Randy's cruising logs season 1
Latest Caper, 11/04/06 - Little Lameshur Bay, St. John, USVI
We finally made it off the dock on Wednesday, Nov. 1st. We wanted to go to St. John which put the wind right on our nose so we just motored over. It didn’
t ruin our trip though because we were on the boat and moving to a tropical anchorage. We picked up a National Park System mooring ball in Francis Bay
and immediately we all jumped in the water. After 2 weeks and 2 days we were all dying to go swimming. The water was indigo blue and oh so nice.
Thursday morning it was up at 7:00am a quick cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal and back to work. This morning we installed the inverter. Inverters
convert 12 volt dc, battery power, to 110 ac, standard house power. This is very handy for charging batteries and such. It was about a 3 hour project. Had
lunch then went for our first snorkel. Lots of fish but no lobsters. Did I mention the water was oh so nice. Later that afternoon we went on a hike to an old
sugar mill ruin. It had been restored by the park service and was very interesting. Had sun downers in the cockpit. It was a marvelous day.
Friday morning it was up at 7 blah blah. The morning project today was installing the water filtration system. If you know me and plumbing, yes it was one
of those jobs. Should have taken a half an hour, took 3! Most of the time spent standing on my head. We then all hopped into the water and cleaned the
bottom of both the boat and the dinghy. What a way to work! Warm water, fish. There were two ramora fish, we think. They looked like those fish who
hook them selves to the bottom of sharks, rays, etc. They were about 2' long. Had lunch and then went for our first sail. Everything looks and works
great. Sailed around St. John to Little Lameshur Bay.
Saturday and we’re up and ready to sail back to St. Thomas and pick up Mike, Patti, Steve and Cherie Cornish. We’re taking them for a sail and
snorkeling. More about that later. First things first propane system won’t work so I had to tear it apart hopefully they will have the parts at the boat store in
St. Thomas to get it working.
Cheers from the Latest Caper crew!
We finally made it off the dock on Wednesday, Nov. 1st. We wanted to go to St. John which put the wind right on our nose so we just motored over. It didn’
t ruin our trip though because we were on the boat and moving to a tropical anchorage. We picked up a National Park System mooring ball in Francis Bay
and immediately we all jumped in the water. After 2 weeks and 2 days we were all dying to go swimming. The water was indigo blue and oh so nice.
Thursday morning it was up at 7:00am a quick cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal and back to work. This morning we installed the inverter. Inverters
convert 12 volt dc, battery power, to 110 ac, standard house power. This is very handy for charging batteries and such. It was about a 3 hour project. Had
lunch then went for our first snorkel. Lots of fish but no lobsters. Did I mention the water was oh so nice. Later that afternoon we went on a hike to an old
sugar mill ruin. It had been restored by the park service and was very interesting. Had sun downers in the cockpit. It was a marvelous day.
Friday morning it was up at 7 blah blah. The morning project today was installing the water filtration system. If you know me and plumbing, yes it was one
of those jobs. Should have taken a half an hour, took 3! Most of the time spent standing on my head. We then all hopped into the water and cleaned the
bottom of both the boat and the dinghy. What a way to work! Warm water, fish. There were two ramora fish, we think. They looked like those fish who
hook them selves to the bottom of sharks, rays, etc. They were about 2' long. Had lunch and then went for our first sail. Everything looks and works
great. Sailed around St. John to Little Lameshur Bay.
Saturday and we’re up and ready to sail back to St. Thomas and pick up Mike, Patti, Steve and Cherie Cornish. We’re taking them for a sail and
snorkeling. More about that later. First things first propane system won’t work so I had to tear it apart hopefully they will have the parts at the boat store in
St. Thomas to get it working.
Cheers from the Latest Caper crew!
Latest Caper 11/06/06, St.Thomas USVI
Good news they had the parts to fix the propane system! So I rebuilt it Saturday night so we would have coffee in the morning. Had a great time snorkeling
with Mike, Patty, Steve and Cherie. They are all such nice people and a pleasure to have aboard. Looks like Mike and Patty may want to spend the month of
May with us on the boat. So you people who are thinking about coming to visit need to sure up your dates. First come first serve with a max of 6 on the
boat. Picked up 8 scuba tanks and racks after we drop everybody off. The tanks are used but just inspected. Looking forward to our first dive.
Sundays project was to install the single side ban radio and rewire the cockpit speaker that hasn’t been working. Finished early afternoon and Dad and I
decided to try and clean the bottom of the keel. It has about 3" worth of growth on it. I guess Conch Charters doesn’t consider the bottom of the keel part
of the bottom of the boat? Oh well we’ll keep working at it. Ok, where to watch the Bronco game? We have decided to sail back to St. Thomas so we can
watch the game, and what a game it was. We are going to K-Mart one last time, do e-mail and a little grocery shopping.
Monday morning, Cheryl’s toilet isn’t working. We each have our own toilets with one to spare in the forward crew cabin, I’m sure I will swap that toilet with
another someday. But today I will add to the list 2 toilet rebuild kits. In the mean time I suppose I can let her use mine.
Remember please don’t forward junk e-mail but please write us personal e-mail we would love to hear from you.
Cheers,
The Latest Caper Crew
Good news they had the parts to fix the propane system! So I rebuilt it Saturday night so we would have coffee in the morning. Had a great time snorkeling
with Mike, Patty, Steve and Cherie. They are all such nice people and a pleasure to have aboard. Looks like Mike and Patty may want to spend the month of
May with us on the boat. So you people who are thinking about coming to visit need to sure up your dates. First come first serve with a max of 6 on the
boat. Picked up 8 scuba tanks and racks after we drop everybody off. The tanks are used but just inspected. Looking forward to our first dive.
Sundays project was to install the single side ban radio and rewire the cockpit speaker that hasn’t been working. Finished early afternoon and Dad and I
decided to try and clean the bottom of the keel. It has about 3" worth of growth on it. I guess Conch Charters doesn’t consider the bottom of the keel part
of the bottom of the boat? Oh well we’ll keep working at it. Ok, where to watch the Bronco game? We have decided to sail back to St. Thomas so we can
watch the game, and what a game it was. We are going to K-Mart one last time, do e-mail and a little grocery shopping.
