Decisions, Decisions...

Sailboats headed out of Rodney Bay Anchorage

Our time here in Rodney Bay was getting short, which meant we had some planning to do.  We have our first boat guests of 2013 joining us in Sint Maarten on February 22nd, so we need to sail somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 nautical miles in the next few weeks to get there.  We could make a shorter sail if we went directly there, but that would mean we would be skipping some beautiful places along the way...how do you choose between Martinique, Guadeloupe, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, St. Eustatius (Statia), and St. Barts?  We have already made the decision to skip Dominica & The Iles de Saintes, as we stopped at those Islands on the way down. If we made a straight shot directly to Sint Maarten, it would still be about 270 miles.  At 6-8 knots, that would take us 34 to 45 hours to get there....not like driving at California speeds, that's for sure! *Laughing*  We find it much more enjoyable to island hop our way along, as it gives us time to get to know a place and the people there. Not to mention sampling the local brews and tasty foods.

While thinking about these weighty matters, we decided we'd had enough of dock life...so we pulled in the lines & headed out into the outer bay, where we picked up a spot not far from the Sandals Grande Lucian Resort. From here, we could enjoy watching all the activity around us, and have a front row seat for some spectacular sunsets!  We also were able to enjoy the waxing moon (we are planning to leave when the moon is full!). We still had a few days of work to do before setting off on the next portion of our journey...and the outer bay was the perfect spot to get it done...

Almost Full Moon Between the Spreaders

So, we shall keep you posted!