tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10463878977789935712024-03-12T21:32:37.137-03:00H a b i b i S a i l sA Swiss couple sails around the worldHabibi ♂http://www.blogger.com/profile/18167668598406789189noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-63401738305066908212014-11-29T10:13:00.001-04:002014-11-29T10:13:42.101-04:00Final flashback: Habibi's Sailing Adventure 2011-13<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's been more than a year that we pulled into Rock Hall/Maryland to end our sailing adventure of two years and to start a landlubber's life once again. In the meantime Habibi has found new owners and we are certain that they care for her as much as we did.<br />
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What remains are thousands of pictures and countless memories, good and bad. This short video is a collection of pictures we think represent our journey best. You're free to just watch it OR you can first read our brief summary below with links to the corresponding blog entries to get an idea of where we've been during those two years.<br />
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Either way, we'd like to thank all of you out there who joined and supported us on this ride. And even though we stopped cruising, we're still open for answering questions of all sorts regarding cruising.<br />
Now, kick back and enjoy the show! <br />
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Yours truly<br />
Marco & Rahel<br />
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Th<tt>e</tt> picture below shows us on our <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/10/maiden-voyage.html" target="_blank">maiden voyage</a> right after we had left the dock in Rock Hall/ Maryland back in October 2011.<br />
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It was freezing cold - after living 3 years in <b><a href="http://urech.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Dubai</a></b> definitely not the temperatures we were used to! A bit nervous and with the initial support of our friend <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/10/on-habibi-in-less-than-24h-and-already.html" target="_blank">Kris</a> we sailed down the <b>Chesapeake Bay</b>.<br />
Following the <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/11/first-two-days-on-icw.html" target="_blank">ICW</a> gave us time to get to know the boat better, finding our roles as a team and discovering a beautiful part of the US in slow motion, always joined by some<a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/11/dolphins-on-way.html" target="_blank"> dolphins</a> or <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/11/manatees-ugly-but-soo-cute.html" target="_blank">manatees</a> on the way: <b>Maryland, Virginia, <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/11/how-do-you-know-youre-in-north-carolina.html" target="_blank">North</a> & <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/11/welcome-to-south-carolina.html" target="_blank">South Carolina</a>, Georgia</b>. But we couldn't wait to reach warmer waters - What a joy when we saw the first palm trees in <b>Florida</b>!<br />
The day before we arrived in <b>Fort Lauderdale</b> we passed <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/12/over-7-bridges-you-have-to-go.html" target="_blank">22 opening bridges</a>, just insane. We pulled into a marina to do some work on the boat (installation of a <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/12/addendum-watermaker-install-cheers.html" target="_blank">water maker</a>, checking the rigging, painting the toe rails, changing the <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/12/all-ok-with-habibi.html" target="_blank">zincs</a>) and to do A LOT of shopping (marine stuff, food & drinks, first aid). Before going broke just shortly after we'd started we continued on to Key Biscayne where we waited for a weather window to <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/12/crossing-gulf-stream.html" target="_blank">cross the <b>Gulf Stream</b></a>.<br />
We reached the <b>Bahamas</b> right on <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2011/12/christmas-in-bahamas.html" target="_blank">Christmas</a> day and its beautiful clear waters <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/01/lost-in-paradise.html" target="_blank">blew us away</a> from the start. Who would have thought that we'd spend 2 months in the Bahamas alone? We met so many friendly cruisers, got introduced to cocktails on the beach, fed <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/01/piggeldy-frederick-or-pig-beach.html" target="_blank">swimming pigs</a>, Marco went fishing a lot with his buddies (and his list of weird catch started off with a <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/01/fishing-tales.html" target="_blank">shark</a>) - we just enjoyed our sailing life to the fullest.<br />
Then it definitely was time to continue on and leave the Bahamas <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/02/bye-bye-chicken-harbor.html" target="_blank">behind</a>. We fulfilled our first longer passage, a three days and nights sail to Ille a vache, <b><a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/02/haiti.html" target="_blank">Haiti</a></b>. The most beautiful and at the same time poorest place we encountered.<br />
What followed was a <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/02/from-bad-to-worse.html" target="_blank">miserable trip</a> to the <b>Dominican Republic</b> and <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/04/puerto-rico-vs-dom-rep.html" target="_blank">further</a>, which we never wanted to repeat again. It is known to be tricky to get from the US or Bahamas to the Eastern Caribbean because of the trade <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/03/wind.html" target="_blank">winds</a> that are blowing from the East - obviously you have wind and waves on the nose!<br />
But we finally made it to <b>St. Martin</b> where we bought a <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/04/finally-new-dink.html" target="_blank">new dinghy</a> and our friends <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/04/welcome-aboard.html" target="_blank">Ines & Andi</a> joined us for three weeks aboard Habibi. We sailed together to<b> <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/04/stbarth-holiday-feelings.html" target="_blank">St. Barth</a></b> where we met some lovely people and enjoyed French food. Talking about food - everyday was a culinary highlight as <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/04/few-good-reasons-not-to-have-guests-on.html" target="_blank">Andi cooked</a> delicious meals aboard even while underway! Another trip led us to <b>St. Kitts</b> and then to <b>Nevis</b> where our friends disembarked and we continued on to <b>Montserrat</b> and <b>Guadeloupe</b>.<br />
Ah, the <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/05/manger-comme-dieu-en-france.html" target="_blank">French islands</a>... We really started to love them, especially the baguette, cheese, wine, Ti punch... Ah, and Rahel learned to <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/05/personal-break-through.html" target="_blank">snorkel </a>on the beach right off "pain de sucre", a little mountain on <b>Les Saintes</b>, Guadeloupe. On the passage from <b>Martinique</b> to <b>St. Lucia</b> we encountered our <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/05/habibis-run-to-stlucia.html" target="_blank">first heavy squall</a> with winds up to 35kts and huge seas. Habibi and crew made it safely to Rodney Bay and it was like always: once we were safe at anchor or the dock everything was forgotten quickly - <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/06/almost-perfect-day.html" target="_blank">cruisers </a>have a short term memory! <br />
We then kind of hurried up on our way South as the <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/04/hurricane-season-is-approaching-fast.html" target="_blank">Hurricane season</a> was approaching fast. There was just time for brief stops in <b>Bequia</b> and<a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/06/best-of-grenadines.html" target="_blank"> <b>The Grenadines</b></a>. In the <b>Tobago Cays</b> we snorkeled and swam with some giant turtles, what an experience. On our last stop in Tyrell Bay/<b>Carriacou</b> before reaching Grenada, it happened: our <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/06/not-so-perfect-day.html" target="_blank">windlass</a> stopped working! We had once to raise the anchor chain by hand, sailed down to <b>Grenada</b> and docked in the <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/06/arrival-on-destination-for-now.html" target="_blank">Port Louis Marina</a> for a couple of weeks during Hurricane season. One major task was now to replace the <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/07/windlass-replacement-part-1-preparation.html" target="_blank">broken</a> <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/08/windlass-replacement-part-2-finishing.html" target="_blank">windlass</a>. Fortunately we had enough time... We fell in some kind of a routine: I went to the gym and yoga every other day, Marco checked out all the marine and hardware stores and together we ticked off many boat chores. Our friend <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/09/alone-again.html" target="_blank">Silvia</a> flew over all the way from Switzerland and stayed with us for three weeks. And again we met many nice people to hang out with. A special friendship started off with Carol & Alex, a couple from California. Even though we weren't big friends of "buddy boating" it just naturally happened that we did it on our <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/11/so-long-grenada.html" target="_blank">way back North</a> after the end of Hurricane season.<br />
Now we had time to explore <b><a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/12/the-grenadines-culinary-flight.html" target="_blank">The Grenadines</a></b>, and had for the first time our anchor drifting in <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/11/sleepless-in-paradise.html" target="_blank">Clifton</a>/<b>Union Island</b> - of course it was pitch dark, raining cats and dogs and the anchorage was super crowded - again we were lucky and nothing got damaged and nobody hurt. We then spent quite some time in <b><a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/11/stuck-in-bequia.html" target="_blank">Bequia</a></b>, a beautiful place. In <b><a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/12/were-on-holiday.html" target="_blank">Martinique</a></b> we rented a car with our friends, toured the island and ate more delicious food.<br />
Our next trip led us to <b><a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2012/12/enchanted.html" target="_blank">Dominica</a></b>. A place we really loved. It represents the imagination of a Caribbean island, it's almost untouched by tourism, lush and green. The people are very proud of and love their island even though they don't have much. We spent much <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2013/01/time-to-say-goodbye.html" target="_blank">more time</a> there as initially planned - sounds familiar?<br />
Then we spent some time in <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2013/01/hiking-deshaies-river.html" target="_blank">Pointe-à-Pitre</a>, the largest city of <b>Guadeloupe</b>. From pure nature to a more urban place. We toured the island again with our friends and enjoyed the beautiful vistas. Soon it was time to head towards <b>Antigua</b>, where we welcomed our friend Nigel. He had flown over from Dubai via London, just to visit us for a couple of days! And even though he isn't a boat person he was of course as impressed as we were to see all the big yachts assembled in Falmouth and English Harbour, among them the Maltese Falcon, the third biggest sailing yacht in the world. We then sailed over together to <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2013/02/picture-postcard-beach.html" target="_blank">Jolly Harbour</a> where we marveled at the most turquoise water we had seen so far. Too soon it was time to say goodbye and we headed on to Simpson Bay Lagoon/<b><a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2013/02/stmaarten-vs-stmartin.html" target="_blank">Sint Maarten</a></b>. As it was very windy we used the time to do some work on the boat, shopping and paying Maho Beach a visit. Through its proximity to the airport it is very popular to watch arriving airliners on their final approach flying over the beach at minimal altitude. We left the lagoon just before the Heineken Regatta started and sailed the short leg to <b><a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2013/04/anguilla-with-ze-germans.html" target="_blank">Anguilla</a></b>. Our friends Diana and Jörn insisted to meet there and we didn't regret it. They showed us around, we tasted delicious crayfish, had a sundowner at Elvis and listened to some live music at the Banks Estate. We could have stayed much longer... But a weather window for the passage to the <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2013/04/bvis-in-30-days.html" target="_blank"><b>BVI</b>'</a>s just opened up and we took the chance. We spent 30 days in the BVI's, most of that time we cruised together with Rahel's sister Claudia and her boyfriend Gregor aboard Habibi. It is the perfect place to introduce someone to sailing as the distances are short and the sea state isn't usually a problem as you can always sail in the lee of an island. We did a lot of sailing, snorkeling and exploring. And when it was time for our guests to leave, dropping them off was very convenient: the anchorage of Trellis Bay is right in front of the airport on Beef Island/Tortola. Our next stop was St. John/<b>US Virgin Islands</b>. The Americans really do a great job there in preserving the coral reefs as more than half of the island is a National Park. Charlotte Amalie on Saint Thomas felt like the opposite with all the cruise ships and tourists in town. In <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2013/05/blows-blasts-in-spanish-virgin-islands.html" target="_blank">Culebra</a>, which is part of the <b>Spanish Virgin Islands</b>, we welcomed Marco's brother Serge aboard. At the Dinghy Dock Bar & Restaurant we met Bill who was working behind the bar. He was a quite experienced sailor, who knew the area pretty well and could give us many valuable tips. Somehow he was responsible on how we decided to continue the next stretch of our trip. We set over to <b>Puerto Rico</b>, where we dropped off Serge and started our preparations for our longest offshore trip so far: <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2013/05/900nm-ahead.html" target="_blank">900nm </a>to Bermuda! It's a <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2013/05/bermuda-trip-update.html" target="_blank">trip </a>we'll never forget... It took us six days to get there. Most of the time we sailed in the middle of a LO, which meant high winds and seas and many squalls. But we made it safely to <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2013/05/bermuda-little-paradise.html" target="_blank"><b>Bermuda</b>, a little paradise</a> in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. There we reunited with our lovely German friends Hugo & Sybille. After some explorations of the island together they set off for their crossing of the Atlantic and return to Europe. We left for Newport, another offshore trip of roughly 700nm which took us 5 days. It was a rather pleasant trip, except that we got <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2013/06/caught-in-warm-eddy.html" target="_blank">caught in a warm eddy</a>! On our arrival in June in <b>Newport</b> <b>RI</b> summer wasn't there yet and some cold and foggy weather awaited us. But when Bill sailed into the harbor shortly after with his friend Dave <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2013/06/newport-sucks-really.html" target="_blank">the fun started</a> and we spent our time in good company! We met Bill's friend Durbin and his lovely wife Ludi who showed us around town. After we <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2013/06/sailing-new-england.html" target="_blank">sailed <b>New England</b></a> a bit, Bill and Dave convinced us to come to <b><a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2013/11/flashback-how-we-ended-up-on-block.html" target="_blank">Block Island</a></b>, where we were received cordially and felt at home immediately!<br />
