Como No in Sunny Caribbean

[Como No Cruising]

Cape Dory 40, Como NO is currently in The Saintes, West Indies. We arrived Saturday, Jan. 9 after a short but boisterous sail from Dominica--24 mile from anchor up to anchor down. Six knots average speed under 90% yankee jib and staysail. Broad reaching all the way. Winds were 17-25 knots and seas 6 to 8 feet. It was a fun, but wet sail. Now we need a good rain to rinse the salt off the decks and gear. But who is complaining? The outside temps are 85 degrees and the water is 81. We watched our anchor hit the sand bottom in 36 feet of clear blue water.

After our difficult sail, drinking coffee in the cockpit, under the dodger and bimini while the Alpha pilot steered , we sat back at anchor and had lunch and big glasses of iced tea. Does life get much better than that? We ask ourselves frequently if we really want to give up this lifestyle after 13 years. Well, not quite yet. We still have several Caribbean islands that we have not explored. Plus the sailing here just doesn't get much better, and we have a few miles and several oceans to compare. The Pacific was great, but the passages were long and there were a few hard gales along the way. The Med was beautiful, but there was usually either too much wind or no wind.

We have learned that there are quite a number of people who sail the Caribbean on a seasonal basis. They sail the Winter months and store their boats during the Hurricane season. Grenada and Trinidad seem to be popular places to leave cruising boats.

So far, Como NO has been holding up quite well and has been very good to us. Of course, she demands a fair amount of TLC (Time, Labor and Cash), but we are happy to keep her in good shape. We get loads of compliments where ever we go.

It appears that our plans currently are to keep heading northerly thru the islands until we reach the Virgin Islands. Then we will start to head West with our destination being Isla Mujeres, Mexico. We will revisit the Yucatan before heading back to our old home port in Clear Lake, Texas in Late April of this year. Bummer. I would like to head back to the Pacific, but the Admiral wants to head back to Texas. Oh well.

We have really enjoyed the CDSOA website and if I can get the Admiral to show me how to work Paypal, we will join. Even tho, getting on line can be problematical at times. Free Wi-Fi is not universal thru the islands, so we frequently pay for use. The other problem relates to what the computer does to our batteries. We hope to purchase a computer that draws fewer amps than our old faithful Toshiba, but that will have to wait till we can get one of our friends to bring us one ffrom the States. They are simply too expensive here in the Islands.

Well, gotta wrap this one up. The sun is getting low and the winds are dying, so I will be running low on power soon. Have to save some for reading tonight.

Best to all the Cape Dory owners. Watch out for frostbite out there.

Will, Annie and boat cat, Posha
Isle de Saintes, W.I.