We left Bermuda on Sunday, October 23rd, after a wonderful six day visit and a delicious last night meal in port at The Carriage House in St. George's. The first half of the passage was under power with a reefed mainsail set to dampen the motion. We had a pretty good sized swell running but not enough wind to sail. Thank goodness for a good and reliable engine and plenty of fuel range so we could power through it. The wind finally came in and we had a rollicking 3 days of sailing. Our Aries Wind Vane steered an accurate course and it was great to be clocking off 160 mile days and using no diesel ... Well, just a little to charge the batteries and keep the fridge cold!
The roughest part of the trip was the last evening out, right at the North Drop where the depth comes from the second deepest in the world to about 100 feet. Just before we could get into the lee of Anegada it felt like we were in a washing machine!
Thankfully, it didn't last long and we were able to enjoy the lights of Tortola and Jost Van Dyke and then the green blinking light on Johnson's Reef on the north side of St. John and through the Durloe Cays to a mooring off Scot Beach. We picked that up at around 2 a.m. and really savored the calm; put a glass on the table and it stayed on the table! We did the 900 mile passage in just under six days, a great trip and it is so good to be home again.
We cleared in and motored across Pilsbury Sound to our home port of Red Hook, tied up at the fuel dock at American Yacht Harbour so we could top off with water, and give our very salty boat a well deserved bubble bath. Son Paul had left our car at the marina for us so we got the necessities off the boat and drove up to our house to start the moving ashore process.
We are just about there! A few loads of snorkel gear to the boat and finish stocking up the bar with the ingredients for a good rum punch, cold beer or soda and the galley with goodies and we will be set to day sail again. Our first charter is now on November 8th and we are excited to go sailing and share our beautiful Virgin Islands with our guests, so, come on down and check out a day or a half day on board Independence!
Let's go sailing!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
In Bermuda!
It is October 20th, 2011, and Independence is in Bermuda and poised for the last leg of the voyage home. We have had a wonderful summer but it is starting to get cold and we are homesick for our beautiful Virgin Islands.
The trip from Beaufort, NC to Bermuda was a bit rough in the beginning and settled in to a lumpy sea and no wind the last few days so we were very glad to make port. Bermuda is one of our favourite places, everyone is so friendly and helpful and it is beautiful, easy to get around with a great public transportation system and almost as many anchorages as we have around the Virgins.
We were happy to see friends and Red Hook neighbors on High Pockets in the anchorage; both boats now homeward bound and waiting on weather. We are planning a trip up to the Dockyard tomorrow to pick up fuel and water so we can be ready to leave as soon as our weather gurus give the go ahead.
Right now it looks like we can leave this weekend, maybe Monday and the trip will take about a week so maybe we will be home for Halloween.
Our first charter is scheduled for November 10th and we are looking forward to it. Come on down to St. Thomas and
Let's go sailing!
The trip from Beaufort, NC to Bermuda was a bit rough in the beginning and settled in to a lumpy sea and no wind the last few days so we were very glad to make port. Bermuda is one of our favourite places, everyone is so friendly and helpful and it is beautiful, easy to get around with a great public transportation system and almost as many anchorages as we have around the Virgins.
We were happy to see friends and Red Hook neighbors on High Pockets in the anchorage; both boats now homeward bound and waiting on weather. We are planning a trip up to the Dockyard tomorrow to pick up fuel and water so we can be ready to leave as soon as our weather gurus give the go ahead.
Right now it looks like we can leave this weekend, maybe Monday and the trip will take about a week so maybe we will be home for Halloween.
Our first charter is scheduled for November 10th and we are looking forward to it. Come on down to St. Thomas and
Let's go sailing!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Summer on the Mainland!
I am a little tardy with this post! We sailed from St. Thomas a couple of days after our last charter, July 10th, thank you Vickers family for a great last day!
We had to resolve some last minute problems with our single side band radio -very necessary for keeping in touch with the outside world and getting weather reports -so we didn't leave until late in the day on Thursday, July 14th and were lashing down the dinghy and stowing some last minute things on our way out. Luckily for us the weather was very kind and we motor sailed for the first couple of days.
Pieter hooked up our new collision avoidance system to the chart plotter and we were able to see almost all the ships within about a twenty mile radius, as well as get their course, name and speed ... better then television and it makes offshore sailing so much easier, especially at night or in bad visibility. We have radar as a back up and it's better to see any weather coming so we are covered! We had some good sailing, no breakdowns and generally just a great nine day passage with a very pleasant run up the Cape Fear River to our home away from home at Wilmington Marine Center in Wilmington, NC.
