Sailing blows, but sometimes not.

There are many things I 'love' doing. Rock climbing, riding a bike, swimming, rock climbing, just to name a few. I would seriously have a hard time claiming I 'love' sailing. Sea sickness being my largest and most persistent complaint.  Sea spray straight in my ear being my second teeth grinding complaint.  I would however say that I do 'love' where sailing takes us and living in a small home right on the water.  And so - after claiming (during an exceptionally rough sail) 'I hate sailing!' I must admit that the ends justify the means. Each day that has passed since arriving in Grenada (sitting comfortably at anchor) the frustrations and discomfort of the sea dulls enough to the point of tricking us to do it all again.

No sleep, sunburned, dehydrated and hungry, becalmed and rolling roughly in the swells, sailing always throws you a little bone just as you're ready to call it quits.

Unique and magnificent cloud formations are a constant positive.

Night watching into the wee hours.

Attitude is everything.  A little rain rolls in and suddenly things seem epic. Adrian ignored my offering of his rain jacket as nerves got the better of him.

An hour later the sun is back out and we are approaching the French island of Martinique. Just as Captain Ron in the movie 'Captain Ron' says, 'In the Caribbean they roll out just as quickly as they roll in!'

Checked in to Martinique where we say goodbye to our friend Adrian as we overlook the town of St. Pierre.  Thanks for the help!  Now we're on our own and without a French translator!

The view from the top of St. Pierre.  This town was a slave trading and rum making hub in the 17th and 18th centuries until it was blown off the island by the volcano you can see in the background.

Jon hoisting the main!  Also, cursing our 40 year old mast winch we've nicknamed "the knuckle buster".

Wet boats + persistent humidity = moldy clothes. Ugh!! Airing out everything is a regular chore.

Doesn't get any fresher than that.

Admiralty Bay on the island of Bequia.

Sunset

Sunrise

The Grenadine island of Curriacou has many colorful buildings.

Grenada!  Our final destination after having left St. Martin three weeks ago.

Hoist the Sails!!

We spent two months getting comfortable with Tarka and getting ready to do some good old fashion sailing. To make sure we didn't stay in St. Martin too long, we gave ourselves the motivation of a looming deadline as we bought non-refundable plane tickets home (for Jon's sister's wedding) out of Grenada, some 500 miles away.  Also, our friend Clint was going to meet us in Grenada which gave us a very specific deadline of July 2nd. We had 21 days to get to the other side of the Caribbean. Here's to slightly overcast days, small swells and a tail wind :)

With Tarka on the Mooring we took to using our old dock spot as our personal dingy dock.

We headed out under the 5pm bridge to stay the night in Marigot Bay on June 10, 2014. Jon is checking the anchor.

Celebrating our first night outside of the Lagoon.

We set off at first light. Heading for Statia (St. Eustatius) 37 miles away. I hurled my brains out for 30 of those miles. Luckily Jon took this picture during the first 7 miles :) 

Enjoying land

Wild passion fruit

Hiking the Quill, a dormant volcano on Statia with our friends Matt and Hillary.

Island problems.

Love the view ;)

Hillary forcing 1/3rd of a lime down the skinny neck of that beer.

Group photo! Matt and Hillary SUPed over to say good-bye. Our new friend Adria is hitching a ride to Martinique some 250 miles away. We figured having a third for night watches would be nice for our first over nights.

Our favorite part about Statia.

My super power is my ability to sleep pretty much anywhere, pretty much anytime.

Long nights = ability to sleep well

Awwww Jonny :)