But one day we had to say goodbye and continued our trip to Long Island Sound. We could have spent much more time in these waters... A highlight of our whole trip was then to <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2014/01/flashback-biting-through-big-apple.html" target="_blank">sail down the East River</a>, past the skyline of <b>New York City</b> and the Statue of Liberty - which also marked the end of our adventure.<br />
Shortly after we docked Habibi again in <b>Rock Hall</b>/Maryland and prepared her for her next owners who hopefully will spend at least as many pleasant hours on her as we did... <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">July 2013: back in Rock Hall after almost 2 years of sailing</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-29722878409838809542014-02-02T10:35:00.000-04:002014-02-02T10:37:22.502-04:00Flashback: hot, humid and calm - our last stretch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Habibi entering the C&D Canal</td></tr>
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After winning the battle against the stinging flies (and the Coast Guard - but that's another story...) in the Delaware Bay we faced our very last anchoring maneuver behind <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reedy_Island" target="_blank">Reedy Island</a> in the Delaware River.<br />
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I was a bit nervous behind the helm as in order to reach the anchorage
you have to pass through a gap in a dyke. And if this wasn't enough fun,
the gap was quite narrow, the dyke submerged and on top of that the
current ran with around 2.5 knots! Thinking of our friends Chris and
Steve on <a href="http://blog.mailasail.com/scott-free/344" target="_blank">Scott-Free </a>who'd
successfully done it before I pulled myself together, gave full
throttle and steered Habibi through the gap without any problems. But
the challenge wasn't over yet... we had to drop anchor in a racing
current! Luckily there was no other boat in the anchorage and we had
plenty of room to maneuver. Having done that, we had to make sure the
anchor was well set as the current would change at some point during the
night and turn the boat in the opposite direction. All went well and we
spent a quiet last night at anchor.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE GAP (photo credit by "<a href="http://cruisinwithjohndeb.blogspot.ch/2012/05/chesapeake-city-to-c-canal-delaware-bay.html" target="_blank">Cruisin' with John and Deb</a><a href="http://cruisinwithjohndeb.blogspot.ch/2012/05/chesapeake-city-to-c-canal-delaware-bay.html" target="_blank"></a>" blogspot)</td></tr>
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The next morning we raised the anchor at the first light, slipped
through THE GAP into the Delaware River and headed North for about four
miles.<br />
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Then we turned West into the C&D (Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal. Once again we had calculated the tide right and were slightly pushed through the 14 miles of water towards the Chesapeake Bay. Where was everybody?! Also here we didn't encounter a single boat. It was so calm - the water was like a mirror.<br />
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Being middle of July with the sun rising the temperatures did rise too. We saw many diseased fish floating by and wondered if this had anything to do with the high water temperatures? The water isn't very deep and is therefore able to heat up quickly.<br />
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Approaching the end of the C&D Canal and entering the Chesapeake Bay we started to pass a few boats heading the other direction. We guessed it was more the time to head North than South as we did.<br />
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It was so dead calm we didn't bother to pull out a sail and motored all the way. And we even opened the hatches what we usually never did while underway. But as there was no wind and no waves there was no chance water would splash over the deck. It was even safe to sit in the cockpit with the laptop on the knees...<br />
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We were actually a bit disappointed - this was supposed to be our last sailing trip and there was no "sailing" at all! <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-91013947996715558312014-01-28T17:31:00.000-04:002014-01-28T17:33:53.857-04:00Flashback: Battle of Habibi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We experienced a more or less uneventful sail from New York down South towards the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay" target="_blank">Chesapeake Bay</a> area - well, we managed to escape a few squalls and not to pick up one of the numerous lobster pots on the way. Ah, and a school of dolphins accompanied us for a while...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBpbGFXoSI8YW6dyprHyRACpxGCHvr194WVvnZPDHvFOgvGLGjYuJzFdCkK0MP0UAnGqwJ7h6n4dIEQ82tY5SihZUaw1JmxNPsX-Enx_43VYGdsBd6DnWxdvIac06XB8CAKi5-xajnbJm/s1600/_MG_9628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBpbGFXoSI8YW6dyprHyRACpxGCHvr194WVvnZPDHvFOgvGLGjYuJzFdCkK0MP0UAnGqwJ7h6n4dIEQ82tY5SihZUaw1JmxNPsX-Enx_43VYGdsBd6DnWxdvIac06XB8CAKi5-xajnbJm/s1600/_MG_9628.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">calm conditions</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmx9mSNt8OzowfnfCxM4Is9SyU4JujvRZa4TwNJmjgXi23qW0cvgchw5Wcy9yPoP-aKILdQzb60SQi_ck6syZbTqqL2ZmEbDEKYV74w3vrorsQTW2_dpDNNsfpelY9P2zLcXYl10vg6QX-/s1600/_MG_9634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmx9mSNt8OzowfnfCxM4Is9SyU4JujvRZa4TwNJmjgXi23qW0cvgchw5Wcy9yPoP-aKILdQzb60SQi_ck6syZbTqqL2ZmEbDEKYV74w3vrorsQTW2_dpDNNsfpelY9P2zLcXYl10vg6QX-/s1600/_MG_9634.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">school of dolphins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
When entering the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_Bay" target="_blank">Delaware Bay</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_river" target="_blank"></a> we encountered a well
known phenomena (which, truth be told, had nothing to do with our shower intervals!):
all of a sudden sting flies, hundreds of them, circled the boat!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcEHmg56Vkv6i0h6_FXIAZ5n-vGwrPQUFoAdAowWZqmHJtweugYwkGaQozvFJqA3Jt0Q-o-Xxrfn39KCBenHhhymSo-p9JfQ7-BffpiCM3LPUxJrc6Z1Sokge9SbGI7TP46VeVPsEF-XXM/s1600/_MG_9689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcEHmg56Vkv6i0h6_FXIAZ5n-vGwrPQUFoAdAowWZqmHJtweugYwkGaQozvFJqA3Jt0Q-o-Xxrfn39KCBenHhhymSo-p9JfQ7-BffpiCM3LPUxJrc6Z1Sokge9SbGI7TP46VeVPsEF-XXM/s1600/_MG_9689.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this fly looks innocent, but imagine hundreds of them - stinging!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29yab4wqI4DTTeOKaVVGFtEot49I7YDo_FjifX928eNWmvzpD2tkxQVLJBjn4cXC2NjwE1Z6U57oeHfXsJGdrK51Fn5n1nOtuTpZBAe7OvntZFitsjfNRjz9eiI325nBFXKcwRDuUnOsB/s1600/_MG_9705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29yab4wqI4DTTeOKaVVGFtEot49I7YDo_FjifX928eNWmvzpD2tkxQVLJBjn4cXC2NjwE1Z6U57oeHfXsJGdrK51Fn5n1nOtuTpZBAe7OvntZFitsjfNRjz9eiI325nBFXKcwRDuUnOsB/s1600/_MG_9705.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marco with the license to kill - a losing game...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnb4D4CTNMRohcfYcEgqEZ6kgk0rr12993ca0XwYi8gfwBCP5ontSpvzAZmYXnVcBKz_aM4VGEpAhObjFHvpdvpZsHpWFVHgsRU1c2toR-vdPVwQQ6kFPQux7jK66GEe8IbtGaGFay_mV/s1600/IMG_9747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnb4D4CTNMRohcfYcEgqEZ6kgk0rr12993ca0XwYi8gfwBCP5ontSpvzAZmYXnVcBKz_aM4VGEpAhObjFHvpdvpZsHpWFVHgsRU1c2toR-vdPVwQQ6kFPQux7jK66GEe8IbtGaGFay_mV/s1600/IMG_9747.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we tried everything</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
And even though the ground forces
fought hard and killed dozens of them, relief came finally from the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odonata" target="_blank"> Odonatas</a> (we called them thankfully our little <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitfire" target="_blank">Spitfires</a>). We had up
to 10 of them in monster sizes flying in and out of the cockpit to kill as
many intruders they could get!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVp-p7KLn8LzpyHqd0xrbORMrLc2A3-RxVDbbIyGi2yWpGvCSErakO5n8sJX5EDKuf4LOs14r1ThX4Tz32_EgbK8sE51z5Z857KiLX8LQ3RN_QANKvEs_o8Sz2HYrV_OjgDHdiTSHjOk6X/s1600/_MG_9778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVp-p7KLn8LzpyHqd0xrbORMrLc2A3-RxVDbbIyGi2yWpGvCSErakO5n8sJX5EDKuf4LOs14r1ThX4Tz32_EgbK8sE51z5Z857KiLX8LQ3RN_QANKvEs_o8Sz2HYrV_OjgDHdiTSHjOk6X/s1600/_MG_9778.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">an ordonata attacking and...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnjFdBMM6S1rOKs7jV55hRxogeJlyGl1-W0lxw0tRRunVb2L3XGt6GQK58vrwnu2tSoeZtLQZ5IVZdEiRfil8OGKLokm7bakMPpWa8kqZB9e4WneEzEoZUm0Ryxjk1p_9d2q07kXD4Ax4/s1600/_MG_9727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnjFdBMM6S1rOKs7jV55hRxogeJlyGl1-W0lxw0tRRunVb2L3XGt6GQK58vrwnu2tSoeZtLQZ5IVZdEiRfil8OGKLokm7bakMPpWa8kqZB9e4WneEzEoZUm0Ryxjk1p_9d2q07kXD4Ax4/s1600/_MG_9727.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...eating our enemy </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyNY1UG4HeQY56V1l8QPM2c2CwYBc09SogmWJlzejq-yewndWFRLSVFh7q-kmf2U_20d61_-6JHO3Hw1IiQfm-JR3N0zlNDBOMZ08WJsvrGQwle_PTD8pxppzA1aFYUjXyeTc5v8Iqdj9/s1600/_MG_9695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyNY1UG4HeQY56V1l8QPM2c2CwYBc09SogmWJlzejq-yewndWFRLSVFh7q-kmf2U_20d61_-6JHO3Hw1IiQfm-JR3N0zlNDBOMZ08WJsvrGQwle_PTD8pxppzA1aFYUjXyeTc5v8Iqdj9/s1600/_MG_9695.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">an oversized dragonfly</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDifs2J4YuMdYz5grQviIXL-bjpZYUufh_8Yn8XsHY0A_ex6TMvPQWv63TGibyCRgOzWaMhkGdBeJlh6ANbOicgeN6aehsCJJKg4BTgvvcQAdsQnJynsAFXzqIEnnGh3azT2qIg5hJaW0G/s1600/_MG_9767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDifs2J4YuMdYz5grQviIXL-bjpZYUufh_8Yn8XsHY0A_ex6TMvPQWv63TGibyCRgOzWaMhkGdBeJlh6ANbOicgeN6aehsCJJKg4BTgvvcQAdsQnJynsAFXzqIEnnGh3azT2qIg5hJaW0G/s1600/_MG_9767.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beautiful creatures</td></tr>
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And all of a sudden the flies disappeared as quickly as they had shown up - and with them our knights in shining armor. Thanks nature for sending us help to win this battle!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-49071880273924752102014-01-12T13:03:00.000-04:002014-01-12T13:03:56.216-04:00Flashback: biting through the big apple<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I guess everyone has some sort of a bucket list. A list with things one wishes to do, see, accomplish during his/her life. Marco already could tick one thing off of his list:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>buying a boat and going sailing for an extended period of time. </li>
</ul>
And now there was something else, it could be combined with: <br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>sailing to and through New York City!</li>
</ul>
After Block Island we had to decide if we either sail directly to the Chesapeake Bay - an offshore passage that would bring us faster to our final destination in Maryland. But we would miss Long Island Sound and more importantly New York City. After some consideration we decided to take the longer route through Long Island Sound. Yes, we actually had to rush because of our ill family member but it looked like we could risk to make a detour to fulfill a long-term dream! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyPMO8FP46VcKg5pdagDtk3gbcl_nPy8A3rk9C_ffHaRVYTrr7K4lPYDDMQVxNz62GtG1g3UCv0VLiZCMoXe-UQ1c49tb-rfQOLHlWjEMZeqlfHNIR0tzgbC7QcHs5XUDnhjK8ekKphzB/s1600/lois.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyPMO8FP46VcKg5pdagDtk3gbcl_nPy8A3rk9C_ffHaRVYTrr7K4lPYDDMQVxNz62GtG1g3UCv0VLiZCMoXe-UQ1c49tb-rfQOLHlWjEMZeqlfHNIR0tzgbC7QcHs5XUDnhjK8ekKphzB/s400/lois.jpg" height="220" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Block Island (to the right) we sailed through Long Island Sound to NYC (to the left)</td></tr>
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And we quickly understood why this waters are so popular among sailors. It reminded us of sailing on our "home lake" Lake of Constance back in Switzerland. There are countless nice spots to point your bow at just within reach of a couple of hours sailing in perfect conditions.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Habibi on anchor in Oyster Bay</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">calm conditions on Long Island Sound</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvDgPaGrb8sjzziPG8if8tnx2GDw9YfAstfswrqOEPWXMjo6Q2fAjhwIzLedDgPzBmQ0LP1pJXHEA3ZiLZKjwbWjcIl5s-TSSAVF_Hbny8O8VvKnPsjdlTLrBdF_3w0jxUUwRptIB_IiO/s1600/_MG_8672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvDgPaGrb8sjzziPG8if8tnx2GDw9YfAstfswrqOEPWXMjo6Q2fAjhwIzLedDgPzBmQ0LP1pJXHEA3ZiLZKjwbWjcIl5s-TSSAVF_Hbny8O8VvKnPsjdlTLrBdF_3w0jxUUwRptIB_IiO/s320/_MG_8672.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beautiful wooden boats everywhere we went</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjthTp6E_oXWj4P4Rta39P98eamybYnmLPZjSqEX34keV7p_BYAcI9XKSIt5jkHnV7YrePE31asuUIfC2fZRmJjjSlUilAb3NDRCfwiCZKUxZCfvmkeQmqAlZ8cRJ0irx0qRx2aOuPAku8-/s1600/_MG_8725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjthTp6E_oXWj4P4Rta39P98eamybYnmLPZjSqEX34keV7p_BYAcI9XKSIt5jkHnV7YrePE31asuUIfC2fZRmJjjSlUilAb3NDRCfwiCZKUxZCfvmkeQmqAlZ8cRJ0irx0qRx2aOuPAku8-/s320/_MG_8725.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">first sight of the Big Apple</td></tr>
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Due to lack of time we just hopped along the Northern shore of Long Island, NY and unfortunately missed the coast of Connecticut altogether. First place to drop the hook was in Three Miles Harbor, a huge and protected anchorage just a view miles away from the famous Hamptons and Sag Harbor. We stayed there till the day after 4th of July and what usually ends up with lots of boats battling for a nice anchor spot and noise all night long happened to be the most peaceful place on earth!<br />
We quickly made our way West, with short stops in Port Jefferson (much more boats there!), Oyster Bay (also very nice anchorage but very sleepy town) and finally in Port Washington where we took one of the town moorings, that are 48h for free and after that cost USD 25 including complimentary launch service. It's a safe place to leave the boat while exploring NYC (there's a train station a 20min walk into town) AND it's perfect to time the passage through the East River!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRJ6wvMfAABmtdz9c0qCByKZJMLernnUnL2401i78rYs8NLI2mpuxTS9lI9bNyNCDimW3moEAYcyFUQP2cT_St-OrKHQ5azFUyj24N2UjJrZGsTTyCHUDB4TvJlh2piEeQhrDaWpFzzox/s1600/nyc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRJ6wvMfAABmtdz9c0qCByKZJMLernnUnL2401i78rYs8NLI2mpuxTS9lI9bNyNCDimW3moEAYcyFUQP2cT_St-OrKHQ5azFUyj24N2UjJrZGsTTyCHUDB4TvJlh2piEeQhrDaWpFzzox/s1600/nyc.jpg" height="222" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From A we sailed first West and then down South on the East River to Battery Park in Lower Manhattan </td></tr>
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So, what's the deal with this East River and timing it right? According to our sailing guides the East River isn't a river! It's actually a tidal strait, connecting Upper New York Bay with Long Island Sound. And as we mentioned in a previous <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ae/2013/06/sailing-new-england.html" target="_blank">post</a> one thing we had to learn in this waters was to check the tides and currents - and the East River has some very strong current flows that can reach up to 7 knots (cruising speed on our sailboat is max 6 knots)! Just imagine you've got that mess against you... So the plan was to have the current WITH us. There is one spot which needs utmost attention in this planning process (and the name says it all): HELL GATE. It marks somehow the middle of the East River with the strongest tidal current, heavy swirls and boils, a channel dog leg in a narrow section of the river and heavy commercial traffic. In other words: we wanted to time our passage just right!<br />