Our first project upon arrival was to get a small air conditioner, it was HOT!!! Walmart came through and we were able to cool down for the week we spent aboard Independence getting her stripped down and ready for any weather while we took our road trip to Canada.
We really enjoy our leisurely meander north, visiting friends in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, the weather was great and we were in time for peaches and corn, tomatoes and blueberries and all sorts of other fresh goodies that we only dream about in St. Thomas. We spent more then a week in Ontario with Pieter's family, highlighted by five days at the brand new 'cottage' just about completed by sister Johanna and husband Art. It is a magnificent home right on the water's edge of Lake Muskoka. We had a big Stoeken family reunion to celebrate the new home, I even went swimming and went on my first canoe paddle! We are definitely planning a return visit next year.
We had a couple of days in New York and managed to see Jersey Boys and Wikked and Cirque de Soleil as well as the Statue of Liberty, a bus tour and a trip to the top of Rockefeller Center. We were total tourists and had a ball.
Hurricane Irene was making us more then a little nervous so we hustled back to the boat to make sure she was all set. We were lucky to miss the worst of her, our maximum winds were about 70 miles per hour and we had a ton of rain but no seas and no damage in the marina at all. Our biggest problem was rain water coming in around the mast boot and we are glad to know about that and get it fixed before heading for home.
Now we are in Greensboro to spend time with our family and grandkids. Two-year-old Lea had her first day at nursery school today - a big success, of course! Marisa, who is 4, is now in pre K and goes every day. It was special to be here for their big day! We will head back to the boat in a few weeks for our annual haul out and hope to spend a few days in Beaufort before heading for Bermuda in early October.
Bermuda means we are getting close to heading for home, time to get the varnish and stainless polished up and any maintenance issues taken care of so we can get back to St. Thomas ready to start day sailing again.
We have our first charter planned for November tenth. Shannon, who sailed with me a bit last spring has signed on as first mate and we are looking forward to a great season!
If you are coming to St. Thomas on a cruise ship or to spend a few days we'd love to take you sailing on Independence!
We had to resolve some last minute problems with our single side band radio -very necessary for keeping in touch with the outside world and getting weather reports -so we didn't leave until late in the day on Thursday, July 14th and were lashing down the dinghy and stowing some last minute things on our way out. Luckily for us the weather was very kind and we motor sailed for the first couple of days.
Pieter hooked up our new collision avoidance system to the chart plotter and we were able to see almost all the ships within about a twenty mile radius, as well as get their course, name and speed ... better then television and it makes offshore sailing so much easier, especially at night or in bad visibility. We have radar as a back up and it's better to see any weather coming so we are covered! We had some good sailing, no breakdowns and generally just a great nine day passage with a very pleasant run up the Cape Fear River to our home away from home at Wilmington Marine Center in Wilmington, NC.
Our first project upon arrival was to get a small air conditioner, it was HOT!!! Walmart came through and we were able to cool down for the week we spent aboard Independence getting her stripped down and ready for any weather while we took our road trip to Canada.
We really enjoy our leisurely meander north, visiting friends in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, the weather was great and we were in time for peaches and corn, tomatoes and blueberries and all sorts of other fresh goodies that we only dream about in St. Thomas. We spent more then a week in Ontario with Pieter's family, highlighted by five days at the brand new 'cottage' just about completed by sister Johanna and husband Art. It is a magnificent home right on the water's edge of Lake Muskoka. We had a big Stoeken family reunion to celebrate the new home, I even went swimming and went on my first canoe paddle! We are definitely planning a return visit next year.
We had a couple of days in New York and managed to see Jersey Boys and Wikked and Cirque de Soleil as well as the Statue of Liberty, a bus tour and a trip to the top of Rockefeller Center. We were total tourists and had a ball.
Hurricane Irene was making us more then a little nervous so we hustled back to the boat to make sure she was all set. We were lucky to miss the worst of her, our maximum winds were about 70 miles per hour and we had a ton of rain but no seas and no damage in the marina at all. Our biggest problem was rain water coming in around the mast boot and we are glad to know about that and get it fixed before heading for home.
Now we are in Greensboro to spend time with our family and grandkids. Two-year-old Lea had her first day at nursery school today - a big success, of course! Marisa, who is 4, is now in pre K and goes every day. It was special to be here for their big day! We will head back to the boat in a few weeks for our annual haul out and hope to spend a few days in Beaufort before heading for Bermuda in early October.