Monday morning, Cheryl’s toilet isn’t working. We each have our own toilets with one to spare in the forward crew cabin, I’m sure I will swap that toilet with
another someday. But today I will add to the list 2 toilet rebuild kits. In the mean time I suppose I can let her use mine.
Remember please don’t forward junk e-mail but please write us personal e-mail we would love to hear from you.
Cheers,
The Latest Caper Crew
Latest Caper 11/08/06, Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Hi All,
Everything is awesome on the good ship Latest Caper!
Monday we left St.Thomas after a gleeful night of watching the Steelers totally suck and enjoying many a bucket of beers, Sorry Ned, we sailed to Jost
Van Dyke. Had cocktails at Foxy’s and dinner on the boat. Life is good.
Tuesday Cheryl and I Climb to the tower on top of Jost Van Dyke, Mom and Dad still not feeling 100%. The tower is 1100' above the bay so it was a very
steep hike. It took us about 11/2 hours to reach the top. Hopefully there are pictures attached. The day before we saw a boat drop there boat hook
overboard and not even try to recover it. So after lunch Cheryl and I went for a snorkel to see if we could find it. SCORE!!! Found it after about 10 minutes.
Spent the rest of the afternoon chilling on the boat.
Wednesday morning I decided to fix Cheryl’s toilet. 10 minute job. I’m not sure how long it will last because no job on the boat ever takes 10 minutes.
Played with the dinghy hoist for the first time this morning. Worked out a few bugs and now we are able to hoist the dinghy on deck. Set sail to Cane
Garden Bay. It is such a pretty place. I will try to attach a photo. Alright now it’s time to head to shore and see if I can steal some wireless internet and
send this e-mail.
Love you all,
The Latest Caper Crew
Hi All,
Everything is awesome on the good ship Latest Caper!
Monday we left St.Thomas after a gleeful night of watching the Steelers totally suck and enjoying many a bucket of beers, Sorry Ned, we sailed to Jost
Van Dyke. Had cocktails at Foxy’s and dinner on the boat. Life is good.
Tuesday Cheryl and I Climb to the tower on top of Jost Van Dyke, Mom and Dad still not feeling 100%. The tower is 1100' above the bay so it was a very
steep hike. It took us about 11/2 hours to reach the top. Hopefully there are pictures attached. The day before we saw a boat drop there boat hook
overboard and not even try to recover it. So after lunch Cheryl and I went for a snorkel to see if we could find it. SCORE!!! Found it after about 10 minutes.
Spent the rest of the afternoon chilling on the boat.
Wednesday morning I decided to fix Cheryl’s toilet. 10 minute job. I’m not sure how long it will last because no job on the boat ever takes 10 minutes.
Played with the dinghy hoist for the first time this morning. Worked out a few bugs and now we are able to hoist the dinghy on deck. Set sail to Cane
Garden Bay. It is such a pretty place. I will try to attach a photo. Alright now it’s time to head to shore and see if I can steal some wireless internet and
send this e-mail.
Love you all,
The Latest Caper Crew
Latest Caper, 11/11/06, Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
Ahoy Mates,
Happy Birthday Ches! I hope you have a great day!
Thursday sailed to Virgin Gorda. This is the place we will wait for a weather window to sail to St. Martin. Just sailing and chill’n all day.
Friday more boat chores. My Mom is like a dictator when it comes to chores! Installed more fans and reading lights. With chores done to the dictators
satisfaction we went to shore to check out the local amenities. Bar, Laundry, Swimming pool(Rick & Craig this is the pool we went swimming in last year
after making Darrell buy us drinks for sleeping through the storm),Internet yeah. Turns out they are having their first beach bar BQ of the season with
Moko Jumbies. Moko Jumbies are local people on these huge stilts. We had a great time. I’ll send pics.
Saturday Girls did laundry. Dad and I calibrated the autopilot. Sail about 2 miles up to the Bitter End Yacht Club. We will wait her for a weather window to
sail to St. Martin. Looks like Tuesday or Wednesday. Hopefully we will be able to watch the bronco’s at the yacht club tomorrow
Cheers for now
The Latest Caper Crew
Ahoy Mates,
Happy Birthday Ches! I hope you have a great day!
Thursday sailed to Virgin Gorda. This is the place we will wait for a weather window to sail to St. Martin. Just sailing and chill’n all day.
Friday more boat chores. My Mom is like a dictator when it comes to chores! Installed more fans and reading lights. With chores done to the dictators
satisfaction we went to shore to check out the local amenities. Bar, Laundry, Swimming pool(Rick & Craig this is the pool we went swimming in last year
after making Darrell buy us drinks for sleeping through the storm),Internet yeah. Turns out they are having their first beach bar BQ of the season with
Moko Jumbies. Moko Jumbies are local people on these huge stilts. We had a great time. I’ll send pics.
Saturday Girls did laundry. Dad and I calibrated the autopilot. Sail about 2 miles up to the Bitter End Yacht Club. We will wait her for a weather window to
sail to St. Martin. Looks like Tuesday or Wednesday. Hopefully we will be able to watch the bronco’s at the yacht club tomorrow
Cheers for now
The Latest Caper Crew
Latest Caper, Nov. 18, 2006, Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten Dutch West Indies
Howdy All,
Yes, we made it to Sint Maarten and no I did not PUKE!!!! Actually the trip was very mellow 5 knots of wind and 2-4' swells. We arrived at 12:00 midnight.
The bay was pretty simple to get into in the dark. Had a glass of wine and went to bed.
We will be based out of here until Jan. 5th the day after Tony flies home. We hope to get the dodger, radar arch and enclosure built while we are here.
We went to a German beer and sausage festival last night. Good beer and food but more like going out to dinner than a festival. Afterward we went to a
casino and lost about $3.00 between us all playing .01 black jack video. Had a blast. Oh yeah the drinks were free!
Still doing chores in the morning and trying to explore the island in the afternoon. Did I tell you that we are a two car family now? In other words we
bought another dinghy and outboard motor. A dinghy is a small inflatable boat that we use to get to shore from the boat which is anchored in the bay.
