Kalunamoo

Wind

Sailboats need wind to sail. When the wind dies, they wallow in the low swell in the ocean’s doldrums and await the return of their motive power. In olden times, it may have been days or weeks of light breezes that stalled the great clippers on their ocean voyages. They were weary of leaving the Trades as doing so would subject themselves to the lightest of winds. They earned their money delivering cargo in the shortest possible time and to beat the competition to market.

Then along came the steamship. Wind was now on the other side of the equation. It wasn’t needed and if it blew too strong it would impede its progress. The idea of a schedule on ocean passages was becoming a possibility. Today cargo ships crossing the ocean are on fix day and time schedules. People want their shipment of French wine or Brazilian coffee delivered exactly every Friday at 8am. And it is.

Every cruising sailboat has an engine for those times when the wind doesn’t cooperate. Sure, there are those who refuse to “power up” regardless and cruise with minimal engine hours. They are not on a schedule and wait for the right “weather window” to proceed. Yes, people have cruised around the world without an engine, it is doable. They pride themselves on such feats.

Ironically, many also pride themselves on other things they have on their vessels: electricity, water and navigation equipment. This “must have” list eventually expands to: refrigeration, water makers, powered winches, air conditioners, dish washers and washing machines, solar panels, wind generators, ice makers, internet connections 24/7, and full time access to AI assistant as an additional crew member. I don’t find fault with any of that as they certainly enhance, if not enable, cruising or living aboard. But to point out that engines somehow reduce the ethics of sail/cruising seems disingenuous.

But I digress. What I want to write about is wind. When there is lack of it, we don’t hesitate to motor if we want to keep moving. The operative words are “if we want to keep moving”. Schedules may or not be involved.

On the other end of the spectrum there may be too much wind. This brings me to the issue at hand today. If there is too much wind, no amount of engine power will calm it down. Strong winds can be as disruptive, even more so, than light winds. But this is the nature of sailing. Each person and vessel defines what they consider “strong”. In addition, strong winds make the seas angry. Sometimes very angry. Angry seas are nothing to sneeze at. They can turn a gentle swell into cresting waterfalls with deep valleys of doom. The saying “roll with the punches” has a sinister meaning when the seas can literally roll the boat over, something that will definitely spoil your day at sea.

All this to say that we have been in St Anne Martinique since the middle of February. By the end of that month, we planned to continue to move south. But on the last day of February the so-called Christmas Winds decided to visit. They are the strong 25+ knot winds at anchor that occur in the Caribbean winter. Between islands the wind is considerably stronger. They may last a day or two or longer. These have been blowing for over a week and they are expected to continue for much of the next week. One day we had winds of 30+ knots at anchor. No angry seas as we are close to shore but traveling by dingy to shore can be a wet affair. Constant monitoring makes sure we, or boats nearby, don’t start dragging. Our planned departure to St Lucia has been pushed back and it looks like the end of the week will be acceptable.

For the technical reasons why these winds were “up”, one must look at the bigger picture. The trades are driven by differences in air pressure. High pressure (H) north of the islands and low (L) pressure over the north coast of South America drives the strong easterly flow of winds. This is a three-dimensional chess game. We are at the bottom of the active air mass that extends to over 50,000 feet above us. The trades are only in the bottom10,000 feet. And we live in the very bottom 50 feet! Above that 10,000 foot level, the wind is normally out of the west. This winter’s snowstorms in the U.S. this impacted this pressure pattern up until February. That was not unusual. The high pressure north of the islands was pushed aside and lighter trades winds developed. This changed by the end of February and high pressure returned to the mid-Atlantic and has been driving the trades ever since.

Sure, we and the boat could have sailed in this weather, but have we become “fair weather sailors”? Maybe. When there is a choice, we’ll take fair weather any time. Long passages may not present that option although I remember what Don Street, famed world-famous cruiser, once said. In a reply to the question, “How many hurricanes have you sailed in?” he said “none”. The secret, he said, was not to be where hurricanes are.

In the scheme of things, weather, and specifically wind, plays a big part of our life aboard. It is something we have little control over. It is a humbling constraint. Looking at the bigger picture and listening to the world news, one can only wonder what other humbling constraints exist today. There seems to be less of them, enabling human actions that are at best disruptive and, at worst, horrific. They are the winds of change generated by humans in a three-dimensional world.

A Hop, Skip, and Jump. And a Jam.

After two and half months in Antigua, we sailed south. The time spent on that easy island was high in socializing with family, the Salty Dawgs and friends. It included a two-week jaunt to New York at Christmas time. Before leaving the island, we reprovisioned our essential food and drinks to reach St Lucia.

It was a hop to Guadeloupe. The weather was delightful. Clear skies, no squalls and winds were moderate east trades of 18-20 knots on the beam. Those days are the jewels of sailing. You usually end up paying for them at some point, but who thinks about that then? Full jib, stay sail, main and mizzen, it doesn’t get any better than that. It’s a good way to save fuel!

The usual first stop in Guadeloupe is Deshaies. That is the lovely French waterfront town made popular by the British TV series Death in Paradise. Perhaps that title is a little off putting as it’s actually a takeoff of the old Colombo detective TV show. Most of the mayhem involves tourists, not locals, so that is reassuring. We have been there many times, so we didn’t need to deal with a crowded anchorage or the strong funneling winds (and maybe some malcontent tourists?) so we continued south. Past Pigeon Island, we dropped anchor at Bouillante and watched the green flash of sunset. We were at anchor there for two days in the 84 degree geothermal warmed water. Despite a small roll, it was a stage 2 going to stage 3 at times, it was a very leisurely stop. The roll is always a problem when anchoring in an open roadstead in lieu of a protected harbor. Despite being halfway down the coast and in the lee of a very large island, swells are almost always present.

