Spring Break 2013 on Hakuna Matata

Before April gets too far gone I am still compelled to blog about our Spring Break and Easter week on Hakuna Matata. So far all those that have trouble rewinding, I apologize. But the week was just too great not to say something about our unique travel experience with friends. As many of you might already know, The Hetrick family chose to spend their spring break helping us crew Hakuna Matata for 8 days! We have traveled with the Hetricks on mission trips, college weekends, wine country and countless weekends all over the midwest but Seabbatical 2013 proved to be one of our greatest adventures. In 8 days we sailed around and hiked through the islands of St John USVI, Norman BVI, Cooper Island, the Baths and North Sound on Virgin Gorda, Little Jost and Jost Van Dyke. Maho Bay on St John continued to be a great mooring spot and we enjoyed a little hike through the campground and mangroves. But we also decided to visit a bay for the locals called Coral Bay. Although it is a quiet, well protected, fairly nondescript bay, it is home to the popular Skinny Legs restaurant. We had a fun meal accompanied by some of the most peculiar island folk band type music we have encountered yet. The trio sounded more like a back woods West Virginia genre than island happy hour music. But the food and company were great and everyone slept really well from a busy day of traveling. Norman Island is usually known for its permanently anchored restaurant the Willy T in which one must tie the dingy to, climb up the ladder of the aging monohaul and possibly jump from the bar of the restaurant if your night calls for that type of behavior. In four visits to Norman Island we have chosen the lesser known but beautiful hiking trails and quiet dinners on our boat or a fantastic meal at the newly renovated Pirates beach side restaurant. Dave and Rhonda treated us to most of our meals out during their stay which was a huge help in feeding the constantly hungry five teens on board. We closed down Pirates restaurant as the kids burned off energy from dinner practicing acrobatics at the beach. Kaylee and Olivia also worked on their "white girl" dance moves in the Pirates dining room. Pirates has a rockin' play list. Dinghy Captain William got us all safely back to Hakuna Matata in the dark. I am unsure if Monday night was the beginning of the endless euchre but we all played so many hands during the week that the cards are completely worn out. Plus, playing cards on a sail boat means there are usually a few cards being blown from the table. Tuesday was spent relaxing, snorkeling the Caves, lots of great food and Happy Hour at our favorite Cooper Island beach club. Wednesday morning called to us early so that we could motor sail to The Baths on Virgin Gorda. If you have never heard of the Baths on Virgin Gorda take a moment to Google some pics, you won't be disappointed. Timing is critical when hiking the Baths because many of the cruise ships bus in tourists from Spanish Town and most are unprepared for the trails. Our timing through the trails and our lunch at the top of the Baths was perfect and we finished up just as the sunburned cruise passengers readied themselves for their prepaid buffet. The trail through Devil's Head Bay is the most popular and the views are breathtaking. If you are a teenage boy then the breath most likely being taken away is your mom's. Teen boys don't believe in hiking through the Baths on the marked trail. Teen boys must climb the highest rocks, squeeze through the smallest possible crevices and get as close to the crashing waves on the gigantic boulders as possible. But that sounds more like a parenting blog... We have climbed through the Baths numerous times but on this hike we included a new detour on a lesser known trail called Rocky Point. Rocky Point takes you to even more sweeping views of the channel between Virgin Gorda and uninhabited Fallen Jerusalem. We were overwhelmed by this hidden little gem. Wednesday afternoon we sailed to Savannah Bay which is supposedly a quiet area because most charter companies don't want their cruisers attempting to anchor and navigate the reef. Within minutes of setting our anchor three large catamaran's anchored just in front of us and two more cats joined them within the hour. These catamaran's were all sailing as a group with captains and crews and lots of youngins' aboard. Their captains spent the afternoon pulling the younger