Sailing Sabbatical

My apologies for not carrying my weight around here these past few months. Some of you know that we've been taking a sabbatical and living on our boat. We've been cruising around the Caribbean. And I have to say, it hasn't been terrible. Not to rub it in, but it's been amazing.

However, we haven't had reliable internet, and there's no routine to the days or weeks. I've been living mostly offline except for catching up on Twitter and Facebook, which means I miss a lot. And I've survived. Turns out, I don't need to check social media every day!

I knew I was overdue for a post here, so I thought I'd give you a day in the life. There's no particular typical day. This was a recent travel day. I remembered to take some pictures, which is not common. Everything is so beautiful, I tend to forget.

We spent four days going from Le Marin, Martinique, to Falmouth Harbour, Antigua. A stop in St Pierre, Martinique, then Portsmouth Harbour, Domenica, and then Guadeloupe. A week ago Saturday we left Des Haies, Guadeloupe and arrived in Antigua.

This is Des Haies. Experiencing the Caribbean from a sailboat is a lot different than our previous vacations where we would fly in and stay at a hotel or villa. Des Haies is a small, picturesque town that doesn't have big resorts, so we wouldn't have stumbled into it. But it was beautiful. This shot was from where we had dinner on the waterfront. Our boat was anchored over on the right.

My spouse took the dinghy in to get baguettes and pain chocolat for breakfast. From the French islands we learned about good patisseries, and the joy of duck and lardon. After enjoying our last French baking for a bit, we hauled up anchor and set sail for Antigua.

Sailing over the ocean - it's hard to put in words. There's a blue colour when the water is that deep that can't really be described. It's like, blue blue. The definition of blue.

Sometimes, when the wind is up and the waves ar high, we can't use the autopilot, and I do what I call full body helming. It's a workout, arms and legs and core all working to keep the boat on track. The wind pulls up (where the boat would stall) and the waves push down, and keeping a straight line isn't easy!

There's no motor sound, just wind, water and the sound of sails and lines (once a rope goes on a boat, it's either a halyard, sheet or line!). Our boat is tender (angles over) so it's not comfortable down below. As a result, you have time in the cockpit, time to sit, think, space out...and dream up stories if you wish.

We made it to Antigua that afternoon. We anchored in Falmouth Harbour, and for me, anchoring is always a little tense. My husband goes up to do the muscle work, while I'm at the helm. We got a pair of bluetooth headsets called marriage savers, and believe me, they are great. No frantic gestures or yelling (with the wind, it's hard to hear someone over the length of the boat) but still, the phrase 'the anchor's set' is when I can finally relax.

We had a light dinner of charcuterie and cheese with our baguette. Until my husband checked in the boat, I couldn't go anywhere. Different islands have different levels of bureaucracy. (The French islands tend to be more easy going.)

So, beautiful sunset, then a well deserved rest that night. We tend to get up early on travel days, so we were tired after our four day trip.

I didn't get to see much of Antigua yet, but so far, the feel has been great. Each island we've been to has been a bit different. I think Antigua is my favourite to date, but that might just be because it's the most recent. They all have their charm. I flew home to cold Toronto last Wednesday to see family, and return this coming Wednesday to Antigua for the last part of this sabbatical.

What might be the best part? We've decided we're taking another year.