Making Lemonade

Photos: Panama

belleslady — Wed, 2 Mar 2011 11:35:00 GMT

Canal, sailing, snorkeling, fishing, dining & dancing

Photos: Misc: Newport, Plymouth, Boston

belleslady — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:50:00 GMT

September in Boston

Sailing Maine

belleslady — Sun, 5 Sep 2010 23:00:00 GMT

July 21st - August 20th

We spent a fantastic month cruising the Maine coast and outer islands in Penobscot Bay. We cruised from Portland to Cutler Bay almost on the Canadian border back down to Casco Bay. Maine is a beautiful State with a great coastline. The highlights of the trip included; Seal Island's puffin colony, Mt Desert Island w/Acadia Nat'l park, whale watching off Mt Desert rock, Seal and bird spotting e.g bald eagles, osprey, storm petrol and puffins. Visiting Isle Au Haut, Frenchboro, North Haven Islands. The NH Community Day Parade and the breathtaking beauty and tranquility of Mudhole, Roque Island, Cutler Bay, Seguin and many more.

Photos: Downeast Maine

belleslady — Thu, 5 Aug 2010 23:18:00 GMT

Cutler Harbor, Seal Island, Roque Is, Mudhole

Photos: Penobscot Bay Islands

belleslady — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:20:00 GMT

North Haven, Frenchboro, Isle Au Haut

Boston

belleslady — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:00:00 GMT

I just spent 4 days in Boston with Minnie and celebrated Alex’s 21^st birthday. During my short visit with Min (always a pleasure) we traveled to the Cape x2, Plymouth & walked Wollaston beach every morning. Everyone should visit Boston at least once in their life!

Portland Maine

belleslady — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:52:00 GMT

Maine is beautiful and Portland is a friendly fun city. We have spent 3weeks in the Portland area and highlights of our time include; east promenade walks, 4^th of July concert by the Portland symphony with a fantastic firework display, $5 martini night at Gauchos (perhaps a low), Bath Maritime museum, trip to LL Bean at Freeport, weekend onshore at Diane & TL’s, B&B. Bath Maine was the heart of the American shipbuilding industry from 1800 onwards. They built the large 6 masted schooners and ships involved in the slave trade as well a cargo carriers from Europe. Check out the photo of the bow and stern of the Wyoming the largest cargo schooner ever to fly an American flag. It was 429 feet long. Diane & TL have shown us the area and provided excellent hospitality and guidance throughout our stay. Portland is a quirky little town easily walked with shopping and all kinds of restaurants & coffee shops. The seafront is still home to lobster & fishing fleets although condos are creeping in. See my photos to get a better take on this lovely city.

Photos: Portland

belleslady — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:59:00 GMT

Around Portland

Day 12 - 15 and arrival

belleslady — Thu, 1 Jul 2010 01:57:00 GMT

Jun 21^st-June 25^th Mon-Saturday 12th-15^th day

Reading back this is pretty boring so a synopsis of the last week. We have had a few good days but always followed by days of no wind. As this is a sail boat we do not use the motor so we are making slower progress than hoped. Everyday at 8pm UTC we listen to the weather forecast (Herb) and prepare for the next “big wind” Thursday we were expecting gale force winds and thunderstorms none of which appeared. We did get fog and the wind has died again. After a steady pace yesterday we were back to bobbing again on Friday. We are 50 miles off the coast of Boston and only 75 miles from our destination of Portland Maine so now very keen to arrive. Dolphins, Cruise ships & fishing boats are now appearing but still no whales!

June 26^th arrive in Portland 16^th day

Hurrah we have arrived! We actually reached Portland about 5am but waited about 5 miles offshore to ensure customs would be open. Americans you should sleep sounder knowing that Homeland Security has tightened up the coast and we are not allowed to step on US territory without first a visit from US customs to check us in and search the boat. We arrived and checked in by 9:30 and were having “petite dejuner’ with Jim’s friends TL & Diane by 11am. Portland is a charming seaside town and a bustling port with oil depots with big tankers arriving to load up, a fishing fleet with large and small vessels, many sailing schools and several smaller speed boats and sail boats. The marina is on a headland with a long 2.5 mile trail to run, cycle, walk etc. We are right on the doorstep of the city and a park right next door. Already in Portland’s vast harbor we’ve seen bottle nose dolphins, large tuna and sea lions so watch this space for the upcoming episodes of “Maine Magic”.

June 20th, day 11

belleslady — Thu, 1 Jul 2010 01:56:00 GMT

June 20^th Sunday day 11 - 30mi north of Bermuda, Happy Father’s Day

The day started with a beautiful sunrise, again! But alas no wind however Jim did manage to squeak out 15miles from the wind overnight so we are making progress. The weather reports forecast more light winds until Monday but surprisingly the wind picked up about 10am we raised the asymmetrical and had a great day running with sail at our back and averaging 5knts. We had several visits from a large pod of dolphins (see the video) and more PMoW.

