4/2012 Virgin Gorda to St. Martin

We never made it to Anegada. We spent
Wed in Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor doing laundry, cleaning, and filling with fuel, water and gasoline. It
literally took all day but fortunately we were there on a Wed. which is the night they have their Carribean
Buffet feast. It was excellent and we were pretty exhausted; it was so hot and humid. Sheila and Chris visited
us as they were anchored near the marina on the outside. They talked with Chris Parker and said the only time
to go to St. Martin was leaving Wed. even or Thurs. morning before noon for the 23 hr. or so run and it would
be probably a motor sail. Otherwise our next window wouldn't be till May 8 so we were going to leave early
Thurs. morning but Ed went to check out at 4:15 and the offices were already closed at 3:30. Bankers hours around
here. So we didn't leave till 10:30 and got in at 9:30 am the next morning. We were exhausted. Our engines
shut down twice and Ed thinks he has figured out the problem. He'll have to give you the details. So it wasn't
an easy passage with both of us laying in the cockpit not feeling so well and not eating much. We did tack a
few times but it wasn't too fun

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WindSwept Dreams to John and Kate

Hi John and Kate,

Happy Birthday John; we hope you have a wonderful day! I would be making a cake for you if you were here but
I'll just have to eat some french pastry instead and celebrate your special day.

We hope you returned safely. Thank you for writing our blog entry some of our followers really enjoyed it.
I assume both of you wrote it. We hope you had a good flight home. We never made it to Anegada. We spent
Wed in Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor doing laundry, cleaning, and filling with fuel, water and gasoline. It
literally took all day but fortunately we were there on a Wed. which is the night they have their Carribean
Buffet feast. It was excellent and we were pretty exhausted; it was so hot and humid. Sheila and Chris visited
us as they were anchored near the marina on the outside. They talked with Chris Parker and said the only time
to go to St. Martin was leaving Wed. even or Thurs. morning before noon for the 23 hr. or so run and it would
be probably a motor sail. Otherwise our next window wouldn't be till May 8 so we were going to leave early
Thurs. morning but Ed went to check out at 4:15 and the offices were already closed at 3:30. Bankers hours around
here. So we didn't leave till 10:30 and got in at 9:30 am the next morning. We were exhausted. Our engines
shut down twice and Ed thinks he has figured out the problem. He'll have to give you the details. So it wasn't
an easy passage with both of us laying in the cockpit not feeling so well and not eating much. We did tack a
few times but it wasn't too fun and we were happy that you ended up not joining us for the passage.

We did try to contact you via my go phone but it wouldn't work and neither did our Verizon phone and unfortunately
we didn't find out where you were staying. We are staying in the Simpson Bay Lagoon on the French side which
isn't a nice lagoon. The water is filthy. Hope you enjoyed your stay in St. Martin. The buses are easy to use and
get around with.

Ed has Cellulitis and is has seen the doc twice on the dutchside twice and he is using Flucloxacillin 500 mg. and cotrimoxazol 960 mg. along with Ichthammol Ointmnet 20% to
try to draw out the infection. He had an ultrasound done on Sat. for only $110 on the french side to rule out
thrombosis because his right lower leg is 3X the size of the left leg. The doc says that he just needs to wait
till the infection comes to the surface and keep his leg elevated. John we would certainly appreciate your
input. He is pretty miserable and not able to do much since last Thurs. It just started as a bump on his leg
on Tuesday and by Thurs it was horrible. The doc said it is pretty common with the lagoon water being what it is.
With the heavy rains the sewers seem to overflow into the sewers. The doct visit was only $30 and the drugs were only $25 and took 10 min to fill; it was pretty amazing. I am his nurse as he has to stay off his feet. Kate noone ever makes me meals or does dishes; miss you.