It’s great having two, now somebody can leave the boat without stranding the others.
That’s all for now.
Love you all,
The Latest Caper Crew
Howdy All,
Yes, we made it to Sint Maarten and no I did not PUKE!!!! Actually the trip was very mellow 5 knots of wind and 2-4' swells. We arrived at 12:00 midnight.
The bay was pretty simple to get into in the dark. Had a glass of wine and went to bed.
We will be based out of here until Jan. 5th the day after Tony flies home. We hope to get the dodger, radar arch and enclosure built while we are here.
We went to a German beer and sausage festival last night. Good beer and food but more like going out to dinner than a festival. Afterward we went to a
casino and lost about $3.00 between us all playing .01 black jack video. Had a blast. Oh yeah the drinks were free!
Still doing chores in the morning and trying to explore the island in the afternoon. Did I tell you that we are a two car family now? In other words we
bought another dinghy and outboard motor. A dinghy is a small inflatable boat that we use to get to shore from the boat which is anchored in the bay.
It’s great having two, now somebody can leave the boat without stranding the others.
That’s all for now.
Love you all,
The Latest Caper Crew
Latest Caper, Nov. 27, 2006, Simpson Bay Lagoon, Sint Maarten
Hey all,
We hope you are all doing well. As for us we have been busy. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We had Chinese food for a late lunch and
guests over and appetizers for dinner. Our guests were Paul and Lynn. They live on a boat here in the bay. Very nice people. For those of you who
forgot, and there were a lot of you, the next day was my birthday. We all went out to dinner and I had a huge lobster. Yes, it was awesome. Then we
went to the casino for more 1 cent blackjack and free drinks. A good time was had by all!
It seems the projects don’t end. The last two days Dad and me have been finishing up the SSB radio. Believe me it was not plug and play!!! Now I only
pray it works!!! We’ll find out tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to fabricate some stainless steel for are dodger and cockpit enclosure. Bet you didn’t
know I could fabricate stainless steel? Yeah neither did I. I should be an expert by tomorrow night. Last night I had a revelation about cruisers and
drinking. I thought they tended to drink to much because of all the free time they had. Turns out it is because of all the frustrating projects that you
never have the right tool or in my case knowledge for and every project takes 3 times as long as it should. By 4:30 every night I’m ready for a “Randy
special”. A Randy special always has lots of RUM and what ever mix is handy. Speaking of RUM we are having a debate on the boat rather running
out of RUM constitutes an emergency? You see our SSB radio has a distress button and the instructions stresses only to push in an emergency.
What do you think? Luckily we haven’t run out yet.
Last night we had a pot luck dinner with some other cruisers. There was 9 of us total. 5 Americans, 2 South Africans, 1 Aussie and 1 Austrian.
Interesting people, had a good time.
Hi, its me. Randy finally let me talk. I have to let you know that we are in a bay that has many, many MEGA YACHTS. Each day more come in. We have
noticed that the first thing that they do is clean the boat inside and out. Most of them are power yachts. Well there was this beautiful sailing yacht, 150
plus feet, that Genie and myself noticed that they hadn’t cleaned the diesel exhaust off the outside. We noticed this for several days, to our disgust.
One night we had had enough, very stealth liked Genie & myself motored over to them in the dinghy and I wrote “WASH ME” as big as I could on the
side of the boat. The very next day before we could get any pictures of our handy work, they were finally cleaning the outside of the boat. This was
very funny!!
Well this is getting pretty long. We will let you go for now. Look for pictures that Randy will be sending soon.
Love you,
Latest caper crew.
Hey all,
We hope you are all doing well. As for us we have been busy. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We had Chinese food for a late lunch and
guests over and appetizers for dinner. Our guests were Paul and Lynn. They live on a boat here in the bay. Very nice people. For those of you who
forgot, and there were a lot of you, the next day was my birthday. We all went out to dinner and I had a huge lobster. Yes, it was awesome. Then we
went to the casino for more 1 cent blackjack and free drinks. A good time was had by all!
It seems the projects don’t end. The last two days Dad and me have been finishing up the SSB radio. Believe me it was not plug and play!!! Now I only
pray it works!!! We’ll find out tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to fabricate some stainless steel for are dodger and cockpit enclosure. Bet you didn’t
know I could fabricate stainless steel? Yeah neither did I. I should be an expert by tomorrow night. Last night I had a revelation about cruisers and
drinking. I thought they tended to drink to much because of all the free time they had. Turns out it is because of all the frustrating projects that you
never have the right tool or in my case knowledge for and every project takes 3 times as long as it should. By 4:30 every night I’m ready for a “Randy
special”. A Randy special always has lots of RUM and what ever mix is handy. Speaking of RUM we are having a debate on the boat rather running
out of RUM constitutes an emergency? You see our SSB radio has a distress button and the instructions stresses only to push in an emergency.
What do you think? Luckily we haven’t run out yet.
Last night we had a pot luck dinner with some other cruisers. There was 9 of us total. 5 Americans, 2 South Africans, 1 Aussie and 1 Austrian.
Interesting people, had a good time.
Hi, its me. Randy finally let me talk. I have to let you know that we are in a bay that has many, many MEGA YACHTS. Each day more come in. We have
noticed that the first thing that they do is clean the boat inside and out. Most of them are power yachts. Well there was this beautiful sailing yacht, 150
plus feet, that Genie and myself noticed that they hadn’t cleaned the diesel exhaust off the outside. We noticed this for several days, to our disgust.
One night we had had enough, very stealth liked Genie & myself motored over to them in the dinghy and I wrote “WASH ME” as big as I could on the
side of the boat. The very next day before we could get any pictures of our handy work, they were finally cleaning the outside of the boat. This was
very funny!!
Well this is getting pretty long. We will let you go for now. Look for pictures that Randy will be sending soon.
Love you,
Latest caper crew.
