{"id":771,"date":"2016-01-08T09:02:55","date_gmt":"2016-01-08T14:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=771"},"modified":"2016-05-09T23:11:45","modified_gmt":"2016-05-10T03:11:45","slug":"hell-on-the-high-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=771","title":{"rendered":"Hell on the High Seas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2016 \u00a0Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n

You want to vacation on a sailboat. \u00a0To prepare, you will:<\/p>\n

A) Read this\u00a0blog post<\/p>\n

B) Watch the movie “Captain Ron”<\/p>\n

C) Sing a few verses of the Gilligan’s Island theme song…”Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip…”<\/p>\n

D) \u00a0All of the above<\/p>\n

For as long as I can remember, my husband and I dreamed of vacationing on a sailboat.\u00a0 Long before surfing the internet was commonplace, I remember browsing ads in the back of magazines and sending away for information on sailboat charters.\u00a0 Sadly, it never seemed to be the right time or there never was anyone that we thought we could spend a week in tight quarters with and that had the money to spend on this type of vacation.<\/p>\n

This past summer, while deciding on a vacation locale, I came across a VRBO listing for a 48 foot sailboat.\u00a0 The boat could be rented from St. Lucia, with or without a captain.\u00a0 Being that it was my husband\u2019s 50th<\/sup> birthday and we would be vacationing during this time period, I thought that it would be worth the extra money to surprise him with his dream vacation!<\/p>\n

After contacting the owner of the boat, he confirmed that the dates we were requesting were available.\u00a0 Instead of trying to surprise my husband, after all, I decided to include him in the decision making.\u00a0 We discussed the idea of renting the boat and came to the conclusion that taking the boat out for a week would constitute a nice family vacation, especially since my oldest son would be leaving soon for college.<\/p>\n

Deposits were paid and plans were begun.\u00a0 Since we had never done this, I solicited advice from coworkers and friends about life on a boat.<\/p>\n

The first order of business was securing the captain.\u00a0 Being the responsibility of the owner, we were hoping that whoever was hired was going to be a friendly, outgoing individual\u2026someone we would not mind sharing our vacation with.\u00a0 A few days later, we received an email from the owner informing us that he had two particular individuals in mind to captain the boat.\u00a0 Two individuals\u2026meaning\u2026a captain and his wife.\u00a0 We were taken aback.\u00a0 After all, we were required to pay the captain\u2019s daily rate as well as provide three meals a day.\u00a0 The boat had four cabins and slept 8\u2026quarters were already going to be tight.\u00a0 Would we be responsible for paying and feeding his wife as well?<\/p>\n

Thinking about this situation, we did not respond right away to the email.\u00a0 After consulting with my husband, and still having reservations, we sent a response with a few inquiries.\u00a0 The owner assured us that we would only be responsible for paying the captain, although his wife was capable of sailing the boat and would assist.\u00a0 He said that he felt much better about two people being in charge of the boat.\u00a0 Since he seemed pretty adamant about hiring these two individuals, my next question concerned the meal arrangements.\u00a0 He responded with a compromise of sorts.\u00a0 The captain\u2019s wife would be responsible for meals for everyone on the first day.\u00a0 Additionally, the captain would do some fishing and then the fish, if any, could be used for our meals on other days.\u00a0 I was not exactly happy with this arrangement, knowing that I did not want to spend a lot of time cooking and also aware that food on most islands is not cheap.\u00a0 We were also cautious of one additional person using our limited space and resources; however, our departure date was drawing near and we were anxious to have the plans finalized, so we reluctantly agreed.<\/p>\n

One question we had for the owner concerned provisioning.\u00a0 We were instructed to purchase some snacks and meal items for 2-3 days however, we were assured that we would have the opportunity to buy meats and vegetables daily.\u00a0 I admit\u2026I am a bit of a planner and do not like to get caught unprepared.\u00a0 I did quite a bit of shopping at my local grocery warehouse prior to the trip and purchased dry goods, snacks and powdered drinks that were packed in a duffle bag and checked as luggage.\u00a0 We have three growing boys who are constantly hungry\u2026ensuring that we had things for them to snack on was a necessity.\u00a0 \u00a0I planned for an entire weeks\u2019 worth of meals minus the two days which we planned to eat out.<\/p>\n

Another question concerned an itinerary.\u00a0 Having no idea of the distances from island to island, we inquired as to what the best places to travel were.\u00a0 We were instructed to consult with the captain when we arrived; however, places that were suggested to me by the owner were Bequia, Tobago Cays, Petit Martinique and Mayreau.<\/p>\n