<br />
Off we went to dig our noses into our guides and tidal current tables and decided to time our passage as follows:<br />
To have a fair current all the way we checked the time of <i>1. "Slack Water – Ebb Begins"</i> at Hell Gate (The tidal current floods North & East and Ebbs South & West in the East River) and <i>2. "High Tide" </i>at the Battery<i>.</i><br />
On our designated travel day, 14th July 2013, No. 1 was at 14.51, and No. 2 at 12.24. We untied the mooring lines in Port Washington at 12.50 with the intention to shoot for slack water or starting Ebb at Hell Gate.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYDCHsoOCtN_EGEpNL3kKXKfFDho6KsVFQ3Q89v4hCwEK81KY4q2nX5_RBLXQe82Wxz2nGPS-noiAqyKfaT_MgQyDUHpsnNPUVyoH-1v9EoiwlBPc5lZ7HJrJi0OZhbN-Gd9nOk8xYJZP/s1600/_MG_9259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYDCHsoOCtN_EGEpNL3kKXKfFDho6KsVFQ3Q89v4hCwEK81KY4q2nX5_RBLXQe82Wxz2nGPS-noiAqyKfaT_MgQyDUHpsnNPUVyoH-1v9EoiwlBPc5lZ7HJrJi0OZhbN-Gd9nOk8xYJZP/s1600/_MG_9259.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Throgs Neck Bridge - First of many</td></tr>
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It was a very hot day with almost no breeze. As we did this passage the first time we were a bit nervous and motor-sailed the first stretch. When it got more busy and tight we decided to roll in the sails and to just use the engine. I think we were lucky to travel on a Sunday as we didn't see too many commercial vessels passing by. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AhoLB_qnk4le1g2_wdNFTo_5qlOaN4MRTHj1thdN8gAlWupTozoV6uFu5nLvTd0oLOptRcAFv0wfelWCk8hu78IZnNqRBTeAkww2BKqyTGH9uu6UdM5hzbIHBJNBESQ3V2IwRz7FM0OW/s1600/_MG_9284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AhoLB_qnk4le1g2_wdNFTo_5qlOaN4MRTHj1thdN8gAlWupTozoV6uFu5nLvTd0oLOptRcAFv0wfelWCk8hu78IZnNqRBTeAkww2BKqyTGH9uu6UdM5hzbIHBJNBESQ3V2IwRz7FM0OW/s320/_MG_9284.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">all in one: tug boat, airplane, crazy motor-yacht captain</td></tr>
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Then Hell Gate came into sight and it looked like we'd timed it just right. When we passed the legendary spot we just saw the water bubbling a little bit and the current kicked right in - flowing WITH us. Phew...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">approaching Hell Gate</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">just a few bubbles...</td></tr>
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We were relieved and started to enjoy the ride past Upper East Side, Ed Queensboro Bridge with the Roosevelt Island aerial Tramway, the U.N. Headquarter and the Empire State Building.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain on the helm while the Admiral was taking pictures</td></tr>
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Between Williamsburg and Brookly Bridge we were flying! Our SOG (Speed over Ground) hit 9.4 knots which means the strongest current we had was approximately 3.4 knots. <br />
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Around the Battery it got a bit more busy and choppy because of the water taxis, ferries, Cruise Ships and weekend traffic. <br />
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But soon we were past all that and threw a last glimpse at the skyline of New York City.</div>
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But one last highlight was still waiting for us - The Statue of Liberty, standing proud on Liberty Island!</div>
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Bye bye New York!</div>
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The trip through the Narrows down to Sandy Hook where we dropped the anchor for the night was almost a piece of cake - a quiet, uneventful sail on a calm and hot summer day.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-20839524684960466492013-11-28T04:14:00.000-04:002013-11-28T04:14:13.024-04:00Flashback: How we ended up on Block Island<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">shape of Block Island: locals call it a "pork chop" </td></tr>
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It was mid-April in Culebra/Puerto Rico when we met Bill (an American cruising bartender with Irish roots, we mentioned him already in this former <a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.ch/2013/06/newport-sucks-really.html" target="_blank">post</a>) on the "Dinghy Dock Bar & Restaurant" where he was working on the weekends. His opinion, besides that of others, was an important factor in our decision making process on how to proceed with our sailing route after the Caribbean. To make a long story short: he is a little bit to "blame" that we ended up in Bermuda, New England and especially on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_Island" target="_blank">Block Island, RI</a>.<br />
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We all have a certain picture in mind when we hear "Bermuda" - sup-tropical climate, turquoise water, offshore companies, Bermuda triangle etc. But what's the picture when you hear "Block Island"? To be honest I'd never heard of it before. Bill already had raved about Bermuda's beauty and it turned out that he was right.<br />
So we simply decided to trust him and his friend Dave as they highly praised "their" Block Island... and got a very warm welcome!<br />
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Before we even caught a glimpse of Block Island we had to fight our way through hundreds of sailing vessels that were participating in a race - very common during the season as we learnt later. The famous "<a href="http://www.blockislandraceweek.com/" target="_blank">Block Island Race Week</a>" would have their 25th Anniversary just a week after our arrival. <br />
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According to our friends' advice we called them once entering Great Salt Pond, a big anchorage and perfect refuge for any boater, and they guided us to a mooring ball where we could tie up to (the picture below shows our view).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that was before Race Week, during and after boats were tied to every mooring ball you can see</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">withing minutes it could also look like this - FOG!</td></tr>
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You have to know that in comparison to the Caribbean the docking and mooring prices in the US, especially in the New England and New York area, are ridiculously expensive.<br />
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We.never.paid.a.cent!</div>
No, the opposite happened. When the anchorage filled up with boats for the Race Week we had to leave our mooring. Immediately a plan was concocted and we could move over to Dave's private mooring (which he easily could have rented out for big money). And if this was not enough we got invited wherever we went. Our first stop was - of course - "Payne's Dock" the bar Bill worked in since many years.<br />
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A gathering point during Happy Hour we met old and made new friends. The fact that we were one of the only two foreign flagged boats on the whole island and had sailed there from Bermuda served to fuel discussions. I remember one story very clearly: We got introduced to Jim. Our friends suggested to us to go on an island tour with him. You must know - on our journey through the Caribbean we got countless offers for an island tour and the prices could be very variable. So our reaction was a bit reluctant... But our friends kept pushing us until we gave in. So we walked with Jim to his car. We expected there would be a minivan waiting for us. But then slowly we started to realize that it was Jim's private car and that he wasn't actually a tour guide. Jim was just a very friendly and open-minded guy! During the next hour he drove us over the tiny island, showed us hidden spots and explained what celebrities used to or still live there. It was overwhelming, really.<br />
Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of Jim. But he showed us a very special memory he was carrying around in his wallet since many years: it shows him as a little boy with his dog, a German shepherd.<br />
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We spent some very relaxed days, explored the island, bought some fruits and veggies on a farmers market, met friends, Marco went sailing with Bill on his little "Sailfish", a sailing dinghy.<br />
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Block Island actually attracts thousands of tourists during the summer months. The temperatures are lower than on the mainland and they also call it "Bermuda of the North". It's a summer oasis just 150 Miles from New York City. A perfect getaway with great beaches, bars, restaurants, biking, hiking, diving, swimming, surfing and some of the best fishing. And even if it attracts a crowd the island still feels unspoiled. What we found very interesting was the fact that many students from Europe and beyond worked in groceries, restaurants or hotels. They came from Albania, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and so on. <br />
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During the time we stayed there it was still shortly before high season, quite chilly and we didn't even dip our toes into the sea. Every year our friend Durbin and his lovely wife Ludi spend 1 - 2 weeks of their holidays on Block Island and Marco got some first hand fishing advice from the expert.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Durbin explaining the fish to catch in the area</td></tr>
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Marco is usually not a morning person, but in this case he got up one morning at 2 or 3am (I was still sleeping, so I don't know exactly...) and went to the spot Durbin had advised him to. And he came back at sunrise with a nice catch: Stripped Bass, a very delicious fish!<br />
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And last but not least I want to mention one person especially. Dave, who was joining Bill on his sailing trip from Bermuda to Newport. He calls Block Island his home, has lived there for many years. He really grew on us the more time we spent together. Marco and Dave could talk politics for hours as they never agreed on the others opinion. He brought us gifts and paid countless rounds on Happy Hour. Simply - he was there for us when needed.<br />
This of course applies for so many people we've met on Block Island. So there goes a big THANK YOU out to the lovely folks we had the privilege of meeting while we stayed there!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SLG0kNG7tLTX24Q4tHUwj462alJ08MPhdEnufwmXfhl9rYIUCcsmqV3_YQRLUKHC6kWsOnCfGKVfYXwmEOL4DI2KF-wgmScykdBPQw_M_oAIsHWwl_tMfdxw2A0lTKVZ6FLQM1IHTqwf/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SLG0kNG7tLTX24Q4tHUwj462alJ08MPhdEnufwmXfhl9rYIUCcsmqV3_YQRLUKHC6kWsOnCfGKVfYXwmEOL4DI2KF-wgmScykdBPQw_M_oAIsHWwl_tMfdxw2A0lTKVZ6FLQM1IHTqwf/s320/photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rahel & Dave</td></tr>
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And Bill, this counts for you as well even though not fully deserved... He sent me the picture above with the title "Fetti" - making fun of my English pronunciation of "Fatty" ;-))<br />
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When we finally "untied the mooring lines" we did it with a feeling like leaving our home and family. Block Island will always have a special place in our hearts and we hope to go back there one day...<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-17763857867844238752013-08-29T08:08:00.000-03:002013-08-29T09:25:20.268-03:00changes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Habibi's last trip started early in the morning </td></tr>
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<br />
Dear blog follower<br />
<br />
We went silent - on our blog and facebook. Of course there's a reason and we are finally able to share it with you. Here you go:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>We stopped cruising and just put our beloved IP 380 "Habibi" up for sale!</b><br />
(Find the link <a href="http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2003/Island-Packet-380-2639213/Rock-Hall/MD/United-States#.Uh8qJj83VUY" target="_blank">here</a> and please feel free to share it and spread the word<b>)</b></div>
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It wasn't a decision we've made from one day to the next and we can assure you it wasn't an easy one.<br />
We are so very grateful that we had the chance to fulfill our dream of sailing - well, it was Marcos dream in the first place until I came to value it. Those almost two years of cruising taught us invaluable lessons for life.<br />
<br />
While underway we met colorful people and made wonderful friendships, got to know different cultures, their food and way of living, experienced countless breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, learned to respect mother nature and its power. More than once we faced difficult situations, struggled with our abilities, reached our limits - and thanks God always managed to get by.<br />
<br />
We learned a lot about ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses and how to complement one another. We both had our tasks and therefore shared responsibility. Marco developed unbelievably advanced technical and sailing skills while I lost my fear of the sea (but not the respect), took over the helm and was responsible for the route planning and weather forecasting.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rahel is enjoying the perfect weather on Long Island Sound</td></tr>
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In other words: we might look the same but this journey had a considerable impact on us - we think in a positive way.<br />
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And now we are on the way to start a landlubber life again. Marco awaits a new challenge: he's gotten the opportunity to go back to Dubai and resume work for his former employer in a very interesting position.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marco already in working mode...</td></tr>
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There are still stories and pictures we'd like to share but didn't have time for. We will be posting them soon. Stay tuned - the adventure isn't over yet!<br />
<br />
Yours<br />
Marco & Rahel</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-82535721689171269432013-07-19T10:26:00.000-03:002013-07-19T10:27:39.912-03:00Dear Friends,<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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You
may have wondered why we didn't update our blog and Facebook as usual.
We learned a few weeks ago that one of our beloved family members fell
seriously ill. In the meantime the situation worsened dramatically.
Therefore we shortened our trip and Rahel is flying back home to
Switzerland within the next few days. Once the situation is clearer we
will update you on our next plans.</div>
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<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
Rahel & Marco</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-81703230085298353682013-06-19T13:28:00.001-03:002013-06-19T13:28:36.988-03:00Sailing New England<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The light and fog horn at the entrance to Newport</td></tr>
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<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
Just
a brief update. We're still cruising New England (currently in Block Island) and we're in love with
it, even if it comes with a few sailing challenges that we have to get used to. </div>
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First
of all, this coast has much more tide than we ever experienced before.
The changing water level is not a problem, what makes it new to us is
the current. All the time the tide changes, the water flows in or out
into the Atlantic. Therfore you may have current with or against you.
