Learn Something New

I was reading a book about the origins of nautical sayings the other day and I came across this interesting tidbit about the name of our boat: Bonanza.

"The word bonanza is derived from the Spanish bonanza (to sail with fair wind and weather). It is thought that American mariners borrowed the word from their Spanish counterparts and used it to describe prosperity in general. In turn, gold rush miners heard the word aboard ships bound for California and used it to describe any rich finds of precious metal. The word crept into colloquial American English and has come to mean anything that is considered abundant." 

Olivia A. Isil from When a Loose Cannon Flogs a Dead Horse There's The Devil to Pay.

So there you have it. 

St. Martin Bridge

Simpson Bay Lagoon in St. Martin is the only place in the Caribbean that we have to enter via a draw bridge. Three times a day, all traffic on the road is stopped and the bright blue bridge swings up and in go the yachts. And because the lagoon is one of the most protected anchorages in the area, it’s a popular place – especially for the mega yachts. Row after row of them line the marinas. The other day I counted over 50 of them! This makes going through the bridge exciting for everyone. On the day we went through, we arrived outside the bridge from St. Kitts and anchored in the bay. There were already four mega yachts, three large sailboats, and a few smaller boats like us all wanting to enter the lagoon. Fifteen minutes before the scheduled opening of the bridge, people begin to pull up their anchors. Now you have at least ten boats anywhere from 35 feet to 200 feet long, milling around – jockeying for position in the line-up for the bridge. Oh, yeah, did I mention that most of these boats don’t really respond that well under motor at such slow speeds. Also, there is really no such thing as stopping on a boat. You can drift to a stop, but precision driving in close quarters raises heart rates for all crews. Somehow it all seems to work out. We went through the bridge and into the lagoon just as the sun was setting.

Sailors are always curious about other people’s boats especially if the other boat is the same brand or type as their own. Bonanza is an Island Packet yacht, so naturally we always notice other IP yachts. It’s like being in a kind of a club, so when you spot another IP boat, you usually go over and meet the other members. Soon, you pretty much know which IP boats are in the area and if you don’t know them, someone you know, knows them and has told you about them, so you feel like you know them too. You know?

We had a whole flotilla of IP’s anchored in the lagoon. Voyageur C had arrived at the same time as we did. Joule had come from the Virgin Islands earlier in the month. Daniell Story, who we last saw in Antigua was already there along with Ancient Path, who we saw leaving Jolly Harbour, but had yet to meet. Of course we have friends on other types of boats too. Dream Maker and Wanderlust where also anchored in the lagoon. It’s fun knowing so many people in a place where you usually wouldn’t know anyone.

Sundays is the big day out by the airport at Maho Bay. The people like to gather on the skinny strip of beach at the end of the runway to get up close and personal with all types of commercial aircraft. With no security area to deal with, the planes land practically on top of the small tiki bar that is set up just off the main road. The real fun for some is to stand directly in line of the jet exhaust as the planes wind up for take off! As the pressure peaks, sand, grit, hats, towels, cocktails and people are blown back – sometimes right onto the beach and into the sea. Really. The crew of Wanderlust all got a quick and dirty dermabrasion treatment behind the afternoon American Airlines flight to Miami. I stuck to my shady spot under the Heineken umbrella at the bar where the view of the planes and the crazy sand blasted people was perfect.

Ashed in Antigua

After spending a quiet new years eve in Barbuda we decided to come back to Jolly Harbour in Antigua for a few days. We had planned for a trip to the island of Montserrat sometime in the coming week, but now we’re not too sure. After being out in the dingy for a few hours we wondered why our eyes were so itchy and sore.

Arriving back at the boat we saw that the decks, hatches, cockpit, everything was coated with a fine layer of grey dust with a consistency of ashes. That’s weird we thought. Could it be from the nearby boat yard, or maybe a construction site? Turns out it was actually volcanic ash spewing out of the volcano on nearby Montserrat. The ash cloud was high enough to get caught in the winds blowing our way. The Montserrat Volcano Observatory has increased the Hazard Level from a three to a four. I’m not sure what that means, probably that it’s best not to visit Montserrat this week. Check out more pics at http://www.mvo.ms/


These pictures were taken just before Christmas on our way past the island enroute to Antigua. We could see the clouds of ash billowing out of the crater all the way from Guadeloupe.

