My view is quite different as I’m typing out the last update for our 2025 sailing season. I’m at our kitchen table in Texas instead of at Mark’s navigation table on Nancy Lu. I’m in close proximity to Cedar Creek Lake instead of the Caribbean Sea, but as usual, I am using my journal and photographs to help refresh my memory so I can give an accurate update.

Picking up where I left off:

On April 11, the day after our wonderful tour of the north end of Dominica with Martin and Yves, we continued sailing north to Les Saintes (The Saints). A couple of blog updates ago, I posted about our wonderful snorkeling in The Saints. We had some nice experiences on land, as well,

starting with an atmospheric and delicious lunch at La Fringle where I tried the dessert for which The Saints are famous, Tourment d’Amour.  After lunch, I got my bangs cut,

and Mark got a much needed haircut. Google Translate came in very handy! Like many Americans, the majority of citizens in the French Caribbean islands only speak one language (and it is not English).

Terre-de-Haut, the biggest little island in The Saints, is the epitome of picturesque and quaint. It is a tourist destination to which a ferry shuttles people back and forth from Guadeloupe, but quite a bit of European maritime history played out here, as well.  This year, Mark and I did not refresh our memory on this aspect of The Saints by revisiting Fort Napoleon. It’s a long, hot, uphill walk there…Have we become that lazy??

We DID revisit the ice cream shop more than once,

and I browsed the cute shops that line the streets! I couldn’t resist buying my baby granddaughter-on-the-way a one-of-a-kind handmade madras (for which the French islands are famous) pair of overalls!

As we were getting into our dinghy to go back to Nancy Lu after our first trip into town, I noticed the Orange Cup Coral that I love to seek out on snorkeling expeditions. They were just casually growing there pretty-as-you-please with their tentacles on full display at the dinghy dock.  I’ll try not to let this dampen my excitement when I discover them in a more wild and natural setting!

After a few days in The Saints, we sailed to our northernmost destination for this season, Guadeloupe.

Right before we dropped our mooring to sail the short distance to Guadeloupe, we looked up and saw an ominous sight!  We decided to wait until the skies cleared to set sail, which was just a few minutes later.

I posted snorkeling photos from Guadeloupe a couple of blogs ago, and that is about all we did during our four days there except…

anchoring overnight in a bay just south of where we snorkeled and swimming in the hot water released from the geothermal electricity plant there.

The next day, we were headed south back the way we came!

BACK IN THE SAINTS:

When we sailed into The Saints this time, all the moorings at Ilet a’ Cabrit (where we usually stay) were taken so we anchored across the bay where we enjoyed a nice view of Ilet a’ Cabrit with Guadeloupe in the background. We spent a couple of pleasant days there, including Easter Sunday, but moved over to Ilet a’ Cabrit to get shelter from a strong wind that blew in one afternoon. We had one last snorkel while we were moored there.

We tried two new “fast food” restaurants while waiting for favorable winds to continue south during our stay in The Saints. I got a Bokit (a sandwich-type dish for which Guadeloupe is famous) at both places (YUM!) even though one place was called The Blue Pizza and the other had pizzeria on the sign, HA! I think Mark got a pizza at both places!

After six sunsets in The Saints, we continued sailing south.

SAILING SOUTH TO ROSEAU, DOMINICA:

Our sail all the way to the southern tip of Dominica where Mr. Beanz put us on one of his moorings was quite a doozy for seeing sealife!

Right out of The Saints, we saw a couple of Sperm Whales!!

Click this text to see a short video of the sperm whales

Click this text for a Video of Dolphins swimming in front of the boat off of Dominica

Closer to Dominica, we happened upon a huge pod of Dolphins (50 or more). A few of them stopped what they were doing (supposedly feeding) and played at the bow of Nancy Lu!

Click this text for a video of a whale swimming off of Dominica

Off the coast of Dominica, pretty close to Roseau, we saw ANOTHER Sperm Whale!!!

Speaking of Sperm Whales…

There is a dive operation near where we were moored in Roseau. This dive shop specializes in taking people out on whale watching excursions, making them semi-experts in the female Sperm whale population which stays in the Dominican waters year round. Dive Dominica is next door to Ocean’s Edge, a restaurant that we frequent. When we had lunch there one day, I went into the dive shop to talk to one of the operators and show them the picture I took of the fluke of the whale we saw earlier in the season. He identified her right away!! According to him, the whale we saw with Mr. Beanz is Mrs. Canopener! How exciting to put a name with a fluke!!

On the one full day that we spent in Roseau as we headed south, we went grocery shopping, ate lunch at Ocean’s Edge, identified our Sperm Whale, AND took a taxi with Troy out to another hot spring spa in Wotten Waven. This one had a whole different vibe than Mr. Screws’, where we visited earlier in the season. The water here had a high concentration of iron, making the water a copper color. We enjoyed the gardens on the property…

Click this text for a video of birds feeding in Dominica

especially the birds fluttering and singing as they fed at the giant birdfeeder.

The next day we waved goodbye to beautiful Dominica as we sailed on our way south to St. Pierre, Martinique.

A PHOTO COLLECTION OF DOORS, WINDOWS, WALLS, AND RUINS + CHICKENS OF ST.PIERRE:

THE END OF MY PHOTO COLLECTION OF DOORS, WINDOWS, WALLS, AND RUINS + CHICKENS OF ST.PIERRE

We had just 2 full days in St. Pierre. The first day had a MISERABLE beginning in the HOTTEST laundromat I have EVER set foot in and used! The giant UNWORKING fan hung from the ceiling just to TAUNT me! So when we were done with laundry, we treated ourselves to some German food at L’Alsace A Kay,

followed by a trip to the grocery store for a double chocolate Magnum Bar!!!

