Jolly Harbour, Antigua …
Hello from below the tropic line…at last!
If you glance at the photos attached to this annual update you will notice a paucity of nautical scenes and might think we had finally succumbed to the unthinkable and swallowed the anchor. But let’s assume that you have proceeded linearly from the recent blogs describing the trials and tribulations of our shakedown cruise and our arrival in the Caribbean to this annual update and are sharing in our joy to be back at it after four years of being on the beach.
The land life, however, did not let us go quietly into the night. In the first nine months of the year before the aforementioned shakedown cruise Kailani left her berth in Edgewater only twice, both times making the arduous 0.3 nautical mile journey across the South River to anchor in Almhouse Creek because her crew was going slowly mad tied to the dock. We needed to recapture, if only briefly, the calm rhythm of living on the hook. But other than those cherished interludes most of 2023 was entirely about land travel.
We left our “home” in Idaho (italics added because it’s hard to call a place where you reside a total of 60 discontinuous days a year “home”) in the depth of winter in our land yacht (aka the Beast) and crossed the country to Maryland where we lived for three months in the marina parking lot while we tore apart and then reassembled Kailani’s electrical systems. Sophia, whose boarding school life has finally given her a sense of stability (we’re not sure what that says about our parenting) flew out to Vegas on her spring break where she was met by the Beast and for the next three weeks joined us as we camped and hiked through the red rocks, towering cliffs and canyons of Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef National Parks, and then visited family in Colorado and California.
In April after putting nearly 9,000 wandering miles on the odometer we dropped the Beast in Idaho, picked up the far more comfortable and considerably quicker Audi and drove back to Maryland where we moved aboard Kailani and began the long process of recommissioning her in anticipation of our late fall departure to points south and west. Sophia’s summer break had us back in Idaho for the month of June, and this time the cross-country travel was by plane which although a cramped, crowded and all-round miserable way to travel gets it over in hours rather than days. We spent the time preparing the house and property for an extended absence, and at one point Sophia did her best Tom Sawyer and managed to convince three friends that it would be fun work to repaint 500 feet of three rail fence. They pulled it off in a half day.
Early July had us back on the East coast in time to attend the lavish wedding of one of Jen’s relatives, and it was quite a party. One guest at our table from the tonier part of the LA Basin commented that it rivaled any celebrity wedding they had attended although one is never quite sure where the facts end and the fiction starts in Hollywood.
The day after the festivities we got on a plane and flew to Madrid where we spent the next three weeks travelling by train and car through Andalusia and Catalonia soaking up the history, architecture, culture and food of those regions. Most of the time the daytime high temperature was over 100 F (38 C) but it didn’t slow us down (much), although it did highlight the advantages of the siesta. In typical fashion we did so much in so little time that looking back it’s almost impossible to separate one city from another but there are decided standouts: the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Dali Museum in Figueres, the Catredal de Santa Maria in Seville, the Alhambra in Granada, an overnight in a castle, high speed trains everywhere and the little Mediterranean town of Cadaques among just a few.
We know it is hard to process, but those of you who have followed our adventures have seen Sophia grow up in photos, and upon returning Stateside in late July it was time to visit colleges to give her an idea of what the next phase of her life journey might look like. Once again we were back on the road starting in New England and winding up in Raleigh-Durham where good friends put us up for a week while Sophia attended a local fencing camp. It doesn’t take long in that part of the world to discover there is a distinct divide between Duke and UNC; you’re either one or the other and beware if it’s not the right one in the company you’re keeping.
With Sophia back in school we were back at recommissioning which led to our six week shakedown cruise followed by Kailani’s 1,700 nm passage to Antigua in November. After another compressed holiday season where the number of days between cutting the Christmas tree and tossing it on the burn pile was in the single digits Sophia went back to school and we made the 20 hour three stop journey back to Antigua where we are awaiting the arrival of our new main sail.
So after 15,000 miles over land and 2,000 more on the water we have put 2023 behind us and are looking forward to flipping those numbers this year. Those of you who have followed us know that there is no way for us to tell you where we’ll be this time next year or how we’ll get there but we do know that the adventure will continue….
Happy New Year to all!
17 40 N 061 53W
“the pink dock”
Jolly Harbour
Antigua
Hey 👋 nice work on your revamped blog Jen . Great photos and you all look so well . Looking forward to seeing your progress as Kailani pushes on in southern hem waters and hopefully you’ll be back to nz at some point . Must be great to be back onboard and on the way again .
Dear Jen, Harley and Sophia! Thanks so much for the updated website. It’s truly beautiful, the photos are awesome and I love the descriptive and creative writing. Excellent!
We’re well! Traveling quite a bit….. at least for us. We just returned from Acumal, MX where we enjoyed snorkeling, the Tulum ruins, eating wonderful food and the warm weather. Next month we’re heading to Costa Rica.
If ever you’re in our area, please feel free to stay with us. We also tend to head up to Durango at least 4 times a year as we love it there. So hopefully we’ll be able to see you sometime.
Take care and happy travels. I look forward to keeping up with your adventures!
Love, Bob & Deborah
Fabulous catching up and seeing all the photos and a resume of your year. Cant believed how Jen has grown up into a beautiful young lady. You must be so proud of her. You guys look pretty good as well and don’t look any different since we last saw you. Thanks for including us.
Love your annual post and the travel pictures. I will call the birthday boy later this week, once he has reached the States.
Hi guys, a fun read and a great myriad of photos, expressions and colors. It shows a year well spent at home (..I include Kailani under ‘home’) and travelling to amazing places. Happy days, and I am sure they will continue for you all :).
Wonderful to see your adventures
Merry Christmas and the best 2024.
Love from us in Aussie.
David Angelina and Natalie
Hi guys!!
It’s nice to hear that you are back on the water. Looks like you had a crazy/fun year. Jean and I are doing fine. She entered her 8th decade on this planet and I’m not far behind. It hasn’t slowed us down though. We’re still traveling a lot. Off to Puerto Vallarta in a week. Then down the Grand Caymans with the grandkids the end of March and then taking off for a couple of months in May in our Class A to see the states.
Gotta keep moving!!!
Take care,
Mike & Jean
“One can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.” –Edith Wharton