Blog

We have left the Virgins behind and are cruising once again. Seabird spent a month in Red Hook, St Thomas in the very gracious and capable hands of our good friends Jim and Sue while we took of for Baltimore and Steven’s (personal) overhaul and repair. I am happy to report that all is well and we have spent the last three weeks discovery new anchorages and cruising with friends in the BVI. The weather has shifted and we are having gentle winds out the ESE and that has made many anchorages available to us that are very uncomfortable with the winter NE breeze. A new favorite is Cane Garden Bay on Tortola that now has a dinghy dock so that you can stay dry when coming a shore for drinks or dinner. There are several great spots to visit. Stacey was with us again in March and we were able to anchor in Cane Garden as well as Deadman’s Bay in Peter Island. We also took her to North Sound to see Bitter End and spent a day at the Sand Box on Prickly Pear.

The Bitter End is the place to rendezvous with friends from the North. Salty Cat was chartered by our friends Doug and Donna and they were joined by a six foot barracuda that decided to cruise with them for the week. We met up again in Tortola and the barracuda was still under his boat. Another charter, Annie’s Toy, had our friends from Mystic River Marina on board. The cocktails and breakfasts prepared by that crew was the best we have had since leaving Mystic! It was great to see everyone. It is strange that when we say good by we are not sure when or how we will meet again. It made us a little sad but this is the wonderful life we have chosen.

Our journey south has begun. We have just arrived in St Barth from St Martin. We spent several days in Marigot and then back to Simpson Bay for some repairs and service. Our satellite TV is finally working. It turned out that we had a bad LNB which has been replaced and we missed most of the NCAA tournament but unfortunately so did UCONN. We love what we have seen of St Barth’s so far. This morning we went to shore for a run and found the open air fish market. They were filleting fresh caught Mahi Mahi that will be dinner tonight. The water is crystal clear and sea turtles are very where. We sampled one beach today, shell beach, which is close to town. The boutiques and shops are for the rich and famous but we do enjoy window shopping and the people watching. We have rented a “Smart Car” for tomorrow and will explore the Island before pulling anchor for St. Kitt’s and Antigua.

4/9/06: Renting the Smart Car was quite an experience. It is the perfect car for the narrow roads and limited parking but very anemic for the steep hills. Fuel for the day was one gallon. Take a look at the picture and you can see there is not much car to push. We had a wonderful tour of the Island and found some great beaches. Our favorite was Saline on the south side of the Island. We managed to stop at the most expensive restaurant on the Island for lunch. Steven looked at the 40 Euros ($48.00) for a chicken salad and we made a quick exit back to Gustavia for lunch. St Barth’s is certainly a favorite and will be on the list for a return visit.