Some spots are known to have almost as much current as we can run using our engine. Just imagine, you go full throttle just to realize that you're standing
still. So additionally to watching wind and sea state we have to time
departure and arrival according to the tide as well. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VukLAvsE7yWXQqBNZd8qROwpB-b7xIkFEOM5gZ3XS26cwOMjGS-kvuFePwDswBVelNxoeyOvF8Toy63Yp1QHmLhmd-0RQGU5gcqAjwcTh9EizG0qIcTz_fpcDF8b8wL9OWWXgGfNFodh/s1600/_MG_8271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VukLAvsE7yWXQqBNZd8qROwpB-b7xIkFEOM5gZ3XS26cwOMjGS-kvuFePwDswBVelNxoeyOvF8Toy63Yp1QHmLhmd-0RQGU5gcqAjwcTh9EizG0qIcTz_fpcDF8b8wL9OWWXgGfNFodh/s320/_MG_8271.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our "bible" while sailing this area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
As
you may also know lobster is the catch over here - everywhere! Which means the very
infamous buoys for the lobster pots are waiting all over the place to
catch your propeller. And did I mention it can as well get foggy - within minutes? <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqxNialpArVAkpTqdR0wba0FxdIkLd5cYSHywo8bmpXq0yTK8X-sxhlXZrqrN2_Ss9nYb_IYchuyBL0AQmHjgWWQ78Upngu-ov_XsdFwUzrURoEdmtJ_EihuA5yRKfe0-zhSoUK6yZq9e/s1600/_MG_8170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqxNialpArVAkpTqdR0wba0FxdIkLd5cYSHywo8bmpXq0yTK8X-sxhlXZrqrN2_Ss9nYb_IYchuyBL0AQmHjgWWQ78Upngu-ov_XsdFwUzrURoEdmtJ_EihuA5yRKfe0-zhSoUK6yZq9e/s320/_MG_8170.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on this buoy a lobster pot is attached</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpu5ljoRRWx9RVNI29M4L7Pr2toAIv1nI30asII_mqYMP65bmAAez6GvaCZpmgv3vN4loxprz6MDN5orkPXi8MzAI85d9rIBB9o6xIyLhEO2MoYv2wfCy2QG5CGbJzzp2xg0_mry29RGKs/s1600/_MG_8340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpu5ljoRRWx9RVNI29M4L7Pr2toAIv1nI30asII_mqYMP65bmAAez6GvaCZpmgv3vN4loxprz6MDN5orkPXi8MzAI85d9rIBB9o6xIyLhEO2MoYv2wfCy2QG5CGbJzzp2xg0_mry29RGKs/s320/_MG_8340.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fog can appear quickly in New England!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
But
there are other very significant new things as well. Instead of telling
now some cruiser tales I just quote 1:1 from our guide books and charts - have fun:</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
- "Torpedo testing area"</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
- "Submarines operate throughout the area, appearing when least expected (especially interesting in the fog)"</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
- "<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a<span style="line-height: 18.9062px; text-align: left;">n infamous section of the passage where 7 knots and shifting currents are not unusual"</span></span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-89074544016024647892013-06-10T13:27:00.000-03:002013-06-10T13:27:59.217-03:00Newport sucks, really!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxCtqcP2ERWImYC6G_oI8czCmiTLpM2gv9K7SSwEyvuvOCJ5MeGCrKgWWAAkvh0doW8U0cejhzfR2b5P3JPiHzcguCrofHRfLSfG6gTsn4OCqoJJXUUIS5IuT1d7__kHAsJ_JQtAnk4xi/s1600/_MG_7797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxCtqcP2ERWImYC6G_oI8czCmiTLpM2gv9K7SSwEyvuvOCJ5MeGCrKgWWAAkvh0doW8U0cejhzfR2b5P3JPiHzcguCrofHRfLSfG6gTsn4OCqoJJXUUIS5IuT1d7__kHAsJ_JQtAnk4xi/s320/_MG_7797.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee Stop at Castle Hill with Durbin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
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</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
We stayed now for more than one week in Newport. And as the title says, it really sucks. </div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
First
of all it's very expensive for boaters. I mean - really freaking
expensive. A berth in a marina is 200 USD and up for a boat of 40 feet PER
NIGHT. A mooring is 45 USD per night. No weekly or monthly rates available of
course, even Rahel's charm didn't help (just seems to work in the Caribbean...). And like planned, the designated anchor field is cluttered with
moorings and there is literally no space for some nice carefree nights on
the hook. </div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
And
if you think it cannot get worse, there are those people! Take Bill for
example. We met him back in Culebra, Puerto Rico, where he was working in the "Dinghy Dock Bar & Restaurant" on the weekends. He actually owns a well known
Irish pub back in Charleston himself ("<a href="http://susanlucas.typepad.com/dunleavys/" target="_blank">Dunleavy's Pub"</a> on Sullivan's Island). But since he rather likes to cruise than
to work in his own bar his nephew is taking care of it now and Bill bartenders all over the US instead. Since twenty
plus years or so. Which means he of course used to work in the best
bar/restaurant in Newport and our favorite hangout - the "<a href="http://www.blackpearlnewport.com/" target="_blank">Black Pearl"</a> - as well. No surprise he
knows everybody, or better everybody who owns a bar or works or used to work behind a counter at one
time. And that's now a real big disaster for our
cruising kitty!</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpXWK0_9aZIcmEDFPSv4P2np859HmsR3O1C3Kt2AY635Kbxh34VIceWqko-FsAWo_z2CFnfiQtrjkHY3wqkjzKBC0g3cLSnum8ZokmBzoawirCE5y7C-zpjQiEu0YLO6wOY2xWeDq6uMi/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpXWK0_9aZIcmEDFPSv4P2np859HmsR3O1C3Kt2AY635Kbxh34VIceWqko-FsAWo_z2CFnfiQtrjkHY3wqkjzKBC0g3cLSnum8ZokmBzoawirCE5y7C-zpjQiEu0YLO6wOY2xWeDq6uMi/s320/photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "gang": Denise, Wolfgang (s/v Moony), Rahel, Dave, Marco (pic by Bill)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
After
one week most of the local bartenders in the hippest locations do greet us by name already ;-) They're not even asking anymore if we'd like to open a tap - it's
taken for granted. Not particular something you get for free!<br />
And it got even worse: Instead of curing our hangover on the
boat we had to meet up with Durbin at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_669559099"><span class="aQJ">10am</span></span> ashore!
He insisted to show us around Newport in his car. As you can imagine it was no fun at all...
I mean, who wants to hang around with a local guy who knows all the
details of each of the amazing mansions, or knows every secret sightseeing
jewel no tourist will ever get to see? Who really needs to know that you can
eat delicious sandwiches right besides the amazing super yachts in a
working marina? To top the bad news, he gave me the best fishing advices
since years. I caught one fantastic 20 inch fluke just within 20
minutes after using his advice and his lures. That really sucks as
my wife now expects that I get the same kind of fish every night to make up for the too much needed $$ in the bars. And as you know, I really hate
pressure!</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6EvDZkCJKjRDmfaKMbm2seid79pwsRRbGLDJT4xeG5of8MAO6_x9VXidqbppLz_0zjsVK1socG5Pi8uM_DHSG5masv3GodXErq34tjywkLLV6W5OEpLf_9qSxLTf8fKcXJV4F6Wwn_ej/s1600/_MG_7868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6EvDZkCJKjRDmfaKMbm2seid79pwsRRbGLDJT4xeG5of8MAO6_x9VXidqbppLz_0zjsVK1socG5Pi8uM_DHSG5masv3GodXErq34tjywkLLV6W5OEpLf_9qSxLTf8fKcXJV4F6Wwn_ej/s320/_MG_7868.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Durbin & his lovely wife Ludi with Marco in front of Claiborne Pell Newport bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
To
make the whole story worse there is Dave, a sailing buddy of Bill's. We
met back in Bermuda for the first time. He calls Block Island his home, which by pure accident will be our
next destination. I can already foresee whole nights of discussions about things we do
not agree on at all (besides the common understanding that one last beer
may clear the other persons view...) And knowing me and my old sales
habits, I will not stop until Dave understands...</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
Did
I mention that Bill will start working in a bar on Block Island in a
few days and Durbin and his lovely wife Ludi are going to spend some time there too? For
some racing, fishing and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocce" target="_blank">bocce</a> on the beach?</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
Folks, please get me out of here...!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">PS: Here you can see Bill being interviewed back in 2012 about the "Polar Plunge" at his pub, an event to raise money to benefit Special Olympics SC athletes ;-) </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/viI9SHMN-AI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-26810379006653935082013-06-06T21:03:00.000-03:002013-06-07T00:23:22.449-03:00Caught in a warm eddy!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm7fMcGoz1Kt7loG4iKHtoHbCGPF5j6l10WzWB3ko9pnebYuseARnRob92KLNvUVdVZ-55ngKKdxSMIse4qqbzPMvVRO4ulLddkrm0KBfYjER6KVLyKr5vvApBVW4ZfRaTos0rKO0qbYq/s1600/image004.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm7fMcGoz1Kt7loG4iKHtoHbCGPF5j6l10WzWB3ko9pnebYuseARnRob92KLNvUVdVZ-55ngKKdxSMIse4qqbzPMvVRO4ulLddkrm0KBfYjER6KVLyKr5vvApBVW4ZfRaTos0rKO0qbYq/s320/image004.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the circles are "eddies" <i>(from
<a href="http://www.oc.nps.navy.mil/">www.oc.nps.navy.mil</a>)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ever heard of a warm eddy? We neither! And before you now think in the wrong direction - Yes, it has </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">something</span> to do with sailing! But let us explain:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When we sailed over from Bermuda to New England we had once more to cross the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_stream" target="_blank">Gulf Stream</a>. That’s this river of warm water flowing with a high current up the East Coast of the US. But this flow is not between two narrow coasts, it lays somewhere between Bermuda and New England, both landmasses are roughly 700nm apart. Means, you will enter this sometimes vicious current after three days of sailing in the middle of nowhere. And just that you can picture it: the stream of water moves around 30 – 150 million cubic meter water per second depending on its location. As a comparison, all the rivers combined which drain water into the Atlantic are estimated with just 0.6 million cubic meter per second. Guess it's fair to say there is a good amount of energy out there in the nowhere. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore planning is important: we wanted to enter the stream where the flow was easy and, more important, narrow. In our case, the forecasters named a spot where we would have just a 30nm wide “window” of current to cross and then could sail out of it again. So far so good. But it gets better, there may be a warm eddy on our way. In simple words, that’s a circular movement of warm (or cold) water which could push us even a bit more in the direction we needed to go. Current from behind sounds cool on a sailboat as we all long for some extra speed. We were excited!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4cVigm6jnoxpgPnyvphMLWymoS4cnRkuVhU6EALvDrYvKfpdrbysyzlxh06-8QVgvdX5-f8hjhrsVzsbp7Ousm62ssrMfvCk7wQUjEj75mEczB8zdI8AUPG5TobzKJEjr26sv6wUZeKY/s1600/ncomhrCurrWatlGS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4cVigm6jnoxpgPnyvphMLWymoS4cnRkuVhU6EALvDrYvKfpdrbysyzlxh06-8QVgvdX5-f8hjhrsVzsbp7Ousm62ssrMfvCk7wQUjEj75mEczB8zdI8AUPG5TobzKJEjr26sv6wUZeKY/s320/ncomhrCurrWatlGS.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gulf Stream is Red (from http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a matter of fact, the Gulf Stream crossing was easy. Like the whole trip we had almost no waves and the wind was a bit on the light side. Around midnight we supposedly had all behind us and Rahel went to bed leaving me on the “after Gulf Stream Nightshift”. It was a blast: Wind picked up, I put even a bit more sails out and Habibi screamed with seven plus knots into the dark. Until I noticed a sudden course change – we steered off course! That’s when you start to check things: Wind shift? Current? Autopilot? Everything seemed normal but the course change went worse. I hand steered and ended up almost 180 degrees off course – no way I could hold direction!! The sails were now flapping and everything seemed out of control. I needed help - fast! I got Rahel out of her well deserved sleep to help me steering while I dealt with the sails. That’s when it got really strange…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We finally had all the sails down and the engine was running. So we tried to go back on course. But there was no way to steer the boat – it went all over the place. We assumed that the rudder was broken (an almost impossible thing on an Island Packet) – of course, it was not. Sooner or later we realized that we must have been caught in a circular current (or eddy). A quick look on the thermometer proofed the theory; The water temperature in the Atlantic over here is around 13 degrees Celsius. It showed almost 26C! That damn eddy wasn't moving us forward - it was spinning us all over the place!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was really scary! The engine was running at full throttle, we were doing eight knots in one direction and then boom, the boat turned </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">180 degrees </span>without any rudder movement and we were doing 0 knots! Whatever we tried, the boat turned with the current and it seemed there was no way out. Of course it was pitch dark, there was nothing to get our bearings – just the compass and the GPS. We tried for sure 10 times – no chance to get out of this mess. The circular current had a firm grip on us and it seemed it would never let us go. Would this really be the end of our trip? Will Habibi and its crew end as a ghost ship like the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Dutchman" target="_blank">Flying Dutchman</a>" and circle the world forever??</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, not this time. At one point (when the now blank panic on board finally settled) we decided that we had to move with the current and act as soon it would weaken. After drifting for some time with this damn eddy we realized we could now steer again in a certain direction (and believe us, we did not even care if it would bring us to the North Pole at this time). One hour later (which felt like an eternity) Habibi left this eddy behind and was on course again. The crew on the other hand was still pretty shaken. And we still are if we think back… </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">May this force never be with you! </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDY3LwiLJnrUIxkHjbibxiMs-ISjDe879dTkjCtZ4iNJioancQq7S9AkXJagJTNp2a2fSKT3oCxj3jR5EnWBdAe1MYg_pA6QuZSGuChlU63AAk2oytjRRZKvUqF_lWmWcrDargEQf2rr7p/s1600/_MG_7671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDY3LwiLJnrUIxkHjbibxiMs-ISjDe879dTkjCtZ4iNJioancQq7S9AkXJagJTNp2a2fSKT3oCxj3jR5EnWBdAe1MYg_pA6QuZSGuChlU63AAk2oytjRRZKvUqF_lWmWcrDargEQf2rr7p/s320/_MG_7671.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">innocent sunrise after "eddy"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">More about eddies: (<a href="http://www.geol.sc.edu/cbnelson/eddy/eddy.htm" tabindex="-1" target="_parent">http://www.geol.sc.edu/<wbr></wbr>cbnelson/eddy/eddy.htm</a>)</span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-27820308086464244142013-05-25T15:55:00.000-03:002013-05-25T15:57:22.941-03:00Bermuda, a little paradise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St.George's street view</td></tr>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">As you may know we stay already more than a week in paradise, eh Bermuda. It's true, Bermuda is simply gorgeous. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">It's basically a mix of the Bahamas and the
Caribbean with an English high-end touch. Another reason why it looks so
picturesque is for sure that this is a very rich island. Did you know that they
