"HOT, HOT, HOT"

We left Tobago at midnight, aiming for an early afternoon arrival in Trinidad. Even with a nap before leaving, there are still a few hours of darkness when it’s challenging to stay awake. Sunrise is a favourite moment.

On the north coast of Trinidad, the welcoming committee arrived. We truly are dolphin dorks, thrilled at every sighting. As Geoff walked forward with the camera, two dolphins matched their pace to his, as we motored along at 6 knots.

This guy rolled onto his side a couple of times to get a look at Geoff. We’re never sure who’s having more fun during these encounters – they romp and play, we grin like idiots.

This is the northwest tip of Trinidad where we turned left.

The land mass on the far horizon is Venezuela, just seven miles away. Trinidad was part of mainland Venezuela as recently as 11,000 years ago - a quick blip of time in geological terms.

There are three small islands at this northwest corner that create three entrances, collectively called the Bocas del Dragon – the Dragon’s Mouth. We used the first channel, Boca de Monos, into Chaguaramas Bay – that’s pronounced Shag-a-ram-us, an Austin Powers- approved name.

Chaguaramas is the yachting centre of Trinidad. There are a dozen huge boat yards with thousands of cruising yachts on the hard, either being stored or waiting for work to be done.

In and around each boat yard, there are storefronts and businesses offering every type of service you could possibly need.

It’s like a series of malls for boating services – the captain didn’t know where to head first. I took his Visa card into custody.

After checking in with Customs and Immigration in Chaguaramas, we took ‘Beach House’ another four miles east to Carenage Bay, home of the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association.

At our anchorage here, we’re surrounded by lush green hills, and in the distance to the east, we can see Port of Spain ……

…… which is especially beautiful with the sunset reflected in the highrises.

  

Seems we’ve found ourselves another boat club to enjoy.

TTSA has everything – laundry, wifi, swimming pool, showers, restaurant, bar, friendly local sailors, and like-minded cruisers. We’ve signed up as 30-day members for $100US. It’s a great place to wait for our solar panels to be delivered. 

Our friends Robert and Trish on ‘Bristol Rose’ had already been in Trinidad for several months. We hadn’t crossed paths with them since Martinique back in June, so it was great to catch up with them again.

Last Sunday, they took us to Maracas Beach on the north coast.

Maracas Bay is over a mile wide with three white sand beaches. It's very popular with the locals, especially on Sundays. And the people-watching is excellent.

The boys explored their Aussie roots and went body surfing for a couple of hours. Ready for a James Bond moment?

Meet Daniel and Craig.

Meanwhile, Trish and I sat on the beach fending off beach entrepreneurs selling jewelry, t-shirts, and trinkets. Then Peter sat down in front of us.

He was very clear how it would work. He would sing and we would pay him. So he did and we did - $10TT each. Peter’s medley wasn’t bad. It wasn’t exactly good either

And the group of kids beside us asked Trish to take their picture.

Check the poses. Turns out they’re dancers on a cruise ship. A lovely Brit group of young bodies heading for serious sunburn.

And we couldn’t leave Maracas Beach without a stop at the world famous Richard’s Bake and Shark. Oh. It's not world famous? Well, it should be.

The shark part is obvious - breaded fried shark. The bake part is a fried, pastry-like bun.

Just look at these generous portions awaiting toppings – tomatoes, cukes, slaw, sauces. We were so ready to chow down that we didn’t take a picture of the toppings table. It was beautiful and tempting. Here’s the proof.

We had a great day. Many thanks to Robert and Trish.

They’re in Grenada now, working their way up to St. Lucia where ‘Bristol Rose’ will join the ARC to head to Australia. Fair winds, guys.

"ON THE ROAD AGAIN" - To Tobago

The captain wanted to go on vacation for his birthday, so at the end of October we headed south to Tobago.

It was a decent overnight passage. The wind was steady at 18-22 knots ……

…… and our average speed was 6.5 – 7 knots most of the way.

Twenty hours becomes quite manageable when there’s steady wind and modest sea states.

There are two places to check in with Customs and Immigration in Tobago. Our best point of sail took us around the western tip of the island to the capital city.

