The Log of Whisper

Philadelphia!

2009-05-13T16:57:00.008-05:00

The Piers Marina

We've arrived at our final destination! Philadelphia. Since our last posting, well, Kit Kat's last posting, we've visited friends in Norfolk and Deltaville, VA; sailed north up the Chesapeake Bay via Tangier Island, Solomon's Island (the BEST crab cakes ever), to Annapolis where we were anchored for two weeks. Kristen flew back to the Virgin Islands to work as first mate on s/y Felicia and Hans flew to Barbados to photograph a wedding. No matter how hard we try, we can't really leave the Caribbean! It took two days to sail up to Philadelphia from Annapolis; we arrived at 8PM on Sunday. We are tied up to our new home at the Pier's Marina right in downtown Philadelphia. It's a great location, just a two minute walk from the Old City, 5 minutes from Center City and a bike ride for Hans to Temple. He starts classes on Monday.

Our cruise is over: we're connected to shore power, but we're not swallowing the anchor yet. We plan on living aboard at the marina on Whisper or a slightly bigger boat for the near future. We're both excited about the new prospects that lie ahead in Philadelphia but also a little daunted by the change in lifestyle.

This will be our last Log of Whisper posting. Thanks for reading and for all the comments. It's been great for us to keep a blog for our memories, and knowing that you all were avid readers encouraged us to keep posting. If you ever find yourselves in Philadelphia, get in touch!

Fair winds!
Hans & Kristen
and Kit Kat too. meow!

We were hit with some pretty bad squalls sailing up the Bay. This one included not only thunder and lightning, but hail. HAIL!

Tangier Island

Crab shacks surrounding Tangier Island's harbor.

Whisper flies all of her courtesy flags to celebrate arrival back in Annapolis 2.5 years after we left.

Kristen and Suzanne dance the night away in Annapolis

taking our cocktails for a dinghy cruise around Spa Creek in Annapolis

Kristen and Suzanne catch up

Sunset over West End, Tortola, BVI

squally weather off Virgin Gorda

Captain Chris Bennett helms Felicia. average speed was around 8 knots, we hit over 11 sailing into the north sound!

Culebra from above

Sailing underneath the Bay Bridge just north of Annapolis.

Entering Philadelphia on Whisper.

MEOOOOOW!!!

2009-04-18T20:21:00.002-05:00

Life sucks! I feel very indignant. All I wanted to do was to jump off the boat onto the docks and run around and explore like usual, but those two-legs moved the boat as I was about to jump and I ended up in the water! Must I mention that it was FREEZING! And I'm not exactly an experienced swimmer. Still, I managed to swim ashore, in spite of much fuss from those two, and I climbed up a tree... so what if I couldn't get down on my own. I maintained my dignity. Humpf!

Florida to North Carolina

2009-04-09T13:33:00.010-05:00

Thursday, April 9, 2009
Southport, North Carolina.

We've been steadily motoring north up the ICW. Our sails remain furled but Boris, our diesel engine, is doing an admirable job. It's cold. There are cold fronts nearly every three days with strong winds, freeze warnings, thunderstorms, rain, and general discomfort. We're trying to make up for the bad weather with good food, as usual. Thinking about it, good food can be applied in every situation: celebrating good weather, bemoaning bad weather, waiting for weather. Go figure! One of the nicest things about the ICW is the large amounts of protected wetlands in Georgia and South Carolina. There are lots of developments, big big houses and bulkheads to prevent erosion, but there are also lots of undeveloped islands and marshes bordering the ICW. It's very pretty for us to look at, and also pretty nice for all the animals!

In other news, our friends the Tillmans on Someday Came have arrived in the Marquesas after a looooong passage from Panama. Check out their blog! Way to go Captain Morgan and crew!

checking crab pots

oops!

looks like a nice spot to have a picnic and go sunbathing, storm drain and all!

Hans is all smiles behind the wheel of Dave's Porsche. vroom vroom!

a couple boats behind us on the ICW next to Jekyll Island in Georgia

Nicely restored and maintained old houses in Beaufort, SC

Here comes the cold front! and yes, it was cold!

Two guys digging for oysters (clams, mussels?) just north of Charleston, SC

We've seen lots and lots of bird life along the ICW. Countless osprey everyday, but the highlight was these two bald eagles.

North up the ditch

2009-04-02T17:16:00.001-05:00

April 2, 2009

It looks like we'll be motoring up the ICW until this mess clears up:

satellite image courtesy of NOAA

Florida!

2009-04-01T13:16:00.004-05:00

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Fool's Day!

No, this is not an April Fool's joke...we're back stateside on Whisper, trading in the sunny, dry Caribbean for cool and rainy Florida. ugh!

We sailed from Nassau to Cape Canaveral a week ago, leaving Nassau on Wednesday afternoon and arriving in Canaveral on Friday morning, 288 nautical miles. Overnight we averaged almost 9 knots in the Gulf Stream! Full Speed Ahead! As soon as we entered the Canaveral inlet, the water color changed from blue to brown and we knew we were back on the ICW. We're currently in Fernandina Beach, Florida, enjoying the hospitality of our friend Dave (from s/v Shannon Glynn) and catching up on internet, email, laundry and hot showers. It's been fun slowly making our way up the ICW, watching houses go by and then snaking our way through marshland. At anchor the other night we saw osprey, two bald eagles, a loon and sandpipers on the mud flats.

Great Isaac Light, the western-most lighthouse on the Grand Bahamas Banks. Goodbye Bahamas!

Tell us Hans...how do you really feel about being back in the US on Whisper? (approaching Cape Canaveral)

Our first anchorage in the States. How scenic.

It's a small world: the other day we had the VHF radio tuned to channel 09, the channel the bridge tenders monitor, and we heard the boat "Free Spirit." Our friend Jerry from MA is on the boat Free Spirit...so we hailed Free Spirit on channel 16 and sure enough, it was Jerry! He is on his way north for the summer and we just happened to be in the same place at the same time. We had a fun night catching up and sharing stories.

One of the many bridges we'll encounter on the trip north, this one is in Titusville, FL. The bridges are a pain, but the friendly bridge tenders make up for the hassle. They almost always are cheery and wish you a good voyage.

Hey, aren't there miles upon miles of really nice beaches in Florida? Instead, this group choses to camp and sunbathe on the muddy ICW just a few feet from the highway. charming.

Georgetown to Nassau

2009-03-23T15:50:00.003-05:00

Monday, March 23, 2009.

Nassau, Bahamas.

It's getting colder. There is no question about it. Pants and long sleeves at night and while sailing. Ugh!

We've spent the past week sailing up the Exumas with Allaire, an old friend of Kristen's from VT. We enjoyed the solitude and beauty of a few islands before finally ending up in busy Nassau, elbowing our way through throngs of sunburned tourists.

From here we'll sail to the Berry Islands, then it's goodbye clear water and hello muddy ICW.

Kristen and Allaire keep watch.

Stone formations in the Exumas.

Mmmmmmm.... waffles for breakfast with cream and strawberry jam. That's life on Whisper!

Allaire labors over Mahi Wontons while Hans provides the entertainment.

Kristen puts on her own Bahamas Sand and Salt facial treatment at Shroud Cay, Exumas.

Allaire watches Hans jump off a cliff (if you look carefully you can see him) at Shroud Cay, Exumas.

Kristen shows off her guns!

Kristen and Allaire jump for joy.

The three pirates.

Kristen embarks on a fish jerky experiment... yummy!

Secluded beach off Halls Pond Cay.

This is what the Bahamas are really like.

Sushi anyone? No, Kit Kat, not you!

Hanging out with the Gohlkes on their boat s/v Liberty. Dave is an attorney for Skadden, Kristen's old employer in DC. He's currently lawyering from his mobile office!

Luperon to Georgetown photos

2009-03-16T12:28:00.007-05:00

Here are some pictures from the last two weeks including:
Luperon
Luperon to Samana Cay (250 miles)
Samana Cay, Bahamas
Samana Cay to Georgetown (130 miles)

Street scenes from Luperon.

Laisa's Pica Pollo in Luperon; our favorite creole style lunch place: stewed chicken, pork or beef, rice beans salad, cold water.

laundry hanging to dry in Luperon.

Wildflowers on the outskirts of Luperon with the mountains in the background.

a Dominican tomato.

One of the produce markets in Luperon.

Hans reefs the mainsail at sunset. We've been taking two reefs in the main at sunset every night...it doesn't slow us down too much and ensures that we won't have to do any deckwork at night

See no evil, hear no evil...are we there yet?

Self-portrait at sunrise. Halfway between Mayaguana and Samana Cay.

Fresh produce from the DR meets lobster from Samana Cay to make a fabulous salad.

A wild orchid on Samana Cay (we think!).

We attempted to follow a trail across the island, got hopelessly lost and had to bushwhack (Rod Miller style) back to the beach; our legs got totally scratched and bloody.

One of the many gorgeous white sand beaches of Samana Cay, Bahamas

Whisper at anchor at Samana Cay.

the beach at Samana Cay.

Hans holds up the mahi we hooked just north of Long Island yesterday morning.

Sailing along the north coast of the DR from Samana to Luperon.

Back in the blue Bahamas

2009-03-15T13:38:00.002-05:00

Sunday, March 15, 2009

We're back in the Bahamas! We sailed from Luperon to Samana Cay (a small, uninhabited island about halfway between the Turks and Caicos and Georgetown. We spent a couple days enjoying the solitude and beauty of Samana Cay: snorkeling, beach walks and beachcombing and hiking around the island. We set sail for Georgetown yesterday afternoon and sailed the 130+ nautical miles in a little less than 24 hours. Way to go Whisper!

Georgetown is the same sleepy quiet town on a Sunday; the harbor is packed with cruising boats and the water is bluer than we remember.

pictures to come.

Leaving Luperon

2009-03-07T13:15:00.002-05:00

Saturday, March 7, 2009

It's been raining in Luperon. Raining and pouring every day since we've been here. The town is the same as it was when we were here for 5 months in 2007, but instead of wearing shorts and t-shirts and sweating all the time, we're both wearing jeans, long-sleeve shirts and foul weather jackets. In Luperon!

Some things are different: new restaurants, closed restaurants, bigger kids, new babies, new comandante (rumored to be less corrupt), different growing season so there is different fruits and veggies; and some things are the same: same loud stinky motoconchos, same produce stands, same rotisserie chicken shack, same dirty harbor water, karaoke at Puerto Blanco Marina, familiar faces in the harbor and in town, and same slow to non-existent internet service.

It's great to be back here; the town is poor, shockingly so after being away for over a year, but the mood is relaxed, "tranquilo", everyone is so friendly, kids playing baseball in the streets, stray dogs and cats, roaming cows and goats, in general a great, easy-going small town feel.

*No pictures b/c the connection is so slow.*
We leave tomorrow for the Bahamas, well-stocked with the rotisserie chicken, fresh juice, and lots of produce.

Back in the DR

2009-02-28T10:46:00.005-05:00

Saturday, February 28, 2009.

We're back in the Dominican Republic, one of our favorite places that we've visited during our travels. Tim and Heidi signed off the ship in San Juan after battling with seasickness. They will have a wonderful vacation in Culebra instead.

It has been a pretty eventful couple of weeks. Hans flew out to Philadelphia to interview at Temple University School of Medicine this past Monday, and while he was away, Kristen sailed Whisper singlehanded (with some assistance from Tim and Heidi) from Culebra to San Juan. Way to go Captain Kristen! This was the first time that Kristen sailed Whisper on her own in the open ocean and quite a confidence booster for her. Hans' interview at Temple went well (we hope), and he should hear from them within the next week or two. Keep your fingers crossed.

After spending a couple of days in beautiful old town San Juan with Tim and Heidi we set off at 1am on Thursday morning and arrived in Samana, 200 miles west, about 36 hours later. Nothing like downwind sailing! When we entered Samana Bay, we were greeted by lots of humpback whales breaching, splashing and having fun in the water. The humpback whales swim down to this area in the wintertime to mate and fill their stomachs with Caribbean fare! It was really awesome to see these huge animals come all the way out of the water and make a huge splash.
Coincidentally, we arrived in Samana on the 27th of February, the National Day of the DR. Last night there was a huge party on the streets with live music and lots of Presidente beer and Brugal rum flowing. Unfortunately we were too exhausted to stay up very late and we hit the sack at 9pm.

