The bottom got a little too close…

June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 / FloatsOurBoat / 1 Comment

They say there are two kinds of sailors on the ICW – those who have run aground, and those who are lying and say they haven’t. Just north of St Augustine, we joined the first club.

It was a long, fairly boring day of putt-putting along. Capt Mike was at the helm, and I had gone below to get a head start on dinner prep. Suddenly, I heard the sound of the engine change dramatically and I popped my head up into the cockpit like a groundhog to find out what was going on. Capt. Mike just had enough time to say “I slowed way down ’cause I’ve got to figure out where the deep water is” when we stopped cold. Dinner forgotten, I grabbed an extra copy of the charts for reference, and I scanned around us for red and green channel markers. In the meantime, Capt. Mike had thrown the throttle into reverse and gave it a ton of revs, hoping to simply back off whatever shoal we had hit. No luck. The 2-knot current was pushing the stern into even shallower water. We tried swinging the boom way out to one side to tilt the boat over and hopefully to slide off. Nope. Mike dropped the dinghy into the water and tried to push the bow into deeper water like a little tug boat, while I steered from the helm. Nope. I started talking about BoatUS towing service and the captain shushed me. “We’ll stay here until high tide if we have to, but we don’t need to call for a tow”

A giant motor yacht passed us just as we got stuck and hailed us on the radio. “Have you run aground? Need anything? Ok, good luck” Gee, thanks. A small sport fishing boat came by with two huge outboard motors and offered to help tow us off. So once again, I took the helm, Capt. Mike moved the dinghy around to port midships and started pulling in reverse using our 20hp outboard. The fishing boat stayed on the forward starboard side and pulled with their two 75hp motors. Between the towing, our own engine revs, and a few short bursts of the bow thruster, we were off and floating! Unfortunately, I almost swamped Capt. Mike in the dinghy as we went from zero to 5.5 knots in an instant and he was still holding onto the boat going backwards. Oops! All’s well that ends well, and we thanked the fishermen warmly and continued on our way. For the rest of the trip north, we both stayed on high alert any time the charts said “shoal warning”… even when the channel markers were in plain sight.

We anchored off Fernadina Beach on Amelia Island that night to lick our wounds. Feeling like ourselves again the next day we went ashore to experience all that the annual Shrimp Festival had to offer. Garlic shrimp, shrimp quesadilla, shrimp and corn boil, a parade of decorated shrimp boats. Even people wearing big orange shrimp hats. We ate and danced and walked and had an excellent time, topping it all off with some of the best upscale Mexican food we’d had in ages, enjoying the night out with our friends Hayden and Radeen on Island Spirit.

From Amelia Island, it was just a short hop north to Cumberland National Seashore, which I’d always wanted to visit. From the anchorage, it’s an easy dinghy ride to the park where most guests arrive on a ferry from St Mary’s, Georgia. Yay – we made it to Georgia! I really enjoyed getting the chance to stretch my legs on the shady park trails where I saw the cutest armadillo, wild horses, and even a glimpse of a bobcat! This park has a little bit of everything: natural beauty, the ruins of the Carnegie’s summer home, a long white sand beach. And we’d almost have to be backpacking and camping to be able to cover the many miles of trails. It was the perfect final stop on our floating ICW vacation!

Big News for Team Sanitas!

February 12, 2023February 12, 2023 / FloatsOurBoat / 6 Comments

As some of you may have noticed from our social media posts, there are big changes coming up for Capt. Mike and me this year. We have listed our beautiful Sanitas for sale ⛵️❤️ ⛵️ So what’s next?

Are we giving up on the nomad life and going back to work? 📇🗄️📅 No way!

Are we buying an RV and switching to land cruising? 🚐🌆🇺🇸 Not yet!

Are we fully committing to this crazy life and upsizing to a bigger boat? ⛵️🦈🏝️ Absolutely!

We’ve been making a lot of upgrades to Sanitas to keep her systems in great condition and to make living aboard more comfortable. But I think we’ve reached the limit of how well we can use the space on our beautiful but teeny boat. So for the past year or three, we’ve been casually on the lookout for an upgrade. We haven’t been looking very hard, just kind of hoping the universe would eventually deliver us the perfect boat – maybe finding a fellow cruiser moving back to land who just happens to have the perfect size, model, and age of boat for us! Clearly, that hasn’t really worked out. So on Christmas Eve I told Capt. Mike it was time to inject our boat search with “a bit more vigor.” Vigorously, we did so! On 18 January, we put in an offer on our next sailboat and we are working toward closing the week of 20 February.