Scarborough is a good-sized port but the anchorage is quite small, restricted by a huge shoal all along the beach area, a fishing fleet, the coast guard station, and by ferries that operate daily between Trinidad and Tobago. We were only two boat lengths away from this big boy as he backed up to the dock.

T & T Spirit is an Australian-built fast cat that covers the 70 miles between the sister islands in about two and a half hours.   

We walked up to the downtown section of Scarborough on Geoff’s birthday……

...... to a guide-recommended place for lunch – the Blue Crab.

There was no written menu. Alison had pork and fish dishes available, “but, sorry - the chicken all done”, she told us. The food was delicious and piled high in the Caribbean way. And then we had our first encounter with TT dollars.

The $253 tab was shocking. Until we did the math. The TT dollar exchange rate is approximately 6 to 1, making our lunch bill about $42US. Okay then. That’s a little better, though closer to North American prices than we’ve seen for awhile.   

The next day we walked along the waterfront area. The population of Tobago is only 54,000 people, but Scarborough seemed fairly bustling on a Saturday morning.

We found the reason for the party music that had blasted through the night till 8am that morning.

One common thread throughout the islands seems to be a love of loud music. Out at anchor, across the water, the heavy bass can rattle your bones.    

It surprised us that a lot of the produce at the markets comes from Trinidad.

Despite great soil and climate, there’s not a lot of farming on Tobago, apparently because of a lack of government subsidy. Fishing is important and tourism is growing. Our cruising guide calls Tobago “one of the last unspoiled Caribbean islands”. We'd have to agree.    

We enjoyed a few more days in Scarborough before taking Beach House around to Store Bay on the southwest corner of Tobago. We found surfers ……

…… and brilliant sunsets.

We were picked up in Store Bay for a private island tour. Trevor and Lynda, the brother and sister-in-law of friends in Toronto, have cruised on Impulsive III, a C&C40, since the early 90s.

Trevor is a returning Trinidadian, and the two of them built a house here on Tobago a few years ago. They rent out three units on the main floor and live on the second floor with a broad deck on three sides. This is just a small part of their panoramic view.

The land mass on the horizon is Trinidad. What a great place for sundowners.    

We had a wonderful day with them, driving along the south shore ……

…… up the east coast and back along the north shore, stopping at various beaches and lookout areas.

This is King’s Bay Beach on the south shore.     

And this is Speyside on the east coast, with postcard views in every direction.

After lunch, we drove to Charlotteville on Man of War Bay at the northeast corner of the island. You can see a few sailboats anchored on the far side of the bay.

Charlotteville is another port of entry for Tobago but much smaller than Scarborough.

It felt more like a seaside village – a charming beach town.     

Geoff grabbed this next scenic shot out the car window.

This is my favourite shot of the day - it’s very typical of the beauty at every turn – rainforest, rocky shores, pristine water.     

And the stop at Englishman’s Bay didn’t disappoint.

The local fishing boats are called pirogues – just part of the colourful local scene.     

We ended the tour at a beach bar on Store Bay where Geoff picked up a bird.

And this was our view of the anchorage ......

...... as we toasted our thanks toTrevor and Lynda for an excellent day in great company.

Life is good in Tobago.

"WHEN I'M SIXTY-FOUR"

When I get older losing my hair, 
Many years from now,

Will you still be sending me a valentine?
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?

If I'd been out till quarter to three,

Would you lock the door?

Will you still need me, will you still feed me? 

When I'm sixty-four.

You'll be older too,

And if you say the word,

I could stay with you.

I could be handy, mending a fuse,

When your lights have gone.

You can knit a sweater by the fireside, 

Sunday mornings go for a ride.

Doing the garden, digging the weeds, 

Who could ask for more?

Will you still need me, will you still feed me?

When I'm sixty-four.

Every summer we can rent a cottage,

In the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear. 
We shall scrimp and save.

Grandchildren on your knee,

Vera, Chuck & Dave.

Send me a postcard, drop me a line, 
Stating point of view.

Indicate precisely what you mean to say, 

Yours sincerely, wasting away.

Give me your answer, fill in a form,
Mine forevermore.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me?

When I'm sixty-four.

So here we are at the birthday lunch on October 30th in Tobago.

Yes, he’s an old man. But he’s my old man.

