S/V L'ORIENT

The very "black ops" looking inflatable patrol boat had passed us slowly going the other way...........all ten coast guard guys looking right at us. Then, they did a quick power turn and were along side L'ORIENT in one hot second. Kirstin and I had just crossed the Mona Passage and were tired and relatively beaten up by 24 hours of squalls, big wind, and breaking waves. Tom- "Anything I can do for you guys ?" Coast Guard- "Sir, are you American citizens ? Have you been boarded by the USCG recently ? And do you have any weapons ?" Tom "No, no, and no" Coast Guard- "Mind if we inspect your boat ?" Funny, that this was delivered as a question but clearly wasn't. With 10 guys in black ops outfits with semi automatic guns looking at us, I graciously invited them on board. Not surprisingly, they didn't offer to take off their shoes which is standard etiquette among cruisers. As they began asking for documentation,

Vieques Well, we concluded our week in Samana............said goodbye to the military (with more money), and set off. We knew the next passage would not be ordinary. The Mona Passage is the strait between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Going directly east (into the prevailing wind) and across shoals, weird currents, and the ever present lightning storms. We consulted our crack weather router Clint Parkhurst again (and two other marine weather websites). Oh, great...........light conditions tomorrow. Off we go........... Neptune (controller of all things aquatic) doesn't like unscheduled PTO and since Kirstin and I had lounged in Samana for a week, we should have known we were in for it. As we left the marina, the wind promptly picked up and wham...........it was game on. First 1/3 of the 120 mile crossing featured very strong wind, big seas; in short it was nothing like we had been promised in the weather forecast. But we do get about 40 miles into the crossing wit

Puerto Bahia Marina - the only guest in sight Here in Samana, Dominican Republic....the world works differently. While in most part of the world, the price of things is advertised.......here it's more nuanced. For example, let's examine the process of actually arriving here on a sailboat. The DR actually operates like a premium hotel in terms of tipping (and by tipping I mean bribing). In a hotel, you're dealing with the doorman, valet, maitre d', concierge, and sommelier.........Here it's Customs, Immigration, the Army, Bureau of Taxation, Drug Inspector, and various "operators" at the dock. Good news from the immigration lady......."Senor, it's only $80 for a passport stamp". Tom/Kirstin- "Great......here's $80" Immigration Lady- "That will be $100" Tom/Kirstin- What? Oh, now we get it. Customs guy- "The inspection is free senor, but you are invited to make a contribution" Tom/Kirstin-

It was bound to happen.............believe it or not, I had never caught a fish in the ocean despite about 25 hours of trolling one, sometimes two lines. I don't fish all the time because L'ORIENT sails most often at night (so it's dangerous to be on the back of the boat). Daylight during calm seas is the only time we try this. But still..............c'mon man !!!! Zero fish ? I had tried everything, even emasculating myself and talking to "fish experts" in those red-neck outdoor stores (you know the ones; 10 million square feed dedicated to fishing stuff and bass boats). Anyway, one guy actually suggested a cedar plug with a hook in it. What ? OK, I'm stupid about fishing but not THAT stupid !!! What kind of a fish is dumb enough to bite a piece of wood ? No, I need a life-like looking squid with millions of tentacles and possibly a strobe light. The fishing consultant persisted............."really man, the plug works". I cannot adequate

Not a bad lunch view! What a difference a few days can make......earlier this week, just having parmesan cheese in our warm Beefaroni was enough to put smiles on our faces. We were being lashed by big winds and pounded by 10-11 foot waves. Kirstin has done a great job cooking, but it's not safe for anyone to be in the galley when the boat is rolling violently as it does during storms. Now in the Blue Haven marina (Turks and Caicos) we've enjoyed sipping wine on the bow of L'ORIENT while gazing a the full moon......nice beach walks in front of stylish resorts inhabited by perfect families......and our fellow yachties stop by to chat all the time. Good to the last drop - classy cruiser box wine bag My poolside reading is only interrupted by "Sir, can I get you anything ?" "No, actually I don't think I need a thing". This echos my thoughts on the big picture as well. But being the almost fully retired cheapskates we have become, staying i