kids tubing behind the dingy and running snorkelers back and forth between the beach and the boats. So much for our quiet bay. Also during anchoring, Bessie's rope got wrapped in the starboard motor! Dave and the boys were great as they worked together cutting and untangling the mangled rope from the prop. A large swell moved in overnight at Savannah which tossed us from side to side all night. We were all pretty glad to head out Thursday for Gorda Sound and hopefully a calmer anchorage. As always, Gorda Sound feels like home to us. We were really glad Dave mentioned that this is also one of his favorite spots and happily obliged taking them to Gorda Sound. Saba Rock is a tiny island barely seen on a map with a tiny beach, gift shop, small hotel, restaurant and bar and the most domesticated, well fed tarpon in the ocean. Happy Hour on Saba Rock is filled with cruisers from all over the world who are eager to share their adventures. It was an amazing feeling to share our story with other cruisers and find so many unique qualities because we chose to experience this seabbatical with our teenagers. Good Friday through Easter Sunday in the islands is a wonderfully different experience. It wasn't until we returned to the States that we realized we did not see one single easter egg, jelly beans, pastel colored bunnies in various forms, etc. What a refreshing experience for our families. Good Friday brought some much needed rain to Little Jost. Following lunch we hiked to the bubbly pool and the sky let loose on us. We were all dressed for swimming anyway and hiking in the rain was such fun as the girls sang and we all skipped from puddle to puddle. The excitement really began as we climbed soaking wet aboard Hakuna Matata and the kids played in the ocean as it poured down. The winds shifted and our anchor came off the ocean floor so we pulled up the anchor and decided to move on to a different bay. We were all very thankful that we had made it back to the boat before the anchor moved on us! As we motored through two more bays it became apparent that anchoring in the wind and rain was not working so we headed on to our next stop at Little Harbour. We finally got to use the heavy weather gear I had packed. Cody brought us all lots of laughs in his yellow poncho and too small yellow rain pants. We needed the comic relief and are always thankful for Cody's joyful spirit. We celebrated our wet arrival to Jost Van Dyke with fish and lobster dinner at Sydney's restaurant. Spiny Caribbean lobster are huge and not as sweet as US east coast lobster. But Caribbean lobsters can feed a crowd of hungry sailors quite well especially when Dave and Rhonda bring an excellent bottle of Caymus to dinner. Saturday and Sunday found us relaxing in Great Harbour just around the bend from White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. While Gorda Sound is full of yachts, private islands, pricey resorts and more populated beaches, Jost Van Dyke's Little Harbour and Great Harbour have landscapes and locals reminiscent of Roatan, Honduras or the sleepy villages of Jamaica. For this reason, Jost Van Dyke has easily become one of our favorite islands in the BVI. The locals are easy to chat with and they enjoy sharing the history of their lives on Jost. Sunday morning rains came and we agreed to plan A (ashore) and a plan B (church on the boat) for our Easter celebration. None of us really wanted to show up at a local congregation like drowned rats from a wet dinghy ride to shore. We had already found a local Methodist church to attend and could actually see the chapel from our boat but were unsure how to get there, dry. We all cleaned up and at the first sign of slightly clear skies we dinghied to shore and quickly made our way to the Methodist church for a lively 2.5 hour Easter service. Most of the hymns seemed to have come straight from the Baptist hymnal I grew up with. The remainder of our Easter Sunday was spent playing beach volleyball, euchre and we even got to watch a little bit of NCAA basketball at Ali Baba restaurant. The rain finally moved on throughout the night and gave way to sunshine on Monday as we motored to Soper's Hole in time for the Hetrick's to meet the ferry that would take them to St Thomas. We loved having this experience with friends. The Hetrick's are great sailors! Our hope is to have pictures on the blog or on dropbox soon. Thanks for continuing to cheer us on in this adventure. -Kelli

