Buzz of Regatta Weekend

The time has come for the 2012 Grenada Sailing Festival and let me tell you - things have been kicked into high gear around here!

Scott was originally going to race in this regatta (and I was hoping to be on a spectator boat), but due to our change in plans (namely going to Trinidad to store Rasmus instead of staying here) the timing didn't work out.  C'est la vie! Lucky for us we get to sample a little taste of the action...okay, and the Mt. Gay Rum (the main sponsor of this and practically every other sailing event in the world).

Race crews are flying in by the droves proudly wearing their red hats* and strutting their stuff in high-tech sailing shoes, fancy embroidered sailing shirts and donning the shiniest of mirrored Oakley sunglasses.  They're loud, they're proud and these folks are here to have a good time.  Sails are being schlepped, rigs are being tuned, battens are being pushed and the excitement in the air is palpable. Scott and I are familiar with the racing scene - it's something we spent a lot of years involved with in Chicago and while we prefer cruising, the racing "vibe" certainly has it's appeal!  Despite the fact that the scene here is more tame and on a smaller scale than some of the larger regattas Scott and I have participated in - it's still about the sailing, and when it's about sailing - it's all good.

While we're sad we're not going to be able to partake in the fun - it's nice being a fly on the wall for a bit!

Love,
Brittany & Scott

* These "red hats" are the famous Mt. Gay Rum hats that are given to just about every sailor during a regatta and are the "calling card" of the racing sailor.  Some people collect and wear these hats with a pride that is a little out of proportion with the fact that it's, well, just a hat.  You've really reached the holy grail if you have a really faded, old, jalopy of a hat from a really 'cool' race like "Antigua Race Week" or the "Chicago Mac Race".

Scrub a Dub Dub

The importance of a clean bottom cannot be denied...especially when it comes to a boat.

Racing sailors know this all too well, and cruising sailors usually learn it the hard way; like when they're slogging along the Northern coast of the Dominican Republic pounding into head seas going 2.5 knots after spending ten days in the cesspool that is Luperon wondering "Why are we so damn slow?!?" Well, I'll tell you why you're slow.  You've got a virtual aquarium living on the bottom of your boat.  Barnacles, algae, sea grass and mollusks will all be found living and clinging for dear life to your underhull and believe me, it will slow you down.  A lot.

Sailboats aren't known for being the zippiest form of transportation around in the first place, so when you lose a knot or two of boat speed - it makes a big difference.  Therefore, bottom cleaning should be a part of every cruising sailor's routinely scheduled maintenance.  Tropical waters are famous for breeding sea life aplenty and if you don't move regularly (like sitting at anchor for a week or more), the speed at which life will grow will be much faster.  Usually, Scott and I would dive our boat every couple of weeks in a nice anchorage somewhere with some scotch brite pads and give our boat a scrub.  However, here in the harbor - it would take a pretty lucrative ($$$) dare to get either of us to get in the water and do this (we've seen everything from hypodermic needles to dead rats float by our boat).

Enter our buddy Martin!!

Not only does he not mind getting in the water, but he's got a scuba set up which means he can do a much more thorough job, much faster than we could.  For a $100 even - we get a pristinely scrubbed bottom (we've checked his work before and he does a great job) and the peace of mind that we have potentially managed to escape nasty case of giardiasis.  Sometimes, money spent is well worth it and in this case, we're happy to hand over a Ben Franklin, thankyouverymuch.

We should enjoy a nice, fast ride to Trinidad now.  Here's hoping!!

Love,
Brittany & Scott

The Sponge Man

Yesterday, at the beach as Scott and I were lounging in the soft, white sand reading our (respective) Kindle and Nook...I heard the call, "I am the sponge man"!  Always interested in unique sales pitches, I turned up my gaze and saw this guy.  "Loofas!  Natural loofahs!" he called out.  While I don't need a loofah - or luffa as the genus is more commonly known - (I'm a synthetic "bath poof" girl myself) I did think these were really interesting, particularly because he had a few that were still in the raw - meaning they were contained in the pods they grew in.

Despite my original supposal that these products come from the sea, the loofah is actually from a plant that grows on land called "cucurbits" and grows like a gourd from a tree.  A tree!?  All my life I wrongly assumed these things came from the ocean!  Am I the only one who was in the dark here?  Pretty interesting stuff really.  For you trivia types out there, you can learn more about the natural loofah and how it's harvested here.  You never know when Jeopardy might call!

Love,
Brittany & Scott

Next Steps...

Lots of questions coming in about our next steps these days!

When we announced that we were having a baby back in September, I also mentioned we would be going home to have her around the beginning of the new year.  Well - believe it or not, here we are!

