Just a short posting to let y'all know that we are still in Grenada at Clarke's Court Bay and being Sunday we went to the beach bar for BBQ and beer. Met up with Racket Roller, haven't seen them since Montserrat. Butcher is from Australia

and seems to like to drink, wellllll he and I fit together real well.

Karen is leaving this morning for Houston to take care of some business, so I'm on my own for next week are so. I think I can stay out of trouble for that long. Maybe!!!!

See y'all down the road

Mike & Karen

Well we moved about 3 miles from Prickley Bay into Clarke's Court Bay just to get out of the swell that hits you side sea all the @##$%^ time. Of course that means new drinking grounds and knew friends. Karen seems to stay with straight coke and y'all know me it's beer all the way.

Yesterday we went to a marina (Clarke's Court Bay Marina) and watched a cricket match with just the cruisers and had a very good time. It was just the CCBM against the rest of the world and the world won. I think the score was 66 to 61, now don't even think I know how they score or how they play the game.

So here I am enjoying my first draft Carib beer in one of the knew watering holes and the last beach bar in on the island.

This little lady beside me is Kitty better known as Miss Kitty without Matt or Festus. She is from Warton TX. one of my old stomping grounds.

Today we went to the Botanical Gardens and it was not worth the trip.

Will be leaving this island ASAP.

See y'all down the road.

Mike & Karen

Just a short posting to let y'all know whats going on with us. We left Bequia and sailed to Grenada.

We went into the Lagoon at St. George's, they have filled up the Lagoon with docks. There is a knew Marina that has taken over all the open water and left no anchorage area.

We came around the corner of the island into Prickly Bay and anchored. Now it's a little rollie and I guess today I will look for a little better spot.

I also am running out of cigars and you just don't find a good humidor in Grenada. There is only one left open and I'll see if I can get there today. I can just here Karen when she sees how much they sell cigars for. In Trinidad there is a good humidor and I'm stuck here until our mail is shipped here in about 10 more days. The reason we have to wait is because in St Kitts someone stole my ATM numbers and managed to extract $ 480.00, the bank gave it back but I had to cancel my card. Well you say no problem Karen has one, wrong her expired the 30th of June. So here we sit with not much money and no banks open so we can get any until Monday. Just another little stumbling block in life.

The photos or just the anchorage we are sitting in, we will get more when we take a few tours to the interior of the Island.

See y'all down the road

Mike & Karen

Well here we sit in Bequia, That's in the Grenadines about 8 miles from St.Vincent. Bequia is one of our favorite islands, we stop by here every time we come this way. This is the only island left that can kill whales. Bequia for a couple hundred years made there living whaling and they are allowed to get 4 a year. It was only 2 a year but they have to use whale boats with oars and hand harpoons. No modern equipment, really give the whales the advantage. In 2002 when Karen & I were here they got a big humpback and we went to a few BBQs on the beach. Whale meat is good blubber sucks.
Some of the photos here are of the harbor and then you have the snack bar with fresh chickens. If you can see the little guy clearly enough you can see hes got a chainsaw in his hand.

The couple here is in the Devils Table and from NY. We spent happy hour with them and really enjoyed there company.

Karen cooling down at the back of the boat, It's just something we do.

Below is some folks we met at the Whaleboner Bar, they are from Dallas Tx and we enjoyed them yesterday.

This is a photo of the bar with me next to the stools, the top of the stools are Vertebrae from a 69 ft Humpback. The archway we are standing under are the jaw bones out of the same whale. It's the largest whale ever taken on the island.

Today we are leaving here and going to Grenada so it will be a few more days before I post again.I hope to be in Trinidad by the 15th of this month but who knows.

See y'all down the road.

Mike & Karen

Here we are in Martinque and having a wonderful time. Thé first photos you see are in a little fishing village that we stoped at for the night when we sailed from Dominica. It was a rather picturquest place.

The fisherman started laying his nets before daylight while I was drinking my coffee. As we rounded the south end of the island we came upon Diamond rock, in the 1800 hundreds the Britts could not afford to put ships in the area so the commissioned the rock as a ship an hauled cannons to the top of the snake infested island and caught the Spanish by suprise and whipped there ass.

Someone on my e-mail said we did not include any photos of us and we were still in Texas and downloading photos of the places we were suppose to be. Well here is a not so complimentary photo of Karen and I in the anchorage of Marin, better known as the Cul de Sac. This is just for the nobeliever on my e-mail.

Asyou can see Marin is a sailing commuinty and not much else. There are boats here with no motors and a service that pulls them to the channel where they can start there day of sailing. Ofcourse there is every charter company here also ,but that's to be expected.

OK I have rattled on enough and the light is getting bad here at the Mango Bar so I guess you will hear from us in Bequia in the Grenadines.

See y'all down the road.

Mike & Karen

Hello from the anchorage in Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica. That first photos are of the town of Portsmouth. All y'all can see there are more than a few grounded freighters on their beach. Two of the 5 or 6 were here when we were here in 02. The Government has sold the scrap metal to some African country and they are starting to cut them up and hall it away. I don't look for it to happen to quick, but it's a start.
Dominica is a pretty island and very lush, has one the sweetest grapefruitit I have ever had.
OK enough of praise for the island, Their claim to fame is that in 2005 Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed in part up the Indian River.

