A Week Under Sail
On The Royal Clipper:
The following are daily Facebook posts I made while sailing
with
my group in the southern Caribbean in Jan 2018.
Barbados, Grenada, Martinique, St.
Lucia, and little islands in between.
This web page is a recap of those daily posts
Thursday, Jan 18, 2018 - Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla.
As you all know, I am a travel and tour agency, and growing up in Sausalito,
I have a love for boats. This week I get to do both.
As I write this, I am sitting in the Ft Lauderdale airport waiting for next flight to Barbados where I am joining my group for a week long sailing adventure on the Royal Clipper ( the 5 masted to right) down through the Grenadines Islands and then back up through St. Lucia and around.
The two ships pictured left are privately owned by one man who provides sailing get-aways on them to support his passion. Our 5 masted ship is 435 feet long and is a true sailing ship. There are a few other smaller cruise ships that have big sails for decoration, but these are the "real deal". The amazing feel of the wind pushing us along on warm Caribbean breezes absolutely takes your breath away - this is a bucket list adventure.
I'll do daily posts on this Facebook account so you can follow our journey. Some days we may be too far to reach a connection and posts may be delayed, but keep checking on me - I expect to have some exceptional pictures to share
Friday, Jan 19, 2018 - Bridgetown,
Barbados
The great Royal Clipper journey is about to begin - enjoying a quiet beach
day in Barbados today as the rest of our group continues to arrive - we
don't board until tomorrow - always a good idea to arrive a day or two
early so you can sleep off the jet lag and recover from unplanned flight
delays
Saturday, Jan 20, 2018 - Bridgetown,
Barbados
Great day in Barbados comes to an end as we board our ship, the Royal Clipper, and set sail this evening toward Granada - light winds & 79 degrees at 10pm
I am in the lesser priced basic cabin
which is anything but basic - 5 star all the way
In fact, cabin is same size as on the last mega cruise ship I was on.
Sunday, Jan 21, 2018 - Union Islands, Granadines
Late morning and "land ho!" as we sight land and the first of the Grenadine
Island chain -
It was a good sail last night with strong warm westerly winds easily pushing us across the western Atlantic - it was like coasting downhill - coffee was ready at 6am with bar and breakfast open at 8am - difficult to decide which direction to follow
Sunday night - Granada
A touch of class- Following an afternoon island swim, cocktails, and elegant dining, I return to my cabin to find this beautiful hardbound book with tales of the sea and the history of our own ship. The book is a gift from ship's owner, Mikael Krafft, reflecting his passion for the glorious era of the Clipper Ships. ........
Yes, I said "ship's owner". This beautiful 435ft ship is not owned by a big company but rather it is the love of single individual who wants people to experience the elegance and romance of the magnificent clipper ships from a century ago. You feel like a private guest of privilege.
Jan 22, 2018 - St. George's, Granada
Monday morning - Fresh coffee on the fan tail. The winds have lessened
now as we weave our way south through the Grenadines, but with 42 sails
aloft we still move along at a good pace.
I expect we will make St. George by noon. The early morning tropical air is warm and refreshing.
Monday Jan 22, 2018 - Sailing at Sea, Granadines
Monday Afternoon -
A Day In St George, Granada - We anchor off St George for the day - while
we head to town to explore for the day, the crew is busy repairing some
of our sails, swabbing the decks, and all the other chores a ship this
size continually requires.
St George is very interesting and was founded about 250 years before the
United States.
Now about 500 years old, Granada was the center of the "spice islands".
Pirates would "sneak" their ships into town to resupply their stores,
paying with gold and jewels they had acquired on the high seas.
As for me, I'm back from town now, up on the top deck with feet up and
cold beer in hand - wish you were here!!
Tuesday, Jan 23, 2018 - Tobago Cays, Grenadines
An easy sail this morning west to
Tobago Cays - still in the Grenadines.
Ropes, ropes, and more ropes - Each sail is managed by about 4 ropes.
Multiply that by 42 sails and you have about 160+ ropes in play at one
time when under full sail.
Later today we'll drop anchor off a little sandy cove and have a beach day - Crew is packing ice chests and bar-b-q's for an afternoon beach party. They will bring over the beach "toys", kayaks, sail boards, etc - The Zodiac is on hand if you want to water ski or wake surf - what to do next??
Tuesday, Jan 23, 2018- Tobago Cays, Grenadines
Not every hour is at sea - today we anchored off a cove and rode this
cool "beach lander" to small beach on the middle of the Caribbean. Day
on the beach with beer and bar-b-q was magic.
Staff brought some kayaks and paddle boards to beach for us.
Wednesday, Jan 24, 2018 - Kingstown,
St. Vincent (morning)
Wednesday, Jan 24, 2018 - Admiralty Bay, Bequia (afternoon)
Small towns - We have been island
hopping the last two days, going to island towns off the grid.
There are no cruise ships here and no big tourist draws, just island folk
going about their daily routines and a few sail boats coming and going.
Such a relief to avoid the big cruise ship destinations with thousands
of tourists overwhelming the landscape.
Thursday, Jan 25, 2018 - Fort
de France, Martinique (morning)
Thursday, Jan 25, 2018 - Anse D'Arlet, Martinique (afternoon)
Thursday - Fun day - The back of the Royal Clipper opens to be an "aqua activity" platform. Not only for swimming, they have nice collection of kayaks, standup paddle boards, a couple small sail boats, and various other water toys free to use as you wish.
Every day and Any day -
Since ship is European owned, she is not over regulated with USA safety restrictions and rules.
We are welcomed to climb out on the bow net.
Want to climb the mast to the crows nest?? They are happy to let you go up.
Have you ever steered a 435ft sailing
ship?? Well here's your chance.
You can take a 15 minute turn at the actual helm and feel the wind and
ship in your hands.
Friday, Jan 26, 2018 - Marigot
Bay, St. Lucia
Friday, Jan 26, 2018 - Soufriere, St. Lucia
Friday Evening -
Another perfect day comes to an end. As the sun sets on our ship in St Lucia, so ends 7 perfect days under sail on warm seas and tropical breezes. After dinner tonight, the sails are hoisted for one last time to carry us back to Barbados and a return to reality.
But the memories! Wow! - - Waking up every morning and standing alone on deck with that first cup of coffee at sunrise, dancing on deck every night under the brightest stars ever, swimming and snorkeling in crystal clear waters, visiting the little harbors far from big ships and ugly crowds, late dinners with elegant 5 course meals at our private AATPA tables for the 13 of us, climbing to the crows nest, laying in the bow net, walking the streets of little Caribbean villages with no other tourists, watching incredible sunsets, ....
And the memories just go on and on. -. Well, that's it for now, I will put all of these FB posts on a web page next week in case you missed a day or two of my adventure.
Goodby everyone, Thanks, Bud
As I mentioned at the start of
this log, these ships are not only my passion, they are my business.
If this looks like your bucket list too, I would be pleased to provide
reservations and travel plans for you. My services are free as
we are now agents for the Royal Clipper and are paid by them when we
arrange passage for you.
The above one week voyage was during the 3 winter months this ship sails
the Caribbean. The other 9 months she sails varied voyages around the
Mediterranean - can we talk? 800-975-2992
BOOK
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in advance and hold the cabin you want right now!
We will make your No Risk deposit today at $400 per person
to
guarantee your specific cabin. If you later change your mind and
decide to not to sail, simply contact us 125 days before sailing
and your deposit is 100% refunded with no questions asked.
It is just that simple!
800-975-2992 / email us: tallsails@aatpa.com
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