From here we'll probably travel to the Turks and Caicos and then to the Bahamas.

Hans spent the weekend before his interview with Ellie and Chris up at their camp in Pennsylvania. If it looks cold it is because it was.

Tim takes the helm on Whisper for a while.

Kite flying is a popular pastime, it seems, in old town San Juan.

A huge tanker ship leaves San Juan harbor as seen from the women's bathroom window at the old fort.

Looking east along the coast from the old town fort in San Juan.

Hans' typical sailing attire.

Tim, Heidi and Hans in the Ding Ding V (we got yet another free replacement dinghy from Achilles.... talk about customer service!)

What is stuck on our anchor? Your guess is as good as mine.

Yellowfin tuna caught off the north coast of Puerto Rico. Very tasty!

Beautiful sunset in the Mona Passage.

Ahhh... Presidente.

Whisper at anchor in Samana Bay, Dominican Republic.

Sofia & Patrik on the loose!

2009-02-14T16:58:00.007-05:00

February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!

We just said goodbye this morning to Hans' sister Sofia and her fiancee, Patrik. They spent two weeks with us in the BVIs and we sailed all over: Norman Island to Jost van Dyke, to Marina Cay, to Virgin Gorda, to Anegada, back to Virgin Gorda, the Baths, to Peter Island, and finally back to Tortola. Phew! The sailing was fun and easy and we all had a lot of fun together. A little bit too much fun at the Willy T's (as can be expected...) Why don't we ever learn?

On Tuesday, Hans' friend Tim and his fiancee Heidi arrive to sail Whisper to the Turks & Caicos, about 450 miles northwest. Yes, in spite of the crystal clear water, white sand beaches, palmtrees, $6 rum, (free) lobster, (free) tuna, reggeton, bachata and ISLAND TIME, that comes with life in the Caribbean we are still sailing north... Med school and law school are calling... really? are you sure? Yes. Well, really? Are you sure? Hmm... I think so.

Sofia and Patrik arrive in Road Town, Tortola, BVI.

Sofia and Patrik at Michael Beene's pirate show. arrrggggh!

Kristen has a go at the conch horn blowing contest...third place.

Sofia gets a birthday shot. Happy Birthday!

The view from Peter Island.

Hanging out in the cockpit.

Sandy Spit, a little island east of Jost van Dyke.

jib sailing downwind.

Kristen and Hans relaxing in the hammock at the best bar in the world: the Soggy Dollar on Jost van Dyke

In case you didn't know by now (no comments Mik!) good food is always the case on Whisper.

A squally day in Anegada.

Sofia enjoys a painkiller while Kit Kat keeps watch.

Patrik makes the best drink there is: rum tonic (thanks Jim!) two fingers white rum, juice of half a lime, tonic water, ice (or not if you're on Whisper).

singing in the cockpit after we closed down the willy T's.

The Ericsson's at their best the morning after the Willy T's.

Lobster! a 10 pounder!

Our future boat.

Windy in the US Virgins

2009-01-27T15:08:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, January 27, 2009.

We're back in Charlotte Amaile in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. The wind has been piping up in the past few days, blowing a steady 25 knots.
After Hans' Swedish friends left, we spent a lazy week in Culebra just recuperating from our winter vacation... =)
We were lucky to hook up with Chris and Julie on Felicia who introduced us to their friends Jim and Lisa on Runaway and Randy and Shelly on Three Moons. We spent three days with them going snorkeling, diving and catching some nice big lobster. Hans' sister Sofia and her boyfriend Patrik arrive on Sunday in Road Town in the BVIs for a two-week visit, so we will spend the next couple of days making our way in that direction. Sofia, don't forget the godis!

Whisper at anchor in Charlotte Amalie in front of all the cruise ships.

Monday night is movie night in Honeymoon Bay on Water Island in the USVI. It's a cool feeling to sit and watch a movie with the sound of the wind in the palm trees, waves lapping the beach, and the stars in the background. Plus there is a hamburger/beer stand set up, and the whole thing is free.

We spent several days anchored in Manglar Bay on the south side of Culebra with our friends Chris and Julie on S/Y Felicia, Jim and Lisa on M/Y Runaway and Randy and Shelly on S/Y Three Moons. Felicia, Runaway and Three Moons are all luxury charter boats operating out of the BVIs who had come over to Culebra to chill for a while. Thus, we were completely spoiled with warm showers, ice in our drinks, and great food; Hans was even able to go SCUBA diving with Jim who is a certified dive master. Cool!

Brie with homemade blackberry jam.... need we say more.

KitKat's new spot.

Karaoke in the capitol

2009-01-13T15:00:00.004-05:00

Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Happy 16th Birthday Roger! (Hans' dad)

Christmas, New Years, Helen's (Kristen's mom) 60th birthday: in VT buried under two feet of snow.

To Boston for a few days to catch up with friends;

Continuing south to Washington DC to see old friends and co-workers. Hans is back on Whisper in Vieques, Kristen is flying back on Thursday. So far no frostbite! Washington is buzzing with inauguration activity: there are lots of American flags, bleachers posters, commemorative Metro cards, etc. Unfortunately we'll miss the occasion.

In Vermont, Kristen's two nephews and the cat playing with Chase's new Thomas train set. Quinten was in charge of keeping the trains on the track, Chase was trying to look the part with his pants on his head, and Rex was supervising.

What fun would we have without karaoke? Suzanne and Mik belt it out...

while Hans and Liberty provide a rousing rendition of Janis Joplin's "take a little piece of my heart" as a duet. You have to hear it to believe it.

Can it be? Karaoke again? Another night..another karaoke tune. This time, Hans, Cesar and Amelia bust out the moves.

The lawn in front of the capitol building set up for the swearing-in ceremony.

Looking down Pennsylvania Ave. towards the Capitol Building which is adorned with massive American flags.

Despite the recession, it appears that some businesses are able to do well with the inaguration fever.

Workers at a hotel just north of the White House hang flags.

Some of you may remember the summer of 2000, leading up to Bush's "election" in Nov. 2000: Kristen stood in front of the White House with a sign reading: "If Bush moves in, I move out (of the country)." She then turned the photo into a postcard and mailed it to friends and family as a sort of personal mail campaign. It only seemed appropriate to welcome President Obama in a more friendly way.

Kristen jumps for joy at the thought of a new president.

Freezing bloody cold!

2008-12-20T11:48:00.003-05:00

December 20, 2008

For some reason or other we thought that it would be a great idea to go visit Kristen's parents in Vermont over Christmas. Why didn't someone remind us that Vermont in winter is freezing cold, snowy and darker than the devil's heart?!? Not the place to be for two thin skinned Caribbean sailors. Oh well, we'll just have to cozy up to the wood stove and down some tasty microbrews to take the edge off.

We got 8 inches of snow overnight, and the "winter storm of the season" is hitting tomorrow we hear. But hey, we've got hot running water (showers!), good food and even an outdoors hot tub to enjoy, so it is hard to complain too loudly.

Meanwhile back in the Caribbean, Hans' friend Fredrik and his buddies from Uppsala, Sweden, are keeping an eye on Whisper and enjoying the Virgin Islands. Just watch out for Kit Kat guys!

Culebra & Vieques

2008-12-17T14:04:00.004-05:00

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

We've been hanging out in Culebra and Vieques with Fredrik, Hans' friend from growing up in northern Sweden. He arrived last Tuesday and we've had a fun week spending time in Culebra and Vieques, sailing, relaxing on the beach and snorkeling. We leave for the States tomorrow leaving Whisper and Kit Kat in his good care.

Hanging out at the beach: Sun Bay on the south coast of Vieques.

As our friend Dave said: "Whoah! I'm blinded! It looks like you just crawled out from underneath a bandaid!

No worries...Fredrik quickly gets into the spirit of cruising.

The view from the top of the lighthouse on Culebrita. The building is rusting and falling apart, but the light still works.

Looking northeast from the peak of Culebrita.

dinner!

Fredrik works hard to get the thirsty beach-goers some coconut water.

Two Swedes enjoy the view from the coach roof, sailing downwind along Vieques' south coast.

Kristen launches the kite for Fredrik on Flamenco Beach on Culebra.

Kristen & April soak up the sun at Flamenco Beach.

Baltimore Bound!

2008-12-07T11:30:00.003-05:00

Long sails on the open ocean lend themselves to introspection. Our days as carefree sailors are coming to an end and we're at a turning point. After a lot of thinking and discussions, we've both decided to go back to school. Kristen is finally ready to make the commitment to law school and a legal career beyond data entry and editing documents. Hans, after a lot of contemplation and nights spent trying to find the meaning of life, has decided to apply to medical school. Surprisingly, the best place we found to pursue our plans turns out to be Baltimore. When we left Maryland over two years ago, we didn't think we'd be coming back. Now it looks like we'll be doing a full circle and we are looking forward to Orioles games, the rueben sandwiches at the Federal Hill market, crab cakes, and sailing on the Chesapeake Bay again.

What does this mean in the short term? When we return to Whisper in the middle of January, we'll spend another month in the Virgin Islands and then start working our way north, through the Bahamas and to the Chesapeake. We hope to be in Baltimore around the beginning of May.

Chillin' in Culebra

2008-12-07T11:15:00.003-05:00

December 7, 2008

Here are some photos, long past due, of the BVIs. We're now in Culebra, waiting for Hans' childhood friend Fredrik to come visit. He arrives on Tuesday. We have been hanging out a lot with Dave and April on Shannon Glynn, who we know from Hopetown in the Bahamas. We've also spent a lot of time with Chris and Julie on Felicia, commiserating with them about all the epuipment repairs that come with a 68 foot luxury catamaran. Our help was strictly verbal... and did not extend to helping unblock the holding tank! Good luck guys!

s/v Felicia was Kristen's home for five days. She helped out our friends Chris and Julie with a charter. The best thing about the whole thing? The FOOD! Hans meanwhile was stuck on Whisper eating Ramen Noodles...

One of the 20 or so dolphins that stayed with us in between St. Martin and the BVIs.

Starboard!!!! Not the last thing you want to see in life!

Kristen keeps a lookout while we try out our twin headsail downwind rig. We have the jib poled out to starboard as usual, and have the genny free flying and poled out with the boom. Worked well until the wind switched around to a beam reach

Sunset in the BVIs.

Back in the BVIs

2008-11-21T15:48:00.002-05:00

November 21, 2008.

We left St. Martin yesterday after a very (too) brief stop and are now in the BVIs. Kristen will be helping out our friends Chris and Julie with a charter starting on Tuesday. We'll post a more entertaining update in a few days once we've recovered from all the traveling we've been doing in the past few weeks. It's a hard life, we know, but it does feel like we need a few days to relax!

Sorry, no pics today.

Saintly Sailors: The Saints to St. Martin

2008-11-18T15:16:00.005-05:00

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

We arrived in St. Martin this morning after a week of island-hopping from the Saints. Stops included: Guadeloupe, Antigua, Barbuda and Ile de Fouruche just north of St. Barts. The weather has been pretty squally punctuated with high winds at times and then no wind at others, but it's mostly all from the right direction so we've been enjoying comfortable downwind sailing. We're happy to be in St. Martin though since our food supplies were dwindling and we were eating a lot of rice, beans, bread and butter!

We motored through the river dividing the island of Guadeloupe. The bridge openings were at 5am and 5:20 so we caught a spectacular sunrise.

Motoring up the river in the early morning light.

Squalls followed us all day on the sail from Guadeloupe to Antigua. This one packed a lot of punch; winds were probably around 30 knots gusting to more. We went fast!

Kristen hangs on to the forestay to keep from being blown off the boat as a squall approaches the anchorage at Green Island in Antigua.

A main street in Codrington in Barbuda. The town was really relaxed with people hanging out eating barbeque and playing marbles, young and old alike.

The 11 mile long beach in Barbuda was spectacular. The sand really was pink at the water's edge and the whole beach was completely undeveloped save for a luxury boutique hotel. Rooms start at $550 a night and go up to $3000. But they were very nice indeed.

Strike again! We hooked another mahi mahi on our way to St. Barths. This is a picture of it in the water so you can see how vivid the colors are before death. Ha!

