S/V L'ORIENT

North Sound, Virgin Gorda Newark NJ ?............Please, I grew up 10 miles from there..............Hartford CT ?............totally sketchy, but not even close...............Chernobyl ?...........OK, you got us there, but in terms  of realistic places, the most dangerous place in the world is, beyond a doubt...........The British Virgin Islands. Let me explain. Everyone who fancies themself a sailor comes here to rent a boat. And the rental companies are only too anxious to provide them with 50 ft. catamarans for a mere $8,000 per week, not including diesel, food, or.........ugh, damage. The problem is that these folks aren't qualified to sail (and we speak from experience). Imagine if National Car Rental was willing to rent Lamborghinis to people without drivers licenses and you get the picture. On L'ORIENT, happy hour is enhanced by "Port TV", or the sport of watching people in these under-captained boats. Yesterday, in a very wide anchorage..........

Our dinghy and L'ORIENT in Culebra We haven't really been away; just not blogging. We spent a wonderful 6 months in 2016 in Bonaire scuba diving, reading, and probably drinking a tad, wee bit too much. A quick trip to Andalucia, Spain and then wham !!! Sailing hit us full force in the face. Living on a 53 ft sailing yacht (especially on L'ORIENT) is opulent.......dare I say even luxurious. Need a beer ? Hmmm, which of our 3 refigerators did I leave that in ? Watermaker, A/C , clothes washer, dish washer.......we have it all. Just one problem; on long passages, its just Tom and Kirstin. Someone needs to be on watch at all times, and since many sail handling duties require two people, we are both in the cockpit. Bonaire to Culebra was over 3 days, and we got virtually no sleep. Many fellow yachties we know bring on temporary crew, but the thought of some random dude sitting on our boat chewing with his mouth open or picking his nose is revolting, and I would rather ke...