Finally, our departure day arrived.\u00a0 We started our trip with a night in St. Lucia, at a villa near Rodney Bay.\u00a0 We had a great dinner and spent some time completing our grocery shopping.<\/p>\n

The next day, we met our captain and his wife at Marigot Bay. They were a very lovely French couple, however, there was a bit of a language barrier.\u00a0 Assured by the owner that they both spoke English very well, we were a little surprised to find that the captain did not speak much English at all.\u00a0 His wife became the communicator and translator; however, there was much that was lost due to the language barrier.\u00a0 This made planning a little more difficult.<\/p>\n

\"Pitons\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After lunch, we sat down with them and were given a basic itinerary.\u00a0 It seemed that they had done this many times and were set on how they approached the trip.\u00a0 Confident that they were aware of the best way to do this trip, we decided to take their suggestions.\u00a0\u00a0 We began our sail and stopped for the night, about an hour and a half later, between the Piton Mountains on the western coast of St. Lucia.\u00a0 Everyone was excited to be on the boat and it was a beautiful setting, complete with an amazing rainbow!<\/p>\n

The next day started early and much to our surprise was an extremely hard and rough eight hour sail from St. Lucia to St. Vincent, Grenadines.\u00a0 We were not really expecting this long of a trip and certainly not the kind of rough seas that we experienced.\u00a0 This is the first time in my entire life that I have ever felt seasick\u2026it was pouring rain the whole time and going up on deck was not much of an option.\u00a0 It was hot and stuffy inside the cabin and we weren\u2019t able to move around much due to the motion of the boat.\u00a0 My vision of lounging on the deck, in the sun, as we glided by the islands was not meant to be.<\/p>\n

It was such a relief to finally pull into Cumberland Bay.\u00a0 We were happy to be out of the rough water, but our elation was short lived.\u00a0 Expecting a place that we could get off of the boat and do some shopping or have dinner, this was not quite what we expected.\u00a0 We were told that this was the only place available to dock for the night.<\/p>\n

\"CB\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CB3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nestled at the foot of rain-forested mountains, this village reminded me of Africa\u2026quite primitive.\u00a0 It continued to rain and we did not get off of the boat\u2026there really wasn\u2019t anything there except for a few buildings and houses. \u00a0No stores, no restaurants.\u00a0 Knowing that there was probably no official sewer system, we were very hesitant to allow our children to swim.\u00a0 There really was nothing to do, except recuperate from the long journey, prepare for dinner and combat the swarms of flies that descended upon us. \u00a0The only bright spot was that our captain used to be a head waiter and chef in Monaco, France.\u00a0 We caught a very large mahi-mahi on the way to Cumberland Bay that day and he cooked it up for us that evening.<\/p>\n

The next morning, we headed out of Cumberland Bay and arrived in Bequia about three hours later.\u00a0 Of course, it was still raining and seas were still quite rough.\u00a0 After attending to customs and immigration formalities and paying docking fees, I was finally able to wander around the town.\u00a0 We did some grocery and souvenir shopping and took lots of pictures.\u00a0 After having a nice dinner at a local restaurant, we retired for the evening.<\/p>\n

\"BQ2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"BQ<\/a><\/p>\n

The Tobago Cays were next on our agenda\u2026again, about a three hour sail.<\/p>\n

The Tobago Cays were beautiful, but again, quite primitive.\u00a0 No town to walk around\u2026there was one island right near us that had a restaurant, but, the captain\u2019s wife insisted that because it was slow season, it would be closed.\u00a0 We were nowhere near enough to see whether this was true. The waters were a vibrant, clear, turquoise and we swam to a small island where we walked around and saw iguanas and tortoises.\u00a0 There were lots of starfish and sea turtles swimming all around us.<\/p>\n

\"Island\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Iguana\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Tortoise\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The highlight for the boys was that in the distance, they spotted Captain Jack\u2019s island (where he and Elizabeth got drunk on rum), from the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean\u2026Petit Tabac.\u00a0 The low point for us all was that we were informed that our main water tank was empty and that our reserve was either not working or empty (language barrier) and that we would have no water for showering until we arrived back in Bequia the next day.\u00a0 And I thought that the only thing I was going to have to worry about was drying and curling my hair!<\/p>\n

We left early the next morning and arrived back in Bequia around ten o\u2019clock.\u00a0 Again, a visit to the immigration and customs office was in order as well as a quick trip to the grocery store for much needed supplies.\u00a0 We spent most of the day swimming and enjoying the sunshine.\u00a0\u00a0 A couple of times, I headed to shore for some souvenir shopping and to go to their fabulous bakery\u2026there is nothing like fresh bread!!!<\/p>\n