Sunset approaching Ile de Fouruche north of St. Barths.

From Bequia to les Saintes

2008-11-10T16:19:00.005-05:00

Monday, November 10, 2008

We're steadily making our way north to the BVIs. Kristen is due on s/v Felicia on November 24 so we've pointed the compass north and have been sailing and motoring for the past few days.

Thursday: Bequia to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia; approx. 65 nm or so.
This long day started out with a great two hours sail between Bequia and the southern end of St. Vincent. Once we got behind the big island (pay attention, you'll start to notice a pattern here), all the wind died and we fired up the engine and motorsailed. At the northern tip of St. Vincent, the wind piped up again, we sailed for a while until the wind died again. We motored for a few hours behind St. Lucia until we dropped the anchor in the northern bay, Rodney Bay. We arrived after dark but the bay is wide open so we had no problem anchoring. It's always tricky though trying to gauge your distance from shore at night. Depth perception is not at its best.

We hiked over to Hope Bay in Bequia; a long, steep hike but worth it: the beach was deserted and wild.

Sunset in Bequia.

We're nearing the end of the rainy season in the islands so all the forests and land is unbelieveably green and lush. This is the leeward (western) side of St. Vincent.

Squalls abound: this produced a gorgeous rainbow in between the Pitons on St. Lucia.

A cruise ship leaving St. Lucia at sunset.

Friday: Rodney Bay to St. Pierre, Martinique; approx. 45 nm or so.
Again, we started the day with a gorgeous sail between St. Lucia and the southern tip of Martinique. Once behind the island the winds were gusty so we tried and tried to keep sailing but ended up motoring. There were quite a few squalls though which gave us wind so we ended up sailing for most of the day. Once we arrived in St. Pierre, Hans motored up to the large town dock, Kristen jumped off the boat and ran to the grocery store to get a fresh baguette, chocolate, cookies, cold beers and some camembert. Welcome back to the French islands! The town dock itself took quite a beating from Hurricane Omar and most of the wooden planking had been ripped right out of the concrete.

A squall in the mountains of Martinique. Hopefully in the next few years we'll be able to spend more time in Martinique; it seems like a really nice island. First we need to learn some French!

St. Pierre, Martinique with Mt. Pelee in the background. This is the volcano that erupted and destroyed the town about 100 years ago. The town is coming back to life and seems like a great place to live. The supermarket has everything you need and we awoke to a busy produce market on Saturday morning.

Saturday: St. Pierre to Portsmouth, Dominica; approx. 50nm or so.
No wind. Well, maybe a little. Shall we try to sail. Okay. ummm...the wind is dying. Maybe not. Okay, turn the engine on. Look, here comes some wind. Unfurl the jib. Well, maybe not so much wind after all. And so it went all the way from St. Pierre to Portsmouth. However Saturday was the start of our fishing success. Just south of Dominica, we hooked our first mahi-mahi. Well, we hooked probably our fourth mahi-mahi, but we actually got our first mahi-mahi onboard! We were really excited, but it was sad at the same time. Mahi-mahi (also called dorado and dolphin), are beautiful fish: flourescent yellow and green with a bright blue strip across the top of their backs; but the minute they start dying, they lose all their color.

Sunday: Portsmouth to Les Saintes; approx. 18 nm.
Needing both water and fuel, we decided to take a break from traveling and stay in Portsmouth for a day. We contacted the boat vendor "Providence" on the VHF and he came over at 8AM to help us get water and fuel. It seems you never can learn the lesson: "set a price first" too many times. With one trip to get water and another trip to take us ashore so we could go hiking, Martin was a great water taxi. (We had our dinghy deflated on deck and didn't want to inflate it just for one day.) He also was happy to point us in the direction of a hike we could do without a guide, something we couldn't find when we were in Dominica last June. Unfortunately, all our good feelings toward Martin quickly dissipated when he asked for $80 EC for the two water taxi trips. That converts to $30 US! I was thinking we would pay around $10 US total, around 5 bucks per trip. After lots of grumbling, we paid him $48 EC, weighed anchor and sailed to Les Saintes. The sail cleared our heads and cheered us up: we averaged 6 knots on a beam reach and hooked a black fin tuna just south of Les Saintes!

we hiked through a rainforest section of the woods in Dominica. This picture was taken close to noon, but the vegetation is so dense that it was really dark in the woods.

A cool river to jump in and refresh after a steep hike.

This nasty looking guy was sitting next to us while we looked at the vista.

Hans admiring the view over Portsmouth Harbour in Dominica.

Kristen happily smiling as she holds up the tuna (and steering at the same time...the talent is awe-inspiring!).

Hans acting as rail meat as we sail into the Saintes.

The scenery of the Saintes is stunning: red rocks and green hillsides that go steep down to the water.

Monday: day off! Les Saintes; approx. 4 statue miles by foot
Today we stayed in the Saintes, had croissants and cappucino for breakfast; went on a tour of the impressive fort; and lounged on the boat reading and swimming. It's been really nice to take a day off after all the traveling.

Yes We Can!

2008-11-05T07:41:00.002-05:00

Congratulations President-elect Obama!

With great excitement, some tension, some tears, laughter, debate and cheers, we stayed up well past 2AM watching the election returns and then celebrating Obama's landslide victory! Even here on the small island of Bequia, the US Presidential election is huge news. The bar was packed last night with Obama supporters, all local residents and us (so far we haven't met any McCain supporters in the islands!) and the first people we saw this morning immediately congratulated us on America's new President. The sun is shining and optimism abounds.

back to the blue

2008-11-03T14:37:00.005-05:00

We're back in the Grenadines, one of our favorite spots. We spent a couple days at Salt Whistle Bay, the greatest anchorage in the Caribbean and one of Kristen's "favorite places in the whole world;" then it was over to the Tobago Cays for some fantastic snorkeling, swimming with turtles and relaxing on the beach. Today we sailed up to Bequia where we'll hang out for a couple days, stock up on fresh fruit and veggies and watch the election results come in tomorrow night. Despite rumors to the contrary (see Kit Kat's blog entry), Kit Kat is doing just fine. Her stitches are due to come out this afternoon, the cut looks healed, she's acting normal and happy. So, don't believe her feline complaints.

We're on the move to the British Virgin Islands. Kristen is helping friends with a charter over Thanksgiving so we're island-hopping our way north and plan on being in Tortola around November 20 or so.

We built this white sand snowman in honor of our friends on "Snowday" who are probably already shoveling their sidewalk and shivering in horror of the winter which is knocking at the door.

Meanwhile, back in paradise,... Hans takes it easy in the hammock at the Tobago Cays.

The view from the foredeck of Whisper at Salt Whistle Bay. Not a bad spot at all!

Meow meow...ouch!

2008-11-02T14:30:00.000-05:00

It's been two weeks and they still haven't taken off this stupid blue funnel that's around my neck. First it was so I wouldn't lick that painful lump on my stomach, and now it's so I don't lick those stitches that that know it all veterinarian put all up my stomach. I'm starting to get very smelly and my fur feels oily and sticky. My skin is dry and I'm sick of licking this blue cloth funnel instead of my fur. Well, what fur there is left. I'm feeling rather naked and embarrassed. This is all very demeaning. They've promised to take the stitches out today (HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE??? THEY AREN'T VETERINARIANS, THEY ARE AMATEURS AND WILL CLEARLY INJURE ME!!! SOMEONE PLEASE, PLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEEE CALL P.E.T.A. IMMEDIATELY, I don't know where we are, but there is blue water, palm trees and white sand all around... that should narrow it down!). Stay posted for reports of my abuse.

Kit Kat.

Fish Fry

2008-11-01T14:22:00.002-05:00

Every Friday night, the town of Gouyave in the north of Grenada hosts a fish fry. They close down two of the streets to traffic and vendors set up stalls with fish cooked in different ways, mainly deep fried. We went with Jim and Wendy and sampled the tuna kebabs, coconut bread, fry bakes (yummy fried bread), fish in garlic sauce, and twice baked potatoes. The potatoes alone were worth the hour trip along the windy and bumpy west coast road.

A local drumming band. They'll put all hippy drum circles to shame. Has anyone ever heard Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia" to bongo drums? It was actually really good!

Grilled lobster. I'm not paying for that!

"Excuse me, what exactly is rum? There are different varieties? Well, I'll just have to try some of your FREE samples." Jim plays dumb for the Clark's Court rum booth.

Hans and Jim dig into the baked potatoes.

St. George's waterfront at sunset.

Grenada: the Spice Island

2008-10-23T08:57:00.004-05:00

Thursday, October 23, 2008

We've been exploring the beautiful island of Grenada over the past few days. There is a fantastic, albeit scary at times, public bus system which gets you around the island from $1 to about $3. The drivers like to play their music loud and test their acceleration and brakes, so without seat belts it can get pretty hair raising.

Kit Kat is due for surgery tomorrow morning at 8am. She'll be at the animal hospital over the weekend to recover but the vets are hopeful that she'll have a speedy recovery and will be healthy for several years. So keep you fingers crossed!

Today we're extracting the final pennies (or so it seems) from our bank account and are buying a 85 watt solar panel from Island Water World. Our wind generator and 36 watt panel are not keeping up with the fridge and we're running our engine to charge the batteries far more than we want. There's nothing like disrupting a peaceful tropical anchorage with running your diesel engine to keep the batteries full! No thanks!

The other day we went on an in-island tour with Jim, Wendy and Mike. Stop 1 was the Mt. Carmel Waterfalls, the tallest in Grenada, 75 feet.

Mike paying his bus fare in St. George's, Grenada.

After the waterfall, we took the bus to Grenville, a town on the east coast, and had one of the best island meals I've had: jerk chicken, breadfruit, plantains, rice, stewed calallo, a green salad and fresh golden apple juice. With full stomaches, we walked a couple blocks to the nutmeg factory for a tour. Before Hurricane Ivan, Grenada was the 2nd largest nutmeg producer in the world (Indonesia is #1), but now they are only at 10% of their pre-Ivan levels. The factory was a flashback to the early 1900s: everything was made of wood, the nutmeg was left to dry on wooden frames, the woman who sorted the nutmeg sat on wooden stools and they had wooden chutes and block and tackle wooden "elevators" to move the nutmeg around the factory. All around Grenada there is evidence of USAID donations, most obviously on signs, but in the nutmeg factory I saw some USAID tarps. I didn't know USAID made tarps!

shopping for groceries can be done at the 1-stop modern IGA, but it's a lot of fun to spend a couple more hours and go to the fish market...

the produce market, and stop at the IGA for things like pasta and cereal.

It's been raining a lot...yet another downpour approaches Whisper across Prickly Bay.

Jolly on Jacumba

2008-10-19T14:26:00.003-05:00

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Jacumba was the designated party barge on Friday. We all showed up at 10am, equipped with full coolers, snorkeling gear and sunblock and we headed north to an anchorage on the west coast of Grenada reputed to have underwater statues. Jacumba is a 37 foot catamaran and sailing on her was a lot different than sailing on Whisper: no heeling, we all stayed dry, drinks placed on a table didn't fall over and there was plenty of room for everyone to spread out. We arrived at the underwater statue site to find the water murky with about 1 foot visibility. Oh well. We'll blame it on Omar. We swam around, ate chips and dip and other goodies and danced in the cockpit.

It was fun day out! Check out Jacumba and Merengue's blogs for more pictures.

4 men...doing what they do best: sitting around, drinking beer, shooting the sh*t.

Hans and Jim, doing more of the same.

The Great White Hunter toils away for the family.

The lobster that got away! (it didn't get away, it was spared by the magnanimous white hunter.)

Relaxing on Jacumba for sundowners.

Kit Kat and Whisper in Grenada

2008-10-16T13:37:00.002-05:00

We've arrived in Grenada after a hectic couple of weeks getting Whisper put back together in Trinidad. We were really glad to leave the dusty and unbearably hot boatyard and actually quite glad to leave Trinidad itself. The water was dirty and full of trash and oil and there was quite a lot of crime on the island (a Swedish couple who were on vacation got chopped to death in their condo by teenage robbers last week).