have the highest GDP per capita in the world?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No reason to elaborate why, but you can see and feel the money and it's
for sure well spent. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">First of all, all the houses have a
similar white roof; mix that with all the different colors of the houses, the
green landscape and you get the perfect postcard picture. New to us is as
well the fact that every house here has a chimney which proofs that we are much
more up North already. The famous Bermuda roofs are stone made and designed to collect
80% of every raindrop that touches it. And they need to withstand at least wind
speed up to 100 miles an hour. That’s the law and it looks just perfect. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQx8QhPxDslL1y1Q3URL9Ac328Eayku4hYgGhl1z145hMZ8LHwRaznUev2EKMbzMbjvRTT27I1xjgZP-om4KVxCN0tjn3BVZohZqT1oOiWm3QimUe5NtJzCKEhTpVI41-8XaxYYY4NO1n/s1600/_MG_7359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQx8QhPxDslL1y1Q3URL9Ac328Eayku4hYgGhl1z145hMZ8LHwRaznUev2EKMbzMbjvRTT27I1xjgZP-om4KVxCN0tjn3BVZohZqT1oOiWm3QimUe5NtJzCKEhTpVI41-8XaxYYY4NO1n/s320/_MG_7359.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">roof with rainwater collection drain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Besides the architecture, the landscape and gardens are well maintained, the people are unbelievably friendly and the
island offers an amazing variety of restaurants, shops and sightseeing
options, easy accessible by bus. Even though Bermuda doesn't come cheap - a pint of
beer sets you back seven dollars and the liter of diesel is currently 1.88 USD (compared
to 85 cents in Puerto Rico) - it has a touch of “perfect ville” out in the
nowhere of the Atlantic Ocean. Together with our German friends Sybille & Hugo on s/v Brigo we started to point out houses we could imagine ourselves to live in ;-)</span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Yj3aKFzy9ahmOgeBGi7st7NWUifQ3aX4muT_AbdA9vjLJhLayfdsc1xx3JZvDIhUMm4fNjo-KHMKkUtsmgKYfIB78M4AUZifXhQGQpz-Gj9ZlXb4KOZ4-VX7lJr5UnH_426em73_dkFc/s1600/_MG_7003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNplBeW47S54y3fByOKCvi6-2nog3tVMKAic0iVwgcJ4bxsV9YT27qhVS73ammGNe0SzSKyafzSBZfCcashi-1fF0xkq3UrHKFtsKYHWuCq3NbRzZuQjEEzzDLXgqMi-9nw9zqEUKGdqR/s1600/_MG_6952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNplBeW47S54y3fByOKCvi6-2nog3tVMKAic0iVwgcJ4bxsV9YT27qhVS73ammGNe0SzSKyafzSBZfCcashi-1fF0xkq3UrHKFtsKYHWuCq3NbRzZuQjEEzzDLXgqMi-9nw9zqEUKGdqR/s320/_MG_6952.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">when can we move in?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Worth mentioning as well is the national
business dress code for men. Try to wear this somewhere else in the world: It
consists of a pair of Bermuda Shorts which need to end exactly six inches above
the knee, preferably in a fancy color like salmon pink, yellow or so. Combine that with
a pair of so called “Bermuda Hose” which are basically socks up to the knee,
mostly in navy blue. Then you wear a traditional shirt with tie and a jacket, again
preferably in navy blue. Together with business shoes you're perfectly dressed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>And you see this all over here. It's not a
tourist thing, stand in front of an international bank or office building and just wait and
see….</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4i9BnYcRLWtmfyiSSsOQOnFLPZP6-c1LXYKBeS4C5w0-lQxBiM8KzCi5vzcNDI58v665IOZbtHNCfkhxqIrLWBylb1HgCr7qxTOrkmelzEE-5sYKSkTN-1xqk88K5vsie9jeaCf2JOtq/s1600/_MG_7272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4i9BnYcRLWtmfyiSSsOQOnFLPZP6-c1LXYKBeS4C5w0-lQxBiM8KzCi5vzcNDI58v665IOZbtHNCfkhxqIrLWBylb1HgCr7qxTOrkmelzEE-5sYKSkTN-1xqk88K5vsie9jeaCf2JOtq/s320/_MG_7272.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">official Bermudian dress code</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Since the weather is once more a bit
confused and our next trip will be again 600nm or so we may spend some more time
here to hopefully find the perfect weather window. We'll keep you posted.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5Ewz35xE7tasPFTDlF4gQVg3vqJdsMilwqBUk7FnetbbVmfwXXhKmgQgSf2UQb9nU7XaLrnI8A1vHR-egvxwcxb8pv2nats0Bq6SRrSk5X6ioWHXKKndqaXWnpWOhXH97x0HdabGlc1k/s1600/_MG_7355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5Ewz35xE7tasPFTDlF4gQVg3vqJdsMilwqBUk7FnetbbVmfwXXhKmgQgSf2UQb9nU7XaLrnI8A1vHR-egvxwcxb8pv2nats0Bq6SRrSk5X6ioWHXKKndqaXWnpWOhXH97x0HdabGlc1k/s320/_MG_7355.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view of St.George's from our anchorage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">PS: Cruiser Information:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">There is a lot of writing about checking
into Bermuda. We think it’s a fairly easy and painless process: Due to the reefs
all around the island "Bermuda Radio" has a 24/7 Radar and Radio Watch. As
soon you're 30nm out, call them on channel 16 or they will contact you to guide you into the
channel. They like to know a lot of information about your boat. You can do
this over the Radio, it will take at least 15min, or you send them before your departure to Bermuda the “pre arrival” documentation by email (download it <a href="http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/Bermuda?rc=Formalities#Clearance" target="_blank">here</a>). If you
have done this, the call only takes 2 minutes and you can proceed fast forward
to customs dock in St. Georges after Radio Clearance. Customs and Immigration
is quick and easy done with a lot of friendly chat and smiles.</span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-32018898084911205202013-05-18T15:54:00.002-03:002013-05-18T15:54:55.453-03:00Bermuda - Trip Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnaagENJJyJFSFyiqSQ-H9K6WTyA75t0OaosOv-r9uxwPY8ygk8jI7VdWM9FDwpjRp38BF0pkiIqmPxb3pBXwVnshiStWVzPSBm8TefzTmFG8AQWHdCYKOyBw4RrzHbZefSbsAGNxNUrr/s1600/_MG_6854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnaagENJJyJFSFyiqSQ-H9K6WTyA75t0OaosOv-r9uxwPY8ygk8jI7VdWM9FDwpjRp38BF0pkiIqmPxb3pBXwVnshiStWVzPSBm8TefzTmFG8AQWHdCYKOyBw4RrzHbZefSbsAGNxNUrr/s320/_MG_6854.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">imagine this view for 6 1/2 days</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sorry for the delay – but as we have no
internet on board everything takes more time. As promised here is the update on
our longer crossing from Puerto Rico to Bermuda. In simple words, it was
surreal!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We left Palmas del Mar Marina in Puerto
Rico early on Wednesday morning 8<sup>th</sup> of May at 06:00. We knew we had
to hurry as there was a ColdFRONT/LO predicted which would hit Bermuda around Monday
night and bring strong northerly winds – right on our nose. We did know as well
that we would be hit by some squalls during our trip, but staying another week
or two in Puerto Rico was even less promising. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The first couple of hours we mostly had to
use the engine as we headed into the wind to pass the reefs on the northeast
side of Puerto Rico. Once in the open Atlantic waters the wind picked up to 20
knots and we made good speed. For a few hours, at least. Then the first squall
hit us with 30+ knots. And that squall never left us! For three days in a row we
saw sustained winds of 30 – 40 knots and seas as big as houses! Even with the
cockpit enclosed we got so much rain and green water over that after three days
everything was soaked. The front of squalls (TROF) had turned into an unpredicted
LO itself with us right in the middle (as we learned later, of course). The
wind never dropped below 30 knots at all. Habibi did great, the crew however was
more at their limit. I tell you, nothing beats a heavy full keel boat with a
staysail in conditions like that! Yes, it sucked but we were never scared or
so, it was simply like living in a washing machine for three days in a row. In
such bad weather the biggest fear is actually that something could break and
you won’t be able to fix it as there is simply no chance to get some quiet five
minutes. “Our loss” wasn’t that bad though: The only thing that didn’t survive was our
glass oven door: We once tried to cook a warm meal. Bad idea! The boat was
surfing such high seas that the oven, which is gimbaled, flipped in one big
wave so heavily that the glass front shattered in million of pieces! Can you
imagine, a heeled and moving boat and you then have to clean up glass pieces
which of course are sliding in every hidden corner of the cabin? The rest of
the stormy days we stayed on a strict diet: tons of clementine, snack bars, nuts,
chocolate and everything you can grab and eat with your bare hands.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsW9rrI-MGozdQprsWfrdNPGldzXYLFVtH0LJKyvFK4hdwpcOq1-7xTqr9nCcfM0tKvrj1tQocbSyFWuoeagLAideJ-lZiOefaFfqeLL9hYk2Ukftfj8f0l8i7FoAJNyuWl6UIjhFx66Kz/s1600/_MG_6799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsW9rrI-MGozdQprsWfrdNPGldzXYLFVtH0LJKyvFK4hdwpcOq1-7xTqr9nCcfM0tKvrj1tQocbSyFWuoeagLAideJ-lZiOefaFfqeLL9hYk2Ukftfj8f0l8i7FoAJNyuWl6UIjhFx66Kz/s320/_MG_6799.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we'd made sure that we didn't have to starve while underway</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Nevertheless, after three days the wind calmed finally down to 20 knots, the seas decreased some and we had a few days of beautiful sailing.
But as the “washing machine sailing” before had slowed us down too much, we
wouldn’t be able to reach Bermuda before the ColdFRONT arrived! So we started
planning to divert to the East Coast of the US, adding another 600nm to the
tap. </span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But sometimes even we get lucky. On Sunday
Chris our forecaster mentioned that the ColdFRONT over Bermuda was delaying. All of a
sudden we had time until sunset on Tuesday to avoid bad weather. Speed was now
everything. For two days we sailed 160nm a day! That’s an average of 6.8 knots
and higher for more than 24 hours! I know Island Packets are no race boats but
calling them slow is simply stupid! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MWsPLnagX-qCzfuNc-cP65ixO4zgzwFpFCubgwvndSkBg-oAlMEVmLtj7RP2VpDXsEb2lrdASwoEwojjF_NO45esiSpCi6j9tsFU0dti0nDw98K6np4c1x7Gli1w6ezbr_EqlZ35lgat/s1600/_MG_6837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MWsPLnagX-qCzfuNc-cP65ixO4zgzwFpFCubgwvndSkBg-oAlMEVmLtj7RP2VpDXsEb2lrdASwoEwojjF_NO45esiSpCi6j9tsFU0dti0nDw98K6np4c1x7Gli1w6ezbr_EqlZ35lgat/s320/_MG_6837.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">calm again after some stormy days</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of course the wind died as soon Bermuda was
in sight on Tuesday morning 14<sup>th</sup> of May. Some last squalls with tons
of rain had washed down the whole salt (prefrontalTROF) and we happily motored towards the entry
channel which we were going to reach in 4 hours or so. But Neptune was not out
of surprises yet. The northern wind picked up a bit too early as predicted. For
the last 20 miles we again had 25 knots of wind and high seas but for a change well
on the nose (ColdFront)! Which of course soaked Habibi once again in saltwater… but that
lasted just a few hours until we finally reached the town cut and the well
protected anchorage in St. George’s/Bermuda after exact 904nm of very mixed
sailing. We tied up on the customs dock and the first steps on land after 6 ½
days out at sea felt both weird and great together!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BpYW12QpxYXJR6WE529fupYGyvo4z0yimDLfLPbvetTzzlufPJWsipzoBIYNC7DhwZTkQRRsbZ8qomR9-niOOsV2qwWrn7l25PjaDkfbOS5yFBnh0KhcdHLOQm-MvP2Bed_whMKFEJ2f/s1600/_MG_6866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BpYW12QpxYXJR6WE529fupYGyvo4z0yimDLfLPbvetTzzlufPJWsipzoBIYNC7DhwZTkQRRsbZ8qomR9-niOOsV2qwWrn7l25PjaDkfbOS5yFBnh0KhcdHLOQm-MvP2Bed_whMKFEJ2f/s320/_MG_6866.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Habibi at the Customs dock in St.George's</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The passage was pure solitude - for one
week the only things we saw were three birds and three big ships far away.
Otherwise nothing else than water. The only visitors we had were the occasional
suicidal flying fish that jumped into our dinghy or on deck to die there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As you may know most sailors are diagnosed
with a very bad short-term memory. Which means if you asked us now a couple of days
later we wouldn’t think it was too bad anymore. Let’s be honest, the first three
days of our trip haven’t been too much fun but gorgeous Bermuda simply helped us to forget the nasty stuff quickly. Overall we’re happy we did it and Yes,
we would do a longer trip anytime again (which we have to!) – off course if there was better
weather </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">;-)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukFWHySpuUc0sGfvQIztJGO4HAZb110UewEzfaV_q4XqppNMMp7LRx_23XAWYSI8Kb8l-EHzuKMZ9xaJXlDvtw2iEr4p89WPk6TZXP9GXa-fPDRFqoDd7ERU5ILmMYj8sZTfdQKm_nDfM/s1600/_MG_6868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukFWHySpuUc0sGfvQIztJGO4HAZb110UewEzfaV_q4XqppNMMp7LRx_23XAWYSI8Kb8l-EHzuKMZ9xaJXlDvtw2iEr4p89WPk6TZXP9GXa-fPDRFqoDd7ERU5ILmMYj8sZTfdQKm_nDfM/s320/_MG_6868.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">anchorage in St.George's/Bermuda</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-88192186065052894052013-05-07T22:12:00.001-03:002013-05-07T22:12:10.367-03:00900nm ahead!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UaoD5cc3x5SefXtw07wW1hZCRbmUlPf21hQY9EauRaQPKlCWmwJoB2Vm1udIJ_YmCKiMA7qwfLtmpyLtOiH_jdXSZH-q443c1n6Z0ZUFwCgHOSC5TWfDXi7MJetcP6nARP1CWl8NEnxG/s1600/loc_bermuda.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UaoD5cc3x5SefXtw07wW1hZCRbmUlPf21hQY9EauRaQPKlCWmwJoB2Vm1udIJ_YmCKiMA7qwfLtmpyLtOiH_jdXSZH-q443c1n6Z0ZUFwCgHOSC5TWfDXi7MJetcP6nARP1CWl8NEnxG/s400/loc_bermuda.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
<span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
Even
if many ocean crossing saltwater sailors may laugh - we're a bit nervous
about the upcoming trip. If weather permits we will sail from
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_rico" target="_blank">Puerto Rico</a> straight up to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda" target="_blank">Bermuda</a><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">starting by <span style="font-size: small;">tomorrow</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span> And if you check the map carefully you may even
find Bermuda on it... It's not some fly poop in the middle of
nowhere, it's actually a bunch of islands, tiny and "just right" off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on the US East Coast.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">And
as usual we say "if weather permits". As you can imagine, getting a
weather forecast for a week is very difficult since there is a
constant movement (and if one of my previous managers is reading - the
same applies sometimes for sales planning :-)). Until beginning of this week it was
clear we should leave <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1014738858" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday</span></span> or <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1014738859" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Friday</span></span>. This morning (<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1014738860" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Tuesday</span></span>)
our forecaster meant we should run right now as there might some storms approaching. Of course traveling to the next city to check out of Puerto Rico took too long
and we had to postpone for <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1014738861" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">tomorrow</span></span>. So again, our plans are on the edge. We may leave <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1014738862" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">tomorrow</span></span>
Wednesday towards Bermuda, and on day three or so we have to check where the
nasty weather is moving, it's either to the SE Coast of the US or Bermuda.