That evening, a couple of locals recommended the restaurant L\u2019Auberge to us.\u00a0 As we had already eaten a lot of fish, we were really craving something different and we were told they had a varied and inexpensive menu. When we walked in, I should have been clued in to the fact that there was a chair marked with Anthony Bourdain\u2019s name and another with Robert DeNiro\u2019s!\u00a0 My sons and I arrived first and after a quick glance at the menu, realized that it was really, fish, fish and more fish\u2026and quite expensive!\u00a0 With a quick exit and a trip across the harbor, we arrived at Mac\u2019s Pizzeria!\u00a0 Surly waitress, but amazing pizza!<\/p>\n

Sadly, the next day, we had to leave beautiful Bequia and head back to Cumberland Bay, again being told that it was the only mooring point available.\u00a0 Although we knew that we had to arrive before sunset, we insisted that we leave later in the morning so that I could run a couple of errands in town before leaving and to not have so much time in the wilds!<\/p>\n

\"BQ1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cumberland Bay was as we left it\u2026rainy.\u00a0 We had hoped we could go ashore to a waterfall that was about a 20 minute hike from the bay, but with the rain, we decided that it would probably not be enjoyable.\u00a0\u00a0 We did get to do some souvenir shopping when some of the locals brought their wares to the boat.<\/p>\n

\"CB4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

An early departure was definitely a must the next day\u2026 I even paid someone extra to arise early and unmoor us at 5 o’clock, the next morning.\u00a0 We wanted to get the eight hour sail out of the way and get back to civilization!<\/p>\n

When we arrived at Marigot Bay later that day, we docked at the marina.\u00a0 Since we were guests of the marina, moored on the dock, we able to freely leave the boat and enjoy the Capella resort.\u00a0 The resort\u2019s pool was beautiful and it was nice to be away from the boat and have some private family time.<\/p>\n

\"MB<\/a><\/p>\n

Our last night was spent having a nice dinner and trying to get some sleep.<\/p>\n

Early the next morning, we were up and dressed and headed into Castries to complete some errands and grab lunch.\u00a0 We then headed out towards the airport, an hour and a half drive from Castries.\u00a0 Since we made better time and arrived a little early, we drove around Vieux Fort and Laborie and checked out the sights and beaches in this area, before taking out flight back to Atlanta.<\/p>\n

\"apt\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There were many things that we enjoyed about this vacation, but there were many more things that we would have changed.<\/p>\n

This rental was done through VRBO and although we have used VRBO many times previously for apartments, condos and villas, we have never sailed and never rented a boat for a week\u2026a very long time to be in such a confined space.\u00a0\u00a0 More research should have been done on the subject rather than jumping right in, such as, what ports of call there would be and how long of a sail between dockings.\u00a0\u00a0 Not realizing that an eight hour sail was would we would endure to get to the first point in the Grenadines, maybe we would have opted for a shorter stay on the boat and stayed nearer to St. Lucia, or maybe gone over to Martinique, which was only a four hour sail.\u00a0 Bequia and the Tobago Cays were certainly worth visiting, however, I think sailing to these destinations from Grenada would be a more suitable alternative.\u00a0 Better yet, for our first foray into sailing, we probably should have booked through a charter company.<\/p>\n

\"Pillow\"<\/a>
Mildew and mold on my son’s pillow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The boat was not in the best condition.\u00a0 There was no way of knowing this ahead of time because there were no reviews on VRBO.\u00a0 The gaskets on some of the portholes were not in great condition and leaked.\u00a0 The dinghy was secured right over the overhead portholes over our cabin, so when it was not in the water, we could not open those portholes for ventilation.\u00a0 Our beds were always damp and after my oldest son awakened with a swollen face, we discovered that the pillows were moldy and mildewed and he was having a reaction (the captain\u2019s wife had the same thing happen to her a couple of days later).\u00a0 We quit sleeping on the pillows, but there was never a way to get our bedding completely dry, especially when it seemed to be always raining outside.\u00a0 There appeared to be miscellaneous leaks throughout the boat.\u00a0 We even noticed that some of our clothing hanging in the closet was damp, even when we had never worn them.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there should have been spare bedding and more towels for drying off after showers.\u00a0 One towel for each of us for an entire week did not seem very sanitary.\u00a0 Thankfully, I had to foresight to bring loofahs and body wash for each of us for bathing.\u00a0 I expected the beach towels that I brought to be smelly after a few days of drying off salt water and indeed they were.\u00a0 The only opportunity to do laundry was in Bequia and we definitely did not want to spend our limited time there doing laundry.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t go into this thinking that this was going to be a luxury cruise, but I do not think that with the amount of money that was spent, that it was going to be more like glorified camping.<\/p>\n