Kit Kat, however, had a great time in the boatyard. She had been staying with our friends Tom and Maureen on their boat Tillywhim (which was on the hard right next to Whisper all summer). She had been very well-behaved all summer long and never went off their boat. Well, as soon as Kit Kat got back on Whisper she decided that she wanted to explore the boatyard, and we'd find her prowling around eating grass and getting dusty.
On another note, some of you may have heard that KitKat has been really sick. The short of it is that she has cancer. We finally were able to take her to the vet here in Grenada today, and they believe that she has a good chance of recovering, but they have to do some pretty major surgery. So poor Kit Kat is in for another shaved tummy it seems.
Kit Kat will go under the knife sometime early next week so we'll kick around here in Grenada until the end of next week. Then we'll probably start heading north.

Meanwhile, hurricane Omar has been wrecking havoc north of here. We're hoping that our friends in St. Martin and the Virgin Islands are all OK. The Hurricane Center shows that Omar went straight up the Anegada passage, and passed somewhere in between St. Martin and Virgin Gorda. Hopefully this means that they didn't get hit too hard.

More pictures!

2008-10-09T18:19:00.007-05:00

Thursday, October 9, 2008

We found a cord to connect the camera to the computer so, as promised, here are some more pictures from Italy and a few from England.

Dave: "where's my dinner?!"

What are we doing you ask? zombie trances? new age meditation? hypnosis? magic? no...charades!

olives!

Dave and April taking a rest from the sights in Siena

Italians sure know how to dress!

Hanging out in England...walking on the beach by the north sea, rowing along the river stour with Kristen's cousin Emily & Tristan.

Back in the Caribbean

2008-10-05T14:43:00.009-05:00

Spain: Check.
France: Check.
Andorra: Check.
Italy: Check.
England: Check.

Time to get back to the Caribbean!

We're back in the heat and humidity of Trinidad after a three week driving and camping tour of southern Europe. We left Sweden on September 10 and spent the next 10 days driving around northern Spain (home of the Rioja wine region) and a detour to southern France to visit our friends Chris and Julie who we met in the Virgin Islands. Next stop was the Tuscany region of Italy (home of the wine province of Chianti and some truly excellent pizza). In Italy we met up with our friends Dave and April, who we got to know in the Bahamas in 2007. After Italy we flew to England and spent some time with Kristen's family (her mother is English, you know). Since we spend almost all our time on the water, we mostly traveled in the mountains. It was bloody cold at night (no sleeping bags) but the scenery was amazing. Anyway, it was too cold at the beach to go swimming!
Somewhere in Italy the cord that connects our camera to our computer went missing, so the pictures below only get to the first bit of Italy. Stay tuned for more pictures. We skipped adding captions so you'll have to use your imagination. Try to figure out why Kristen is sleeping on an air mattress outside the Pisa International airport.

Hej då Sverige!

2008-09-09T11:26:00.006-05:00

September 9, 2008

Our plane leaves tomorrow morning at 6.30 to Barcelona, the start of our Spain, France, Italy and England tour. It's exciting but sad at the same time to say goodbye to family, friends and Sweden. The last couple days we've spent hanging out with friends in Stockholm, attending the baptism of Max and Ida and running last minute errands. Tonight Åsa, Henrik and Hans' grandmother are over for dinner, swedish meatballs!

the fruit and vegetable market in downtown Stockholm

We stopped at the best coffee shop in Stockholm, debatable in all of Sweden, Vette Katten, for some princess cake and coffee.

One final night hanging out with Peter and Johan - a couple games of pool

Peter is very serious about making his point heard...

and so are Hans and Kristen. surprise, they're both talking at the same time!

Ida is all smiles on Saturday

Max laughs at his uncle Hans

Max and Ida before baptism

Ida

Max

Sofia with a tight hold on Max

A tired Ida after the ceremony

and the Nobel Prize goes to...

2008-09-03T07:39:00.004-05:00

September 3, 2008

With only a week left in Sweden, we've kicked up our tourist activities to a high level. Yesterday we biked into Stockholm, walked around Gamla Stan, the old(est) part of town, ate hot dogs for lunch and had a tour of Stadshuset, the City Hall, where the annual Nobel Prize ceremony is held.

Norrbron, the oldest bridge in Stockholm and currently under repair, with Riksdagshuset, the Swedish Parliament building, in the background.

Waiting in line at the Korv Kiosk. Streetside hot dog vendors are highly developed in Sweden, offering at least 15 different combinations of the tasty lunch.

A side street in Gamla Stan.

Stadshuset

The Blue Hall where the Nobel Prize dinner is held. Over 1000 guests are in attendance so everyone is given a scant 60 cm (2 ft.) of space at the dinner table, including the King and Queen.

sharing the road

2008-08-30T06:16:00.003-05:00

August 30, 2008

Biking in Stockholm is a fun, fast, green and healthy way to get around town. I'm still waiting for the day that I get rear-ended by a bike messenger frantically trying to speed past me while listening to instructions on his radio, but I never worry about car doors, right-turning cars, or trying to go fast enough to keep up with traffic. Most streets in the city have bike lanes with dedicated traffic lights for bikes and there is a comprehensive network of bike paths spreading out from the city center to the suburbs.

The bike path outside of the city with clearly marked signs all along the way. The road is on the left and the bike path on the right.

Hans bikes across a bridge to Gamla Stan in the center of Stockholm.

Biking in Stockholm near T-Centralen, the main train station.

A bike parking lot in Uppsala.

Rush hour on Friday afternoon in Stockholm.

mushrooms

2008-08-24T04:00:00.005-05:00

August 23, 2008

Invest 94 just passed over Trinidad dumping copious amounts of rain on the island and on Whisper, but we're about as far removed from that as we are from the flooding in Vietnam and the humidity at the Olympics. It's nice to be in Sweden, living in an apartment where weather doesn't affect our daily decisions nor threaten the safety of our boat or ourselves. It's a nice break!

We've been spending a lot of time in front of the computer...Hans has been helping his dad draw up 3D images of his construction methods, Kristen has been working with an online publisher, Blurb, to publish the contents of this blog into a hardcover book. In between going cross-eyed from too much computer time, we've been eating fantastic food made by Karin, we've spent a couple days helping out Hans' sister and Hendrik with their house and playing with the babies, and we've biked into Stockholm a couple times for some sightseeing. It's definitely a different hurricane season than last year in the Dominican Republic. There are parts of the DR that I miss, but overall it's nice to luxuriate in first world comforts for awhile.

The Ericsson clan

Strandvagen in downtown Stockholm.

Kristen holds up a KarlJohan mushroom, one of the tastiest finds in the woods.

One day's find. For dinner we had fried mushrooms on crackers and mushroom soup with wine. Fantastic!

Kraftor. A swedish summer tradition: crayfish in a sweet and salty sauce eaten alone or made into small sandwiches.

The other day we went to the Sea History Museum in Stockholm. The first floor displayed old wooden lifeboats powered either by oars or steam engines and the second floor displayed pleasure boats. Most of the boats were beautiful examples of Swedish powerboats in varnished mahogany, but we were proud to find a Vega in the group. While not on display for her beauty, the Vega was one of the most popular sailboats in Sweden for all of its years of production so it earned a spot in the museum.

Sailing in the Baltic Sea

2008-08-11T09:08:00.010-05:00

August 11, 2008

Two sailors can’t leave the sea for too long…after one month living on land, we were starting to get landsick. Let’s get back on the water! Luckily, Hans’ sister Sofia and her boyfriend Patrik have a sailboat that they generously let us borrow for a two-week sail. We sailed around the Stockholm archipelago for a few days before heading south to the island of Gotland in the southern Baltic Sea. Hans’ friend Peter was getting married on August 2 and we planned to sail to the wedding.

The trip was a great success: the sailing was fun and varied, the weather was, generally, quite nice, and it was great to be back on the water again. It was also a lot of fun to sail and live on a different boat. Våga is also a 27-foot boat so we invariably had many conversations about the differences between Våga and Whisper and also came up with quite a few ideas for improvements and additions to Whisper. Våga is a really fast boat and the tiller is extremely responsive. She is fast compared to Whisper mainly due to the fact that Whisper is loaded down with all our stuff and usually a lot of water and diesel, but she’s also fast and responsive because she has a fin keel, transom-hung rudder, and a 165% genoa.

After sailing for two weeks in cooler weather and water than we’re accustomed to, it’s nice to be back in Stockholm at Hans’ parents’ apartment, luxuriating in hot baths, eating good food and watching the Olympics.

A nice dinner aboard with Patrik and Sofia.

Våga at anchor near Bullando, just outside of Stockholm. The preferred method of anchoring in the archipelago is to drop a stern anchor and tie the boat up to the rocks. Sitting on the rocks watching the sunset is a great way to spend an evening, but it took us quite a few nights to get the hang of where and when to drop the anchor. We're definitely still beginners at this method of anchoring. Needless to say, rocks don't bend or budge, so if the anchor were to drag it would be a little more serious than dragging across a harbor and perhaps hitting another boat!

At anchor off Bjorkskar, in the north-eastern part of the Stockholm archipelago. Våga is the boat in the foreground with the black mast.

Bjorkskar definitely owes its popularity in large part to the fantastic wood-burning sauna open to all. We spent at least an hour jumping between the sweaty sauna and the cold water of the Baltic Sea.

Boats at anchor at Bjorkskar.

During the sail between Bjorkskar and Huvudskar we passed an island designated as a protected area for seals and, lo and behold, a group of seals were sunning themselves on the rocks!

The picturesque island village of Huvudskar, a remote outpost of the Stockholm archipelago.

Bird poop! Blueberries are growing all over Sweden right now and apparently they are a favorite food of the birds!

Skipper Hans en route to Gotska Sandon, just north of Gotland. The weather was warm, sunny and we had a beautiful off-the-wind sail south.

A street in the medieval town of Visby on Gotland. The town is surrounded by a very intact wall and most of the houses in the town are from the 16, 17th and 18th centuries.

The wall surrounding Visby from the peasant side of the city.

Hans' pals from northern Sweden: Simon, his girlfriend Kerstin, and Johan, relaxing in Gotland.

Kristen takes the helm for an easy sail on her birthday. 29 and holding!

Fishermens' huts at Katthamarsvik.

Katthamarsvik gård, the stately home where Peter and Frida had their champagne toasts for their wedding reception. The dinner and party was held at an old barn down the road.

Peter and Frida fending off the onslaught of rice and bubbles after the wedding!

Hans and Johan strike their best GQ poses.

Kristen and Hans all dressed up for the wedding. boy those sailors sure clean up nice! The dress and suit are actually Karin and Roger's (Hans' parents) from the 70s! Perfect fits and still stylish!

The gang from Holmsund.

Hans plays DJ.

No sailing trip is complete without waiting for weather. We hoped to leave Gotland on the Monday after the wedding in order to spend more time sailing around Stockholm, however a low pressure system off Denmark had different plans for us. The "worst summer storm in modern history" centered itself directly over Gotland and hammered us with 40+ knot winds, lots of rain and nasty seas. We waited at a marina, snug, warm and developing serious cases of cabin fever!

A rainbow after a lull in the rain.

Hans staves off boredom with a game of Yahtzee. Unfortunately, it looks like he caught a pretty bad case of cabin fever! (or he's just fiercely competitive!)

Classic images from Gotland.

The wind was still blowing when we left Gotland, but it was from the south pushing us north, so we put up the genoa, donned our foul weather gear and had a fast fast sail back to mainland Sweden.

We found a great anchorage in a protected bay and a nice rock to relax on after 12+ hours of sailing.

Typical woods found on the islands in the archipelago.

Another rainy day with strong winds. Despite the rain, the sailing was fun since we were once again in protected waters with no waves, just speed.

And, despite the rain and cold, this person obviously thought it was a perfect day to go kite surfing. I'll wait until the Caribbean!

No sailing?!

Hans hangs on to a mooring line in the Sodertalje Canal.

On Saturday, our last day of sailing, Roger and Karin joined us for the sail from Sodertalje back to Våga's home port of Enkoping. The weather was varied to say the least: some wind, no wind, sun, wind again, rain, rain rain. But we still had fun.