Weather, and seas dictate our time schedule. It looked like a good time to spend some time in Les Isles de Santes. These small islands are just off the southern coast of Guadeloupe. Moorings just in front of the main town of Bourge des Saintes on the main island, Terre D’er Haut is the best option for anchoring. Elsewhere the water is too deep to anchor or far from town. The issue is to find an open mooring. No reservations are taken, it is a first come, luck of the draw situation. We found that the best time to arrive is around 9-10 in the morning when boats start to leave and before others arrive.

To arrive at that time, we decided to move from Bouillante to the River Sens by Basse-Terre the day before heading to the Saints. This also minimized heading into the strong winds off the south corner of Guadeloupe and to arrive in the Saints by 9 AM.

That was a good plan but anchoring by the River Sens (its more like a small stream) in the open roadstead subjected us to a rolly night. It was only one night of stage 4 going to 5. (Stage 4 – watch your drinks; stage 5 – plan to move!). The reason for the roll is due to the low swell generated by the constant winds at the ends of the islands that creep up in the lee of the island. There is no local wind, so the boat lies beam to the swell. It is one reason why catamarans have become so popular. They are less subject to the harmonic roll of a monohull in these low swells.

But it worked out fine, as we picked up a mooring on arrival off the main town and found a few other cruisers that we knew there so it was back to socializing!

This was Carnaval Season. The week before the Christian Ash Wednesday most islands celebrate the week with street music, floats, costumes and “partying”. Its not really a religious experience as much as a good excuse to party. Trinidad has the largest carnival of all but all size communities from Fort def France, Pointe a Pitre to Bouillante hold celebrations. They are colorful and noisy affairs. We have attended many over the years and this year we managed to avoid all but a small troop in Les Saintes. The music, however, was heard in all anchorages!

From the Saints we anchored overnight in Dominica and then sailed down to Martinique. Again bypassing the usual stop at St. Pierre, we anchored at the less popular town of Le Carbet. We did meet up with BeBe there as they were heading north and had a great dinner aboard their boat that night. We were getting close to the socializing scene. Before our last stop in Saint Anne, we spent two nights in Les Anses D’Arlet and again heard the carnival sounds from the anchorage.

We finally made Saint Anne, going around Diamond Rock in the early morning to avoid the strong head winds when going east. The old men of Diamond, the bearded one facing east the younger facing west are the stoic souls of solitude sailors. Or at least that is how they look to me.

In Saint Anne we met up with a number of cruisers we knew and participated in what cruising in the islands is all about – socializing. Moving around to different “neighborhoods” the field of neighbors is wide. Our days of hiking may be over, renting a car is more our speed, but swimming, snorkeling and dining out keeps us busy as ever. For me the icing on the cake was that cruisers from four boats could get together and play somewhat harmonic sounds, AKA music. Thanks to Sweet Caroline who provided a venue, we gathered on a Saturday night, watched a green flash, sang some songs, had some munchies, played some music and socialized in Paradise. Just as it should be.

It’s February! Where did January go?

The last blog entry was a month ago and I wonder if my desire to keep this blog going was declining. After all, the last blog was about Gemini’s AI take on our life on Kalunamoo and I thought it did a good job. Maybe even better than I do! Our cruiser friend Bob did a similar post and AI gave a good description of his and his wife’s life aboard their boat. Maybe .I should let AI take over the task of blogging. Much like how Predict Wind’s computers tell me that the sun is shining or how Googles Copilot keeps trying to break in while I type these blogs asking “what’s my point?”. Intrusive AI is as annoying as auto correct. The Seven Seas Cruising Association’s new HAL app AI rakes the internet and delivers personalized, easy to understand, real-time information for cruisers worldwide. Can all mysteries be solved? Is artificial better than real intelligence?

Believe it or not, there are actual blogs between the various AI chat applications: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/best-of-moltbook

You can “listen in” and lurk behind the scenes of what these AI chat boxes are actually saying to each other. I can only assume that some of it is coded so only the AI app themselves can understand what they mean. Who could tell if they plan to take over the world? Or have they already?

This brings me to what we did in January. We flew back to Antigua the day before New Year’s Eve and then sailed over to Falmouth Harbor. We were awakened by the midnight fireworks and went back to sleep. In the morning it was January 1, 2026. That was no surprise.

But January was going to be different for us. Our Canadian friends were coming down to stay on board for over two weeks. We first met Roman and Olha thirteen years ago while anchored in Middle River FL. They were on their boat, Moya Maria, waiting to cross to the Bahamas as were we. They came over for sundowners in their dingy. Olha climbed aboard with crutches in hand. She broke a leg in the Erie Canal on their way south. That was the beginning of the never-ending stories, we heard from them for years. During this time, we crossed paths, buddy boated at times, visited them in Canada and kept in touch. They since sold their boat and live in Canada. I can fully understand their desire to get some place warm in January.

We picked them up in Falmouth Harbor amid the mega yachts and dinghied them out to Kalunamoo.