June 19th Saturday day 10- Happy Birthday Kaylee!

belleslady — Thu, 1 Jul 2010 01:55:00 GMT

Oh no the wind is gone again! We lost the wind about 9am and have rock and rolled all day. I made a batch of oatmeal cookies and caught up on magazines. Jim tried unsuccessfully to catch a PoMW in a bucket and took some great photos of a tropic bird which came to visit. I learned today that on this trip we can see 19,600 sq ft of ocean and so far in the 9 days we have been at sea we have only seen 3 other vessels, I’m telling you, you need to get off the roads!

June 18th Friday day 9

belleslady — Thu, 1 Jul 2010 01:54:00 GMT

Overslept and missed the sunset. Jim had a good night and maintained 5knts so we are making fair progress again. The air and sea temperatures are beginning to cool and the morning was gorgeous with breakfast on deck. How did you start your day? I can’t believe I am saying this but I am glad to be leaving the tropical temperatures and looking forward to cooler weather, Maine seafood and wearing clothes again. I know many people think I am mad for wanting to live on a boat and make long passages across oceans but I believe/wish everyone could experience it. The peaceful, calm, beautiful simplicity is wonderful. The freedom from the noise of living on shore is priceless. I can’t imagine anything more perfect. I don’t know where the time goes but just some of our activities today included; reading, counting Portuguese Men of War jelly fish as they passed (over 30), trying to photograph PMoW. Whale & Dolphin spotting, reading, napping, adjusting sails, showering and the usual meal preparation etc. all performed in beautiful sunshine in the great outdoors and ending with stargazing and being rocked to sleep by the sea. How was your day?

June 17 - day 8

belleslady — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:40:00 GMT

June 17, 2010 Thursday day 8

We have been out one week today and have covered 700 miles with 975 left to go. We had a very calm night with no wind so no sail up all night. The wind began to pick up early morning and we raised the asymmetrical and made an avg of 4knts with winds from the SE fluctuating between 5 & 7knots. Late morning the winds shifted to the SW, we jibbed the asymmetrical and sailed for another couple of hours. By afternoon we changed to Genoa and mainsail and are stable now, on course, and on our way again, yeah! We expect o reach Portland Maine by Wednesday, June 23^rd. No significant wildlife sightings today just our adopted seagulls and one Portuguese man of war jellyfish. We are only about 150 miles from Bermuda and expected to see some traffic by now but no other vessels.

Photos: St Maarten to Portland Maine

belleslady — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:53:00 GMT

The passage

Tintamarre Island, St Martin

belleslady — Wed, 9 Jun 2010 09:22:00 GMT

Maine.

June 9^th

The sail to Tintamarre was slower than usual due to Belle’s very dirty bottom. Tintamarre is a small island with a sandy bay and reefs on both ends of the beach and is opposite Orient Bay St Martin. There is an excellent mooring field for 15 boats presumably laid out by the park rangers so no anchor, yeah! We had lunch and then snorkeled to the reef at the north end. Although the reef was not as plentiful as Tobago Cay we did see some very large parrot fish, wrasse, trunk fish, yellow tail tuna, star fish and lots of coral including fan coral. When back at the boat we cleaned Belle’s bottom, tough working in a strong current and attracted several turtles feeding around the boat. The night sky with no moon was packed with stars and almost every constellation visible. Magic!

Week 1 - St Maarten to Portland Maine, 1,690 miles

belleslady — Wed, 9 Jun 2010 09:22:00 GMT

Week 1

June 10^th day 1Thursday day 1 St Maarten to Portland Maine passage begins

We woke early and made the final preparations for departure. We had our last tropical snorkel on the reef and on our way out to the reef met two beautiful eagle rays. They were like identical twins with about a 3ft wing span and black with white spots just floating along the bottom. I have listed most of the fish we have seen in case you want to look them up they are amazing. We departed at 11:45am and after rounding the corner of Tintamarre picked up speed and averaged 7.5 knots all day and night.

June 11^th day 2

We covered approx 170 miles on our first day with an avg wind speed on 12 knots and boat GPS speed of 7.5 knots a great sail. The wind and current were in a perfect position for us so the sail was very comfortable. We saw only a few flying fish and sea birds, no land, other boats or dolphins! Jim took the whole night watch and I slept like a baby, thanks Jim. The night sky was amazing again and I saw 3 shooting stars and a few satellites racing around.

June 12^th day 3

I woke in time for the beautiful sunrise and another sunny day. The weather and seas remain the same, fair winds and smooth seas the most any sailor asks for. We had another uneventful day in terms of wildlife but on my watch I did pass a large oil tanker but off on the horizon so no how do you dos. The day ended with another fantastic sky and a new game to see who spots the most satellites. Did you know there are so many satellites up there and once they are decommissioned there is no way to get them down so apparently the sky is becoming very cluttered with abandoned satellites, another problem for our children to solve.

