We are so happy we finally are casting off our lines. It’s a nervous moment when you leave port after such a long time. Did we think of everything? Will the boat work? Do we still know how to sail? The harbor master and his crew help us with the undocking maneuver and then skipper…
A tough first week
Optimistic and maybe a little naive, we arrive assuming that just 2-3 days will be plenty of time to get ready for our trek up north. Boy are we wrong! We end up spending an entire week, sweating and cursing, working through an ever growing list of problems. The rational explanation is that sitting still…
Getting ready for another trip
That’s right. Another trip! Somehow, we are pulling it off, it seems. A turbulent year lies behind us. A year full of change and life’s challenges. It is all rather complicated and messy. Life. A process. With plenty of uncertainty and a meandering path whose destination we still don’t know. But here we are, on…
Close Call
Now this is really scary. It’s Sunday morning, June 30th, and I’m sitting in my apartment in Munich when I catch wind of a hurricane brewing near the southern Windward Islands. At first, it’s just background noise, but then I dig into the details—checking NOAA’s hurricane center, tracking the storm’s path—and that creeping feeling of…
JACE signing off – for now
I will keep this last post brief. Hard to believe the time has come to truly wrap up this trip and say goodbye to JACE and Grenada. The past days have been very busy – and hot. It is the dry season now but even by those standards hotter and dryer. So sweating and frequent…
The final leg to Grenada
I still have a few days before I need to be back in Grenada. So I stay longer on my favorite, Union Island, and head to the wonderful anchorage at Clifton Harbor. This is the anchorage protected by a big reef that is also a popular kitesurfing spot and where I took lessons back in…
My favorite island
After a day’s rest and with the autopilot repaired I push on south. I make one more stop in St. Lucia, back down at the two Pitons. With the wind being a bit more southerly than usual, the anchorage here is a somewhat rolly. But it is so nice here that I decide to stay…
Very different weather
Anika had repeatedly expressed her preference for lots of wind and clouds and rain over too much sun. And while that are more unusual conditions here, she got what she asked for. And fittingly, the day after her departure the weather flips back to sunny. More than sunny, there are big lows way north that…
Repairs in Fort de France
After bidding Anika farewell and wishing her god speed for her big bachelor’s presentation in two weeks, I have some time to regroup, plan my remaining trip, and get JACE’s anchor windlass repaired. But first it is Sunday and that forces me to take a rest day. I sleep in, do a few things around…
Farewell Anika
Hard to believe how fast those two weeks flew by. We had a magnificent time together and did so much. Lots of sailing up and down the islands, with plenty of wind and also rain at times. A few awesome hikes and great snorkeling. Actually, the spots we found both on St. Lucia and Martinique…