So many miles....

And so it begins, the final countdown for Seabbatical 2013. We still need to post about our week through St John, Norman, Savannah Bay, the Baths, Gorda Sound, little Jost and Easter on Jost Van Dyke! We had our "unhook" from electronics Easter week so we find ourselves behind blogging. But today we find ourselves back to Cooper Island with so many miles travelled behind us. Rewind to Monday April 1 we had a beautiful sail after dropping our 4 member Hetrick Crew at Sopers Hole for their journey back to Illinois. The boys did all the tacking required for our arrival on Norman Island. All the rope and teamwork lessons have resulted in a cohesive shift of the jib from port to starboard. Our night on a mooring ball in The Bight at Norman Island was full of 20 knot winds and yet we all slept pretty sound. By Tuesday we formulated a plan to sail to Peter Island but after a hike and lunch, school work, and signing Cody up for the SAT plus beach side service of drinks and snacks our plan simply became to stay at Norman. This is where our evening got really exciting!! Upon our return from the beach, Brian checked our flight itenerary for Friday only to realize we fly home Thursday!! What day is it anyway? Our Friday plans became Thursday plans and our over abundance of provisioning means we eat and drink Realy well for our remaining meals. As we motored away Wednesday morning from our third experience of Norman Island we sensed our first bitter sweetness in leaving the BVI. The thought resonating with me this morning was 'the palest ink is better than the best memory'. We need to continue umpacking all that life encompasses. Even if the day solely involves rising, sailing, boat chores, and a thousand words to describe all the day entails. Not all people will embrace journaling but putting this Seabbatical to words in a blog has enabled us to share and also explore and wonder without google. Our Wednesday of packing, gathering, and drying out the last of our wet clothes and towels began this morning. Hauling luggage from the two coffin births was an interesting feat after 9 weeks of sailing. But a small amount of Wd40 applied to luggage zippers and gathering all our belongings from approximately 650 sq feet of living space we were packed in a small amount of time. We squeezed in a first experience of paddle boarding and William finally got his opportunity to be hauled in a bosan chair up the main sail (pics to come). We have covered over 700 miles in nine weeks. The lifetime of reflection and learning continues to come at us in rapid succession. We hope (or at least I hope) to continue writing our reflections in stone as we leave all else in the sand and the wind. ~Kelli

