S/V Geru

First Days on the Rideau

2022-07-15T09:39:00.002-04:00

Photos from the first few days on the Rideau

The best view of the 401😀

Geru at Lower Brewers lock

Swan with signets

Where are we going?

Geru in Morton Bay

Sights at the Kingston Marina

2022-07-11T08:38:00.034-04:00

Some sights from our time at the Kingston Marina

Theodore Too

The Canadian Armada

Video of Canadian Armada

MetalCraft Marine's new Firecat
Aerial video here

Back in the Water

2022-06-27T22:00:00.038-04:00

After two years on the hard waiting out Covid, Geru is back in the water.

Launching Geru

Leaving Clark's Marina

First night at the Kingston Marina

Geru's new home for two weeks

Moving South on Lake Michigan

2019-10-11T16:03:00.000-04:00

After Arcadia our next stop was Pentwater. The motor there was a little boisterous yet again. Even the good weather windows were sometimes questionable in October on Lake Michigan, but we had to keep moving as the weather was only going to get colder and more stormy as the season progressed. Tying up to the dock in Pentwater was a bit of a challenge as most of the docks were underwater due to high water levels on the lake and the wind pushing even more water into the harbour.

Although the weather was warmer in general, we were yet again encountering stores already closed for the season or with reduced opening hours. We certainly were late for this part of the country.

We heard an odd noise when turning the steering wheel as we were docking. After some investigation, we were rather shocked to find out that a bolt which basically holds our steering together was loose and the nut had come off! It would have been a major challenge if we had lost the steering while surfing waves on Lake Michigan. We were glad we found the loose bolt while at a dock.

Our next stop was an anchorage in White Lake, which is connected to Lake Michigan by a short channel. We had good weather that day, but, by the time we had anchored, it was very windy and wavy out on the big lake. A couple of hours after we arrived, another looper came in and they had a really rough time out on the lake and in the channel - we were glad our timing worked out.

After White Lake we motored to South Haven where we were met at the dock by seven other loopers. It was lucky they were there as Ruth had to put Geru into the smallest slip yet (it was 16' wide for Geru's 15'3" width!). It was a great time catching up with old friends from Charlevoix and meeting new ones, but our visit was a bit short. We rushed off the next day to Michigan City as we saw another good day for moving before we'd be stopped by weather yet again, and the harbour in South Haven looked like it would be somewhat unprotected in a blow.

We stayed in Michigan City for four nights hiding from the very windy weather out on Lake Michigan. The marina in Michigan City was great - we had the best sleep in a while as there were no waves at all in the harbour. The part of the town we were able to walk to from the marina wasn't much, though. We had to take an Uber to get to a grocery store.

After a smooth motor across the bottom of Lake Michigan, which was getting increasingly industrial, we were met by lots of pleasure boats and our first tows and barges as we entered the Calumet River, just south of Chicago. Our destination was Crowley's Yacht Yard, which is a huge operation where a lot of the Chicago boats are stored over the winter. Geru's mast was unloaded there to be trucked to Mobile, Alabama. We didn't want it sticking out behind the boat for all of the locks down to the Gulf of Mexico - the Canadian locks were enough. Crowley's was quite the efficient operation - we have never seen boats de-masted or hauled out so quickly!

Next up was the big city of Chicago...

Travelling south on Lake Michigan

High water in Pentwater

Anchorage in White Lake

Beaches along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan

Industry as we approached Chicago

Mast removal at Crowley's Yacht Yard

Geru at Crowley's Yacht Yard

Waiting for Weather on Northern Lake Michigan

2019-10-02T15:50:00.000-04:00

Our trip onto Lake Michigan started out very much like the rest of the lake would go - waiting for weather. Our first day of waiting was in Mackinac City. We spent the day walking the streets in amazement at the contrast from the remote closed-down Canadian towns to the crazy busy tourist shops there - what a change! It felt like we had turned a corner as it was finally warm, there were lots of people around, and we had the border crossing behind us.

Our first stop on Lake Michigan proper was the beautiful town of Charlevoix. The town fronts on a small lake protected from Lake Michigan by a narrow inlet. The marina is right downtown next to a great waterfront park. The eastern shore of Lake Michigan is (mostly) one long beach so we enjoyed our first beach walks of the trip.

Charlevoix was our next delay of waiting for weather. The temperature got colder while we were there as well and the marina was slowly preparing to shut down for the season. We didn't really mind being held up in Charlevoix as we were able to see just about all of the "Mushroom Houses" build by Earl Young for which the town is famous. We were also able to order some boat parts and install them on Geru.

After being in Charlevoix for seven days, we got a bit of a weather window. We were anxious to continue south, so we left on a day which was rather boisterous for our trip to Leland. Leaving the harbour through the channel was quite the ride and it was pushing our comfort zone, but Geru was handling it well. We arrived in Leland after surfing the waves down the lake under engine. We were the only boat to arrive that day... We guess the kiteboarders on the beach were a sign! Leland is a small town which still has its old fishing shacks along a salmon fish run into the harbour - it was a great second stop on Lake Michigan.

