Long Crossing

Off to Dominican Republic we go! 11-15 hour, ~75 miles, waking up at 3am. More when we get there.

Dolphin Ferenzy!

LATE Update 4/3

Written 4/2 Posted 4/3

Finally I am again on the bow of the boat reflecting on our grand adventure thus far while listening to waves crashing nearby on the beach of Saint Martin in the dark.  It’s been sort of sad and strange to adapt to the wonder and beauty of this dream so fully that it seems almost ordinary now.  We wake after 7:00, Dan usually first to motor the dog to shore for a walk on the beach.  Meanwhile the kids and I wake, me groggy and usually uncomfortably hot, and the boys ready for a hearty egg and bacon breakfast.  The girls are rarely awake in time to intercept the boy’s egg plans with their famous chocolate chip pancakes. All I want or need is a good ICED Peet’s soy latte with an extra shot of decaf.

We’re finally grooving with daily breakfast chores begun by 9:00 and impatient parents off limits to the galley so the kids (crew) can crank the chore music and move at their own tediously Caribbean-ya-mon-slow pace.  Today for example Dan and I found ourselves exploring coffee and baguettes on both the French and Dutch sides of Saint Martin.  A few hours later when we return to the boat, the galley is spic and span and at least most everyone has completed their 3 hours of schoolwork.  Yes siree.  Trapped in the boat rocking in the harbor, my once study resistant children are productively generating 400 word stories, completing and hour of math and reading fervently and with real interest.
My favorite part of our routine is Mikai swabs the decks every morning because he wants to, and has taken serious pride of the usability and cleanliness of our equipment.  Annika is really a natural at organizing our minimal spaces, Karina has become much braver, often swimming 150 yards from the beach to the boat.  Nikolas has become a much appreciated grilled cheese chef and he’s always the first to jump in unknown waters regardless of the depth for a snorkle.
My least favorite part of our new lifestyle has been how tired we are by 8:00.  We are in the sun and wind and newness so much that we are usually completely spent shortly after the sun sets and just at an ideal hour for blog writing. This is especially true 5 days a week after hiking or swimming or sailing all afternoon.  
My favorite and least favorite part at the same time is how intimately close we are living together.  It’s been great because it forces us to practice presence, regard for each other, patience, listening, and being intentional about preserving our own space.  On the other hand it really makes clear our humanity and where we aren’t willing to accept that reality.  The “should” program we generally live by at home, as we escape each other into work and school, doesn’t work here.  We are learning to work together, accept each other’s weaknesses, lean on each other’s strengths, and to laugh or at least breathe when plans don’t go as they “should”.
One of my favorite quotes and lessons until now was from a dock manager during a very stressful moment as he prevented a million dollar yacht from running into a multi million dollar one and declared with more sweat on his forehead than I’ve ever seen, “It’s all part of it mon.” It wasn’t my concern, but as an on-looker it was an intense moment and I was impressed by his calm. I can’t help but think of life in general and all the potential breakdowns and run-ins.  It would be so much better if I could gently comment “It’s all part of it mon”  whenever things don’t work out as they “should”.  I’m going to try that next time the anchor slips or no one likes what Ive cooked for dinner, or when I wake up sticky hot with 4 hungry kids because they didn’t eat enough the night before.  But I’d still like that Peet’s soy lattte, 120 degrees, um, and an extra shot of decaf.  Chocolate drizzle.......please.............
Tomorrow we sail/motor 12 hours to BVI from Saint Martin in 1 knot of wind.  That’s “all part of it” too, I know, I know.........

My Mosts/Leasts so Far by Dan 3/27

Favorite Place:  Iles Des Saintes, just south of Guadeloupe.  Had the best vibe, happiest people, relaxed place.  We even asked them why they are so happy, and one gal said she went to live in Paris and even then stayed happy for a long time.

Favorite Outting with the kids:  Mud slinging at the volcano in Soufriere St Lucia.  Little did they know we were simply providing skin conditioning.  White mud, black mud, oozy goozy.  Oops we wore white.

Best Baguette: Iles Des Saintes (maybe why they are so happy?)

Least Favorite:  Dominica.  Sights were good, but more than a normal number of people were harsh.

Least happy anchorage:  Deshaies Martinique (pronounced Day High), we kept spinning 360's all night.  Hard on the GPS anchor alarm.  But nice town and nice walk up creek.

Best anchorage:  Off beach in Rodney Bay, St Lucia.  Cool long sand beaches, lots to do,  breezy all the time, good sea floor surface for anchor.