A view from the captain and crew

10 days in 2 minutes (Cody) So our first crossing, as most of you know, was like being tossed into a washing machine that was strapped into a wooden roller coaster. But the crossing back to the BVI was much, much easier. Instead of 16 hours it was 10.5 hours on March 16th. On the first crossing we had about four major things break, on the way back we had zero things break. On the first crossing we got the living day lights pounded out of us, I actually slept most of the time on the way back. After that we cruised around the Northern Sound for a few days before heading done to St. John in the USVI. By this time it was the 22nd which happened to be the first day of Spring Break  and my birthday at the same time. So for my birthday my dad gave me the trail map of St. John and said "pick some trails and we'll hike them on your birthday" so I did. Four and a half hours, 7 miles and across the width of St. John and back. That was my birthday present and I loved it. On the either hand, the rest of my family thought they were going to die and I'm not sure if Kaylee has forgiven me yet. That night my mom made baked potatoes and pork chops, it was fantastic. The next day our friends Dave, Rhonda, Zach and Olivia Hetrick arrived and we've been cruising around the BVI since. So far we've been to St. John, Norman and are currently on Cooper. This week we're hoping to get to The Baths, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda. Well there's your semi-daily dose of adventure. Ciao!. The coolest thing I've seen(Brian) We are so blessed.  Not only did we see dolphins once but twice.    First time we were cruising off of Statia at about 7 knots on the way to Saba.  I look up and see something splash in the middle of the ocean.  Look again and I think I see a fin.  Holy cow!  It's a dolphin.  Wait, not just one there are a few.  I yell at everyone on board to come look and then the pod of dolphins surround our boat.  Wow!!!   We now have 15 to 20 dolphins swimming with our boat for the next 4 to 5 minutes.  The kids are laying on the tramps out front and the dolphins are directly in front/ underneath the front of the boat.  Swimming with us at about 7 knots.  All sizes and ages of dolphins.  Big, small, old and babies.  Some are along side and jumping out of the water.  We also got to experience and smaller and shorter version of this on our crossing from Saba to Virgin Gorda ( 90 miles).   Wow I am so thankful for such a cool experience. Boat life (Kelli) Well, I believe I have mastered boiling water, prepping veggies with a butcher knife, readying breakfast, lunch, or dinner all while being underway whether under sail or motor. Brian remains in charge of morning coffee preparation as I don't tend to be brilliant until after my first cup. Cooking on the boat continues to be an adventure. I am so grateful for friends and family that are willing to wait for a meal as I juggle the pressure cooker and one burner that refuses to light after it gets too hot.  I am grateful for Lisbon as he drove Kaylee, William and myself to provision at various locations around Road Town.  What a grand adventure to grocery shop in a totally different culture again. In many ways provisioning in all these islands reminded me of shopping in Honduras.  One never knows what you might find at the local grocer. Flexibility continues to be key in planning.  My favorite time of day continues to be the mornings (which will shock many of you). Just as our day begins, giving thanks for another day. I am learning to be grateful for each day whether I am in Indy or on Saba Island. Both are extremes of "different" and yet each holds its own adventures. C'est la vie.  Adventure (Rhonda) I am not sure I can describe how completely fabulous it is here with the Gatewoods.  We find ourselves trying to find reasons why we NEED to actually ever go back to Chicago.  This is paradise times a thousand! As we venture from island to island, we can't help but marvel at the beauty, the salty air, the friendships we continue to grow and see grow thru our children.  We are a little worried about setting their expectations a little too high.  But I guess if that's the most damage we do as parents we'll be forgiven.  We'll continue to savor every moment until we have to leave next week, which right now, is about a million years away.  Happy hour at Cooper Island . . . incredible!!! Well I keep being required to write write my thoughts but I don't think you want to hear all my thoughts... Soooooo I'll write what I think about these past weeks. After the crossing, which was like heaven compared to the first crossing, we had to go back to where we started to get my baby Bessie repaired. And the guy who was repairing her gave us a replacement. Now Bessie will never be replaced but this one would have to do. So I named her Bessie's twin, Betsie. Betsie was a newer motor but she was a foot less wide then Bessie. She ran like a charm but being without Bessie for a few days was not too good. But we finally got Bessie back after she had a good patch over her tear. She's running beautifully know and shes hauling all nine of us, the Hetricks are here, all around the islands. At the moment were at Cooper Island at a nice restaurant just liming. Liming is an island term for just chillin. Weeeeel that's all I got for now. Soooo byeeee ;) Oh and that pie statement was very valid so im going to need a good pie when we get back ;D      -William Kaylee here and I'm not quite sure what to write about so I guess I will just talk about what Olivia and I have been doing. Well me and Olivia got burnt. Her more then me but still it hurts. We have been laying in bed every night dumping aloe vera all over our sun burns. It's intense. The other night we couldn't help it but we were so slap happy! We were saying the weirdest things and then just started cracking up. It was great. I'm having a great time here. I also have realized that I'm in love with ice cream. It is possibly the best thing on this earth. When I get home I'm going to eat tons of it! YUMMMMMM!!! HELLOOOOOOO THIS IS OLIVIAAA well basically I've been adjusting to living on the boat. The first day I experienced sea sickness, that wasn't too fun. And as Kaylee said; I have a really bad sunburn. So while everyone else took a hike today Kaylee and I stayed on the boat jamming to One Direction <3 we also enjoyed dinner last night and then decided to show everyone our amazing dancing skills, which included; the Bernie, tango, salsa, and a bunch of other random dance moves that probably scared everyone. Needless to say, we are all having an amazing time and we're all blessed very much.  This is Zach, And this trip doesn't suck!

What day is it?

