The season in the Caribbean is about to end. Many cruisers are on their way back to Europe after a one year Atlantic Circuit, and we will also leave the Caribbean in a week sailing with the Salty Dawg organisation – a free of charge gathering of sailing vessels heading north together.

Even though I sometimes get tired of the boating-life, I’m glad that our trip is not over yet. It’s like we've only recently figured out how we want to cruise.

A work camp
In the beginning of our Caribbean adventures, we were very slow to move on. The violent assault on our friends in St. Lucia in January resulting in Roger’s death, affected us more than we realised, and had the outcome of some kind of inability to act.

We stayed places for too long – even when we didn't like the places very much. I have worked out that during our first three months in the Caribbean, we visited six islands including the Grenadines.

In the last seven weeks we've visited thirteen! Henrik isn't too pleased with this system, though. He thinks it’s like being on a work camp. But I want to experience as much as possible, even though the last couple of weeks have been a bit more hurried than even I wish for.

It’s all shit here!
During the last week we have tried to cover as much of the British Virgin Islands as possible, and we plan to keep up the speed, until we set sail for Newport on the 15th of this month. The Islands are really a great place to go cruising. There are lots of anchorages and marinas, white beaches, palm trees, and clear waters, and the islands are all so close to each other that you practically never have to sail more than 5 nautical miles from one place the other.

We have been at the legendary Foxy’s in Jost Van Dyke (though on a quiet Sunday), and we've been to Road Town since Henrik had to do some repairing on our holding-tank. When we got ashore in Road Town, Henrik asked a guy for directions to a chandlery. When he had explained where, Henrik asked if there was anything to see in town? “It’s all shit here!” the guy answered. But of course it fitted quite well the approaching task!

A change of air
The holding-tank is now fixed and ready for an inspection by the American Coast Guard, and we’re about to prepare ourselves for at couple of weeks at sea – though with a short stop in Bermuda. Even though I would have loved to have more time to cruise around both US BVIs and BVIs, I'm also about to be ready for a change of air.

Furthermore, the weather in the Caribbean is really hot at the moment, so I feel like a pig-coloured tourist who can’t take the heat – and it would be nice with a break from that self image as well!

Signe Storr - Freelance journalist and friend of Boatshed