http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Rum Runner/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Rum Runner en-us Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:42:47 BST Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:42:47 BST Bake N' Shark is a local dish in Trinidad and if you ask any Trini where to go to get the best bake n' shark on the island they all tell you to go to Maracas Beach. Maracas Beach is not only one of the prettiest beaches on the island but is also the place where bake n' shark originated. So in our quest to experience the local culture and food we decided to organize a trip to Maracas.Now there http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Trinidad-and-Tobago/Trinidad/blog-317681.html As the guide book says When Christopher Columbus discovered Trinidad he stumbled into a party and the locals have been partying ever since. It is in fact home to one of the biggest parties in the world Carnival And is also the birthplace of both calypso and steel pan music. So in order to experience this aspect of Trinidad's culture we went to a panyard for an impromptu steel drum concert http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Trinidad-and-Tobago/Trinidad/blog-315326.html So far we have really loved our time here in Trinidad the people are friendly the culture rich in history and the wildlife is amazing. Last night we went on a tour to see the giant leatherback turtles nest on the beach one of the many great wildlife tours available here in Trinidad. And it was such an awesome nightWe got picked up by a van at 430 pm and drove across the island to the Matur http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Trinidad-and-Tobago/Trinidad/blog-314660.html We have been sailing around the Grenadines jumping from island to island and traveling back and forth. After our short stay in the Tobago Cays we went back up to Bequia for a reunion with SV Verna Breeze which was great fun But then hurricane Bertha started forming and was going to create some nasty weather so it was time to turn back and continue south again. We did a quick sail down to C http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Grenada/Grenada/blog-313221.html The Tobago Cays which incidentally are not in Tobago but in the Grenadines are one of the most beautiful places on this earth. It is an archipelago of 5 small islands set behind a long Horseshoe Reef. After our quick 20 mile sail from Bequia we anchored behind the reef between a couple of the islands in the crystal clear gin colored waters. We had stunning views everywhere we looked from t http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Saint-Vincent-and-Grenadines/Grenadines/blog-309449.html Everywhere along our trip we have met other cruisers who are celebrating the fact that they finally made it For some this means that they finally made it off the dock and are traveling down to the Florida Keys. For others it is that they finally made it to the Bahamas and are enjoying the island life. And still for many others it is finally making it to the Caribbean specifically when you http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Saint-Vincent-and-Grenadines/Grenadines/blog-307257.html We sailed the final leg of our trip down to Trinidad yesterday and are now safely tucked into Crews Inn Marina in Chaguaramas. We will be here for the rest of hurricane season which lasts until November 1st. It sure feels good to be south of the hurricane belt we no longer have to worry about tropical waves showing organization or low pressure systems forming off the coast of Africa the first http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Trinidad-and-Tobago/Trinidad/blog-305213.html We spent over two weeks in Martinique and had a lovely time when the weather permitted. The trade winds kicked up to about 2530 knots constant the highest of the season and we were having squalls up to 50 knots with each tropical wave that moved across the Caribbean. Hurricane season has officially started. Most of our days we were stuck inside reading books or watching movies or playing d http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Martinique/blog-303369.html Martinique produces some of the best rum in the Caribbean distilled the same way for centuries with strict standards and using only local sugarcane. The French are as serious about their rum as they are for their wine so we decided to visit a few distilleries and go rum tasting yum The adventure begins with us renting a car actually I don't know if you can even call it a car it was a Twi http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Martinique/Marin/blog-298847.html We set sail at first light and got to St. Pierre on the northern tip of Martinique just before sunset it was a long day. But now we are here anchored in St. Pierre harbor at the base of Mt. Pelee a totally amazing site We are super excited to explore Martinique and are looking forward to visiting this famous town.St. Pierre has a fascinating and very tragic history. It was once the capital http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Martinique/St--Pierre/blog-298844.html We left St. Bart's just after sunset and had a wonderful sail to Les Saintes. And yes we actually sailed. We were booking it around 8 knots with full sail and engine off just the sound of the waves and the water rushing against the hull nice It was the first time since we left the Bahamas that the wind was off our stern not dead on the nose so instead of bashing thru the waves we just got http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Guadeloupe/Les-Saintes/blog-294085.html We are off sailing again yohoo The mast was repaired the sails were back on and we were anxious to get a move on it was time to leave St. Martin. So we made the 930 bridge opening and set sail for St. Barts a quick 20 mile trip to this swanky little island. And sail we did We are happy to report that the Rum Runner is up and running again under full sail. It was a fun day trip to St. http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/blog-292078.html Cruising is really just another way to test of your skills adaptability and patience. Obviously you need some skills to sail a boat down to the Caribbean as well as fix all the problems you encounter along the way like bad electrical wiring the propeller coming loose the battery chargers not working the freezer going out the bilge pumps not shutting off as well as multiple plumbing issue http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/blog-283840.html Saba is one of the islands in the Caribbean that we were most looking forward to visiting truly unique geography and thus interesting history and culture as well. It is a small island a mere 5 square miles surrounded by sheer cliffs and steep dropoffs just the tip of a volcano that rises thousands of feet out of the ocean on the edge of the Caribbean shelf. It is incredibly difficult to anc http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/blog-283475.html I seriously canrsquot believe that we have been anchored out in St. Martin for a month now we havenrsquot moved the boat and are starting to get some serious growth on our anchor chain. I donrsquot think the Rum Runner has been in one place for this long since we left Charleston holy cow And unfortunately we donrsquot know when we will set sail again. We are still waiting for repairs http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/blog-281568.html Happy to report that we had a fabulous trip down to St. Martin. The seas were as calm as we have ever seen and just a light breeze under 5 knots most of the way. So we just motored along thru the night and arrived by the afternoon. We first anchored outside the lagoon waiting for the bridge to open so we could go in and drop the hook in this huge 360 degree protected anchorage at least a co http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/blog-273861.html Carinival Our first week in St. Martin happened to be Mardi Gras and all of town was closed for the week to celebrate. So we went over to Philipsburg to watch the grand parade and let me tell you it was awesome The costumes were big and bold and feathery and glittery and just over the top. And live music was blasting from the back of semitrucks throughout the parade so loud that we were http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/blog-273545.html Unfortunately we decided to leave the BVIs after our brief 3 day visit. There were many reasons why we cut our time there short but mainly it was due to weather as sailors we live and die by the weather and when a good weather window develops you take it or wait for the next one which can easily be 23 weeks later. Besides we were tired of the crowds and ready to explore new islands and an http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/British-Virgin-Islands/Jost-Van-Dyke/blog-273527.html The BVIs are as crowded as they are beautiful there must be at least a thousand or more charter boats out here. First you have the bareboat charter people who come out for a week or two and rent a boat from a charter company then take off on their own to explore the islands. I think it is safe to say that the majority of these people donrsquot really know what they are doing. They cruise t http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/British-Virgin-Islands/blog-272250.html One area in the BVIs that we were excited to explore was Cane Garden Bay on the western end of Tortola. Unfortunately we had skipped this anchorage on our trip 10 years ago and we wanted to make sure to visit it this time. Cane Garden Bay as the name implies was a major port for the sugar cane industry. In fact there is the still a working rum distillery in Cane Garden Bay which has been in t http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/British-Virgin-Islands/Tortola/blog-272244.html