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Sharing our journey

Precarious and Delightful

1/18/2024

 
Since my last post, a lot has happened.  All good, or at least, mostly good.  We have toured old forts, found great provisioning, had some boat work done, almost lost the dinghy to the sea, checked out some iguanas, swam with a few totally breezy sea turtles, ate some delightful cuisine and watched the Dallas Cowboys implode at their first playoff game (they lost bigtime).  Oh, and we visited four islands and three countries.  Yeesh, I need a nap.
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Beach walking is always a hit
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Yummy fish tartar!
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Iguanas are definitely other-worldly
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Sailing overnight from St. Martin to the USVI
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Restaurant donkeys in Coral Bay, St. John, USVI
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Hiking at Christmas Cove, St. Thomas, USVI
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Sharing the NFL playoff game with new (Packer fan) friends in the USVI
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Ocean's happy place, on the beach, anywhere (Christmas Cove, St, Thomas)
​Yes, all of that happened but, still, the most important was what happened earlier this week, on Tuesday to be specific.  At least it was important to us.
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You see, Tuesday was a weird one.  We had an appointment for Ocean at Critters, Cats & Canines Vet Hospital in St. Thomas.  Ocean is fine but we needed to see a Vet to get a new International Health Certificate for her.  Getting dog health certificates is just a regular task in our life nowadays but what was important was how the day unfolded.  If anyone is out there that wants to know what cruising down here is like, well, this might be the “Coles notes” version for you.

First, this is our experience.  It isn’t “the” experience.  That is lesson one.  Cruising is about being a snowflake.  How it is for us will certainly not be exactly how it is for you.

Second, weather is king but we all pretend, once in awhile, that we carry the crown.  We started the day with a secure and safe (and free) mooring at Christmas Cove.  The easterly tradewinds were sporty (up to 28 knots) and, rightly so, the waves and swell were equally animated, although more southeasterly.   The kicker? We needed to be a mere 2 nautical miles to our west in Brenner Bay in order to have a short dinghy ride into shore for Ocean’s appointment.  Sorry, did you hear that?  Yes, we had a schedule.  Never good.  Ever. In this particular instance we were moving our precious Wild Horses to a lee shore in shallow waters with almost 30 knots of wind, and worse, 7 feet of swell banging at our boat’s hull. Getting ready to set our anchor, we fell steeply from being “uncomfortable” into dangerous territory with our lee shore so close behind us. We knew it and spent an extra 45 minutes ensuring that our anchor was set (it was set – thank you double oversized Rocna!).

Third, cruising is precarious. At that anchorage, Mike, Ocean and I had to board our severely bouncing dinghy.  It was a feat that had me yelling “move people, this is not a drill!” as both Mike and then Ocean had to manage around swells that horribly slapped the dinghy against our stern, alternatively creating violent waterspouts and dangerous boarding gaps.  We then tolerated a salty (meaning we got soaked) 5 minute ride to protected waters.  Returning back, we were faced with the same problem.  A misguided step and someone could have been injured or in the drink.  Not good.
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The Captain finally hitting the calmer water in Brenner Bay after a salty ride in
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Waiting for the Vet (who, by the way, delared Ocean to be "strong, fit, a canine version of Michael Phelps")
Weighing anchor wasn’t much better.  We were struggling against the wind and swell.  I was at the bow (untethered, sorry, not my finest decision-making moment) holding on like it was a bucking bronco.  Okay, a little poetic license here, but it was pretty bouncy and unsettling!  The key for me was that at the moment that our anchor was released, Mike needed to be in control at the helm.  We were that close to shore.  Yuck.
 
Spoiler alert: We are fine.  We bounced our way back to Christmas Cove, picked up our favourite mooring and got two beers stat.  Then we chatted about what went wrong.  A schedule, mistaking “close by” with “easy”, and swells that were worse than forecasted.
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Not beers but perhaps more appropriate - painkillers!
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True that!
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A sunset is just the shaking of the Etch-a-sketch. Each day is anew.
The precariousness of sailing is real. From one moment to the next, you are not entirely sure that something won’t break down, that your sail will go smoothly or that you will find the tools/parts/provisions that you need when you next land your boat. But that uncertainty is worth it to us to have long walks on unspoiled beaches, to explore different cultures, to meet so many wonderful people, to enjoy beautiful sunsets and to be rocked gently to sleep with the waves lapping against the shoreline. Yes, the delightfulness of this lifestyle is just as real and, thankfully, more moments of our days are filled with that.
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Today we arrived in Puerto Rico, after spending the last seven days in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI).  We plan to spend a few weeks here while we await a good weather window to transit the Mona Passage on our way to the Dominican Republic.
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Most days are rainbows...
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...and beautiful vistas

Warning:  This Boat Stops for Pizza!