Hans, showing off his seamanship.

fermented fish

2008-07-22T03:21:00.008-05:00

July 14, 2008

For our last dinner at the summer cottage, we had a traditional Swedish meal of surströmming, fermented fish. Yes, fermented fish. The definition below is pretty accurate: it is fermented herring, with a very "different" taste, one that is most definitely acquired. "Strong odor" is by far and understatement. The odor was so strong that Roger had to open the pressurized can down by the water, far away from the house with a table as a shield so as not to get any of the juice on him! Lots of northern Swedes like this type of fish, although it seems that the only people that like it have been eating strömming since birth.

The summer cottage from the water.

The road to the summer cottage.

Roger seeks shelter behind a table when opening the surströmming, something so rank that it actually is classified as a biological weapon by the United States.

Here is a useful primer on surströmming from Wikipedia:

Surströmming ("soured (Baltic) herring") is a northern Swedish delicacy consisting of fermented Baltic herring. Surströmming is sold in cans, which when opened release a strong smell. Because of the smell, the dish is often eaten outdoors. However, opening the can under water or inside a plastic bag, somewhat lessens the smell, as well as prevents the person opening it from being soaked in brine, as the fermentation often builds up a considerable pressure inside the can.

The herring is caught in spring, when it is in prime condition and just about to spawn. The herring are fermented in barrels for one to two months, then tinned where the fermentation continues. Half a year to a year later, gases have built up sufficiently for the once cylindrical tins to bulge into a more rounded shape. These unusual containers of surströmming can be found in supermarkets all over Sweden. However, certain airlines have banned the tins on their flights, considering the pressurized containers to be potentially dangerous.[1] Species of Haloanaerobium bacteria are responsible for the in-can ripening. These bacteria produce carbon dioxide and a number of compounds that account for the unique odor: pungent propionic acid, rotten-egg hydrogen sulfide, rancid-butter butyric acid, and vinegary acetic acid.[2]

One proposed explanation of the origins of this method of preservation is that it began long ago, when brining food was quite expensive due to the cost of salt. When fermentation was used, just enough salt was required to keep the fish from rotting. The salt raises the osmotic pressure of the brine above the zone where bacteria responsible for rotting (decomposition of proteins) can prosper and prevents decomposition of fish proteins into oligopeptides and amino acids. Instead the osmotic conditions enable the Haloanaerobium bacteria to prosper and decompose the fish glycogen into organic acids, giving it the sour (acidic) properties.

Kristen smells the surströmming. Not a crowd pleaser it seems.

Kristen has a taste....

Definitely an acquired taste!

Hans' first school in Holmsund where he attended first and second grades.

A folkboat sailing on the bay at Holmsund.

The two wind turbines at Holmsund. When you stand underneath them you realize how huge they are (the blades on the large one are about 130 feet) and also how loud they are. It was pretty amazing to be so close to them and feel and hear the swoosh...swoosh...swoosh of natural power.

After three weeks in the cold north we migrated south to spend some time in Stockholm and especially with Hans' sister Åsa, her boyfriend Henrik and their twins Ida and Max. Ida and Max were born on May 18 when we were in Martinique, and we spent a little time with them at the summer cottage, but now we have been able to go and live with Åsa and Henrik for a few days, with the premise of helping Henrik put insulation on their new house, but probably spending more time having fika and playing with the babies!

Hans and his beautiful niece Ida, age 7 weeks.

Hans' sister Åsa's twins Max and Ida in their stroller.

Ida takes a bath... lucky Hans gets to hold her.

Kristen and Åsa hold on to the babies.

Kristen gets ready for an exciting motorcycle ride with Henrik (exciting to say the least... try going 220 km/hr (137 mph) on a windy road and see what you think)

Hans poses for his motorcycle gaycation postcard.

Sailors in the Snow

2008-07-14T05:17:00.010-05:00

July 14, 2008

We just got back the other day from spending a couple of days hiking in the mountains near Bjorkliden, some 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle. At this time of year in this part of Sweden the sun never sets. Unfortunately, sailors legs aren't made for walking, so we got pretty exhausted by the end of it all. Still, the views were spectacular and if you are interested in hiking in unspoiled arctic tundra, the north of Sweden can't be beat.

Above, two pics of Gammelstad in Luleå. An old church village where farmers would build cottages so that they could attend church and have a place to stay since they had to travel long distances.

Kristen's first time across the Arctic Circle.

This is what you'll see if you look out the window in 95% of northern Sweden. Lots and lots of tall pine trees.

The road to Björkliden.

We killed a lot of mosquitoes with the car driving up north.

Lapporten, a famous landmark in northern Sweden.

Kristen checks out the midnight sun.

Our first campsite, can you spot the tent?

Kristen had some trouble getting up the steeper parts of the trail with the heavy backpack... it was especially hard when she started laughing.

The intrepid voyagers.

Wait, I thought it was summer. What's this white stuff?

Kristen stops for a drink of water. The water up on the mountain is super clean and tasty, no need to add bleach here.

Hans treks up through the snow. Crunch crunch.

Not a bad campsite.

Hans takes a minute to do his best Obama impersonation... nodding his head significantly.

We had to rent these boots to trek through the snow.

Hans leads the way back down the mountain.

Reindeer! The red X marks a snowmobile trail.

Pretty flowers.

Kristen surveys her domain.

A snow-melt river in the mountains.

In Sweden you can find a train station just about anywhere, this one was at the trailhead to Låktatjåkka Mountain.

We went to Norway... and we're never going back. Kristen's new slogan is: "Norway? No Way!" It was cold, rainy, no good coffee shops, and the beer cost 23 Norwegian Crowns ($5.00) a piece at the grocery store.

Despite the Norway? No Way! general atmosphere, the scenery was still beautiful. This is a fjord.

Hans tries to stay warm at the fire in the cold, rainy north!

Kristen grimaces with the cold as she cooks up dinner... who's idea was this anyways?

Abisko Canyon, where a lot of the melted snow drains into the big lake, Torneträsk.

Tulips in July?!? We're definitely north of the arctic circle now.

Kristen makes friends with a stuffed reindeer.

Have you ever seen a road sign for an igloo? You can see this sign in northern Sweden... it's for the ice hotel.

Jukkasjärvi Church constructed in 1902.

After a few days in the mountains Kristen seeks replenishment and nourishment at Max, the best hamburger joint in the world.

Giant cheese slicers.

Happy fourth of July!

2008-07-04T08:29:00.004-05:00

July 4, 2008

We've been having a fantastic time at stugan, the summer cottage, in northern Sweden. Hans' whole family has been here this past week: mom, dad, sisters (Sofia and Åsa with their boyfriends Patrik and Henrik), both grandmothers, uncle Lars, and, of course, the new twins Max and Ida.

Proud new grandmother Karin holds Max while new Aunt Sofia happily holds Ida.

Ida and Max hanging out.

Kristen and Ida.

The sun was shining hot and bright this morning so Kristen decided to go for a swim. She tests the water....

And she's in! It's definitely a little colder than the Caribbean sea...15 degrees instead of 30! One can say: refreshing!

From sundown to sunup

2008-07-04T08:18:00.006-05:00

July 4, 2008

This series of images were taken from 6PM until 6AM at the summer cottage in northern Sweden. while the midnight sun doesn't shine directly overhead, it never gets dark this time of year!

6:00 PM

7:00 PM

8:00 PM

9:00 PM

10:00 PM

11:00 PM

12:00 AM

1:00 AM

2:00 AM

3:00 AM

4:00 AM

5:00 AM

6:00 AM

Strawberries and midnight sun

2008-06-29T13:43:00.001-05:00

June 28, 2008

Nothing goes to windward like a Boeing 777, transporting us from heat and humidity in Trinidad to wool sweaters and hot chocolate in northern Sweden in the time it would take us to sail 200 miles. When we left Trinidad, the air temperature was around 33 degrees Celsius and the water temperature was hovering at 30 degrees Celsius. Here at the summer cottage in northern Sweden, the air temperature is around 18 degrees and the water temperature is 11 degrees. Needless to say, Hans won’t be catching any lobster this summer.

Despite the shock to the system, it is wonderful to be among pine trees, rocky beaches, the midnight sun and family. We arrived in Sweden on Wednesday afternoon and have been eating copious amounts of fresh strawberries, cheese and filmjolk (a type of yogurt made in Sweden). We’ll spend the next few weeks at the summer cottage (stugan); reading, eating good food, spending time with family and enjoying the midnight sun. Currently, the sun sets around 11PM and rises around 2AM, but it never gets dark.

We stopped in London for a day and, due to jet lag, groggily wandered around the streets of Central London. We spent the night with Sebastien, a friend of Hans’ from the UWC, and caught up on the past couple years.

Höga Kusten Bron (The High Coast Bridge) located two hours south of Holmsund.

Hans and his mormor (mother’s mother), Anna-Greta, enjoy strawberries, coffee and chocolate cake outside at stugan. The importance and perfection of “Fika,” the Swedish tradition of coffee served with small baked goods at least once a day but usually twice, can’t be overstated.

Roger and Karin (Hans’ parents) serve up strawberries with cream for dessert. There was no wind blowing from the water so we were able to move the table and eat right at the water’s edge.

Relaxing in the sand, surf and sun

2008-06-25T05:05:00.000-05:00

June 25, 2008

Our favorite beaches from Pasadena, Maryland to Chaguaramas, Trinidad.
In order from north to south.

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Hope Town, Abacos, the Bahamas

Stocking Island, Exumas, the Bahamas

Dean's Blue Hole, Long Island, the Bahamas

Big Sand Cay, Turks and Caicos

Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic

Playa Escondido, Samana, Dominican Republic

Playa Rincon, Samana, Dominican Republic

Sun Bay, Isla de Vieques, Spanish Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico

the windward beach on Culebrita, Spanish Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico

the coconut beach, north shore of Tortola, British Virgin Islands

White Bay home of the Soggy Dollar Bar, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

Macaroni Bay, Mustique, the Grenadines

Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau, the Grenadines

A boat out of the water: Whisper on the hard in Trinidad

2008-06-23T13:35:00.008-05:00

June 23, 2008

Whisper out of her element: on the hard, sails and rigging removed and lockers empty in Trinidad.

We’re posting this blog update from a coffee shop at the international airport in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Our flight leaves in a couple hours to London, where we’ll transfer planes and arrive in Sweden on Wednesday. The past week since arriving in Trinidad has been hectic trying to get Whisper cleaned and prepared to be left alone for three months. After endless amounts of cleaning, scrubbing, washing and trying to dry cushions in between frequent rain showers, Whisper is clean well put away for her summer vacation from sailing. We had no time to explore around Trinidad, but we look forward to doing that when we return in the fall. Almost everyone we have met here has been exceedingly friendly and helpful.

Scotland Bay, a peaceful, jungle-y anchorage near the marinas at Chaguaramas. We had a great sail from Grenada, 80 miles in 16 hours. The winds were pretty light but the seas were just a small chop so we were still able to average about 5 knots under full sail. The last couple hours were at night with the full moon, beautiful!

In preparation for leaving Whisper, we emptied and cleaned every locker on the boat. Kristen climbed in the cockpit lockers and scrubbed them with bleach while Hans encouraged her while drinking a beer in the cockpit. There's something wrong with this picture!

Hans' turn to clean: we removed the sails and scrubbed them with soap and fresh water.

The sails drying.

Return of the gypsy boat: All of the stuff in the cockpit lockers is stowed on deck while we clean. After a week of cleaning, we managed to get rid of at least 4 huge garbage bags of stuff. Maybe we won't have to raise the waterline after all!

Kit Kat and Hans wait to be hauled out.

Kit Kat looks over at Whisper from her summer home on the sailboat Tilly Whim.

Posing in front of Whisper--all clean and ready for summer storage.

We're always mentioning how we're the smallest boat in every anchorage--this picture is a pretty good illustration: the blue boat on the left (Tilly Whim) is 36 feet and the one on the right is around 45 feet.

Hans fuels up on some health food at the airport before the flight.

The Adventures of Capt. Cluck

2008-06-12T14:47:00.005-05:00

June 12, 2008

A week ago, we returned to Whisper only to find that our lucky mascot "Captain Cluck"--a squeeking pirate rubber chicken--had been kidnapped! Based on their near total lack of integrity, we immediately suspected that we would find the culprits on S/V Someday Came. (For their version of the story check their blog linked on the sidebar.) We approached the youngest and most gullible member of the New Jersey crime family: Violet--age 2, a tough blonde with a killer smile that has fooled even the most skeptical detective. But after a brief interrogation she quickly spilled the beans: Captain Cluck was indeed on board!