This is where Johnny and a few of his crew went to see the Voodoo lady with the really bad teeth,if y'all remember the show.

To your left in that photo is our guide and boat boy. Here just as soon as you pull into the bay a boat comes out to greet you and give you more assistance than you need, but it is all good because they pick up laundry, garbage,or anything else you need.

This is a shot looking up the river and a few of the interesting things we saw.Below is a shot of some Britts that was on another boat at the end of the tour,and of course at the end of the river or I guess the beginning there is a little bar so you can have drink.

Well Karen & I enjoyed ourselves and got back to Drifter just before the bottom dropped out for one of our daily 10 to 15 rains that we get.

OK see y'all down the road.

Mike & Karen

Well here we are in St. Kitts waiting on a part for our water maker. St. Kitts has the best Carib beer in the Leeward Islands but that's about all. You can go on a tour to a fort or a volcano but that's about it. It's a beautiful island but I am ready to get on down island. We have set through 1 tropical wave and there are a couple more behind that one. We have caught up with all the maintenance in the last week and just setting on the boat watching Shrek and doing a bunch of laughing.

Tomorrow we receive the part and will leave for Montserrat. There will be no checking in until we get to Martinque when the windward islands start. I can leave here with enough good beer to get there I believe and then restock there. As y'all can tell this is just a trip to find the good beer.

During the season( thank God we are not in) St Kitts has 7000 tourist a day off the cruise ships
but since we are in the off season they only have 1 ship a week. Got lucky on that one.

anyway here are a few photos of the town and the harbor, just to make sure you know we are not in the same place as last posting.

Nothing really exciting has happened since we got grounded in Puetro Rico so it's been routine sailing. A lot of rough weather with very little sun shine but I'm sure that is due to change shortly.

See y'all down the road.

Mike & Karen

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ALRIGHT we are finally out of Puerto Rico!!!!!!! Stayed in Puerto Real on Vieques last night, went out and got a little tipsy and woke up this morning and left for St. Croix. We will not go ashore because in the morning we leave for St. Kitts. We were warned about the crime here in St. Croix so that's another reason to stay on board. The little fishing village that we were in was real picturesque but Karen can never remember the camera, so just as soon as we got the anchor on bottom I made her get the camera and take some shots of St. Croix here in Frederiksted while on anchor. OK not much of definition in the photos and I am not going to promise that they will get any better but I am going to( try) to remember the camera. before everybody laughs at that my memory is really not that bad.

Today was the first day that we were able to sail from P.R. to St. Croix no engine and it was good. A nice 17 to 20 Kt. wind on about 40 degrees off the bow. With the features in this auto pilot I just push a couple of buttons and the boat stays 40 degrees off the wind, GREAT.

This will be the last posting until we find Internet Cafes or wireless marinas, this is the last of the AT&T. Cost way to much money to use AT&T by the kbs.

Well we didn't make it very far because I wasn't ready for an overnight sail. You just have to have your mind set for a long sail so after about 4 hrs. of sailing with fair winds I told Karen we were going to Salinas and just rest for a few days. I think I'm getting into this retirement thing and slowing way down.

On the way over here we caught a 20 or 25 pound Dolphin or what ever you want to call it but it sure was good eating. After that I put the tackle up, there is no since putting to much fish in the refrigerator at one time.

Yesterday we road around in the dingy and toured the harbor to see the changes that has happened in the last 8 years. The million dollar homes have been built where the old shacks were so I'm sure there is so rich people in Salinas now.

The photo of the boat shows the boat in full cruising mode, something you don't see is the underwear hanging on the life lines the wash clothes drying out and the beer cans in the cockpit. I feel we are coping well with this slow lifestyle.

Today we have to walk to the store because somehow we have no peanut butter on board. Now I can't understand how this happened but I will remedy the problem today. See y'all down the road.

Mike & Karen

Hello folks, we have left Puerto Real with all repairs complete. These photos are some of the people that befriended us and offered us any help that we would need. It was an enjoyable stay but I don't want to stay any longer. We left this morning at o700 hrs. and just went to Boqueron which is only 5 miles from here but we wanted to stay there over night to see if it has changed in the last 8 years. we found the town just about the way it was and enjoyed the time on the beach. Puerto Real is a fishing village and and everyone there ether fishes or they dive for conch. You can go in the village and there is about 30 restaurants and only 35 buildings. So you can see eating in Puetro Real is easy.

The 2 geese in the posting are the meanest you can find. I thought I could at least pet 1 on the head as he poked his head out the fence. Guess what, the SOB was faster than me and bit my finger. I now have several band aids wrapped around my finger. Oh well in the morning we leave for either St. Kitts or Montserrat, it's what ever the wind blows from now on.

I sent my company are letter of resignation on the 1 st. and am now completely RETIRED. Our next posting will come from down island because this is the last of the AT&T Internet. See y'all down the road.

Mike & Karen