Back home

We eventually made it back to Indy, picked up Malaika and Moshi, and got home before midnight. They are nice and tired on Easter Sunday after a trip to Seymour and some play time with Amos, the Labradoodle puppy next door.

Back in USA, hating USAir

We missed our connection in Charlotte thanks to USAir. The next flight shows a delay. Hopefully, in spite of their incompetence, we will still make it home tonight. Sometime...

Sailing regatta, St. Barths

We are on a catamaran excursion this afternoon at St. Barths island. There is a huge sailing regatta going on all weekend and we saw some racing up close. These sailboats are big, long, and fast. They lean heavily trying to take advantage of the wind without ripping over. Many of the crew will sit in the high side of the boat acting as a counterbalance. One amazing sailboat is called the Maltese Falcon. It is high tech and modern and it's sail system looks like no other (last photo).

Oh, and by the way, we recognize a few yachts we saw at other islands, including the one with a helicopter. They have come here for the weekend boating festivities.

Captain's table

Somehow we were invited to have dinner at the captain's table for the "Captain's Dinner", which is an honor that includes champaign,wine, and cognac.

Our ship

Here's our ship, The Star Clipper, off the coast of St. Kitts. We had a photo shoot where passengers could go out in one of the tenders to take photos.

St. Kitts

We docked at the freight harbor in St. Kitts. We visited town while the ship took on fuel. Lots of fuel. Saturday night, after we disembark, the next sailing is transatlantic, heading to Lisbon, Portugal, to begin the summer sailings in the Mediterranean.

We are now headed to a beach for the afternoon elsewhere on St. Kitts.

Mast climbing

My view of the ship below, with islands in the background, after climbing the mast to the crow's nest.

Ongoing maintenance

These guys are repairing a light fixture. Not a job for the faint at heart.

Jost Van Dyke

Wednesday morning, we have anchored off the island Jost Van Dyke and will visit the beach and the "Soggy Dollar" Bar/restaurant.

"Treasure Island"

We are visiting Norman Island, aka Treasure Island. This is a privately owned, uninhibited island with a restaurant/bar in a protected cove called "The Bight". This is apparently where the rich and beautiful come to hang out from Puerto Rico and beyond. Oddly, we have AT&T 4G voice and data service here, probably from neighboring St. John's, part of the US Virgin Islands.

"Dog islands"

We are sailing to Norman Island, aka "Treasure Island", the namesake of the book by Robert Louis Stevenson. We passed by two little islands called the Dog Islands. Early sailors passing by thought they heard dogs barking on the islands and thus the name. But what they really heard were Monk Seals barking.

Super yacht

There are many yachts in the bay we are anchored in. But this one... This one has its own helicopter!  

Later we saw the helicopter flying around and we watched it land on the yacht. Very cool. 

I found some info on it. http://www.luxurylaunches.com/transport/luxurious_t6_superyacht_for_sale_for_58_million.php

Sent from Kyle's AT&T iPhone

Back home vs British Virgin Islands

A friend sent a photo of our house. Lots of snow. But nothing but sunshine and warm breezes on the island of Virgin Gorda.

Sunset

The sun is setting over the Caribbean. Can't believe it's snowing back home. Hope everyone stays warm and safe!

Leaving Anguilla

It's Sunday late afternoon and we have set sail and are leaving Anguilla behind. This afternoon we boarded the tender and went to the beach. We took our turn on a little fiberglass "Pico" sail boat. I suppose if you search the web you might find a picture of what one looks like. Lets just say that sailing one is easier said than done. We managed to accidentally ram an anchored boat (and startled the occupants) and then while trying to return to the beach, mostly against the wind, we flipped it over. We did get it righted and climbed back aboard, and eventually sailed our way back to the beach. So we aren't sailors, but we had a blast trying.

Captain Sergey

Captain Sergey introduced key crew members on the ship. We are 153 passengers and 78 crew of 24 nationalities.

On the way to Anguilla

Relaxing on the way to Anguilla this Morning. Here's the view from my deck chair.

Star Clipper cruise, "Treasure Islands"

We have arrived on the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean and have boarded our ship, the Star Clipper. We set sail tonight and will be in Anguilla tomorrow. These ships always have an international crew; the bartender is Ukrainian and his name is Igor.