Luedke Vacation Blog

Today, Charlie and I began our Caribbean sailing adventure!  How exciting going to the Caribbean once again to sail!  We left our home in Woodbridge, VA at 5 a.m. and took a car service to Reagan International Airport in Washington, D.C.  It was very cold; about 31 degrees, so it was nice to know we were going somewhere warm.

We arrived at the airport about 40 minutes later, so that turned out well.  We used one of those self-check-in kiosks, which saved a little time but not much.  Once we checked-in, and our bags were tagged, we dropped them off and went to security.  Security wasn’t so bad, but it did feel weird having to get a full-body scan, but it was super quick and really no big deal.  The Star Alliance lounge wasn’t open so we decided to go straight to the gate.  When we got there, I noticed a familiar face.  There is a TV show called, “Say Yes to the Dress, Atlanta” and the styling consultant for the show, Monte, was sitting a few feet away from me!  Too funny!  I sent a text message to Jennifer using Charlie’s phone to tell her and she sent a message back that she thought that was nice and she was slightly jealous J  I missed her already!  She told me later that Angela was really excited about him being there!  Anyway, it was a good start to the day.

They announced that we would be boarding on time and since we were flying first class we were able to board first.  The first class seating was very comfortable and the stewardess was great.  We flew U.S. Airways our first leg of our flight which was to Charlotte, NC.  We experienced something for the first time — de-icing a plane!  Because there was some frost on the wings they had to de-ice it!  I had a window seat so was able to see the truck pull up to the plane and then spray it all over with de-icing fluid.  It was a bit strange; like going through a car wash with soapy water spraying all over.  It didn’t take too long, though.  Then shortly after that, the pilot came on and announced that because of the heavy fog and rain in Charlotte our flight would be delayed about 40 minutes and we would have to wait until then before we could take off.  It was kind of nice, however, because we got to sit on the runway and watch the sun come up over D.C.  It was beautiful to see the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial as the sun was rising!  We took off at 7:45 instead of 7 but Charlie assured me we had plenty of time to make our connecting flight to St. Martin.  While onboard, they gave us some biscotti to eat, which was actually very tasty!  Charlie had a Bloody Mary and I still had the bottled water we bought at the airport before our flight.  A few days before we left, Charlie bought a book for me about Anguilla since it’s one of the islands we will sail around and so I brought it with me to read.   I also brought this awesome vacation brochure Charlie made which included our basic itinerary along with a lot of important information to make our trip go smoothly.  While waiting, I divided my time between reading the book and writing in my journal.

Oh, since we ended up waiting on the runway quite a while after the plane was de-iced,  a pilot who was on the plane traveling as a passenger was asked to look out the windows and check the wings to make sure they weren’t frost covered again before we could take off.  He said the wings looked fine and so we were good to go! The flight from D.C. to Charlotte took about 55 minutes.

We landed safely at Charlotte, but had a bit of a hike to get to the gate of our connecting flight.  We found it easily, though, and hung around until we boarded around 10 a.m. While we were at the gate waiting to board our plane, we ran into some people I know from church who were also going to St. Martin for the first time.  They said they were staying on the French side at a small hotel and meeting some other people they knew.  I introduced them to Charlie and they chatted with us until just a few minutes before we had to board.

Once we boarded, we were told we would have to wait on the runway until about 10:30 when we were finally cleared for takeoff.  The weather in Charlotte was pretty poor with heavy rain and fog so it was understandable that we were delayed as long as we were.  Once we took off, we went to 35,000 feet which put us above the rainy weather.  We flew first class on this flight also; however the plane was an international version of the B757 so the first-class section was much nicer than the previous plane.   The seats were much more comfortable and had adjustable foot rests, which made it so comfortable for short people like me!  The lunch was very, very good.  Charlie had the enchilada meal and I had the cannelloni/tortellini dish.  They each came with a salad w/creamy Italian dressing, a small plate of pita bread, olives and hummus and a hot roll with butter.  Charlie had a Jack and Coke and I had coffee and water.  The flight attendant offered us carrot cake for dessert but we were so full and couldn’t even finish our meals so we declined.  The service was very good.  Oh and when we first were in flight they gave us a snack pack of nuts and crackers, which was yummy.  Not too long after lunch, Charlie took a nap while I wrote in my journal.  It’s amazing to fly in a plane thousands of feet in the air over the ocean and clouds!  It’s just awesome!  I thank God for this opportunity and my husband for all his hard work that helped to make this happen for us.  Oh, so while I was writing in my journal, they made an announcement that a celebrity was on board and that it was his 40^th birthday.  We were then asked to all say “Happy Birthday, Tracy” as sort of a U.S. Airways first flash mob event.  They also announced that the duty-free cart of assorted items would be passing by and that the small group of people who are travelling with “Tracy” could look at his wish list and buy him some gifts.  How crazy is that?  Never a dull moment on our adventure!  I am grateful to God for my life, my family and all the earth!  It was so wonderful having the opportunity to see another part of the world!

Around 1 p.m. we were high above the Atlantic Ocean and it was sunny and clear!  We were also high above the clouds and it was so wonderful to see the clouds below us and the shadows they cast over the ocean!  Some of the clouds took on such amazing shapes such as groups of people praying or large sections that reminded me of a mountain or waterfall!  Also, some reminded me of creatures with long necks and large heads like a dinosaur or the loch ness monster!  Haha!