Latest Caper, December 6, 2006, FKG Fabricators Dock, Sint Maarten
Hi Everybody,
I hope you all are doing well. We are very excited because we are having our radar arch built today!!! It will probably take 3 days for them to complete
it. In the mean time the canvas lady is finishing the canvas for our bimini and dodger. I will send pictures when they are finished. After they are done
we will only have to install the radar, wind generator, new kitchen sink and the water maker when it comes in. Wow it didn’t seem like much until I
typed it. Today Dad and I are going to rebuild the windless system. The windless is an electric winch that lowers and raises the anchor. Right now
ours only raises the anchor and the wiring is old and corroded.
We decide to take last weekend off. Saturday we all took the bus to the French side of the island. We went to Margot witch is the capital of St. Martin.
Very old world looking town. Had a great lunch and toured the town(other words, girls went shopping) Sunday Cheryl and I decided to go to the
beach. I wanted to go to Orient beach on the french side (read topless french girls) but Cheryl wanted to go to the beach at the end of the runway
(read NO topless French girls :( ). It was to COOL, the jet blast will blow your chairs and coolers into the water when they take off and they come right
over the top of your head when they land. I’ll send pictures. Anyway it wasn’t a great chill’n beach so we headed down the road to look for a better
spot. We could not find access so we cut through a resort. Next thing I know Cheryl is sitting on a pool chair ordering a cocktail, you know the type
fruity with an umbrella. So we ended up crashing the resort pool and drinking tropical cocktails all day. Aaaaah life is good! Hopefully we will have
lots of days like this when we get all the boat projects done.
Hi, its me. Remember the big white sailing yacht Genie & I left WASH ME on. You would of thought that they would of kept it clean NOT! This time we
wanted to write TSK! TSK! but, Randy didn’t think returning to the seen of the crime was a very good idea. I just hate it when he is right and he
knows it!!!
We have been having some pretty windy day and night. Gusts up to 30 knots which is very loud. We had been anchored for over 24 hours so we
thought that our anchor was pretty well set in the bottom. NOT!! Three of us were just coming aboard one day when Randy told us (screamed more
like it) that we are dragging. That started the mad scurring. We were sliding towards a sailboat, which didn’t have anyone aboard at the time, thank
goodness they didn’t have to see how close we came to them. We had a stiff cocktail after that. We kept watch to see if we were dragging the
anchor, it seemed to hold. We went to bed, our anchor alarm goes off! We hop out of bed, sure enough we are moving and its raining. We scramble
for the rain coats. Gary starts the motor, Randy goes to the anchor I stand between the two of them relaying back and forth (wind is very loud and
the boat is 50 feet), Genie is at the ready for anything. OK, we are in a new spot all seems well, RIGHT! Sometime later Gary wakes us up and tells us
we are moving again. We all know the drill. Yet again we are in a new spot. This all happened within 8 hours. I HATE THE WIND!!! This seems like a
OXY MORON since we are living on a Sailboat that needs wind. The next day we all took a nap. Randy later dove on the anchor and made sure that
we we’re set. Genie and myself still slept uneasily for several days. Every time a gust would come we would look at each other and cringe. Thank
God the winds aren’t always gusting.
We have more projects to complete, bye for now.
Latest Caper Crew.
Hi Everybody,
I hope you all are doing well. We are very excited because we are having our radar arch built today!!! It will probably take 3 days for them to complete
it. In the mean time the canvas lady is finishing the canvas for our bimini and dodger. I will send pictures when they are finished. After they are done
we will only have to install the radar, wind generator, new kitchen sink and the water maker when it comes in. Wow it didn’t seem like much until I
typed it. Today Dad and I are going to rebuild the windless system. The windless is an electric winch that lowers and raises the anchor. Right now
ours only raises the anchor and the wiring is old and corroded.
We decide to take last weekend off. Saturday we all took the bus to the French side of the island. We went to Margot witch is the capital of St. Martin.
Very old world looking town. Had a great lunch and toured the town(other words, girls went shopping) Sunday Cheryl and I decided to go to the
beach. I wanted to go to Orient beach on the french side (read topless french girls) but Cheryl wanted to go to the beach at the end of the runway
(read NO topless French girls :( ). It was to COOL, the jet blast will blow your chairs and coolers into the water when they take off and they come right
over the top of your head when they land. I’ll send pictures. Anyway it wasn’t a great chill’n beach so we headed down the road to look for a better
spot. We could not find access so we cut through a resort. Next thing I know Cheryl is sitting on a pool chair ordering a cocktail, you know the type
fruity with an umbrella. So we ended up crashing the resort pool and drinking tropical cocktails all day. Aaaaah life is good! Hopefully we will have
lots of days like this when we get all the boat projects done.
Hi, its me. Remember the big white sailing yacht Genie & I left WASH ME on. You would of thought that they would of kept it clean NOT! This time we
wanted to write TSK! TSK! but, Randy didn’t think returning to the seen of the crime was a very good idea. I just hate it when he is right and he
knows it!!!
We have been having some pretty windy day and night. Gusts up to 30 knots which is very loud. We had been anchored for over 24 hours so we
thought that our anchor was pretty well set in the bottom. NOT!! Three of us were just coming aboard one day when Randy told us (screamed more
like it) that we are dragging. That started the mad scurring. We were sliding towards a sailboat, which didn’t have anyone aboard at the time, thank
goodness they didn’t have to see how close we came to them. We had a stiff cocktail after that. We kept watch to see if we were dragging the
anchor, it seemed to hold. We went to bed, our anchor alarm goes off! We hop out of bed, sure enough we are moving and its raining. We scramble
for the rain coats. Gary starts the motor, Randy goes to the anchor I stand between the two of them relaying back and forth (wind is very loud and
the boat is 50 feet), Genie is at the ready for anything. OK, we are in a new spot all seems well, RIGHT! Sometime later Gary wakes us up and tells us
we are moving again. We all know the drill. Yet again we are in a new spot. This all happened within 8 hours. I HATE THE WIND!!! This seems like a
OXY MORON since we are living on a Sailboat that needs wind. The next day we all took a nap. Randy later dove on the anchor and made sure that
we we’re set. Genie and myself still slept uneasily for several days. Every time a gust would come we would look at each other and cringe. Thank
God the winds aren’t always gusting.
