One of our favourite things about cruising is learning from the people that we meet and sharing our experiences. We met a couple who had just bought their first boat and were looking for someone to help them out as they learned the ropes and built up some confidence before they headed off to new shores on their own, and Iain was more than happy to spend a few days playing around on a monohull and zipping up and down the coastline with them. Fair winds!
For those using a screen reader:
[Image Description: The view from the back of our boat shows our dinghy floating in the water and a monohull at anchor behind, lifting its main sail. There are two people standing on deck.]
Our first introduction to the wild world of Carnival! We took a bus over to the other side of the island to join in all the festivities, and ended up walking most of the way home as we stayed after the buses had stopped running.
Sparkles, smiles and feathers galore. What a day!
For those using a screen reader:
[Image Description: 1. Brioni and Iain take a selfie in the middle of a large crowd of people all dressed in bright colours. 2. A woman parades down the street towards the camera wearing a large costume of bright coloured feathered wings. 3. Iain and Brioni take an excited selfie in front of the passing parade.]
New episode OUT NOW!
This week, we build our own bow sprit – a pointy stick out the front of the boat which will allow us greater flexibility and sail choice when we’re sailing downwind.
Jump on over to our website to see us drilling terrifying holes in our boat, dropping parts in the sea and working through the night to get this job finished!
www.red-seas.com
Even though we feel like every corner of St Martin is familiar and there’s nowhere left to explore, we’re still finding new bays to anchor in and new beaches to wander along.
The world is so beautiful and surprising!
For those using a screen reader:
[Image Description: The view looking forward down the starboard hull of our catamaran, from the helm position. There is an island in front of us, the genoa has two reefs in it and the sky is darkening as the sun heads to the horizon.]
I can’t believe I did this…..after a whole day learning how to splice this super complicated 12-strand line with clockwise and anti-clockwise strands…….and after all that work, I joined the wrong ends together!!!!!! 😫😂
Watch the whole episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu8GaL6mKJs
We’re always up for a new challenge and after our anchor bridle snapped in high winds, we bought some 12-strand line and learned to splice it to make a new Y-shaped bridle for our boat.
For those using a screen reader:
[Image Description: Iain is sitting in the dinghy, holding a cardboard box with black rope in it.]
Our Patrons are just incredible – we are sooo grateful for all the support we receive from both friends and strangers all around the world. And when some of them turn up next door, and then make you dessert as well as rescuing your boat from disaster, well that’s just amazing!
Thanks tribe!
Watch the whole episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu8GaL6mKJs
In tomorrow’s episode we feel the full force of the wind as a huge gust snaps our bridle and leaves us unsafe at anchor. We quickly need to use some power tools to remove the broken line and learn how to splice a new one before the wind picks up again.
Watch the episode RIGHT NOW on www.patreon.com/redseas
St Vincent and the Grenadines is possibly the most cruiser-friendly destination in the Lesser Antilles. The country comprises 7 main islands and countless anchorages, all offering a different insight into paradise.
There was a time when sailing was all about staring off into the distance, looking like you are deep in thought before extending a brass sight glass and barking an order to adjust the square sails. While we would love to wear one of those hats and cool coats, sailing on Indioko is slightly different.
What Rig does Indioko have
Catamaran sail plans can be fantastically complex. everything from standard sloop rigs, cutters, rotating masts and even ketch rigs have been tested and each with their own merits and shortcomings. But what about Indioko?
Following our initial work with NGO Watts on Water (an incubator project of Watts of Love) we were asked to fly to St Vincent with charity representative Brooks Watson to capture some video footage of life in the aftermath of the volcanic eruption.
How our Leopard 47 is configured for power and steerage
Probably the biggest factors in our searching for a catamaran, the desire for shaft drive propellers and skeg hung rudders were paramount to our technical requirements.
On Friday 9th April 2021, La Soufriere, the volcano on St Vincent, began erupting with great plumes of ash which covered the island and surrounding areas. We were struck by the significant impact the cloud of ash had on the residents of the island as well as those on neighbouring islands and sailors in the local area.
When our grand plans of buying a boat and living onboard completely fell apart, we found ourselves homeless on the other side of the world and didn’t know which way to turn.
December marks one year since we bought our boat. A year of living in paradise, of learning new skills and chasing down new challenges everyday.
Walking through the streets of Phillipsburg, Dutch Sint Maarten’s capital, we were struck by the many brightly painted walls around the town. Some seemed to simply brighten people’s day while others had historical and cultural references to the island or hidden messages within them.
What is your advice for people who are thinking of buying a boat in a different country?”
“Don’t do what we did!”
Well sort of…
If you have been following the Red Seas adventure
Grenada is a perfect example of a Caribbean island. There’s sun, sea and sand and so much more besides.
St Lucia is the most popular honeymoon destination in the world and when you see the natural beauty of the place, it’s not hard to understand why.
The house has sold, the internet has been cut off and all our possessions fit in the back of a car. That was the situation
Having planned our journey from land to sea for the last 2 years, we finally put our house up for sale, just a few days before the UK went into lockdown to prevent a COVID-19 disaster. And then everything came to a standstill.
This week we had the incredible pleasure of having a one-to-one (well, two, as Bri and I were both there) with James, known to many as the captain of S/V Zingaro and seasoned cruiser with an incredibly popular YouTube channel.
Well, we’ve had an idea to get out of the city rat-race that we’ve been living in, sell up and travel the world. It is often so easy to get caught up in our negative news cycle, and to lose sight of our real priorities, so we’re keen to combine our love for travel with the good news stories of people and projects that we come across, hoping to spread a little light and love as we go.