The most important aspect of this vacation that I would have changed was that I would have insisted that the captain speak excellent English.\u00a0 The owner of the boat really wanted to use this particular captain and his wife for this week of sailing.\u00a0 Although he claimed that their English was very good, we found otherwise.\u00a0 I understand that he was more comfortable having two people skippering the boat and after watching them work together to sail this boat in the rough seas for eight hours straight, I can understand the helpfulness of having an additional pair of hands on deck.\u00a0 The reality was that although they were very nice, his English was almost nonexistent.\u00a0 The wife\u2019s English was much better; however, I discovered that I had to interact with the customs and immigrations officials because much of the time, she did not understand them and they would get very upset with her.\u00a0 After reading up on this procedure once we returned, I found that paperwork is usually completed by the captain, alone.\u00a0 Instead of swimming or relaxing after the long sail, I was accompanying the wife to attend to the formalities, thus taking valuable time away from my vacation.<\/p>\n

There were many things that were not communicated with us\u2026it may have been because they just didn\u2019t have the words or maybe because in their culture, they just didn\u2019t deem it necessary. Or\u2026maybe they felt that they were in charge.\u00a0 We were too new to the game and frankly too inexperienced to realize that there were more options available than were given to us. \u00a0It never felt like our opinions were solicited on where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do\u2026granted, we left a lot to them because we felt that they were the experts and would do what we requested and what was in our best interests.\u00a0 It was very frustrating when I mentioned Tobago Cays to the captain\u2019s wife and she kept insisting that it would be too far and that we should stay in Bequia.\u00a0 I do understand a bit of French and overheard the captain and his wife arguing about Tobago Cay a couple of times.\u00a0 The captain was in favor of Tobago Cays, she wasn\u2019t\u2026I guess he won that argument, because we ended up in Tobago Cays.\u00a0 Later, while reading a tourism book for the Grenadines, I also found that there were other ports that we could have docked at rather than Cumberland Bay.\u00a0\u00a0 We are not sure if they were just comfortable with this location, but we really wish that we would have been given other choices.<\/p>\n

Another important miscommunication\u2026being told that we would be able to purchase meats and vegetables daily.\u00a0 Obviously, the owner knows nothing of Cumberland Bay and its lack of modern conveniences.\u00a0 Thankfully, we had purchased more than we were told while in St. Lucia.<\/p>\n

There was also much hesitation about there being an additional person on the boat\u2026on our vacation\u2026but in the end, there were two.\u00a0 We should have not relented to the owner.\u00a0 We came to resent having to prepare additional meals every day, in a very hot and stuffy galley.\u00a0 \u00a0Fixing breakfast is not something that is important to us\u2026usually a breakfast bar or a banana is sufficient.\u00a0 Having to arise very early, before setting sail, since it was too hard to cook when the boat was moving was not much fun, but we felt we had to do it for them.<\/p>\n

We also were very upset about the water situation.\u00a0 Since my children are notorious for extremely long showers at home, they were given detailed instructions on how to wet down their bodies, shut off the water, lather up and then rinse quickly.\u00a0 However, we soon noticed that every time the captain and his wife exited the water, they were rinsing off extensively.\u00a0 After arriving in Tobago Cays, we were informed of the water situation. Due to the language barrier (once again), we were never certain whether the spare tank was not working or whether both tanks had been used.\u00a0 \u00a0I did overhear the wife saying to the captain, in French, that because there were seven people on board, that was the reason that we had run short of water. \u00a0It would seem that the captain would keep abreast of the water levels onboard. Certainly, if there are more people than usual, shouldn\u2019t the tanks have been checked prior to leaving Bequia?\u00a0 And, to add insult to injury, because we arrived back in Bequia on a Sunday, we were required to pay quite a bit extra to resupply the tanks.<\/p>\n

Overall, we accept it for the adventure that it was.\u00a0 We visited some places in the world that we had never been, got some cool\u00a0stamps in our passports, met some lovely people and marked one more thing off of our bucket list\u2026vacationing on a sailboat.<\/p>\n

Our advice to anyone who had never sailed before\u2026whether looking to rent a privately owned sailboat or from a charter company\u2026do your homework.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2016 \u00a0Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved. You want to vacation on a sailboat. \u00a0To prepare, you will: A) Read this\u00a0blog post B) Watch the movie “Captain Ron” C) Sing a few verses of the Gilligan’s Island theme song…”Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip…” … Continue reading Hell on the High Seas<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caribbean","category-general-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snappingtheglobe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Boat.jpg?fit=3264%2C2448&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=771"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17997,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771\/revisions\/17997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}