Dominica the Eden we hoped for

When we arrived in the semi dark of our first night sail, the very tiered crew fell fast asleep rather quickly. I was left alone in the moonlit cockpit as the sky began to change from black to glowing grays, then blue, finally unfolding to greet the sun as it rose in it's glory peeking over the lush mountains. The aura was unique as the sun and moon shared the same sky for a brief period, almost as if they were changing watch themselves.

The warm glow in the cockpit was cozy.

Very tiered, but happy to be here.

 I too fell asleep after a prayer to thank God for a safe trip.

After a nice rest we went into the bustling town of Rosearu and took a delightful taxi up to Victoria Falls and the hot springs which are in the southern part of Dominica. During a fifteen minute exciting  ride, twisting and climbing into the interior, everything quickly changed before our eyes. The lush overgrowth encroached on the road at times like a roof over your house. The whole family just fell in love with the stunning plant life that encompasses this wild country.

Steam rises and water flows down the landscape shaping it

 and helping the growth of such a magnificent land.

As we walked along the road side bananas hung over the street.

There must of been hundreds.

Families of goats dotted the paths. Munching as much as they could.

The foot path to Victoria Falls.

Home of the Mama and the Papa waterfalls.

Isabel makes tracks up to the falls.

Izzy bought a flute from a "jungle guy"

Once we drew closer to the falls our path began to change.

The trail became rocky and very moist. We had to take care and step with caution on the moss covered stones. For a group of boat bohemians who go barefoot all of the time, hiking shoes were foreign.  We felt a little bit like, "Fish out of water" on dry land.

The trail changes were minuscule at first, but quickly became reshaped by many years of flowing water.

For our Russian friend Valery

Boulders became larger and climbing the rocks became laborious.

Allan and Devon were the only ones in our bunch that made it close up and personal with Mama Falls and victory is theirs.  

Flowers just spring up in the earth all over the territory. There isn't a spot on the ground that doesn't have an alluring flower growing form it.  The locals just pick the different species and create spectacular arrangements on the side of the streets for all to enjoy.

The people are very creative in Dominica.

Dominica is such a blessed joy to see hear and taste. I would love to come again.

JOURNEY TO EDEN

What a difference a couple of months make. Sailing back from the BVI's we could hear a whirring noise coming from the transmission and decided to stop in St Maarten to check it out. Worst case... a week for a quick rebuild and then we'd be back on our adventure.

Well, that week slipped by quickly and after research we found out that when the new engine was installed in Odessa 2 years ago, the transmission was not replaced. That wasn't an issue because I would have probably done the same thing and the transmission was apparently good at that time, it's just become more worn over two years. It was a no brainer... get a new transmission from the US and make everything perfect.

While we were waiting I got awarded a new project, working with my good friend David Kiviat, and I began editing a series of 12 videos for HITS, a new triathlon series in the US. That became a month of solid work and two months flew by very slowly... dock life is convenient, but frustrating when you're ready to sail on to adventure.

The day finally came, but a tropical storm was heading off the Atlantic and directly at St Maarten... we battened down the hatches and held on for yet another week before finally slipping lines. we spent that time wishing "goodbye" to all of the wonderful friends that we'd made, and before we knew it, we were heading for a short motor to St Barth's. Everything worked perfectly and all of the changes we'd made to Odessa made her easier to sail and perform beautifully.

St. Barth's was a quick dead into wind test run on the engine and transmission and brought us further east to get an angle on the wind to sail straight down the island chain. Columbia Bay was beautiful, but we didn't get comfortable just in case we lost focus. There are many adventures down island so, we stayed on Odessa, swam and got ready for a long day's motoring into the wind the next day.

Odessa is surprisingly comfortable, her long waterline makes motoring directly into wind and swell a flat non eventful affair. Doreen cooked our first batch of pizza in her new Eno "Le Chef" top of the line oven and the kids lazed around stuffing their faces and waiting for fish. A great days fishing... Doreen caught two Mahi Mahi and Devon landed a lovely Spanish Mackerel... mmm. He then continued our amazement by making fish curry... it was heavenly.

We motored at 7+ knots and 2200 rpm... a nice speed for cutting into waves and moving along quickly. As we approached Antigua we could see the wide open entrance of Deep Water Harbor with mountains on both sides. We stayed in the capital for a day to do some quick sight seeing, and then went down island to English Harbor, a tranquil place that's hidden from the ocean.

Now this was a place where you could get lulled into staying longer, but Grenada is our destination so we spent a day enjoying the area and working a little... dreaming of the good sailing from this point south.