After our Magnums, we checked out the inside of the newly completed renovation of the cathedral.

On our second full day, we walked to the big volcano museum. We had never been there before. It is really interesting and poignant in such close proximity to Mt. Pelée. I took most of my photo collection of doors, windows, walls, and ruins + chickens on our walk back from the museum to the town dock.

Back at Nancy Lu, we watched as a big crane-equipped boat lifted out a huge mooring block from where they store them underwater near the shore. We had seen workers adding new moorings to the mooring field during the time we were in St. Pierre. Nearing hurricane season, seems to be when a lot of maintenance and repair jobs are done in the Caribbean.

We continued our sail south, stopping for one night at Grand Anse d’Arlet, Martinique before…

we sailed on to St. Lucia where we spent one night between the Pitons…

 

before sailing on the next morning to Bequia.

We enjoyed a few days socializing with Bill and Maureen on s/v Kalunamoo and some other cruisers to whom Bill and Maureen introduced us. Of our social activities in Bequia, we have zero photographic evidence .

NEXT STOP SOUTHWARD, CARRIACOU:

We spent some time at Tyrell Bay so we could check in to Grenada (of which Carriacou is a part). While we were anchored there, we had lunch with Annemarie and Steve on s/v Freebooter at Iguana’s, a restaurant that they suggested. I  had the BEST fish tacos (tuna) I have EVER had in my life that day!

The next day, we motored around the point to anchor near Sandy Island. This tiny, idyllic, sandy island really felt the wrath of Hurricane Beryl last year. It has changed quite a bit. Such is nature…

The path through the dead coral is new. For quite some time, there has been a dead-coral-area where people (including me) have made little sculptures, but the location has changed, and it is bigger, now.

Other changes include blown over and uprooted palm trees. We saw new plantings of coconut palm trees, which is heartening. The tide pool that was on the opposite side of the island from the mooring field is gone,

and there is a spot where the sand is so narrow leading to the southern tip of the island that the ocean laps up onto the beach on both sides. We did not snorkel at our usual spot, so I do not know how the little reef there was affected.

I added a small coral-cairn to the dead-coral field.

On a happier note: The Paradise Beach Club is rebuilt and running better than ever. As far as I know, even though the fences were blown down, none of the signs that cruisers paint were lost!

I was surprised and flattered to be asked by two of the staff members, Jemima and Celeste, if they could video me to post on The Paradise Beach Club  Instagram page, as is often done as part of the restaurant’s PR! I’m not sure what it means that the video they took never got posted !

After a FABULOUS (as always) meal at The PBC, we were water-taxied back to Nancy Lu where she was silhouetted by a gorgeous sunset…(that matched my special-occasion dress)!

The next day, we had our last sail of the season to “our spot” at PRICKLY BAY, GRENADA!  After just 2 days in Grenada, including day # 1, May 10- my 63rd birthday, celebrated with calls from each of my 3 kids and a long lunch with Bill and Maureen and Elizabeth and John on s/v Pelican at the University Club and day #2, May 11- Mother’s Day, celebrated with 3 more calls from my kids!

The event that I had been anticipating for the whole sailing season finally arrived! I got to fly to Brooklyn (Bill and Maureen’s hometown) to spend a whole week and attend a beautiful baby shower for Amy and Marie!

Amy and Marie with hostesses, Casey and Sam

 

Amy and Marie with cousin/niece, Byron and sister/daughter, Claire

 

Sweet Ben, the honorary male guest who helped to make the shower extra fun

 

It was a special week and a special day!

Once I got back to Grenada, we continued to enjoy spending a lot of time with Bill and Maureen during our last weeks on Nancy Lu in the Caribbean. They had not been back to Grenada in a few years, and we were so glad they decided to stop there for a few weeks before sailing on down to Trinidad to haul out. One of our many outings with them was at their invitation.  We, along with other cruisers to whom they introduced us, went to have dinner and hear “The Cool Jazz Band” who plays weekly at Secret Harbour Restaurant—great food, great music, great company!

A week after I got back from NYC and after about 2 weeks on a mooring in Prickly Bay, our haul out date came. While continuing to live on her in the boat yard, the work of getting Nancy Lu all ready for months on the hard during hurricane season began, but

it was not all work and no play! Bill and Maureen joined us for a lovely night at Sabrina’s Treehouse where we luxuriated in the red carpet treatment, scrumptious food and drinks AND a wonderfully unique musical and theatrical experience that is “Meet Me At The Mango Tree”! It is really hard to describe how special this musical storytelling experience happening once a month up in the mountains of Grenada truly is! Sabrina Francis and her team have put a behind the scenes video with excerpts from the show that we attended on Youtube. It includes our party entering the venue and taking some of the pictures I’ve included in this update (how cool is that!!). During the video, we are seated on the front row with our headsets on, which is part of magic of the experience. At one point in the show, Sabrina “breaks the 4th wall” (theater people will know what I mean by that) and has the sound engineer (who is a part of the show) record the audience singing background vocals under her direction. The tracks are immediately added to the show, allowing us to hear ourselves be a choir in the story of “Meet Me At The Mango Tree”!

I hope you will click this text here to experience the magic! (You can skip the ad at the beginning)

I think it will serve as a reward and thank-you gift for sacrificing your valuable time on this long, last update of our 2025 sailing season!

 

I’m thankful to be home (especially considering our duct-taped means of transportation )!  We have hit the ground running, happy to be immersed in all our stateside responsibilities and opportunities, while looking forward to some very special occasions coming up before we head back to Nancy Lu next year!