Ahoy, fellow adventurers! Grab your imaginary life jackets and join us as we navigate the sparkling waters of the Caribbean, from Antigua to the Grenadines, with a sprinkle of humor and a dash of saltwater in our hair. Actually, I’m not sure we will ever get the saltwater out of our hair. Our journey has been nothing short of epic, filled with hikes, scuba diving, snorkeling, and the occasional “oops” moment that keeps things interesting. I am a little delayed in my posting at this point. Only about 50 weeks behind but alas, I am now on Caribbean time!
Antigua: Where Every Beach Is a Dream
Our Atlantic crossing ends with our anchor in the sand in Jolly Harbour Antigua. We had a great and relatively uneventful crossing which is what we had hoped for. Upon landing, we eagerly made our way to shore for some libations, celebrations and yes, there may have been some karaoke to the sound of “Frozen”. Half our crew were slightly delayed for the libation period as they took a wrong turn and ultimately found their way to the restaurant in the back of a locals pick up truck. It’s okay, Dave and I drank enough for everyone. The following day we headed out for a two tank dive day and some snorkelling. It’s so wonderful to finally see some fish after our experiences in the Med. Cap it off with my favorite dish; chicken roti and I am happy.
St. Barts: Mega Yachts and Champagne Dreams for New Years
Arriving in St. Barts feels like stepping onto the set of a Hollywood movie—except everyone is sipping champagne, buying luxury items on the main strip and having their assistants carry their bags to their mega dinghies. Oh, and Jay has abandoned me at the helm to weave my way under sail between hundreds of mega yachts whose annual operating costs is at least 10 x the cost of our boat alone. Fortunately, my skills have improved and despite the gusty conditions, I did not manage to collide with Jeff Bezos’ boat or the founder of WhatsApp’s yacht (or his 2 support yachts). We can’t help but feel a tad out of place in our slightly sun-faded swim suits (except of course the boys who have resorted back to boat clothing i.e. undies). But the New Years Eve fireworks display was sensational and all the mega yachts got on their horns in unison to ring in the New Year. After a night of partying, more than 2/3 of these giant ships were long gone by 5:30 the next morning.
St. Maarten: Plane Spotting and Beach Frolicking
Ah, St. Maarten, where the planes fly low and the beachside cocktails flow freely. We spend our days frolicking in the surf at Maho Beach, dodging incoming aircraft like a game of aerial dodgeball. Note to self: sunbathing directly under the flight path may result in an unexpected sandblast exfoliation. Alas, the boys are on cloud nine and loving their bright pink skin.
We tried to do some boat work in St Maarten but unfortunately things did not go to plan. Our instructions from the FKG contact for how to navigate through the lagoon were frankly wrong and we found ourselves outside of the channel and grounded on some mud. Fortunately it was mostly soft and we were eventually able to reverse off the bank. Eventually someone came out on the dinghy and led us through the unintelligible, unmarked twists and turns to eventually land at the dock. All that was done to find out that the hydraulic steering technician was no longer available that day as there was a “megayacht” emergency and as always, they take precedence. The proposed solution was to go back and anchor in the lagoon and he would come by the next day to completely dismantle our steering and return in maybe a week to replace it. Umm, no. We will top up some hydraulic oil and make our way out of mega yacht land.
Anguilla:
Anguilla welcomes us with open arms and pristine beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, we can only anchor in one bay unless we want to cough up the tourist fee of $325 usd per day to explore any other beaches. While our anchor spot has a lovely beach and incredibly friendly locals, the view is certainly marred by the semi submerged 68 foot luxury catamaran that had a battery explosion in their starboard hull a few days prior. The owners and captain are diligently trying to salvage whatever they can prior to the boats demolition in 2 weeks time.
BVIs: Diploma in Diving and Marine Medicine
In the BVIs, we dive headfirst into adventure—quite literally, in some cases. While completing the final component for my diploma in diving and marine medicine, I met some truly inspirational legends and had a great time diving at some epic sites. The boys even did another bubble maker dive with a fantastic dive master and now Evan is keen to complete his Jr Open Water Certification. All in all these 2 weeks were fantastic.
USVIs: A chance to slow down and reprovision
We took a small break from our go, go, go schedule and sat on a mooring ball in the USVI’s marine park for a couple weeks. This was a very nice chance to rest and recover with numerous hikes to many of the old sugar mill ruins and trails all across the island. We also took advantage of the North American like grocery stores in St Thomas to re provision with such crazy food items as: Peanut butter, maple syrup, Rice Krispies, Quaker Oats Granola, Bagels and maybe a few packets of Sour Patch Kids ;).
We had a long discussion with a local marine biologist about how the aquatic life in this area is infinitely less than it was when we were here only 4 years ago. We learned about SCTLD (stony coral tissue loss disease). This is extremely fast spreading and has essentially annihilated the stony coral in the USVIs and BVIs. It was first discovered in Florida around 2014. It hit the shores of the virgin islands last fall and within 3 week 80% of the stony coral was GONE! Add in 2 bleaching events in the past year and this area is truly a sad state of affairs. Apparently it has even made it’s way as far south as Bonaire this year. This may change our route planning for next year and is terrifying to think of what will happen to marine life within the entire Caribbean Sea.
