We recently traveled back to NM for a visit with family, and were gently reminded several times by some of our favorite people that when we don’t update our blog, no one knows what’s going on in our life. For that I apologize, and here is a renewed attempt to keep our friends and family in the loop!

A lot has happened since the last time we posted. Last season we traveled from Grenada to Puerto Rico, where we had flights back to Florida scheduled for Ian’s 11th birthday mom-son trip. We started this tradition when Torren turned 11 and knowing we’d be on the boat for Ian’s 11th, I had the plan in place and money socked away before we even moved aboard! I took him to Universal Studios with his good friend Max, (as well as Max’s mom Katie who is one of my favorite people) and we all had a fantastic time.

After we left Puerto Rico we headed slowly back south with Grenada in mind as our end goal. We spent a long time in St Martin, doing boat work and watching old and new friends come and then leave again. This cruising season was all about Pacific Prep for the boat, so our time in SXM involved new standing rigging and a new mainsail. These were pricey purchases we had not intended on making, but better safe than sorry when you might cross an ocean. Also most insurance companies like for standing rigging to be replaced every 10 years and ours was 9, so may as well. Our new mainsail is much bigger than the old one, which is great from a power perspective but our old stack pack was way too small! So that triggered another round of adjustments and repairs that we’re still dealing with.

We quite enjoyed our time in St Martin, even though some of the days felt a little Groundhog Dayish. SXM has fantastic provisioning on both the French and Dutch sides at reasonable prices. We enjoyed attending Island Church every Sunday, which meets in the movie theater and puts such a fun Caribbean flair to the worship music. We frequently went out for lunch with friends afterwards and found our favorite spots (shawarma and chicken) where we could feed the whole family for less than $40, which is always a win! While getting our rigging redone the boys and I spent nearly every day playing with puppies at the local animal shelter. We got to take a bus to Maho Beach with friends twice, where the planes fly so low overhead on their way to the airport that it truly feels like you could jump up and touch them! For the adventurous, the planes taking off provide some serious sandblasting if you’re brave enough to be in the way! I experienced it once, and then ran for the far end of the beach for every subsequent takeoff. 😆

Eventually we were able to set SXM behind us and head to Guadeloupe to await the best part of our season, a visit from my friend Marcia and her family. While waiting we were able to meet up with some friends in Guadeloupe and had a truly magical few days. We were finally able to catch up with “Becky,” a friendly dolphin that roams between Deshaies, Guadeloupe and Portsmouth, Dominica. (We did not name her that, the fishermen of Portsmouth did!) We had heard about her the previous season but could never quite catch her, and we finally got our chance in Deshaies! She is incredibly friendly and playful, and would troll through the anchorage in the morning and late afternoons looking for people to play with. One morning Rowan woke up to the sound of her blowspout outside his window, and then she waited near the swim ladder for him to get into his swimsuit and come play with her!

Our time with Marcia and fam deserves its own post, so stay tuned for that. Once they flew back to the states we booked it down to Grenada on a shockingly uncomfortable passage to make it in time for our flights back to NM. I’m going to try harder to update the blog more often and keep the kids and Neal involved with posting as well. Please send me a message or drop a comment if you have any specific questions or things you’d like to hear about! (Or people you’d like to hear from!)

💙 The Grieb Family