Rain, wind and rocks in our heads

Time to leave Antigua and make our way to Guadeloupe. We really have no choice but to do so with the dog situation and all ( Gracie is still feeling very humiliated!). The crossing was almost 7 hours with winds gusting up to 32 and wave heights 20-25 feet and occasional rain. Not very pleasant to say the least. 

But we arrived with no one getting hurt and nothing broken so that's considered a good day of sailing ( I quote Bill Strein). 

Guadeloupe had as much rain as it did sun so lots and lots of rainbows. Spent one night. Now off to Iles Des Saintes for the holidays.

Antigua: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

The good: Antigua is absolutely beautiful! It feels like a mixture of the Caribbean Islands and Bermuda rolled into one. It is a sailor's paradise. The harbors are deep, the yachts are magnificent, the hills lush, the restaurants plentiful, and the people friendly.

The bad: We were denied immigration to the island because of my 7 pound Maltese dog! Despite having papers from my Vet saying that she had her rabies shots ( actually 2 in the last 5 years and each shot is good for 3 years), being microchipped which is a requirement, and the Vet declaring her in excellent health, this was not good enough. They wanted to see that she had a blood test that indicates if the anti-rabies blood cells are present. Oh come on! And, there is only one place that conducts this test which is in Kansas and takes 4 weeks to get the results!

The ugly: We have 24 hours to leave the island. There goes our Christmas in Antigua. Looks as if we will be heading to Guadaloupe.




Unfortunately, there are probably 3 other islands that we may have the same problem with. Looks as though my son Alex who is visiting in February will have to fly her home with him. Any one for taking care of a sweetie pie of a dog for 3 months??

Friends visit

Our overnight trip to St. Martin was relatively calm and uneventful - a nice change.  Saw some shooting stars and falling cosmic debris, which it must have been since it was falling straight down rather than shooting across the sky and it was very bright. Or perhaps it was some alien spaceship hurling towards earth. They should have landed here and sampled the rum! 

So we are here for a few days, catching up on laundry, food provisioning and repairs while we wait for the arrival of our friends, Sue and Curt.

Sue and Curt arrived and it was so great to see them! We met at the Buccaneer Bar on a beach for drinks and dinner. Off to sail to St. Bart's the next day and caught a dolphinfish en route ( no, not like Flipper!) and sautéed it for a delicious lunch. 

Shopping the shops in St. Bart's is an experience! Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Hermes - all outrageously expensive. But the island is beautiful and the restaurants worth going to. We took a taxi to another part of island to have a look around and enjoy the ocean beach, pool, and have lunch at a boutique resort. Back on the boat that evening ready to grill lamb chops and it poured buckets! Didn't stop us from having a great feast anyway.

Stopped at ST. Martin for a night before moving onward to Anguilla. I love this place. So laid back and not at crowded with the beach bars and the fine music they produce. We sailed a short way to Sandy Island while there. This island is about 300' by 80'. Just a perfect little island with about 7 palm trees, a shack bar and grill and reefs to snorkel, pink white sand to lay on,  turquoise water gently lapping the shore, and the sound of the palms swaying in the breeze. It was soooo relaxing and we couldn't help but feel removed from the rest of the world. 

That night back in the cove of Anguilla, we lit our underwater lights that my daughter and her boyfriend gave us. This is designed to attract fish which it did -  a few 3 foot long tarpins, a sea turtle, and several types of little fish. It did provide entertainment for us for a couple of hours!  

We were glad to be able to share some of this with friends. We hated to see them go! 

Peter and I then sailed onto Nevis for a couple of nights. Note the picture of rainbow taken there. Not bad, right?

We are currently hobby horsing our way to Antigua which is a long sail ( 9 hours) in rough waters and strong seas. Peter seems to relish this type of sailing. I just want to be level and stop adding to the bank of bruises I have acquired! My little dog Gracie has really turned into a sea dog and just seems to take it all in stride. 

We will be here for about a week, celebrating Christmas on the island. 

Pictures are:Dolphinfish, Sue and Curt, Gracie swimming, lunch and drinks on Sandy Island, outhouse on Sandy Island, rainbow in Nevis.

Virgin Gorda

This is a beautiful spot with 3  or 4 stylish resorts. The hills are lush and there are even wild goats. We went snorkeling and saw cuttlefish ( very odd looking), a stingray, and lots of conch. They also serve painkillers here! Party islands! This one particular bar has underwater lights and 3 foot tarpins swim around it. They are graceful fish and the light shimmers off their silver scales in such a radiant way.
Tomorrow we are off the Spanish Town to sign out of the BVI's then off to St. Martin to meet up with our friends, Sue and Curt who are flying in from NY next week. It will great to have company and share some of these experiences with them.