About Face…

saying goodbye to Joel and Lisa

saying goodbye to Joel and Lisa

After saying goodbye to Joel and Lisa in Barbuda we spent the day dithering about what to do next. I had envisioned continuing our island explorations and being in Grenada for hurricane season but it quickly became clear to me that all Jeff had on his mind was catamarans. When he has something weighing heavily on his mind there is little to no room for anything else; very single minded. After some discussion we made the decision to start heading back to take Echo to the US and ready her for sale. We also made arrangements to connect with a broker in St. Martin to see a few boats while journeying back. It is difficult to think of leaving Echo but it seems that our minds are made up concerning making a change.

In justification of Jeff’s thought process there had been much talk of northerly swells lately which makes many of the smaller islands difficult to visit. The anchorages are much less protected than we had in Antigua, this would mean that we would get little sleep aboard Echo due to the rolling making things much less enjoyable.

We had considered clearing out at Barbuda but thought it would be better to get back to Jolly Harbor for some provisions, fuel and check-out. No fish on the line or any more whales in-route back but another great sail which is always a good way to spend the day. The process of clearing out proved to be an interesting one. First stop, immigration where the officer was watching an important cricket match on TV. He had to mumble a few instructions to us but did so while never taking his eyes off the screen. The next office was customs where a very nice woman was watching a soap opera. She asked about employment and Jeff said something about retirement whereby she began a pleasant conversation about looking forward to her retirement. Back to Immigration, a few more grunts, a stamp and we were on our way. Moved over to Hermitage Bay for a few hours waiting for departure time. As we headed out at sunset there were squalls around but never came near us.

imageStarted my night watch at midnight after a 3 hour nap. The wind had been out of the southeast so we were on a beam reach sail since heading out, hovering between 5 to 6 knots. There were squalls around so I turned on the radar, rain storms will appear on radar. Since we were under full sail I would prefer to know and reduce sail before we get hit. It’s a new moon so the sky is very dark with thousands of stars visible. I watched the lights of Nevis and St. Kitts pass by on our port side then St. Bart on starboard as we headed west.

Squalls around

Squalls around

The only other traffic is another boat a few miles behind heading the same way. Squalls around continued through the journey but our luck held out for the duration.  It is always so nice to be under sail with no engine sounds but eventually the wind died down and we had to start the engine.

We arrived back in St. Martin mid morning and dropped anchor outside to wait for the next bridge opening. It was very rolly out there but we made water and did laundry. Once inside we found that Simple Life and Xanadu were still there and had been joined by Mistress and Jacasso (both of who we had not seen since Luperon). We spent a nice evening with all of them to catch up on travels and stories. We were also lucky enough to have befriended Chris and Yonnie of Magus who invited us for dinner one night. They were great company and Yonnie is a professionally trained chef ~ we were treated to an amazing dinner with them!

We had stopped in St. Martin primarily to meet up with a broker and see some catamarans. We saw a Catana 471 and Privledge 495. Both boats have lots to offer and the effort served to further educate us as to what is available in different makes of catamarans. Conversation with the broker was also valuable, both in giving him a better idea of us and our needs and learning more about various brands and catamaran sailing in general. He also arranged for us to see more boats as we pass back through the Virgin Islands.

A guy stopped by the one day to ask if we wanted a crew member on the journey back to the states. He had been hitching rides around where ever he could and hoped to make it back to the states soon. We considered his request but did not accept his offer for several reasons. First and foremost, we knew nothing about him or what he might be carrying. And being somewhat unsure about our plans, we may have ended up leaving Echo somewhere along the way if we decided to place her for sale in the islands. Also, we are not quite sure how clearing in and out of countries would be impacted if we came in with a crew member and left without him… Pretty sure we will only take on crew if we know them well!

During this time I had been watching the rescue of Rebel Heart being played out and was relieved to hear the family was all safe and the youngest child was responding to medication. I belong to a Facebook group which Charlotte, the mom on Rebel Heart started and have followed events in her life for the past year and a half so I feel like I know her. The cruising world is a small one.

We had a bit more French cuisine, said our goodbyes once again and back out. We anchored outside Simpson Lagoon for several hours and got some sleep before raising anchor at 2:00 am to head back across the Anegada Passage. We had an uneventful crossing under motor and arrived back in North Sound Virgin Gorda about 1:00 pm. We cleared in at Gun Creek and rested up from the journey.

We met up with a broker in Manual Reef Tortolla the next day and saw a Voyage 50 and a Knysna, further catamaran education. We spent a night anchored in Soldier Bay on Norman Island then over to Cruz Bay St. John to clear into USVI and pick up a package at the post office. From there on to Magen’s Bay St Thomas where we anchored for two nights and enjoyed some swimming, paddle boarding, dolphin watching and another full moon.

We moved on to Culebra Puerto Rico and connected with Jim and Ali of Kindred Spirit who we had met while at Palmas Del Mar Marina last fall. We really enjoyed catching up with them and we also enjoyed a visit with Rick and Sue aboard Orion. I did get up and see the lunar eclipse while in Culebra, pretty amazing. We had intended to move through Puerto Rico quickly and be on our way to central Bahamas but the weather has not cooperated. First the wind and seas were too high for very comfortable travel then various conditions have caused the trade winds to die down to almost nothing fir a few days, also not conducive to sailing. It’s a bit frustrating seeing such light trade winds since we spent months working our way east against strong ones. Having turned west we should have had a wonderful, quick downwind sail to the Bahamas. In any case we have worked our way back along the south coast of Puerto Rice and hope to be moving across the Mona Passage this weekend. On a positive note we were able to connect with Herman from White Wing while stopping in Salinas. We had not seen Herman since Luperon and were happy to catch up with him and his travels.

~ Jeff and Mary ~

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9 Responses to About Face…

  1. Denise King says:

    Ah!!! Now that makes sense! Good luck boat shopping

  2. Denise King says:

    Yet another Jeff project! What does a catamaran offer that Echo does not? Thanks for yet another great post.

    • Jeff says:

      See my comments to Pat on this Denise. You also hit the nail on the head regarding projects. I surely love new projects and there is nothing that offers so many as a boat 🙂

  3. P Harmon says:

    I’m thinking Jeff is feeling the need for speed.Space vs Speed, that is the question? Knot a bad problem to have./ A Royal Navy Friday Toast to you:”A willing soul and sea room”….Pat

    • Jeff says:

      Thanks Pat. Speed is nice, but this is more about comfort. We are looking for move living space and less roll at anchor. Echo is a great sailing boat so we hope to find a cat that performs well too.

  4. Brid long says:

    Thinking of you, Mary and Jeff. I’m reading you in Colombia, country of lovely mountains. Bríd

  5. Roberta Brandt says:

    To be honest, I thought I’d miss the cruising life. I’m not for now. It’s nice to be a dirt dweller for awhile. But saltwater is in our veins, and we will return some day. In the meantime, I’m loving reading all your adventures and recalling mine.

    Fair winds and following seas! When you finally get to the central Bahamas (exumas, I assume) give a shout out to our friends Dan & Deb aboard Freedom.

    • Jeff says:

      Looks like we will cruise right though Bahamas without a stop Roberta. Great conditions. Glad you are enjoying your vacation ashore 🙂

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