We are purchasing a 2001 Island Packet 420 currently located in Stuart, FL. I won’t tell you her name yet, because we are still deciding whether or not to change her name, and I am rather superstitious- I don’t want Neptune and Aeolus to know before we hold a formal renaming ceremony 😜 I can tell you she’s an absolutely beautiful vessel. She has only had one owner, AND he is a talented mechanic who worked with the Island Packet factory in Rock Hall, MD. She has been meticulously maintained and cared for. Equally important (at least to me) she has two cabins, two heads, a spacious galley, and enough room to support a larger dinghy with a bigger outboard than we currently use on Sanitas. Capt. Mike says this new boat will blow my mind. Did you catch that? She WILL blow my mind. Yes, we are buying a boat that I have not seen, leaving a small fluttering feeling in my tummy. However, Capt. Mike flew from Grenada to Florida and was present for the survey and sea trial. He even had the opportunity to spend time with the current owner and to investigate every hold and locker and every system. He assures me that I am going to fall in love as soon as I get the chance to meet her. Which I hope will be soon! 🤞🏼

So what’s next for us? We are trying to sell Sanitas here in Grenada, hoping to find someone who will love her and care for her as well as we have. So, for the moment, my full time job is boat broker. Oh, and cleaning lady, stainless polisher, chef, insurance broker…all those jobs! Hopefully we will be able to transition Sanitas to her new home within the next couple of months, and then I’ll get the chance to meet my new floating home. We hope to spend June and July back home in Colorado, riding the 50th anniversary RAGBRAI at the end of July. Then we’ll leave the mountains and return to the water, moving our new boat from Florida to Brunswick, Georgia for storm season. At least this is Plan A. And you know what they say about cruising plans…”Cruising plans are written in the sand at low tide.” (That means everything is likely to change!)

We’re Back!

November 9, 2022November 9, 2022 / FloatsOurBoat / 9 Comments

Capt. Mike and I spent hurricane season having wonderful land-based adventures in Europe and in New York State. If you follow us on social media, you already know we hiked about 1650 kilometers across France and Spain on a Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, fueled by cured meats and cheeses and rosé! If you don’t, here are a couple of photos of that epic adventure….

But all good things must come to an end. And now it’s time to trade hiking boots for flip flops as we return to our little floating home in the Caribbean. Sanitas spent the summer on the hard at Spice Island Marine Services in Prickly Bay on Grenada, West Indies. We’ve hauled out there three times, so it feels a bit like our home away from home. We did A TON of work in June to clean and prep Sanitas for summer storage and that work paid off! No major surprises – no mold, no insect infestations, no storm damage….just a hot, dirty, dusty, crowded mess of a boat.

This year, we challenged ourselves to complete our entire boat prep spreadsheet in a single week in the boatyard. Eek. We were paying way too much money to stay in a crummy room in the yard, and we really didn’t want to stretch it out any longer than that. One thing we hadn’t counted on was experiencing the rainiest week we’ve ever seen in Grenada. I’m talking roads turning into rivers, boat yard turning into a mud pit, barely a break in the deluge to do exterior work and painting. Yes, painting was really the tricky part. We needed to repair some spots on Sanitas’s keel and put on another couple of coats of bottom paint, and the constant rain was really putting a damper on our plans (get it?) Capt. Mike was a true hero, and worked literally from sun-up to after sun-down on our only overcast-but-not-actively-pouring day to get all the painting done. Phew!

Entirely due to the heroics of my Captain, we did it! Exactly one week after our plane landed in Grenada, we splashed Sanitas into the murky waters of Prickly Bay and she became a sailboat again! That’s the good news. Now for the bad news… She’s still a sailboat and and a wise sailor once said “Everything on your boat is broken. You just don’t know it yet.” When we had the chance to test all of our systems, we found that the transmission has a fluid leak, the hot water tank leaks, the chart plotter screen is partially burned out, the dinghy motor doesn’t run without flooding, and we forgot to order a replacement auto pilot display that stopped working in the spring. Ay yi yi. Time to start a new To Do list. We’re also finding that supplies are difficult to source in Grenada this year, and prices have really gone up for the imported goods that are available. Maybe those global supply chain problems have finally reached Grenada? We’ve needed to order a bunch of parts from the States, with all the shipping and brokerage fees and red tape that entails. Wish us luck! I’m sure there’s a whole blog post in there somewhere.