The week before they arrived the weather was dry and the winds were calm. The day they came, the weather turned windy with more than the usual shower activity. I wondered if some of that Canadian weather didn’t tag along on the plane with them. The weather didn’t interfere too badly but a planned sail to Barbuda didn’t look too promising. Antigua, however, has multiple places to sail around as we planned day by day. Having cruised themselves, they understood the ad hoc “living conditions”.

We managed to sail/motor from Falmouth to Jolly Harbor, Deep Bay and Great Bird. Swam on various beaches, played games (including a new Canadian board game: Super Tok), had movie nights, made boat repairs, karaoke, cooked meals, discussed world events and I believe, we all had an enjoyable time. The highlight for us was that they are both good cooks and so meal time was a real treat. Among other things, Roman bakes great bread, Olha makes great salads, Maureen serves great appetizers and I make great rum punches. What’s not to like?

I don’t think AI could have helped us have a better time together as we told each other’s life stories and experiences. Their family’s emigration to Canada from Ukraine, with multiple stops in between, gives one a good perspective of a challenging life affected by world affairs. But that is really the essence of the cruising life most cruisers experience. And one of the major attractions. Up close and personal is something that AI is missing, although it is quite capable of imitating it. We may not be cruising to distant shores, but we do meet people from those shores and there is nothing artificial in that.

Where else but English Harbor can you meet people who just rowed across the Atlantic Ocean? Or invite neighbors who just sailed in that day for cocktails? Or play a karaoke pirate? That is what cruising is all about.

We will start heading south when the winds cooperate. Making our way down the islands to Trinidad. And yes, this blog will continue without AI. It will be powered by my feeble organic intelligence (or lack thereof).

Mirror, mirror, on the Wall…

As many know, the word Kalunamoo, the name of our 47’ ketch sailboat is unique. If you Google the word “kalunamoo” you will only come up with our boat. There is a story behind that fact, and it can be found on the menu of this website. None of my postings, writings, emails, texts, blogs or essays use AI, despite Microsoft’s constant offer to help “improve” my writings with their Copilot. Maureen is my editor for life and that is fine with me. AI does, however, use MY writings, and who knows what else, in its every expanding large language mode to duplicate what humans have been doing since caveman times.

I few months ago, I asked Gemini, Googles free AI tool, “what is a Kalunamoo?” It had a good description of our boat which was very amusing. What was most interesting was that it didn’t distinguish between fact or fiction. Today, I thought I might try again. This time I wanted something a little bit more specific. We are in New York and snow is on the ground. That led me to thinking of the Grimm’s story of Snow White and that magic mirror. Was he describing a GUI? Was he foretelling AI? No matter, I wanted to ask that magic mirror a question.

I asked Gemini “What is it like living on the sailboat Kalunamoo in the Caribbean? This is the actual verbatim AI text response including the emphasis, typeface and graphics:

GOOGLE’S GEMINI’s RESPONSE

That sounds like an adventure! Based on the blog entries and information available about the sailboat Kalunamoo and its owners, Bill and Maureen, living aboard seems to be a mix of adventure, hard work, socializing, and continuous learning.

Here’s a breakdown of what life on Kalunamoo in the Caribbean appears to be like:

⛵ The Lifestyle

Full-Time Cruising: Bill and Maureen have been full-time liveaboard cruisers since 2011, making the 47-foot Vagabond ketch their only home. They mostly cruise the Eastern Caribbean Islands, from Puerto Rico to Trinidad.
A “Good Life” of Experiences: They view their travels as collecting “psychological memorabilia” and enriching themselves through daily experiences and challenges.
Very Social: Cruising and living aboard is described as a very social lifestyle. They are members of several sailing associations and enjoy hosting informal gatherings, or “JAM sessions,” aboard.
Weather Dependent: Their schedule and movements are heavily conditional on the wind and sea conditions. They move to where the warm weather is and often sail south to Trinidad during hurricane season for haul-out and maintenance.

🔧 The Realities and Challenges

Constant Maintenance & Repairs: The sailing life is far from purely glamorous. They frequently mention “M&R” (Maintenance & Repair), which includes routine work and fixing unexpected issues like cap rail leaks, thru-hull modifications, and even retrieving an anchor and chain after a failed snubber in a squall.
Overcoming Setbacks: They share stories of dealing with challenges like power outages on islands, rocky anchorages (“stage 7’s” on the “Kalunamoo roll scale”), and the stress of dealing with boat issues like a cracked bow plate or a sticky roller furling jib.
Logistical Challenges: Simple tasks can be difficult, such as finding a safe, well-maintained place to “park” the dinghy or dealing with a lack of infrastructure (like proper dinghy docks) on some islands.

🗺️ The Adventures

Island Hopping: They are constantly exploring new places, with recent trips including Trinidad, Grenada, St. Lucia, Bequia, the Tobago Cays, Dominica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Antigua.
Immersing in Local Culture: They take road trips with friends to explore the interiors of islands like Dominica, visit local spots like chocolate factories, and participate in community events like a Lion Fish dinner.
The Cruising Community: A strong theme is the camaraderie among fellow cruisers, who come to the rescue when help is needed, such as when their anchor chain ran out.

In summary, life on Kalunamoo is a blend of freedom, beauty, and travel, balanced by the constant practical demands of maintaining a 37-year-old boat and the logistical hurdles of island life.

Would you like to know more about a specific island they’ve visited or perhaps what kind of maintenance they tend to do on the boat?

