Thursday, November 30, 2017

The Last Hurrah

My brother Josh landed in St. Thomas after a red eye flight from Duluth, got in a gypsy cab to hustle to Red Hook where we picked him up in the dinghy, then we immediately set sail for the 100 mile upwind trek to St. Martin. We had a very small weather window as a storm system was forming over the next 24 hours, threatening strong winds and big seas. Josh was able to sleep for part of the journey out of pure exhaustion and when he wasn't sleeping, he was puking. I made the mistake of laughing at him (what, he's my brother!!) and almost immediately began puking myself. 24 hours and 8 pounds lighter between the two of us, we made land fall in the big and beautiful Marigot Bay. Of course it was dark, and of course we ran out of gas, and of course the engine was refusing to restart because air had gotten in the system. On the bright side, the seas were calm, the wind was low, and we eventually got to anchor safely. Our last Hurrah in St. Martin had officially begun.   

YAY Josh!! Dinghying away from the USVI's.  

Dave, Jon and Josh, at the Pink Iguana for some good music.

Josh and I jumped out of an airplane and landed on Orient beach!!

Tim and Kim hosting us at their seaside hotel. We'll miss Margie so much.

Our last sail on Tarka as her captains. Destination: St. Barthelemy

St. Barts

Jon surfing Tarka's keel

Swimming bliss

Back in St. Martin and look who came to visit: Clint and Jess! <3<3<3

We could hardly keep up with these two! Love them.

Excursion to Saba.

In the top five for favorite island

Walking home with pizza and beer. The hills were steep which makes for great views.

A Saba sunrise