St. Martin!

Sorry its a been a while since the last post.  We have been busy and I also blame the lack of a good internet connection.  We arrived in Nevis yesterday, but have been to St. Barts, Saba, Statia, and now Nevis since the last post from St. Martin.  St. Martin was lots of fun!  We spent a night in a harbor just north of Marigot called "Grand Case" before rounding north around the island and sailing to St. Barts.  We walked up to the big supermarket for some yummy cheese, deli cuts, and wine.  On the way back we got into a foot race with some local kids!  Grand Case is described as the "gastromic center" of St. Martin.  It was a great town and we had a delicious....small...;-)    french meal at one of the resturants.  It is definately somewhere I'd love to go back to!



A little pose on the bow with Grand Case in the background

Yummy French dinner in Grand Case




Touring around Grand Case after a delicoius French meal

 Next stop.... St. Barts

The Anegada Passage is an Angry Place.... St. Martin is awesome!

We took a little side trip up to Anegada while we waited on weather to cross the Andegada passage to St. Martin.  It was a beautiful sail both ways.  Below is a picture of Andrew on the way over there.

Sunday afternoon looked like our best chance to make the passage to St. Martin.  We finally got out of the Virgin Islands when we left Virgin Gorda around 1300 on Sunday, April 3, 2011.  We had hoped to ride a gentle south east/east wind well north of our rumb line and then tack as the wind shifted around North east and strengthened.  Well....  The Northeast wind came earlier then was ideal for us and the trip was a wet ride with a few seas washing right over the bow.  There was a bit of traffic out there and we had to get on the radio a few times and talk with the other vessels to avoid collision.  It was a looooooooooooong night.  Our jib halyard broke around midnight but the sail stayed up until around 4am Monday morning.  It was at this point that we tacked, Andrew threw up, the jib finally slipped down about a foot in it track and we rolled it up.  It was all in one flawless train of events!!!!  We motorsailed the last 20 miles or so wth only our main sail.  yucky!!!



Getting ready for an angry night.  Thats Virgin Gorda in the back ground.  Maybe 15miles off shore?



This is what the Anegada passage did to our jib halyard shackle.  Its now secured right to the roller furling with a bowline.  Less parts in a system... less parts to fail in a system.

We arrived is St. Martin, Marigot Bay with anchor down at 10:30 Monday, April 4, 2011.  Went right into customs to check in.  It was a very nice experience and besides the weird french key board that had a few keys in the wrong places and the lack of sleep, it went well.  The customs offical was very nice, helpful, and talkative.

Old fort atop the hill at Marigot Bay.  The cold beer I had with lunch may have been the best glass of beer I've ever had!!

Ferry and customs dock (Marigot Bay, St. Martin) 

This what you do while exploring the streets of Marigot at 11:30 am when you just crossed the Anegada passage and haven't really slept since 8am the morninig before...

Someone else thinks that yellow and blue go together...  :-)     Anchorage in Marigot Bay, St. Martin.

After our customs check in we walked around town for a bit and waited for the bridge opening into Simpson Bay at 1430.  Areyto, Andrew, and Rich were VERY salty and tired.  (The shorts I was wearing all night were stiff like cardboard!!)  We decided a splurge in a marina for the night would be good.  We could have a hot shower, do our laundry, sleep peacefully, etc...

Following a big cat through the bridge on the French side into Simpson Bay

Along the banks of the short little canel from Marigot bay to Simpson Bay

Monday afternoon wandering around the Streets of Marigot after our delicious french lunch (beef Carpachio, shrimp ceasar salad, two little bavaria beers....  what anegada passage?  St. Martin is sooooo cool!!

I think I reconized one or two bottles of wine in here.... 

Veiw from atop Areyto's mast fixing the jib halyard.  We are in a area called "Port La Royale".  There are a bunch of cool little resturants and shops along the water front.  They dock all the boats using the "Mediterranean moor" We had the anchor ready when the nice Frenchman explained that the line ws already tied to the bottom...

We had heard alot about the beach and beach bar at the end of the runway in St. Marteen.  So we went and got to experience it first hand!  It was intense and you really can't explain it to anyone to prepare them for it!  All I can say is wow!!  There is alot of umph generated burning that jet fuel!!

Below is a youtube link to someone else experienceing it.  We didn't get a chance to video ourselves.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkSRcBI4ff8&feature=related

I hope everyone is enjoying following.  We are off to St. Barts, then Saba as long as the weather holds up!!! 

St. Martin!!

We are off to St. Martin tomorrow!  Its a bit of a hike but its should be a great sail!  I'll post pictures of the whales we harpoon and the treasure we plunder at the next oportunity.

Off the Rock!!

We finally made off of St. Thomas!  The boat yard was not a fun place.  However, we have some funny stories and memories.  And...  Three coats of primer, four coats of Fighty Lady yellow awlgrip and Areyto is looking sharp as ever!!




New Paint job!!

 We sailed out late monday afternoon and had a wonderful sail over to Great Harbor on Jost
Van Dyke.  It was a pretty amazing feeling to be headed away from home knowing I wouldn't be back.  Finally cracked open the bottle of champagne that I've had for about 4 years awaiting this day!  Delicious steaks for dinner and we caught a fish baited with some of Andrew's steak.  They were that good!  Bottom line... We are off to a great start!!

40 lb jack.  Bill Brasky would be proud.

Sunrise over Tortola.

Boat yard

Areyto is out of the water and in the boatyard getting some much needed repair work.  good for Areyto.  Bad for for Rico and Drew....  the boat yard is a yucky place.

Areyto Adventures - Sailing trip - SpotAdventures

Areyto Adventures - Sailing trip - SpotAdventures

Departure Planning, money, the boat, Andrew

Things are happening quickly now!  Andrew arrived just before Christmas and although I was kinda of advising against him coming so soon since the trip was still slightly questionable about if it was going to happen... I'm happy he's here.  I'm actually very relieved the holidays are over now so I can really focus on working, getting the boat ready, and getting out on the water with Andrew.  Its amazing what a different world I've already entered regarding life priorities.  I'm excited, nervous, and slightly scared.  I think its because I really don't know what to expect and I've fallen into such a comfortable lull the last few years.  One thing I'm really counting on is that we won't get to far from home that quickly and I don't think it will take long for the four of us (Andrew, Areyto, the sea, and myself) to find our zen or discover we won't. 

Working:
I'm trying to work as much as possible for the obvious financial benefits.  This policy is of course in direct contradiction with making time for boat projects and the effort I have to make every morning to drag myself to work each day and put on a smile knowing the end is in sight.  Also, the truth is that without that hotel and its many challenges I wouldn't be planning this sailing adventure at all.  Thank you.  I know I'll miss the friendships I've made and the constant push to get things done.  It really has been a growing experience for me and I really can't say enough positive things about the people that really make that place go.  So thank you to all of those people...  but I can't wait to leave and get out on the wata mi son!!!  ;-)   I'll miss you St Thomas!  Hopefully I'll be back.

Andrew:
Andrew is here and we've managed a little quality time together on and off the boat.  I've known him for a long time, but have only sailed with him a few times.  He had lived in St. Thomas for a time and had helped with many Areyto boat projects with me while he was here.  good on ya!  I originally advised against him showing up here until the very last minute.  I'm happy he is here.  There is alot to do and most importantly get out sailing to dial in our life aboard and make sure its going to work before we quit jobs etc.  We had a nice meeting a week or so ago.  I felt really good about what was said about attitudes, ideas, expectations, and some logistical aspects of the adventure.  He is a great person and friend and not short on anything but maybe needing to get to know Areyto, her strengths, weakness, and basically knowing the big picture sailing challenges that we'll face, weather patterns, geography, current, etc.  He is going to be a rad person to experience it all with.  I need to adjust to him being aboard and be flexible and understanding to things he wants and needs.  Currently I think he wants to bring more stuff than nessary or we'll be comfortable with on such a lil boat but I think a few nights out on Areyto and some more sailing together might change his attitude.  If not thats ok too!  And tuthfully I don't really know what a few months on Areyto and with Andrew in the Caribbean will be like, so who am I to judge!?  I'm hoping AWESOME might be one word to describe the experience!!!

Project list...Ugh!!:
The project list is long, however there is a huge part of it that I will feel comfortable about just not getting done as that part of it is really just more creature comforts and fine tuning.  I've been living on the boat and have been on several trips so I'm feeling pretty ok about the boat if we were to leave tomorrow and kept the boat as is.  This gives me comfort in the back of my mind.

Anegada

So, in a nutshell...  Work as much as possible, work on the boat, make sure Andrew and I go out sailing!!  I'm excited!!!