View from the bow of our boat in Providenciales Kirstin and I are night sailing......3/4 moon.....20 knots of wind. We're tired from 9 straight hours of bashing into big waves. L'ORIENT is 10 miles from our midnight anchorage in Turks and Caicos. Suddenly on the VHF: Scary official sounding guy- "Vessel approaching Turks and Caicos from the northwest at 6 knots......state your intentions" Tom- What ? Kirstin- I wonder who he's talking to ? Scary official sounding guy (again)- Vessel approaching Turks and Caicos from the northwest......state your intentions" Tom- Hey, you know sweetie.......we're the only boat approaching from the northwest........I think he's talking to us. Kirstin- OK call him back So, we had been spotted by radar !!!!!!  No doubt our US tax dollars had been siphoned away to pay for some banana republic high tech radar to harass cruisers. We finally responded and answered the guy's question. What's our int

This passage- Miami Beach to Antigua- has thus far been one of extremes. Since the prevailing wind in the Bahamas is east and rather strong at this time of year, we’ve had to be patient. Changes to the wind’s direction occur when fronts pass………..creating momentary opportunities to move the boat southeast towards our destination. While the change in wind direction in these situations is welcome, the accompanying conditions are less so. After leaving Black Point in the Exumas, we sailed in very strong seas and wind   to Rum Cay (90 miles)………….slept for 5 hours at anchor………and then sailed for Mayaguana (135 miles). This was the better part of two straight days of heavy weather sailing. While it represented great progress , the seas were 10 ft, the wind 23-33 knots and we anchored here   totally exhausted.   Upon our arrival in Mayaguana on Saturday, the east wind returned and has intensified to 27-35 knots. We have been at anchor in a coral head minefield roughly two miles from

The crab - a work by Picasso Kleman During Mike Tyson's period of boxing domination, a reporter asked the champ if he was worried about his next opponent, who apparently had devised a plan to spring a major upset. "Everybody has a plan until they get hit upside the head" was his response. Here in the Bahamas, we create, revise, and re-revise our sailing route but the ultimate arbiter of our plan in clearly the weather. We're island hopping to the southeast.......making big jumps when the wind is favorable (which isn't often). We get no fewer than 3 weather reports, compare our information to that of other cruisers, then make a decision on whether to sail. The cost of being wrong can be severe.........in 25 knot wind coming right at us, the boat will move at only 2-3 knots; barely a slow walk. It's hard on the boat as well as our nerves. Move the wind around by 40 degrees, and L'ORIENT can move at more than 7 knots and cover a lot of ground quickl

Staniel Cay, Exumas After Club Chub and New Providence Island we went to Highbourne Cay…..in the Exumas. Lovely spot. More or less a small fishing outpost. Now we are at Staniel Cay, a beautiful, primitive, small resort a bit further southeast in the Exumas. Problem now is that ferocious east wind has trapped us here for a few days. Our choice is sailing against the wind in 12 foot seas or waiting this out……the latter is our plan. Staniel Cay International's Welcome Sign As in other spots, the new standard for us in gauging the suitability of a beach is whether is has perfect sand and is completely deserted. The beaches here are really lovely. Anchored in front of Staniel we actually prefer the beach on the left………while both beaches are devoid of people, wild pigs inhabit the beach on the right…..and feel entitled to handouts. I’m still getting over the Hannibal Lechter movie where pigs eat a guy so I could never spend a relaxing moment there. There are a few rule

Wow.....to quote an 80s song......"same as it ever was".........or to paraphrase Steven Colbert, we're out to prove we're the same sailors we never weren't. We left Miami Beach Marina on schedule with our Italian friends at mid day on Thursday. Alternator not working, autopilot mis-aligned - in other words, small boat problems. We bypassed Bimini, and headed right for Chub Cay Marina.......about 120 miles. First half of the trip was great sailing; then the wind died and we motored the last half.........still not bad given it's November and every mile east is a small victory (we need 1,000 more such victories). Day two and we sailed to the west side of New Providence Island. We are anchored here with our Amel friends Alessandro, Lucetta, Blu, and Eric (their crew). It's hard to describe the change we've undergone in the past 3 days. As jarring as Dec 5, 2012 was (when we ended our 13 months at sea)........this has been a wonderful reversal of t

