Martinique

Waterfall hike, Martinique.

We had a fantastic sail over to Martinique. It took about 12 hours, and was a little bumpy with the swell, but not too bad. We started off with a brown bird who kept circling our boat, diving occasionally for the flying fish. Eventually we had a few more join him and then as we sailed into the anchorage near Point Catherine, we had about 10 of these birds. They were quite comical, as they'd dive over and over again, attempting to catch a fish. They'd get lucky about every 50 dives or so. What a challenging way to catch a meal.

Point Catherine anchorage was lovely and calm. We enjoyed a nice paddle around. It has a long stretch of beach, perfect for stretching the legs after sailing. The following morning, we navigated all the fishing buoys (they are just about everywhere, including the channels, so be on the lookout) and entered the Cul-de-sac-Marin. It is extremely crowded in here! We anchored off of Queen's island, away from the hordes of boats, and dinghied over to Le Marin Marina to toss the garbage and check into the country. Checking in at the marina office was fast. Just go into the computer room on the right (don't bother to wait in the line), fill out the one page form, submit, and wait for your name to be called. You'll be asked to sign the paper and pay 5 euro. That's it. They don't ask to see any boat docs or ask any questions. Super quick and easy!

How boat kids take out the garbage.

After checking in, we dinghied over to the Leader Price grocery store dock. This dock was donated generously by the property owner for cruisers to use. We had a walk around the town, scored a Digicel data card (Google Fi towers were down), hit up the bakery, and stocked up on some provisions. The Leader Price store has better prices, but make sure to go in the morning or everything is picked over by the afternoon. The Carrefour market is nearby but small and prices are double that of Leader Price. There is a larger Carrefour on the island, but you'll need a rental car.

We met up with some other sailing families who invited us for drinks and hangout at a place called People's Beach. So, we hauled anchor during a squall and dropped the hook in St. Anne's Bay. This is a huge bay and has plenty of space for many boats. We still felt a bit crowded though.

Hiking trail near St. Anne anchorage.

5pm found us tying up to the floating dinghy dock in front of Pirate's Beach Restaurant. To the left is a jungle path that leads to People's Beach Resort. At one time, this must have been a nice resort. It is still maintained, but not very busy (maybe it is still the low season). There are a couple of above ground pools, games for the kids, and nice drinks for the adults. They were not serving food yet.
The kids had a blast playing laser tag with the other boat kids, swimming, and hitting up the foosball table. We had a good chat with a few other families and didn't get back to the boat until late. It was a fun evening, as we always enjoy meeting new sailing families.
We hung around this spot for a couple of days, met up with some friends we met in the Med for drinks back at People's Beach (kids really enjoy the pools there), and then decided it was time to move on. The clock is ticking, as we need to get to Panama in April.

Anse D'Arlet town. This building reminded me of Greece.

We moved around the corner to Anse D'Arlet, and had a great time there. We spent the day snorkeling and saw more fish, sea turtles, and colorful coral than anywhere else! The bay is super calm and we loved it here. Early the next morning, we grabbed some bakery treats, and then set sail for Anse Noir. We had read there was great snorkeling here and the interesting thing about this spot is it has black sand, where as the bay next door, Anse Dufour has white sand. We dropped anchor at the back of the bay (being shallow draft cat, we can get away with that), and put out a stern anchor to keep us from swinging into the other boats ahead of us. It became quite crowded in there after a while and by sunset, we were packed in. We were very glad we had the stern anchor to keep us away, as the wind was light and fluky inside that bay.

St. Pierre ruins

We learned all about St. Pierre's tragic past as well as how the Caribbean islands were formed. Did you know there are two different aged groups of islands?

The next morning we checked out Fort de France and then sailed up to St. Pierre, where we enjoyed the next few days exploring the town, volcanic and science museums, and snorkeling the underwater statues. Sundowners with friends topped off the experience.

Next island: Dominica

Sailing to Dominica.

Newly Salted: An Interview with the RoundAbout Crew at 6 months

Newly Salted: Interview with the crew of Roundabout at 6 months

Roundabout Crew!