We all enjoyed what we believe to be the best of the Carribean with the snorkeling, beautiful beaches and waters.
We haven't been snorkeling since we arrived here. It has been very rainy, hot and humid. The lagoon gets very
smelly also. We are very ready to leave but there is only SE wind. Wish it would change soon but then again
Ed isn't too ready to go anywhere as he has had fever and nausea. We have actually considered checking into
a hotel.

Ed's mom in AZ also had gallbladder surgery, and a pacemaker put in 10 days ago so his 3 sisters have been taking
turns helping here. We feel bad that we aren't able to help out but we can't leave the boat right now. We are
VERY READY to be HOME!

Can't believe it has been nearly 2 weeks since you two left. Time flies. Hope you found your home in good shape
and your children were fine. I'm sure it has been busy for you getting caught up with your jobs also.

Take care and write when you get a chance.

Ann and Ed

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St. Martin/St. Maarten 5/1-5/13

We stayed in St. Martin at Simpson Bay Lagoon sometimes it is very smelly water and definitely
unclean; never would swim in it by choice. It is also very humid here with very little air
flow. The town of St. Martin is nice and enjoyed the hike to the Fort and other walks.
Unfortunately for Ed he didn't do too much walking. He had cellulitis develop on his leg
that the Doctor on the Dutch side St. Maarten tried to combat with antibiotics however
after not walking on it for a week and Ann being his slave he was sent to the surgeon
to open up the two small swollen spots and after 4 days of going back and forth to the
hospital to see the surgeon the swelling in the leg started to reduce and the surgeon
encouraged him to walk on it. It is always interesting getting around in different areas;
you become very adept at using the bus or public transportation quickly.

While making frequent trips to the doctor at only $30 each and the surgeon was $240 for the
entire procedure we are convinced that socialized medicine is fine with us.
We explored the many french bakeries and pastry shops as well as restaurants while
Ed made his visits to the doctor; it made the visits much more enjoyable.

We also attended the carnival in Williamsburg. St. Maarten(dutch side) which was colorful and lots of loud
music. If you go to Never Bored.ca you can see lots of pictures. Sheila does a great
job with her blog; complete with pictures.

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South As We Are Going

Grenada, St. David's Bay, Grenada Marine as of June 4th and we are ready to end this season and come home on June 13th.

If it sounds like we are tired of the nomad life then you are reading accurately.  The heat, humidity and length of this trip have us ready for shore life and a little worried about our lack of enthusiasm but our friends Sheila and Chris for Never Bored who have been with us the whole trip our anxious for us to return in November, and in fact we have committed.  So, let me tell you about our day today....

Today, I (Ed) broke our Sony Digital camera somehow, had a halyard break while lifting our dinghy onto the deck for the summer dropping it 15 feet, splitting one tube ($300), lost a wing-nut for our water strainer and had the strap metal for the bilge pump break in half from rust.  This is after yesterday finding a different leaking pump ($200) to be replaced.  All together it was a frustrating day, made Ed want to cry but he did not.

How is the above different than any other day?  Well for one, the boat is on the hard (land for you non-sailors) as of this morning.   This means that we are almost ready to leave.  Tomorrow we have a surveyor  coming to do a "value and condition" survey as required by our insurance company every 5 years.   Yippee skippee, cha ching another $550.  Talk about making one paranoid, Ed is checking lots of stuff to avoid things going on the report.  Also,  we are in a nice rented room at a home with air conditioning!  If only there were a store to buy ice cream but no, we are out in the country.  

So, we have been here since the 6th in our rented room working on the boat everyday.  We have moved the clothes we are taking home to our room and been collapsing the boat canvas and stuff into the cabin.  We have some stuff to finish tomorrow like last minute clothes washing and emptying the boat of food.

Tomorrow, is the last day of the season for us and we say goodbye to Chris and Sheila our boating super pals.  They will continue south to Trinidad where they will layup for the summer.

