Dominica

Indian River tree roots

Early on January the 14th, we set sail for the island of Dominica. Hours later, we tied up to a buoy with the help of Marcus in the port of Roseau. Being a pretty deep anchorage, buoys are the best method. You can call him ahead on VHF 16 for assistance. He is also helpful with arranging tours on land. Check in is near the cruise ship port. If you are staying 2 weeks or less, you can clear in and out at the same time.

Tasting all sorts of jungle foods (grapefruit in the photo).

We hiked to Trafalgar Falls, explored the hot springs and sulfur pool, and some of the town. This included a stop by the Roosevelt Primary School to meet the principal and arrange for Stef to teach some robotics activities to two fourth grade classes. Marcus handed the kids the largest orange we had ever seen to share at the end of the trip. They all sat along the dock enjoying the sweet treat.

Our next port was Portsmouth and we had Bonti's help this time. He met us out at sea and offered us a buoy. He did not mind when we said we'd prefer to anchor. After we were settled, he stopped by to see if we needed anything. Of course, he could assist in arranging tours on land. Later that evening, Bonti brought his brother Max out to the boat where we scheduled three days of land excursions, the first starting the next morning at 6:45am! *If you are in a group, you can negotiate a group rate.

The sun had just risen when we stepped aboard Bonti's boat, along with two other sailing families we were traveling with. As we passed under the bridge, Bonti turned off the engine and began paddling us slowly up the river. We encountered many different species of birds, saw a handful of iguana (some were quite large), and large shore crabs. Calypso home, from the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 movie, was mostly gone, being lost to the storms. At the end of the river tour, we walked around the Bush Bar grounds. Right now, it is in the last stage of refurbishment since hurricane Maria. It didn't matter though, as it was so beautiful, walking around in the jungle. Bonti made a present for each of the kids out of leaves. He is a very talented artist!

The kids played hide-n-seek while the adults admired all the vegetation. I was amazed at how quickly it had returned and thoroughly enjoyed all the brilliant splashes of color.

An hour later, we hopped back into the boat and Bonti delivered us home. He reminded us to be ready for the next day's adventures and set a pick up time of 9am.

Jungle vine fun!

I think my favorite tour was the jungle walk. We were taken way back into the bush with many times getting out of the van and walking around exploring. Max, our guide, gave us all sorts of foods to try, such as grapefruit, guava, passionfruit, papaya, cocoa pods, oranges, limes, lemons, cinnamon bark, and nutmeg. We saw baby pineapples growing and learned about the farming techniques. Later on, we hiked to Middleham falls and enjoyed a refreshing swim in the cold water. Along the way, Max showed the kids are jungle vine to swing across on. Everyone ended up taking a few turns. =)
We returned to the dock around 2pm and settled in at a beach bar to relax while the kids played.

Zach holding a prop from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Jean Baptiste, founder of the Chocolate Factory, Dominica.

Tasting the cocoa nibs before processed into smooth chocolate.

Handicrafts of the Kalingo Indian tribe.

Daniel, founder of the Cassava Bakery. 

We learned about the process of making Cassava bread from root to finished product.

Our final day in Portsmouth found us being guided by Shadow, a Kalingo indian. We learned about his people, explored a little of the territory and chatted with some of the ladies selling their handmade goods along the sides of the road. Shadow also took us to the Chocolate Factory, where we learned about the process of making chocolate. We all got to taste the bean nibs, liquid chocolate, and then sample all of the varieties they produce. This was by far the tastiest part of the whole trip! We purchased a few bars to take home and set about preparing to sail to the Isles de Saintes and Guadeloupe the following morning.

Touring a cave in Red Rock.

5:30am found Jared, Zach, and I in Bonti's boat as we wanted to stock up at the Saturday morning produce market. This is by far the best market I have ever seen! Bonti asked us what we wanted and he took us all around to the different vendors to find the freshest goods. Our bags bulging with fruits and veggies, we thanked him for his time and promised to tell all our friends about his great service and hospitality.