5/11/2023

 
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We had arrived in St. Thomas, USVI last Saturday and we were ready to explore. The very next morning (Sunday), we left our first anchorage on the far eastern shore of St. Thomas and headed for Charlotte Amalie, a very busy harbour that welcomes cruisers, local boaters and is also a port of call for many big cruise ships.  We anchored just off the cruise ship dock, which happened to be empty that night. This was a very rare day in Charlotte Amalie!  Instead of sharing the town with a thousand or so tourists, it would just be us, our buddy boats and a handful of other liveaboard cruisers.    
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Entering the Charlotte Amalie Harbour
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Rounding the final corner to our anchoring spot
​What was up next on our agenda?  A tour around town and a lovely lunch with our boat buddies. We walked to the tourist area and picked up a few fun things like water shoes and a dog collar for Ocean.  
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Victoria and Ocean walking along the harbourfront in Charlotte Amalie
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Pretty streets
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Mike walking through the gorgeous alleyways
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Lunch on the rooftop! Bumpa's was delicious!
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Ocean's new collar
It was an extremely hot day so we were relieved that most of the shops had air-conditioning and Ocean was extra happy they allowed dogs!  They even let her ride on the open-air town bus 😊.
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Ocean cooling off in the town fountain
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Waiting for the open-air bus
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Our buddies riding on the open-air bus. Ocean is just in front of their knees!
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Charlotte Amalie at night
Although Charlotte Amalie was interesting, we were all craving a bit of remoteness and the chance to do some snorkelling.  Early on Monday morning, Wild Horses, Caretta and Indigo Lady weighed anchor and headed off for Christmas Cove.

The trip to our anchorage was a bit sportier than we had hoped for.  The wind was a few knots stronger than expected and right at our nose, so no sailing for us. Making things even more uncomfortable was the high waves and ocean swell. The forecast was for 1-foot seas and we were definitely getting 4-5 feet, right at our bow.  It was a one-hour hobby horse extravaganza.   
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Arriving at our anchorage, right off the coast of Great St. James Island, we knew it was all worthwhile.  Pretty sandy shorelines, lots of rock outcroppings for snorkelling and that bright blue clear water that we love so much. We were wowed.
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Christmas Cove, St.Thomas, USVI
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Beautiful water
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Sunset at Christmas Cove
Oh, and the pizza!  Incredible!!  Huh?  Well, let me back up a bit.
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First, you have to know that we are pizza-loving people to the extreme. Actually, that is a massive understatement.  We are pizza-fanatics!  Back home, during our land life, we would have pizza at least once a week. And we love all kinds of pizza – New York style, deep dish, artisan, homemade.  Truly, we rarely meet a pizza we don’t like.  Since leaving Canada last September, we have devoured many a pizza.  For us, cruising is eating pizza in exotic locations! 😉
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Homemade pizza on the boat at Trident Yacht Club
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Takeout pizza in Wrightsville Beach, NC
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Yummy pizza on the patio in Annapolis, Maryland
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Pizza in Georgetown with our boat buddy Steve from Lola
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Delicious pizza in San Juan, PR after a big day exploring El Yunque National Park
​Second, we love new, unique and interesting stuff. I mean, that is part of the reason why we are living on our boat!  And, when those two loves come together in one place?  Well, you get The Pizza Pi, a real-life floating pizza boat!  Right in our anchorage!  Oh my!  Later than evening the motley crews of Wild Horses, Caretta and Indigo Lady enjoyed a fun evening of pizza, beer and “guess that tune” (supplied by Barry’s uber-eclectic playlist) aboard Indigo Lady.  Lots of laughs and full bellies!
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The Pizza Pi pizza parlour
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Inside of the Pizza Pi boat
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Mike, Barry and Dave picking up our three pizzas for dinner
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Pizza dinner on Indigo lady - Yum!!
​We finished off our time at Christmas Cove catching up on boat chores and letting Ocean get in some much-needed time swimming off the boat.  Also, on the agenda was getting Ocean to the nearby veterinarian at Canines, Cats and Critters.  She needed a booster for a few of her vaccinations and also to get an up-to-date international Health certificate for our trip to St. Martin.  It looks like a weather widow may be opening up early next week to make the 93 nm hop further south to our first French island so we want to be ready.  
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Ocean enjoying a swim off the stern of Wild Horses
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Ocean balancing her toy on her nose
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A little horse play with the swim toy
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The vet office in St. Thomas - Canines, Cats & Critters
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Mike and Ocean waiting for her appointment
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Ocean's vet was wonderful (center of pic)
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Ocean telling our boat buddies all about her appointment
But before we head to St. Martin, we have one more island in the USVI to explore – beautiful St. John.  We weighed anchor this morning and made the short trip over there for the weekend. More exploring ahead!!😊
Yes, we keep moving along!  See where we are today by clicking the link below!
Where we are now

Ocean Play:  From Culebra to the USVI

5/6/2023

 
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We arrived at the island of Culebra last Monday and loved it immediately. It is beautifully green with perfect sandy beaches littering the coastlines. The coral reefs around this island are known to be some of the healthiest in the area so our plan was to start the day outside of the main town and get snorkeling. 