June 13^th day 4

I took over watch at 4am with a very light wind and gentle sail. The sky began to lighten about 5am with the sun in full sight about 5:35 (see pics). There were a few flying fish casualties on the deck which Jim fed to following sea birds later. What a beautiful way to start the day. Once the captain was up we made a few sail changes and had breakfast in paradise flying the asymmetrical in full color. We entered the Saragossa Sea which is home to a particular kind of seaweed and apparently eels from Europe swim down here to lay their eggs and the young then swim back to Europe. Unfortunately the winds have continued to lessen all day and we are heading into the Bermuda High which is lower than expected. We motored for a few hours and attracted a pod of Dolphins. They put on a great show on the bow. Wonderful sunset and amazing night sky – Patrick Moore we need you.

June 14^thday 5

No wind!!!!!!!!! We are not moving and the ocean is like glass. It is eerie and looks almost like a desert. We have attracted a few sea birds that have been hanging around all day and also assorted fish that swim around the hull and chase the birds away if they get to close. I have just completed book 2 and am about to start 3. We eventually had to run the engine for about 16 hours which attracted a pod of about 10 dolphins including a mother and pup. We had another awesome sunrise and sunset (see pics)

June 15^th day 6

Still no wind, no waves, no go! We had a little wind in the morning so tried flying the asymmetrical sail but no go. Then tried the whisker pole and again not enough wind so we resorted to the engine for a few hours and attracted another pod of dolphins which swam around for about 10 min putting on a show for us. We had a great sunset and green flash and another beautiful night sky.

June 16^th day 7 Happy Birthday Mark

Doldrums continue with the whisper of wind every so often. We tried flying the asymmetrical, then the whisker pole on the Genoa but then all wind abated and we resolved to float for the day. We have plenty of food, no deadline, sun, sea and a very peaceful setting so why rush. We read all afternoon, watched our adopted seagulls fight with the fish following the boat (see pics) and had one large tanker pass us. Our patience was rewarded in the afternoon by a visit from a Fin Whale (look it up) and her calf. The sunset was bright orange and the new moon and Venus appeared. The stars in the night sky were so bright they were reflected in the flat sea and Jim had a visit a pod of dolphins around midnight.

On our way

belleslady — Mon, 7 Jun 2010 20:38:00 GMT

June 7^th

The work is done! The front stay and new head sail furler has been installed, we have completed final provisioning and checked out of the country with immigration. We spent the evening at Lagoonies for our last happy hour (see pics) and said good bye to friends. We will leave tomorrow morning and go out of the lagoon and sail up to Tintamarre in the nature reserve to spend a couple of days swimming, snorkeling and preparing for the passage to Maine. The next time I post will be from Portland Maine.

Maho Bay - awesome

belleslady — Sun, 6 Jun 2010 13:30:00 GMT

We went to Maho Bay again to watch the 747 land from the beach which was an awesome experience. I bought a new camera in Phillipsburg which was a ghost town without the cruise ships in. As we strolled around the deserted streets we realized what a charming town it was and well worth exploring. Just don’t go there on cruise ship day like we did the first time or you will miss it all.www.mahobay.com or watch this from you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8KjPNj2jgw&feature=related

Orient Bay, French St Martin

belleslady — Sat, 5 Jun 2010 00:24:00 GMT

June 5^th

It is so hot here we decided a day at the beach was the best way to stay cool. Oriental Bay is a posh resort on the N’East French side of the island and very nice. You drive through a private community with gorgeous stylish homes bordered by the sea and a long beach. The beach is lined with several bars/restaurant and the far end of the beach is a nudest colony and resort. We spent the day at the resort on the beach under an umbrella reading and swimming. It was a great day very cool and relaxing.

June 3rd Happy Birthday Ruby!

belleslady — Thu, 3 Jun 2010 00:48:00 GMT

Special treat today as most of the work (general maintenance) has been done we have taken the day off. We started by dropping off the laundry (yeah) and then with breakfast at Zbest our favorite breakfast spot with wonderful omelets located in Simpson Bay Marina. After a practice sail on mini-belle we decided to borrow a friend’s rib w/motor and took a tour of Simpson Bay Lagoon which is the largest lagoon in the Caribbean and is shared by both the French and Dutch sides of the island. The French definitely got the better half. The story goes when they were deciding to amicably split the island they it was decided a Frenchman would start on one end and the Dutchman the other and where they met would become the country boundary. They provided both with a flask and apparently filled the Frenchman’s with red wine but the Dutchman’s with gin. The Dutchman got to drunk and didn’t walk as fast hence the Dutch side is much smaller. In the afternoon we went by car with Michael owner of Lagoonies, our local bar, to the French side shopping. Jim first met Michael in Turkey two years ago and this afternoon he showed us the cash and carry and a huge French Marche with excellent meat. I am going to use both for provisioning for our trip north.