Setting off from English Harbor around 9am we slipped into calm seas with around 10kts of wind. Odessa was rigger with one reef in the main and full Genoa. We generally sail with some reef in the main sail unless the wind is going to be under 10kts all day... Odessa is a very competitive racer with speeds clocked over 25kts, and ideal for regatta's and point to point competitions... all of this performance and she's a very comfortable cruiser too.

The day was amazing... we had winds of 9 to 14kts on our port beam and with Odessa's speed our apparent wind was reaching (sailing into the wind).. sometimes close hauled (as close as Odessa can sail into wind 30 degrees) as we sped along at a perfect 7 to 10kts (sail boats moving forward make their own wind "stick your head out of a car window" and "true wind" becomes "apparent wind" when you combine the two... this is the actual wind that effects the boat).

We had decided to bypass Guadeloupe and keep going to Dominica during the night. The weather forecast showed some freshening wind and a full moon all night... perfect. As we rounded the north end of Guadeloupe the wind swung a little to the north east and we have nice 14 to 16kts "abaft of the beam". This means that your own generated wind become reduces and you run downwind, and Odessa obliged with great and constant speed 10 to 12kts surfing along the swells nicely. I'm still amazed at how balanced Odessa is... she only needs one finger on the wheel in all of the conditions we've experienced so far, and she has a perfect weather helm (a sail boat should want to steer a little into wind naturally and this is called "weather helm") if wind suddenly gusts to the point of a potential knockdown the boat should simply veer into the wind if the wheel is released, thereby releasing the wind pressure on the sails and slowing the boat.

After a couple of hours we got into the "wind shadow" cast by Guadeloupe and lost our wind. We were several miles off the coast, but I seem to always underestimate the effect the islands have on wind speed and direction, and Guadeloupe has some big mountains. We ran slowly for a while and took the opportunity to have diner and lay about on deck talking, goofing around with the kids and thinking about our first night sail on Odessa.

The sunset was amazing and the moon rise even more so. A brilliant full moon with 98% elimination... we didn't need the radar and could see for miles. We were a little surprised as we left the influence of the island and the wind picked up to 16 - 20kts. This would be the time to shorten sail and add another reef in the main. But with a novice crew and my need for a couple of hours sleep while Doreen ran first watch with the kids rotating every 3 hours, I decided to furl the genoa and continue on just the main sail.

Odessa rose to the challenge and settled at 6 - 8kts with just a reefed main. The mainsail provides power but also balance... usually we use it to control the very powerful foresails, but in this case a slower speed using just the main sail reduces sudden surges and keeps Odessa sailing upright, smoothly cutting through the waves with a very comfortable motion.

It was the perfect night sail and Doreen thoroughly enjoyed managing Odessa.. the kids slept soundly and I took the watch with Devon at 1am. Being a bit more spirited we unfurled the jib (our inner foresail), which is smaller than the huge genoa, and Odessa surged forward to 10kts.

We made such good time in the moonlight that we arrived in Dominica 4 hours early at 4am. Fortunately the anchorage is very very deep, with mooring balls and there are no obstacles when approaching in the dark. We tied off to a mooring ball under the now yellow setting moonlight and went below to get some sleep. 

When we awoke in the morning we got a surprise...

BIG WHEEL FUN

Just a quick bit of tom foolery... our friends at Turbine Marine conceived and made these outrageous Big Wheels... Jose filmed them goofing around and racing for lunch, so we edited this little clip for some kicks and giggles. Enjoy, comment, share send to friends.

A DOSE OF REALITY AND INSPIRATION

There's nothing like a birthday BBQ on a beach.

You don't need a Weber to BBQ... Julian using his army skills.

The girls, Jenine, Tanya and Doreen

The last few blog postings have been all kicks and giggles... as it should be. However, I've been inundated with emails from people thanking us for sharing our experiences, inspiring them to think differently about their lives, and urging us to keep going.

There's a problem... we're all inspired by surfing the web. In fact, "we" surf all of the time... WIFI connection permitting. We seek others who are getting off the grid in their own way, we seek inspiration... and above all, we seek validation. Are we doing the right thing?... for our children, for ourselves and are we living the best life we can in our short time on this earth?

Surfing the web while on shore in a little apartment.

As a family we often have long conversations about the future, where we are going and what lies at the end of the rainbow. I remember having these conversations with Doreen on and off for over 20 years, and they usually came up when we we're at a low or a high point in our lives. The bits in the middle are a blur as we were just going with the flow and maintaining a lifestyle. I'm sure this sounds familiar to most readers of this blog.

So, I'm looking for action. But, what is "action" and why do people take the first steps to make good on their promise to themselves and significant others? I'd love to say that we laid out a well defined plan 5 years ago and have been executing that plan perfectly. I'd love to take the credit for being adventurous and bold, for "going where no man has gone before"... but I can't.