Our next stop was Arcadia where we stayed for two days to wait out some more high winds. Farther south, flooding and a loose bolt awaited us...

Round Lake in Charlevoix

A Charlevoix Mushroom House

Beach in Charlevoix

Waiting for weather in Charlevoix

Leaving Charlevoix

Salmon run in Leland

Dunes on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan

North Channel in a Flash

2019-09-19T16:33:00.000-04:00

Little Current is the gateway into the North Channel. Because it was getting colder and we saw more and more stores and restaurants closing up for the season, we moved along the North Channel as quickly as we could.

After waiting out rough weather in Little Current, we had two good days of travelling alongside Moon Dance, a trawler we met in Little Current, and made it to Meldrum Bay. When we woke up the next morning, there was some fog. After some discussions we decided to leave as we could see far enough that we wouldn't hit anything and we thought it would be better back out in the North Channel. Oh, were we wrong, as was the weatherman! The fog was just as thick out in the more open water and it didn't clear until the end of the day. We followed Moon Dance closely as they had radar and AIS.

We arrived at Drummond Island, which is in the US, in the late afternoon. Our check-in with US customs turned out to be pretty quick and straight forward, which was a relief after the stressful day in the fog.

We left Drummond Island headed to Mackinac City. We had expected to anchor along the way, but the weather turned out to be better than forecast, so we continued on, making for a long, but good day to the end of our passage of Lake Huron.

Next up for us was to travel the length of Lake Michigan.

A lighthouse in the North Channel

Geru in the North Channel

The end of the season in Meldrum Bay

Following Moon Dance in the fog

Geru in the fog

The Mackinac Bridge dividing Lake Huron

and Lake Michigan

Squeaky Fenders in Not-So-Little Current

2019-09-15T20:26:00.000-04:00

Little Current is a town on a narrow pass marking the northern end of Georgian Bay and the beginning of the North Channel. A lot of water flows through this passage...

We had planned a stop at Little Current as the winds were picking up and a few days of rain were being forecast. We thought it would be a restful stop to do some grocery shopping and boat chores. We couldn't have been more wrong. We did get groceries and some laundry done, but found that Little Current should really be named Big Current. The boat felt like she was at sea while at the dock with the addition of squeaking fenders keeping us awake at night. The videos below tell the story.

Little Current

Sounds at Little Current

Georgian Bay and First Loopers

2019-09-12T19:22:00.000-04:00

Shortly after we arrived in Midland we met our first fellow looper, PIA, who was still travelling south at this late point in the season like us. (A looper is a boat who is doing the Great Loop around the eastern part of North America. We are loopers for the Canadian and US portions of our trip.) PIA amazingly also has the same plan as us to continue south once we get to the Gulf of Mexico.

We spent four days in Midland at Bay Port Yachting Centre and did all the cruising chores: ordered parts, did laundry, changed engine oils and got groceries before heading out into Georgian Bay.

When leaving Midland one has to cross a large stretch of open water before being able to tuck into the protected small craft channel winding its way through the islands on the northeast shore. We left with some trepidation as the weather was beginning to turn, but we didn't want to be stuck in Midland for the full weather system. It turned out to be the right decision as we had a flat calm motor through light rain showers under a grey sky.

Throughout Georgian Bay we felt that time was nipping at our heels as more and more services and stores were closed for the season. Some nights were getting very cold and there was more fall colour in the trees. The one advantage of being there at this time of year was that we had no issues finding dock space. We also often found ourselves completely alone on the water. With it being so quiet, Georgian Bay felt very remote. It was the first time on this trip we felt we needed to be completely self-sufficient, which had become a way of life for us on our last trip.

We spent a cold night at a marina in Britt on Byng Inlet - and they actually had bear-proof garbage cans! To Geoff, Britt felt like one of the northern Canadian communities he had visited on canoe trips many years ago.

On our way to Killarney, we travelled through Collin's Inlet which is a narrow passage with granite rock faces on either side. We had heard it was spectacular and it was!

After spending two nights in Killarney, we went to "the pool" in Baie Fine. The pool is an amazing sheltered anchorage with an almost mystical quality located at the end of a long bay. Baie Fine is one of the largest freshwater fjords in the world and features white quartz cliffs on one side and pink granite ones on the other. From the pool we took a short dingy ride and hiked up a trail to Lake Topaz, which is a hidden lake in the mountains famous for the colour of its water. We were there on a cloudy day, so unfortunately didn't get to see the full colour effect.

From Baie Fine we headed to the misnamed town of Little Current...

Small craft channel on Georgian Bay

Passage on the small craft channel

Collin's Inlet

Lake Topaz

Trail to Lake Topaz

Geru in "the pool"

Baie Fine

Locks, Dams and a Dentist on the Trent-Severn Waterway

2019-09-04T19:23:00.000-04:00

After a great stay at the very modern and large Trent Port Marina, we started our trip up the Trent-Severn Waterway. We expected it to be similar to the Rideau, but it really wasn't. The Trent-Severn moves through a variety of geographic regions and you encounter many different landscapes. There were narrow passages through swampy lakes surrounded by tree stumps, the open waters of Lake Simcoe, buoyed channels around huge boulders (some above, some below the surface requiring sharp turns with the boat) and narrow rocky cuts with overgrown vegetation. There were also the not-for-the-faint-of-heart lift locks and marine railway. We spent quiet nights at remote lock stations, but also ended up inadvertently in the middle of Pirate Days in Orillia.