Meet the RoundAbout Crew: Hello! We are Jared, Stefanie, Matthew, Zachary, Cadence, and Sunshine (Sunny). We are a family of 5 who ditched suburbia for a sailboat to explore the world. Along with our salty sailing pup, we are adventuring while living life afloat. We have been cruising for 6 months now in the Mediterranean and are working our way west towards crossing the Atlantic. You can follow the adventure on our blog and facebook page.

RoundAbout is a 2012 Leopard 46 catamaran. She is the 4 cabin version, so there is plenty of room for our family. We made quite a few modifications, such as adding new tech equipment, water maker, washing machine, and the kids’ favorite, a swing. 

Roundabout at anchor off Hydra Island, Greece.

How did you get started with sailing and why did you decide to untie the dock lines?

Jared and I had a little hobie cat 16 before we were married and you’d often find us out on a lake somewhere sailing that boat! We both love the outdoors and brought up our kids this way. They were sailing babies from the start and grew up accompanying us on races or just out day sailing in the Monterey Bay for fun. We would travel a little throughout the year, with maybe one big trip here and there. With work and school schedules, it just didn’t allow for much in the way of traveling. This is one of the reasons why we decided to make a change in our lives.

Our motivation: This trip was 10 years in the making. It started out as a dream and over the years we slowly worked towards making it a reality. Then, the summer of 2016, Jared was hospitalized. For a few days, doctors didn’t know what was wrong. That was one of the scariest moments of our lives and we decided right then, we would make this sailing adventure happen no matter what. That was what really got the ball rolling. We immediately began to sell off things we didn’t need and finished remodeling the house. About a year later, we had sold the house, most of our possessions, and were on our way.

We road-tripped across the US before moving onto our boat in the BVI. We had lived aboard for only 5 days before two category 5 hurricanes destroyed it. Fortunately, we were insured and were able to start over, despite being in a totally different ocean! 

Roundabout Crew!

What are your plans?

The plan? Sailors have a saying: plans are written in the sand at low tide. We had planned on starting from the Caribbean and look where that got us. So for now, we are sailing around the Greek islands until June and will then head up to Croatia for awhile (we need to check out of the Schengen Zone for a bit). From there, we will work our way west to cross the Atlantic Ocean back to the Caribbean for the winter and transit the Panama Canal in the spring. From there, it is on to the South Pacific.

Sailing between islands

What do you like the most about living on a sailboat and the cruising lifestyle?

It is definitely a much slower paced lifestyle and involves less stress. The freedom to spend our time as we choose, without being tied to a schedule is amazing. We look forward to exploring each new place and immersing ourselves in new cultures. It’s the magic of this lifestyle. Living on a sailboat means we take our home with us wherever we go. No packing or worrying about what to bring; we just haul anchor or untie the lines and we’re off! While sailing, we can walk around, make food, exercise...it’s a much less restrictive method of traveling.

Sunsets and sunrises never get old!

What do you find most challenging about living on a sailboat and the cruising lifestyle?

Living on a boat means there are limits to everything; hot water, storage, power...we have definitely learned a lot about conservation, much more so than living on land (and we really were conscious about our global footprint then). 

Another challenge is the weather. Sailing means you can’t always just pick up and go when you want. We are constantly checking the weather to ensure we are safe and in a good spot. If the winds change, we may need to change our location. Sometimes, we can go a week without having to worry about hauling anchor, but usually we are moving every few days. In extreme weather, we go tie up in a port until it blows over.

Finally, missing our family and friends back in California. We stay connected digitally and with occasional phone calls or emails. Sometimes, we have some visit us, and we absolutely treasure those moments.

Relaxing during a down-wind sail.

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn’t fear?

Of all the fears out there, I think dragging anchor and damaging the boat is at the top. This was one of my (Stef’s) fears, and it took me until about now to finally sleep through the night while at anchor. We swapped out our old Delta 55 for an 85lb Mantus which made a huge difference. It is important to invest in good ground tackle. It makes it easier to trust it. A good anchor alarm program also helps (we use the one that came with our chart plotter software). 

Apollo's Temple. Aegina, Greece.

Is there something you wish you would have brought with you that got left behind?

Our SUP boards! We left ours in storage because we had so much stuff packed already. We figured we would just buy new ones when we got to the boat. So far, we have not had any luck (things are super expensive over in the Med), but with summer approaching, we are hopeful to score some used ones. We really love SUP boarding and windsurfing, so we are on the hunt!

