Crossing the Caribbean Sea

We decided to take the direct route from the BVI's to the San Blas Islands in Panama. The distance worked out at about 1060 NM. The first couple of days were spent sailing approx 30 - 50 miles off the south coast of Puerto Rico before heading South West. The winds averaged 15 - 22 knots for the first couple of days but as we started heading towards Columbia increased along with the swell. Day 4 & 5 were quite rough with up to 5 mtr seas and up to 30 knots of wind. We decided to track further west (50NM) out of the low pressure area off the Columbian coast which turned out to be a good move. Our friends on a 43 ft mono hull went right through it and recorded 40 knots sustaining a damaged jib and even rougher conditions. The crossing gave us a lot of confidence in Brahminy as she tracked well down the big waves and handled well overall. We recorded a top speed of 19 knots down a wave!! (not something we want to do again!) We were reefed right down on the main with no jib out at all and still made 195NM on the windiest 24 period. The rest of the voyage we averaged 7 knots and travelled 150NM per day, not too shabby! The slamming of the bridge deck could be quite scary at times with the whole boat shuddering as the wave hit but she was a solid little boat. We took 3 hour watches with 6 hours off which worked well. Sara took all her watches and she quickly overcame her fears of being alone at night on the helm in big seas and winds, she was amazing and brave and also somehow found time to bake bread with the boat rolling and pitching, what a woman!!! Scott was great with the sails and seamanship constantly trimming the sails to be safe and not stress the rigging yet cover good distance.  We were super fortunate to have him on board! So we arrived at Porvenir in the San Blas slightly bedraggled and needing a full nights sleep after 6.5 days of open sea.

The sea state as we left

Sara sleeping it off in our cabin

A beautiful sunset on the first night out

Our first fish, yummo, tuna steaks for dinner

Nice catch Scotty!

Our first ship off in the distance...thankfully not too close.

Spinner Dolphins joined us on day 3 for a few hours, they were amazing, what a blast!

We caught a yellow fin tuna coming into the San Blas, amazing Sashimi, look at the colour!

Preparing for Crossing the Caribbean Sea

We spent a few days near the Island of Jost Van Dyke (named after a fearless woman pirate!) preparing Brahminy for the 1060 NM crossing from the BVI's to the San Blas Islands in Panama. We had heard various reports of rough seas and strong winds so Dan plotted our course to stay just outside the low pressure storm cell that regularly occurs off the Colombian coast near Cartegena. There was a lot of work to be done securing everything, checking motors, rigging and sails to name a few.

Sara found a friend on little Jost Van Dyke!

Some of the mega yachts here are fitted out with everything. This one pulled up next to us and set up a mobile 'theme park', check out the huge blow up slide they constructed off the top deck!

We found this little guy on a island, check out his tail! almost like a sail fish dorsal fin on a lizard. Dan thinks he may be new to science so has aptly named him Biccus tailus

Always time for relaxing on a deserted island

Dan installed an extra 2 x 150 Amp hour batteries and then secured them all with tie down straps.

Brahminy! Sara putting on the finishing touches to her name.

The stove broke and took several very frustrating trips to town, welding,  and mac-guyver skills to get it working again. A 3 day job!!!

Our 10 man life raft! It was not checked or re-packed since 2006 so we were told to pray and hope it would be serviceable. We looked at prices for a new one which were around $4500. Luckily we were told that it was in good shape despite the time and were charged $1750 to re-pack...Another inflated cost we were not expecting but nice to know its there.

Sara's Dad Scott arrived and promptly scaled the mast to try to replace a damaged sheave that he spotted, what a legend!

Plotting our route across the Caribbean sea

Farewell BVI !!!

Farewell BVI !!!

We have had an amazing time in the BVI's and are sad to leave this pretty part of the world. Spending a large amount of time in these islands has allowed us to meet lots of fantastic people and really get to know the lay of the land. It seems that we are here on the edge of an change as more and more construction is going on (Richo Branson is currently building an ECO resort on the edge of a cliff which he levelled slightly, not so eco), the lengthening of the airport is on the cards to fit bigger jumbo's in here and more cruise ships decide to visit. It IS still relatively untouched here and there are a strong band of local environmentalists here such as Trish Bailey who strive to protect the fragile reef, wetlands and forest ecosystems. Lets hope they succeed so that next time we visit (hopefully soon!) we can still be amazed by the sea life, crystal clear waters and lush green vegetation.

Sara, John and Tony. Our new best mates from Alaska! We met this awesome couple on Anagarda and hitched with them in their hire car for a couple of days. Flamingos, amazing snorkeling and home made Alaskan tinned King Salmon. Thanks guys!

The coral at 'Flash of Beauty' a lovely snorkeling spot!

John found us awesome fishing line leader on the beach along with other treasures such as buckets and crates. 

On Anagada, they have the rare 'Anagada Iguana' and have started a Iguana nursery to get them big enough to fend off the feral cats before they release them.

Conch everywhere

haha! We initiated John and Tony as real Aussies with some vegemite on some of Sara's amazing bread. Oh and there was even talk of a potential house swap between Broome and Alaska!

OK GET THIS! we saw this from out at sea and thought it was a weird looking island...As we came closer, we discovered it was an island totally of Conch shell! Unbelievable, this is where the fishermen shuck their catch before returning to the settlement.

Dan thought he'd try his hand at free diving for Conch, he let these fellas go...

Still eating Mahi Mahi, its lasted for a week and still going!

Our 'secret' Anchorage at Anagarda, surrounded by coral atolls and healthy reef, we stayed here for 4 days and loved every minute. We even stopped working on the boat for a while!

The Baths at Virgin Gorda, what a spot! Huge granite boulders in crystal clear turquoise water...

Fallen Jerusalem, what a just beautiful island, One of Dan's favourite places so far.