What can I tell you about Grenada?  It is hilly, mountainous, green and verdant especially in the summer months when it rains afternoons and night frequently.  We went on our first Hash the other day and have our loss of virginity testament to prove it.  We climbed up thru a rain forest scrambling up thru the woods basically following a trail.  Hashes are hard to describe, look up HHH hash for more info about the hardcore fitness and beer drinking aspect of this unique social that brings together people from every walk of life to participate.

We've also toured a little bit while clearing customs/immigration but have lots more to do here when we return.

See you all soon,

Ed and Ann

This is Ann and Ed's first guestwritten blog entry, written by Kate and John Wilkins, who enjoyed the amazing hospitality of Windswept Dreams throughout the Spanish, U.S, and British Virgin Islands.

Leaving Puerto Rico, Windswept Dreams made the passage east to Culebra on April 11. Chris and Sheila from Neverbored made the same passage a few hours earlier, and arrived in time to pick up John and Kate from the ferry in Dewey, Culebra. Ann and Ed soon sailed into the harbor and brought the Wilkins aboard.

Culebra was relaxed, natural, and beautiful. We dinghied to Tamarind and Carlos Rosario beaches for some wonderful snorkeling, followed by lunch and beers at the Dinghy Dock restaurant. Two years ago, Kate and John had phoned Ann and Ed directly from this restaurant to tell them they had to come to this island!

Ann had met some friends of friends who had a guesthouse near the harbor, and all aboard Windswept Dreams and Neverbored went there for an evening of food and music. Ann brought her keyboard, Ed his guitar, and another guest brought a fiddle and copies of his favorite songbook of sea shanties and other tunes. A good time was had by all.

Bidding fond adieu to Culebra, Windswept Dreams headed for a day stop at Culebrita. The hike to the ancient and abandoned lighthouse afforded great views, including from the top of the structure, after a perilous walk up dilapidated spiral stairs. Hiking was a hot business, but we all felt better after we discovered (thanks to John's encyclopedic research of everything) some bath-like pools on the island's northern point.

Anticipating some squally weather, we set sail for the US Virgin Islands. We arrived in Charlotte Amalie, where we spent four nights, because the harbor provided good shelter from the winds. We had adventures walking local roads to find a Costco-like store to re-provision the boats. We also tried out the local taxis to get around the island, especially to Red Hook, where Ann and Ed could consult the Island Packet folks about a potential problem with their boat. The local Ace hardware store was a hit, as was the local bakery, but the farmer's market was disappointing. There were historical sights as well, such as Blackbeard's castle, colonial era buildings, and the “99 steps” up the hill (there were 103 of them—go figure). We also observed the daily comings and goings of cruise ships. The city seemed to rev up each morning with the arrival of a new batch of tourists, and heave a sigh of relief when they would depart in the late afternoon.

Using a weather window to leave Charlotte Amalie, Windswept Dreams sailed to Great St. James Island, anchoring in small but scenic Christmas Bay. The only downside of this mooring place was the constant presence of ferry wakes during the day. We spent hours swimming and snorkeling at a set of rocks called the Stragglers.

On April 18, we sailed to St. John Island. This island is nearly all National Park Land. Windswept Dreams and Neverbored anchored at Caneel Bay, then dinghied to the town of Cruz Bay, where we checked out the park Visitor's Center, poked around town, and took a scenic but hot hike to look out at the bay and the neighboring islands. Ann and Ed stayed in town to check out the food and entertainment (karaoke!) while Chris, Sheila, John and Kate returned to the beach to lounge and play.

The next day, it was a short motorsail to Little Lameshire Bay, an absolutely beautiful bay with a beach, crystal clear water, and wonderful reef. From this location we took a hike to see some ruins and petroglyphs, calling on everyone's patience and map-reading skills to find them. There were fine views on the hike as well, and we spent some time speculating what it would have been like to live in an “estate” high up on an isolated hill on St. John with no company and no internet. Everyone was ready for a cooling swim after that hike.