After much deliberation, we decided to bring our beloved Rasmus to Trinidad for the seven months or so that we will be away.  While there were a lot of reasons contributing to this decision (more in a later post) we also got a fantastic deal on high-security storage with our newest sponsor Peake Yacht Services, the Caribbean's largest and most comprehensive yacht haul-out facility.  We are honored and excited to partner with such an esteemed yachting facility.

So, weather permitting, we will be sailing for Trinidad this coming Saturday.  Being that I am eight months pregnant we thought it might be nice to have another hand on board in case things get dicey (as they do from time to time on the water) and I threw out an invitation to my dad.  Lucky for us - he took the bait and booked a ticket.  Seeing the news on Facebook, his best friend (and the best pseudo-uncle there ever was) called him up and said "I'm coming too".  So now, we will be a motley crew of four and having my dad and uncle Tom along will make what will be a bitter-sweet journey err on the "sweet" side.

Once we're in Trinidad, Scott and I will be thrown back into "work mode" prepping the boat for long-term storage (again, more on this in a later post!).  From there, we will be flying back to Chicago where we will live with my parents (believe it or not, all parties involved are excited about this!), have our baby (due March 21st) and remain home with our little sea monkey for the 2012 hurricane season as we adjust to being parents.  Scott will get a part-time job to make more money for our cruising kitty and will also be returning to Grenada for five weeks in July to work for Island Windjammers.  We have lots of places to visit and people to see while we are home, so we're going to be busy and if the past year and a half is any indication - time is going to fly!

We plan on returning to the Caribbean next September to complete some projects and continue cruising full-time.  There is talk about getting a bigger boat, and we're exploring our options on that front.  We'll keep you posted.  We will remain here in the Windward and Leeward Islands and we'll probably head south to the ABC's (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) or somewhere else after next season.  We're not sure where we'll spend the 2013 hurricane season but we don't want to sit idle on our boat in one place again and we're liking the idea of renting a house in Costa Rica for a few months and surfing every day.  Who knows?  When two dreamers like us get to talking and planning, just about anything is possible!

Windtraveler is not going away!  We're only taking a little break while we amp up for phase two - this next year is going to get really interesting and rest assured, we'll keep you in the loop!

Love,
Brittany & Scott

Top 10 Tuesdays: Top 10 Things We'll Miss about Grenada

Grenada has become something of a second home to us...considering we have been here since June, we have really grown accustomed to this life and now that our time here is coming to an end I've been reflecting on what I will miss about this place.  It's hard to believe how fast time flies - I mean, it feels like only yesterday we arrived here and yet, we've been here long enough to grow an (almost) full-term baby.  Insane.  So, here are the

Top 10 Things We'll Miss about Grenada

1. The market.  I love going to the market and shopping for produce and visiting with my favorite market mamas, Theresa and Shirley.  The noises, the colors, the smells, and the energy that is the Caribbean market will be something I miss.   Somehow, going to grocery store stateside doesn't quite cut it.
2. Port Louis Marina.  This is home to us.  While we had no idea when we first got here that we would still be here, we are.  We love it here and the marina staff have become friends of ours and take very good care of us - we're going to miss this beautiful (oh-so accommodating) place and will look forward to coming back and visiting next season.
3. Grand Anse Beach.  The Grand Anse Beach is beautiful - probably one of the prettiest in the Caribbean if you ask me.  We love it and try to make it over for an afternoon at least once a week.  Many a wonderful meal has been spent beach-side at Umbrella's Beach Bar and I'll miss taking dips in the crystal blue water of this idyllic spot.
4. Walking everywhere.  Not having a car makes it easy to use your legs as your main mode of transport.  I love taking walks and I probably walk at least three miles a day just running errands and getting to and fro places.  Strolling down the familiar Caribbean streets with nothing but my thoughts and my camera to keep me company will be something I miss.
5. Waking up to the sun coming through the hatches.  There's nothing quite like waking up lazily on a boat with the sun in your face and the breeze blowing through the hatches.  I can't really explain it, but some things really are better experienced on a boat - and waking up is one of them!
6. Our friends and the people here.  The people in Grenada are, hands down, the best.  Some of the friendliest and kindest we've met in the Caribbean Island chain.  We've gotten to know quite a few people here and are lucky enough to call them our friends.  From the guys that work with Scott on Diamant (Island Windjammers is also based here at the marina) to other locals that we have befriended, it's going to be tough to say goodbye!  Luckily though, it's not "goodbye" but "see you later" for us.
7. My daily run route.  I LOVE my daily run route here.  The hills, the ocean view, the little school kids who smile and say "good afternoon" as I pass...I will miss it all*.  It's my 'zen' time and while I plan to continue running when I get home, running in the suburbs just isn't the same.
8. The fruits and veggies.  I love the tropical fruits and veggies that are so readily available here and the fact so cheap is such a luxury.  I'll miss having things like soursop, passion fruit, mango and callaloo on a weekly basis. Next season...sigh.
9. The weather.  I am a summer and sunshine girl.  I do not like the dark, gray, cold, and dreary days of winter (unless I am in a ski town out west, of course! Then the snow is FUN).  I will miss being able to wear shorts, a tank top and flip flops every single day.  It's going to be VERY cold when we go back home - luckily though, we'll have a cuddly little baby to keep us warm and spring will be right around the corner!
10. Living on our boat.  This is what we will miss the most.  Me and Scott, together in our own little world, with our own little routine, on our little boat.  Brings a little tear to my eye...