Just as we left Trenton Ruth lost a filling while eating a granola bar. And so began the search for a dentist who would take Ruth on short notice. The weekend was coming up and we had no luck as we passed a couple of the larger towns. Finally, we were successful in Peterborough where the local dentists have a dentist-on-call system. We did a bit of sightseeing by taking public transit to the dentist office on the edge of town. Ruth had her tooth expertly fixed by a dentist who is a sailor himself (thanks, Dr. Vander Velden!).

We were worried about the stony section starting north of Peterborough as we met a boat who had their trip cut short by running up on a rock. We have a lot of experience with shallow waters, but it has always been sand or mud bottoms which are fairly forgiving if you make a mistake, but contending with underwater boulders was another thing altogether. It turned out that it was no problem as the channels were well buoyed, but you needed to pay attention. This was our first introduction to this bouldered type of landscape that we knew would be the norm in Georgian Bay.

We went through the last lock of the Trent-Severn - the 43rd - at Port Severn on September 2nd, and started into the fabled Georgian Bay...

Sydney lock and dam

Healey Falls locks

Geru at Ashburnham lock in Peterborough

Peterborough Lift Lock

The Trent Canal

Lake Simcoe

Kirkfield Lift Lock - our first Trent lock going down!

Big Chute Marine Railway

Little Chute

Engine Troubles and Lake Ontario

2019-08-21T10:50:00.000-04:00

As we started the engine at the bottom of the Kingston Mills lock for our final portion of the Rideau Canal, Ruth noticed that the engine didn't sound right, so we shut her down and investigated. It turned out that the alternator bracket was no longer attached correctly to the engine and was rattling itself loose. After some contemplation, we put a quick fix in place using a wire wrap tool (thanks for the tip, Roger!) that we felt would get us to Kingston.

Once we started calling for a marina in Kingston, we found out that everything was full as it was a poker run weekend. When hearing about our engine troubles, Kingston Marina gave us a spot in a back corner usually reserved for their working boatyard. So we finished the Rideau Canal hobbling into Kingston Marina.

We spent three days in Kingston repairing the alternator. This was the first time we fixed our boat again underway and we were able to do it ourselves, so it was a good confidence boost.

To get from the Rideau Canal to the Trent-Severn Waterway, the route goes along the shore of Lake Ontario from Kingston to Trenton. This involves a few sections where the shoreline is exposed to Lake Ontario's wind and waves. We went out on a day that turned out to be way more boisterous that forecast. We almost turned around, but decided to press on, giving Geru her first test in bigger waves since her renovation. As in the past, Geru handled it better than we did, although we did end up tying an extra line on the mast lying on deck as we were worried about it moving around.

We spent a day in Picton waiting for the winds to calm down before a nice day of motoring to Trenton.

Alternator repair

The source of the problem

Lake Ontario

Leaving Picton

Rushing the Rideau Canal

2019-08-16T14:04:00.000-04:00

Our first day on the water took us from Marina Leblanc to the Ottawa flight of locks at the start of the Rideau Canal. Going through the locks, we were one of the day's tourist attractions. Lots of people were standing around taking photos and videos of the boats. We docked on the canal in downtown Ottawa across from the National Arts Center (NAC). We certainly noticed the bustle after our previous quiet nights at Marina Leblanc. We ran errands from the boat walking the familiar streets we walked hundreds of times over the last ten years, but this time coming home to Geru on the canal.

Because we are running six weeks late, we could not take the slow trip down the Rideau Canal we had originally planned. We managed to take a breather on a mooring ball at Colonel By Island in Big Rideau Lake for two nights, but otherwise it was just a flurry of buoys and locks. We did, however, really enjoy some of the scenery, especially the narrow cuts with overgrown vegetation in the southern end of the canal.

We went through the last lock of the Rideau Canal - the 45th! - at Kingston Mills on August 14th, and then the engine adventure started....

Ottawa flight of locks

Geru in downtown Ottawa

Going by Carleton University in Ottawa

Entering the Smith Falls lock

A narrow spot on the canal

Pastoral landscape

Geru at the bottom of the Kingston Mills locks

We Have Left!

2019-08-08T10:34:00.000-04:00

We have finally dropped our dock lines and left!

Leaving the dock at Marina Leblanc

Leaving the harbour

On the Ottawa River

Moving Aboard

2019-08-05T10:36:00.000-04:00

Over the course of about three weeks we moved onto Geru. It was a rather strenuous and stressful time as we were running against the clock of losing the apartment at the end of July. We started by taking car loads each day, but in the end we ran out of time and had to rent a van to be a storage unit for a few days. To top things off, we were moving aboard during a heat wave!

Because we ran out of time to sort through things, Geru is crammed full and it will take quite a while to get through it all.

