Vessel Name: | MsChievous |
Vessel Make/Model: | Hylas 49 |
Hailing Port: | Robinhood, Maine |
Crew: | Susan and Jim AuBuchon |
About: | Livin' the life - finally! |
Susie solved a problem that had been perplexing us since we got to the Caribbean: if we were to swim off the dinghy, how would we get back in?? (The tubes are big, and the freeboard is over a foot.) We considered a variety of steps/stairs, but nothing fit. A common problem was your legs disappearing [...]
We had a great two weeks home for Summit's 7th (!!) birthday, seeing family and friends and enduring two dumpings, the second of which caused us to scramble and change our return flights - but we made it back to Antigua . There were, of course, lots of boat projects in our bags, but I wasn't expecting [...]
Last night in the islands before we head home for a few days. Susie does great Italian dinners, but we're eating out tonight. (Last night, too - great Mexican wraps aka burritos and margaritas that took us down for the count!) Finished up our pre-departure projects today and had a refreshing dip in the [...]
We've been having such a good time on Antigua that I forgot to keep posting! The clearance was tortuous (2 hours and most of the forms filled out online - and printed - were ignored!) but things got better quickly. English Harbour and Falmouth were filled with megayachts, and we got to see some behomoth beauties sailing. We went to a community BBQ (with reggae and steel drum band) atop a beautiful vantage point (Shirley Heighrs) with two other Hylas owners and ran into other friends we had made several islands ago. They are a delightful young British couple who sailed across the pond earlier this year, and we shared the wild beauty of Antigua's (shallow, reef-strewn) North Sound a few days later. We're now heading to the marina where we'll leave MsChievous for 10 days while we head home for a "vacation" and Summit's birthday.
We've returned to Deshaies (day-hay) in northwestern Guadeloupe - our first landfall south of the Virgins two years ago. We had a delightful three days in the Ile de Saintes and spent one of them on a ferry/rental car adventure to the big city of Pointe-a-Pitre (Clown Point -!!) to their spice market. Got a lot of nice stuff. Had a great dinner at a restaurant on the island we've visited before, and it didn't disappoint our memories. Today was a 12-mile sail to get to the leeward side of Guadeloupe, then a 20-mile motor in flat seas to our destination. This town is far smaller than Terre de Haut but equally charming - and with another spectacular restaurant we'll visit Sunday before heading to Antigua. Saturday, we plan on visiting the lively botanical garden - more fun with old friends!
Ah...after a mid-morning stop at a cafe for filled muffins, lunch was in a delightful garden. Can't get too much foie gras, Susie says, especially when combined with live jazz. (Are we in t h e Caribbean or Paris?) We're in the Ile des Saintes, 15 miles south of the main island of Guadeloupe. It was a beautiful sail from Dominica yesterday (after the rain quit midday) but all the moorings and reasonable anchorage spots were taken by the time we arrived. We retreated to a nearby island (Terre de Bas) for a reasonably comfortable evening. A friend from Dominica was leaving the mooring they had at 0630, so we got up early and are now moored close to town. After an enjoyable stroll, a sit in the park and our repasts, we are returning to the boat for afternoon snoozes. Tomorrow we hope to take the ferry to the mainland big town (Point-a-Pitre) to visit the markets - if we can figure out the ferry schedule!