Even Sunny loves paddleboarding!

How have you been able to finance this cruising lifestyle?

We sold our house and most everything we owned to finance this adventure. Jared is a civil engineer and can work from anywhere (he is self-employed). I am on sabbatical from my school district, but I provide STEM education classes for kids and  work as an educational consultant occasionally, for schools, teachers, and parents. 

Sketching and taking notes in a museum. Worldschooling!

How do you handle the education and socialization of your children?  

We are worldschooling our kids with some of the traditional curriculum thrown in. I am a teacher, so I use what I normally would in my classroom. The benefit of travel, is we really get to learn about the culture and history—this really brings learning to life! Living afloat also provides many hands-on learning opportunities, such as navigation, geography, mechanics, and many other important life skills. I share some of these resources on our education page. 

As far as socialization goes, we try to meet up with other traveling families as often as we can. There are a few sailing family groups that we belong to and it is easy to meet up with someone from there, as long as the timing works out.

Their favorite place to hang out.

How do the kids feel about their life aboard?  

They love this life! The freedom and fun in exploring new places is one of their favorite aspects of traveling. They are involved with our planning and enjoy choosing places to visit. You will often find them fishing or swimming around the boat. On the flip side, they do miss their friends and family. 

Lots of fun when we find other kids! Delos, Greece

What have been some of the highlights so far?  

There have already been so many! We love experiencing new things, especially food. The anticipation of arriving to a new place is a great feeling. Exploring and just getting lost wandering the streets, leads to so many new discoveries. Also, meeting new people and making new friends around the world. 

Fiskardo bay, Kefalonia Greece

The Island of Poros

A mermaid fountain near the port of Poros, Greece.

Exploring behind the scenes.

Poros is about a 2 hour sail from Aegina and 5 hour sail from the mainland Piraeus). It is a very quaint little town with lots to offer. From the great views up near the clock tower to the winding and meandering pathways of the back streets, you will for sure enjoy your stay here.

Wisteria covers part of a building in Poros, Greece.

We have stopped by Poros a few times and have enjoyed it. Especially since we can see how the town is outside of the crowded sailing season, where boats are often rafted 3-4 deep from the quay.

They keep us young at heart! 

View from the top near the clock tower.

In addition to docking at the quay, there are a few anchorages nearby. We have stayed at both the quay and a couple of the southern anchorages. There is great holding there in sand.

Near the marina office at the public quay is a fantastic gelato place. In the opposite direction from the marina office, beyond the school (and you will notice a wooden dock instead of concrete), you will find two large grocery stores (one is just for household goods, like cleaning products, linens, etc., while the other is all food items). Both of these stores have better prices for provisioning, than the little markets near all the little tavernas and touristy areas.

We last visited Poros at the end of March, as we were working our way back towards Aegina from Hydra. We thought we'd take a couple more days to go hiking around the island and explore the less-known parts. We met up with a nice family who was vacationing from Athens. The kids explored tidepools and a playground together, and even made up some obstacle course races! The mom was super sweet and brought ice cream and cookie straws for the kids! What a treat!

On our second day there, the wind clock around and was blowing all of the boats against the dock in quite a violent manner. We were actually on our way back to the boat from getting gelato, when we noticed quite the chop in the little bay. We hastened our pace and when we arrived, we made the quick decision to untie and get out of there. No sooner had we pulled in the lines, other boats were trying to pick up their anchors and causing quite the congestion. While Zach was helping to pull in the fenders, one dropped into the water. We couldn't stick around to rescue it, but fortunately, a cafe manager ran across the street and picked it up for us. By now, we were really bashing around with the waves. I thought I would go and pull in the rest of the fenders before we lost anymore, but it was so hard to walk on deck and Jared yelled for me to just sit where I was and hold on, lest I fall overboard.

This is where things got a bit crazy...

We drove backwards out of the fray and motored over to a southern anchorage to wait out the blow. It was actually much more comfortable here and save for one other boat who came in after us, we had the bay to ourselves. Whew, what an experience!


The following morning, we hauled anchor and set off for Aegina to meet our upholstery guy, who had finally finished all of our projects! Below is a video of some of our wanderings around the island.