Sapphire Sailing Adventures

Vessel Name: Sapphire
Vessel Make/Model: Bristol 41
Hailing Port: Rochester, NY
Crew: Moby & Caroline Burton
17 April 2019 | Laying out 200' of chain on deck
16 April 2019 | Prickly Bay, Grenada
16 April 2019 | Prickly Bay, Grenada
13 April 2019 | Tyrell Bay, Carriacou
12 April 2019 | Admiralty Bay, teaching William about reading music
11 April 2019 | Admiralty Bay, Bequia
10 April 2019 | Pink Sunset off Bequia
10 April 2019 | Papa's Restaurant overlooking Admiralty Bay, Bequia
09 April 2019 | Winfield applying coat #6 of Epiphane Varnish to Sapphire's coaming
08 April 2019 | Tennis Court behind the Gingerbread House, Bequia
04 April 2019 | Floating Beach Bar
04 April 2019 | Bequia
03 April 2019 | Admiralty Bay, Bequia
03 April 2019 | Center Hatch on Sapphire
02 April 2019 | Admiralty Bay, Bequia, The Grenadines
02 April 2019 | Sailing past St Lucia across from the Pitons
28 March 2019 | Anse de Salines, Martinique
28 March 2019
28 March 2019 | Sapphire's Cockpit
24 March 2019
Recent Blog Posts
17 April 2019 | Laying out 200' of chain on deck

Haul Out Day

"I always feel like The Ghost from Christmas Past when we do this exercise of hauling the heavy chain out on our side deck to rinse it and let it dry." On our primary alone, we have 200' of chain and 120' of rope. Then our secondary anchor has 200' of rope and 30' of chain.

16 April 2019 | Prickly Bay, Grenada

Getting Ready to be Hauled Out

We enjoyed a lovely leisurely couple of days sailing down to Grenada from Bequia, arriving on Palm Sunday.

16 April 2019 | Prickly Bay, Grenada

Grenada's Cruiser's Net

The cruiser’s net in Grenada is always very lively. On Safety and Security this morning we heard that a sailboat coming up from Trinidad had a boatful of eight ‘Venezuelan looking’ men trying to overtake them. The sailboat was able to get away,. but the hull is riddled with bullet holes. They [...]

13 April 2019 | Tyrell Bay, Carriacou

New Way to Clear into Customs

How do you clear in to Customs, when you arrive at a port and don’t feel like blowing up your dinghy?

12 April 2019 | Admiralty Bay, teaching William about reading music

Teaching William some Notes

I realized that if I set up my piano early in the morning, then I can play before there is too much sun in the cockpit.

11 April 2019 | Admiralty Bay, Bequia

Paddling around Bequia

As my buddy Joan Dwyer would say, “the goal in paddle boarding is to avoid looking like a little old lady pushing a Wegman’s cart.” Actually, I’ll be doing that soon enough as we are heading home in a week.

"Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"

14 March 2018 | Karacter's Beach Bar & Grill, Simpson Bay, St Maartin
Caroline
“This band is incredible! Every single song makes you want to dance!” I said, swaying in my bar stool to the beat of “Dock of the Bay”. Ayan is a little 5’4” spitfire, oozing with spunk and a powerful voice that belts out great tunes.
“Anywhere else in the world, she would be a headliner,” Don commented, “and here we are at this little Beach Bar in St Maarten. It’s perfect.”
It was an adventure just walking over to Karacter’s from Simpson Bay Lagoon, since none of us had ever been there before. Then we stumble upon a classic Caribbean beach restaurant, with a beautiful sunset off to the West, the shimmering lights of Sint Maarten to the East, and “Soul Dressing”, a fabulous band, just starting to rev up.
“Sorry, we are totally booked tonight, but we could seat you at the bar.”
“That would be fine.”
Before our tuna steak, grouper, red snapper and Fruits de Mer entrees arrived, a corner table magically opened up for us.
“I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun,” Tonette commented as we were hiking home waay past Sailor’s Midnight. The four of us had basically danced the night away.
We first met Don and Tonette LaGrone in St. John and had taken an immediate liking to the couple. Fellow cruisers, they had been wiped out by Katrina when they lived in New Orleans and started their lives over, with no surviving possessions or businesses. Don was a pediatrician and Tonette had a psychology background, conducting Art Therapy sessions. Don also had survived hurricane force winds, sailing to Durban, South Africa, where the waves actually crested over the top of the mast, breaking the spreaders. Lots of exciting stories to share.



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