MegaYacht Neighbourhood

Antigua at Christmas means mega yacht haven. 

Who knew? On the left of Roy here is the one of a kind Maltese Falcon. The masts are some type of unique carbon fiber construction and the sails pull out from the middle of the masts. 

We had the luck of seeing it leave the harbour on Christmas Day, under full sails, in strong winds. Incredible. The Falcon's neighbours where no slouches either. Giant sailboats, powerboats, with exotic names like; Alpha Nero, Poise, Atlantide crowded the docks at the marina. 

From out in the anchorage we had a front row seat of all the comings and goings. At night, the red and white lights on the masts and spreaders lit up the sky like a factory. Of course, because the marina was full we couldn't pull into the dock for our 15 gallons of diesel and water supplies and had to resort to jerry jugs. It took courage to nonchalantly fill up our jugs with a hose as the mega yacht clients strolled by. Sheesh! Life is funny.  Yes, this is a helicopter on the back deck of "Ice"!

Christmas Day Antigua

In Antigua the tradition on Christmas Day is to head down to Nelson's Dockyard for some champagne. People come from all over the island to walk the docks and look at the boats while enjoying a glass of bubbly. Huge tubs of ice are filled with different types of champagne. This is not a by the glass affair. Oh no, you select the bottle of your choice. Seasoned veterans of this affair bring their own flutes from home, but as first timers we settled for the plastic cups that come with purchase. They let you stroll around with your bottle...no problem. Bill from Voyager C was supervising our progress.

Next, we gathered on board Dream Maker, along with crew from Daniell Story, Cheetah ll, and Voyager C, for the full Christmas Dinner. Kathy and Bill (Dream Maker) were denied their turkey dinner last year, so this season they were on a mission to make it happen. Of course, everyone brought enough food for three dinners. This is just the desert buffet. Apparently we all thought this was hilarious.

Along with desert, Roy decided to make the "True" rum punch for everyone.

The recipe reads: 

one part sour =  Lime

two parts sweet = Cane Syrup

three parts strong = Rum

four parts weak = Ice

Garnish with bitters and freshly grated nutmeg.

Go ahead a try this at home. It will make you happy.

Sweet Life Drags Anchor

The Le Marin anchorage in Martinique is huge. There must be over 300 boats here at anchor and over 500 in the various marinas. Amazing and a little dangerous we found out. Tuesday night we woke up to quite a strong wind gusting through the anchorage. There were a couple of quick rain showers and then the winds calmed right down. A few hours later Roy got up to have a look around up on deck and I hear him call out, Michelle, you've got to come and see this. I climbed out of bed and looked at the clock: 4 am. Up in the cockpit I could see immediately that our neighbour, Sweet Life, a 40 foot sailboat, was sitting about 8 feet off our port side. Eight feet is crazy close. They had dragged anchor in the night and had somehow not smashed into us as they came to a stop beside us. How long they had been drifting there beside us? How had they managed not to skewer themselves on our bowsprit on the way by? Many questions and "what if's" flooded through my mind. Better get out some fenders was my next thought. Roy grabbed the big million candlepower spot light and beamed the light on their deck and into the ports. Now they were drifting even closer. Roy hands me the spotlight and goes to grab a boat hook so he can maybe push them off our side if we end up touching. I call out Sweet Life! Sweet Life! Finally a woman's face appears in the forward porthole as a man surfaces in the cockpit. In true French style the guy walks up on deck, looks at the situation, and calmly asks us in French if we have dragged. We point out that he is the one with the dragging anchor! Finally he get his engine started and moves away from us to anchor in a new position. We watch this process from our cockpit and can not believe how lucky we were to have not a scratch from this extremely close call.

Pitons and Rum

Back up to St. Lucia and the fabulous Pitons!

Roy and Bill checking out the Rum in Martinique

Mt. Pelee Volcano in Martinique