Hope's and Howard's Sailing Adventures

Atlantic and Mediterranean Cruising on board Lady M

Second Wind Repairs Completed

Finally, the repairs on Second Wind were completed (it’s always the last little bits that take the time) and she departed Nanny Cay yesterday afternoon with all systems working well.  We are pleased with the way the repairs turned out; they should be as strong as the original, if not stronger with a few improvements to prevent a recurrence of the issue and the cabinetry that was removed probably looks.. Read More

Life is looking up again

We did make it out of Nanny Cay but could only muster enough energy to motor across to Norman Island where we relaxed and enjoyed some wonderful Pain Killers onboard.  Life is definitely looking up.  Today we are in Peter Island but didn’t get the sail in that we had hoped for because for once there was NO WIND in the BVI; it was a showery, overcast day so not.. Read More

One boat finally leaving Nanny Cay!

We had quite a long list of items identified as insurance issues that needed to be addressed before Timing could leave the port restriction imposed by our insurance company.  I’m pleased to report that we have checked them all off so we are now anticipating enjoying a bit of sailing on our new vessel.  We plan to depart tomorrow morning for an anchorage not too far away where we can.. Read More

Moving On

So, we have been in Nanny Cay about a month now and have made a few tough decisions. We had SW repaired in early January and were heading to St. Martin when another incident occurred with the starboard bulkhead. This necessitated some major repairs, hence our prolonged forced stay in Nanny Cay; there are worse places to be marooned. As our confidence in SW has been seriously undermined we looked.. Read More

Sailing suspended

You may have been wondering why the silence and why we are not in St Martin yet?  Well, we successfully picked up our mail and a new mainsail from Red Hook, St Thomas last week and then set off for an overnight passage to St Martin on Saturday afternoon.  The wind was forecast to be SE going to SSE at 18  dropping to 13 knots and our course around 99.. Read More

More images of St Croix

We thoroughly enjoyed our short time in St Croix and found it to be quite different from the rest of the Virgin Islands, larger, less crowded, more fertile, older trees, Danish influence seen in the older architecture and still some menus are in Danish, even though this and the other US Virgin Islands were handed over to the US in 1917 for the princely sum of $25,000,000.  We also enjoyed.. Read More

First impressions of St Croix

We had an easy sail from Virgin Gorda yesterday, reaching most of the way and making good speed (about 7 knots) with winds around 8 to 11 knots. As usual, when the (minor) rain squall hit us, Hope managed to find something to do down below, leaving Howard to have another rinse off at the helm, saving precious water from the tanks. We left at sunrise (~6:30) and anchored off.. Read More

Bye-bye BVI!

So, here we are enjoying Happy Hour and the Tarpin feeding session at Saba Rock for perhaps the last time for a while; it feels very strange. We plan to head out to St Croix early tomorrow morning, having already checked out of the BVI this afternoon.  We then have to stop by St Thomas before heading East to St Martin. Yes, she is wearing Jesus flip flops. We at.. Read More

Repairs Completed

We arrived in Nanny Cay Marina on Sunday afternoon and were hauled on Monday morning so the surveyor could check for any possible issues below the waterline associated with the internal changes we were concerned about.  Nothing of significance was noted so the overall diagnosis remained unchanged; there is no evidence of any damage to the main stringer, only a cracked partial bulkhead. However, we still seem to have some.. Read More