By 9am, we were sailing away from charming Dominica. This is our favorite island so far. If you ever get a chance, this country is a definite must see!

Max holding out a cocoa pod for us to try.

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.

Barbados

Minutes after we dropped the hook in Carlisle Bay, Barbados. 

We sailed into the anchorage at Carlisle Bay around 2:45 pm on December 26th, dousing Big Red just before dropping the hook. After cleaning up, we took a crew photo, jumped in for a swim, and then called it a day. We crashed hard, as we were finally at anchor after 16 days at sea.
The following morning, Stef and Matt set off for customs to check in to the country and remove Matt from our crew list. He would be flying home later on that afternoon.

Stef's notes about checking in to Barbados:
No need to call on the port authority on the VHF. Just anchor and dinghy in. We noticed that all the boats who hailed on the VHF had to circle outside until the cruise ships departed, which can be hours or even all day long. Some friends who arrived ahead of us filled us in on the details, and so we were thankful to have avoided that issue.

You can tie up the dinghy in the small canal, just past the large green bridge (go underneath it) on the right side. Beware of some broken lights strung along the wall. It is advisable to lock your fuel tank to your dinghy and then the dinghy to the wall (there are cleats to lock up to). Rubbish bins are nearby. There are local fruit and veggie markets, bank to pull out some Barbadian currency, a mall, and supermarkets near here, as well.

The walk to the port is about 20 minutes from the dinghy parking lot. Walk along the Princess Alice highway (side walk goes along through a little park) until you see the large Bridgetown Port sign. The security guard is in the little building on the right, sort of near where the cars drive through. You'll need your boat docs, passports, and crew list. The guard will check these over and then provide you with a wristband with permission to visit customs.

After getting our wrist bands from the security guard, we proceeded on to the large A-frame tourist mall. On the far western side, we entered the building and climbed the stairs to the health office. You have to go in order of health, customs, immigration (although if there is a long line, they will sometimes give you permission to go out of order, just to keep people moving). Be sure to go either early in the morning or wait until after 2pm. The cruise ships and mega yachts get priority and you'll be told to come back later if these guys are checking in ahead of you. 
We filled out one form and handed over a copy of our crew list (if you don't have copies of your crew list, you will have to complete a separate form). From there, the health official gave us a slip of paper and we chatted a bit about her island and things to see. We next walked across the hall to the customs office, where we encountered a very busy and overworked official. She reluctantly handed over two forms for me to complete, twice, so after completing these four pages, we returned to her office to find her gone. A cruise ship had come in and so we'd have to wait an hour or so before we could continue on. In fact, all of the officials from health, customs, and immigration left to go to the cruise ship, so Matt and I walked around the little mall for an hour.

We eventually returned to customs and got processed. There, after the official apologized for being so busy and making us wait, asked a few questions about any pets on board (we were not checking Sunny into the country due to the complications here), length of stay, and next port of call. She gave us the go-ahead to visit immigration, clearance papers in hand.
Immigration involved filling out a form for each crew member, getting passports stamped, and removing Matt from the crew list (crew disembarking will need to show flight details). She was very kind and a cheerful lady. Procedure done, we walked back to the boat and had lunch prepared for us by the kids.
Upon clearing out: You will need $50US or 100 BD which is paid to the customs fee building clerk (behind the customs area, left of where the cruise ships dock. You'll see a yellow 2-story building marked STAFF ONLY. Go inside and up the curved staircase to the office at the back marked SUPERVISOR). Once you pay the fee and fill out a one page form, you'll walk away with a receipt and instructions to visit customs. After filling out two more forms in duplicate for the customs official (the same you completed upon checking in), you'll need to visit Immigration to complete the clearing out process. 
Bringing pets to Barbados: online it says you must complete their pet import application, pay a $25 application fee, a $60 vet fee, and also obtain a customs clearance agent (which would involve paying another fee). So, we didn't clear Sunny in here. We heard of two other boats who brought their dogs and customs didn't care, no fees paid, no vet inspection, etc. So, it may not be as complicated here as it appears online. Either that, or those boats just got an easy customs clerk.