Later in the day, Caroline, the 11 year old crime boss in training, delivered this ransom note:

"Who is this Pablito?" we asked ourselves. "And what does he want?"

It turned out that Pablito, (aka. Shannon, aka. Captain Morgan, aka Mr. Sexy Time, aka. Tillman Crime Boss) wanted two coconuts in exchange for Captain Cluck. There were several inappropriate threats issued over the radio suggesting that Capt. Cluck might be turned into Chicken Nuggets, Chicken a la King, Chicken Picata and BBQ chicken.

Undaunted we refused to negotiate with these kidnappers. When the Tillman Crime Syndicate next joined us in Salt Whistle Bay, we were ready. Tillman crime wife, Kathy, tried to appease us with yummy spaghetti and meatball dinner, but to no avail. Revenge was imminent. Unbeknownst to the crew sleeping on Someday Came we snuck up to their boat at 0300 in the morning and filled their dinghy to the brim with coconuts.

Ha! Victory at last!

The next morning we were given more ransom demands, which were ignored, and lo and behold Capt. Cluck was returned to Whisper before noon that day. He did, however, exhibit clear signs of physical and emotional abuse that he suffered at the hands of the Tillman Crime Syndicate: he now has a hole in his left leg, and he refuses to squeek as normal. We hope that a period of rest and recuperation will restore Capt. Cluck to his former glory. Meanwhile, the Tillman Crime Syndicate is retreating through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific Ocean to avoid the wrath of Whisper.

In the Grenadines

2008-06-12T13:23:00.006-05:00

June 12, 2008

The last two weeks have been the reward for all the windward sailing we've been doing since we left Maryland in the fall of 2006. The Grenadines are as beautiful as everyone says: clear water, white sand beaches, palm trees, fantastic snorkeling, easy sailing and great friends to explore with. We had a tearful farewell this morning to Uliad and Someday Came, two boats we've been sailing with for the past month. They are headed to Panama, through the canal and around the world. We had to resist their multiple arguments for Whisper joining in their wakes, literally, since we'd be sailing at half their speed. Meeting friends while cruising is definitely bittersweet: it's wonderful to make such great friends, but at the same time, very hard to say goodbye. The friendships you make on the water solidify very quickly, more so than we've found on land. So we know we'll see each other again, but when? and where?!

From here we sail to Grenada and then Trinidad. Whisper gets hauled out on June 20 and we fly out to Sweden on June 23.

A vegetable stand at Mustique.

Kristen tries to emulate the rich and famous on the beach at Mustique.

One of the nicest anchorages we've found yet: Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau. We were anchored in 8 feet of water and could swim to the beach in minutes.

We met up with a Brazilian boat, Paje, who helped us out with kite-surfing. It turns out we're not incompetent: our kite (or the lines) are not set up properly and therefore refuses to launch. A project to fix next season. This is Hans using Paula's kite.

We went for a sail on Someday Came. Wow! There is quite a difference between a 27' boat and a 54' boat!
Later in the day, Caroline from Someday Came joined us on Whisper for the 3 mile sail to the Tobago Cays. She was a great skipper. We tried to negotiate keeping her on board as our autopilot, but when we found out she doesn't do dishes we decided to keep looking.

Hans found "the ultimate hammock location" in the Tobago Cays. Doesn't his life look hard?

The Tobago Cays.

Kathleen and Steve hanging out on Someday Came.
Shannon, Kathy and Hans enjoy our farewell dinner last night on Someday Came.

The fabled Grenadines

2008-06-02T10:00:00.004-05:00

June 2, 2008

After one month of anchoring off volcanic, black sand beaches, Whisper is once again anchored in shallow, clear blue water off a white sand beach with palm trees. We celebrated yesterday by spending the afternoon on the beach with Someday Came and Uliad, lounging in hammocks, collecting sea glass, swimming, snorkeling and ending the day with soccer and dodgeball.

We have about two weeks to spend in the Grenadines, island-hopping and anchoring off coral reefs before we sail to Trinidad where we leave Whisper for 3 months. We fly to Sweden on June 23. Our plan for the fall involves sailing back to St. Martin and finding work there for a year (or more?), however there was some serious peer-pressure last night from Someday Came over pizza to join them in their quest for a circumnavigation. Sounds tempting…anyone want to crew for the Pacific crossing?

We spent our last night in St. Lucia anchored between the Pitons, an anchorage we'd been looking forward to since we first came up with the idea to go cruising in the Caribbean. The scenery is spectacular. Hopefully the pictures can convey some of the scale of the mountains.

Hans checking out the Pitons as we sail into the anchorage.

Someday Came anchored close by.

Kit kat contemplates: if there is food on top of the Piton...how long would it take me to get to the top? And would the climb up be worthwhile?

Whisper's Galley

2008-05-28T10:54:00.002-05:00

If you have been following our blog for a while, you have probably noticed that we spend an inordinate amount of time writing about food, eating and drinking.... In fact, good food and leisurely cooking is one of our favorite things about the cruising life. Therefore we thought that we'd add a new page on our blog featuring some of our favorite recipes. You can find the link on the sidebar on this page, or you can just go to: www.whispersgalley.blogspot.com

Salvaging and leatherback turtles – Rodney Bay, St. Lucia

2008-05-27T15:54:00.004-05:00

May 27, 2008

We arrived in Rodney Bay two days ago and were able to anchor under sail. It’s always a great feeling to end a beautiful day of sailing without having to turn the engine on. Since we didn’t use the engine to back down on the anchor, we both dove on the anchor to determine that it was set properly. Kristen notice a long line of chain stretched out across the bottom, and on further investigation we realized it was in very good condition and had a 28kg anchor attached. We started the salvage process, and after an hour of work and 30 minutes of walking the docks, Hans had sold the anchor and chain for $400EC (approx. $150)! With this new treasure, we promptly made plans to rent a car to explore the island and to look for leatherback turtles nesting on Grand Anse, an east coast beach.

A valley covered with banana fields on the west coast of St. Lucia.

Hans and Steve liven up the evening with some guitar playing.

We toured around the island for a couple hours and returned to Rodney Bay around 5:30 to pick up the crew from Uliad and Caroline from Someday Came. After an hour drive up to the top of the mountains and then down a pot-holed dirt road to the beach, we started our turtle watch. Luckily, an organized group of tourists were there with guides so we were able to tag along with the guides. Somewhat over-confidently, we thought we could walk the beach and watch the turtles unaided by a more knowledgeable guide. After this experience, I would feel comfortable doing that, but not the first time! We walked to one end of the beach where Isaiah explained the reproductive cycle of the leatherbacks to us, then we gathered strength and walked toward the other end of the beach. Halfway there, the two guides stopped and started sneaking around. A turtle was digging a hole to lay her eggs! We all took turns creeping up behind here watching her dig her hole. She used her two back flippers to move dig the dirt and throw it out of the hole. After about 20 minutes, she started to lay her eggs. Steve (from Uliad) and I were designated counters and we counted the fertile eggs. She lays both fertile and infertile eggs. The infertile eggs are smalls and act as cushioning to protect the fertile eggs. After about 30 minutes of laying eggs, she started covering the nest with dirt and spent a good 30 minutes more disguising the area before she pushed off back to the ocean. It was an amazing, one in a lifetime experience. A few quick facts: each turtle lays 80-100 eggs at a time and she comes back at least once a week to lay eggs between May and July. The eggs hatch about 60 days after they have been laid, but only 1 in 1000 hatchlings survive to lay eggs. About 25 years after hatching, the hatchlings return to the exact beach they were born on to lay eggs.

The leatherback turtle laying the eggs.

Notice her eyes are covered in sand...she fills them with mucus before coming out of the sea to protect them from the sand. Thus, her eyesight is very limited, but she still detects bright lights which can confuse her. We had to rely on our own night vision to watch the process.

After successfully laying over 80 fertile eggs, she pushes back to the ocean.

Martinique

2008-05-21T10:43:00.002-05:00

May 21, 2008

Our first stop in Martinique was the northern anchorage of St. Pierre, a town ruined by a volcanic eruption in 1902 that killed tens of thousands. Dubbed the "Paris of the Caribbean," the town used to be home to over 30,000 and now has a population of 5,000. Walking around the town you can see some ruins that have not been developed and also houses that use former ruins as walls.

Currently dormant, Mt. Pelee.

St. Pierre.

Moonrise.

Ruins of the theater with Mt. Pelee in the background.

Välkommen Max och Ida!

2008-05-19T11:08:00.006-05:00

May 19, 2008

Welcome to the world Max & Ida! Hans' sister Åsa and her fiancee Hendrik are new parents of two healthy babies. Congratulations! We can't wait to meet the new family members in June.

In other news, we're currently in Martinique and will update with photos when we get a good internet connection.

Swampy rivers, mountains and waterfalls in Dominica

2008-05-17T09:03:00.002-05:00

May 17, 2008

We'd been looking forward to visiting Dominica ever since we planned our cruise on Whisper. Unfortunately, it wasn't as successful as we had hoped. The anchorages were all really rolly and no matter where we placed a stern anchor we still rolled all night long, resulting in a lack of energy for hiking and sore backs and general grumpiness. Also, generally the locals were not very friendly and it always seemed like someone was trying to hustle us for money. Of course we met nice, friendly people, but in general there were few smiles and little conversation. The phenomena of boat boys is steadily working its way to Dominica so we also felt a little insecure leaving Whisper so we locked her up tight every time we left the boat. Not a very pleasant feeling. It also seems like the boat boy business is well-fueled by the sailing guide written by Chris Doyle who heartily recommends everyone to use boat boys for everything: laundry, groceries, transportation, guides, etc. After reading Chris Doyle, one wonders how cruisers function on other islands without boat boys. One final problem we had with Dominica was the absolute lack of good dinghy docks. It was hard to go ashore without having a place to leave the dinghy without it getting washed under the dock, even with a stern anchor laid out. sigh. Having said all that, the next time we come to Dominica, we'll be prepared to rent a car to explore inland...and arrive well-rested!

Our first stop was Portsmouth and, together with Uliad and Someday Came, we went on a highly touted tour of the Indian River. Suffice it to say, it was a bit of a tourist trap and while the river scenery was interesting, we could have rowed our dinghy for free instead of paying US$15/pp.

The river bar, part of the Indian River tour.

going up the Indian River with the crew of Uliad and Someday Came.

The next expedition was successful. We caught a ride to the Machoucheri Rum Factory halfway down the coast where they still use the traditional methods to make rum: water-powered machinery, wood-fired steam engine and scythes to cut the cane.

The water-powered sugarcane press at the rum factory.

The rum factory.

We then moved Whisper south to the capital, Rousseau with hopes to hike up to the Boiling Lake. However, after too many sleepless nights, we decided to forgo the trip. Instead, we took a short bus ride to Trafalgar Falls and luxuriated in the cool, fresh water for hours. There are two falls, both at least 200+ feet (75 meters) high and surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery.

Kristen getting power-washed at the waterfalls.

Hans at the Trafalgar Falls... pretty huge!

The second Trafalgar Fall.

On Saturday morning we went to the market and stocked up on fresh fruit and veg produced by local small-scale farmers.

Iles Saintes

2008-05-13T08:53:00.000-05:00

May 13, 2008

After anchoring along the west coast of Guadeloupe, we spent a relaxing week in the Saints, a group of islands just south of Guadeloupe. The main town is very picturesque with fishing boasts in the harbour, narrow streets, small cottages and good boulangeries. Taima, Uliad and Someday Came were also there at the same time and we all went on numerous snorkeling and lobstering expeditions...with little luck.

Fort Napoleon protecting Bourg des Saintes.

The view from the Fort.

Bourg des Saintes.

Someday Came sailing south to Dominica from the Saints.

Whisper shows her stuff on the sail from the Saints to Dominica. Thanks to Someday Came for the photo.

Guadeloupe

2008-05-10T10:46:00.003-05:00

May 10, 2008

After a week of eating soft, white bread and yellow cheddar, we are back in the land of baguettes and camembert. If it there’s one thing these cheese-eating surrender monkeys know how to do right, it’s bread, cheese and wine. Vive le republic!

