St. Lucia to the BVI  Jan - March 2023   It's time to head north to Florida where we hope to sell our boat.  In the meantime, we took photos of our boat and listed it on the website Sailboat listings.com, which are for sale by owner, and eliminating using a broker.  We had successfully sold our previous boat, Orchid Lady, so it was worth another try.  We provisioned, and took a hike on Pigeon Island.  We were here years ago; the views are still great.

We sailed to St. Pierre, Martinique which is located at the base of the volcano Mount Pelee which is still active.  The 1902 eruption destroyed the town and killed approximately 30,000 people, with only 3 survivors.  We visited the memorial museum of the catastrophe; you can still see the damage in the town.  

Our next stop is Dominica, we paid for a mooring from the locals before going on a hike and returning to rest overnight for tomorrow's sail to Isles des Saintes.

Our daughter Isabelle, who lives in the Dominican Republic, flew to Guadaloupe and took the ferry to meet us for a long weekend in Isles des Saintes.  We had a cloudy and bumpy sail to Bouillante, to visit the Jacques Cousteau marine reserve.  We saw dolphins alongside our boat during our sail.  Because of the high winds, were only able to swim in the bay where we saw turtles.  The following day, we sailed to Deshaies where we had a lovely day.   We enjoyed our time with Isabelle on these lovely islands.

Our next overnight stop is Montserrat.  The first European settlers arrived from Ireland in the 1630's.  The population in 1995 was 11,000, but after several eruptions from the Soufriere Hills volcano, the population is 5,000.  The most recent eruption occurred in 2010, and the volcano is still smoking but quieter.  We found a quiet, beautiful anchorage all to ourselves where we took a nice swim.

It was nice to revisit beautiful Nevis; our last trip was in 2005.   We visited the Alexander Hamilton museum, the birthplace of one of our founding fathers.

We enjoyed a walk through the botanical gardens.

Our next stop was the Hermitage great house, the oldest house on Nevis, built in the late 1600's.  It was inhabited by the Pembertons of England who grew crop.  The house is decorated as it was in the days of Hamilton and Horatio Nelson.  Today, with cottages on the property, it is run as a plantation inn for guests.

We stopped for drinks at the Montpelier Plantation; it's gorgeous.

We visited the Golden Rock Inn for a delicious lunch.  Afterwards, we took a walk on the lush grounds.  We were pleasantly surprised to see vervet monkeys in the trees!  There are thousands freely living in St. Kitts and Nevis.  They were brought by the French from Africa in the late 1600s.  Unfortunately, today some are trapped and crated for export to various countries, including the United States.  There is an organization trying to stop their exportation.

After a walk on the beach, it was time to return to the boat to prepare for our sail to the British Virgin Islands (BVI).  We passed by Necker Island owned by Richard Branson.  We arrived on Feb. 26.

We were contacted by a potential buyer for our boat.  He flew down from Canada and met us at Leverick Bay Marina on Virgin Gordon.   After a sail with him, he told us he wanted to buy the boat.  We were surprised we had an offer so quickly, and from the first person to whom we have shown the boat!   This is our second boat we sold without a broker.    We signed a contract on March 7, nine days after we had arrived.  While we waited for a boat inspection, we visited the Bitter End Yacht club.  We were here years ago, but it has been rebuilt due to hurricane Irma in 2017.  We had a delicious lunch at this lovely resort.

  We spent our last days of sailing around Tortola and Cooper islands in the BVI and a few days at one of the most beautiful bays, Watermelon Cay in St. John, USVI. 

The sea life we have seen throughout the years are unforgettable. 

Our boat inspection was successful, and now it's time to pack up and hand the keys to the new owner.  We will miss Oasis.

We flew to the Dominican Republic for a 10 day trip to visit Isabelle, Niko, Lucia and Rene.  We had a great time!  Our grandchildren are growing fast!  Lucia is quite a chef, and Rene is active on his scooter and bike.

We spent the month of April revisiting Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende and Puerto Vallarta (and the nearby towns of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Sayulita and San Francisco, Nay).  It's always a good time!

We had dinner in San Miguel de Allende with our former property managers and their children: Guadalupe Manuel, Celeste and Sofia.  It's great to spend time together!

We love Puerto Vallarta's restaurant at the botanical gardens and the town's lovely beach Los Muertos, where restaurants serve delicious food and drinks while lounging on the beach chairs. 

Next stop is La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and its great marina.  Finally, we had fun in Sayulita and San Francisco (aka San Pancho).

This is the end of our logbook chronicling our travels on three sailboats, but it's not the end of our adventures!  (unless we get another boat, Pat says!).  We will look back fondly at the places we have been and the people we have met for the past 19 years...it all went by far too fast.  There were good and bad days, but we regret not one moment.  We're back in Los Altos planning our next adventure already!

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