Even working as a "fish guy" the luxuries and conveniences are available... AC anyone?

Life is a tricky thing and 99.9% of people have no control over their lives... really, we've tried to control our life but have had little influence. We're controlled by the "events" in our lives... and the film "Lemony Snicket's A series of Unfortunate Events" is the closest thing that most of us have to a plan for every day living. We have many highs and lows, dead end jobs, small businesses, feast or famine, family up and downs, and generally go with the flow... sound familiar?

It may not be obvious or we just don't want to believe that we don't really have much control. I have friends with master plans, big dreams and paths to wealth.. but, events are what shape and define that plan, no matter how obstinate you are about following it. Our plan is simple... keep going until you find something or an event that redirects the flow. But, I digress... this post is about "action" and how we got off the couch, away from the TV and found some freedom and adventure.

It was simple... the economy sucked, our house wasn't worth the price we paid and the cost of living in the US was going through the roof, with income stagnant since the early 90's... we'd been basically going backwards for 20 years. We had been talking about "escaping" for a few years and even made some attempts to actually do it. But, events always got in the way,.. redirected us. The last big influence was peer pressure... "you must buy a home". Which we did of course, but not by blowing half a million bucks as the bank suggested (I just kept seeing a huge suit case of money and no way to pay it off without pulling an "Italian Job"). So we went small and then spent 3 years and every penny rebuilding a real fixer upper to make it perfect. These events taught us a lot... independence & self confidence, how to do everything yourself and only heightened our urge to "get away" on an adventure.

The actual turning point was not during a "high" or "low" as you might expect, but during a "maintaining" period. There was work so income was ok, we had everything we needed and a beautiful small home, the kids were growing fast and we'd become comfortable with the fact that our home might be worth something in ten or fifteen years... boring, boring, boring. In reality I was working all of the time... or chasing the next project, the kids were home schooled at this point "(the state of education or "day care factories" in the US is another post). But they seemed to be slipping into a rut, becoming lethargic, and their energy, lust for life and daily excitement had transitioned to a reliance on video games, TV, and their parents to entertain them. We all spend too much time watching the TV, living our adventures through the Discovery Channel or escapism through video games and movies. Our lives were being controlled by events being pumped through the TV... war on terror, unemployment reports, CNN, politics, religion and doom & gloom.

The action came one morning over coffee... I told Doreen that I might do something crazy and uncertain... "Would you come along for the ride and leave everything behind"?... she looked thoughtful for a moment. After 20 years of marriage she knew not to ask "what" so that it didn't influence her answer to this very simple question... "YES"

That wasn't an "event" it was an action, the defining moment, the promise of commitment to each other and our family... the next question was "What"?... remember, we don't actually have a plan.

We thought about driving around the world in a truck and trailer, backpacking, buying some land in the mountains. We had so many ideas and excitement about the proposition of doing something crazy. We researched every way we could travel with the kids, live simply, and provide food, shelter and educate for our family.

It took about a month to make a decision on the "What"... for us it was a boat, we love the ocean, we've been involved with boats for many years and I have a captains license. It's a big world so we need to cover a lot of ground and many different countries cost effectively... to find adventure and the next thing!

We bought a boat in California, rented out our house, trailered everything we owned across the country and worked on it for a winter... sold it because we had a crazy offer and a dead economy... it was taking too long and the kids would be seeking their own fortune in a few years.

We bought another boat "Odessa" in the Caribbean and spent a year renovating here to a safe seaworthy state... buying Odessa was the hardest decision to make. We had lucked out and sold our old boat... which put some cash in the bank and that "event" gave us the option to turn back, go home and "maintain" again.... it gave us a way out of this craziness.

But the trick is to be stubborn, single minded and keep going no matter what. That's exactly what we teach our children, "you can do anything you want... if you want it badly enough".  And, we had really enjoyed our adventure so far, despite the challenges and fact that we hadn't actually left yet. We made everything an adventure, driving across the US twice, finding a temporary home in Napa, working on a boat, even selling everything we owned and renting the house out again... it was all exciting and scary at the same time.

Even after 6 months working on Odessa, a summer diversion in Paris working on a film project (we don't have any disposable income so work is still a daily preoccupation), a hurricane, and the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a boat in a foreign country... basically not having left anywhere yet. We are closer to our children, more in love with each other and happier than we've ever been in our lives... and we have always been generally very happy people.

So, that said... I'm looking for action. Action from everyone who has emailed us, every reader of this blog. Please comment, email and let us know what's holding you back, your worries, concerns, and most of all you're actions, triumphs, and achievements in heading towards an adventurous life. We are no different from anyone else, we need inspiration and validation, and I'd love to read your blogs, find about your dreams and adventure.