We have more projects to complete, bye for now.
Latest Caper Crew.
Latest Caper, Dec. 21, 2006, Simpson Bay Lagoon, Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies
Hi All,
Sorry I haven’t written but........we have been playing!!! Finished up all the projects last Thursday, praise God. Stocked up on beer on Friday and left
Saturday morning for Saba. Saba is about 25 miles south of Sint Maarten. We left the lagoon at the 9:00 bridge opening and arrived in Saba at 2:00
in the afternoon sailing all the way. Picked up a mooring ball in Ladder Bay. From Ladder Bay there are 2 ways to get to town. The first is straight up
800+ steps. Cheryl said yeah right! So we got in the dinghy and motored around to the harbor and caught a taxi up to the Bottom. Yes you have to
go up to get to the Bottom. The Bottom is the name of one of the towns. Actually it is the capital of Saba. Anyways we ended up doing a tour of the
island. It didn’t take long as the island is only 5sq. miles but it towers 3000' above sea level. I’ll send pictures. The anchorage is not very protected
and we rolled wildly all night. The next morning Cheryl and I went diving. Saba is supposed to have the best diving in the Caribbean and I would
have to agree as our 2 tank dive turned to 3 and had they let us we would have done 4 dives. Again another night of rock and roll so we left early in
the morning for Statia. Statia is 17 miles east of Saba. Which means straight up wind. We left early and it only took 3 hours so it wasn’t to bad. Statia
is a sleepy little island and so far my favorite. Somebody told us it is like the Caribbean of 50 years ago except with electricity. Strolled through the
town the first day and had a well deserved peaceful nights sleep. In the morning Mom, Dad and I hiked up the volcano. It was a mellow hike 2000' up.
It took us about 11/2 hours to reach the top. When we looked into the crater it reminded us of Jurassic Park. It was so beautiful. Though we were all
on the look out for T-Rex’s. It was the best hike of the trip so far. The rock and roll was back that night so not much sleep. The next day Cheryl and I
did 2 dives. We must have seen 25 lobsters but since it’s a marine reserve, and they were watching, we couldn’t harvest any :(. Average diving, it’s
hard to live up to Saba).. The dive shop offered Cheryl and I a job! We told him maybe next year. Another rock and roll night so we got up early and
sailed back to Sint Maarten 35 miles made it in 4 ½ hours motor sailing. We wanted to be back for the 11:00 bridge opening. The bridge opens at 9:
00, 11:00 and 5:00. When you come through at 5:00 you have to find a place to anchor quickly as the sun goes down at 6:00. Tomorrow we’ll
decorate the boat for Christmas then Tony comes in on Sunday. Can’t wait to see him. Then it’s off to St, Barts for New Years.
Merry Christmas
We love you all
Latest Caper Crew
Hi All,
Sorry I haven’t written but........we have been playing!!! Finished up all the projects last Thursday, praise God. Stocked up on beer on Friday and left
Saturday morning for Saba. Saba is about 25 miles south of Sint Maarten. We left the lagoon at the 9:00 bridge opening and arrived in Saba at 2:00
in the afternoon sailing all the way. Picked up a mooring ball in Ladder Bay. From Ladder Bay there are 2 ways to get to town. The first is straight up
800+ steps. Cheryl said yeah right! So we got in the dinghy and motored around to the harbor and caught a taxi up to the Bottom. Yes you have to
go up to get to the Bottom. The Bottom is the name of one of the towns. Actually it is the capital of Saba. Anyways we ended up doing a tour of the
island. It didn’t take long as the island is only 5sq. miles but it towers 3000' above sea level. I’ll send pictures. The anchorage is not very protected
and we rolled wildly all night. The next morning Cheryl and I went diving. Saba is supposed to have the best diving in the Caribbean and I would
have to agree as our 2 tank dive turned to 3 and had they let us we would have done 4 dives. Again another night of rock and roll so we left early in
the morning for Statia. Statia is 17 miles east of Saba. Which means straight up wind. We left early and it only took 3 hours so it wasn’t to bad. Statia
is a sleepy little island and so far my favorite. Somebody told us it is like the Caribbean of 50 years ago except with electricity. Strolled through the
town the first day and had a well deserved peaceful nights sleep. In the morning Mom, Dad and I hiked up the volcano. It was a mellow hike 2000' up.
It took us about 11/2 hours to reach the top. When we looked into the crater it reminded us of Jurassic Park. It was so beautiful. Though we were all
on the look out for T-Rex’s. It was the best hike of the trip so far. The rock and roll was back that night so not much sleep. The next day Cheryl and I
did 2 dives. We must have seen 25 lobsters but since it’s a marine reserve, and they were watching, we couldn’t harvest any :(. Average diving, it’s
hard to live up to Saba).. The dive shop offered Cheryl and I a job! We told him maybe next year. Another rock and roll night so we got up early and
sailed back to Sint Maarten 35 miles made it in 4 ½ hours motor sailing. We wanted to be back for the 11:00 bridge opening. The bridge opens at 9:
00, 11:00 and 5:00. When you come through at 5:00 you have to find a place to anchor quickly as the sun goes down at 6:00. Tomorrow we’ll
decorate the boat for Christmas then Tony comes in on Sunday. Can’t wait to see him. Then it’s off to St, Barts for New Years.
Merry Christmas
We love you all
Latest Caper Crew
Latest Caper, Jan 1, 2007 Gustavia, St. Barts, French West Indies
Greetings and Happy New Year to all,
Yes, we partied with the beautiful people in St. Barts on New Years Eve. We had dinner at Le Select. For you Jimmy Buffet fans Le Select is the
place where Cheese Burger in Paradise originated. So of course we had cheese burgers with lettuce and tomato, heinz 57 and french fried
potatoes.... Man was it gooood! Then we partied on the Quay (boardwalk) with the rich and famous. Actually the only famous person we saw was
Jon Bon Jovi. He was on his way to one of the Big boats to party. There was a live band on the quay and fire works at midnight with all the big
boats blowing their horns. To cool! So we partied like its..... well 2007.