But, small glitch in our plan. Mike had tweaked his back earlier in the morning, just before we weighed anchor. Ugh. He could move around but it was limited.  Snorkeling would have to wait. So, onto Plan B!  Our buddy boats went on to the chosen snorkeling site while Wild Horses continued for another hour to the main town’s huge lagoon. Here Mike could rest and our buddies would catch up to us the next day. Perfect!
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Downtown Culebra is very walkable, with lots of restaurants, cafes, and stores. Even a really great gelato cart with beautifully served gelato.  Passion fruit and cherry with a twist of coconut.  Yum!
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Welcome to the island of Culebra!
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Hector El Protector guides the mainland ferry into Culebra
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A view of the Culebra waterfront, from our anchorage
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Waiting out a squall along with a few chickens
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The small boat canal in Culebra
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This puppy came out to guard his small stretch of land along the canal
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Dinghy parking at the town gas station
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Tasty and pretty gelato!
Our boat buddies arrived the next day and we quickly made plans for exploring Culebra, visiting the nearby smaller island of Culebrita and also for doing some snorkelling and diving in the area. Mike’s back was healed and we were ready to have some fun. Our friends Dave and Lisa on Indigo Lady offered to play chauffeur for our three-boat play dates (Wild Horses, Caretta and Indigo Lady).  Awesome! Indigo Lady is a beautiful boat. Dave and Lisa purchased it as a sailing catamaran several years ago but quickly converted it to be solar electric powered.  It does not disappoint!  On the few days we were on the boat, it was moved entirely on solar.  Incredible!  You can see more about the conversion of Indigo Lady here.
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Indigo Lady
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Solar panels cover her roof
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Lots of space in the cockpit for chatting with friends
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Ocean and Victoria sit on the stern walkway on Indigo Lady
​Our first adventure was to take Indigo Lady to Culebrita. This island is home to incredible walking trails, beautiful natural baths and, oh my gosh, also to a hoard of bees! Thousands of them to be exact. The area is suffering from a lack of rain so these poor bees were looking for any and all sources of fresh water. For those that know our pup Ocean, well, this is a problem. She loves to eat bees.  Yes, you heard that correctly.  She actively hunts them down.  Now, with hoards of them in the picture, it was just too much for her and she did get the bitter end of a few of them.  Getting stung didn’t deter her though! With a swollen nose and jowl, she kept right at it. For the rest of us, the bees weren’t an issue.  They only wanted the fresh water and we had beers in hand (and not water) so they left us alone!
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Swimming always provides some relief from the heat
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Culebrita is littered with walking trails
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The Culebrita lagoon
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Ocean looking out towards the baths
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Ocean hunting bees aboard Indigo Lady
​On Thursday, we rented golf carts so we could see more of the island of Culebra. Caretta and Indigo Lady climbed into one cart and Wild Horses took the other.  It was an awesome day of touring the island, including an incredible day at Flamenco Beach, one of the world's most beautiful; beaches.  
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Our rented golf cart
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A view of our golf cart on the move with Ocean in the back
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Ocean looking back towards our friends, from her perch at the back of our golf cart
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Walking along Flamenco Beach
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Ocean loved the beach!
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An old tank used for bombing practice during WWII and for Vietnam
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Another tank, deserted by the US military and used for bombing practice
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Ocean and Barry enjoying a moment on the swing outside of the La Cocina restaurant
​Friday we continued the adventure!  We set off on Indigo Lady once again and headed around the north west shore of Culebra to explore one of the many island dive sites. Dave and Lisa launched their Hookah dive system (surfaced supplied air system), Andrea and Barry jumped in with their dive tanks, and Mike and I slipped below the waterline with our snorkel masks and fins.  And Ocean you ask?  Well, she did her exploring in her birthday suit with just a simple life jacket on.  Four ways into the water and we were all plenty happy with it all!
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A dive site on the western edge of Culebra
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Dave gets out the Hookah
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Barry getting suited up to dive while Andrea waits in the water
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Mike headed off to snorkel the coral reef
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Ocean swimming off the back of Indigo Lady
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Barry holding a lobster with eggs on her belly. Of course the lobster had to be put back!
​Whew, what a jam-packed three days of exploring the Spanish Virgin Islands!! But all good things must come to an end, but only so you can enjoy other good things!  And that is exactly what we did.  On Saturday we all weighed anchor and headed off to St. Thomas in the USVI (United States Virgin Islands).  We will explore the islands of St. Thomas and St. John as we look for a good weather window for heading to St. Martin.  More fun awaits us! 😊
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Wild Horses sailing along to the USVI
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Mike at the helm
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Our first anchorage was right beside the St. Thomas airport!
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Flying the USVI courtesy flag
Want to find out which island we are exploring today? Click the link below!
Where we are now
    Where are we now?

    Author

    Victoria is a hiker, dog-lover, blog writer and planner extraordinaire.  Oh, yeah and she is kind of fond of living on a boat.

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