Jared texted me while we were on our way back that Zach would need to see the dentist asap, as he broke off part of his front tooth! Yikes! Apparently, he had slid headfirst into the dinghy and broke his tooth on the anchor locker (we have told our kids over and over not to do this, as the dinghy  bounces with the swell caused by all the jet skis zooming around). I guess he was escaping one that zoomed too close to our boat, bumped his mouth while sliding in and learned a hard lesson.

As it was the holidays, everything was closed except for an aesthetic dental specialist that was by all miracles, was open! They had a spot available for the following day. Thank goodness!

We said our goodbyes to Matt and Jared dropped him off to catch a taxi to the airport. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry, cleaning up the boat, snorkeling with friends, and just relaxing.


We had quite the introduction to the party boats we had heard about. These boats wander throughout the anchorage blasting music from about 7pm until 7am, no joke! It is really loud and forget sleeping. We had heard a little of it the night before, but we had crashed pretty hard after the crossing. We all agreed we would move as soon as possible, if it kept up.

Boat kids at play!

Up early, we wandered into town to get the boys' haircuts, source some provisions, and get to Zach's appointment. We showed up around noon, (our appointment was at 3pm) just in case they had a cancellation and we could go in earlier. We were in luck! While I filled out the paperwork, Jared took Matt and Cadence to a nearby cafe and then Zach was brought back to start the work on repairing his tooth. Dr. Car---- was amazing and so kind to Zach. After learning Zach was a swimmer, he told his story about being an Olympic swim coach! We had a great chat and 2.5 hours later, Zach's tooth was repaired and we were on our way. The office asked to take a photo of us, to use for their instagram account (they loved our sailing adventure story) and with 'farewells' and 'visit our shores soon', we set off to meet friends on the beach.

Landing the dinghy on this beach was a laugh. We thought the swell had passed and made a run for it, only to be surprised by a sneaky wave which filled the dinghy with water. After pulling Hermes up higher on the sand, we pulled the plug and drained out all the water. We then helped our other friends pull up their dinghies and bail out the water (they had the same surprise waves). We all enjoyed drinks from the Pirate's Beach Bar and soaked up the sunshine while soaking in the lovely water. Now this is the way to relax! The kids happily playing nearby, finding all sorts of things like lost sunglasses and discarded beach toys.

Roundabout hosted about 30 people for a huge Atlantic crossing party to celebrate our big accomplishment. We also welcomed in our friends on No Plans Just Options, as they completed their crossing around 6pm that evening.

Dinghy parking lot behind Roundabout!

We spent a few more days here, spending our time snorkeling and playing with friends. Everyone gathered on the beach for  crazy, fun and wild New Year's Eve party . Fireworks completed the night at midnight and boom, just like that we entered 2019.

New Year's Even party and all the boat kids celebrating crossing the Atlantic!

After a last morning snorkel and swimming with friends, we said 'see you later' to all our friends (we also delivered the Atlantic Crossing flags the kids made for our group who crossed with us), and set sail for Martinique.

Atlantic Crossing: The Journey

Crossing started off beautifully!

We left Gomera around 1pm and set off for Barbados. These are the notes Stef kept along the way.
Every day around noon GMT time, we checked in via the sat phone with all the boats in our crossing group. We marked their positions on the chart plotter, as well as our own. It was nice to see the progress each day. Additionally, we marked our progress on our paper chart.

Crossing notes:
12/9: Left in the afternoon, around 1-1:30 pm. Flew Parasailor for a bit and put it away at sunset. Ran with the main and jib overnight. Kids did school while dinner was cooking. Dinner was spaghetti bolognese, fresh baked bread, and salad. We are all excited to start this journey!

Crew sitting down to dinner while I am on watch.

