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Kaia II of Vancouver
Vancouver
I’m a traveller at heart turned sailor when I caught on to this blissfully addictive lifestyle (you get it!) on a first date with my now-husband, Will (he grew up as a cruising kid). We bought our first boat in 2012 and have cruised Mexico, through the South Pacific, Australia, the Pacific Northwest, California, and Mexico (again), and now the Mediterranean. We’re on our third cruising boat in that time: a Leopard 46 we bought in Poros, Greece, in 2022. We’ll be crossing the Med and Atlantic in 2024, over to the Caribbean. Our twin boys, Hugo and Kipp, are 5 💙💙 Remote workers: our business is Hydrovane International Marine (windvane self steering)
This passage: Bequia, SVG, to Tobago, TT 1. Add at least 5knots to any forecast // Forecast 10-15knots on the beam was actually a close reach into 22knots true. 2 knot current against us initially. 2. Spaghetti bolognese always tastes good //Especially when pre-made. 3. Starlink is a game changer // But means there’s no excuse not to keep working offshore. 4. Sailing on a full moon is comforting // Even more so when u discover all the headlamps are broken. 5. Expect random course changes from fishing vessels // CPA of .1nm felt a bit close int the middle or the night. Tobago is a dream! So glad we decided to come down here.
We’ve been off the boat for over a month! Getting back in the groove with this passage north, following the smell of croissants 😝 Kipp: “The ocean tastes so good!”
Easy trip north, upwind in 10 - 13 knots, to beautiful Bequia. What a difference from hurricane devastated Union Island, only 27nm to the south. In Union Island, many local people are living in tents 😢 and there is little sign of construction nor clean up, 6 months post-Beryl. Bequia was very fortunate to be relatively unscathed. This waterfront walkway appears to be brand new, already rebuilt. Interesting to see how resources are being dispersed…
Light tradewinds for week 1 and moderate tradewinds for week 2 with short period 3m swell (an ocean passage wouldn’t be complete without a bit of discomfort 😝) Our DDW course went high of the rhumb line to Grenada, so we ended up making landfall in Barbados instead. Fabulous! MVP: the two five year olds, because they didn’t once get seasick or ask “Are we there yet?!” Instead they felt real joy as the days counted down from 14 to arrival. Oh, and Starlink, the Parasailor, and Hydrovane Equipment failure: nothing. Biggest catastrophe was loosing a bucket while cleaning a fish. The boys’ kazoos were also lost shortly after they opened that present from Granny - so sorry guys Fish: 1 Mahi, 1 Rainbow Runner, 1 Wahoo Squalls: only 3, top wind speed being 33 knots for a minute. Much shorter squalls than the Pacific! What’s still fresh: Granny Smith apples, limes, and a few pears from Las Palmas What didn’t make it: forgotten watermelon found deflated like a soggy volleyball in our towel basket. Towels have been disposed of. We sailed as part of the ARC+ fleet - which included 94 boats, and 39 kids!! How cool is that! We had other boats within VHF range for the first week - and constantly monitored the YB App thereafter to know who was nearby. Nothing like this community to reduce the feeling of alone-ness on the big, wide, blue ocean. So excited to explore the Caribbean for a few years!!! Hope to see you out there!!
Everything went right! Could’ve kept going all the way to the Caribbean 😝 Wind filled in shortly after departure. Perfect 15-24 from behind for 5 days. Twizzle rig (poled out genoa) or Parasailor. Downwind is such bliss! Good food, lots of Lego, two baby fish that were returned to the sea. Can’t wait to explore Sao Vicente, Cape Verde, and then continue on our way.
10-15 knots on the beam. 2m swell. A comfortable fast passage over to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Now to provision! The next couple of legs will be much longer …. 🏝️
Very cool passage in the “shortcut” to the Ionian Sea. 40 minutes of keeping Kaia dead straight through the famously steep-walled and narrow Corinth Canal, followed by a parasailor run in the Gulf of Corinth. Now anchored off picturesque Galaxidi. Cheers to a memorable day!!
Fab passage from Kythnos in the Cyclades to Poros in the Saronic Gulf. Ahhhh feels like coming home. 18 knots on the beam: comfortably charging along at 8-9 knots. And then diminishing to a gentle 5 knot pace for the last 3 hours. Kids finally have their sea legs back. Easy! We just can’t leave Greece without more time in Poros 😍
Sweet run from Iraklia to Naxos. Would have been ideal to test out our parasailor, which comes next week 😝 Anchored off Naxos harbour to see if we can get a spot…. Full right now. Can’t imagine trying in high season! Looks like a fun town.
Yuk! That was an uncomfortable one to grin and bear - definitely our worst little passage yet in Greece. Oh Aegean, your forecasts are never right and your short steep seas can be so cruel! Full blown washing machine for at least seven hours, with dancing waves (I kept thinking whales were breaching in front of us because the wave direction was UP) and two puking kids. They learned all about grin and bear it too. All forgotten now the anchor’s down!