Which means we may have to adjust while underway... Isn't that nice?</span></span></span></div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
The
trip is roughly 900nm long, that's 1'700km. And we plan to travel with
a speed of around 10kmh. Means it'll take us between 7 and 8 days to get
there. Since there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, between Puerto
Rico and Bermuda we will have no internet, no cellphone coverage or so.
Our only connection to the rest of the world will be the Shortwave Radio SSB and
the Satellite Phone. So if you're not frightened of the trip, think about
this: Eight days no Facebook, no Skype, no News! That's almost as
challenging as the trip itself. I mean, what happens if the world as we
know it comes to an end and we will not even know it?</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWeVFHH8hxlOBcCh31DFqg3UftQIgYGnTkytStjec_Z8PO_3k3yR-FHCj3ogWCZsrzquHSremABRtKy2nvp3KKWSJpAA-BWt289uxbrc00mUqij9zBjGNXsm-O2DM1oWgPJ0RlKoWprx3z/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWeVFHH8hxlOBcCh31DFqg3UftQIgYGnTkytStjec_Z8PO_3k3yR-FHCj3ogWCZsrzquHSremABRtKy2nvp3KKWSJpAA-BWt289uxbrc00mUqij9zBjGNXsm-O2DM1oWgPJ0RlKoWprx3z/s320/images.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<br />
Nevertheless,
we're getting ready and hope it will be a very boring trip with settled
weather and no other challenges than a big fish on the hook. Keep fingers
crossed!</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-50898255510323388872013-05-05T02:46:00.000-03:002013-05-05T15:39:32.761-03:00Blows & Blasts in the Spanish Virgin Islands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbRdH3EgdOiqumOigTfbeTdLsAC67cvD5u-q8FJiTya5o8iVTvOSW-S8DmHAh6lILq-j7vpmn1hyeUx7C-PyPnZrtrgRdkR8FFNrYBu3__5VMg3N2qX0UJH51Yi6Zg41357Lpgc7vOiKC/s1600/_MG_6481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbRdH3EgdOiqumOigTfbeTdLsAC67cvD5u-q8FJiTya5o8iVTvOSW-S8DmHAh6lILq-j7vpmn1hyeUx7C-PyPnZrtrgRdkR8FFNrYBu3__5VMg3N2qX0UJH51Yi6Zg41357Lpgc7vOiKC/s320/_MG_6481.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Culebra - anchorage in Ensenada Honda</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We arrived in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culebra,_Puerto_Rico" target="_blank">Culebra</a> and dropped the hook in Ensenada Honda - a huge landlocked bay - just off the little town Dewey. It's a little island with a population of just 1'800 East of Puerto Rico and part of its commonwealth. Together with Vieques to the South of Culebra they are known as the Spanish Virgin or the Passage Islands. After the hustle and bustle of St. Thomas with its cruise ship traffic the idea of staying in this sleepy and non-touristy place for a couple of days felt appealing... Just that in the end we didn't just spend "a couple a days" there but almost two weeks! Due to weather, of course.<br />
<br />
The original plan was to enjoy Culebra for 2-3 days, then head on to Puerto Rico, pick up Marco's brother Serge, circle the Spanish Virgins for some time together, sail back to Puerto Rico to explore the island before his departure. But it started to BLOW and the sea state was predicted a mess for days. So change of plans - Serge booked last minute an additional flight from San Juan PR to Culebra. We figured better to be stuck in a spacious anchorage on this nice little island than in a marina in Puerto Rico. Even though it meant to get soaked with saltwater on each dinghy ride to shore... We rented a car for one day and zoomed around the whole island. Top of the list was to pay Flamenco Beach a visit - the water is really almost like in the Bahamas, so clear.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flamenco Beach, Culebra</td></tr>
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<br />
Then you have to eat in Zaco's Taco's and it was well worth it. Even Marco who isn't a big Mexican food lover ate 4 tacos! To go snorkeling was not an option as it was just too windy. But as friends of ours have written in their <a href="http://www.cruisingwithmotivator.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>: "Culebra is a 3-4 days island. After 3-4 days you probably have done all there is to do". Fortunately there was the "Dinghy Dock", a bar and restaurant with - as the name says - a convenient dock to tie your dinghy on. They had a sign up that said: Free Beer Tomorrow! We were there so often for some beers (unfortunately never for free) or a bite to eat that the staff (and the regular guests) knew our names... I guess this meant it was time to move on or we'd have stayed there and become liveaboards!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWKFtif5FRmsO3jhyphenhyphenUdwNugUDhL0FEhi1AkfLS0BdY0E3rM-w1457hsr-4_YV2WXww56i5lStB6CqAMflZROBZAvvc4-gXEtAAfpfXp1GQ5XpN216nlhtWTN-_NgB59t5vTORNjxkv0CU/s1600/_MG_6454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWKFtif5FRmsO3jhyphenhyphenUdwNugUDhL0FEhi1AkfLS0BdY0E3rM-w1457hsr-4_YV2WXww56i5lStB6CqAMflZROBZAvvc4-gXEtAAfpfXp1GQ5XpN216nlhtWTN-_NgB59t5vTORNjxkv0CU/s320/_MG_6454.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We started to make plans as soon as the weather seemed to clear up. We wanted to visit <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vieques,_Puerto_Rico" target="_blank">Vieques</a> and friends of ours offered to point out on the chart where they had been and what they liked. There was one particular anchorage on the South East in which they found the snorkeling to be nice. "But there are some bombs, so you have to be careful on where to drop anchor", said Ron. "Bombs? Did you say there are bombs?" I asked stupefied. "Oh yeah", was his dry reply. He made me giggle. I knew that both islands have been gunnery and bombing practice sites of the U.S. Navy since 1939. In Culebra they removed the Navy in 1975 after people had began to protest. Vieques wasn't so fortunate, the Navy withdrew much later in 2003 and only because of a lot of political pressure. The islands have been closed off by the Navy for 40 to 60 years which means they were undeveloped for tourism. Or in other words - they are sleepy, unspoiled islands with pristine, deserted beaches. But nevertheless we don't want to lose our boat in a BLAST because we dropped the anchor on a bomb! Therefore we decided against going in this particular anchorage and sailed to Green Bay on the West of Vieques instead. Also recommended by our friends, we were only two boats and it was gorgeous! Miles of white sand beach lined with palm trees and clear water. Nevertheless, I decided to snorkel and check what's around our anchor. And guess what? A lot to see but at least not any kind of unexploded grenades or similar...phew!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2vFFsIY_shQi15WE4_A0ebewgCITEKD7PTE6b1lBAXH1vmX-fhlL7zMPVmquzOCu3iKt4AzMG3EYvI0ua1E-efM78F1WeU_mUGhHCJzTUmeujWYk5kjUQoZIq9GHOxEDj24gyP803kuE/s1600/_MG_6646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2vFFsIY_shQi15WE4_A0ebewgCITEKD7PTE6b1lBAXH1vmX-fhlL7zMPVmquzOCu3iKt4AzMG3EYvI0ua1E-efM78F1WeU_mUGhHCJzTUmeujWYk5kjUQoZIq9GHOxEDj24gyP803kuE/s320/_MG_6646.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green Beach, Vieques
</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
From paradise with love<br />
Rahel</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-21818423487509743522013-04-18T12:49:00.001-03:002013-04-18T12:50:38.315-03:00Anguilla with "Ze Germans"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With "Ze Germans" in "On da Rocks" Seafood Grill & Bar
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
How do we decide where we're traveling to and where not? Firstly we check our guide books. Secondly we talk to other cruisers and their experiences or recommendations. And thirdly we take into account the weather situation - means direction of wind and swell to decide if we'd be safe on anchor.<br />
<br />
Anguilla was always on our "not sure if we should go"-list. Not many cruisers we've met went there - there was this rumor that it was very expensive and you'd have to pay high fees for anchoring. The guide book on the other hand recommended it highly. When we stayed in St. Maarten the plan was to cross the Anegada passage to the BVI's. As we had a variable time frame we considered going to Anguilla first to shorten the trip. The last push to go came from our German cruising friends Diana & Joern, who just had arrived in St. Martin after having spent some time in Anguilla - they praised this little island over the skies and their sparkling eyes convinced us to give it a try. Without further ado they joined us two days later to spend some time together before we'd part company for good as they planned on going South. And what should we say - we didn't regret it!<br />
<br />
The first day in Road Bay/Sandy Ground was plagued by a little North swell but later the anchorage was just gorgeous. Even though we just spent a few days on Anguilla we can say its charm captivated us. It started already with the staff from customs and immigration - so friendly and helpful. And as long you're just staying in the main anchorage you have to pay NOTHING. Most of Anguillan waters are protected as a national park and if one wanted to anchor there yes, then you had to pay for a cruising permit and the amount depends on the yacht's tonnage. We didn't feel the need to go somewhere else by boat though.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHICIWGuCZTQcn7DTnw352btBM0rNekj8nl_KSREluFanHNC3QthamDy3ytYPsW0t4xCozf6WK0g8p3j3FQuIcONH6GZE1deVqAr6HmmZfK3JEH3AsmRMCsETkVMsKeyZJzliVlaJoI3z/s1600/_MG_4557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHICIWGuCZTQcn7DTnw352btBM0rNekj8nl_KSREluFanHNC3QthamDy3ytYPsW0t4xCozf6WK0g8p3j3FQuIcONH6GZE1deVqAr6HmmZfK3JEH3AsmRMCsETkVMsKeyZJzliVlaJoI3z/s320/_MG_4557.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road Bay at sunset
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<br />
<br />
Instead we did what we usually NEVER do - we hitch-hiked the island. We got lucky in the same instance we'd raised our thumb. And met just lovely people! There was a Dutch lawyer from St. Maarten who visited Anguilla just for a day with his dad or the sweet retired couple from the US who visits the island on a regular basis since years and who seemed to know everyone! This way we got to see the most beautiful beach in Anguilla, Shoal Bay Beach, FOR FREE.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTGwBxeHW8vei1NLyjnE9a7HzIvnsDoLl-7pR1oNnmpXh-Spc8S5pR2X-c_c-qxx_DgdvbLf3Be0Epjsrb64Ri-8UqLkM3EqZgbFVsuADppx1LAtihwbJyf2fn2vJToQFbVCaDsKYvm-5/s1600/_MG_4450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTGwBxeHW8vei1NLyjnE9a7HzIvnsDoLl-7pR1oNnmpXh-Spc8S5pR2X-c_c-qxx_DgdvbLf3Be0Epjsrb64Ri-8UqLkM3EqZgbFVsuADppx1LAtihwbJyf2fn2vJToQFbVCaDsKYvm-5/s320/_MG_4450.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shoal Bay Beach</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55dvZy_Fdye0pzEfelJnwqw_okDMtDUF9UOgl3hvZFE3bbbZ2iM0tzmqn82dtFybkbEsZGXnVN1-WElVMwJvwt4TCZi_4B17WKP8p08Qd4xJH88szT6IhdRwT32IeFXCoYRdR12NxcT73/s1600/_MG_4476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55dvZy_Fdye0pzEfelJnwqw_okDMtDUF9UOgl3hvZFE3bbbZ2iM0tzmqn82dtFybkbEsZGXnVN1-WElVMwJvwt4TCZi_4B17WKP8p08Qd4xJH88szT6IhdRwT32IeFXCoYRdR12NxcT73/s320/_MG_4476.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
When our friends arrived we rented a car for a day to visit the places they wanted to show us. It started with a crayfish feast in the charming waterside restaurant "<a href="http://www.ondarocks.cbt.cc/index.html" target="_blank">On da Rocks Seafood Grill & Bar</a>" where they feature a crayfish special for US 5.- every Saturday and Sunday. I usually don't like shellfish but have to say it was delicious! And the view breathtaking...<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Jqpac4sud97YDScIluvAgX7OvH6ZFpOLH0Y070dtxu4YmIXgd0ExXJlODYEjOmaIa-ZJzr6hFDT8Ltp-n_KYd0zL93krCZoLdPNhm2XNJ4EABOn-0drxP1I-RjUWXfFjx9wjcMpW27By/s1600/_MG_4666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Jqpac4sud97YDScIluvAgX7OvH6ZFpOLH0Y070dtxu4YmIXgd0ExXJlODYEjOmaIa-ZJzr6hFDT8Ltp-n_KYd0zL93krCZoLdPNhm2XNJ4EABOn-0drxP1I-RjUWXfFjx9wjcMpW27By/s320/_MG_4666.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crayfish feast</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from "On da Rocks" Seafood Grill & Bar</td></tr>
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<br />
Then we had to meet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankie_Banx" target="_blank">Bankie Banx</a> in "<a href="http://www.thedunepreserve.com/" target="_blank">The Dune Preserve</a>" on Rendezvous Bay. At the entrance to this mix of a restaurant, night club and beach bar was a black guy with a broad smile standing, dressed all in white - I shook hands with him and continued on. Diana whispered in my ear: "You just shook hands with Bankie Banx!!" Bankie who? I hadn't heard from him. He's obviously kind of a star in Anguilla or maybe in the whole Caribbean and known as the "Anguillan Bob Dylan", a singer-songwriter and musician who had spent quite some time of his life touring Europe, North America and the Caribbean. And we even got lucky and saw him performing live together with another artist. We spent an amazingly chilled-out Sunday afternoon in the "Banks Estate" listening to live music, sipping on cold beers while enjoying a nice breeze and the view over the sea with St. Martin in the background.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWd7xsKF5GQ3ARiEDsGbhChKhJsqaph-_n3yEm6wCP9Ohi2z_AX2G4oVjUHGyMO9Nx6UUlD0iuImFjJOkOwwZ0bWMavYfJB3FmpEIHn8CCLCz52pcfsqNo3Fx59-7imQmVjAOlRqoSE774/s1600/_MG_4806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWd7xsKF5GQ3ARiEDsGbhChKhJsqaph-_n3yEm6wCP9Ohi2z_AX2G4oVjUHGyMO9Nx6UUlD0iuImFjJOkOwwZ0bWMavYfJB3FmpEIHn8CCLCz52pcfsqNo3Fx59-7imQmVjAOlRqoSE774/s320/_MG_4806.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bankie Banx on the left</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Martin on the horizon</td></tr>
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But soon it was time to say Goodbye to our friends and charming Anguilla as a weather window opened up and the arrival of our guests in the BVI's was approaching fast. Find more pictures on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.494042063996532.1073741828.220112241389517&type=1&uploaded=72" target="_blank">facebook</a>.<br />