12/10: Sailing in light winds, flew wing on wing. Ran water maker, did laundry, showers, cleaned up the boat. Fast sailing. Had omelets for breakfast. Kids did school. Lunch was southwestern chicken tacos with fresh veggies. Started in on reading new books and playing board games. No fishing has started yet, as the fridges and freezers are stocked full! Dinner was burgers and potato salad. All calm throughout the day and into the night.  Bio-luminescence!

Kids are starting the scavenger hunt.

Scavenger hunt prize was a small lego set.

12/11:  Stef created a scavenger hunt for the kids with clues hidden all around the boat. The prize was a small lego set.  Nice day sailing.

Sunsets and sunrises are stunning at sea!

12/12: Fast sailing to start and then we slowed down as the seas began to build. Flew Parasailor (BIG RED) all day and doused around 1am, due to the winds picking up to 25 knots true wind speed (tws). Breakfast: french toast Lunch: leftovers Dinner: meatloaf and mashed potatoes with salad.

We played a lot of games!

12/13: Seas large and confused. Flying the main, speed 6-7 knots. So stoked as we hit 8-9 knots, depending upon the gusts and as we surfed down the waves. Wind about 16-17 tws.
3-4 meter waves behind us, some come from different directions. We cleaned out the white ice chest today and transferred everything over to the gray Dometic one. Everything else went into the freezer. White ice chest is now just for drinks storage and things that don't need to stay cold. Ran water maker, did a load of laundry, showers, etc. Breakfast was oatmeal with diced apples and cinnamon.

Schoolwork every day.

Kids finished school early today, before I came on watch! Lunch: leftovers with salami and cheese, snack foods, etc. We played a round of Monopoly. We will have pizza tonight and grill some chicken, as we need to start using up the meat. Pesto grilled chicken pizza, chorizo and cheese pizza, and plain cheese pizza were on the menu. Flew Big Red until around 11pm, when the wind picked up. Our watch schedule for the night starts at 7pm and we do 3 hour shifts. Works well so far.

Prepping to fly Big Red.

Rainbow at sea!

12/14: Overcast day, gray with a little bit of blue sky showing. We've had Big Red flying since around 8am this morning. Swell is all over the place, rocking the boat. Not getting any good sleep. Wind is between 11-13 knots, swell confused, speed 7-8 knots. Made cinnamon coffee cake for breakfast and a loaf of bread. Been up since 4am, because I just couldn't get to sleep. The sideways motion of the boat as we surf down the waves is not the most comfortable down in the cabin. Drinking a lot of coffee today!

Checking over Big Red after the dip in the ocean. We were extremely fortunate!

12/15: Jared and I were asleep and Matt on watch, when we hear Matt call us up. Around midnight, the metal clip on the halyard failed, causing Big Red to fall into the sea and go under the boat. I quickly turned off windvane mode and set autopilot to standby. The props were already folded (which I think saved the sail from damage). After drifting for a bit and working out the problem, we let all the lines loose as Jared had grabbed a hold of part of the sail. Jared was clipped in near the sugar scoop and as he would pull up a handful of the sail, Matt and I would assist. Slowly and carefully, we got everything back on board. An hour later, we were sitting in the cockpit cleaning up the lines and setting the sail aside until daylight. I took over watch while the guys cleaned up. After I grabbed some sleep off shift, Jared and I set about inspecting the sail and wiping off the water. No damage!!! We stopped around lunchtime as Jared had to climb the mast to retrieve the halyard. This was not easy in the big swell and he came down with some nasty bruises. Fortunately, he is ok and we have our halyard back! He cut off the damaged clip and end of the line. Our son Matthew has this in his cabin as a keepsake now.

For the rest of the voyage, until we can get a new clip, we will tie a bowline to the sock.
We relaunched Big Red a few hours later and were back in business! Yay! Bright sunshine today and gorgeous blue water. The rays of the sun filter down into it and makes for a lovely scene. We are all still in amazement that Big Red is ok!

Lots of flying fish around the boat. Wind died around 5pm, so we doused Big Red and flew the jib and mainsail. Motored a little overnight as the wind died off. Lunch was Asian chicken salad with ramen noodles. Dinner was chicken stir-fry with noodles.

