S/V L'ORIENT

Even the mermaid isn't happy We also considered "mangled in Marigot"and "Simpson Bay savaged"! To catch up our loyal followers in Poland, India, and Lappland.......we spent hurricane season in Bonaire (as usual). Almost 4 months of diving, drinking, and relaxing (as though we don't do enough of that). The sail north was going to be different this time. Normally we would aim for Culebra, BVI, or St. Martin depending on the wind and seas. But with Irma and Maria impacting these areas, PR and BVI became no go zones. We approached St. Croix with more than a little trepidation. What did we find ? Puppies !!! (See pic below). And a looted ATM with a warm message on the screen. St. Croix was without power and had some land lines down but otherwise was fine. FEMA dudes and armed security were everywhere. We had been worried about Crabby (our dinghy) but an armed ex-military security guy watched him while we walked around and explored. Even bought diesel and...

How much does a boat cost you ? Easy.....everything in your wallet. L'ORIENT has a deal with us. We buy her everything she needs and she keeps us on the inside and water on the outside. We like this deal. But every 15 years you need to change the rigging........steel braided wires holding up the masts. The failure of on wire can cause the mast to harpoon your hull. In a marina you're OK after insurance pays you........if this happens at sea, the kids might be getting the inheritance early. So, gritting our teeth we came into LeMarin, Martinique and paid Phillipe and crew to do their thing. With 19 wires (or shrouds) our boat is a big payday for them. Pictured below is Anne guiding our $16,000 electric bow furling motor off the boat. Drop that and after my fog clears, I'm probably doing 25 to life upstate for quadruple homicide. Oh, and truth be told......we gave our boat a little early Christmas gift. A new staysail......improves our ability to sail closer to the w...

So Kirstin is away for a month on a Holland America cruise with her parents..........visiting Normandy, Denmark, and Bruges. I'm sure there are 5-6 more places but I can't find the itinerary. Anyway, that leaves Captain Sketchy (aka Tom) on the boat ALONE !!! The first thing I did was decide that St. Lucia was boring and sailed to Martinique. Along the way (at 6:30 AM) a whale dove under the boat from a distance of about 5 meters away. Not a pilot whale......but a big whale. To say I nearly had a heart attack would seriously understate things. I saw this enormous white blob go right under the boat. Both cool and terrifying. After I got to Martinique, I determined that I had indeed been wrong; it's Martinique that's boring. So, I sailed back to St. Lucia. It's important to find a 4 hour task and try to fit it into an 8 hour day. Of course, with 31 days by myself, I've changed every filter; lubed everything that needs grease; changed oil, capacitors, pumps, ...

We've had quite a new year so far. As our die hard Estonian blog fans recall, Kirstin and I sail eight months per year and work the other four. Or at least we did. My company e-mailed me (classy after 17 years) and informed me that I was now a full time sailor. Something about restructure, new strategy, selling the company, etc. So, what do we do ? Trick question 😄. Duh, we sail nearly full time. The feeling of being on the boat without work in the back of my mind is amazing.....goodbye suits, TSA lines, airline food, and Hilton Garden Inns. Oh, and for the second time since we began sailing, things got a bit dicey. Between Martinique and St. Lucia we encountered a three hour storm packing 41 knot wind. I don't mind saying that it was nerve wracking and a bit scary. The boat did fine, but we were a bit rattled. The forecast? 15-20 knot wind.....thanks Chris Parker. Bequia Blues and Jazz Festival Had fun at the blues concert here in Bequia.....and we love the Gre...

So last night we were enjoying "octopasta", Kirstin's famous pasta with octopus in vodka sauce.....yum. As we are getting into our second glass of a discount Bordeaux a small boat with a big spotlight emerges from the gloom. He buzzes around the mooring field searching the wooded cliff behind us with his spotlight. Then the fun begins........he decides it is L'ORIENT he is looking for. The boat edges closer, this time with the spotlight on us. His boat appears to be a French Customs Patrol. Tom- "Can we help you ?" French dude- "What is the name of your boat ?" Tom- using my annoying fake french accent - "L'ORIENT" French dude- "What is the name of your other boat ?" Confusion now reigns........what other boat ? Is this guy really Customs ? At this point we decide he might not be who he says he is. Tom- "Can you show me some identification ?" At this point, the customs boat does a 180 and quickly le...

"Can I have my chateaubriande without the reduction sauce ?" People equate sailing with "roughing it"..........eating hardtack, rotten vegetables, and warm beer. But whether on the boat or anchored off an island, we eat like kings, or at least the Foodies we aspire to be. On the boat, we have 3 refrigerators, a microwave, an oven, a gas grill, rice cookers, etc.......every gadget imaginable. And Kirstin has a photographic memory for grocery stores on islands so if there is a shop somewhere selling tandoori sauce or mango pickle, she will find it. But living (and getting) large also involves being in the right place. The island of Redondo ? Not much except a plague of 5000 large black rats......who can swim short distances. Yuck. Grande Case on the French side of St. Martin ? Great indoor restaurants as well as outdoor barbecue places called "lo-los"............local folk making amazing barbecued everything. My daily ration of  pomme tarte ...

Occasionally, living on our boat forces you into "stretch roles". Kirstin has become a canvas virtuoso out of necessity........fix the sail/canvas herself, or pay thousands to have someone else do it. Next project Even more complicated than it looks Unlike many people who are roughing it, we have 3-zone A/C, 3 refgerators, a watermaker, radar, sonar, microwave....basically everthing a condo has and more. When something breaks, we must fix it ourselves. Since we are self-taught, this generally involves learning on the job and hoping that there are no extra parts after reassembly. Our generator's brain Lately, our evening cocktails in the airconditioned saloon was rudely interrupted by a failure of the A/C unit......not OK. So, after fixing a bunch of things that werent broken, we stumbled upon the solution.....a $4 capacitor. Actually, its not that bad......we love boat projects and working with our hands.