Bermuda means we are getting close to heading for home, time to get the varnish and stainless polished up and any maintenance issues taken care of so we can get back to St. Thomas ready to start day sailing again.
We have our first charter planned for November tenth. Shannon, who sailed with me a bit last spring has signed on as first mate and we are looking forward to a great season!
If you are coming to St. Thomas on a cruise ship or to spend a few days we'd love to take you sailing on Independence!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Changes aboard Independence
Summer is here and we are starting to think of sailing north and of the arrival of our daughter and grandkids, actually one week from today!
It has been a wonderful season of daysailing. We have met so many great people and introduced many of them to the joys of sailing and snorkeling for the first time. Of course, it is very special when people have a good enough time to save our information and come back for a repeat performance, special thanks to you! That lets us know that we are doing a good job. We have loved taking the children and now the grandchildren of guests who have become good friends over the years out sailing on Independence.
July 8th is our last charter for this season. We end on a high note with a family who has been out with us before and who are bringing their six year old daughter for her first sail!
The big change in our lives is a crew change. Ray has been with me for almost five wonderful years; he made my life easy and I have loved sailing with him but all good things must come to an end and he is moving on. We wish him all the best and hope he will return for an alumni sail from time to time as his father, Al, does. It will be the first season without a Whittemore aboard for a very long time!
Until our departure I am sailing with a delightful young man, Wes. Raised in the daysail business, his father has Nightwind here in St. Thomas. He loves to lead snorkel excursions and has had great success in locating sting rays and turtles, even an eel for one young lady who was determined to see one! Unfortunately for me, he will be heading off to college in the fall but I know we will find a great first mate for next season and maybe Wes will do a few fill ins during Christmas and spring breaks!
We are sailing up to Wilmington, North Carolina for the summer and plan to be in Bermuda for October and then back home in St. Thomas in early November. We'll be ready to start sailing shortly thereafter. I will keep you posted on our doings and we wish everyone a great summer and we hope to see you next season.
All the best,
Pat from Independence
It has been a wonderful season of daysailing. We have met so many great people and introduced many of them to the joys of sailing and snorkeling for the first time. Of course, it is very special when people have a good enough time to save our information and come back for a repeat performance, special thanks to you! That lets us know that we are doing a good job. We have loved taking the children and now the grandchildren of guests who have become good friends over the years out sailing on Independence.
July 8th is our last charter for this season. We end on a high note with a family who has been out with us before and who are bringing their six year old daughter for her first sail!
The big change in our lives is a crew change. Ray has been with me for almost five wonderful years; he made my life easy and I have loved sailing with him but all good things must come to an end and he is moving on. We wish him all the best and hope he will return for an alumni sail from time to time as his father, Al, does. It will be the first season without a Whittemore aboard for a very long time!
Until our departure I am sailing with a delightful young man, Wes. Raised in the daysail business, his father has Nightwind here in St. Thomas. He loves to lead snorkel excursions and has had great success in locating sting rays and turtles, even an eel for one young lady who was determined to see one! Unfortunately for me, he will be heading off to college in the fall but I know we will find a great first mate for next season and maybe Wes will do a few fill ins during Christmas and spring breaks!
We are sailing up to Wilmington, North Carolina for the summer and plan to be in Bermuda for October and then back home in St. Thomas in early November. We'll be ready to start sailing shortly thereafter. I will keep you posted on our doings and we wish everyone a great summer and we hope to see you next season.
All the best,
Pat from Independence
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Spring in the Virgin Islands
It's April already and we are starting to enjoy spring in the Virgin Islands. I know, how can we enjoy spring when we don't really have winter in the tropics? Well, all things are relative and a few degrees up or down makes a big difference to those of us who live here! The water is warming up a little, from 78' to 80' or 81' and you might even see me take a dip these days! Our easterly trade winds are veering a little from north of east to just south and feel a little warmer, our highs are almost always mid 80's but now our lows are 70's and I like it like that! The islands are very dry and we starting to get a some much needed precipitation. Don't freak out if you look at the long range forecast for the Virgin Islands and you see 50% chance or greater of rain every day ... it usually only lasts for five or ten minutes and sometimes we can even sail around the showers!
We have been enjoying our spring break families, lots of great pictures in the skull and crossbones guest book and Ray has had help grinding winches and even pulling up the mainsail, future first mates in training!