Mahi!

12/16: Caught a huge mahi-mahi and had a great dinner! Lovely day sailing, despite the bumpy seas. Tossed all plants (except aloe vera plant) as they were not doing well at sea and had developed a white mold. Plus we noticed little gnats in the soil. Can't have that when we check into Barbados, so it was a good cleaning up day. We changed our watch schedule to start at 8pm, as it is getting darker later. We alternate during the day between napping, being on watch, reading, playing games, checking the kids' schoolwork, etc. It is pretty relaxing. Relaunched Big Red as the wind came back.

Captain has a birthday at sea. 

12/17: Jared's birthday today! Great day with calm following seas and good wind. We caught two more mahi-mahi, but let them go as they were a bit small. Ran the water maker (we always keep one tank full and run it when the other gets close to empty, then we switch tanks. This ensures we always have a full tank of water in case the watermaker has issues). We do laundry when the water maker is running. Washed all the bedding and towels. Felt good to get all of that accomplished. They dry quick in this wind!

Breakfast: biscuits and gravy Lunch: salami, cheese, crackers, trail mix, and mixed snacky stuff. We were still sort of full from breakfast.
We had moussaka for dinner with cucumber and tomato salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Big birthday cake: 2 layer vanilla cake with raspberry filling; frosting was vanilla buttercream with shaved coconut and chocolate. We also brought out the ice cream we had hidden in the back of the freezer for reaching 1/2 way! We took out 3 of the containers: raspberry mango sherbert, strawberries and cream, vanilla caramel brownie. Yum!
The monohull group checked in as they left Cape Verde today.
Tonight we called family, in honor of reaching 1/2 way (well almost, it would officially be the following day, but with the time zone difference, we called today).

12/18:
Breakfast: cereal and oatmeal. Lunch: rice mixed with quinoa and Korean Beef recipe. Caught a huge skipjack tuna and will have it for dinner (sushi and also cooked), with coconut lime rice and black beans. It was delicious! We also caught a mahi, but tossed it back because we already had the tuna. Today officially marks 1/2 way to Barbados! We are so very excited!!! HAven't seen a single ship since leaving Gomera. Noone on the radio either.
Ran the water maker again today, as I needed to finish washing the rugs and rest of the towels and linens.

Around 5pm, I noticed a small tear in Big Red, so we pulled in the sail and repaired it with sail tape. Relaunched within 10 minutes. Upon closer inspection, the area had a scratch mark, so I guess it scraped somewhere along the hull or saildrive and incurred that damage. Fortunately, it is made of ripstop material, so we are lucky it didn't get worse. We have had Big Red flying for over 24 hours now and making good speed. We have about 6 days left at sea, as long as we keep going fast. Average speed is between 6-9 knots, depending on the wind and swell. Sometimes we even get up to 10-11 knots! Once we got up to 14.2 sog (speed over ground)!! We keep seeing lots of flying fish and a few patches of sargassum weed.  No dolphins or whales yet.

We are trying to go as fast as possible and keep downloading weather reports to see where we can find more wind. We are hoping to arrive on Christmas, but we will see.
11pm, we put away Big Red as the wind picked up quite a bit. We are cautious as we don't want a blown sail. We are now flying the jib and making 5 knots speed. So slow! Sometimes we get up to 6 knots and I feel a little better about that speed. We have an ETA counter on our chart plotter, so I like to see that date change to sooner rather than later.
Sunny turned 4 years old today! She got spoiled with lots of treats. She also got bacon, chicken, and fish. Lucky pup!


Might as well take advantage of a scientific observation opportunity:

Sargassum crab

Checking out the sargassum and critters under the microscope.

Looking through the sargassum weed for critters.

