Left stunning St. Barths in our wake, originally aiming for a quick pit stop in Nevis—but didn’t realize check-in was required, so had to reroute. We blasted out of St. Barths with full sails up, no reef in, and wind right on the edge of manageable. Then—bam—a surprise squall rolled in hard and fast. 😬 No time to reef. Adam stayed on the helm, hand steering to spill wind as we flew along. That squall shifted everything—changed our plan from passing in front of St. Kitts to ducking behind it. Once in its lee, the wind turned unpredictable: swirling, gusting, then disappearing. With Nevis off the table, we had to bash into the wind for 3 hours just to reach tonight’s anchorage. Tomorrow’s forecast? More wind and waves as we push on to Montserrat for another quick stop, then on to Guadeloupe. Kinda wishing we just kept charging to Guadeloupe—we were cruising steady at 8+ knots, and even hit 12 while surfing a wave. Though if I'm being honest, I'm not such a fan of increased wind and waves. I miss Bahama bopping around.

We set off from St. Martin for a sporty sail to St. Barths, double-reefed and ready—but quickly realized we could shake one out. Some lines snagged in the process, so we dropped the mainsail, rehoisted it, and noticed a sail car had come loose from the sail. After dropping it again, Adam grabbed his repair kit and, with some swift lashing, had us back underway in no time. It was a fast, wet ride—windier and rougher than expected, with waves tossing us like a mini rollercoaster. Not exactly a family favorite, but Adam was clearly stoked to be sailing. We arrived in a gorgeous national park anchorage in St. Barths and snagged a mooring ball—with the main still up. Aria and I didn’t have it rigged quite right, and in the scramble, Adam’s finger got caught and smashed against the anchor/chain plate. One crushed middle finger later, we were secured and grateful to kill the engines and take a breath, even with the gusty wind still whipping around us. Now happily moored in this stunning spot with a ridiculous amount of turtles, fish and spotted eagle rays. We’re taking an extra night to regroup and map out the next legs of our journey south with SeaBella. It's been so nice to have a buddy boat heading the same way!

We knew sailing to St. Martin would be a challenge, after all, we’re still working our way down the thorny path. What was supposed to be 82 miles turned into 100+, with tacks and slow progress into headwinds and lumpy seas. We left Prickly Pear Island at sunrise. One buddy left about an hour before us which was great, feeding us conditions. Our other buddy boat had engine issues but managed to get underway, so we were all a bit spread out. At least we were truly sailing—not motoring—but motion sickness hit hard. Poor Harbor broke his puke record (again). Lesson learned: meds and meals first before letting them fall back asleep. Midway, we had to reef and discovered our starboard engine was revving but not engaging. Adam worked his magic and got us back in action. There were bright spots—dolphins, clear skies, and a few stretches of smooth sailing that reminded me why Adam loves this life so much. We crawled in around 12:30 AM, both engines grinding at 3.5–4 kts, but we made it. Hook’s down. Harbor's wide awake, hungry and ready for some TV 😅 while the rest of the family is ready for sleep! BVI -> St. Martin: officially checked off the list.

The Baths were straight-up a playground—climbing wild rock formations and dipping into crystal-clear turquoise water made it tough to pull away. But the relentless wrap-around swell and crazy ass tour boats made the decision easier. Time to move on. We aimed for Leverick Bay at first, but one look at the chop pounding the mooring field had us thinking, Yeah...No! So we darted across the channel to Prickly Pear Island instead. Anchoring there was a win—great holding, close to shore, and finally some relief from the constant motion. Afternoon vibes were on point: tubing, beach lounging, and later, dinner at the Bitter End Yacht Club. Total win. Bobin, SeaBella, and Kaikoa hit happy hour, laughed too loud, and had an all around great freaking time. Had no idea we'd meet so many rad families while sailing. Sailing is no longer for the old and retired. All ages, all doing the damn thing!

Chasing Shelter - We pulled out of Willy T’s aiming for Cooper Island to hide from some wind. But as we rolled up, the mooring field had one lonely ball left—and with SeaBella, Bobin, and Kaikoa all hoping to stick together, it wasn’t happening. Between the gusts and no real protection, we decided to keep going and headed toward the Baths. We found a spot at Little Trunk Bay, which ended up being a pretty awesome surprise. The rock formations were wild, and the houses built into the island actually looked like they belonged—super cool and not at all an eyesore. We had two great (but bouncy) nights there. Perfect spot for exploring. Harbor did hot laps in his kayak, Adam and Aria were freediving off the sugar scoops, and I was happily parked on the trampoline with a breeze. The next day, we dinked over to explore and walk the trail. Seriously—what a place. We didn’t really want to leave, but sleep was calling. It felt like we were sailing... while on anchor. Highlight of the BVI'S for sure.

We said goodbye to Cruz Bay and checked into the BVIs, setting our course for none other than Willy T’s. Had the jib out for a hot minute—until the wind said nope—so we furled it up and motored straight into the wind (which seems to be our MO). We picked up a mooring ball not far from the legendary floating bar, ticking one more stop off the list. While soaking up sunshine and listening to some tunes aboard Kaikoa, we spotted a surprise buddy boat pulling in—instant bonus! Soon enough, our crews (Kaikoa & Bobin) were headed to check out Willy T’s together. At first, the kids weren’t totally sold on the vibe (or the top-deck shenanigans… yes, a few bums were spotted). But after watching a few jumps off the upper deck, they were all in. It quickly turned into nonstop laps of climbing up, leaping off, and racing back for more. A few drinks, a million cannonballs, and a whole lot of laughs later, we made it back to our boats—just in time to miss the real party when things got a little more R-rated. Def a good time had by all crew members.