Independence will be here until July and will be available for charter until the 8th. Our plan for the summer is to head up to Wilmington, North Carolina with maybe a stop in Florida to visit friends. We are going to our favourite marina, Wilmington Marine Center, 25 miles up the Cape Fear River. I hope the hurricane season will be a mild one but we know that the boat will be as safe and secure there as it is possible to be. We'll be traveling by car for a month or two and hope to get up to Canada to check in with family and, of course, spend time with our wonderful grand daughters in Greensboro. They will be here for most of the summer and we will have a few weeks with them before we cast off.
We've had a wonderful season so far, have openings over Easter and hope that you will think of us if your travels will bring you to St. Thomas!
We have been enjoying our spring break families, lots of great pictures in the skull and crossbones guest book and Ray has had help grinding winches and even pulling up the mainsail, future first mates in training!
Independence will be here until July and will be available for charter until the 8th. Our plan for the summer is to head up to Wilmington, North Carolina with maybe a stop in Florida to visit friends. We are going to our favourite marina, Wilmington Marine Center, 25 miles up the Cape Fear River. I hope the hurricane season will be a mild one but we know that the boat will be as safe and secure there as it is possible to be. We'll be traveling by car for a month or two and hope to get up to Canada to check in with family and, of course, spend time with our wonderful grand daughters in Greensboro. They will be here for most of the summer and we will have a few weeks with them before we cast off.
We've had a wonderful season so far, have openings over Easter and hope that you will think of us if your travels will bring you to St. Thomas!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Happy New Year
Independence has had a wonderful start to the season and a very busy Christmas and New Year schedule. January is usually a little slower; everyone has to pay those credit card bills before they start planning the winter vacation! I think the weather has been very cold in so much of the world - even Florida!!!! - that cruises and vacations to the lower Caribbean have been popular. So far, January has been busy, too. Sorry about the bad weather, but we have been loving the sailing. The Christmas winds kicked in and Independence loves it when it blows, just enough to make it exciting and sometimes we even get to show our stern to the rest of the fleet! The great thing about sailing out of Red Hook is we can enjoy the sail and avoid the big seas, or just change direction if it gets uncomfortable.
We are no longer associated with the Adventure Center desk at Frenchman's Reef and Cove so if you are staying there and want to come sailing with us you will have to call us direct or send me an e-mail. The rules and regulations of a big corporation are hard to comply with when you run a small sailing operation in the Caribbean; we miss the gang at the desk and wish them well.
I was reading the website of one of the multi-passenger boats and to my surprise I saw a whole section on why you shouldn't sail with a six pack. I was amazed to discover that (according to them) we don't serve lunch, don't allow guests to move around the boat and only do half day sails. I don't know of any of the six pack boats in Red Hook that fit into that description. We are mostly small boats of course, 35 to 53 feet, but then we only take six guests so there is plenty of room to move about and be comfortable, stretch out in the sun or relax in the shade of our awnings. The lunch menus on our boats are amazing, all food is freshly prepared and we cater to people's dietary needs ... And you don't have to worry about going thirsty, we all have that full, open bar!
So, come on down! I hope you want to sail with us on Independence for a full- or a half-day but even if you want one of those bigger, multi-passenger boats, get out on the water and enjoy the Virgin Islands at their very best.
From the crew of Independence ... All the best for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!
We are no longer associated with the Adventure Center desk at Frenchman's Reef and Cove so if you are staying there and want to come sailing with us you will have to call us direct or send me an e-mail. The rules and regulations of a big corporation are hard to comply with when you run a small sailing operation in the Caribbean; we miss the gang at the desk and wish them well.
I was reading the website of one of the multi-passenger boats and to my surprise I saw a whole section on why you shouldn't sail with a six pack. I was amazed to discover that (according to them) we don't serve lunch, don't allow guests to move around the boat and only do half day sails. I don't know of any of the six pack boats in Red Hook that fit into that description. We are mostly small boats of course, 35 to 53 feet, but then we only take six guests so there is plenty of room to move about and be comfortable, stretch out in the sun or relax in the shade of our awnings. The lunch menus on our boats are amazing, all food is freshly prepared and we cater to people's dietary needs ... And you don't have to worry about going thirsty, we all have that full, open bar!
So, come on down! I hope you want to sail with us on Independence for a full- or a half-day but even if you want one of those bigger, multi-passenger boats, get out on the water and enjoy the Virgin Islands at their very best.
From the crew of Independence ... All the best for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!
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