12/19: I am on watch and it is still pitch black at 7:41am. The sun won't come up for another hour or so. I made coffee and am on my second cup. All is quiet. The waves have been a bit confused, so still bumpy, and the winds flukey (shifty). What ever happened to 'set it and forget it'? We still make sail changes. We have had a few days with leaving Big Red up and not touching a thing, but I wish we could just do that for the rest of the trip.

Some fun time on the swing during calmer seas.

It is warmer now, so we aren't needing sweaters, hats, or blankets. I used to use a thick blanket on watch, but don't need it now. Right now our position is 17 degrees 59 minutes decimal 094N 40 degrees 32 minutes decimal 885W. Water temp is around 78 degrees. Time is 7:46am (ships clock). No idea what the actual time is in this zone. The sun gets pretty intense during the day.
Spent the day cleaning (with Sunny's fur, it is a constant battle) and I finally got a nap in. Matt (our son) noticed something on Big Red, so we took it down to inspect. Turns out, it was just stitching and a small piece of scrap sail tape. All good, so we relaunched.

The bananas (plantanos) finally ripened! Now it is a race to consume them all before they go bad! We will have bananas at every meal and snack time. They are small, sweet, and delicious! Jared put up the swing today (attached it to the clew of the jib, as Big Red is using the halyard), so we all took a turn swinging, being rocked by the sea. It was fun!
Lunch was leftovers and more snacky stuff. Dinner was grilled hot dogs, bratwurst sausages, baked beans, potato salad, etc. We brought out the rest of the ice cream for dessert (vanilla, cookies and cream, chocolate fondant). Had another beautiful sunset with pink and purple clouds. The stars show up as the sun sets below the horizon. So many stars!

12/20: 999nm left as of 7:38am. Drinking lots of coffee as we are tired today.
Not much sleep last night due to managing Big Red. The wind died off to hardly anything, so we had to adjust the sail. Then a squall came through around 6am and we watched it closely. Thankfully, we had increased wind and therefore increased our speed. Now at 9:49am, we are going slow as the wind went away. Making 5-6 knots. 981.9 nautical miles left to go, as of 9:52am. Winds are light and sea is calm. Gentle rollers go under us and on to other destinations. I miss the speed we get with squalls! And the rinsing of the boat! It sure needs it.

The elves got up to some mischief today, rainbow popcorn and now the kids are making garlands to hang on the tree.
Starting to see larger patches of sargassum weed. It also snags on our fishing line, so that is a constant chore, cleaning that off.
Breakfast was cereal--too tired for cooking. Made sugar cookie dough for Christmas cookies today. Jared made banana bread. Played Spoons (a card game we learned from Arakai). Dinner was creamy pasta carbonara with fresh baked bread and veggies.

12/21: Around 2am, we had a big squall come through. Max tws was 31.5 knots, so we took down Big Red. It was only down for a few minutes though, as the squall passed pretty quickly. We got a good rinsing. We hit 14.2 knots speed over ground with that storm! The squalls we experience at night are much smaller and we enjoy the burst of speed we get with them. ETA on the chart plotter says 26 or 27th now.

Around 4am, we came upon another large squall and put away Big Red again. The starboard sheet caught under the boat, but we let the line loose and pulled it back on board. We flew the jib and cruised along between 6-8 knots.

9am: debating on whether to relaunch Big Red, so we can go faster. The wind is gusting into the 20s, but consistently in the teens. Good wind for scooting right along and making 8-10 knots! We will wait for more daylight and reassess.  The sky is all overcast now and raining off and on.
The passage has started to take its toll on us, as we are not getting enough sleep (well, I am not, I think the guys are fine). I started sleeping in the saloon, with less noise. We are looking forward to anchoring and sleeping with no noise!

Launched Big Red around 9:30 am and making 7-8 knots speed. Wind 16-17 tws, 9-10 aws. Seas a little bumpy. Rain clouds around but now we have blue sky over us. Thunderhead to starboard. Heading COG 260. 814 nm left to go as of 11:49am.
Breakfast: cereal, bananas, banana bread.
Luch: pasta salad with tuna, bread, cucumber and tomato salad. Need to use the last of the fresh veggies and apples.
Dinner: rotisserie chicken, pork loin, pasta salad, veggies. Need to use up more of the meat and rest of the veggies.
Night is super calm with steady winds. Nice. Air temp warmer, so leaving hatches open for air circulation.

