On to St. Kitts

St. Kitts was another of the islands that the Poly took us to. A beautiful island indeed . But what I mostly remember was Brimstone Hill, the British built fortress know as the Gibraltar of the West Indies. It is the largest fort in the eastern Caribbean and is also a Unesco World Heritage site. It was impressive and had an outstanding view. You can see why the British chose it for its location.

I also remember driving through small towns in a small van with fellow passengers on our way to the fort and back. In one town we passed through the villagers were actually slaughtering a steer or cow that was hung up from a tree. After seeing that , being a vegetarian seems a lot more acceptable...

The Poly trip

The cruise on the Poly was in many ways different from the Fantome. First off ,the island were totally different. All were much larger with more to see and do than on the Bahama's Out Islands.

All the islands we visited-St.Martin, St. Kitts, Saba, and St.Eustasius(Statia), and St. Barts were true tourist attractions. They all had historical structures to visit, forts etc... But that was not all. While St.Martin and St.Barts are true Caribbean vacation destinations with their beaches, shopping, and bars/restaurants Saba and Statia were not. At least back then.

Saba was beautiful. Very mountainous with no real beach. It is a volcanic rock. The roads were very narrow. Kind of like what you see in a Tour de France bike race without all the people. I remember getting a taxi at the docks, a VW bus, with a few of my fellow passengers and taking a hair raising ride up narrow, winding roads through the mountains. The town we visited was very tiny from what I can remember. The hotel where we stopped to eat was cozy , intimate,with a pool that had a view to die for.

There were a couple of shops where the locals made beautiful handicrafts for sale. It was a nice island to escape civilization for sure. It you wanted nightlife and bars, well this island is not for you.

More on this island and others in my next post.

Black Friday respite

Well I hope everyone had a great turkey day. It was a good start to a four day weekend. Something we can all use a little more of.

Well my next cruise was on the Fantome's sister ship, the S.V. Polynesia(Poly). She was built in 1938 and was one of the last of the great Portuguese Grand Banks fleet. Beautifully refurbished and renamed the" Poly" by Windjammer she was a sight for any sailor's eyes.

For this cruise we stayed a couple of days in Phillipsburg, Saint Martin awaiting our departure. The Dutch side of this beautiful island is incredible with gorgeous beaches and great tropical scenery. Phillipsburg is a wonderful place with some excellent bars and restaurants and duty free shops.

While our departure was not nearly as dramatic as our leaving Nassau on the Fantome it still made for an incredible, almost movie like beginning to a great Caribbean adventure. I will have more on it later....

Windjammin' winds down

The first Windjammer vacation proved that adventure is what you make it. From the pre-cruise party and dinner aboard the historic and beautifully restored tall ship Fantome in Nassau to visiting four Out Islands and winding up in Freeport. It was a little bit of adventure, escapism, and
pure fun.

In fact it was so much fun that I would do it all over again aboard the S.V. Polynesia and visit some of the Caribbean's most beautiful and exotic islands. Unfortunately for all of us adventure seekers the Windjammer cruise ships no longer survive. A loss for every adventure seeking pirate out there.

I can feel fortunate for being a passenger and an admirer....

Where's my dramamine

On one of the Bahamas Out Islands we stopped at for the day all was going well till a pitch-black sky started to form on the horizon.Captain Jones had informed all the passengers that if a storm arose word would be sent to the island that they should return to the Fantome ASAP. It is much safer for the ship to be out in deeper, navigable waters than close to shore in shallow waters.

Three of the passengers on our cruise never got word to return to the ship and were left on one of the islands. Excuse me if I cannot remember which island as this cruise was a long time ago. But 2 men and a lady were left on the island with no way off. Yes they were.I am not making this up as if it was some kind of adventure novel. We did not meet up with them again till I saw them at the airport in Freeport. In good spirits,ok and joking about it.  They said they went back to the bar on the island and met up with some drug runners who gave them cash to catch an inter-island flight back to Freeport.
They said the guys were cool and fun to be with once they knew you were not after them.....

I can still remember vividly the sky and how black it was. The Captain was nervous about how long it was taking to get everyone back to the Fantome so he lowered his small speedboat into the water and came back to get the rest of the passengers back aboard safely. I was one of the lucky ones to get on the last ride off the island. There were at least 6 to 8 passengers on the small speedboat as we headed back to the Fantome. We sat on the deck, bow, wherever we could clutching to handrails for dear life(almost).

