on more eroded – and thus less sharp – limestone, along the water’s edge. Additionally, inland there was a lot of sandy trails and even one earth-packed trail, at least for a short bit.

One of the trails leads to the top of Boo Boo Hill where cruisers over the years have left mementoes of their visits, namely their boat’s name and date of visit engraved on driftwood. Larry made our sign (a particularly large sign, as it was the best piece of driftwood we could find) and we tied it down with twine to rocks on the Hill. We met others up there, whom we met in Cambridge Cay, who were looking for their sign from a few years ago, with no success. They are speculating that Hurricane Irene blew it away. If and when we return, it might become an adventure to see if our sign is still present.

Since this is the dry season in the Bahamas – summer is the rainy one – much of the foliage was dormant. Also, Hurricane Irene decimated the plant life this past fall, unfortunately. And there is a groundhog-like animal, the hinta, which has exploded in population and devoured a good deal of the ground-level growth. It definitely is not lush. So, besides the great hiking exercise, some swimming, what else did we like about Warderick Wells? We could get wifi from the boat! We didn’t expect to be able to have any connection for who knows how many more days, so it has been quite a treat, and I’ve been able to update the photo gallery and post 2 blogs.

In a few hours we’ll travel on the inland side, the Banks side, to Norman Cay. Hopefully the next day or so we’ll be able to stop at Highborne Cay at a marina for fuel and water. The last marina we tried to stop at, at Sampson Cay after we left the Thunderball Grotto area, had no fuel or water. Our fingers are crossed.
Comments
Katahdin's Photos - Main
We spent most of the last month of our cruise in Mt. Hartman Bay on the southern coast of Grenada. There is a wonderful community of cruisers in this and nearby bays, and we found plenty to do and new friends to make. What we particularly enjoyed were the hashes and hikes we did each week. Do ready the blog of the same name if you want to discover what a hash is.
19 Photos
Created 25 May 2016
Grenada is, if not our favorite, at least in the top three. It is a large island, the people are fantastic, and there is so much to see and do that we were too busy to consider posting a blog. But, now that we're back in Maine, we have no more excuses.
11 Photos
Created 6 May 2016
Petite St. Vincent (PSV) is part of its namesake, while Petite Martinique belongs to Grenada. They are both considered part of the Grenadine archipelago and are separated by perhaps 1/2 a mile. In fact, they are so far off the normal route that a boat can travel from one to another without having to clear customs on another island.
9 Photos
Created 6 May 2016
Carriacou is one of the Grenadine islands; St. Vincent owns most of them but not this one or Petite Martinique. It is an interesting island, hilly with a shipbuilding heritage. We especially liked it because of the large number of cruisers who anchor for a while in Tyrell bay on the southwestern coast.
9 Photos
Created 6 May 2016
The Grenadines are a group of tiny to small islands just south of St Vincent and just north of Grenada. With a few exceptions they are wonderfully welcoming and quite beautiful, though, because there has been a consistent drought throughout the past 10 or so months, there's not much greenery.
17 Photos
Created 25 March 2016
From Rodney Bay to the Pitons, and nothing in between.
9 Photos
Created 9 March 2016
On the way to our current anchorage at St. Anne at the bottom of Martinique we visited 3 other delightful bays along the way. We've been doing our usual hiking and swimming activities, but this blog also reveals what a "typical" day for us is like.
15 Photos
Created 21 February 2016
During our first visit to St. Pierre we didn't go far afield. This time we did and have a new appreciation for this area.
13 Photos
Created 21 February 2016
We had a fabulous time on this island, one of the poorest in the Caribbean. It has been blessed with fantastic beauty and we did our best to take it all in.
21 Photos
Created 7 February 2016
After visiting the Pigeon islands and La Soufriere we were looking for places not so popular, and we found them.
21 Photos
Created 26 January 2016
The photos are from two distinctive and well-known locations on this island. First, from the Jacques Cousteau underwater preserve at Isles des Pigeons on the west coast, and then from the hike up to the tallest mountain on the island, La Soufriere, a still semi-active volcano at almost a mile height.
16 Photos
Created 16 January 2016
The photos are from two distinctive and well-known locations on this island. First, from the Jacques Cousteau underwater preserve at Isles des Pigeons on the west coast, and then from the hike up to the tallest mountain on the island, La Soufriere, a still semi-active volcano at almost a mile height.
6 Photos
Created 16 January 2016
We spent most of the past few weeks in English Harbor which was an idyllic spot to celebrate the holidays with our family
20 Photos
Created 5 January 2016
These were our last stops in the Virgin Islands where we spent a whole month. It's a great place, and lots of people know that as there are lots of other sailors such as ourselves.
13 Photos
Created 18 December 2015
We're spending a few weeks lazily navigating around the numerous islands here, looking for great snorkeling and sunsets.
12 Photos
Created 6 December 2015
7 Photos
Created 21 November 2015
Katahdin ended up here after being a "passenger" on a freighter. We joined her on 11/15/15.
5 Photos
Created 17 November 2015
Katahdin makes her way south to St. Thomas, piggy-backing atop a freighter.
2 Photos
Created 13 November 2015
We arrived in Fernandina Beach on 4/11, and hope to be back in Maine sometime in the latter part of June.
1 Photo | 9 Sub-Albums
Created 12 April 2012
We expect to meander slowly northward through the Bahamas before we cross the Gulf Stream again.
1 Photo | 13 Sub-Albums
Created 17 March 2012
We overnighted to Luperon from Gilligan's Island in Puerto Rico, and spent a wonderful 5 days, having adventures out of the town.
26 Photos
Created 17 March 2012
We took our time in the Spanish Virgin Islands, but sped along the southern coast of Puerto Rico
1 Photo | 1 Sub-Album
Created 1 March 2012
We took our time traveling from Portland into the Chesapeake, enjoying some beautiful stops along the way
1 Photo | 8 Sub-Albums
Created 8 February 2012
Martinique is quite beautiful, and we've enjoyed our stay here. However, we will start heading back north in the next day or so.
20 Photos
Created 7 February 2012
These include Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Barts, down to Guadaloupe and Dominica.
1 Photo | 12 Sub-Albums
Created 18 December 2011
We arrived in Nanny Cay in the BVI on November 21, and will travel around the BVI and the US VI over the next month.
1 Photo | 7 Sub-Albums
Created 21 November 2011
The rudder leakage issue shadowed our first two weeks in Virginia; after the repairs, even the sunsets were more spectacular.
1 Photo | 2 Sub-Albums
Created 8 November 2011
An album of many of the places we visited through Chesapeake Bay on our way to Virginia
1 Photo | 7 Sub-Albums
Created 18 October 2011