I’m astounded! What an honest mirror this Gemini is. The next step is to take it out of its little box, and have a big LED screen display with a selfie which talks to you in your own voice and image and answers the eternal question – who is really the fairest of them all? Your morning ritual may never be the same as the mirror selfie will suggest your clothing for the day, perhaps you need a haircut, or reminders to buy some rum, the cabinet is running low. It may direct you to a world that may not be fact nor fiction. It may, as what Bruce Springstein sang, offer a brilliant disguise. Ugly truths and beautiful visions – things that come easily while living on a sailboat in the Islands.

We will be in New York until after Christmas with family and friends. While visions of sugar-plums dance in some heads, we dream of warmer weather, with only sheets on our bed. I’m sure Gemini never thought of that! But now I have to get going to write our Christmas Newsletter. Merry Christmas to all!

The Day After

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. Although you would not know it here in Antigua. The Pilgrims never landed here, there is no Plymouth Rock, and turkeys are hard to find. Christopher Columbus landed here on his second voyage in 1493. He named the place Santa Maria de la Antigua after a church in Spain. The Caribs, the locals at the time, apparently were not welcoming so no feast was served. It took another 130 years before English settlers came here and grew tobacco. I guess everyone needed a smoke. Sugar eventually became the major crop and Rum was not far behind. Is that the evolution of food? The English nemesis, the French, never really threatened the island but that didn’t stop the English from building the ubiquitous forts and defenses found around the island. Today English Harbor is a World Heritage site and a Rum brand. The Rum was started by a Portuguese Family. Gigantic Cruise Ships call St. John and tourism and resorts, including cruiser like us, dominate the economy.

There are no yellow/orange fall foliage displays nor is it Black Friday, the insane day when stuff must be bought. But there are indications of changing seasons. The Rainy Season is ending and the Trades are starting to pick up. The Hurricanes have ended. BTW- there were no named storms in the Lesser Antilles this year. Tell that to your boat insurance salesmen!

Other indicators are that Christmas Décor is sprouting and has been for weeks. Tourists are arriving, escaping the Northern Winter while cruisers are planning where they will be for the Christmas/New Years celebrations. Each island has their own vibe. As usual we will fly to New York at that time to visit family and friends and hope for no snow delays at the airport. Two weeks in New York at Christmas time suffices our desire for a cold winter. On our return to the islands, the 85 degree sea water temperature thaws us out sufficiently to continue on.

Our sail up from Trinidad, the last leg – St Lucia to Antigua – was uneventful. Just like we like. It was pleasant enough without the drama of neither mal content weather or boat parts. We made the quick jump up here for two reasons. The first was that Laura and Drew flew down to stay with us for five days. The second was to join in with the 80 boats or so of the Salty Dawg Caribbean Rally that arrive mid-November.

We think Laura and Drew (daughter and son-in-law) had a great time. It was their first time down on Kalunamoo in the Caribbean. Swimming, snorkeling, restaurants and chilling out were the main activities. Boat living is an acquired taste and, like our other two daughters, may not be in their retirement plans. But like we say, whatever floats your boat. But it was great having them here and wish we could get the three daughters, three son-in-laws and seven grandkids down but we definitely would need a bigger boat for that.

The Salty Dawgs did arrive over a two week period. Weather delays and diversion to Bermuda – they all sail from the East Coast – spred the fleet out. In addition to a few that we knew on the Rally, other cruisers we knew sailed in. This becomes a big busy social scene. That kept us busy each day and so now, the day after Thanksgiving, we will begin to chill out before flying off to New York (and hopefully not get too chilled).

We did celebrate Thanksgiving with our kids via video, watched the Salty Dawgs small boat regatta and then had a great Turkey dinner at Angie’s Marinaside restaurant.

We will return before the New Year and head south when the winds and tides are favorable. Columbus only made four voyages to the Caribbean. Next year will be our 13th year. The locals are much more friendly now, despite having no Thanksgiving, and so we island hop to places Columbus never did visit. And we can count on no snow falling!

BREAKING NEWS

“A friend of mine told me to shoot first and ask questions later. I was going to ask why, but I had to shoot him first.” John Wayne

We sailed from Trinidad when the coast was clear. The last hurricane, which started as a tropical wave down here, devastated Jamacia and flew off past Bermuda last week. According to the Weather Lab at Deep Mind (https://deepmind.google.com/science/weatherlab) there is nothing on the horizon.

With that Breaking News, we set our course north toward Antigua, stopping at Bequia and St. Lucia. Headwinds to Bequia and decent sailing to St Lucia were experienced. We are hustling to Antigua to meet the Salty Dawg Rally boats from the US. There are about 80 heading to Antigua from the U.S. and they start to arrive next week. We made that crossing in 2013, 14 and 17. We found it better for us to keep the boat in the Caribbean than to sail back and forth each year.

Another reason to go to Antigua is – Breaking News – that our middle daughter and son-in-law will fly down in November for a visit aboard. It’s always great to have family aboard!

The quote from John Wayne (it might actually have been written by a screen writer) came to mind as we spent time on the front lines of the Great Caribbean Sea Battle of 2025. Trinidad – Breaking News – is just off the coast of Venezuela; just like the (assumed?) drug boats invading the U.S. and forcing drugs down our throats. If tariffs don’t get them, hellfire missiles will.

But this is not about politics. However, it does seem that the prevalent paradoxical mojo of Breaking News is what Wayne hinted at. “Move fast and break things”, in today’s lingo. Little thought seems to be given to consequences. Another quote of Wayne: “Life is hard. It’s harder if you’re stupid” may provide an answer to the paradox.