Happy Birthday Geoff!

FLASHBACK - "TALK TO THE ANIMALS"

Here are a few more moments from the logs of ‘Beach House’, loosely linked by feathers, fins, and furry friends.

Charleston, South Carolina, is one of our favourite stops along the Intracoastal Waterway. It’s a great city for walking, with its architectural charm and sense of history at every turn.

Every evening at sundown, thousands of little birds swarmed up from the trees on shore and took a breather on every available surface. They use Charleston as a place to gather themselves on their migration south. Much like we did.

These four guys got lucky for a few moments before Geoff realized they were using ‘Beach House’ as more than a rest stop. Apparently they feast on red berries that time of year, and – well – you can guess the outcome. The captain started snapping the lifelines every time the poor birds tried to land on us. But then who needs red polka dot decks.

We never tire of dolphin sightings, but these playful creatures seem to be camera shy. They come to play - you get out the camera - the dolphins move on. Many of our cruising friends have great dolphin pictures. We don’t, but this is one of our better shots. We were looking for a place to anchor in Dragon’s Point, just across the waterway from Melbourne in Florida.

There are wonderful stories about dolphins herding surfers away from sharks, so when this dolphin and his buddies swam around ‘Beach House’ for a few minutes, were they trying to tell us something?

Just a few miles further down the ICW in Florida is Vero Beach, known to cruisers as Velcro Beach, simply because you get stuck. It’s hard to leave the safe harbour, the great laundry and showers at the marina, the big solid dinghy dock, and the free bus service to all kinds of shopping. We caught up with good friends from Ontario there. Meet Kim and Cindy, part of the crew from ‘Clarity’. Kim is driving.

Kim and her family adopted Cindy in 2003 in the Bahamas. These Bahamian potcakes are basically mutts, but they’re smart, playful, and loyal. The locals would feed stray dogs the food caked on the bottom of cooking pots, hence the name ‘potcake’.

Pelicans are unexpectedly graceful for such awkward-looking birds. They fly with elegance, then crash dive for fish, beak first, from 20-30 feet off the water. Surely their little brains suffer.

Beside a pub in Vero Beach, this specimen was making a statement about the sign he’s sitting on. To put words in that big beak of his - “You don’t have to rent a jet ski to see me – I’m right here posing for you.”

Two of his friends were lying low ……

…… waiting at the back door of the restaurant for fish scraps, rather than catch their own. Cheeky boys.

Speaking of catching fish, we’ve yet to catch an edible one. We were having one of our best sails of the year on the way to Allen’s Cay in the Exumas, traveling at perfect trolling speed on spectacular turquoise water - and - bingo.

But wait. Rats. Our only lure seems to be a barracuda lure. This catch of the day was a moderate two feet long. The only way to retrieve the lure was to sacrifice some cheap gin, poured straight into his maw. At least he died happy and became part of the great circle of life – probably an appetizer for a shark. And it’s a good thing he didn’t expect tonic with his gin, ‘cause he wasn’t gonna get it.

Locals in the islands do eat barracuda – the smaller ones are not as likely to have the potentially deadly toxin ciguatera. A restaurant on Great Exuma Island had barracuda on the menu with the warning – “Eat at own risk”. Not for me, thanks, but Geoff tried barracuda fresh from a local fishing boat in Provo and pronounced it delicious.


A few months ago, we were asked if this cruise and the islands had met our expectations. Interesting question and interesting answer as it turns out. Our first reaction to the question was that we didn’t start out with any preconceived ideas, but then found ourselves saying that the Dominican Republic was most like what we had expected, less developed. So much for no preconceived ideas. Guess we had a picture in our head after all.

Here’s rush hour on the road to Santa Domingo in the DR.

This is not an unusual sight. Horses, cows, goats, donkeys – some are being herded home and some just wander the streets. Traffic has no choice but to wait. The locals don’t complain and we rather enjoyed it.

On a walk just outside of Luperon in the DR, we encountered these guys. I was a little hesitant as we passed them, expecting an angry bull to charge us.

You’re probably way ahead of me. They couldn’t have cared less. Island animals don’t waste any energy – it’s too hot.

This lovely lounge lizard was sunning on the dinghy dock in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Those deck planks are about five inches wide.