You can not believe the boats. The bay looks like a city at night with all the boats with their lights on. There must be 50 mega yachts and another
50+ sailboats in the bay. When I say mega yacht I’m talking 200' - 300'. There are few with helicopters on the back. We saw a bunch of guys playing
basketball on the back deck of one! There was also two J boats. J boats were the boats used in the America’s Cup around 1930. We got to see
them racing on New Years day. Magnificent is the word that comes to mind.
Backing up a bit. Tony flew in on the 24th. We went straight to the casino to watch the Bronco’s play. That reminds me, I wonder if the Bronco’s
won yesterday? We had a pot luck dinner on the boat with the crew, and their guests, from two other boats on Christmas. The next day we left the
bay threw the bridge on the French side. This was the first time we went threw the French bridge. It was a little scary because it is very shallow with
just a little channel. Spent a couple of days just chill’n in Grande Case. A little bay on the French side of St. Martin. On the 29th we had a brisk sail,
20 knots of wind and 6-8' seas a little forward of the beam, to St. Barts. We got a mooring ball in Anse De Colombier, a pretty little bay on the north
west corner of St. Barts. Tony, Cheryl and I had a nice dive off the boat the next day. Then we motored to Gustavia the main town on St. Barts.
Looks like we will sail back to Sint Maarten tomorrow or the next day. Sint Maarten is about 15 miles to the west. The wind always blows out of the
east so it will be a nice down wind sail. It’s about time we sailed the right direction, with the wind. Tony fly’s out on the 4th then we have 6 days to
get to Antigua to pick up Gene and Irene. Gene is the person who got my parents into sailing when we lived in Vermont in about 1972. He is
probably responsible for all of this. Antigua is 75 miles east. That’s right EAST, the WRONG direction!!! There are two ways to get there. #1 BASH
up wind, and waves, for 12 hours. NOT fun but only 12 hours. #2 sail south east to Stacia 30 miles about 41/2 hours. Then sail to Nevis about
another 30 miles. Then sail to Montserrat about another 30 miles. But I here the volcano is acting up. Guess I better find out. Then sail to
Guadeloupe another 45 miles or 75 if we can’t stop at Montserrat. Then sail north east to Antigua about another 40 miles. #2 will be smoother
sailing but 5-6 hours 5 days in a row. Oh well I guess I’m leaning towards just sucking it up and do the 12 hour BASH. Or maybe I’ll fly! It’s only 40
minutes by air. I wish!!! Please pray for light wind on the 6th and 7th. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Wishing you all a heathy and prosperous
new year!
The Latest Caper Crew
Up date, 1/5/07, I saw that the Donkey’s couldn’t beat SF and #27 was shoot and killed. Looks like we’ll get our best weather window Monday night
so we should leave for Antigua Monday night at midnight. Pray for small seas and a north east wind.
Greetings and Happy New Year to all,
Yes, we partied with the beautiful people in St. Barts on New Years Eve. We had dinner at Le Select. For you Jimmy Buffet fans Le Select is the
place where Cheese Burger in Paradise originated. So of course we had cheese burgers with lettuce and tomato, heinz 57 and french fried
potatoes.... Man was it gooood! Then we partied on the Quay (boardwalk) with the rich and famous. Actually the only famous person we saw was
Jon Bon Jovi. He was on his way to one of the Big boats to party. There was a live band on the quay and fire works at midnight with all the big
boats blowing their horns. To cool! So we partied like its..... well 2007.
You can not believe the boats. The bay looks like a city at night with all the boats with their lights on. There must be 50 mega yachts and another
50+ sailboats in the bay. When I say mega yacht I’m talking 200' - 300'. There are few with helicopters on the back. We saw a bunch of guys playing
basketball on the back deck of one! There was also two J boats. J boats were the boats used in the America’s Cup around 1930. We got to see
them racing on New Years day. Magnificent is the word that comes to mind.
Backing up a bit. Tony flew in on the 24th. We went straight to the casino to watch the Bronco’s play. That reminds me, I wonder if the Bronco’s
won yesterday? We had a pot luck dinner on the boat with the crew, and their guests, from two other boats on Christmas. The next day we left the
bay threw the bridge on the French side. This was the first time we went threw the French bridge. It was a little scary because it is very shallow with
just a little channel. Spent a couple of days just chill’n in Grande Case. A little bay on the French side of St. Martin. On the 29th we had a brisk sail,
20 knots of wind and 6-8' seas a little forward of the beam, to St. Barts. We got a mooring ball in Anse De Colombier, a pretty little bay on the north
west corner of St. Barts. Tony, Cheryl and I had a nice dive off the boat the next day. Then we motored to Gustavia the main town on St. Barts.
Looks like we will sail back to Sint Maarten tomorrow or the next day. Sint Maarten is about 15 miles to the west. The wind always blows out of the
east so it will be a nice down wind sail. It’s about time we sailed the right direction, with the wind. Tony fly’s out on the 4th then we have 6 days to
get to Antigua to pick up Gene and Irene. Gene is the person who got my parents into sailing when we lived in Vermont in about 1972. He is
probably responsible for all of this. Antigua is 75 miles east. That’s right EAST, the WRONG direction!!! There are two ways to get there. #1 BASH
up wind, and waves, for 12 hours. NOT fun but only 12 hours. #2 sail south east to Stacia 30 miles about 41/2 hours. Then sail to Nevis about
another 30 miles. Then sail to Montserrat about another 30 miles. But I here the volcano is acting up. Guess I better find out. Then sail to
Guadeloupe another 45 miles or 75 if we can’t stop at Montserrat. Then sail north east to Antigua about another 40 miles. #2 will be smoother
sailing but 5-6 hours 5 days in a row. Oh well I guess I’m leaning towards just sucking it up and do the 12 hour BASH. Or maybe I’ll fly! It’s only 40
minutes by air. I wish!!! Please pray for light wind on the 6th and 7th. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Wishing you all a heathy and prosperous
new year!