Storage under the bed

Temperature while moving aboard

Our storage van

Geru is now officially our home (turning in the keys to the apartment)

All moved aboard!

Launch!

2019-07-18T10:38:00.000-04:00

On July 18th we finally got Geru back in the water.

Geru crossing the road between the yard and marina

Almost in the water

Geru is back in the water!

1.3 km of Dental Floss

2019-07-08T10:27:00.000-04:00

As we are going to be in some rather remote places in the US Midwest, US South and the Caribbean, we are stocking up with our favorite food items and those which will be hard to find. It does seem crazy to be buying such large amounts, but you'd be surprised what you need for a couple of years!

Because this is all going onto Geru and will end up packed away in hard-to-get-to places, everything needs to be fully inventoried and kept track of to make sure we don't have expired food hiding under the bed (yes, there will be food under the bed).

Sorting at home

One of many boxes to unpack onto Geru

Snapshot of a small part of our inventory list

Heading out again .... finally!

2019-07-03T18:22:00.001-04:00

July 2019

After 10 years (we can't believe it's been that long!) we are getting back out on Geru. We've been planning for this since we came home and had originally thought it would be five years, but the renovations and the cost of living on land greatly delayed things. Over the next months we'll post some older stories of the renovations done to Geru.

So what's the plan ?

This time we are heading down through the center of the US and completing America's Great Loop which we did half of last time. The plan is to leave Ottawa heading south on the Rideau Canal, then along Lake Ontario to the Trent-Severn Waterway which exits into Georgian Bay. We will then work our way through to Lake Michigan and down to Chicago. Then we will take the Illinois River out of Chicago to the Mississippi River. As the Mississippi River gets very commercial and not great for pleasure boats farther south, we will head over to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (via the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers) and then the Tombigbee River until we get to the Mobile River and, finally, come out into the Gulf of Mexico in Mobile, Alabama. From there we'll see where the winds take us...

Six Weeks' Delay

2019-06-04T19:24:00.000-04:00

The plan was to launch Geru in late May or early June, but Mother Nature had other ideas. As usual, in mid-April the water on the Ottawa River started rising as it normally does in spring. We thought that there might be some flooding as we'd seen in 2017, so we figured we might have a couple of weeks where we couldn't get to the boat. But this time around it was much worse! The flood crest was the same, but the high water stuck around for around six weeks (and is still very high for this time of year!). The flooding coincided with when the weather was finally conducive for boat work. We had several weeks of work to do before putting Geru in the water, so our plans have been set back by about six weeks.

Geru in the 2017 flood (repeated in 2019)

Leaving the marina by car as the flooding receded

Upcoming Talk on Our Adventures

2010-03-01T21:05:00.007-05:00

Cruising Lifestyle Seminar Series


Advantage Boating is pleased to offer once again this 3-part cruising lifestyle seminar series. Come and hear Ottawa’s own Ruth Beyerlein & Geoff Roddick talk about their 2-year round trip Caribbean adventure aboard their catamaran from boat selection & purchasing to bringing the boat back to winter in Canada. This three-night seminar series can help get you on course for your cruising adventure or simply help you escape the winter chill.
OPTIONS One, Two or all Three Nights
FEE $40.00 for all three nights $30.00 for any two nights $20.00 for a single night Advanced registration is required with Advantage Boating.

Session 1: The Dream Takes Shape What initiated this Trip? Why a catamaran? Bringing as US boat into Canada. Gear Selection, Boat Preparation, Provisioning Monday, March 6; 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Britannia Yacht Club **The BYC Galley will be open at 5:00 pm for dinner beforehand!


Session 2: The Voyage - Ottawa to the Bahamas All those Canals... Crossing the Gulf Stream The Bahamas Monday, March 22; 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Britannia Yacht Club **The BYC Galley will be open at 5:00 pm for dinner beforehand!


Session 3: The Voyage Part 2 - Bahamas, South Eastern Carribean Running from Hurricanes The Thorny Path The Islands Ocean Passage Making Our return home! Monday, March 29; 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Britannia Yacht Club **The BYC Galley will be open at 5:00 pm for dinner beforehand!

tel: 613.721.8683	info@advantageboating.com
© Advantage Boating, 2010

Winter

2010-01-03T20:12:00.004-05:00

3 January 2010

Happy New Year to all!

Winter has arrived here in Canada.

Geru not so happy with this cold white stuff around her!

Ruth wishing she was with our friends sailing down south

Updates

2009-10-25T19:16:00.006-04:00

25 October 2009

We thought we should post an update here for all the people we've left hanging for months. We are now set-up back in Ottawa in an apartment downtown.

Over the next months we plan to back-fill the posts and upload photos we were unable to post on our rushed trip back North.

In the meantime Geoff is looking for a Job, know of anyone looking for an Application or Sales Engineer, Technical Marketing Manager or Product Manager committed to delivering world-class customer service?

Sunset on Ottawa River

Back in Ottawa

2009-08-28T18:53:00.001-04:00

28 August 2009

On Sunday August 16th 2009 we arrived back in Ottawa after the long rush north to get "home".

Back in Ottawa

Home

Geru on the Canal in downtown Ottawa

It's been a long trip home

Volcano!