It was truly a wild experience. I have often wondered though what it would have been like meeting up with the "cocaine cowboys". Maybe my career choices would have changed, who knows.....

Bahamas Out Islands

That first Windjammer cruise was a wonderful experience. We visited four islands plus Nassau and Freeport. Some of the islands were very small, really off the radar. And I do literally do mean off the radar.

On Gorda Cay we were treated to a spaghetti luncheon on the beach. I remember going snorkeling in the crystal clear waters and seeing barracudas come swimming up between us to check  out what was going on. A little nerve wracking at first but after the swam by you and left you alone it was pretty cool. While we(the passengers) were enjoying lunch a small plane circled around a few time to see what was going on. Some of the crew members said it was just the "ganja" planes making sure all was cool before they landed.

I remember on Spanish Wells there was this little hole-in-the wall bar/restaurant called Walton's Langousta Bar. I don't know how many customers they had in a day but I am sure the Fantome's passengers made up for the lack of islanders when we stopped by.

I will account for the crazy and hurried evacuation from one of the islands due to a major thunderstorm in my next blog. Adios......

Windjammin'

I would have to say that two of the best vacations I ever had when I was single was with the Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. I cruised with them twice. The first time was aboard the S.V. Fantome and the second time was aboard the S.V. Polynesia(the Poly).

The Fantome sadly sank a few years ago during a Hurricane in the western Caribbean with about 30 crew members aboard. She was the flagship of their small but beautiful fleet. She was 282' long with a sparkling white and blue hull and four masts that proudly showed off her 13 sails when underway. Originally built for the Duke of Westminster. She was purchased by Aristotle Onassis as a gift for Princess Grace and Prince Ranier. Fully refurbished she was ready for her life in the Caribbean. The Fantome accommodated 126 passengers who would set sail for adventure.

The captain for the Fantome was Wynn Jones who looked and acted the part of a rogue sailor. Long straggly,blond hair and a pair of sideburns commonly referred to as pork chops.With his English accent he could have played a part in any one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

When we left our port of call ,Nassau that July of 1981,there were at least 3 other cruise ships docked. They were the real cruise ships. Huge ships catering to hundreds, probably thousands of travelers who wanted nothing to do with a small sailboat. Ah, but this small sailboat was only for the hearty and adventurous vacationer. As we (the crew and passengers) prepared the Fantome to leave port, the Captain turned up the ships stereo full blast as we hoisted the sails to Amazing Grace. What a sight it was . Literally hundreds of the cruise ship passengers clung to the handrails to watch us get underway. A flashback to the day when sails not steam ruled the oceans.

To this day I have always remembered the feeling that song evoked as we left port and headed out to sea. There were four Bahamas Out Islands awaiting this adventurous crew and we'll have more on that tomorrow.

Vacations in Paradise

One of the things I learned on my first vacation are that things are not always what they seem in advertisements. While Jamaica was a beautiful island with great beaches and warm, crystal clear water, the inhabitants were less than hospitable to Yankees due to the political turmoil that the island was experiencing. In fact I was warned that if you leave the resort do so only with a large group of people...".Oh Oh..where am I going?" Funny though, I did stay at the resort all the time and it was not for personal security reasons...

I will say though that on the my day on Jamaica I was in the resort's shuttle bus on the way to the airport when a couple of military transports passed us going in the opposite direction with soldiers onboard slinging automatic weapons over their shoulders.... It was nice to get back home...

It seems that all of  that has changed as Jamaica has turned into one great vacation spot. Everyone that goes there nowadays has nothing but good things to say about it...Everything is IRIE mon.

Vacations are for Adventure

I for one have never been accused of taking a boring vacation. From the time I ventured out into the "Real World" to where I am now in life I have always thought vacations should be exciting, invigorating, and adventurous! And why shouldn't they be! Work can be boring but vacations, NO WAY!

My first vacation away from the parental units was to Jamaica. Ya mon, Jamaica... At the time the island was in political turmoil. The travel agent(almost a thing of the past) told me not to leave the all-inclusive resort. At the time Negril Beach Village, now Hedonism. So I met friends from the NYC area where I grew up and we partied , went to the beach together, and hit the disco at night together. It was fun at the time I suppose.

But over the years your values and ideals change and you realize there is a great big world out there that you need to see before your time is up....

That's where this blog comes in. Over the next few months I will share some of the best (and worst) vacations I have had. I will talk about MY BUCKET LIST and hope you will do the same.

So join me as we go on our Worldwide Adventure!