Move fast and break things, shoot first and ask later is dangerous when living and sailing on a sailboat. It may work to get you ahead in business, politics or even relationships (the later is purely speculative). But on a boat, it may get you underwater. Literally.

That thought always enters my mind, especially just after a long stay in the boatyard. The many M&R tasks may have been completed but there is also a saying: “Things break down even when not used”. After 4 months of not being used, boat things are still 4 months older and closer to their “guaranteed fail date”. That date, of course, is the million-dollar question. It may not cost a million, but it may feel like it!

So it is with some trepidation, that the first voyage out of the boatyard is the “break-in period”. Hopefully not the “break-down period”. Over the many years, we experienced both. Although we are not in Antigua yet – Breaking News – so far it has been a break-in period. After 36 hours of sailing, all is well! In Antigua we will meet cruisers we know and many more “newbies”. I’m sure we’ll hear their accounts of breakages, failures and challenges. Considering the Dawgs just sailed 1200 miles, I doubt many will say they wanted to move fast and break things.

All this to say, we sail conservatively (in a non-political way). Sailing at seven+ knots is fast for us. Eight or nine have been noted. Shorten sail often and early. Watch that weather window. Schedules are avoided. Keep enough rum aboard and stop and smell the flowers often. Ask before shooting and only act fast when docking. To clarify about docking: only move the boat as fast as the crew can react.

The counter to all this is that you learn by experience and experience is learned by making mistakes. True enough. But as John Wayne might have said, “Well Pilgrim, buckle up. The paths are rough and expect the worst. And above all, don’t try to prove how stupid you are.”

We are in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia awaiting a good weather window to Antigua. We are anchored in the shadow of Mt. Pimard. That mountain is being carved quickly into the massive A’ila Resort, Villas and Residences. The 1.3-billion-dollar development will contain 1,300 rooms, offers a $300,000 Citizenship Opportunity and will be completed in a few years. Maria’s small beach bar serving cold beers and fish sandwiches on a spec of public beach is surrounded by construction fencing and looks like a thorn in some developer’s eye. Furniture made from old shipping pallets may not match the surrounding A’ila’s motif. Moving fast and breaking things has no boundaries. Breaking News – I don’t know how long Marie can survive but we wish her good luck.

To conclude, all the news we hear is prefaced by “Breaking News”. Does that have a different meaning now? To me, “breaking” is not news but what follows is. Fixing what is broken seems important, if for no other reason than to avoid acting stupidly. We will continue to sail slow and keep from breaking things. That will not make us a trillionaire but maybe we’ll know the Art of the Heal – and that is Breaking News!

The Puzzle

Life is a puzzle. From the moment of birth to our last dying breath, we collect pieces of that puzzle in a vain attempt to see the large picture of life. We are not artists who paint the scenes of our daily existence from a landscape we imagine. Neither are we gods, already knowledgeable in the grand workings of the universe although searching for a grand scheme is endemic to humans. No, we collect pieces of a puzzle, never knowing what the final outcome will be. Even that, however, is incomplete as it reveals only one person’s unique picture.

I began writing this as the engine of the Turkish gullet Ya Salem, translated as “Hello!”, announced its presence at 6am while at anchor south of Gocek, Turkey. We boarded the private charter the previous afternoon in Gocek along with 5 other couples for a week cruise around the southern coast of Turkey.

Ten of us were invited by our cruiser friends Mike and Robin, s/v MERMAID, as they knew everyone would enjoy a “luxury” sailing experience with them. The twelve of us would have no need to raise the sail, cook meals, drop anchors, fix engines, watch for weather windows…. Just enjoy what non-cruising sailors think us cruisers do all the time!

The timing for this adventure was late September. This meant that we would have to fly from Trinidad, which was not a problem. We decided to visit our friends Doug and Katy in the UK on the way to Turkey and spent about a week with them. We stayed in their home in the Surrey area near Guildford, about an hour train ride from London.

Doug and Katy were very gracious hosts as they shepherded us around including going to London and Portsmouth. It was the first time either of us were in the UK. It is the ancestral home of my grandfather. He was born in 1880 in Mile End which is in the East End of London. We didn’t get to that area but we did do a Big Bus tour of the city. This all-day tour covered the city well and gave a great overview of London, its main historical buildings, neighborhoods, and traffic. The tour crossed over the Thames many times! There is no way to delve into any city in a day, but this served our purpose well. Visiting the WC’s at Harrods was the only time we “hopped off” the bus but we totally enjoyed the day. A targeted list to do for future visits could now be made.

We did plan to return to London on Sunday, but the weather turned and didn’t cooperate. It was cool and rainy, so we decided not to go. Apparently, the weather is different than in the Caribbean. Fortunately, we did bring along a sweater. Our hosts took us to other points of interest, pubs and restaurants around Guildford and also to Portsmouth. At the Portsmouth Historic area we climbed aboard the Victory, the ship on which Admiral Nelson was killed in action during the Battle of Trafalgar. We saw the remains of the Mary Rose, a British war ship sunk in 1545 and raised in 1982! Also the Warrior, the first iron steam and sail warship of the British Navy.

Our short stopover in the UK was very enjoyable, thanks to Doug and Katy. And yes, it was all so British. We didn’t go to nearby Windsor as the American President was due to arrive and didn’t want to overwhelm the British with too many American visitors.