Salinas was our favourite stop in Puerto Rico. It’s another cruiser-friendly place with easy access to everything. We rented a car for a few days to find help for a computer problem. While we had wheels, we did some serious reprovisioning and a little touring.

Getting rid of boat trash in the islands can sometimes be a challenge. Just off the public dinghy dock in Port Elizabeth, Bequia, behind a commercial building, there’s a dumpster, making for easy garbage disposal. But apparently there should be a ‘Please Don’t Feed the Animals’ sign.

This little guy found something good. Don’t want to know the details.

We loved our time in Bequia for all kinds of reasons – a safe anchorage, great cruising friends nearby, and yet another clean, quaint place for walking. Bequia is also home to a turtle sanctuary. We did the tour with a dozen other cruisers and weren’t disappointed.

Our good friends, Ray and Genna from ‘Nighthawk’, were on the tour.

Everywhere she goes, Genna finds puppies and little dogs to befriend. They love her almost as much as we do.

It was Ray who taught us how to tell the difference between sheep and goats. Tail up – goat, tail down – sheep. Both animals are everywhere throughout the islands and not always easy to tell apart. Because of the heat, sheep here don’t need a coat, don’t grow one, and therefore can look like goats. But not if you know the difference. Everybody loves Raymond.

This family on Union Island amused us.

Mom is tethered, but the kids don’t need to be – they’re sticking close to lunch.

 And this goat on Petite Martinique needs an elastic tether, though I suppose the bungee effect could be a problem.

We can’t see the difference, but maybe the grass is greener over there.

And here in Carriacou are some of those sheep without woolen coats - no shearing required..

Lamb chops anyone?

When we first arrived in Clarke’s Court Bay here in Grenada, Mamma’s third litter of seven puppies was five weeks old.

All but three have been adopted out. Here are the three boys left.

At four months, they’re not quite puppies anymore, but they still haven’t grown into those paws. If we’re here any longer we may have to adopt one. Could happen.

 And of course we can’t sign off on an entry linked by animals without acknowledging the best animals of all – party animals. Here are a few shots of a great group celebrating Ray and Genna’s 28th anniversary a few weeks ago at Le Phare Bleu. We take our good times very seriously.

Ray, Genna, Pat, Kitty, Don

Carol, Charles, Gary

Ray, Kitty, Don, Geoff, Carol

Pat, Ray, Kitty

 Ray and Genna. Twenty eight years happy. Nice.

"IT DON'T GET BETTER THAN THIS"

When your 6’4” baby boy is escorted through the arrivals door at the airport by a 6’7” customs officer, a parent’s first thought is “Oh my god. What has he done?”

So quick hugs and kisses, then the formalities with authority. It was simple enough. When asked where he’d be staying in Grenada, Bil answered that he was visiting his parents on their boat. And of course he knew the name of the boat. All good. But he didn’t know where ‘Beach House’ was anchored, and immigration needed to know, hence the escort out to us for the answer. Phew. No cuffs, no jail, no delay. Let the week begin.

We planned a quiet day for Bil’s first full day in Grenada – a bus ride to St. George’s to meet friends for lunch at one of our favourite spots on Lagoon Road.

Bill has the local style down – shades, t-shirt, bathing suit, sandals.

Here’s the ‘welcome’ sign at our restaurant of choice.

The HorniBaboon is a great venue with good local food and unexpectedly decent burgers and fries.

Here are father and son at the entrance to the HorniBaboon, bonding at the Carib tree.

Next night we took Bil for happy hour at Le Phare Bleu, just a dinghy ride around the corner from our anchorage.

Bil is giving the callaloo fritters his glare of approval.

Wednesday was the big tour day. We'd waited for Bil’s visit before touring, so we were all pumped. Jim and Wendy from ‘Merengue’ and Ray and Genna from ‘Nighthawk’ joined us for the day – a great group.

There are many beautiful waterfalls in Grenada, some requiring a hike to get to them, but since we had multiple stops to make, our tour guide took us to the Concord Waterfall, no hike required.

Bil did the fresh water swim at the base of the waterfall. It was a typically sweltering day, so he didn’t stay all that refreshed for long.

