August 12th, 2019
BAR
Having shown you the butterfly I feel it would be churlish not to show you the bar for we just loved the idea - its a proper working boat that came to the end of its days but still had enough life for drunken fishing stories across its deck.
August 12th, 2019
Butterfly
Apologies for the lack of Blogs but we have been pushing for Maine and time has been tight particularly as I had some work to do.
We have now arrived and this comes from Pulpit Harbour which is a stunning anchorage and worth a google. We have decided to stay here for a day or so to catch up with ourselves, have a rest and update the blog.
This picture of a butterfly was taken by a bar in Chesapeake so its a bit out of date but I like it.
It also shows how we have moved from somewhat tropical conditions in Chesapeake to what is more akin to a UK summer.
July 25th, 2019
Back in the Saddle
We're back in the saddle and at anchor in Atlantic City waiting for the wind to turn in our favour. Truth be known we are grateful to a contrary wind for we need to charge up our batteries after a brilliant but exhausting trip home.
Olivia, our daughter, is married and it could not have been a better day with perfect weather, a ceremony and celebration that was theirs and theirs alone. They were married in front of a select few who hold a special place in their lives. It was in our woods which burst with love, fun and Champagne.
Given that the ceremony and larger reception were in separate outdoor locations it made for a lot of work. This wedding wasn't a case of booking a venue and choosing the menu, it all had to built. A huge team effort swept the challenge ahead of it but I must confess that we worked our socks off. This, coupled with having to teach in Edinburgh, London, Oxford, Berlin, Monaco, Paris and Sydney over a mad five-week period has left us happy but depleted.
Popping Pearl back in the water could not have been smoother once I had sorted out anodes, log impellers and serviced the folding prop. The job list took up two days in what turned out to be a brutal heatwave the like of which I have never experienced. It became impossible to function as the heat escalated throughout the day. If I looked down my glasses pooled the sweat that was running off me and I couldn't see. We booked ourselves into accommodation.
Day three had us motoring up to Annapolis to top up with fuel, water and victuals as the heatwave entrenched. It was so hot that Koi in a local pond succumbed as the heat matched Death Valley. We booked into a hotel and waited for things to improve as we caught up with Ian and Michelle our good friends from the yacht Mahina. They had had a busy couple of months traveling around Canada by car so there was lots to catch up on.
There comes a time when you just have to bite the bullet and so we motored up Chesapeake Bay, through the canal and into Delaware River. A very long and hot day that broke just after we anchored with a monumental thunderstorm with forty knot gusts and alarming lightning. The heat prevailed through the humid night but it was a spent force. A northerly cold mass kick started the day with rain and a temperature drop that saw us in thermal tops for the rest of the day!! The weather is very volatile round here with dramatic swings and extremes.
Another long day saw us dropping the anchor in Atlantic City where we have had the first proper day off for a few months, although I did have to write my column for Yachting Monthly. Its been lovely to stop and it has offered an opportunity to regroup into our sailing life and start to plan the next couple of months. For now, the goal is to make thirty miles north of here to Barnegat where I need to service the engine. I can feel an early start coming with a nice breakfast at sea.
May 10th, 2019
CORNWALL
Bit of a gap in the blog but its thanks to a fantastic sail north from the Bahamas which turned into a series of weather windows for those that were bold and bold we were. Once we had started our migration back home to Cornwall it became a quest and we ended up taking ten days to get to Herrington Harbour North just south of Annapolis in ten days. This included a night West Palm Beach where we cleared into the US, a night in Canaveral to let a fearsome front rip through and an in and out night in Charleston where I had to squeeze in an engine service.
On arrival we out Pearl to bed, bought our flights forward and have been in Cornwall for a week recovering from a bug picked up on the plane. All that lovely clean Bahamian air suppressed our immune system and did it ever reboot as it wiped us out for a good few days.
Pleased to report that we are now feeling like loins and loving being back in Cornwall where we are rejoicing in the little things that we have missed. A fire at night, being able to just step out the door and go for a walk, lots of greenery, birdsong and of course family.
April 15th, 2019
GOODBYE THE BAHAMAS
I am bashing this blog out in the café at Palm Cay Marina which is where we checked into the country and had our papers stamped four months ago. Amongst many jobs from washing through to victualing we have just handed in our papers as we leave for the US tomorrow. The weather looks good so we will do it one long hop to either West palm beach in one night or St Augustine in two. We shall see how it pans out. I cant tell you how the Bahamas have charmed us with their beauty, variety and friendly nature. Put them on your list for they are an absolute gem. This drone shot by Travis Gomez captures some of its magic
April 15th, 2019
PLANE WRECK
We stopped in Normans Cay for some amazing drift diving and spear fishing before exploring a plane wreck by Pablo Escobars old runway.
April 15th, 2019
GUNBOAT
As we left Shroud Cay I couldn't resist having a look at this stunning GunBoat Catamaran which is actually built by Grand Large who are the same parent company to Garcia so her quality will be assured. We felt rather proud to be related.
April 15th, 2019
LEMON SHARK
The following morning I returned to the mangroves on a paddle board and there is no doubt that that is the way to do it. I got up close and personal to Heron, Duck, Egrit, Turtle and all sorts of fish. The absolute highlight was shadowing a lemon Shark as it cruised about on the hunt. I was only a few feet from its tail until it shot off on short hunting sprints. We then resumed our mutual cruising until the next feed. An amazing experience that will stay with me forever.
