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 [...]

Dominica, What a Beautiful Island

07 February 2016
We may be in St. Pierre on Martinique right now but our thoughts keep going back to Dominica. And to think that we had considered bypassing this island to get to more "civilized" places. Fools we were but are not now.

Four years ago we passed a very pleasant 5 days going on adventures out of Portsmouth, the northernmost town on the island's west side. However, we didn't go far afield except when we traveled with a guide to the interior to hopefully see and hear a few of the island's feathered inhabitants. Otherwise our hikes and snorkeling centered around Portsmouth. This is not uncommon as Portsmouth is where sailors can clear customs, find provisions, and take shelter in case of unpleasant weather. Some use it strictly for those reasons but they are really missing out on a lot. We did a lot more this time and really want to return to do more.

Why do we find this island so appealing? First of all, a large section of the 2-mile long bay that Portsmouth fronts is patrolled by the PAYS organization, a group of young men in gaily-colored skiffs who offer services such as organized trips to the highlights of the island's interior as well as trash removal, fresh produce and ice brought out to your boat.

Secondly we can't imagine a more beautiful island, and Portsmouth is a great place to start from. Dominica receives abundant rainfall and is so lush that you think that someone has placed green filters in front of your eyes. Thank goodness for the variety of plantings, specifically the yellow and green croton and the variegated dark red of red lavender that have been planted throughout, as well as the startlingly bright paint jobs on houses and businesses.

And thirdly, because there are limited natural beaches, there are limited tourists. Those we do see come to do as we've done - hike in the national park system, scramble up to incredible waterfalls, take tours around in vans or on their own, oohing and aahing because the richness of the landscape is simply too much to process. If you've seen pictures of the Napali coast on the west side of Kauai, and you have if you saw the beginning scenes from the first Jurassic Park movie when the helicopter rides up a Napali ridge over a rainforest, then to say that the Dominica's landscape trumps Napali's by a wide margin is saying something.

It's not just the verdure, either. The peaks jig and jag their way skyward in seemingly random fashion. There's probably been a lot of wear and tear on these sharp summits and ridges since the last volcano exploded more than 3.5 million years ago, but it's not evident. And, given the topography, it may be that preparing the land and laying paved roads is a science, but driving on them in definitely an art. We rented a car for 24 hours and were tired enough from the hairpin turns, the narrow passing corridors, and the dizzying speed with which island citizens scream between corners that we returned it after little more than half a day.

We took a PAYS trip from 8 am until 5:30 in a small van with 2 other couples covering some of the same territory we had in our rental car, but in a more relaxed fashion, until we hiked in to see Middleham Falls. We knew we were close because of the noise, and then the water spray dampened us but not our enthusiasm. The water from these Falls plummets 300' feet and of course there is a swimming pool at its bottom which we all had to try. This was our first major falls outside of Niagara so we have limited experience to compare it to others, but for us it was stunning.

So, with 3 hikes on our own around Portsmouth, 2 days sightseeing with vehicles and experiencing Middlehan Falls and other beautiful sights, and with swimming and snorkeling in-between, we feel as if we finally have a good measure of this island. The 70,000 inhabitants may not have much in material wealth, but they are kind, helpful, and seemingly content with what they do have. They are promoting the island as an ecotourism location; they definitely have the raw material, but they need additional capital to advertise more and perhaps - even - to build lean-to shelters along the length of their Waitukubuli trail system which bisects the island vertically. This would be similar to what we northern hikers have had for years in the Baxter State Park region and in the White Mountains. Good luck to them.
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