We left Antigua on Sunday and had a fast sail to Deshaies on the west coast of Guadeloupe. The wind was well out of the northeast so we were on a broad reach and at times a beam reach making for fast, easy sailing. Whisper, even with all her water, diesel and provisions, was averaging around 5.5 knots!

Deshaies is a pretty town with a fleet of local fishing boats, lots of bakeries and a great beach nearby. We spent Monday morning jumping through waves at the beach and by the afternoon decided to head south to charge our batteries and try to catch some fish for dinner. After 4 hours, the batteries were full but we had to come up with alternative plans for dinner. We’re still waiting to catch that first mahi. Around 4PM as we were both admiring the sun peeking out behind rain clouds on the western horizon, we both spotted a whale breaching! Wow! We saw it’s entire tail as it splashed through the water and then it continued to slap its tail repeatedly on the surface of the water. We think it was communicating with other whales, but what was it saying? The experience of seeing a whale was spectacular beyond words.

Continuing down the west coast of Guadeloupe, we spent two nights at a deep fishing harbour, Anse de la barque. When Kristen dove on the anchor to check that it was set properly, we found three old canons on the sea floor beneath Whisper. The next day when we were snorkeling, we saw another canon washed up on shore. We wanted to hike up the Caribbean’s highest peak, la soufriere, on the southern end of Guadeloupe, but after long, and somewhat hairy, bus rides we found out that we needed to rent a car to get to the trailhead. Next time.

DesHayes, a pretty little town in Guadeloupe.

A pretty old boat that anchored next to us.

Sunset in DesHayes.

Kristen steering down the coast of Guadeloupe.

Kristen checking out the goods at the fish market in Basse Terre in the south coast of Guadeloupe.

We’re currently anchored off the picturesque fishing village, Bourg des Saintes in Iles des Saintes, a collection of islands just south of Guadeloupe. There are lots of other cruising boats anchored here and many beaches, snorkeling spots and old forts to explore.

Greetings from Guadeloupe!

2008-05-08T10:03:00.002-05:00

May 8, 2008

Just a quick note since we can't use our laptop here and are unable to upload pictures. We're currently at anchor in Iles des Saintes, just south of Guadeloupe. The islands are pretty, rocky but with nice protected anchorages. The main town is very picturesque with lots of local fishing boats and small houses of all different colors. We're back in the land of baugettes and croissants. Yum!

More later.

Back in Antigua

2008-05-02T14:48:00.013-05:00

May 2, 2008

After a month in St. Martin we waved goodbye to new friends Margie, Lindsey Nikki and others as we went through the bridge at the St. Martin Yacht Club. Kristen must have been blinded by tears in her eyes, because she tried to put the main up without untying the sailties... why won't the main go up?!?

We're back in Antigua after island hopping from St. Martin to St. Barth's, St. Kitts, Nevis and then to Antigua. Today we caught the last of the races at Antigua Race Week. Yesterday on our way over we caught four (4!!) tuna! Yummy. Last nights dinenr was sashimi of tuna and tuna tartar. yummy!

Mr. Tuna Catcher!

Kit Kat gets her share of the booty.

Whisper at anchor in Dieppe Bay, St. Kitts. Absolutely gorgeous! In the background you can see Statia (St. Eustatius).

Sugar cane field in St. Kitts.

Palm trees in St. Kitts.

Kristen walks along the railroad tracks that circle St. Kitts. It is the oldest surviving railroad track in the Caribbean and was used to transport the harvested sugar cane. Now it is used to shuttle tourists around.

Some of the action from Antigua Race Week.

Swedish St. Martin

2008-04-23T14:01:00.004-05:00

April 23, 2008

So the general knowledge is that St. Martin/St. Maarten is a friendly island in the northeast Caribbean that is French on the north side and Dutch on the south side. Watch out. It is about to find itself in the throes of a Swedish invasion. Every time you turn around on this small island, you can hear someone speaking Swedish (or, "the hurly gurly" as a more fun way to refer to that northern language). It’s gotten so pervasive, that Kristen has started taking intensive Swedish lessons, convinced in her paranoia that all the laughter among the Swedes is directed at her. Not only do we have to deal with Patrick Patrick David Sophie and Hans, but there are new Swedish boats in the lagoon every day. Watch out St. Barth’s they’re scheming up a new invasion to restore the island back to its Scandinavian glory.

Once you’re able to smile and embrace the Swedish, life moves on nicely here. Our transmission is back on Whisper and attached to the engine; the dinghy is getting a new and improved patch on its hole in the air floor; the tiller is being varnished; bags are being sewn for tools; Kristen is writing more articles; etc. etc. We should be on our way south in the next few days or so. If we can tear ourselves away from the hurly gurly.

Kristen, Wendy and the Swedes packed into the back of Lindsey and Margie's van on the way to the races. Port de Plaisance Marina hosted car and 4-wheeler races this past sunday. We showed up for the entertainment and weren't disappointed. The highlight of the afternoon was the smoke shows!

David, Lindsey and Patrick making serious decisions about beer.

A neat yellow mini on display.

Watching the races.

Martin playing on the beach at sunset.

31 = 2 parties for the birthday boy!

2008-04-16T14:47:00.005-05:00

April 16, 2008

Hans is now a certified member of the 30-something crowd after celebrating his 31st birthday yesterday. He is indeed older, but the wiser component of age is still up for debate!

On Monday we had a fantastic duck dinner on Phoenix III. Gilles has been promising everyone a duck meal and it was well worth the wait and exceeded all expectations. Duck three ways with egg noodles in a cream/garlic/basil sauce; olives; salad; camembert (le rustique!); and, of course, birthday cake! It's always fun to hang out with good friends, lucky Hans got to have a fun birthday party. Thanks Jim & Wendy for the pictures.

Jim and Ivan cozy up during dinner.

Telling jokes: Carmelle, Manon and Hans.

Carmelle, Kristen and Manon before dinner.

Wendy, Kristen and Marie France.

Aaaagggh! The flames get higher every year! Thanks for the yummy cake Carmelle.

Hans laboriously removes all the candles from his cake.

The two cooks in the galley.

Kristen, Marie France and Gilles relaxing after the feast.

Last night the boatyard threw a joint birthday bash for three friends striving for membership as senior citizens - it was a non-stop party: lots of beer, wine, and food. Wow! What a spread of all types of food. The Swedes outnumbered the other nationalities and Kristen was one of only a few Americans. We have no pictures from that fiesta - perhaps a good thing!

Sailing, baguettes, camembert and liver pate: a great vacation in St. Martin

2008-04-08T15:05:00.005-05:00

April 8, 2008

Kristen’s parents are on the plane back to chilly Vermont after spending 10 days aboard Whisper in St. Martin. We all had a fun time exploring the island, eating good food and sampling the various nude beaches. As was evidenced by a previous picture, Rod really got into the spirit!

The Millers at sea!

Fed up with waiting for the winds and seas to abate, the other day we sailed around the lagoon for an hour or so, until Rod was so scared he threatened to jump overboard! We quickly anchored and poured some rum cocktails to soothe frayed nerves.

The three main reasons to love St. Martin: cheese, wine and bread.

We spent a couple days walking around Philipsburg, including a excellent lunch at an Indian restaurant and we spent more time on different beaches catching the sun. Yesterday, the winds finally blew a little less than 20 knots and the seas were 6 feet instead of 9-11, so we weighed anchor and sailed the eight miles to Tintamerre, an island off the east coast of St. Martin. The sail was fast and fun, and wet when Helen was steering and buried the cockpit winch in the ocean! Hey, we’re not racing! The beach was pristine and Rod found plenty of private places to frolic.

Rod and Hans outside the airport.

Rod checks out Tintamerre Island.

Happy Beach... very nice.

Rod keeps a lookout.

Kristen laughing.... at Rod probably.

Helen and Rod at the top of the "Witches Tit" hill, overlooking the lagoon.

The St. Martin lagoon, looking towards the French side.

Last night Jim came over for dinner and brought a very tasty pork and spinach curry. It was an early night since everyone was tired after the day’s sail and this morning we woke up refreshed and ready for a plane journey.

Jim and Rod chumming it up.

It’s always sad to say goodbye, but we all really enjoyed the 12-day visit and Helen and Rod are planning their next trip aboard Whisper.

Parents on board!

2008-04-04T11:12:00.007-05:00

April 4, 2008

Kristen’s parents, Rod & Helen, are visiting us here in St. Martin. We’ve been having a great time exploring the island together and showing them boat life. They’re inspired to join the ranks of cruisers and buy a boat and hit the high seas! Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to leave the protected lagoon since it has been blowing about 25 knots every day with 10 foot seas. Not exactly a gentle introduction to sailing. We’re hoping for better weather in the next few days so we can at least go for a day sail before they leave on Tuesday. Meanwhile, we’ve been going to beaches via the bus system, hiking in the interior of the island, walking around Marigot and spending time with friends on Merengue, Phoenix III, Taima and La Bete.

Rod and Hans were a little bit worse for the wear the morning after a one night "mancation" ashore where copious amounts of rum was consumed away from the prying eyes of Kristen and Helen...

Rod and Helen enjoy fresh, warm croissants in Marigot.

The old fort overlooking Marigot Bay.

Dinner on board is served. This night a spanish tortilla. Yum!

Last night was Gil’s 50th birthday so we had a proper raucous bash on La Bete complete with lasagna, antipasti, wine, champagne, cake and amazing cheese.

Yvonne, Gil, and Manon fight over the yummy cheese.

Marie France and birthday boy Gil.

Kit Kat has not been enjoying life as much as we have. Her cyst that developed in the Virgin Islands came back so the vet here decided the best course of action was a mastectomy. The procedure was done yesterday morning and today she is still heavily sedated, groggy, dizzy and generally pooped out.

In boat-related news: we found a Beta dealer and mechanic here in St. Martin who will fix our leaky transmission. He’ll get started next week after Kristen’s parents leave. Finally, we can stop adding transmission fluid every 20 hours. He is a new Vega owner: he just bought Voila! from our friends Alan & Felicity. It’s a small Vega world!

Hiking around the interior of the island.

Helen holds up a tamarind bean pod which we found growing on a tree during the hike. There is a really tart and sweet pulp inside of the pod which was delicious.

Rod gone wild: St. Martin

2008-03-29T10:59:00.003-05:00

March 29, 2008

Rod is already relaxing and fitting in on his first day of vacation in St. Martin.

In St. Martin

2008-03-26T10:05:00.004-05:00

March 26, 2008

After a very fast couple of days sailing we arrived in St. Martin on Monday afternoon. Kristen's parents are flying in on Thursday, so we have a couple of days to get familiar with the area and get Whisper cleaned up a little bit.

Whisper at anchor in the St. Martin lagoon. The lagoon is huge with hundreds of boats anchored everywhere.

The sail here from Antigua was very different from our slog to windward last month when we were going in the opposite direction. We left on Sunday morning for St. Barth's at 6.30 AM and averaged 5.8 knots over ground with the wind about 15-20 on the starboard quarter. We never got a single drop of water in the cockpit, and sailed with our sun awning up, reading, doing crosswords and just relaxing. Quite the contrast from the battle simulation of last month.

The next day we sailed from St. Barth's to St. Martin, 25 miles or so, which took us (gasp!) 4 hours! We were on a beam reach the whole way, with winds around 25 knots and 6 foot seas. Whisper was surfing down the waves, regularly hitting 8.5 and even 9 knots. The highest speed we saw was 10.3 knots over ground. Granted, these figures come from the GPS so they might be a little bit off, but we were definitely flying. Very exciting.

Helen and Rod, Kristen's parents, arrive tomorrow. Can't wait!

Just chillin'

2008-03-22T14:18:00.003-05:00

Footage from a very nice day spent drinking rum, lying in the hammock and swimming at the beautiful Buck Island in St. Croix.

Hitch-Hiking in Saba

2008-03-20T18:20:00.000-05:00

The way to get around in most of the islands is by hitching a ride. Sometimes it feels a little bit hairy, like this ride we got on a Daihatsu flatbed truck going up and down the "road that couldn't be built" in Saba. If you were to go over the edge, you would have several seconds to contemplate the meaning of life and your imminent departure from it as you tumble down 2000 feet of sheer rock face to the ocean.