The Latest Caper Crew
Up date, 1/5/07, I saw that the Donkey’s couldn’t beat SF and #27 was shoot and killed. Looks like we’ll get our best weather window Monday night
so we should leave for Antigua Monday night at midnight. Pray for small seas and a north east wind.
Latest Caper, January 13, 2007, English Harbor, Antigua
Greetings Landlubbers,
I write this log in great despair as it will be my last for sometime as Cheryl and I are returning to the land of winter in two days. We shall be looking
quite stylish at DIA in our Santa hats as those are the only warm clothes we have. We have become acclimated to the warm weather. Sometimes in
the evening we get chilled (78°) and have to put on long sleeve shirts. Speaking about coming home has anybody made my reservation at the
Betty Ford Clinic? Happy hour everyday for three months and wine with dinner every night. My liver will be glad to be home!
Anyway we did the 13 hour bash from St. Barts to Antigua. We left at midnight with Dad doing watch duty until 03:00, Mom from 03:00 - 05:00 and
me 05:00 until Cheryl woke up around 08:00. I watched The Last Samurai on my watch. I tossed out the fishing line once Cheryl was up and
caught a 30" mahi mahi. Cheryl made us sashimi, sushi, and hand rolls for dinner. It was awesome! We basically motor sailed close to the wind,
10 knots, as possible into about a 6' sea. This was the lightest wind and smallest seas we had seen in 2 months. We have been blessed with great
weather on all of the supposed bad passages. Favor ain’t fair but I’m great full for it. We made land fall at Jolly Harbor a great little marina
community. All the amenities diesel, gas, propane, water, GOLF, casino, POOL, big grocery store, etc. Dad and I played golf, Cheryl, Mom and I did
some pool time. The best part is that there are no white caps in the anchorage for first time in a couple of months. Backing up a bit we did some
diving in St. Barts and also saw the Maltese Falcon. The Maltese Falcon is the 2nd largest privately owned sail boat in the world. It’s about 275'
with 3 masts and sails set up like an old square rigger. I’ll send pics. Yesterday we sailed to English Harbor with a stop to go snorkeling on the
way. English Harbor was home to the British fleet in the late 1700's. So there is lots of history and forts to explore. I learned that Admiral Nelson is
more than cheap spiced rum. Tomorrow we are going to Shirley heights. It is the hill over looking the bay. There is a fort to explore and it is a local
tradition for happy hour on Sunday. They have a Bar BQ with a steal drum band. Should be a great place to watch the sunset and take in the
scenery. Monday we are going to hire a cab and do a tour of the island. Then it will be time to pack as we will be leaving the boat early Tuesday
morning for the airport :(.
Ah not really it will be nice to be home and sleep in a stable bed. Maybe do some skiing brrrrrrr.
My first league hockey game in 30 years is the night after we get home. 8:30pm that’s like 11:30 island time and I’m normally in bed by 8:30 island
time. Plus I’ll probably be having withdrawal shakes. Maybe I’ll do a nap and a couple of cocktails before the game? It will also be great to see
everyone back home and at work. Shit it’s only for two months to we meet the boat in St. Lucia.
Love you all,
The Latest Caper Crew
Greetings Landlubbers,
I write this log in great despair as it will be my last for sometime as Cheryl and I are returning to the land of winter in two days. We shall be looking
quite stylish at DIA in our Santa hats as those are the only warm clothes we have. We have become acclimated to the warm weather. Sometimes in
the evening we get chilled (78°) and have to put on long sleeve shirts. Speaking about coming home has anybody made my reservation at the
Betty Ford Clinic? Happy hour everyday for three months and wine with dinner every night. My liver will be glad to be home!
Anyway we did the 13 hour bash from St. Barts to Antigua. We left at midnight with Dad doing watch duty until 03:00, Mom from 03:00 - 05:00 and
me 05:00 until Cheryl woke up around 08:00. I watched The Last Samurai on my watch. I tossed out the fishing line once Cheryl was up and
caught a 30" mahi mahi. Cheryl made us sashimi, sushi, and hand rolls for dinner. It was awesome! We basically motor sailed close to the wind,
10 knots, as possible into about a 6' sea. This was the lightest wind and smallest seas we had seen in 2 months. We have been blessed with great
weather on all of the supposed bad passages. Favor ain’t fair but I’m great full for it. We made land fall at Jolly Harbor a great little marina
community. All the amenities diesel, gas, propane, water, GOLF, casino, POOL, big grocery store, etc. Dad and I played golf, Cheryl, Mom and I did
some pool time. The best part is that there are no white caps in the anchorage for first time in a couple of months. Backing up a bit we did some
diving in St. Barts and also saw the Maltese Falcon. The Maltese Falcon is the 2nd largest privately owned sail boat in the world. It’s about 275'
with 3 masts and sails set up like an old square rigger. I’ll send pics. Yesterday we sailed to English Harbor with a stop to go snorkeling on the
way. English Harbor was home to the British fleet in the late 1700's. So there is lots of history and forts to explore. I learned that Admiral Nelson is
more than cheap spiced rum. Tomorrow we are going to Shirley heights. It is the hill over looking the bay. There is a fort to explore and it is a local
tradition for happy hour on Sunday. They have a Bar BQ with a steal drum band. Should be a great place to watch the sunset and take in the
scenery. Monday we are going to hire a cab and do a tour of the island. Then it will be time to pack as we will be leaving the boat early Tuesday
morning for the airport :(.
Ah not really it will be nice to be home and sleep in a stable bed. Maybe do some skiing brrrrrrr.
My first league hockey game in 30 years is the night after we get home. 8:30pm that’s like 11:30 island time and I’m normally in bed by 8:30 island
time. Plus I’ll probably be having withdrawal shakes. Maybe I’ll do a nap and a couple of cocktails before the game? It will also be great to see
everyone back home and at work. Shit it’s only for two months to we meet the boat in St. Lucia.
Love you all,
The Latest Caper Crew
Latest Caper, October 30, 2006 - St. Thomas, USVI
Crew: Randy, Cheryl, Gary and Genie
Greetings! Just realized we have been here two weeks and haven’t had the chance to update our log. Time flies when you’re having RUM! We arrived at
the boat Tuesday, October 17th after spending the night in St. Thomas and taking the ferry to Tortola. The boat was on the dock and looked good. Girls
went shopping and the guys inspected the boat.
