When I flew back to New York for my grandmother’s funeral, Ryan’s sister Carina and her two boys had just arrived to visit us in the Dominican Republic. And since I had no choice but to leave my visitors, I left Ryan behind to fulfill his role as Chief Entertainer and Favorite Uncle. When I returned, I only had three ... Read More »
Since Long Island has a relatively large population (4,000 people) compared to other islands in the Bahamas, we expected to see a string of developed townships as we drove through in our rickety rental car. But we were surprised and delighted to find that Long Island was as remote and sleepy as most of the other islands in the Bahamas. ... Read More »
Turning up to George Town for the annual Cruising Regatta felt a little like rafting up to a Carnival Cruise Liner or docking at a family summer camp. There were announcements every morning at 8 o’clock on VHF channel 72 letting you know the schedule of activities and events for the day, along with general announcements like, “The George Town ... Read More »
I was all set to write about Warderick Wells Cay being the dullest island in the Exumas chain and how we would have moved on more quickly if it weren’t for the gale-force winds that kept us tied securely to a park mooring ball. But then I downloaded our photos and had to laugh out loud. Who would ever believe ... Read More »
After anchoring for a night off Highborne Cay in The Exumas, we decided to head 5 miles north to Allens Cay where an unusual species of iguanas are the islands’ main inhabitants. We’ve been known to get stuck in places to do boat repairs, but in the case of Allens Cay, we decided to stick around for one more night ... Read More »
Cruising, for some, is defined as “working on your boat in exotic ports.” But, for us, it could be defined as “enjoying exotic ports while waiting for marine parts to arrive.” It turns out, having arrived to Bimini despite our engine troubles back in Fort Lauderdale, that our engine really does have a problem. And it turns out that the ... Read More »
The Intracoastal Waterway, for those of you who aren’t familiar with it, is a 3000-mile waterway system that runs the length of the eastern United States along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It’s partially made up of natural rivers, inlets and creeks and where natural waterways didn’t exist, artificial canals and locks were dug, providing a way for boats to ... Read More »
Four days after we said we would leave St. Augustine, we are still here. It started with excuses like “we need to go shopping,” then “we need to mail the cats’ permit applications to the Bahamas,” then “let’s look for a used spinnaker at Sailor’s Exchange,” then “we haven’t visited the fort yet”… until it became just plain, “It’s so ... Read More »
Just a few miles from St. Marys is Cumberland Island, a state park that was once home to a Spanish settlement, slave plantations and Dungeness, a mansion owned by the Carnegie family until 1925. The mansion burned down in 1959 with rumors of the arsonists’ identities varying from scorned girlfriends of some Carnegie sons to squatters who got kicked off ... Read More »
How much I like a place seems to be directly proportionate to how warm the weather is and how often I get off the boat. By that criteria, St. Marys, Georgia is hands-down my favorite port so far. Not only was the weather warm enough for me to run outside in shorts and a t-shirt, but the town of St. ... Read More »
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