2009-03-06T21:10:00.017-05:00

6 March 2009

We left St. Barts on March 2nd and headed towards Montserrat. Because we were tired from the rolly anchorage in St. Barts, we decided to stop in St. Kitts and Nevis on the way. We briefly visited the town of Charlestown on Nevis. When walking around, we visited a local farmers' market, which had a large roof for protection from the sun and rain. To our surprise, a sign on the structure revealed that it had been funded by CIDA (the Canadian International Development Agency) and the European Development Agency. This was the first time we'd seen an international development project. We hadn't really thought about it that way until then, but we were travelling in the second/third world now. The produce sold at the market was (for us) a mixture of the familiar and the unfamiliar; tropical fruits and vegetables, such as plantains, yucca, mangoes, and coconuts, were on display alongside potatoes, onions and cabbages.

When we got to Montserrat, we went on a tour of the island with a few other cruisers. Our tour guide used to be the chief of police! It wasn't possible to walk anywhere, because the only anchorage on the island isn't near anything. As it turned out, nothing is "near anything" in Montserrat ever since the southern volcano erupted a few years ago and buried the capital town of Plymouth. During the tour we saw the construction effort to rebuild a main town from scratch on the north end of the island, safe from the volcano which is still considered active. We really enjoyed the tour. The absolute highlight of our trip to Montserrat, however, happened as we were sailing away from the island the next morning. We were one of the last boats to leave the anchorage heading south. We passed the remains of the town of Plymouth and marvelled at the destruction it had seen. Only the skeletal burned-out remains of some buildings stick out of the thick layer of grey ash - a modern-day Pompeii. As we passed by, we smelled the sulphur from the volcano. We took some photos but stayed two miles offshore - the prescribed exclusion zone around the volcano. As we were passing the southern point of Montserrat, Geoff suggested putting up the sails. Ruth took another quick glance at the island - and noticed an odd cloud forming above the volcano! The cloud was growing rapidly. The volcano was erupting, and we were still almost downwind from it. For 15 minutes or so we didn't know if the cloud of ash would reach us or not - we motored at full speed and watched - there wasn't anything else we could do. In the end, the plume passed a couple of miles behind our stern. We missed being engulfed in it by about half an hour. Later we ran into one of the boats that had left ahead of us - it had looked to them as if we had been caught in the cloud, and they were quite worried about us! Looking at the Montserrat volcano website a few days later, we found out that what we witnessed was actually a full-blown pyroclastic flow event. Needless to say, this was a bit more excitement than we were looking for. Who would have thought that the closest call on our trip so far would have been an erupting volcano!

This was a golf course!

Plymouth, Montserrat

Montserrat Volcano

PDF of Montserrat Sequence #1

PDF of Montserrat Sequence #2

St. Martin, Sint Maarten & St. Barts

2009-03-02T21:09:00.010-05:00

2 March 2009

From the BVIs, we motored overnight to Sint Maarten in the company of Charlotte. The trip started out poorly as our main laptop with our navigation software on it died. This meant we no longer had electronic information about the freighters and cruiseships we might encounter out there (for the cruisers: no AIS). We didn't run into any issues with shipping, though, and our trip went fine. We started out in rolly seas which got calmer as we travelled. We arrived in Sint Maarten in time to catch the morning opening of the bridge, one of only three openings a day into Simpson Bay Lagoon. We were anchored in the lagoon surrounded by megayachts, both motor and sail. The island of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin is half Dutch and half French. We spent most of our time on the Dutch side which we didn't find nearly as nice as the French side. Unfortunatly, we found this out the day before we left when Charlotte offered us a ride across the rather large lagoon to the French side in their fast dinghy.

We spent three days in St. Maarten and then headed to St. Barts. The island are pretty close together, and the trip over was supposed to take about three hours - it took us five because it ended up being a bash into wind and waves. It was a very rough trip on both the boat and us. The only consolation was that Charlotte was still travelling with us and shared our misery. We arrived at Anse de Columbier (a bay in the north end of St. Barts) feeling beat and with new leaks on the boat that we hadn't had before. We spent the next day resting a bit and enjoying the beach, which had a large surf from the swell rolling into the bay. Late that afternoon we moved around the coast to Gustavia, the main town on St. Barts.

Just before Peter from Charlotte and Geoff returned from clearing in with customs in Gustavia, Ruth heard a loud 'clunk' from the back of the boat. It turns out that this was the sound of the ball-and-socket joint holding our hydraulic steering ram to the rudder tie bar falling apart - meaning a complete loss of steering! We were so thankful that this happened when it did rather than shortly before when we were motoring around in very close quarters looking for a place to anchor. The joint was badly corroded and must have been hanging on by only a hair.

The anchorage at Gustavia wasn't great. It was very crowded, a long way to town by dinghy and rolly due to the swell. Thankfully, for our first few days Charlotte offered to shuttle us to and from town to keep us dryer than our small and soft-bottomed dinghy allowed for. Gustavia has a small but well-stocked marine store, and after a few days of going back and forth with them we sorted out our steering problem. In the end we were able to get a part that wasn't perfect but worked. A new one will be put on when we are back in the US/Canada and have the funds to pay for it. There is a saying that the definition of cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places... which does ring true as we have had a few major fixes in "exotic" places already!

