sail and fish: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

Culebra, PR to Provo, Turks and Caicos

So, since I can't sleep right now for more than 3 hours at a time, here's a few highlights from the trip over.

No, we didn't catch a drunken fish, we gave her a shot of vodka, to calm her down, works like a charm, go figure! No McLube for her though, we just happened to be greasing the self steering at the time.

What a beautiful fish, I never caught a Mahi before, and I can't believe how quickly they lose their amazing colors.

All I was thinking in this moment was panko crusted fish tacos, New Orleans style Po Boys, and beer battered fish and chips.

We saw a TON of birds, it was so weird, but unfortunately none of them were diving.

We also had an amazing dolphin display. Running with 25 kts and 8 foot seas, a pod of dolphin came along surfing, jumping, skipping down the waves with their tails and playing in the hug seas. Really. Amazing. Sea world's got nothing on the real deal. Unfortunately, not enough time for the camera (like I could take my eyes off anyway), two sets and they were gone, just something we'll have to remember.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Beginning of the End and New Beginnings

Yesterday marked the official beginning to the end of our trip. We sailed from St. Thomas back to Culebra as we begin to make our way back to the states. Our original plan was to circumnavigate the Caribbean, but reality has set in and we need way more money to do that. So the time has come for us to head back stateside and re-join normal life. It feels like we just left yesterday, but the bank account has already gotten low. Laura has committed to taking the LSAT in early June, and I am in the hunt for a job. The boat is on the market just about the time it seems we have worked out most of the bugs http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/27598 .

We are however pretty excited for the last leg of our journey. Tomorrow we plan to leave for the 400+ mile trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands, and from there we will poke around some of the Bahamian out islands before getting over to Nassau. The Turks and the out islands are very alluring, and I really am hopeful that we can improve our 4 months of being skunked in catching table worthy fish.

So if you are thinking of us while we are basking in the turquoise waters please keep us in mind if you know of anyone looking for a great sailboat, know of any job openings or have other encouraging info as we try to rejoin the "normal" world.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Once a Month Post

Again its been way too long since we have updated the blog. The month of April found us bouncing around the US and British Virgin Islands. We made friends with a couple that runs crewed charters on their CT54 Ragamuffin. They were nice enough to let us pick up a mooring at Water Islands/ Charlotte Amalie. This was super convenient as anchoring has become a thing of the past throughout the Virgins, and those who insist on anchoring are left dropping the hook in 50+ft of water and poor holding. We spent over a week on this mooring repairing our generator and re-stocking.

Once we had worn out our St. Thomas welcome we left for St. John, Jost Van Dyke, and Normans Island. We did the basics such as visit Foxy's Bar, the Willy T bar and the Caves. The following week Laura's cousin Kim was visiting us in St. John. Laura and Kim spent a night in the worlds most expensive tent at Cinnamon Bay, St. John. The cost was a whopping $100 per night to sleep in a tent, just a plain ole tent that at most US parks would be like $10 a night. Laura and Kim got devoured by bugs on the island while I fought the bugs out in the bay, needless to say none of us slept much that night and the girls complained sufficiently that they got half of their tent money back. We also did some hiking, bar exploring and snorkeling for a great few days before my dad and Abby arrived. in 5 short days we sailed around the BVI and circumnavigated St. Johns twice.