What’s Next? Our winter plans are written in sand at low tide

We have met a lot of people doing what we are doing. Or, sorry, one small but important correction - we have met a lot of people living on boats long term.  You see, although on the surface we all seem to be doing the same thing (i.e. living aboard in exotic places), we are all essentially snowflakes.  The most obvious “same but different” element is the boat.  The word “boater” is so general - we are on sailboats, motorboats, catamarans, monohulls, big boats, small boats, expensive boats and, yes, boats that look like they are about to sink.  And then there are the actual people themselves, and their choices, which really tell the story.  We come from different countries, took different routes to get here, we travelled alone, or with buddies, and our future boating plans vary wildly. There is always something to talk about, and learn, when you strike up a conversation with a fellow boater.
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As we near the end of hurricane season, the question that pops up most often these days is “Where are you going next?”. 

Some people are headed west towards the Panama Canal, others are going south to Trinidad and Tobago, many are headed back up north, some are planning Atlantic crossings and a few are staying put in Grenada.  These content souls have boat work to finish up, family visiting or they just have fallen in love with the island and are happy to stay a bit longer.
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Whichever direction they are going, boating plans seem to fall into one of two camps.  People are either “continuing” or “returning home”.

Several of our boat buddies had set agendas for their boating trip.  The plan was to sail south to the Caribbean and then head home.  Back to their houses, cars, family, friends, and even to careers.  This was a trip of a lifetime and may even be one that they repeat sometime in the future.

For us, this is not a one-year gig.  We are doing the travel thing indefinitely, whether it is on a boat, in an RV or some other method of travel we haven’t even thought of yet.  Right now, it is on a boat and we are loving it.  We are “continuing”. 

But when people ask us “Where are you going next?”, we are a little less definite. We know we will be headed north, back up the eastern Caribbean island-chain but where we turn around, or “if” we turn around is less clear.  This year, we have less of a schedule.  We have the freedom to go as far and as fast as we choose, with the only certainty being that we need Wild Horses to be safely sitting in a hurricane-sheltered spot by next June.  That could be Grenada or Luperon in the Dominican Republic or even in a hurricane hole in the United States.

That is a decision we will make sometime over the next several months. 

Victoria enjoying a dinghy drift in Grenada

The crew of Wild Horses in Luperon, Dominican Republic

Sunset in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Where will Ocean put her paw prints next?

​Our plans for our time in Grenada are more solid.  We are getting Wild Horses ready for our trip north to St. Vincent & the Grenadines, which will happen in just over a month from now.  We have a few boat spares and upgrades getting delivered to the island, and our new high-powered solar charge controller will get installed next week.  We have renewed our Grenadian cruising permits and visas to mid-November and we have a list of tasks that need to get done before we depart the country – for example, Ocean’s paperwork, another boat bottom cleaning, servicing the dinghy, and also installing our new navigation light which was broken during Tropical Storm Bret. We even have a list of “cheaper in Grenada” things to stock up on before we leave this great island.

Pam walking along the Carenage (waterfront) after Mike and the rest of the gang renewed their visas for Grenada

Mike had a great lunch in the Carenage (Victoria was back on the boat with Ocean)

Renewed visas!!

​But don’t worry, we are also fitting fun things into our days, including exploring more of what Grenada has to offer.  This weekend we have a great opportunity to explore a local farm that is having an open house to collect donations for the Grenada SPCA.  Oh, and it is football season so catching a few college or NFL games with our boat buddies is also on the menu. 😊

The start of Hash #1260. It was a long (2 hour) hike through challenging terrain on a very hot Saturday

The end of the Hash. All of us were tired, especially Ocean. Pam is an avid hiker and consoled our tired pup!

Ocean swimming with her new buddy Barley

We love shopping from Jenny's Farm. The vegetables are always freshly picked that day!

A Rasta Caterpillar chomps on the leaf of a local tree. These guys are huge!

We have football on Wild Horses! Note the pillows behind the TV. This is to protect the TV when ocean swell moves into the anchorage (we roll!!).

Following along with our travels?  Want to check out where we are and where we will be next?  Click the buttons below!

Where we are now

Our sail plan