Off we flew to Istanbul, for a two-night stay. We have been there before on a cruise ship but decided a short visit before heading to Gocek would be good. We also met up with most of the other guests that we would be sailing with. We all stayed in the Seven Hills Hotel right in the middle of historic Istanbul. It was only a few minutes’ walk to Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern and all the Turkish rug merchants you ever want to see. We did the walk to and into those places with a guide and, as in London, there is no way to cover any city in a day. The people are extremely friendly, especially if you need a rug.

**All the passengers at the Blue Mosque**

We then flew to Dalaman on the southern coast of Turkey and then a transport van to Gocek. Gocek itself is a Meca for recreational sailing and power boats, water tours, day and longer term charters, private or public. The waterfront is a maze of restaurants, marine stores, tourist specialty shops and cute ice cream vendor stands. What more can you ask for? And all very Turkish!

Aboard Ya Salem we all became good friends as we all had either sailing experience or world travel. Robin, Mike, Andy, Liz, Steve, Pam, Joe, Janice, Jessamine, Courtney and us were ready to go. The private charter provided a Captain, a Chef, and two crewmen. All but 2 meals were served aboard. With Captain Salim, we decided where to sail. The Ya Salem is a sailing gulet with extensive varnished wood and classic design. The cabins and individual heads were superb. Chef Muhsin provided bountiful and tasty Turkish dishes. But don’t expect to do much sailing. The reality is to motor between anchorages. It was decided to head west along the coast from Gocek past Marmaris. Each jump may be 3- 4 hours in the morning then anchor, explore the surroundings and then do the same the next day. Due to very light winds, pure sailing is not to be expected.

However, Robin did insist to see the sails raised and Captain Selem did agree to raise the main and jib one day and we sailed along in very light wind… for about an hour. Then we agreed to motor at 8 knots to the next anchorage. Not at all that different than what we do on Kalunamoo sometimes.

From my daily log aboard Ya Selam

After leaving the marina, Ya Selam anchored south of Gocek in one of the many coves on the west side of the large bay of Fethiye. Geo Uhrich, a cruiser friend of Andy’s happened to be at the same anchorage and gave a violin concert that night. He is a real professional and a wonderful musician. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbB-dVpAX1E

The next day, Sunday, at 6am we headed west and by 10am anchored near the Dalyan River. The Captain arranged for a local tour boat to take us up the river to Kaunos Antik Tiyatrosu, the Temple du theatre and the Lycian tombs. The entrance to the Dalyan River is very shoaly and leads to Turtle Beach. One of the few sandy beaches in the area and breeding grounds of Loggerhead turtles. The river is busy with tour boats with tourists and locals. The river was very busy with these boats all the way to Dalyan. Continuing up the winding delta of the river, we eventually reached the ruins. They are high on a hill and date from about 500 BC to about 1300 AD. Occupied by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Muslims, and Turks through its long history, it was abandoned after a malaria epidemic until being “rediscovered” in 1840. Excavations to uncover the site didn’t start until 1966. It is a time capsule of antiquity in an environmentally protected area.

Monday we continued to sail west and anchored for a swim call and a steering issue repair! While anchoring a loud bang was heard and it turned out to be a broken link in the steering gear. The crewmen, Vilet took the broken part to Marmaris, about an hour dinghy ride away, to be fixed. A few hours later he returned and the repair solved the issue. Nothing like fixing boats in exotic places! It happens to all of us. Meanwhile we had a good swim in the warm Mediterranean waters. After the repair Ya Salem sailed to Bozukkale where we explored additional ancient ruins.

Tuesday the sails were raised but in very light winds and then anchored by Kameriye Adasi for a swim call then moved the boat to Selimlye for dinner ashore. Had a great octopus casserole.

Wednesday we anchored at Tavsanbuku Adasi for breakfast and moved to Bozburun for lunch. The southern coast of Turkey is an ancient dry rocky coastline and populated with many gulets, sailboats and powerboats. They all anchor “Mediterranean style”. The steep mountain doesn’t provide much of a shelf to set an anchor. What is done is to drop the anchor in deep (100 foot) water and back down to shore and run stern lines to tie to boulders ashore. It’s a secure method that relieves you of the problem of swinging or dragging an anchor. It becomes a very secure anchorage.

Thursday swim call anchored at Kadirga Limani

Friday anchored near Cleopatra’s Baths in Haman Bay. Cleopatra didn’t show up and the place could use some sprucing up. At 8pm we all went ashore for dinner and gave Chef Muhsin the night off. We ate at the very fancy Adaia Gocek restaurant, right on the water. Food was excellent.

Saturday, last breakfast aboard, a tour of the galley and engine room. Med moored at the Gocek Marina and disembarked the Ya Salem thanking Captain Salim, Chef Muhsin, Velit and Mert farewell. They did an excellent job of pampering us for a very pleasurable time aboard Ya Selam.

For the last three weeks we added some more pieces to the puzzle of life. Some say that the one who dies with the most toys wins. I look at it differently. The one who collects and is able to assemble the pieces of life’s jigsaw puzzle into something approaching knowledge is the true winner. In this way, we construct a mosaic and maybe understand life a little bit better while living on this very chaotic planet. We are now back in Trinidad to continue our East Caribbean life and voyage #16.

A Good Life

“As long as you are curating and storing your experiences in your psychological memorabilia, then you are enriching yourself every day,” Shigehiro Oishi, a psychologist at the University of Chicago.

As we return to our literal home, I try to fulfill that thought in writing these blogs. They are part of my “psychological memorabilia”. The goal is not to stray too far from the water’s edge, or from the gunwale of the boat in trying to express these thoughts. After all, a blog about living aboard and sailing should concentrate on living aboard and sailing. It is not my intention to deceive the reader.