We once again learned that it's best to go and check for yourself to make up your mind about a place. But it can't hurt to take into consideration other people's opinion. Thanks again Diana & Joern for the fun time we had! We just say ELVIS...<br />
<br />
From paradise with love<br />
Rahel</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-83097233366732054852013-04-09T00:45:00.001-03:002013-04-09T00:45:31.586-03:00BVI's in 30 days<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep Bay @ Virgin Gorda</td></tr>
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<br />
After arrival by boat on a foreign island first thing we (usually just the captain) have to do is clear customs and immigration at one of the official ports of entry. We usually don't need a visa as Swiss citizens cruising in the Caribbean (besides the islands that are US territory but that's another story). In the British Virgin Islands (short BVI's) private boats are automatically given 30 days to cruise around. As mentioned before we had guests for three weeks and except a few days before their arrival and after their departure we cruised the islands together. Therefore we used up the time to the last day!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bitter End Yacht Club @ Virgin Gorda</td></tr>
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Together with a selection of (1'500!) pictures taken during this time that you can find on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.490304777703594.1073741825.220112241389517&type=1" target="_blank">facebook</a> page we'd like to share some of our impressions of the BVI's. <br />
First of all: the local people are really friendly and helpful contrary to some rumors we'd heard. However it's true that there are A LOT of charter boats and that many anchorages are dotted with mooring balls to exaggerated prices. Talking about prices - grocery shopping and eating out ranks amongst the most expensive we've seen so far in the Caribbean. We learned that the best and cheapest spot for a full provisioning is Road Town. Even though it's hard to find any local produce you might get lucky in Rite Way and get some bananas, tomatoes, peppers and such. Just ask one of the staff in the vegetable section they really know what's in stock and can point it out for you. Cash'n Carry next door is really good for shopping in bulk. And close to the Mooring charter base is a very nice French bakery with the best bread in the Caribbean. If you need to do some laundry we found a good one in East End/Fat Hog Bay behind James Town Marina. They have brand new machines and it's a very friendly atmosphere (a laundry lady showed me her way to fold fitted sheet neatly on your own).<br />
The sailing in the BVI's is very relaxed as the distances are short. You really have time to get from A to B. The sea state usually isn't a problem as you can sail in the lee of an island. We were a bit unlucky as there was a very persistent North swell prevailing the whole time we've been in the BVI's. Therefore we skipped Anegada (it's a flat island surrounded by a huge reef, known for good snorkeling and its delicious lobster) and any other islands or anchorages that are open to the North - we hate rolly anchorages!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAlfNblvArx15BEGFVCy3WZn2WEhyuFuk4AVf0J5F2500RIX6ch61NqFIyjOeP2cXkewE8wufnPao52j9HejrXUdVafo_tIN5aNalLY-I95T3z1q0bYvycXDbJm0M6fmRNxksoPSjg4vU/s1600/IMG_8122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAlfNblvArx15BEGFVCy3WZn2WEhyuFuk4AVf0J5F2500RIX6ch61NqFIyjOeP2cXkewE8wufnPao52j9HejrXUdVafo_tIN5aNalLY-I95T3z1q0bYvycXDbJm0M6fmRNxksoPSjg4vU/s320/IMG_8122.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Baths @ Virgin Gorda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The BVI's are really divided: on one hand it's very commercialized for all the Charter boats and Cruise ship tourists. On the other hand you can find anchorages on uninhabited islands with crystal clear water with tons of fish where you're just a handful of boats. For example when you have enough from the crowds in the Baths or from the partying in Willy T you can just move around the corner to find your peace and quiet.<br />
We've to admit that is wasn't our favorite from all the places we've been to so far. Mostly because of its lack of a certain Caribbeaness, a local touch. But it was the perfect place to introduce our guests, who never stayed on a boat before, to sailing and a cruising life.<br />
<br />
A special Thanks goes to Diana & Joern on s/y <a href="http://scooby2.com/" target="_blank">Scooby II</a> for all their useful tips and recommendations to the BVI's. You should write a cruiser's guide as we've grown to dislike the one we use (by Nancy & Simon Scott) for its lack of detail!<br />
<br />
From paradise with love<br />
Rahel</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-52676822711813145922013-04-02T21:56:00.000-03:002013-04-02T22:19:54.720-03:00Data storage for Cruisers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKqjgcwTmJZ8T_AOwC_5-t0wOv8uoXDAPOpS2XIdLurnE8i632-uxeKUp1pj4XjlFukXtghEbwIa2o8CFTVpXttoixkVOYlDhichUkB7LTeCs42PnXL65_zRGGgkuwvQ3QRnUqLpdw2Oo/s1600/_MG_3900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKqjgcwTmJZ8T_AOwC_5-t0wOv8uoXDAPOpS2XIdLurnE8i632-uxeKUp1pj4XjlFukXtghEbwIa2o8CFTVpXttoixkVOYlDhichUkB7LTeCs42PnXL65_zRGGgkuwvQ3QRnUqLpdw2Oo/s320/_MG_3900.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="p1">
OK, that's something from my "old" profession, but nevertheless I think it may be worth sharing. </div>
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<div class="p1">
On a boat, a safe backup of your data is for sure more important than everywhere else. The salty environment can be a hassle for every computer, it may fail sooner or later. Or worse, you get some salt water spray through an open hatch or so and your precious Mac or PC dies suddenly. On the other hand, boats left alone are prone to petty theft. And your fine electronic is for sure among the highest appreciated stuff for any of this sneaking kind of bastards... Therefore storing your data on an external hard disk for safety is not really working on a boat. It may get stolen at the same time as your PC and in a worst case scenario, when you get flooded or lose your boat, all of your data will be gone at the same time. So what can you do?</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
It's easy these days, it's called cloud storage (or in older words "internet storage"). Which means you sign up and pay (depending on the amount of data) for a service which safely stores your data somewhere in a protected data center. Most services are free up to a small amount like 5 GB's or so. The benefit is, as long you remember the password you can access your data from anywhere where you have internet. So whatever happens to your PC or your hard disk you will always be able to access all your valuable data. </div>
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<div class="p1">
Which service to choose? There are currently countless providers on the market, all with different options and tools. I did a brief research among the biggest names and had the following on the shortlist: Google Drive (among the cheapest - 60 USD pa/100GB), iCloud (great for Mac but not perfect for some other data) and Dropbox which has a pretty nice interface. There are different solutions for data storage. You can store data (you choose what to store manually with no automatic update) and some offer data sync (which means as soon you're online the data gets synchronized - this ensures there's always the same data on your PC as in storage). I like the latter, but that's not too cool on a boat. As you know some of this beautiful islands have a very weak internet. The last thing you'd like to have is a heavy upload process in the background as soon you can connect again after a few days being offline. As nice it sounds, it's very impractical while off the grid - I tried it and it slows down the whole internet. And my priority was anyway a different one. I was looking for a very safe and secure storage only. No need for any fancy online tools from the cubicle world. So in the end, what did I choose? Surprise, after digging into terms and details I decided for none of the big names... for a very personal reason:</div>
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Most of the US based companies have signed up for CISPA. CISPA stands for Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protecting Act and it's highly disputed. It basically gives the US Government the right to check/access your data. I do not like that! And to be clear, the only conspiracy I'm guilty of is how to cruise for longer. And I do not store any unlawful data. But still, even with nothing to hide, I believe no government or any other institution should have the blank right to spy on personal data. No, I'm not paranoid, I just think that's not right. I simply do not like SOMEONE having access to all my personal files, particular since the whole purpose of backing files up externally is to do it with important things like Banking Data, Insurance and numerous scans of other important papers. Who controls the controller???</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
So I choose a "Data Bank Fault in Switzerland" for closer examination - <a href="http://securesafe.com/">SecureSafe.com</a> is a 100% Swiss Company (No CISPA or similar) - being Swiss, was not even a main consideration. It's the fact that Switzerland, together with a few other European countries, takes data privacy real serious. In the end, SecureSafe.com could satisfy my high level request for data security. Particular since they store the data encrypted. Means, not even they can read my data (unlike Google or so) and even in a very unlikely case that they would get hacked: Since my data is strongly encrypted no one could read it anyway. I like that. The downside? Yes, it's a bit more pricy - 100GB ~150USD pa. But I think it's well worth the money! Therefore I signed up and I'm testing it now for PC and Mac. Will let you know if anything unexpected should happen...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
In summary: who or whatever you choose for data security, if you live on a boat there is just one way to ensure a safe backup of your data. And that's off the boat. So if you're not flying home every few weeks to put a hard disk in your safe, the cloud is the way to go. And that's even true with sometimes random and poor internet access, storing valuable data in the cloud could be the difference between having it or not! </div>
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Happy Sailing!</div>
</div>
Habibi ♂http://www.blogger.com/profile/18167668598406789189noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-27244990419668310202013-03-10T21:26:00.000-03:002013-03-10T21:26:37.010-03:00Guests on board<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marco raising the flag</td></tr>
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<br />
We safely made it to the British Virgin Islands and raised the courtesy flag as you can see. It's the first time that we're here as we totally skipped it on the way South. This time we can even welcome two guests - my sister Claudia and her boyfriend Gregor - who will join us on exploring the various islands for an extended time. We are very happy to have them aboard and are looking forward to show them the cruising life from our point of view. If it's getting quiet here you know the reason - we are out sailing, snorkeling, hiking or in simple words having a good time! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claudia & Gregor</td></tr>
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<br />
From paradise with love<br />
Rahel</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-26289213692262539522013-02-22T14:52:00.002-04:002013-02-22T15:01:21.075-04:00St.Maarten vs. St.Martin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">in the front: Dutch lagoon / behind the new bridge: the crowded French lagoon</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Last season we've been anchored for two weeks
in Marigot Bay on the French side of St. Martin as this was more recommended by
many cruisers than the Dutch side - as a matter of fact mainly because of the
fees. But you know what? It's bullshit, as usual in life you get what you pay
for or better: Check it out yourself and don't listen to others. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Laying in the lagoon (French or Dutch) is
anyway not as nice as laying in the clear water bays surrounding the island.
Nevertheless, we decided to go in because there was a bad swell predicted. So
what are the fees? French lagoon: nothing. Dutch lagoon: bridge fee is USD 21
for boats 12 meter and up and another 20 USD per week. Even though the French
lagoon is free, the main anchorage Marigot Bay is not as you have to pay
approximately 3 USD a day. Another common cruiser complain is the fact,
that the Dutch side has some Coast Guard patrolling. Yes, they may search your
boat or check if your dink has light at night. But this controls also help to keep
the human trash away which tries to rob your boat. Remember, we wrote about our
<a href="http://habibisails.blogspot.com/2012/04/theft-no-2.html" target="_blank">first incident</a> we had while under way. It was in Marigot Bay and since then
Noonsite has published more, very disturbing news for that part of the
island. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">As I said, you get what you pay for: The
French lagoon is crowded like hell, mostly with French boats. And if you know
me you know what that means. French are for sure fantastic sailors, they showed
that again at the last Vendee Globe. But I could provide you with scientifically
proven material that they cannot anchor! I have seen more French boats dragging
than sailing. Really.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">This time we discovered some new to us
"Dutch advantages". The Check-in was very friendly and yes, we like
to stay around some Mega Yachts, it's just amazing what you get to see here.