We made it to St. Barts in time for their carnival celebrations. The main festivities were held over two days. On Fat Tuesday, we watched the parade through town, which was reminiscent of the Halloween parade we had seen back in New York City - just on a much smaller scale. There were some of the Caribbean-style costumes we've seen in pictures of the Trinidad carnival, but, for the most part, the costumes were more like Halloween costumes in Canada. It was interesting to see what people had come up with. On Ash Wednesday, the 'Brule Vaval' was held, where a man made made of straw was paraded through town in a funeral-like procession and then hung and burned on the beach. We still aren't sure of the story behind this - we are assuming it is a European French custom.

Overall we enjoyed St. Barts, but we left there rather exhausted due to the rolly anchorage preventing us from getting a full night's sleep.

Port of Gustavia

Port of Gustavia

Cheeseburger in Paradise (from the Jimmy Buffett song)

Carnival in St. Barts

The US and British Virgin Islands

2009-02-17T20:34:00.015-05:00

17 February 2009

On Sunday January 25th we motorsailed from Culebra over to the town and harbour of Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. We anchored just in front of the main town - right where we had seen boats anchored a few years ago when we arrived by cruise ship - what a diffrent feeling arriving on our own boat!

Our friends on Charlotte were in Charlotte Amalie as well, and one evening Peter mentioned a movie night at Honeymoon Beach. Kirsten and Alden had flown home for appointments, so we joined Peter for the trip over in his dinghy, as our dinghy just isn't up for the distance. Upon arriving at the beach we found a sheet strung between two palm trees and rows of chairs set up. Behind the chairs was a row of golf carts belonging to local islanders. Next to all the chairs was a small concession stand selling beer, popcorn, and other snacks. We thought this was quite the event - and it kept getting better. Along with a countdown to the main movie and notices to turn off cell phones (believe it or not, they're prolific here, too, even on more remote beaches!), they showed a short pre-movie 'loony toons' cartoon. The movie itself was 'Vantage Point', which we all enjoyed. Movies on the beach - just what you might think of in the Caribbean.

From Charlotte Amalie we headed over to Great Cruz Bay on St John. Great Cruz Bay is not large, but it is quite deep and filled with boats on moorings, leaving little room for a boat to anchor. Luckily, as we were motoring around looking for a spot, someone on another boat pointed out a not-so-obvious spot sometimes used by catamarans, and it worked out well for us.

Great Cruz Bay was the first - but definitely not the last - of deep, crowded anchorages. In fact, the British Virgin Islands (BVIs), where boats full of inexpericenced charterers are let loose, are thought to be a very easy cruising ground. Ironically, right from day one this is where we encountered difficulties we had not had to deal with before. After a brief stay at Great Cruz Bay we wanted to head over to do some snorkelling at Trunk Bay which is supposed to be wonderful. As we approached Trunk Bay we realized that this was out of the question as a large northerly swell had set in. Huge waves were crashing onto the rugged shoreline making snorkelling impossible.

We went to Jost van Dyke to check into the BVIs and found it to be a poor anchorage - we tried three times to anchor before our anchor set, but we didn't trust it enough to be comfortable staying overnight, which we had originally planned. We motored over to White Bay which is known for good holding, but, due to the east-south-east winds it had large waves rolling through the anchorage. So we now had to find a new place to anchor for the night that wasn't exposed to the northerly swell and was protected from the east-south-east winds - a tough challenge as it was getting late in the day. Soper's Hole on the island of Tortola looked like the only viable option we could reach before dark. Soper's Hole, however, is another deep and crowded anchorage with pay-per-night mooring balls. We ended up having to take a mooring, which we don't like to do as anchoring is free. To make up for the frustrating day, we found out that Idyll Island was just a couple of mooring balls away. We had last seen them in Salinas, Puerto Rico, and it was quite a nice surprise to see them again.

Ever since we left Ottawa, the BVIs had been one of our goals for the trip. However, our first full day of sailing the BVIs was not at all what we had expected. From Soper's Hole we motored (not sailed!) into the wind, waves and current up to Road Town. During this trip we had our first wave come not only over the bow of the boat, but roll up over the cabin top, drenching Ruth at the helm! What an introduction to the BVIs!

We spent a few days in Road Town, Tortola. The highlight of our time there was meeting Christine and John on Timentide, a Prout 34. They had spent considerable time in the BVIs and had a daughter living on Tortola. They took us on a tour of the island by car, and they not only showed us the sights but also gave us a very different view with insights into the politics and inner workings of the island.

After visting Norman Island, we had a wonderful sail up to Trellis Bay to go to the Full Moon Party (held, as the name implies, on each full moon). We arrived in a throng of boats, and the anchorage/mooring field was packed. There didn't seem to be any room between the boats already there, but it looked like it might be possible to anchor close to the beach in front of a line of catamarans. We were just able to anchor there - in four feet of water! Oh, how nice it is to have a shallow cat. As we sat at anchor, other catamarans would motor towards us and then suddenly hit reverse when they saw the depth as they usually draw four feet or more. Over the next few days we did touch bottom gently in some of the larger waves, but we were on soft sand so we weren't concerned.