One of the most common questions while spending weeks on a boat is "what day is this?" Kenny Chesney was lyrically correct as he sang about sailing and having no idea what the day was nor did he seem to care. It has been that sort of day or days since our arrival back to the BVI. We completely understand another lyric that says "went through customs and immigration, still this feels like home." Gorda Sound has that effect on us. But enough about song lyrics and sentiments. Upon our arrival to Manuel Reef Sea Cow Bay the Cap'n and crew quickly busied themselves for a full day of chores. (This crew member, Kelli, needed a few minutes to reflect how far we have gone and give lots of praise for our arrival back to our starting point). There is a phrase used in St Kitts, "I got to go so I can come back". Our family has lived this little motto. Hakuna matata was in dire need of cleaning, towels and sheets were stinky and we had eaten every bit of protein on the boat. At this point in this post we must have a moment of silence..... Bessie had to be hauled up on the dock and a dingy doctor will be assessing her to determine if she will ever be sea worthy again. Brian had done excellent work at patching her but with the upcoming arrival of Crew Hetrick we must not take chances with an unseaworthy vessel. Dingy cap'n William needed a moment to himself but nicely recovered. William introduced himself to our new dingy and affectionately named her Betsy. As of this post he has cleaned her up and filled the gas tank. Last night we dined like royalty on chicken cacciatore over potatoes accompanied by baguette dipped in a balsamic garlic sauce. We really splurged yesterday while provisioning and purchased a rug and a few real wine glasses. It set us back 15 dollars but was worth every penny. Of course the selection of rugs at Cash & Carry was limited to Tinkerbell, spider man and a lone santa. I am pleased to no longer be using a beach towel as a rug. Plus, I thought it fitting that we have a proper rug upon the soon arriving interior designer, Rhonda Hetrick. This morning we had a family meeting to have a plan for coming off the dock minus any tension. LeaVing the dock is fairly simple but getting to the dock is a slow and steady process. Brian has mastered backing stern to on a dock. It is sort of like parallel parking except your vehicle is 47ft long with two engines and the wind and water are pushing against your vehicle. As crew members we try to ensure our bow and stern lines are ready to throw to someone on the dock or in the absence of help we jump from boat to dock and work our lines until we are positioned correctly. We only have four fenders on Hakuna Matata that we tie to the side the dock will be on. But we have found that it is important to have a crew member with a fender in hand to move quickly should we get her too close to colliding with the dock. Five fenders would be ideal for a boat this size but we have learned to problem solve and work together. This morning was flawless as we came off the dock at Sea Cow Bay and minutes later backed into Nanny Cay for refueling. All this to say, Family meetings are important. Currently, we are under sail to St John, USVI. Two-thirds of the island is a national park. We look forward to hours of hiking, school work, and finishing our remaining days of Seabattical well. We are trying to get some pictures uploaded for your enjoyment. Sending warmth and sunshine!

A day with Jumie & Della

St Kitts and Nevis are two of the few islands in the Leeward islands that are nicknamed "islands that touch the clouds". These sister islands gained independence only a short 30 years ago. The government put an end to sugar cane production only 5 years ago. Both islands are now heavily dependent on tourism. When the cruise ships are in St Kitts Port Zante is bustling. Fortunately, for us we were able to check in as the cruise ship passengers were receiving their cattle call to head back to their respective floating resorts. We were also glad to hit the Ballahoo for happy hour, wifi, and a chicken roti that is popular everywhere down here. Day 2 on St Kitts was to be a hiking and tour day. Taxi driver, Jumie, happily obliged after a minor negotiation. Jumie gave us a wonderful tour all the way around the island. As a born and bred Kittian he seems to know countless numbers of people through each little town. The highlights were abandoned sugar plantations, batik wax silk screening and the Brimstone Hill fortress. The fortress remains mostly intact and was a bustling city of soldiers, families and slaves in its time. Sadly, the French and British took St Kitts just after slaughtering all the Carib Indians that lived there. The island was then divided into thirds with the French occupying each end of the island and the British in the central part. Of course the division and unity amongst the settlers did not last and the British took control following years of battles. The inhabitants today are said to be generations of the slaves brought from African countries. The only remaining Caribs are living today in islands further south like Guadalupe and Dominique. While we completely enjoyed the history lesson from Jumie we were ready to move on out of the busy Port Zante to Nevis. Upon arrival to Nevis main port and only true "town" Charlestown, one would think you may have travelled to Jamaica or a Hatiaan port. We walked around a bit as the heat of the day set in, consulted our trusty Leeward Island cruiser guide and decided on the "short" walk to a nearby restaurant with wifi. Fortunately, a gentleman that had seen us in town stopped and offered a ride the remainder of the 20 minute short walk. As I said in a previous post, the Double Deuce easily became a favorite spot. The owner, waitress and bartender had a good word for Brian and I in parenting and sailing with our kids. They also arranged a hike, taxi and just about anything else we needed. The tour the next day with Della was beautiful and restful. She took us to some beautiful former sugar plantations and gave us the best history lesson. Again, the island was built on the backs of slaves. And now the Nevis economy is driven by tourism. Following our tour we waited out a short rain shower and headed back to the beach where we had beached Bessie. Sailing lesson #500 would be, when a local offers to help you get your dingy off the beach at high tide with a northern swell coming in, take the help. We got Bessie in the water but immediately knew the next wave was coming to quickly and Bessie's nose turned sideways back toward the beach. Kaylee ended up off the boat in the sand, Brian and Cody steadied Bessie, William worked to get the engine down, I prayed and quickly bailed to ensure Kaylee didn't get hit by another wave. In a matter of moments it felt that 10 locals had gathered behind us to help and give sound instruction on getting out to sea. Cody and I paddled hard while William and Brian wrestled the motor down and fired her up. The bag of ice we had just purchased was now a huge puddle in Bessie and we bailed water as we hurried back to Hakuna Matata. I am sure it took a solid 30 minutes for my blood pressure to level off. Nobody was hurt and we learned some valuable skills. The next day we chatted with two couples that were unable to even get their dinghy to the dinghy dock in Charlestown due to the swell. Again, we were grateful for the two days there. Be sure to read Brian's last post about our round trip sail to Monserrat after we left Nevis. If you want to learn lessons in flexibility this type of life will offer numerous opportunities. As we have said in almost every post we will always be grateful for this time. I have seen myself push through physical and mental situations that life back home will not compare. Our time spent learning the history of the Islands that touch the clouds has been an unexpected education in our intentional travels. Sail on.