The usual rides to Budget Marine and Island Water World are short. But more
important, the anchorage has approximately one third of the boats per m2 than
the other side of the lagoon. The restaurants may not be French style, but
since we anyway can't afford that every night we like the more fun bars on this
side. There is even an adult bar which says they had the nicest butts on the
island - Since I was not allowed to check that out in person I have to admit I
can't confirm the truth of this interesting statement. </span></span><br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDiUot6HS2Yjxmbd2yhz8pWuGg7OvqDYzrlqD4IXtkUp4kr2FJLs6M6vcXOcfb3CGPu4hw_LAeotpXVN_0y3AISJrf7CtYpdDw2IxJnh5YqTMOKZMHs6A6MzfOKpDn86K6qvtFvtjzhL_/s1600/_MG_3872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDiUot6HS2Yjxmbd2yhz8pWuGg7OvqDYzrlqD4IXtkUp4kr2FJLs6M6vcXOcfb3CGPu4hw_LAeotpXVN_0y3AISJrf7CtYpdDw2IxJnh5YqTMOKZMHs6A6MzfOKpDn86K6qvtFvtjzhL_/s320/_MG_3872.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">A short walk or dink ride away is the beach
of Simpson Bay - picture postcard like! Another recommendation is the Karakter
beach bar. It has more St. Tropez flair than what we saw in real France. Or
check out the Indian restaurant Lal's if you like heart rupturing but delicious
butter chicken. Nice, tax free shopping is in dink distance. I'm not saying the
Dutch lagoon is perfect, the noise of the starting airplanes is astonishing but
overall we're happy we checked it out - and we'll come again.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></span><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrDcxj19CP1r2fe6-w58LudPPjIuBhqU3lo5mxEg5XezAmHnJJ3x5V0QkA5FoMNe4csY042b3J_Y7SwrcKFd_448Zb3RTz3jjnoqyBTdshVJVVem_gkdckuh7PMpKhKUcmQEgh10ZZmYo/s1600/_MG_3877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrDcxj19CP1r2fe6-w58LudPPjIuBhqU3lo5mxEg5XezAmHnJJ3x5V0QkA5FoMNe4csY042b3J_Y7SwrcKFd_448Zb3RTz3jjnoqyBTdshVJVVem_gkdckuh7PMpKhKUcmQEgh10ZZmYo/s320/_MG_3877.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simpson Bay Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></span><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">In summary: The French lagoon is cheaper. But
you might not get the chance to spend the saved money anyway; You're now all
night awake, terrified and ready to defend your valuable boat against thieves
or to fend that French boat off which dragged on to yours. That's when we sip a
beer and listen to some live Jazz in this one nice beach bar. Well worth 20
bucks or so extra a week. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-5791781256122431732013-02-07T22:55:00.001-04:002013-02-07T22:55:58.042-04:00picture postcard beach<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We're cruising from island to island and what pops in your mind when you hear "Caribbean"?? BEACH of course. It's a bit contradictory but Marco & I aren't really beach persons - neither do we like to lie in the sun nor to swim from shore. Let me explain: we lived for almost 3 years just steps away from the beach in Dubai. We like to swim from the boat as the water usually is much clearer, we can rinse off the saltwater and do not bring any sand on board.<br />
Since we left the Bahamas we haven't really seen many perfect beaches with the attributes "white sand, turquoise water, lined with palm trees". With our friend Nigel we sailed from Falmouth Harbour to Jolly Harbour on the West coast. The colors of the sea changed from dark blue to turquoise and almost hurt our eyes.<br />
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The pictures show Jolly Harbour Beach - just gorgeous!<br />
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There are obviously many more beaches like this all around the island. But unfortunately we're a bit driven by time and weather to go on and are preparing the boat for our next passage towards St. Martin/Sint Maarten. Even if this means that we'll miss the <a href="http://www.jollyharbourregatta.com/" target="_blank">Jolly Harbour Valentine's Regatta & Rum Festival</a> :-)<br />
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From paradise with love<br />
Rahel</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-35220129088759376292013-01-30T13:07:00.001-04:002013-01-30T13:07:06.820-04:00Breakfast view<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Since we're sailing the Caribbean chain up north again it's fun to taste new food on every island. While in Grenada we loved Nutmeg Jam for breakfast. Now we discovered Guava Preserve which is delicious either on a fresh baguette or on whole wheat bread with some butter - let's see how long it takes until we'll find something new.<br />
Of course it tastes even better with a view like the one we currently have from our Habibi in Falmouth Harbor...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">entrance to Falmouth Harbour </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">turquoise water</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caribbean flair with palm trees</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BIG boats docked in Falmouth Harbour Marina</td></tr>
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From paradise with love<br />
Rahel</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-77557142113490685092013-01-25T18:08:00.003-04:002013-01-25T18:08:46.705-04:00Hiking Deshaies River<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking in Deshaies River</td></tr>
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I just realized that we only spent two weeks in Guadeloupe but it feels as we'd stayed much longer. Maybe because we already have been to some places before on our way South towards Grenada and it wasn't all new to us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pointe-a-Pitre anchorage</td></tr>
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It was the first time that we went to Pointe-a-Pitre, the largest city of Guadeloupe (but not the capital). There we found a rather calm anchorage with a lot of room. Even though it's in vicinity of the city and its commercial harbor it was peaceful and quiet. It was very interesting to watch all kind of big boats and cruise ships passing and how they're loading container ships. On a road trip we explored some of the tourist places on Grand-Terre like Sainte-Anne and Saint-Francois, went to the eastern most spot from where you can see the island Les Desirade off the windward coast. This part of the island is flat, rather dry and rural. Basse-Terre-Island is the other part of Guadeloupe which is volcanic and therefore mountainous, consists of lush forests, grassland and plantations. Even though Guadeloupe is part of France we find it has more Creole and Indian influence than for example Martinique. You see and hear more Creole everywhere you go. For example we encountered the word "Karukera" quite often. I found out that's what the Arawak people (the first who settled here) called Guadeloupe and it means "the island of beautiful waters" - how poetic.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deshaies</td></tr>
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Our last stop is Deshaies, a charming fishing village with a beautiful anchorage on the Northwest coast of Basse-Terre-Island where we've spent some days before. On our (maybe more on my) list was the hike up the Deshaies River which is described in our guide. Yesterday we went and it was an experience that's not to be missed. You more or less walk in the river, not in the water though as you can step from one rock to the other while you pass countless pools. It's not the easiest hike and while underway we both had the same thought: what if one of us hurts himself? We didn't have a mobile phone with us, nobody knew where we went and we didn't encounter another soul for two hours. I guess, that's part of the adventure! ;-)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2aykPawFtLPul58p0_kLSVrBMO3zJNp0gUGUu1zA0xyWBb62rEE8PQbT2MrgyQ_OD9YrMaqAZOFlnJpXir3FTjz4vl8V8xtmrP2nWzdJOT5FuhUTEc-cZeD47uS6NyI0EL6vcIsEVVyy5/s1600/_MG_3231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2aykPawFtLPul58p0_kLSVrBMO3zJNp0gUGUu1zA0xyWBb62rEE8PQbT2MrgyQ_OD9YrMaqAZOFlnJpXir3FTjz4vl8V8xtmrP2nWzdJOT5FuhUTEc-cZeD47uS6NyI0EL6vcIsEVVyy5/s320/_MG_3231.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2M-YpSHqk7NwVpAtuLl_SDZDU87ezoKkBPp-FhpM21JKfBwGN2Yj4F5X1Mgy-S9j1eESut3xpvpENL5xpGtdGMOlMKRtHVHyXnAx7D48NXkObfDUR5rxi6epyGmva1fe-05UVOlBKe-q7/s1600/_MG_3245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2M-YpSHqk7NwVpAtuLl_SDZDU87ezoKkBPp-FhpM21JKfBwGN2Yj4F5X1Mgy-S9j1eESut3xpvpENL5xpGtdGMOlMKRtHVHyXnAx7D48NXkObfDUR5rxi6epyGmva1fe-05UVOlBKe-q7/s320/_MG_3245.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Who is interested can find more pictures on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.454909927909746.103334.220112241389517&type=1" target="_blank">facebook</a> site.<br />
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From paradise with love<br />
Rahel</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-9533441009884646722013-01-11T20:57:00.000-04:002013-01-11T20:57:53.125-04:00time to say goodbye<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDolIxFsDGbLzCBlz9jIv5Sqjz7bpDH7x-tbw_J9NtHrdJy7v5UvqvoPiAVBHgqV5o4DIJAnMGiD_dgpUwuz_aTXQqXOrN1wODcOepQtWVZCEui8h2Q3F8xjHPPLrK2n5nd_bxDMZiH0Fv/s1600/_MG_2242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDolIxFsDGbLzCBlz9jIv5Sqjz7bpDH7x-tbw_J9NtHrdJy7v5UvqvoPiAVBHgqV5o4DIJAnMGiD_dgpUwuz_aTXQqXOrN1wODcOepQtWVZCEui8h2Q3F8xjHPPLrK2n5nd_bxDMZiH0Fv/s320/_MG_2242.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After three! weeks in Dominica we're going to use the weather window that's opening up on Saturday/Sunday to head towards Guadeloupe. First stop will be Les Saintes - hopefully we'll be able to sink our teeth in a warm baguette fresh out of the oven! The next day we're going to sail to Pointe-à-Pitre, the biggest town in Guadeloupe. There we hopefully will be well sheltered from the big North swell that is predicted for next week.<br />
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We can't point out enough how much we liked Dominica and its people. Our expectations have been exceeded in more than just one point. We have encountered so many lovely, helpful, happy people everywhere we went. Of course, some of them wanted to sell a service. But when they realized that there won't be any business they didn't push and remained friendly - unlike on other islands in the Caribbean. It happened more than once, when a drunkard begged for some coins that another person stepped in and told him to stop bothering us.<br />
During three days we explored the island with a rental car. The streets are just amazingly new and in excellent shape! Thanks to the EU and the Chinese but who cares? Only when we went deep into the rainforest some streets turned into muddy roads - no surprise after all that rain! The island is visibly clean and it seems that the people really care to keep it this way. We came across No-littering-signs everywhere. And during this three days we never worried to leave our boat unattended. In the anchorage in Prince Rupert Bay in Portsmouth the PAYS guys do a great job to make cruisers feel welcome and safe - we especially can recommend the service of Martin on his boat Providence.<br />
The hiking trails are amazing and leading through the lushest nature we've seen, the snorkeling is great and life (food, drinks, eating out etc.) is reasonable in comparison to the French islands.<br />
Did we find paradise? I guess we got really close!<br />
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With love from paradise<br />
Rahel</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-29537649187437620022013-01-07T19:44:00.000-04:002013-01-07T19:44:21.026-04:00crazy weather!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6G7ZYSYPOg4dpQXwYR4hYwHHbyGMHzc1Yn0UX4UcKaf28H3SipDcAgzJPIlbQCpM4FQBhgPRGaITo9b0d9uHCrtR1AFYOCCIzgKK4WCfaoaqp1kzUOBQrULkBp9nFotupRu7cScfQgFCQ/s1600/024.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6G7ZYSYPOg4dpQXwYR4hYwHHbyGMHzc1Yn0UX4UcKaf28H3SipDcAgzJPIlbQCpM4FQBhgPRGaITo9b0d9uHCrtR1AFYOCCIzgKK4WCfaoaqp1kzUOBQrULkBp9nFotupRu7cScfQgFCQ/s400/024.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wind speed in knots for tomorrow. We prefer the blue colors... <br />
picture courtesy of www.passageweather.com</td></tr>
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When you're following our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/habibisails" target="_blank">facebook page</a> you already know that we extended our stay in Dominica due to a bad weather pattern. Actually it's been CRAZY the last few days! </div>
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Within minutes it can change from blue sky and calm to heavy rain and gusts up to 40 knots - the three pictures were captured this morning withing a period of 20 min. We don't want to imagine the conditions offshore with seas up to 3.5m/12ft... </div>
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It's no secrect: during summer they have Hurricanes and during winter the so called "Christmas winds" in the Caribbean. Here's an excerpt from <a href="http://www.doyleguides.com/caribbean_weather.htm" target="_blank">doyleguides</a> website: <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">In the winter season a
big high-pressure area to our northeast is a dominant feature. When the
isobars get tight, the wind increases and is sometimes very fresh (25-30
knots). We call these Christmas winds. </span></i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT', 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; line-height: 16px; opacity: 1.00;"></span></div>
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It looks like it's going to "calm" down a little by the coming weekend which would give us an opportunity to move on to Guadeloupe. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">typical squall with gusts and rain</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we've seen hundreds of rainbows in the Caribbean...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">rain again, this time in the far back over the mountains</td></tr>
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In the meantime we are not bored at all. During three days we've been exploring the island's beauty inland
by rental car. The following two days are predicted to be the worst so
we'll probably stay on the boat, tick some boat jobs from the list or
just hang out with a good book or watch a movie. </div>
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We have to admit that for a short period of time we've been tempted to lift anchor and rush towards Guadeloupe. But we're very happy that we stayed. There is so much to see and do, people are so friendly and helpful. Dominica and its people surprised us in so many ways, the list would be endless!</div>
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With love from paradise</div>
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Rahel</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046387897778993571.post-73952487860241712092012-12-31T23:27:00.001-04:002012-12-31T23:28:11.211-04:00Happy New Year from Dominica<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPa66iDKQNugoh351DguMhZS9IJ6fLndUnCG61YT_3zKSb5aJfJ7cPA6E5F4LnLSR0uggvGDMdFRxZoYav556Zy67_yuCd992pqsAnVICy9D_nQNH3aNGl6u4MPFiRt0AXke6p6_ssZoX1/s1600/_MG_2726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPa66iDKQNugoh351DguMhZS9IJ6fLndUnCG61YT_3zKSb5aJfJ7cPA6E5F4LnLSR0uggvGDMdFRxZoYav556Zy67_yuCd992pqsAnVICy9D_nQNH3aNGl6u4MPFiRt0AXke6p6_ssZoX1/s400/_MG_2726.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When we passed by this beach yesterday we saw the locals enjoying some family time on and in the water. From young to old everyone seemed to have fun, children splashing or building sand castles, adults bathing while chatting to others or sipping on a Kubuli (local beer). Just a very relaxed atmosphere on a sunny Sunday afternoon with a lot of smiling faces. And they don't have much...<br />
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Since we moved on Habibi certain things are less important to us as they used to be. We enjoy every day even when for example discovering light beer in a supermarket (for Rahel of course) is the highlight of it! So, today is New Year's Eve? We don't fancy a big party. Actually we don't even have any plans. And don't get this wrong - we do not say this lifestyle is right for everyone. We really just say we learned a lot of new things the past year.<br />
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So, even there will be no big party we will spend our time gorgeously: We're having some sundowners with new found friends on their boat in a nice anchorage!<br />
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But we never forget our roots. All of you who made our dream possible and believed we can do it. There are so many people we should thank for that continuous support we get with our crazy sounding dream.<br />
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So lets say Thanks to you all: Blog Followers, Facebook Followers, our Families & Friends and as well the zillion of other people which contributed in many different ways to make our dream come true... <br />
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Thank you all and have a blast in 2013 and of course in many more years to come!<br />
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With much love from paradise <br />
Marco & Rahel on Habibi</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1