At the top of the stairs that lead to and from the waterfall……

…… is the expected tourist row with food, drinks, and trinkets for sale.

Here’s Bil shopping ……

…… and finding a shark’s tooth necklace to his liking, so Mom

is reaching into her purse for the cash. Gotta get the lad a souvenir.

Next stop was The Spice Factory. Our guide was excellent – informative, patient, and quite funny in her quiet way. She’s got a great eye roll.

She showed us the island spices in their raw state ……

…. then cut them open and let us smell and taste where appropriate.

Cocoa beans, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaves, to name just a few – a colourful and intoxicating experience.

This is Michael Williams, our tour guide and driver for the day ……

…… showing Bil how easy it is to balance a basket of spices on your head. I don’t think Bil is buying the ‘easy’ part.

After another half hour drive through Grenada’s beautiful countryside, we arrived at Petite Anse for lunch. This is a colonial-style cottage-resort and restaurant on the north shore of the island, opened this past March by a couple of Brit cruisers who came to Grenada two and a half years ago and stayed.

The food was outstanding, the site was beautiful, and the scenery from the restaurant balcony was breathtaking.

All of us would have been quite happy to wile away the afternoon right there on the balcony, looking north toward Carriacou, sipping one more drink, but there was more to see.

 In French, 'sauter' means ‘to jump’. The town of Sauteurs on the upper east coast of Grenada has a place in island history.

Bil is standing at the edge of the precipice -

– well, at the ‘mom-approved’ edge.

Next stop was the Rivers Rum Distillery – the last place in the Caribbean where rum is made in the age-old way with the original equipment built over 200 years ago.

We were fortunate again to have a delightful guide for this tour. Here’s Patsy doing her thing, while Bil and Jim take pictures in the background.

This was typical of the tour – there are so many photo-op moments in this ancient distillery. Patsy was patient, surely used to people wandering around taking pictures while she’s trying to do her job.

The smell throughout is sickly sweet. And this last view of rum-to-be in one of the last steps before distilling? Could put you off rum.

But apparently not for long.

Here’s the elegant tasting room. The large orange container is ready and waiting, full of water.

Rivers Rum Distillery puts out 80,000 bottles of rum a year, but there are only three choices. The Rum Punch is red and quite sweet, although it’s only rum and lemon juice. The middle rum is 69% alcohol by volume – 138 proof.

But wait. Royale on the right is their most famous rum – 75% alcohol by volume. Yes - a mere 150 proof.

Patsy doesn’t ‘recommend’ starting with the 150 proof, but she does say that if you’ve come to the Rivers Rum Distillery, this is what you’ve come for, so why start with a lesser rum. Okay.

There’s about half a shot in that glass.

The men tell me that tossing it back is best.

Jeez. Best at burning the back of my throat. Thanks guys. That’s water in the other glass and I couldn’t get it down fast enough. I believe I may have won ‘face of the day’.

Our drive home took us through the Grand Etang Forest Reserve with a stop at Grand Etang Lake. Our guide, Michael Williams, is telling us about the damage done by Hurricane Ivan throughout the rain forest and about the continuing regrowth.

He had many stories and was very entertaining, but the best part of this stop was the cool fresh air coming off the lake. It was the coolest we’ve felt in months. I’ve no doubt that’s why Michael chose this spot for his longest talk. The whole day was excellent, the highlight of the week – good company, great sites, and a charming guide.

Friday night we took Bil to the weekly street party in Gouyave, a small fishing town about 15 miles north of St. George’s.

Two streets in Gouyave are closed to traffic for the evening and vendors set up their kiosks, selling fish prepared in every imaginable way.

There are fish fritters, tuna kabobs, fish lasagna, lobsters, fish spring rolls, and sides of plantain fries, corn bread, and more. Much more. And of course you can get something to drink. Bil is getting the rum rundown from one of his new rasta friends at the rum tent.

He's decided on Old Grog and apparently doesn’t want to share.

On Saturday we took the bus to Grand Anse Beach, one of the most famous in Grenada. This two mile sweep of white sand is the hub of the island’s hotel industry, but you don’t really see that. Strict laws prohibit any building higher than the tallest coconut tree.

Once again, Bil didn’t seem to have any trouble relaxing. Island life seems to agree with him.