Alas, we move on and happen to find a perfect window for a rarely visited island; Saba.
Saba: Scaling Mountains and Dodging Clouds
Scaling the highest Dutch point in Saba proves to be a feat worthy of a true adventurer. As we navigate through dense rainforests and dodge the occasional wayward cloud, we’re rewarded with a view that takes our breath away. On our descent we classically try a detour that will allow use to hike a loop around the island. This is not a highly utilized trail as we soon discovered while sliding in ankle deep mud down steep bluffs. Once we got below the rainforest level though, the trail mellowed out and made for a fantastic hike.
Saba has been the highlight of our season. This island is not frequently travelled as conditions rarely allow a boat to moor on the leeward side of this incredibly small island. We just happened to get a pristine window and enjoyed two blissful days in this unbelievable gem. Jay even got to do a “Ghost Ship” dive on Saba banks. The dive operators have been on the island for 15 years and this dive site has only been diveable 5 times in that period!
Dominica: Swimming with Sperm Whales
Swimming with sperm whales in Dominica sounds like a scene straight out of a National Geographic documentary. It was never something I though we would experience. Truthfully, I wasn’t even aware that there is a resident pod of sperm whales in the Caribbean until just before we set sail to Dominica. But as we plunge into the depths and come face to face with a magnificent 55 foot female who simply watched us as we swam with her for 5 minute, we realize that reality is even more awe-inspiring than anything Hollywood could dream up. This has been our once in a lifetime experience!
Guadeloupe: Stifling heat, tons of rain but a visit from the grandparents
Martinique: Visitors aboard Boat Maintenance, James oopsies, Amel Cups, and Brain Recharging
In Martinique, we take a break from the high seas to tackle some much-needed boat maintenance. We arrived a few weeks early to take on some fantastic visitors. The Leskiw’s appeared and the kids were on cloud nine all week. Much fun was hide diving off the boat, off the dock and out of massive bouncy castle structures. We were truly sad to see them leave. Yes, there were tears.
Shortly thereafter the boys got to spend a week with their cousin and we enjoyed a great time with her parents. The boys got discover the important learning skills of what a riot looks like and what tear gas smells like. “Worldschooling” it is for us.
Following this, we headed south for some relaxing times in St Annes before the beginning of the Amel Cup, a sailing regatta we had signed up for with boats that are the same make and vintage as ours. Unfortunately, there was a slight hiccup in our planning. The day before the cup was to kick off we enjoyed a lovely 4 km hike to a fantastic beach where the waves were bigger. We brought some boogie boards and prepared to settle in for a full day of beach fun. Not 30 minutes later though, James unfortunately found himself in a curling wave and managed to jam the boogie board between his arm and the sand. The obvious tenderness and crepitus made it apparent that he had broken his arm. He was incredibly stoic as we splinted him and carried him out on the boogie board. Alas, medicine in resource restricted areas was as expected. The local hospital did not have imaging on the weekend so we brought him back to the boat where I ultrasounded him and tucked him in for the night. The next day a friend graciously drove us to the other side of the island where he was able to get a confirmation xray and a script for a better shoulder immobilizer.
Needless to say, we did not participate in the Amel Cup. James got to experience the next few days of Netflix and Chill with numerous movies and David Attenborough films. Meanwhile, Evan was on cloud nine as he found himself invited to sail on a Canadian Amel 50 and befriend a couple who own an Amel 60.
Shortly thereafter, I returned to Canada for a mental reprieve as I was desperately feeling the need to work (I know!). Upon my return, we met some fantastic new cruising friends and were able to get in some hiking and more exploring together.
The Final Legs: St Vincent and the Grenadines! The true highlight of the Caribbean for us. From the lovely Bequia, where Evan got Open Water certified for diving, to the stunning Tobago Cays with the best snorkelling of the entire season. We had a fantastic visit from friends and then set sail further south to Grenada. As we chart our course for the final legs of our Caribbean season, we can’t help but feel a sense of excitement for the adventures that lie ahead. From storing the boat in Trinidad for hurricane season to formalizing plans to cross the Panama Canal, explore the Galapagos, and cross the Pacific Ocean next year, the world is our oyster—quite literally, if we play our cards right.
Conclusion: As we sail into the sunset, our hearts are full of laughter, memories, and the occasional slightly embarrassing anecdote. From Antigua to the Grenadines, our Caribbean adventure has been a rollercoaster ride of highs, lows, and everything in between. And as we raise our imaginary glasses to toast the next chapter of our journey, we know that the best is yet to come. Smooth sailing, fellow adventurers, and may your sense of humor always be as buoyant as your spirit of adventur