Whales!

12/22: Just came on watch at 2:57am. Nice calm conditions. Wind 16-17 tws, 8-9 aws,. Seas calm and rollers behind us. Not bad. 716.9nm left to go. Water temp 26.5 C. Moon is bright as we have full moon, water sparkles with the moonlight. Can't see bioluminescence with the moonlight though. Today we will bake Christmas cookies and decorate them. Need to start wrapping gifts as well. Also the kids are doing a straw challenge today as part of their science/stem.

We had a real treat tonight! We had a couple of pilot whales visit us and played around the boat for about 30 minutes, just before sunset! What an awesome experience! They would turn over on their backs to show their bellies as they checked us out.

12/23: Getting closer! Kids excited for Christmas. Pizza for dinner. Been really busy doing stuff around the boat, so no time to take notes.

12/24: pancakes for breakfast. Wrapped gifts after kids went to bed and placed under the tree and on saloon table. Christmas lights are festive and cozy. Stockings stuffed. Santa even brought something for our friend Matt.

Christmas at sea!

12/25: Christmas pancakes (red and green), sausages, fruit, hot cocoa with marshmallows made for a nice breakfast. The kids loved their presents and played all day. Dinner: Goose with sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, couscous. Called family from sat phone. We took a crew photo in Santa hats, and also it was our last night at sea on this passage! So very excited!!! We will reach land tomorrow! Lunch: pesto pasta with grilled chicken and fresh bread

12/26: Land ho! We had a nice night last night. Breakfast today was biscuits and gravy. Lunch: canned duck (long story about why we have this), gravy, peas, carrots, corn, white beans, beets. Yum!
Dinner: Pesto pasta and chicken
We sailed right into the anchorage, dousing Big Red, just before we dropped anchor. We anchored in Carlisle Bay at 2:45pm Took a crew photo around 3pm. Saw our friends on Dragonfly anchored by us, and they brought us cookies. We met No Worries, a dutch family, who brought over treats for Sunny. What a nice welcome!

Kids jumped right in to swim around, Sunny swam as well. This anchorage is next to a cruise ship port, where we will have to go check in to customs. First task was finding a flight home for Big Matt (we had to call our friend Big Matt and our son Little Matt during the trip to avoid confusion).
The customs office closed before we could get there (had to have Matt's flight info in order to remove him from the crew list).
We crashed into bed after a late dinner of couscous and chicken. Beers to celebrate the crossing.

Just a few minutes after we dropped the hook off of Bridgetown, Barbados!

12/27: Early this morning, Stef and Big Matt went to check into the country and remove Matt from our crew list.  Jared dropped us off and we walked the 20 minutes to the port. After checking through security and receiving our wristbands, we proceeded towards the A-framed mall. We visited health first and filled out one form, and gave our crew list. We chatted about the island, her family, and she gave us some info about the island. Then we received a slip of paper and instructions to visit the customs office. We filled out two more forms, twice, as they don't make copies, and then we had to visit immigration last. It took in total about an hour (with an extra hour wait for the customs lady to return from her visit to a cruise ship that arrived).  We will have to pay a fee of $50 upon checkout, and visit customs and then immigration again to receive our clearance paper. Noonsite says the process is difficult, but I think that is because they give priority to the cruise ships. Port Charles is also probably only one office, and they don't have to deal with cruise ships, so its easier.
The anchorage here at Carlisle Bay is ok. Holding in sand, but there are lots of small rocks, which means the anchor may take awhile to bite in. The beach is lovely. The noise at night is awful. Large party boats blasting music from about 7pm to 7am (seriously, it is all night long) make for poor sleeping conditions. We are moving away from here as soon as we meet up with the other kid boats and have our New Year's party. Heading to Martinique after this.