Wednesday, did a thorough checkout with Miles from Conch Charters. Gave us lots of good information about the boat. After the rain subsided, took off
for Soper’s Hole, about 2 hours away. Cleared customs, the boys went shopping and we ate dinner on the boat.
Thursday, first things first. After a night of RAIN, we had to bail the dinghy. It was so full of rain, even the gas tank was floating. Headed off to Cruz Bay in
St. John to clear customs. Anchored in a very crowded anchorage. Decided to have Gary check in and the rest of us stay on the boat. He got about 100
yards from the boat and the dinghy motor stopped. He gingerly rowed back to the boat. Did some “McGiver” stuff and got it started again. Sargent
Christopher, a very officious employee of the US Government grilled Gary as to why the rest of the crew wasn’t with him. She thrust the Proper Paper
work to him and told him to go outside and fill it out. Luckily the rain had stopped! He returned to the boat and the rest of us dutifully went back to the
custom’s office. Headed out for St. Thomas. We had checked out the marina before we went to the boat initially so knew where to find our slip. We
provided some good entertainment to the people on the docks as we docked the boat. Had a cross wind, so it was definitely entertaining. Everyone did a
good job, nothing was hit (very hard), no one fell overboard. We checked into the marina office and started bringing 11 of our 13 boxes we had mailed,
back to the boat. The office was excited to have their space back!
The next days were spent with the boys installing new fans, new lights, solar panels, solar panel regulators, new power supplies, the GPS and the “easy to
install” auto pilot. So far the “easy to install” auto pilot has taken three days and they’re still not finished. Believe an e-mail to Raymarine is in order. The
girls have had adventures in shopping taking the local dollar taxis. They are usually the only white faces! Many times the people aren’t too friendly but
Cheryl can usually make them laugh which breaks the ice. They have only gotten lost once and ended up in downtown Charlotte Amalie on a Saturday
with 4 cruise ships! Traffic unbelievable.
Met up with an old high school buddy of Gary and Genie’s. Mike and Patti Cornish have lived in St. Thomas for over a year and have been a great
resource. Took us to their place for dinner one night. Narrow, curving roads make for an e-ticket ride!
Haven’t mentioned the weather. Hot, humid and rainy the first week. This week more wind and less rain, which means it’s cooler (high 80's in temp and
humidity)! The good news is that it cools down to the low 80's at night! There are frequently squalls at night so when we start feeling the rain it’s a
scramble to get the hatches closed.
Since we’re at a marina, the guys have been able to watch football. The early games start at 2:00 and the late games start at 5:00. Monday night games
start at 10:00. We’re grateful that Denver hasn’t played on Monday.
It’s now Tuesday the 31st and we will be leaving the dock tomorrow to go on our first sail, swim and anchor in a tropical island bay! Boy have we earned it!
End of log
Crew: Randy, Cheryl, Gary and Genie
Greetings! Just realized we have been here two weeks and haven’t had the chance to update our log. Time flies when you’re having RUM! We arrived at
the boat Tuesday, October 17th after spending the night in St. Thomas and taking the ferry to Tortola. The boat was on the dock and looked good. Girls
went shopping and the guys inspected the boat.
Wednesday, did a thorough checkout with Miles from Conch Charters. Gave us lots of good information about the boat. After the rain subsided, took off
for Soper’s Hole, about 2 hours away. Cleared customs, the boys went shopping and we ate dinner on the boat.
Thursday, first things first. After a night of RAIN, we had to bail the dinghy. It was so full of rain, even the gas tank was floating. Headed off to Cruz Bay in
St. John to clear customs. Anchored in a very crowded anchorage. Decided to have Gary check in and the rest of us stay on the boat. He got about 100
yards from the boat and the dinghy motor stopped. He gingerly rowed back to the boat. Did some “McGiver” stuff and got it started again. Sargent
Christopher, a very officious employee of the US Government grilled Gary as to why the rest of the crew wasn’t with him. She thrust the Proper Paper
work to him and told him to go outside and fill it out. Luckily the rain had stopped! He returned to the boat and the rest of us dutifully went back to the
custom’s office. Headed out for St. Thomas. We had checked out the marina before we went to the boat initially so knew where to find our slip. We
provided some good entertainment to the people on the docks as we docked the boat. Had a cross wind, so it was definitely entertaining. Everyone did a
good job, nothing was hit (very hard), no one fell overboard. We checked into the marina office and started bringing 11 of our 13 boxes we had mailed,
back to the boat. The office was excited to have their space back!
The next days were spent with the boys installing new fans, new lights, solar panels, solar panel regulators, new power supplies, the GPS and the “easy to
install” auto pilot. So far the “easy to install” auto pilot has taken three days and they’re still not finished. Believe an e-mail to Raymarine is in order. The
girls have had adventures in shopping taking the local dollar taxis. They are usually the only white faces! Many times the people aren’t too friendly but
Cheryl can usually make them laugh which breaks the ice. They have only gotten lost once and ended up in downtown Charlotte Amalie on a Saturday
with 4 cruise ships! Traffic unbelievable.
Met up with an old high school buddy of Gary and Genie’s. Mike and Patti Cornish have lived in St. Thomas for over a year and have been a great
resource. Took us to their place for dinner one night. Narrow, curving roads make for an e-ticket ride!
Haven’t mentioned the weather. Hot, humid and rainy the first week. This week more wind and less rain, which means it’s cooler (high 80's in temp and
humidity)! The good news is that it cools down to the low 80's at night! There are frequently squalls at night so when we start feeling the rain it’s a
scramble to get the hatches closed.
Since we’re at a marina, the guys have been able to watch football. The early games start at 2:00 and the late games start at 5:00. Monday night games
start at 10:00. We’re grateful that Denver hasn’t played on Monday.
It’s now Tuesday the 31st and we will be leaving the dock tomorrow to go on our first sail, swim and anchor in a tropical island bay! Boy have we earned it!
End of log
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |