Flamingos....Found.

Suffice it to say they found the "pink reef" referenced in my earlier post. The twins and I missed the excursion because of their morning nap, which was probably a blessing in disguise as the seven mile dinghy ride was not only very long, but very bumpy. Not easily swayed by some wind chop, our intrepid troop persevered - keeping a sharp lookout for the requisite pink tinge on the horizon - and sure enough they found it. The girls got to see real, live pink flamingos in the wild and I'm told it was well worth the trip (and achey backs). So far, Anegada has not disappointed.

Another logbook-style note for those of you who might head this way: the Anegada Beach Club is well worth a visit. We've now spent two full afternoons there. Not only are their happy hour prices hard to beat (two for one rum punch and painkillers!), but there's a ton of fun for the kids too. Hammocks are strewn throughout the property, a volleyball court is ready for play, a small fresh water pool beckons from the beach bar, and just over the dune is a spectacular ocean-side beach with super inviting tented rooms overlooking the ocean (for a cost!). There's a great restaurant on the premise serving everything from pizza to their trademark,the BLLT (that extra "L" is for lobster!), and the vibe is chill and casual. It's a great place where three or four hours can easily be wiled away. 

We took the free taxi (a pick up truck with seats in the back that reads: Anegada Beach Club) from the Lobster Trap restaurant which makes the excursion all the more inviting. If you head over that way tell Eugene, the driver, we sent you. He's a fantastic and super accommodating gentleman. Just remind him of all the babies in the back of his truck, he'll remember us for sure. Kind of hard to forget five girls five and under.

This afternoon's exploration agenda? To see the shark breeding grounds over by the Windless Bight...keep an eye on Facebook for pictures!

These cuties were on the lookout - and they found them! 

They couldn't get much closer than this. The pretty birds were a bit skittish.

A nice view from Cow Wreck Bay where we spent a (sargosso filled) hour or so.

No shortage of fun and action here! Anegada Beach Club pool. The bar is a convenient few steps away.

Another view from Cow Wreck Bay

On the way home in the pick up truck

Quote from Eben: "If people think we're reckless with our kids on boats, they should see us in vehicles!" Haven, feeling the wind in her hair. So begins a love of convertibles??

Our Dinghy: Walker Bay Odyssey Light 310 SLRX

I've mentioned a few times that we feel like we've really "kicked it up a notch" this time around.  We have a bigger boat, a super sailor baby, water toys and we're eating a lot better (as in, more than rice and beans).  These things have had a tremendous impact on the "fun" factor out here for us.  Not that we weren't having fun before, because we were.  We're just having a little more fun now...

Another upgrade we made that has had an incredible impact was a new dinghy.  When you live on a boat, your dinghy is your "car" and - most important - your lifeline to land.  While I do admire the purists who forego propulsion and row to and from shore in their rowing dinghies, we have found that a fast, powerful "car" is invaluable to us.  Having a planing dinghy has literally opened up a world of opportunity.  We are able to go to so many more places that we were never able to before; neighboring islands, far-flung snorkel spots, and spear fishing reefs to name a few.  It makes shore-side chores like grocery shopping and laundry much easier, gives us freedom to roam in almost any condition, and is a lot of fun to boot.  Not to mention that a reliable, fast dinghy could prove critical in case of emergency (God forbid).  For us, this seemingly minor addition has made a huge impact on our cruising life.

After selling our last one with Rasmus, we knew we wanted another RIB (rigid inflatable boat) and after a good deal of research, we decided on a Walker Bay Odyssey Light.  The decision was made all the easier when they decided to partner with us as sponsors.  So far, we're thrilled with our choice and set up.  If you are interested, you can view all the specs and features of our model here.

Features that we love:  

• It's light.  Weighing in at about 100 pounds, this dinghy is easy for us to bring up onto the beach and hoist on our davits. It's also less weight hanging off the back of our boat which is nice for peace of mind when in rough seas.
• It's sturdy.  We love having the fiberglass floor; it's rigid which makes it easy to get in and out of (important with a baby!) and gets up on plane in no time with all of us on the boat.
• It's roomy.  We have the 10 foot model and we can easily (and comfortably) have four adults in the boat.  Despite it's roominess, it still fits nicely on the bow of Asante for long passages which was essential to us.
• It's dry.  The bow is designed so that water is deflected away from the passengers in choppy water.  While we'll still get splashed in big seas, we're a lot more dry than we would have been in our other boat.  A dry dinghy is a great dinghy!

What we don't love:

• The seat.  So far, we're not in love with the seat that comes with the dinghy.  While the stow compartment and drink holder are great, the corners of it rub the tubing in such a way that there is a little wear underneath. We have opted to remove the seat completely to avoid any more wear and tear and inadvertent puncturing.  