The Full Moon Party at Trellis Bay was very well attended. It is put on by Aragorn's art studio, which is located right there. People sat at tables along the beach with torches providing a romantic light. The centerpieces to the party were the fireballs, which are metallic spheres with artistic cut-outs. The fireballs were sitting on supports in the shallow water at the edge of beach and filled with firewood. The fires set inside them illuminated the cut-out designs. They were a beautiful sight at night. The event brought out lots of cruisers and locals. We had a great time in the relaxed party atmosphere.

From Trellis Bay we motored over to the Baths on the south-western shore of Virgin Gorda for the afternoon. Other than having to deal with other boats pushing for the few mooring balls, the Baths were great. They are probably "the" tourist sight in the BVIs - and rightfully so. Huge bolders are perched on top of each other creating caverns and crawlspaces between them. Because they are right at the water's edge, you wade through water in some of the areas. We both loved wandering through the Baths.

That evening, we moved up to Savannah Bay, which was a wonderful anchorage. It is not only relatively shallow but also empty because charter boats aren't allowed to go there due to an outlying reef. We did end up having one neighbour in the large anchorage, a huge mega-sailing-yacht.

We left for Anegada the next day. We had a good sail over. Anegada is a low-lying sand and coral island which reminded us a lot of the Bahamas. We only spent one night at Anegada since we wanted to take the next weather window over to St. Martin later in the week. We did, however, take in one thing Anegada is known for - its lobsters. We had a great Valentine's Day dinner at the Potters by the Sea restaurant, right on the beach.

From Anegada we sailed over to Gorda Sound in order to pick up some fuel. Here we met up again with Charlotte, whom we hadn't seen since St. Thomas. We had to anchor three times in order for our anchor to catch - this should have been a sign to us as our anchor usually catches easily. In the morning, Geoff found it awfully hard to pull the anchor up. Eventually he saw why - we had snagged a thick underwater cable that wasn't marked on the charts! After a few attempts of lifting and quickly dropping the anchor while motoring away from the cable we were finally able to get ourselves free.

Because we enjoyed the Baths so much the first time, we spent the afternoon before our departure to St. Martin wandering through this natural marvel again.

Street in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI

Anchored in shallow water in Trellis Bay, Tortola, BVI
(yes, that's Ruth standing behind the boat!)

Fireballs at the Full Moon Party, Trellis Bay

Anegada Valentine's Day Lobster Dinner

The Baths on Virgin Gorda, BVI

The Baths

Puerto Rico - An Island of Contrasts

2009-01-25T18:44:00.019-05:00

25 January 2009

Puerto Rico was one pleasant surprise after another. We knew little about this US territory before we arrived. The surprises started as soon as we saw the island. Puerto Rico is very hilly with lush vegitation and many houses and towns dotting the hillsides - a completely different vista than the Bahamian ones we'd grown accustomed to for so many weeks. Because Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, we had to clear in with US customs. The agents were really friendly, even offering us advice on what to see during our visit to Puerto Rico - this is not typical coming from US customs agents!

After clearing in in Mayaguez we moved to Boqueron on the south coast. Boqueron was a wonderful introduction to Puerto Rico for us. It is a vacation town filled with Puerto Ricans on holiday. When we were there, a lot of the Puerto Rican vacationers we met were actually living on the US mainland and had come "back home" for a visit over the christmas holidays. Every evening loud music wafted over the bay to our boat. Boqueron is where was saw the first of many contrasts. In town in the evenings, people were out in the streets partying, but there were families with kids everywhere in the mix so you felt very safe. An equivalent after-dark street party in Canada or on the US mainland would have felt very different. The locals we met were all very friendly and helpful and often suggested places for us to visit, just like we had seen earlier at customs.

From Boqueron we hopped along the south coast to Salinas. The town of Salinas with its protected mangrove-lined bay is a favourite cruisers' stop as services such as groceries, marine stores, and laundry are nearby and you can safely leave your boat for inland tours by car as the anchorage is very protected. The water was pretty murky, but this was made up for by several manatees swimming next to our boat every day.

We rented a car for two days in order to see Puerto Rico by land. On our first day we went to see the Arecibo Radio Observatory, which is the largest radio telescope in the world. It was featured in the 007 movie 'Golden Eye' and in the movie 'Contact'. The drive to Arecibo was fairly long. Initially, we were on a great four-lane divided highway, as good or better than any in North America. This quickly changed to a two-lane highway that went through towns and was stop-and-go. It was a great way to see Puerto Rican life, but not to get somewhere quickly. Finally, after four hours (we'd expected a two-hour trip!) we made it to the town of Arecibo where we had to turn off the "main" road. On our third attempt (due to poor signage) we found the road up to the observatory. The radio telescope was HUGE and very impressive. There were some informational displays to explain its workings and history.