The next day's journey was just “around the corner” to Salt Pond, said to have the finest snorkeling on the island. Indeed, the snorkeling around the rocks in the center of the bay was superb, although we weren't too happy with the jellyfish we met out in deeper waters. The quantity and variety of corals was outstanding, and there were many happy fish there, as well as rays and turtles. The only wildlife we did not appreciate were the no see'ems, which were voracious. Fortunately for the rest of the party, they found Kate the tastiest, so she drew the bloodthirsty little buggers away from the others to some extent. Also beautiful at isolated Salt Pond were amazing stars. Kate and Ann sat on the deck in the evening and located the Southern Cross, the Milky Way, some planets, and a shooting star or two.

Leaving Salt Pond on April 21, Windswept Dreams and Neverbored visted Coral Harbor, a laid back little town in Coral Bay. There we shot the breeze with the locals and spent some time on the internet. We wanted to eat lunch at the Donkey Diner (kickass food!) but they were closed when we got there in mid afternoon, so a frozen fruit bar had to do. Time to push off.

Salt Pond may not be the very very best snorkeling, because next we traveled to Waterlemon Cay. (Yes, it is Waterlemon, although a few guides say Watermelon.) Wow. Amazing reef, clear water, and peekaboo sunshine. When the sun came out, the colors were dazzling. We hiked to the ruins of the Anneberg Sugar Mill, and read interpretive signs about the rum industry that thrived on the island during the slave days. Again, the refreshing swim afterwards made us want to stay in this spot for days, but two nights was going to have to do, as the BVI's were awaiting us.

On April 23, we motored across the strait to Soper's Hole, and Ed took care of registering our entry into the British Virgin Islands. Then we crossed to Peter Island, and considered mooring in Little Harbor, but after re-cristening it “not-so-great” harbor (too steep, inhospitable bottom) we moved to Great Harbor, arriving in late afternoon. We enjoyed watching the birds fishing there, and spotted goats ashore, as we had done in several other locations.

On April 24, we headed for the Baths on Virgin Gorda. At first it seemed they might be too crowded to be enjoyable, but it ended up being a highlight of our time in the BVI. We had to anchor quite a ways away from the center of the attraction, but this forced us to don snorkeling gear and head there by water. What a treat—it turns out that viewing the famed boulders from underwater is at least as cool as scrambling among them from on land. There were many interesting formations, and we got to swim in and out in crannies and holes where the fish and corals live. All this in water as clear as anywhere on the planet, with white sand. Arriving at the officially sanctioned (translate: “tourist attraction”)

Baths, we were not disappointed, as the rocks were fun for scrambling, exploration, and photo ops.

Leaving the Baths, we sailed to Cooper Island, where we took a mooring ball off a small resort. John and Kate were leaving the next day, so we took advantage of Happy Hour at the bayside bar, complete with couches, breezes, and palm trees right by the shore. Bittersweet to watch the sun set over the boats.

On April 25, the Wilkins had to catch a flight at 6:30 pm. But Ann and Ed had heard great things about Anegada, so they dropped their guests at the airport at 10 am in order to be able to sail there after a stop for water at Spanishtown. Watch this space to see if that is what they did!

Ann and Ed say that the Wilkins' are the only friends who have taken them up on their offer to come join them. Why is this? Windswept Dreams is highly rated in our book—beautiful accommodations, amazing hosts, good cooking, fair winds: what's not to like? Ann and Ed will provide the experience of being a working member of the crew, and unforgettable memories. Not to mention world class caramel rolls.

Disclaimer: this blog entry and timeline have been reconstructed entirely from Kate's memory, which may or may not bear any relationship to reality. Notably left out were many great meals and happy hours aboard Windswept Dreams and Neverbored. All errors contained herein are strictly mine, and are subject to correction by the Captain or First Mate of Windswept Dreams. kw

Luperon DR to Boqueron PR

Wow, this is a hard post to do because we are now in Boqueron, Puerto Rico after spending 3 days traveling from Luperon to Samana in the DR, a week in Samana, 2 days traveling here and have been here for three days and are planning to leave tomorrow for a town south and east of here.  Anyway, here goes.