What else do we do, besides boat projects? Well, I’m in charge of provisioning, and stocking the boat with non-perishable food for our adventuring. Since prices are pretty high in Grenada these days, I’m trying not to go overboard on shopping here. But when we live on anchor, it’s really not possible to run to the store every time I want a can of tomatoes or chick peas or a bag of gluten free pasta. So I still need to do some serious shopping. Without a car, I experimented with the local IGA delivery service for canned goods and heavy items. And I’ve done the 2-mile walk to the big grocery store a couple of times, filling up a backpack with as much as I could carry, and squeezing onto the local busses for the heavier trip back to the dinghy dock. Have I mentioned how much I miss the wonderful grocery stores in the French islands? I think I’m making progress on provisioning! I’ve just submitted an order for the local fancy butcher shop, and I need one more trip to the Indian grocery store for rice and spices. I’ve finally got the hang of where to find local fruits and veggies (Tuesday in the parking lot of Budget Marine, Sunday morning at the Brewery, Wednesday morning in the parking lot behind the mall) and I just learned about a place to buy fresh fish from local fishermen at the medical school campus. There’s really no such thing as one stop shopping in Grenada.

With all that shopping, you’d think I’d be cooking up a storm in my cozy galley. But, honestly, I’m struggling to get my boat cooking mojo back. Can I admit I miss big refrigerators, dishwashers, unlimited running water, and the fantastic array of fresh ingredients I could find in both Europe and the US? Oh well, I’ll get there. I have concocted a couple of tasty curries made with local pumpkin and callalou greens, and last night we baked the most delicious gluten free pizza ever consumed on the island of Grenada 🤣

What’s next for the crew of Sanitas this season? That’s a good question. Travel agent Jenn needed all of her skills to get us safely and comfortably across Europe this summer, working in French, Spanish, and German. She’s a little burned out on planning! So far, we’re just planning to get Sanitas back in good working order and then to island hop up the eastern Caribbean chain again, revisiting our favorite spots in The Grenadines, Martinique, and Guadeloupe. We’ll put some effort into planning where we want to be by the start of next hurricane season. And THAT should inspire us to get a little more specific on plans. So if you have any vacations in the Eastern Caribbean planned this winter, let us know! It’s just possible we might anchor in front of your resort and stop by for a visit 😎

Our “Best Of” tour of the Grenadines

May 19, 2022May 19, 2022 / FloatsOurBoat / Leave a comment

After leaving Dominica, we had to come to grips with the fact that our cruising season on Sanitas is almost at an end. Hurricane season is right around the corner, and it’s time to head south to Grenada to get ready. The country of St Vincent and the Grenadines still requires a COVID test and expensive health check fee to enter, so we almost skipped it. But…we had so much fun in SVG last winter, we couldn’t imagine heading south without stopping at our favorite anchorages. So here’s a glimpse of our favorite places south of St Vincent and north of Grenada 😎

We sailed Sanitas past St Lucia, admiring the stunning beauty of the pitons. And we had a salty sail down the coast on St Vincent before dropping anchor in what feels like our winter home of Bequia.

Our favorite things to do in Bequia are to hike to beautiful viewpoints, enjoy the fish chowder at Coco’s, to lime on Princess Margaret beach, and to catch up with old friends and make new ones. This year, we also had the privilege of participating in the naming ceremony for Popeye and Lisa’s beautiful homemade wooden sailing dinghy Velocette.

We tore ourselves away from bustling, exciting Bequia and headed south to the paradise of the Tobago Cays Marine Park. There’s nothing here but nature, but wow is it beautiful. we snorkeled with turtles and rays, climbed to gorgeous viewpoints, and ate a delicious barbecue on the beach cooked by our friends Romeo and Juliette ❤️ If you’re ever in the area, Tobago Cays can’t be missed!