In Antigua waiting for weather

2008-03-20T16:47:00.004-05:00

March 20, 2008

How funny that we find ourselves yet again waiting for weather, this time to go to St. Martin, 80 miles to the northwest! The tradewinds almost always blows from the east, but for the past few days we've had winds from the north, and a huge swell from the north as well, making it an unattractive option to head out for St. Martin. Just our luck that we find ourselves with the wind on the nose yet again after slogging hard to windward in a southeasterly direction to get to Antigua. I suppose all sailors know that the wind always comes from the direction you want to go.

Nice spot in the North Sound of Antigua

Bugs... the big one is a Caribbean Spiny Lobster, while the smaller one is a Spotted lobster... the spotted ones never seem to get very big, but they are much tastier.

Another nice spot in the North Sound.

Kristen with her first loaf of bread from the bbq. It was wonderful!

Thomas from a Norwegian flagged boat anchored next door puts a lobster in a pot of boiling water. Thomas are traveling with his wife Rakel and their baby son Nicolai as well as their friend Per.

In any event, we can't complain too loudly. We've been hanging out in the North Sound of Antigua, which is spectacular with beautiful light blue water, lots of coral heads for snorkeling and lobstering, and almost no other boats.

Our plan right now is to wait for the seas to lie down some and then we'll set off to St. Martin, probably on Sunday/Monday night.

the Fulmers take over Antigua

2008-03-13T12:00:00.005-05:00

March 13, 2008

We've spent the past week hanging out with friends Ellie & Chris Fulmer who came to visit from Pennsylvania. We almost circumnavigated Antigua, starting at Jolly Harbour on the west coast and ending at Dickenson Bay about 5 miles north of Jolly Harbour. The week was filled with sailing, swimming, lobster hunting and eating, the best calzone Hans has had west of the Greenwich meridian, and a few cold beers at beach bars.

Hans grilling up our first meal on the new BBQ. Thanks Hiroshi!

Chris and Hans at the helm.

Maybe this is our next sailing yacht...

United Colors of Benneton on Whisper.

WAHOOO!!

snorkeling and beer: a perfect combination.

Ellie gets the wahoo ready for the grill

Chris has to settle for Spam.

Lobster dinner anyone?

Chris and Ellie taking in the sunset off Green Island on the east coast of Antigua.

Antigua is for lovers.

Saba to Antigua via...

2008-03-07T18:25:00.007-05:00

March 7, 2008

We've been sailing! We left Saba on Monday morning and sailed to Statia, Tuesday sailed to Nevis, Wednesday sailed to Montserrat, Thursday sailed to Antigua. Phew! We arrived at Jolly Harbour Marina wet and tired, but glad to be here. Yes, we're at a marina. Luxury! Our first marina stop in a long time and it is great! Our friends Ellie & Chris arrive from the frozen north tomorrow evening and we'll start exploring Antigua with them.

Sailing to Statia (St. Eustatius) from Saba.

Nearing Statia.

The waterfront has a few hotels and restaurants and a lot of ruins from old merchant buildings. Statia used to be the hub of Caribbean trading. Now it seems to be the hub of oil! Lots of tankers and tugs in the harbour.

Images from the historical part of town in Statia.

At the top of the slave road in Statia that leads from the harbor to the main town. This is the road they used to bring slaves on when they arrived from Africa.

Sailing along the western coast of St. Kitts.

It was a squally day...we wore our foulies ALL day. Hey, isn't this supposed to be the Caribbean?!

Nearing Nevis.

A typical scene of how Kit Kat spends her time while we're underway: we lay out a blanket for her so she has something to sleep on; her food and water bowls; our bag of snacks to eat underway; and the trash bag is full of wet clothes!

When we neared Nevis, we hooked a King Fish (or a King Mackarel). We gave about 75% of the fish to fellow cruisers and still managed to get two dinners!

Sunset at Nevis. After Nevis we sailed southeast to Montserrat where we spent one night just to sleep. In Montserrat we had a our second fish meal: fish fingers. Yum! We plan on going back to Montserrat to check out the impact of the volcano on the south side of the island.

Yipee! Land ho Antigua!

We did it, we checked into a marina. SHOWERS!

Laundry was way way too expensive, so we washed all our clothes, sheets, quilts and towels by hand: first we soaked them in soapy water in trash bags on the dock, then while Hans worked on plugging up leaks on Whisper, Kristen rinsed and hung up all the laundry. it took 3 hours!

It's a bazaar on Whisper...not really, just laundry. There is no self-service laundromat here, and it costs about $25 to wash and dry a large load, we think we had about 4 loads so we opted to do it by hand. Needless to say, we generated a lot of laughs today.

We'll publish more pictures tomorrow... now it's time for dinner!

Pictures from Saba

2008-03-03T17:45:00.000-05:00

March 3, 2008

We had a great time last Saturday and Sunday exploring Saba. The island is small and spectacular. It's too bad there is no good harbour for boats though. It was pretty rough and rolly, only bearable for two nights!

Arriving in Saba.

Are we ready for this hike?

Hans checking out the view from the summit.

We saw lots of birds of paradise growing alongside the trail.

Windwardside, the more touristy of the two villages with cafes and bars.

Kristen at the peak of Mt. Scenery, the summit of Saba.

back in the day, Sabans carved steps to reach the summit. It was easier than walking along the muddy path...just hard to imagine building the 1700 foot staircase.

Kristen checking out the mossy wall.

Hiking down.

The view of the anchorage from the top. Those small white spots next to land are sailboats, including Whisper, furthest to the right!

The road leading to the harbour, lots of switchbacks.

The other village, "The Bottom" as seen from the summit.

Reflections, an Island Packet sailing to Saba from Statia.

In the Leewards!

2008-03-03T15:45:00.000-05:00

March 3, 2008

We made it!

It was a hard slog to windward from Virgin Gorda, but we made it to Saba. We left with a forecast of ENE winds around 15 knots, with 4-6 foot seas but ended up with 25+ knots with 6-10 foot seas. It was pretty wet and bumpy! For the first time, we sailed with three reefs in the main. We completed the 80 mile passage in 25 hours time with a couple of tacks to get back onto our rhumbline. In all we probably sailed more like 110 miles.

We were tired when we got to Saba, but it was worth it. The island is spectacular, with precipitous mountains and hills, picturesque villages and friendly people. We hiked up to the top of the island (about 3000 feet above sea level and a 1700 vertical feet hike from the village). When we get a better internet connection we'll post some pictures.

We're in Statia (St. Eustatius) now, and aim to be in Antigua on Friday. The winds are forecast to be ENE around 20 knots so we should have an envigorating time getting there.

More later....

Waiting for those northeasterlies

2008-02-28T12:41:00.005-05:00

February 28, 2008

Not too bad of a place to wait for weather.

We’re still hanging out in North Sound of Virgin Gorda waiting for some northeasterly winds to push us south to Saba then Antigua.

We came back from snorkeling and found this boat a mere twenty feet of our stern. The skipper came by later to explain his anchoring decisions. Apparently he dropped his anchor ahead of our bow and then fell back so he was behind us. Huh? That's a new anchoring technique if I've ever seen one. He told us to wake him up at any hour of the night and, rest assured, he had full insurance. Gee thanks. That will be really helpful when we miss our next weather window because our windvane is broken. Humph. He gave us a bottle of red wine to smooth things over...which did help. But we still don't quite understand the anchoring choice.

We set out on Tuesday morning with hopes of fair winds to sail to Saba, but they kept going southeast. Of course! Every sailor knows that the wind is always blowing from the direction you want to sail. After a couple hours, we decided it was a no-go and sailed north to Anegada instead. We spent a couple hours snorkeling the Horse Shoe Reef, a large reef (third largest in the northern hemisphere, we think) that basically separates the northern Virgin Islands from the Atlantic Ocean. The snorkeling was spectacular, some of the best we’ve seen. BUT NO LOBSTER!! We think that it is because the Horse Shoe Reef is the main commercial lobstering area for the Virgin Islands and is probably overfished, or the lobster just know where to hide.

We had a couple beers at the beach bar and were confronted by quite a few charter guests, aghast that our monohull was able to anchor is shallower water than their 40+ foot catamarans. We just smiled and hoped someone would buy us a congratulatory beer or two, but I guess they weren’t that impressed. Oh well.

The road in Anegada. Very reminiscent of the Bahamas.

Salt flats at Anegada..there were flamingos across the pond but we couldn't really see them.

It looks pretty solid...

oops..apparently not. Oh my god, the smell! What is in this croc-eating mud pit? (Hans lost both his shoes.)

Whisper at anchor in Anegada.

The next morning we awoke to find our propane supply completely depleted. We had to sail back to North Sound to get cooking gas and also find the next weather window.

A square-rigger tall ship we passed on the way into North Sound.

Hans returned from Nanny Cay on Monday night after spending a few days helping out the crew of Wakamizu: Hiroshi, Nobu and Nirai. They hit a rock north of Tortola which punched a hole in their port keel. Since Hans has spent countless hours doing epoxy work on Whisper, he offered to help them out.

Wakamizu was hauled out on Friday at Nanny Cay Marina and the damages assessed. We decided that the best thing to do was to hire a professional to deal with the structural damages to the keel, and then deal with some smaller jobs ourselves. A note to anyone contemplating yardwork in the Caribbean: it is painfully slooooooow. Two and a half hour lunch breaks are apparently OK… makes you a little bit crazy!
In any case, Hans had a great time helping out and made three great new friends in the process. Now we just have to figure out how to get to Japan to visit!
Hiroshi, Nobu and Nirai should hopefully be on their way to Aruba within a day or two, then they are off to the Panama Canal, where they cross in March, then onto the South Pacific and eventually back to Japan in December. Good luck guys, arigato, and be careful!

Hans and the crew of Wakamizu: Nobu, Hans, Hiroshi, Nirai.

The repair job on one of the bows.

Wakamizu being hauled out.

Water drains from the hollow keel.

More water in the hull.

Nirai using a snorkeling mask while cutting onions. Very resourceful, and pretty comical.

The keel repair.

Sailing from Anegada to North Sound, Virgin Gorda, BVI

2008-02-28T12:23:00.004-05:00

A short movie from the 14 mile sail south from Anegada to North Sound. Two reefs in the main, four rolls in the jib, the wind about 25 knots 60 degrees off the bow. We averaged 5.8 knots. That's right Mik!
Yours Truly,
Little Miss 5 Knots

Doing what sailors do best: waiting for weather

2008-02-22T10:55:00.004-05:00

February 22, 2008

Whisper is currently anchored off Prickly Pear Island in the North Sound of Virgin Gorda. This is a watersports playground…people are waterskiing, kitesurfing, sailing hobiecats and there are lots of boats at anchor. Hans is currently at Nanny Cay on Tortola with friends we met from Japan the other day on the catamaran Wakamizu. Both boats were sailing over to the Baths on the southern tip of Virgin Gorda when Wakamizu hit a rock and smashed a big hole in one of the keels. Yikes! Hiroshi, owner and captain, asked Hans to go with him to act as translator. Since we’re just waiting for weather, Hans agreed and Kristen is holding down hearth and home, and feeding the starving furry animal.

Our next "sailboat".

Hey, step away from the breadfruit!

Huge aloe plants (or are they yucca?) at the botanical gardens in Road Town.

Hans looking for coconuts.
As Kit Kat's ambulance made its way southwest to Soper's Hole to bring her to the vet, we stopped at a deserted, undeveloped beach on the north shore of Tortola.

Scenes from the Baths on the southern tip of Virgin Gorda. Yes, that's Whisper!

Whisper underway

2008-02-15T10:55:00.002-05:00

As we were sailing to Marina Cay yesterday, Yacht Shots BVI took some pictures of Whisper underway. While pricey to buy the prints, you can check them out at

http://www.digiproofs.com/ecom/page_view.pl?p=3ZOdbm8

If that doesn't work, try
http://www.digiproofs.com/ecom/event_view.pl?event_id=89290
and then scroll down the list until you see Whisper's name.

If you can't get it that way, try
http://www.yachtshotsbvi.com/htm/photos.htm#name4
then scroll down to Norman and Peter Island and click on "Yachts 20 jan to present"
and that will take you to the above link.