The rest of Bil’s week? Shopping, more visiting with cruising friends, snorkeling, watching a big-time cricket match, sleep, and more sleep. He had a good week and we had a better week. “It don’t get better than this.”

Here’s one last shot of the Captain and the Kid at Le Phare Bleu on pizza night.

And here are a few websites with further information for inquiring minds.

http://www.webcamgrenada.com/grenada-blog/The-HorniBaboon-Bar.html?blogger=Administrator

http://www.lepharebleu.com/

http://hackingfamily.com/chris/school/spice_factory.htm

http://www.petiteanse.com/

=http://www.grenadaexplorer.com/tip/rumfactory/

I’m including the website for Barefoot Man as well because this blog entry title is one of his song titles. His music is silly, irreverent, and fun. “It don’t get better than this.”

http://www.barefootman.com/

Bye, Bil !!!

"SUMMER IN THE CITY"

Okay, okay. It's not technically summer - like we have anything to go by down here. We've been known to check the calendar to confirm what year it is. But "Summer in the City" is the song title that best conjures up the Saturday morning hustle and bustle of Grenada's capital city. The lyrics are in my head as I put this blog entry together. You're lucky you can't hear me humming.

About 35,000 people, roughly one third of the island population, live in and around St.George’s. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan damaged or destroyed 90% of the buildings on the island. The rebuilding and regrowth is amazing, although Grenadians are quick to point out that there is still much to be done.

St. George’s is built around a horseshoe-shaped

commercial harbour called The Carenage.

This waterfront area is lined with businesses, shops and restaurants.

The local fishing fleet ties up here in The Carenage……

…… and it’s not unusual to be find fresh fillets for sale – truly fresh catch of the day.

   This is looking west across the harbour toward Fort George up on the hill.

Between the grey and red groups of office buildings at waterside, there’s a road that veers left and then right through a tunnel cut through the lower hillside.

The Sendall Tunnel was considered an engineering marvel

when it was built in 1894.

It joins The Carenage to the Esplanade

on the west side of downtown St. George’s.

Once through the tunnel, our bus travels

along the Esplanade to the city terminal.

All the local buses come through this terminus,

so you can transfer to any bus right here.

Just across the street, looking left, you can’t miss the KFC sign, but the locals seem to ignore it. Just one more reason to like the Grenadians.

The KFC chain is on many of the bigger island cities down here,

but we have yet to see any golden arches. Hallelujah.

Oh man!?!. Geoff tells me we saw the McD thing in St. Martin.

Selective memory rules.

Then we head up the first cross street, and 'up' is the operative word.

The downtown core of St. George’s is built within an old volcano crater, making for some steep ups and downs and some strenuous walking.

The next street to the right takes us to the crowded market in the centre of the city.

You’ll have to use your imagination to hear St. George’s market.

In addition to the music that blares from every stall and every storefront, and echoes from every vehicle, horns are honking continuously. A tour guide recently told us that 95% of the honking is just to say hello to a friend. The other 5% means, “Good morning. Get out of the way. Please."

And there are loud voices everywhere – vendors, each with the sweetest mangoes, the bunchiest bananas, the spiciest spices. "Hello my lovely. Buy from me, I have the best."

You can get just about everything you need here at the market.

The expected local produce ……

….. the unrefrigerated eggs ……

…… and live crabs.

This young fellow was using twine to tie the claws. The crabs were moving pretty slowly though, if at all.

And wow!!! Hot boys!

Oh wait. It’s only a fast food truck.

We also found the unexpected for sale.

With a computer, a loaded hard drive, and empty DVDs, this entreprenuer has set up shop. Name your title – it’s yours for $20EC. That’s just over seven US dollars.

Right across from the central open-air market is a big North American-style grocery store, an obvious example of the contrasts in the city.

And in the next block ……

…… is the Scotiabank on Halifax Street - a little 'connection moment' for our Canadian friends and family. The incline taking you up Halifax Street gets steeper than it looks. At the top of the hill……

…… Halifax Street becomes Young Street. When we took this picture, we didn’t really see the dirt and graffiti. St. George’s is like any big city, I guess, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Continue down Young Street and you end up back at The Carenage.