Love,

Brittany & Scott

* Okay, I tell a lie.  I will not miss the cat calling from rude men.

The Aquarium Restaurant in Grenada

When Scott and I first got to Grenada, oh - I don't know - a million years ago...we heard about the infamous "Sunday's at The Aquarium".  We went once when my mom came to visit - but because of timing, we couldn't make it on a Sunday and instead went on a week night.  We had said we wanted to try out this whole "Sunday" thing but hadn't quite gotten around to it because a) Scott and I aren't really 'foodies' (has anyone noticed that all we've eaten for the past two months is soup?) b) it's a little pricey and c) why spend money on really good food when you can eat home-made soup? (...In case you didn't pick it up that is sarcasm, the lowest form of wit). 

Well, lucky for us my brother Kevin and his lovely wife, Stephanie, got us a pretty incredible Christmas present in the form of a very generous gift certificate to this fine restaurant.  Stephanie is good like that - she does her homework and finds super cool gifts that impress - like gift certificates to happening restaurants... 5,000 miles away.  We were very excited.

Because we'll be leaving Grenada very soon (more on that later), Scott mentioned we should see what the Sunday BBQ was all about while we still could.  Boy are we glad we did!  The Aquarium is a great restaurant on any evening, but Sunday is the day to go.  The vibe and menu are completely different and being that the BBQ is (for most) a daytime event, you can really enjoy the beach-side, laid back ambience they create.  The sound of waves crashing into shore blend with live reggae as customers sip their colorful rum cocktails, dig into their juicy barbecue and gaze out into the horizon.  Scott and I spent over two hours slowly grazing through our delicious meals of salads from the extensive salad bar, grilled fresh Caribbean lobster and a to-die-for coconut cream cake.  Scott even topped off his meal with a creamy Irish coffee.  Bon appetite, indeed!

If you ever find yourself in Grenada over a weekend - the Sunday BBQ at The Aquarium is not to be missed.  Though it is available from noon until 10pm,  I'd suggest going earlier so you can really enjoy the peaceful, beautiful surroundings in daylight (it gets dark around 6pm here).  Expect to pay anywhere from $35 to $65 a person depending on what you order and make sure you have plenty of time, as this will be a meal to savor!

Special thanks go to Kevin and Stephanie for a WONDERFUL day!  We love you guys!

Love,
Brittany & Scott

Sometimes you just need to lie back

...and realize that when you can wake up to this view while feeling the sun and the breeze on your face every morning, life is pretty hunky-dory.  Yes, I will enjoy every second of this while I can.

Love,
Brittany & Scott

Island Jewelery

I've never been a big "jewelry" person...If it can't weather the storm of an every day active lifestyle, it's probably not for me.  I wear my super simple wedding band and a couple of necklaces by Bronwen* that I love (the short ones pictured above) and that's about it.  Keep in mind, anything with a silver chain (if not worn every day) will eventually rust.  I learned this the hard way...

To be completely honest with you - I am actually not a big fan of a lot of the island jewelry that we see down here but every now and then I see something truly unique and beautiful.  The above layered necklace is one such piece.

It's the only one I have ever seen of it's kind and it is simple and lovely.  Created in Bequia by a beautiful local gal named Molissa, it's called a "fisherman's" necklace (because it is made of fishing line strung with tiny shells and beads) and can be worn SO many ways.  Long, short, layered, as a bracelet...it's versatile, light and comfortable.  It looks delicate but is sturdy and goes with just about anything.  I only bought one, but kind of wish I bought a few more because they look so nice layered together.

Luckily we'll be back there before too long!

Love,

Brittany & Scott

* This is not a sponsor or anything, just a brand I love.  Focused on beautiful jewelry for the active traveler, her pieces are great for land and sea.  Gorgeous.