Categories
Travel Under Way

From the Ancient City to the Holy City

This passage was an interesting one, and this was another case where the forecast and actual conditions were not in alignment. As we approached the Saint Augustine inlet, I did NOT like the looks of things out there. But our choice was to go or not make Charleston this weekend. We left our slip just […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

USA or Bust (For Real, This Time)

With a short weather window to get to Saint Augustine, we were up well before dawn and hauled anchor just after 5am. As the sun came up, we popped the chute and took off. With 8-10kts of breeze, Windara ate it up, and it was fun to see how she performed under spinnaker and main […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

The day started with a beautiful sunrise, and we enjoyed a peaceful morning. Little Sale Cay is beautiful and appears to be a tropicbird rookery – I saw several of them flying around. We could see cumulonimbus clouds in the distance, and it was obvious the weather wouldn’t remain nice for long. We check forecasts obsessively […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

Turn the [Boat] Around

The day started with a muted but beautiful sunrise, and we hauled anchor around 0830. We had a warm, sunny day but barely any wind so we found ourselves motoring most of the way up the Sea of Abaco. I would have loved to be able to stop at Allans-Pensacola or Powell Cay, but there […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

To the Whale and Beyond

It’s finally time to cast off the lines, and I’m sad that another incredible cruising season has come to a close. Spend enough time in a place, and it’s amazing how deeply it touches you, changes you, invites you to grow. Letting the lines slip is hard – you feel the pull of the place […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

Daysailing

We got up just before dawn so we could leave our beloved Hope Town before the tide got too low to leave and anchored outside. We dinghied back in to take one last walk on our beach and visit the farmers market (I scored some delicious-looking mango jam and we bought donuts that we really […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

Go Fly a Kite

After closely monitoring the weather, the forecast for big winds during the week moderated and Sunday looked like the perfect opportunity to head north in extremely light air. After returning from Harbour Island, we spent Saturday night anchored off Spanish Wells and got underway just before dawn. We had a gorgeous sunrise, and while we […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

A Peaceful Passage

I’ll admit that our last passage rattled me enough that I was dreading our next one. I was so busy right up to departure that I didn’t have time to dwell on it (thankfully), but as we waited for the Bridge of Lions, I had a knot in my stomach. Conditions were predicted to be […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

Departing, Post-Depression

Not our easiest passage… although I feel like I’m saying that a lot lately. After tropical depression Nicole moved on, it was time for us to do the same. We left into a SW breeze, which was exactly the direction we needed to go. We spent a lot of time beating, and the starboard tacks […]

Categories
Travel Under Way

It’s Not Easy Being Queasy

We left Beaufort on Saturday evening as the blow that had been hanging around started to move off. We were sad to say goodbye to Lori and Paul, who came by to help with our lines, but that’s part of cruising life (and we’re pretty sure they’ll catch us in Charleston). Departure was easy and […]