We’re signing off with a few more pictures of city scenes that caught our eye, ending with a common sight in any city.

FLASHBACK - "WHEN YOU'RE SMILING"

When we look through the many pictures we’ve taken over the last year, there are some that make us smile every time and for very different reasons. For fellow cruisers and boaters, we've included a reference to the varied makes and lengths of boats making this trek.

Here are some of our favourite pictures, with their stories, in no particular order.

Crossing the Gulf Stream from Florida to the Bahamas is a big deal for North American cruisers. The passage isn’t necessarily long – about 7-8 hours for most sail boats under reasonable conditions – but the Gulf Stream can get nasty if the winds are working against the 3-4 knot current. Cruisers choose their time carefully. Sometimes the weather gods lie and you experience worse conditions than advertised. When we crossed on December 20th, 2008, we lucked out and the passage couldn’t have been smoother. Literally. No wind and no sea conditions. We had to motor, but the ocean was flat, flat, flat. We left a gentle wake for miles behind us. This picture definitely makes me smile.

Since no one has figured out how to tax the wind yet, we always prefer to sail, but we’ll take trawler sea conditions every time.

Norman’s Cay at the north end of the Exuma chain in the Bahamas is a wonderful place for so many reasons. The anchorage is beautiful. Just look at the water colours.

And it’s a wonderful place to catch up with friends. This is Frank and Lisa from ‘Sweet Sensation’, a Hughes 40 Custom, and Ernie and Marguerite from ‘Elysium VI’, a Whitby 42, arriving at ‘Beach House’.

And here are Bob and Sally from ‘Endaxi’, a Little Harbour 38, and Dave and Carol from ‘Passport’, a Gozzard 36. It was a fairly wet and bumpy ride that day but everyone braved the elements to come to 'Beach House' for happy hour. It was a real treat to get this group together. These cruisers have known each other for years.

Across Norman’s Cay, past the abandoned drug lord houses, is one of Jimmy Buffett’s top ten beach bars – MacDuff’s. The walk to get there is dry and dusty, with only one main thoroughfare to cross -

- with unusual traffic. There’s no crosswalk here – don’t bother putting your arm out.

Once you're safely across the tarmac, you'll find the entrance to the resort and bar, where there’s always a good time waiting. This is the internet table at MacDuffs –

- “free internet” with $6 dollar beers and $10 dollar glasses of wine. US dollars!!! This group includes the crews from the Canadian boat, ‘Northern Rebel’, a Pearson 40, and the Aussie boat, ‘Biscayne Bay’, an Irwin 52. Not a serious bone in any body here.

We had a kids' movie day aboard ‘Beach House’ while anchored off Williams Cay in the Bahamas. We invited the younger crew members from ‘Biscayne Bay’ and ‘Northern Rebel’ and they selected ‘Shrek’ to watch, to my delight. I’d never actually seen it all the way through and probably enjoyed it even more than they did.
Anastasia and I had our side of the boat ……

…… and Jake and Logan had theirs. We fed them popcorn and then chocolate cake with chocolate sauce. Fill them up with salt and sugar then send them home to their parents – what any good “grandparent” would do. It’s in the job description. Who are we to argue?

In St. Martin, we took the bus to Philipsburg for the local carnival parade – a long but excellent parade where the captain got into the act.

Geoff ducked under the flimsy barrier and cosied up to this smiling dance queen. She was great, posing and enjoying the moment almost as much as we did.

Meet Ray and Genna from ‘Nighthawk’, a 38-foot custom yawl. We have lots of pictures of ‘the kids’, as we call them, but this one is our favourite.

We were touring St. Lucia with a dozen other cruisers. This stop offered a fresh water ‘shower’ under the falls. No wonder they’re happy.

And the two best meals we’ve had in this last year were hosted by Ray and Genna on ‘Nighthawk’. These guys can fish and these guys can cook. Both meals were black fin tuna. The first time, Ray wrapped good-sized tuna filets in bacon and barbequed them. It tasted like the tenderest of red meat – but better. I think I brought something – whatever - can’t remember past the tuna memory. And I’m sure there was salad and dessert. But man – the tuna.
 
And here’s Ray preparing the second black fin feast on ‘Nighthawk’ in the Tobago Keys.

