On November 17th, we fly in to pick up SummerSalt. We’ll sail south through the Exumas and along the Ragged Islands to Duncantown. That is about 80 miles from Cuba and we will probably sail over night to arrive with lots of daylight to clear in. Our Cuba arrival depends on the weather conditions, But we’ll be sure to post…
Since sailing 270 miles from the Turks and Caicos to the Exumas (southern Bahamas) on my own, I have developed a strong respect for the Around Alone sailors. I have just one question for them: WHY? It is much more fun and safer with people. I was constantly aware that with the autopilot on, if I fell off, the Bella…
Hello again. I apologize for the amount of time since the last blog. Spent some family time at home over the Holidays and worked at the office for a few weeks. Flew back down to St. Thomas with an excellent crew, Bunky Wichmann, on Saturday Jan. 17th. We got on the Bella Gatta late that night and spent all Sunday…
The Virgin Islands were discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493, his second trip. He named them for the 11,000 virgins that killed themselves instead of a fate worse than death with the Huns. The 80 mile sail across the Anegada Passage was exciting, in a good way. Strong winds and big waves (14′) were going in our direction. We averaged…
All these Saints. You would think all the locals would have halos on their heads. NOT! Chris Columbus named all these islands after obscure places and one after his patron saint, St. Christopher (St. Kitts). After motoring 28 miles into the wind from Saba to St. Barths, I picked up Lou Kizer again and a new crew member, David Stone….
The last two islands BELLA GATTA has visited have been very unique from the other Caribbean Islands. Statia and Saba are in the Netherland Antilles, meaning they are loyal to the Dutch. These islands are clean and well maintained. Everyone waves when they drive past and the people are friendly and helpful. Both islands have steep slopes going up to…
At the moment I am sitting in a very nice hotel room with Ken and Dawn Bartizal on the island of St. Kitts. Ken and I were roommates at Notre Dame many years ago. They have joined me on the Bella Gatta many times and are a true joy to travel with. But let me catch up since the last…
Much has happened since we last talked. We spent an active 3 days in St. Pierre, the northern most town in Martinique. Lou and I had a great dive at 80′ and met a couple from Paris. Donna and Sebastian came over for a beer and the 5 of us had very pleasant conversation. Their english is 10x better than…
Went scuba diving today and am always amazed at breathing underwater. I haven’t been diving in 18 months and was a little nervous. So I was sucking down the air in my tank like a popsicle on a hot day. The group was not ready to come up so I breathed off the divemaster’s tank for a little while. The…
Lou, Richard and I have been moving north at a steady pace. We wanted to get to Martinique to pick up my sister, Yvonne. She arrives tonight. Presently we are in St. Lucia where the boat has beeen for the previous 5 years. It was strange to come in and not have a slip waiting for us. It is like…