Coolest Natural Wonder:  Titou Gorge, Dominica.  Like those tall narrow deep gorges in Bryce or Zion, but with water flowing thru it and a jump rock at the end.  Bunch of dingbat tourists from the cruise ship though.  We tried to dodge them.

Weirdest Anchorage: St Pierre, Martinique.  Goes from 20-30-40 feet deep to 300 feet deep a few feet further out.  Maybe has to do with the volcano blowing up in 1902 and toasting 30,000 people and the town except for two souls.

Hardest Sail:  47 miles from Guadeloupe to Antigua.  Was just a real long time, and the wind kept changing direction and velocity.

Happiest Time:  Arrival after 4+ hour passages.  Everyone comes alive (because they were asleep the whole time!).

Most Interesting Thing I Learned:  That the French gave up all of Canada to keep Martinique and Guadeloupe.  Because of their sweet tooth.

Most Fashionable:  Karina first day at Rodney Bay Marina, had access to some new clothes, and must have changed 4 or 5 times.

Most Surprising:  My top speed *with* fins will match a dog's dog paddle.  They haul.

Funniest:  Nikolas's stories, like visiting the "mechanical gardens" (Botanical Gardens).

Luckiest Moment:  Annika spaced and left her school backpack in the Dominica Botanical Gardens.  It was still there 4 hours later.

Unluckiest Moment:  Losing a key block (pulley), as we start to set sail from Martinique to St Lucia.  We motored the whole way.

Best Help on the Cat:  Mikai, who is a crack driver in just about any situation.  Great during anchoring.  Great for mooring balls.  He can even back into a slip, with wind blowing.  He even knows when "the engine doesn't sound right", except it wouldn't make the same sound twice.

Vertigo-est:  65 feet up at the top of the mast doing repairs.  Nice view, but not recommended to look down.  Frayed lines are also not a welcome sight.

Funnest Time:  Blowing up floaties, hanging out ski ropes to swing on, bringing out squirt guns, running off of deck holding on to halyard and letting go over the water.

Fastest Boat Speed:  10.5 miles per hour.

Best Thing About Traveling with Kids:  They meet all the kids right away, which connects adults to adults very quickly.

Worst Thing About Traveling with Kids:  When they go haywire.  Even a 43 foot catamaran can be a small place.

Most Wind:  32 knots.  Triple reefed (meaning sail is the size of a postage stamp) and doing top boat speed.

Biggest Waves:  15-20 feet at north end of St Vincent.  25 knots wind too.

Sharpest Eye:  Annika, who will spot any animal, insect, or sea creature within 100 yards.

Biggest Wow:  Seeing the super bright blue of the sun on the water and skin as a whale dives in and out.  It was almost like a bright blue light shining out of the water.

Dog Moment:  Watching a nose pushed into a hole in the ground, moments later the dog jumping high into the air as a crab goes for the pinch.

Frenchiest French:  Marin, Martinique.  Can you say attitude?  Can't imagine how it would have been if I spoke no French.

Foodiest:  Home cooked meal by "Her Highness" (Shawna's Radio Handle) after a long day.  How did she do that in that tiny kitchen?  One hint:  With*out* any one else in the kitchen.  Sometimes we put up yellow CAUTION tape across the kitchen.

Scariest:  When the dog jumped on the boat from the dock, as the boat moved back and forth, and slipped half on half off.  I think the dog still has a hand shaped clench on its back to this day.

Strangest:  Sitting at anchor at night no moon, and seeing eerie phosphorescence or jelly fish or both float by in the water.  First thought was ALIENS.

Deliciousest Moments: Sunset when the green thing happens for a few seconds, when it rains for 20 minutes on a hot day, sunsets, just before wake up time when all is still, night time beach walks, chilling on the trampoline, floating around a beach with the kids.

Updates to Website! 3/25

Site Updates:

• New Photos in "Photos" section
• "Stories by Annika" added in "Stories" section
• "Stories by Nikolas" added in "Stories" section
• New stories in "Stories by Karina"
• In the "Our Route" section, we have added each bay/marina/harbor that we are going to and have been to.
• In the "Our Route" section, we now change the pin points to Anchors. The Anchors symbolize places we have been to.

Things you may not have noticed:

• There is LOTS of stuff at the bottom of the Home Page:
• Post Archive
• Message in the Sand
• Sign-up for email updates
• Follow this blog (also gets you email updates)
• Pageviews count

Coming Soon:

• Calendar of Events

If you find any problems with ANYTHING at all on this website, please email me (Mikai) at aidanmikai@yahoo.com 

THANKS