It's early October and we're leaving in 6 weeks !!!  This time it's not just a trip- it's actually our new lifestyle (which is thrilling and scary at the same time). Tom will be working in the USA every March, April, September and October. The rest of the time we'll be on L'ORIENT, wherever that may be.......the Caribbean for at least the next 3 years. Kirstin is fully retired, yet busier than ever. She's overhauling our yacht canvas piece by piece, as well as making pillows, tablecloths, and even winch covers. She loves her sewing machine, and the inside of our boat now resembles a sweat shop.......fabric, grommets, other tools of the trade everywhere. Our boat projects are coming along slowly. It's dawned on us that anything we need to order (especially something big and mechanical) would need to be ordered soon. We're working our list down slowly..........to-dos as obscure as "change batteries/pads in defibrillator", and "reacti

What job ? Kirstin and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner last month to commemorate her retirement. You can see her mixed emotions as she contemplates her future life of cruising the high seas. Today she started the continuing education part of her retirement........"Canvas State". She is spending a week in Sarasota learning how to sew yacht canvas. It might sound like a trivial and obscure past-time, but anyone who lives on a boat understands how important and in-demand this skill is............especially in the Caribbean. While her plan is to work to keep LORIENT's canvas and interior looking snappy, it's crossed our minds that for extremely close friends we might now have something we can trade for Chardonnay.

Wow- it's almost August. Kirstin's last day of work is August 8; then she becomes a student at Kanvas State (she's taking canvas sewing lessons). Our bimini, cushions, and other Sunbrella flourishes are looking their age so this is not a moment too soon. Yesterday we did a complete inventory of every spare part on L'ORIENT, which if you know us is a major undertaking. We have almost enough parts to build another Amel (it seems). Our route back to the Caribbean has been a point of contention- with our insurance company. Apparently the "no Haiti" rule is quite firm. We had planned on going through the Windward Passage (between Cuba and Hait), stopping on Haiti's relatively safe West Coast......then heading east in a convenient wind shadow that resides under the Dominican Republic. Our insurance agent has nixed this idea, so we have to go to Plan-B. Anway, it's all very exciting............getting the boat ready, buying new gadgets, making sure ol

OK, not really............not yet :( But we have some big news !!! We are sailing on Nov 1 back to the Caribbean. Tom is entering semi-retirement. Kirstin will be fully retired (how did that work, anyway ?). In any case, negotiations with my boss were successfully concluded, and we will be 8 months in the Caribbean and 4 months in the US every year until we (me) fully retire. Kirstin is preparing for Kanvas State...........her course in sewing canvas. Could be a new business opportunity, but at a minimum it will save us big money on canvas work going forward. Next week, L'ORIENT returns to the high seas, albeit only to Ft. Lauderdale to get a bottom job. Tom and Kirstin will be doing the Amel "out of the water" maintenance thing........bow thruster, prop bushings, through-hulls, etc. I'm counting on my Italian plastic surgeon friend Alessandro to help as well. Should be fun.............as fun as 5 days in the Hampton Inn can be. Anyway, we are eager to test al

As we've blogged about before, aside from your boat- the most important possession a cruiser has is his/her dinghy. Crabby, our loyal (and cheap) West Marine dinghy served us well. Purchased in 2010, Crabby survived the entire 2012 trip...........at the end, leaky, unsteady, but still technically floating. Alas, we've retired old Crabby. This weekend at the Miami Boat Show, we banded together with our Italian besties (Alessandro and Lucetta of Grand Cru) and we each purchased new dinghies at a discount. For sailors, this is like getting a car, so excuse my gushing. Crabby II (our new ride) is an AB Marine (Italian, of course) 9.5 ft. super-dinghy............aluminum bottom, super thick tubes..............in short, a bad-ass king of the seas tender fit for an Amel (which, of course, we have). We're taking delivery of Crabby II in October of this year. Why then ? Well, you never know......maybe there's a cruise in our not so distant future.

It's been a while since our last post. As our loyal followers in Latvia and Eastern Europe would demand nothing less, it's time for an update........... First off, we still live on L'ORIENT. We have not bought a house, condo nor an apartment. We're a long way from being ready to give up our boat life. We've actually made some friends here in South Beach (we're usually not that social). B-Dock in the Miami Beach Marina is a little piece of Italy.........specifically, Bologna. Some Italian live-aboards have become our "besties". Allesandro (Italian plastic surgeon), Lucetta (gourmet cook wife), and Blu (adorable 4-year old daughter) are frequent guests and co-conspirators. They have exactly the same boat we do........an Amel Super Maramu 2000, so Allesandro and I share boat projects and ideas. A superbowl party, ski trip, and sailing are all planned. We continue to work on L'ORIENT to improve her, and the tempo is accelerating. Spare parts arri