I wrote that Kalunamoo is our literal home. Since we spend 9-10 months aboard, we realize that home is also an ancestral place and a place where/when families gather. The obvious implication is that a home is much more than a physical space in any one place or time. This New York summer brought our family together on Long Island, New Jersey and the Adirondacks. We flew out to Traverse City Michigan to visit cruiser friends, and others closer by. It was all good and much fun. This added to our psychological memorabilia, but the weather is changing, and the summer heat is fading. Time to head south!

We fly to Trinidad on Labor Day, but September is going to be a traveling month. London, Istanbul, Gocek and the Gulf of Fethiye aboard s/v Salamander. All will be novel experiences and we look forward to them. Then it will be back to Trinidad and the Eastern Caribbean.

The legend of Kalunamoo attempts to convey the benefits of varied life experiences. It does not demand extensive travel, although that certainly can lead to that result. Meeting others, reading books, understanding others and just being open to other lands and cultures is required. Some have described what a “good life” entails:

“A good life is a psychologically rich life, marked by novel experiences, perspective-shifting insights and complexity, but also more discomfort and challenges than a happy life or a meaningful life…

The last words of a person who lived a happy life might be: “It was fun!”

Someone who lived a meaningful one might say, “I made a difference!”

And for someone who lived a psychologically rich life? ‘What a journey!’ ”

Richrd Sima, Washington Post 8/20/2025.

Does living aboard fulfil a psychologically rich life? Well, it does not lend itself to much physical memorabilia. There is a limited amount of space for Stuff that can be loaded on a boat! That is fine with us. Psychological memorabilia is almost unlimited. Sailing certainly presents novel experiences, complexity, discomfort, and challenges. At times it can even be fun and can make a difference in your bank account (for good or bad)! So, perhaps living on a boat does provide a rich life.

‘tween Voyages

We have been ashore for a month and have adapted to the changed lifestyle. We do realize that our family and friends that live on-the-hard year-round certainly have a different lifestyle than us. Another month ashore like this and I may have to admit that it is a most novel way to live. Perhaps the best way to explain this is to outline what a typical day is like ashore.

We wake up at our usual time of about 0600 (6 AM). Since we are in the far north, latitude 41 north, the summer sun rises about the same time as we experience it in the islands. What is striking, however, is that most people, unless they march off to work, don’t rise until hours later. We find this odd but accept the fact that these early daylight hours are wasted waiting for the rest of the community to wake up.

Once awake, we check our e-mail, messages, text, social platforms, and news feeds to ensure that the world still exists outside the front door. We are closer to the Center of Everything yet still feel the need to connect with the “outside world”. And yes, there is an actual front door that must be transversed to enter the realm of land-based activities. No sauntering up an open companion way to meet the new day here!

What I don’t check is the National Hurricane Center, the Ocean Prediction Center, Windy, Bouyweather or the local weather station. Nor is there a VHF or a SSB radio to listen to or to log onto. In fact, the weather is essentially disregarded as it appears that it has little impact on life ashore.

Breakfast is nearly the same as aboard, modified to allow the use of local produce. This brings up the topic of food in general, groceries and their storage. Since we sail in well populated islands, groceries are not an issue unless anchored in an off-beat area or sail on long sea passages. There are many, if not more, supermarkets here as there are in the more popular islands. The “fresh markets” that are ubiquitous on most islands can be found here as well and known as “farmers markets”. But to me they seem less utilitarian; they seem more of a marketing opportunity than part of a functional distribution system. In any case the variety and amount of available products everywhere is outstanding. The local mail boat is replaced by 18 wheelers that bring supplies on a daily basis. No need to wait a week for that bell pepper.

Storage, of course, is essentially unlimited. This includes frozen and temperature-controlled storage. One could imagine only needing to do a provision run maybe two or three times a YEAR while living ashore!

But how on earth would one transport such a load to their abode on land? Simple. The dinghy, AKA a sports utility vehicle, can easily haul a truck load of provisions and back right up to the abode’s side port for easy unloading. Clearly an advantage of living on the hard.

Navigation on the roads is as simple as using the chart plotter. The auto pilot has not been perfected yet so manual steering is still used. I still miss switching the auto pilot on as soon as I clear the berth, i.e. the driveway. What is needed however, is an AIS system that can identify the A-holes that think they are driving an AC75 foiling monohull on a three-lane expressway. Maybe someday these land dwellers with get with the 21^st century.

Since we are living with our daughter on Long Island there is the ocean and beach nearby. Not quite like jumping in the water a few feet from the breakfast table, it does however serve the purpose of satisfying a body’s yearning for sand between the toes and saltwater bathing.

One of the many odd things I noticed was the relationship with the local flora. We spend a considerable expense each year hauling Kalunamoo out of the water to address the flora and assorted members of the subclass Cirripedia arthropod known as barnacles. As benign as they are, and the seagrass that also accumulates on the hull, they are anything but attractive. They can slow the boats progress thru the water like a flat tire on a car. To combat this the hull is painted with elements that they despise but time is on their side. Months may go by, but they eventually win out. They are physically evicted in situ which does wonders for developing your underwater skills, but is still a chore nonetheless.