Our next little downwind hop to Union Island was a short, sweet sail. We nestled Sanitas right into our favorite anchor spot behind the reef in Clifton and went ashore to look around. Clifton looks great! Perhaps the number of tourists who are returning now as COVID restrictions ease is bringing valuable money back to the island. Lots of buildings have had a new coat of bright colored paint, and there are some cute new bars and restaurants. We made the 30-minute trek over the hill to the most beautiful beach on Union and spent the afternoon at Sparrows Beach Club. I warned you that this would be our “best of” reel, didn’t I? Lunch at Sparrows really did feel like a vacation from our vacation.

After another easy downwind sail, we cleared into the country of Grenada on sleepy Carriacou. We hiked with baby goats, got our Pfizer booster shots, and reconnected with a friend we hadn’t seen since Grenada. Every Wednesday afternoon is Paint and Sip at Allison’s Paradise Beach Club. It’s a great chance to meet other sailors, enjoy a delicious cocktail, and eat a wonderful meal. Our boat name sign that we painted in November 2020 is still there – along with a couple hundred newer works of art!

Sanitas will be pointing her bow south again in a few days, enjoying her last sail of the season. Soon, we’ll be back in her summer home in Prickly Bay, and Capt. Mike and I will be working our butts off to get her ready for hurricane season storage. Yikes. Until then, we’ll enjoy every sunset we can experience on the water 🌅

Chasing waterfalls in Dominica

May 10, 2022May 10, 2022 / FloatsOurBoat / 2 Comments

We met up with the incomparable Kish Richards to explore more of the beautiful island of Dominica. First, we joined Holiday for lunch at Kish’s place. When I asked what was in the thick spicy soup she made us, Kish gave us a sly grin and said “meat” and made a scrambling running gesture with her fingers. Hmmm…Later, she showed us a picture of the critter called an agouti which flavored our lunch – maybe something like a big tail-less rat?

We set out on a full day tour of the southern part of Dominica with Kish and a van full of other sailors. As we drove, Kish told us about the dramatic effects Hurricane Maria had on Dominica back in 2017 and how the island’s economy has not yet recovered. Kish herself had a great job in security at the huge American medical school in Portsmouth before the hurricane hit and the school left the island for good, leaving a ghost town of empty buildings behind to be slowly reclaimed by jungle.

Our first stop was a short hike to Trafalgar Falls. Oh my gosh! If I thought the Bwa Nef waterfall was beautiful, this set of twin waterfalls blows it away in terms of beauty. We visited on a rainy day so the falls were simply raging. Not safe to get too close or to go for a swim, but we just soaked up the beauty.

After a coffee break, we sought out our next Dominican waterfall. This time, instead of an easy paved trail, we earned our views with a steep and slippery scramble. Middleham Falls is huge! I couldn’t even capture its full height in a single frame on my camera. Supposedly, you can swim there on lower flow days, but we didn’t have to swim to get completely soaked from the spray on the viewing platform. Thus the theme of the day was established – we were going to be wet!!! All..day..long.

Did I mention we were going to get wet? Our next stop kind of took me by surprise. Kish told us we were going to visit Titou Gorge and I envisioned another scenic nature hike up a scenic river bed. Not exactly. We we told to change into our swimsuits and pay 5ec to rent a life vest. Next thing you know, we were even told to kick off our water sandals and to jump one at a time into a pool of very cold water. After a few steps, the stream was too deep to touch bottom, and the line of us doggy paddled our way upstream. The gorge immediately narrowed to only a couple meters wide, and we craned our necks to look up at the undulating sone walls covered with moss and dripping ferns with a rim high above our heads. Again, because of all the rain, the force of the water was too strong for me to make it all the way upstream to the small waterfall, but Capt. Mike fought through it for the best view. Once he gave up on his grip of the rocky wall, the stream spun him around and spit him back out downstream like a water slide.

The thrilling conclusion of our island tour was a snorkel at Champagne Reef. Remember those seven volcanos? The geothermal activity at this point on the island manifests as a steady streams of bubbles making their way through the porous material of the coral reef. We swam along the reef in snorkel masks and fins, drifting through the streams of bubbles, catching the bubbles with our fingers. Colorful reef fish nibble at the coral and at the bubbles. I was surprised to find that I could hear the bubbles popping and fizzing. So peaceful, and a unique experience!

After a sunset rum punch on Champagne Beach and a fresh fish dinner at Sunset Bay Club, Kish dropped us off at the dinghy dock long after dark. We tumbled out of the van with armfuls of soggy clothing and dinghied back to our boats to rest up and dream of our next Dominican adventure.