The Start of Our Summer Season

The last place I left you was about 4 months ago in Guadeloupe. Well a lot has changed since then and a few more places were visited. We finished off our Caribbean season going to Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Bequia, The Grenadines, Grenada, and a few more. Barbados ended up being our favorite island out of the Caribbean. The surf was awesome, the people were so friendly, the island had a good culture and laid back feel. As we headed down the chain to Grenada we stopped at some of the Grenadine islands which were some of the most breath-taking sites, with crystal clear blue water, and remote islands. Also a great spot for kiteboarding. The furthest south we got was Grenada (720 miles north of the equator) which was very brief but a nice little stop. We ended our guest trips in St. Lucia and had a 4 day cruise back to Ft. Lauderdale. We waited there for a month for a mid-May graduation trip to the Bahamas. We hit up Atlantis, which was a first for me. Then we went to Harbor Island and had 3 days in a row of amazing kiteboarding. The weather was pretty rainy and overcast which gave the deck crew a chance to sneak away and get some kiting in. The boat finished up back in Atlantis and made its way back to Ft. Lauderdale. As the boat was on its way back, I started my 100 ton captain's course which took 2 weeks. I took all my exams on Friday and submitted all my paper work to the Coast Guard. Hopefully within a few weeks I will hold a 100 ton Captain's license. As I type we are on our way to Bermuda, roughly a 4 day cruise. Bermuda is where our summer season will start. We will be there for the next month for a few fishing tournaments. The boss has brought up his 70 ft. sport fisher from Costa Rica to enter the tournaments and the big boat to hang out on. After all the fishing we are continuing north first to Halifax, Canada. We're heading up around Nova Scotia and into the St. Lawrence seaway and in as far as Lake Ontario. Towards the end of summer we will head back out and make a few stops at Newfoundland and hopefully New York before returning back to Florida. We have some maintenance work to get done so we are expected back early October. We have a busy season ahead but it will be over before we know it!

Guadeloupe. The good, bad, & ugly.

It's that time again. We just picked up our guests and we will be on the move again heading Dominica. We have been in Guadeloupe for the past 3 weeks. While we have had some good times I will share some of the bad ones too. First after 2 nights of being here we had our first burglar. A very intoxicated gentleman walked on the boat around 5 a.m. and proceeded to find one door unlocked (shame it was the one night a door was unlocked but it happens). He managed to steal some things in the pilot house including three binoculars, an antique sextant, keyboard and mouse, laptop and almost a pair of shoes but was to drunk to remember where he placed them. All of this was viewable from our video cameras but even with the help of the police and some CSI work we weren't able to find the culprit. Another time at the beach Bethany had a pair of flip flops stolen. Our chef had her bag stolen with some money and her camera. Another night we had left our flip flops on the edge of the dock before entering the boat and a group of kids came by and kicked them in the water just for kicks! The French are not to kind and seem to hold a grudge. If you don't speak French they feel they shouldn't have to try and communicate with you. After all, language is a choice and we choose not to speak French, which is their attitude. Apart from all the bad we have managed to make the best of it. Guadeloupe has an active volcano (on Basse Terre one of the two conjoined islands) which is a good hour 45 min hike one way. Once at the top it's pretty cloudy and not much of a view but there are plenty of good shots along the way. After the hike there is a hot spring bath which is awesome after a long hike. On valentines day we had a great scuba dive. We drove to Basse Terre early that morning and got set up. It was a nice little reef dive about 60 feet deep. We saw a shark, a huge green moray eel and some other interesting stuff. It wasn't the best dive to date but was fun and worth the trip. On the way back we couldn't resist having a rum tour of an old rum disterlary. We snuck in a few kiteboarding trips as well. The wind was cranking 4 days in a row so we loaded up the cars, cut work short and drove 15 mins to Les Salines Beach. It was a perfect calm body of water with a reef break 600 yards out, ideal for catching some waves. We opted for the calm water to focus on our board and kite skills. Guadeloupe also features some pretty amazing rainforests and 3 massive waterfalls. So far we seen two and had much exploring and driving through the forests. It was a little touchy at times driving a tiny manual up some really steep inclines. Bethany can contest to that and would probably admit I may have taken a few years off her life. All in all we made the most out of a not so good situation. With all the activities, surf, and beaches we made it fun. As a tourist it ranks a 5 out of 10. As a yachtie it's a 3.