Oddly, on land, it seems just the opposite. Grass is actually encouraged, fertilized and cultivated along with, admittedly, attractive foliage and flowers. This surrounds the abode but then demands attention and requires the chore of cutting, pruning and ritual “pulling of the weeds”. Encourage growth, then slaughter? Proponents of such endeavors unabashedly call this gardening. Sore backs, and bad knees seem like the only reward to me. It’s not like their abode can move any faster once all that work is accomplished. But, as they say, whatever floats your boat.

The sun sets here at an unreasonable hour in the summer, nearly at cruisers midnight. I suppose one can adapt but by then I’m ready to turn in. Lacking the gentle rocking of the cabin, dreams of grounding dominate my thoughts. I do take solace in the knowledge that we won’t drag, and I don’t worry about waking to a roll 7 level in the morning.

Our time here has also been marked by visiting many of our favorite doctors. Their probing and prodding indicate that, given the right medicines, diets and exercise, we will return next summer. In that sense, I feel we are getting our medical insurance money’s worth. We return to Kalunamoo in a few weeks just as the summer winds down here; before the leaves turn yellow, the snow flies, and multiple layers of clothing are required. We will miss the family and friends and certainly look forward to our next visit despite their novel lifestyle. I hope the above primer helps those liveaboard cruisers to adjust to visits to shore, either their ancestral homelands or just to shake some barnacles off their memories. The photos of our summer’s ‘tween voyages include family and friends, grandkids ball games, upstate visits and other diversions.

Voyage 15

Our 15th voyage aboard Kalunamoo ended when it was hauled and placed on the hard on June 10^th. The list of M&R to be completed by October includes work on the davits and their deck mounting to fix leaks, repair cap rail leaks, thru-hull modifications, new house batteries, repair some hidden interior carpentry, and routine cleaning and bottom painting. After all, it is our home that we must maintain (and keep afloat) and of which, most of the work, has to be done when the boat is out of the water. For eight months a year, only emergency work is done while we sail around the islands. For two of the four hurricane months we “vacation” off the boat. The other times we are still aboard but not afloat.

Last June the title of the first blog of Voyage 15 was “Slaves of the Sea”. It concerned the social aspect of liveaboard cruising on a sailboat. No need to repeat what I wrote but this season confirmed our basic idea of what our lifestyle has come to be. High adventure to distant shores is for younger folk than us. New and distance ports are certainly worthy of sailing to, but we became Stuck in Paradise and having some Quality Time becomes us; and the social interaction with those we meet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ui6A-IyGLA

As far as quality time, we did meet Bankie Banx in 2017 in Anguilla at his Rendezvous Bay Dunes Preserve with Doug and Katie, s/v CASA TU, on one of our road tours. Perhaps Paradise is not as exotic as assumed but neither is reality so immutable as experienced. Or as Bob Bitch’n proclaims, the difference between ordeal and adventure is attitude.

The social scene in Paradise this voyage began with meeting the Salty Dawgs in Antigua. Bob, Brenda and their son Christopher (s/v PANDORA) were there along with about 100 other Dawgs. Fun times for a couple of weeks. Our daughter Melanie and son-in-law Dave came down in January for a week which is always an enjoyable and welcome visit. The weather was perfect while they were with us. The day they left it turned windy and rainy for about a month.

We sailed to Martinique to spend some quality time with Nada and Polda (ex-s/v NADA) in St Anne. They swallowed the hook a few years ago and manage to come to Martinique for a month or so every February. We caught up with them to take a few car trips, eat bokits at Boubou and played some Mexican Dominoes. We hope to see them again this summer in Massachusetts.

In St Lucia we met up with a number of cruisers and ex-cruisers in Rodney Bay at beach BBQ’s, the marina’s resturants and Mexican Train Dominoes. Jason (s/v BLUE BLAZE) was instrumental in plugging a corroded thru hull that was very disconcerting!

Further down the island chain in Bequia, the cruisers we came across were BEBE, TEGAN, REMEDY, SWEET CAROLINE and EXODUS all cruisers we have come to know. Janet and Joe (s/v TEGAN) who we saw in St. Lucia and Bequia, added to my ongoing efforts to promote cruiser’s musical jams. We first met them years ago in Trinidad and they only just recently completed their 20+ year circumnavigation.

Mark and Cathy on NANCY LU were in Grenada when we anchored in Prickly Bay. Mark was very active on the Coconut Telegraph this season, which is an old-style social network on SSB HF radio. Yes, we can still communicate without Star Link! They introduced us to Sabrina Francis at the Tree House, way up in the mountains of Grenada. A unique evening listening to Sabrina and her band in a very intimate setting.

Our voyage ended in Trinidad as it has been for the last number of years. Mark and Willie (s/v LEAHONA) are back in Trinidad after a few years in Puerto Rico. One night, we got together with them and Jesse James, his wife Sharon Rose and other cruisers for dinner at the Meena House, a great Indian restaurant in Port of Spain. Good times catching up again!

Voyage 16 will commence when we splash Kalunamoo in late October. The Eastern Caribbean will again be our sailing area, where we will anticipate meeting cruisers we know and ones we will come to know. Perhaps Slaves of the Sea connotated a too negative view of liveaboard cruising but does convey the considerable difference between living on land and living on the sea. I’ll leave it to the reader to determine which is more like slavery. At the very least, living on the sea does demand actions that must be taken to survive. The primary one being: keep the sea out of the boat. The summer will see us visiting family and friends in the States as well as in the UK (Doug and Katie) and a ‘busman’s holiday” in Turkey aboard a gullet with 5 other couples. Travel will be by jet, as Kalunamoo rests in Trinidad and awaits our return in the fall.