Monserrat and back

Brian here - Yesterday was a fabulous day of sailing. We headed off to Monserrat about 8:30am from Nevis. 15 to 20 knot winds and about 3.2 meter waves. Great sailing!!!!! We were averaging 9 knots which is fabulous for a 47 foot catamaran that weighs 24 tons. The boys and Kelli are becoming very good at raising the main sail and letting the jib out. We arrived at Monserrat about 5 hours later. Great views of the active volcano. The port was very small and the direction of the waves (swell) was causing the 3 meter waves to crash into a very small dinghy dock. So we had lunch on the boat and set sail to come back. We arrived in Nevis just before sundown and had sailed almost 10 hours in one day. A long day but better than any day at the office!

Our day on Nevis

Kaylee - Today was not such a good day for me. Before bed last night I wasn't feeling so good so I just decided I would try to sleep it off. I didn't end up getting much sleep though. I woke up with a soar throat, a stuffed nose, a major headache, and I over all felt achy all over. Mom gave me all kinds of good medicines and I took a nap. After my nap I felt a tad bit better and so we came back to the restaurant we were at yesterday. I had one of the best burgers I have ever had for lunch and that's saying something because I am a burger expert. We then proceeded by getting an island tour in a cab. Although I wasn't feeling well it was better than having to hike. I would rather be sick here than back at home. :) Kelli - the Double Duece staff took great care of us again today in Nevis. Even a couple locals helped us beach our dinghy, Bessie. Our tour around Nevis was rich in history as well as beautiful. When we arrived yesterday I was questioning our decision to come here as the Friday crowd and cruise boat crowd were overwhelming. But because we took a long walk, grabbed a ride with a local and followed our instincts to the beach area not to far from Hakuna Matata I have loved our time here. The ruins of sugar plantations are a work of genius as they have stood the test of weather and time. The Montpilier (now a gorgeous inn) was my favorite and I did my best to remind Brian that before the trip he assured me if we needed a night off the boat we could get a room. The pool and grounds plus a full bar with real glass ware were very appealing. But my tactics failed. C'est la vie. I am loving boat life enough to skip the fancy inns and hotel. Cody-Today we took a great tour of the island. Saw some awesome stuff. Jackie would have been proud, my inner photographer came out like a hunting tigress. I was at one with the camera and in harmony with my surroundings. William- well hi. My names William. I am fourteen years old and I like to eat chocolate pie. Daddy just said that I should write something short and sweet and it reminded me of chocolate pie. If someone wants to be a peach and make me pie when I get back I would love that. This post is very unrelative to everything but it's what's on my mind. We have to go back to the dinghy now. Without pie :( byeeeee ! Brian - today was an adventure. Our boat needed fuel and further south we get the more primitive it gets. So Cody and I set out in our dinghy. About a 10 min ride to the dock. Then meet our cab driver who has arranged to find 3 15 gal fuel containers. Off to the gas station we go via taxi. Fill the containers and back to the dinghy dock. The swell is running high today so putting a 100 lb jug in a dinghy that is moving a lot is a challenge. But we did it. Back to the boat and then teach Cody to siphon diesel from the containers to the tank. Lots of fun realizing that sometimes you just can't pull up to the dock and get fuel.