Along with our dinghy, we also upgraded to a Yamaha 15 horsepower 2-stroke outboard engine which we love.  It is so nice to have the extra power and the ability get up on plane in an instant is a nice perk.  Dinghies with powerful outboards have also been known to help their mother ships in tight situations like groundings or engine failures, so we consider this set-up "added insurance" as well.

Scott and I learned the hard way how essential a reliable dinghy and outboard is for long-term cruising, so this time around we did it way we always wanted and are reaping the benefits every day.

Defacing our Outboard

We love our new-to-us Yamaha 2-stroke 15HP outboard motor.  Apparently, so do petty thieves in the Caribbean.  Dinghies and dinghy motors (particularly the 15 horse) are hot ticket items down island these days and we knew several cruisers who got theirs stolen right off the back of their boats and heard cautionary tales of many others.  In order to make our new outboard less of a target, we were advised by a friend to take the "Yamaha 15 HP stickers" off the motor.

As Scott was peeling away the stickers and removing left-over residue with Goo Gone, I had the (literal) bright idea to paint the whole cover canary yellow.  Yellow is the most visible color to spot on the ocean and my thinking was that a thief would be less likely to steal something so...loud.  They say that most petty thieves are simply opportunists.  If that is the case, it is your job to make stealing less of an opportunity and more of a chore.  Give those bad guys a reason to pause.  Most thieves will pass up the tricky jobs.  After all, we're talking about thieves here, they are lazy bottom feeders by nature.  "Work" is not something they enjoy.

So we did it.   We spray painted the cover and it. is. bright.  It will not be hard to recall or spot someone cruising around with this motor.  The addition of the skull and cross bone stickers on either side were last minute details we picked up from the flea market under the influence of afternoon beers.  Arrggggh...

So what to you think?  Did we make our outboard less attractive or more attractive to the thieving set?  And what do you do to make your outboard less appealing to the bad guys?  We got lots of other great ideas and suggestions from friends on our Facebook Page, from painting girly pink to covering with duct tape.  What's your line of defense?

Dinghy Freedom!

I don't think I can begin to describe the excitement we feel at finally being owners of a real dinghy.  Not than our other dinghies (yes, plural) weren't "real" - but neither of them worked well.  Actually, neither of them worked at all, truth be told.

The first dinghy was the one my family had on my mom and dad's boat when we were children, that is to say it was about thirty years old.  It was an 8 foot Achilles inflatable and the motor (which also saw it's hay day in the 80's) was a teeny tiny Johnson 2 horse that was actually so slow it was humorous to watch (when it worked, that is).  People actually pointed and laughed.  Hey, it was all in good fun.  We laughed too.

Then we lost that dinghy and were stuck in Georgetown, Bahamas for two weeks trying to scrounge up a new one.  Being dinghy-less more or less leaves you stranded on your boat which can get old, fast.  Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Luckily for us, we finally found and bought a used dinghy WITH a 5 horse power motor for $300.  We were thrilled!

What's that they say? "When something sounds too good to be true it usually is?"  Yeah.

Both the dinghy and motor were nothing short of lemons.  We cursed them regularly and they became the bane of our existence.  The motor was seen by at least three different mechanics in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and Hispaniola, to no avail.  When used, typically it would get us about half way where we wanted to go and then die.  Then we'd row.  Inflatable boats, by the way, don't row well at all.  After three months, the dinghy itself actually began to fall apart.  Something had to give.

And give we did!  We gifted that old thing to our Rasta friend, Ashley, as soon as we got to Grenada (full disclosure) and boy was that a happy day.  We wanted that thing gone and Ashley apparently wanted a project boat.  Good riddance!

We thought we were doomed to a life of dinghy dodginess until Island Water World came along and came to our rescue.

They made us a deal we couldn't refuse on a new 8 foot Carib Light and a new two-stroke 8hp Mercury engine.  We are so thankful, and we couldn't be more pleased.  The staff here in Grenada (and St. Maarten, and St. Lucia - we've actually shopped at all three) are fantastic and so helpful.  They were just as excited as we were about our new ride and made us feel right at home!  We even got Island Water World shirts and hats!

This opens up a whole new world of opportunity for us; we will now be able to go places much farther and much faster, we'll be able to safely check out far-flung snorkel spots, visit friends on boats a couple anchorages away and so much more.  Having this new dinghy to us is not unlike getting your first car.  The world opens right up!

HUGE thank you to Island Water World!  Sean and his team over there are excellent - check them out on Facebook to get all sorts of information from store deals to local happenings!