Genna had caught the tuna the day before, a smaller one, but they offered to share it with us. We said yes before they'd finished asking. Ray dipped the slices in a sesame oil concoction and seared them in a hot frying pan. Just the memory makes me smile. Maybe even drool a bit. Geoff and I really have to learn to fish. Hmm ...... or just head to the western Caribbean with Ray and Genna?

The captain likes to take pictures as people arrive at ‘Beach House’ for happy hour – you saw a couple of those arrival shots in the Bahamas pix earlier in this blog entry. He’s captured some great reactions. This is Carol and Gary, in St. Martin, arriving from ‘Goin’ South’, a Beneteau 47.

Carol almost fell over and out when she saw the camera.

And check out this picture of Gary and Carol.

Busted. Geoff and I had been out in the hot, hot, hot sun, watching the final Carnival parade at streetside in St. George's, Grenada. As the parade ended, we headed inside for a cold drink. There we find our friends from ‘Goin’ South’ – watching the parade from the air-conditioned bar.

The Lambi Queen Restaurant in Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou, had a steel band on Friday nights. Good, loud music in a tiny venue. You could almost taste the sound.

That’s Jim from ‘Merengue’, an Island Packet 27, trying to get a better look at the band, becoming entertainment himself. On the right is Jim’s wife Wendy, with Anne behind her from ‘Fine Line’, a St. Francis 44 catamaran. Anne’s husband Steve is just out of sight beyond Anne. We had a great meal with a huge serving of laughs on the side – no extra charge.

This is Barry from Australia, who was visiting fellow Aussies, Trish and Robert, on ‘Bristol Rose’, a Shannon 43. The three were part of a group who’d come to ‘Beach House’ in Ile de Saintes for a long, lovely happy hour.

It came out in conversation that Barry played the piano. I pulled out our tiny roll-up electric piano and Barry made this little toy instrument sing. He may not be smiling as he concentrates……

…… but take a look at Jack from ‘Anthem’, a Cabo Rico 38, enjoying the music.

This is Roy, our Kiwi friend from ‘Bold Endeavour’, a sister ship to ours. We were at the Tyrrel Bay Yacht Club for a fund-raising auction – part of Carriacou Race Week.

It was another sweltering hot day and Roy was airing his chest under a very fetching parasol. ‘Gutsy’ man, wouldn't you say?

Here’s another shot of Roy with his lovely wife, Doon, aboard ‘Beach House’ for happy hour in Prickly Bay, Grenada.

She’s enjoying a romantic pose for the picture – Roy is reaching for munchies. They’re a great couple. By the way, that's Sim from 'Aliana', a UK-flagged Corbin 39, in the background.

In Bequia, a group of us dinghied to a local beach bar for lunch. Geoff became our entertainment that afternoon.

That’s Jacqui and Dave, Brit newlyweds on an Amiel 50, ‘Jackster’, enjoying Geoff’s success at making four beer bottles balance.

Everyone has left the table, watching from a safe distance, except Ray from ‘Nighthawk’, as Geoff makes it six bottles. Clearly a man of many, many talents.
 
And coming full circle and back to the Bahamas, here we are with Pete on his CSY44, ‘Grace’, in Marsh Harbour, being silly for the camera. 

There’s a backstory to this pose. We met Pete in 2003 in the Bahamas and had some great times with him and his Dad, and with Terry, Kim and Brynne on ‘Fair’n’Sea’, a Nauticat 38. At Allen’s Cay in the Exumas ......

...... we dinghied over to the beach to feed the iguanas and did the photo op thing, sitting on one of the landed dinghies, legs up and arms waving. Don't we look six years younger?

And meet Bill Stanley, the friend of Pete’s who originated the 'silly pose'. He clearly has a talent for knowing what makes really great pictures. Being goofy does bring out the best smiles.                                                           We love the silly pose idea and thank him for the inspiration behind the Allen’s Cay photo above - one of our favourite pictures of all time.                                     

Odd though, that Bill is just standing here in this photo. Killer smile though. We look forward to meeting you some day, Bill!

And we'll sign off with one last picture of us.

To paraphrase Bob Newhart, “All we can say about life is - Oh God, enjoy it!” Keep smiling everyone!!!