After spending three weeks in Luperon we finally got settled weather to transit the north coast of the DR to Samana Bay on the DR east coast.  We started by anchoring outside of Luperon Bay at the Pinzon achorage, so named for Martin Pinzon, captain of the Pinta who broke off from Columbus in an attempt to reach Spain first to find glory by preempting Columbus's message of the new world.  Anyway, we left about 8PM in the dark, ran aground, then travelled for 12 hours to Rio San Juan where Ed realized that he had left the anchor loose to wash the mud off of it and it had become detached.  Ca-ching there went $750.   We carry two anchors so we were still able to anchor but now we are in the process of buying a new one when we get to Fajardo, PR.  Anyway, Rio San Juan is a small fishing town, not dependent on the tourist trade, where the people are friendly, the town clean, and it has an interesting mangrove river that is perfectly clean ending/beginning in the middle of town in a park.

After touring the town for the day, we then left that night and journeyed on to Samana Bay and over to Puerto Bahia, a 5 star resort with a nice harbor and reasonable rates of about $70 per day.  It got even better when they offered a free weeks dockage if we would participate in a promotional regatta which included several parties with free booze and food, plus dancing.   Of course all the cruisers said yes.  There were quite a few of us who left Luperon at the same time because of the weather window. Free is a great price!

We had a tremendous time touring by car the north coast beaches, visiting some waterfalls on horseback and a Taino Indian museum where we learned about their culture before nearly complete eradication by the Spanish similarily to the plight of native Americans.   We also visited Los Haitises (iteses) Eco Park across the bay where we visited a hotel, zip lined, and looked at caves.  We could easily have spent another week there!
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/N-L8eUkS-j7lVTaVwqPtWaUQY6_Ne21M0FbF6FsE5XY?feat=directlink
The regatta on Saturday, we took 17th out of 20 boats. https://picasaweb.google.com/102215137147020825958/RegattaInSamanaDr?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2ZyN7v-pCshgE&feat=directlink The wind was too light for our boat on the second lap and our downwind performance to slow but at least we were not last.  Still, we had a great time and the party that night was fantastic until Ann disappeared and I had to search for here for about 1/2 hour before a maintenance person directed me to a couch by the pool where she was sleeping.

Then is was time to say goodbye to our friends Will, Howard and Gene who we met early in the week and had a good time with at a sing a long that we put together with Ann playing keyboards, me - guitar also joined by two of the staff one who played classical Spanish guitar and the other who sang Meringue, the DRs favorite musical form.  We took Will with us to Los Haitises while Howard and Gene went with our friends, Sheila and Chris, on NeverBored.  What a blast and lots of laughs.  Howard and Gene were a couple, Will's husband was back in Boston.  Will became our helmsman for the regatta, what a blast for him and a convenience for us as it freed us to handle the sails.

On Monday, we left for Boqueron saying goodbye with very fond memories to the Dominican Republic, one of our favorie places so far.  Good people, music and food plus many places left to explore, we will be back.

Enjoying the Dominican Republic

We are still in Luperon; the winds have been 20-30 knots which is too high for leaving so we have been making the best of our time here. 

We went on the 27 waterfalls tour yesterday and slid down 7 of them as that is all we had time for. Ed and I also jumped off the cliff of the last waterfall.  It was a great adrenaline rush. We also enjoyed the company of Bill and Jeannie and Cathy and Larry of two other boats and they were along for the waterfall tour. 

In addition to the waterfalls we saw people carving soapstone, roasting cocao beans and we crushed some coffee beans. It was a very nice day.

We were escorted by Rosa VanSant; her husband is Bruce VanSant the author of the Gentlemens Guide to Passages South which is an important guide for people traveling down island. We were able to meet him last Sunday at a luncheon. We have also enjoyed trivia night here. Tonight there is a full moon party.




Prices are low here, beers are less than $2!