Because it had taken us so long to drive around the island to get to Arecibo, we decided we would take the more "direct" route back across the island. The trip back was indeed faster, but the roads were rather interesting. The hilly central region of Puerto Rico is a Karst landscape, which is characterized by deep, almost crater-like valleys surrounded by large steep hills, all arranged in a random pattern. The roads wind through and around this landscape. Because they often go along steep hillsides, they are narrow - just wide enough for two cars with a cliff up on one side and down on the other. There wasn't a lot of traffic, but the little that was there was going fast, making for a hair-raising drive around tight blind corners! The scenery was stunning, just so hilly and very lush and green. As we left the center of the island and got closer to the south coast, the vistas changed dramatically to gently rolling and arid hills with sweeping views of the ocean.

On our second day with the rental car, we visited the El Yunque rainforest, which is the only tropical rainforest in the United States park system. We had another great drive there through the hills and up into the rainforest. This time we knew what to expect from the roads, so it was an enjoyable drive seeing the local homes and countryside. In El Yunque, we visited one of its famous waterfalls, which was right next to the main park road. Unfortunately we didn't have time to hike in to see the larger falls, but the one we saw was pretty neat. We then drove on to an overlook tower, which allowed for a spectacular view of the cloud forest in the park and views out to the Atlantic Ocean. Our drive back took us close to Puerto Rico's capital, San Juan. We had visited San Juan a few years ago on our cruise ship vacation, so this time we opted to stop at the Bacaradi Rum plant, which is situated across the harbour from Old San Juan, for a tour. Now we know the history of a 'Cuba Libre' and that, officially, it must be made with Coke (not Pepsi or any other cola) and Bacardi Rum (no other brand)!

During our time in Salinas we met up with two other boats which were also travelling east. Cathy and Derek of 'Idyll Island' are a couple from Vancouver Island who have been sailing in the Caribbean for the last year or so. We had initially met them briefly earlier in Ponce, but we got to know them in Salinas. The second boat was 'Charlotte' with Kirsten, Peter and their 6-year old son Alden from Seattle. We ended up travelling for a few days with Charlotte as their plans matched ours.

From Salinas, we hopped farther along the Puerto Rican coast. Once past the mainland, we headed to the island of Vieques in the Spanish Virgin Islands (which belong to Puerto Rico). As we arrived in Sun Bay, we were hailed on the radio by Charlotte as they were already anchored there and saw us coming in. They had left Salinas the day before us, and we hadn't expected to catch up to them. Charlotte and Geru were the only boats in the huge round bay with a mile-long beach.

We spent two days exploring the nearby town of Esperanza and enjoying the beach. The highlight of our stay at Sun Bay was a nighttime dinghy ride with Kirsten, Peter, and Alden. One bay over from Sun Bay is Mosquito Lagoon, which holds the 'Guinness Book of World Records' record as the most bioluminescent in the world! The trip over in the dinghy was an adventure as we were going through swells of 4-5 feet in the dark. As we motored into the lagoon, we didn't see much until we shut off the engine and swished our hands around in the water - the motion caused the water to light up in a bright glow. Kirsten jumped in for a swim and looked rather eerie with this glow surrounding her entire body as she moved around. When we left the bay, we could see fish darting away from the dinghy leaving underwater zig-zag trails of light.

From Sun Bay we moved to Ensenada Honda, another even larger bay. For those of you that know the BVIs, it was the size of North Sound in Virgin Gorda - about two miles across. We shared it with just Charlotte and one other boat. The bay is surrounded by mangrove swap and completely uninhabited. There were no signs of civilization except for a brightly painted red and white observation tower on top of a hill which used to serve as a base for military training exercises. The main reason that the Spanish Virgins are so undeveloped and have these beautiful pristine anchorages is that the US Navy used the islands for live firing manoeuvres for decades. They have only recently stopped this practice and are still clearing unexploded ordnances from various places. Ensenada Honda has been officially cleared, but our electronic charts still showed a pattern of little explosive symbols all over it!

From Vieques, we motorsailed over to the island of Culebra (still in the Spanish Virgins), where we found ourselves back in the cruising crowd. We spent a few days anchored by the town of Dewey. We met several cruisers there who arrived but never left. We could see why - it was a very pleasant, layed-back town on a small island, but yet it is only a short ferry ride (for a dollar!) away from the major town of Fajardo on the mainland of Puerto Rico. One of the main attractions of Culebra is Flamenco Beach, which is supposed to be one of the nicest beaches in the Caribbean. We took a minivan bus over with Charlotte and we all agreed it was a gorgeous beach but it had too many people on it! We have gotten used to very isolated beaches. Nevertheless, we spent a wonderful day there talking and playing in the sand. There is actually an old rusty tank there, sitting right on the beach around the corner from the main bay!

Puerto Rico has been one of the highlights of our trip so far.

Boqueron

Boqueron

Manatee at Salinas

Bacardi plant tour

El Yunque rainforest

El Yunque rainforest

El Yunque rainforest

Arecibo Radio Observatory

Ensenada Honda

Ensenada Honda on the chart plotter

Beach at Sun Bay

Frigate Bird

Dinghy Restaurant / Bar in Dewey

Flamenco Beach