When we arrived in St. Martin, we landed at the Princess Juliana Airport which is on the Netherland side of the island which is known as St. Maarten. The approach to the runway was awesome!  The airport is located right alongside a beach and as we were landing you could see people on the beach taking pictures of our approach!  It was pretty amazing! Once we landed, we had to wait about a ½ hour for our bags but fortunately all three were there.

We went outside and met our driver, Robinson, who was from St. Martin Limousine.  He helped us with our bags and had us wait alongside the curb in front of the airport while he brought the car around.  We truly didn’t mind the wait because the weather felt so good and was a balmy 82 degrees with a slight breeze!  Once he brought the car around we got in and had about another ½ hour drive to Oyster Pond which is on the Dutch/French border.

When we arrived at Oyster Pond, the driver at first took us to a hotel there, but then we explained that we were meeting a Catamaran and her crew at the Marina so he drove us around to where we had to go.  We then met Owen and Liz and they helped us onboard the Catatonic with all our stuff.  They were both so nice!  They were very friendly!  The Catatonic was so nice and clean!  It was great to be on her again but not the same as with Rick and Missy.  But that’s okay, because Owen and Liz were both very nice and very special too!

Once we got settled, we sailed for an hour to Tintamarre Island to stay for the night.  I started feeling seasick right when we sat down for dinner and had to put a patch on and even use one of those wristbands which also helped.  Liz made a great dinner of salmon and pasta with bread and it was so good!  We didn’t eat too much though because we were both feeling a bit off and not very hungry.

Shortly after dinner we put the fish light out.  Owen said he just bought it recently because the other one they had stopped working.  He said some of the information he was given about us was that Chuck definitely wanted a fish light and Dewar’s Scotch, so he hooked us up!  The fish light attracted quite a few fish including baby Clarinet fish and huge tarpon.  It was pretty cool!  Liz and Owen kept making “Pain Killers” for Charlie and he really enjoyed them!  I guess depending on the strength of the drink is what number title you give it!  They were making mostly #1s for him and I believe one #2!  Needless to say, they really made him happy!  The patch really helped me but I stuck to water and a few pieces of food.  I felt bad for Liz because she really took time to make a great dinner and hors d’oeuvres for us.  She made delicious veggie spring rolls with a yummy peanut sauce and chili sauce!  I managed to eat one and it was very good!

We got to bed around 8 p.m. because it was such a long day for us.  The time there is one hour ahead.  Charlie fell asleep very quickly and I read in bed a while and then fell asleep.  We slept very well.  We had a full moon overhead during the night and it was so awesome to look at through the window hatch above our bed!  The moon shining on us was so cool! At one point, Charlie woke up with a Charlie horse in one of his legs but he got up right away and it went away.  Overall, we had a great first day!

When I booked the c harter for this years (2012) Caribbean Vacation, the Catatonic’s owner Dirk and I traded many emails discussing different ideas.  But in the end we decided the sail “down island” and depart of of St Martin.  So thats where we went.

During January 2011 Marie and I again chartered the Catatonic for destinations in the US and British Virgin Islands.  I did not keep a day by day blog this time because I had other plans.  I surprise second wedding for our 25^th anniversary.

The Catatonic’s owner Dirk, Manager Pamela and the crew Captain Rick and Mate Missy were all in on it, but Marie had no idea.  I planned the event months in advance, wrote the vows myself and even had a custom pirate ring made by Tony Creed.  

It was a Pirate Wedding on board and Captain Rick performed the ceremony.  Missy arranged for some pirate enactors to board and decorated the Yacht with black and red streamers.  Pamela provided the bouquet and Missy a nice Pirate Wedding cake.

Several months before departing, I was trying to figure out a way to make it a surprise.   So one day I happened to be looking@Amazon.com and looking at pirate costumes. Marie came up and said hey that’s a great idea let’s get some pirate costumes.

Together we planned to put the pirate costumes on while aboard the catatonic and then come up in surprise Capt. Rick and Missy by taking over the yard and forcing them the sale to South America.

So one day I happened to be looking at Amazon.com and looking at pirate costumes. Marie came up and said hey that’s a great idea let’s get some pirate costumes.

Together we planned to put the pirate costumes on while aboard the catatonic and then come up in surprise Capt. Rick and Missy by taking over the yard and forcing them the sale to South America.

The day of the wedding had arrived and Marie and I were sitting on the bridge of the Catatonic looking out over the blue sea.  She didn’t know it well is looking for the dinghy with the pirate actors.  She said, let’s put on those costumes tonight and surprise Rick and Missy.   Just at that moment I saw the dinghy and I said no let’s go do it now and we ran down into the cabin and put on our pirate costumes.

We came back up with our fake swords Marie still thought that we were going to hijack the crew. But she was surprised to find me proposing marriage again. Within minutes we were on the bow of the Catatonic getting married.  Wedding vows

After the wedding we celebrated with the Pirates and Rick and Missy and then set sail for a weeklong honeymoon in the Virgin Islands.

Until next year…

It’s been a while since I made an entry in this vacation blog.  Well the simply truth is, we haven’t been on vacation. We booked another trip on the Catatonic for this winter, and we’ve just been focusing on that and working a lot.  There are still two wars going on.

Sunrise over the boat show

A month or so ago I was browsing Travel Talk Online, and noticed a post from Dirk, the owner of the Catatonic,  were he said that yacht would be at the US Boat show in Annapolis.  The boat show sounded like a good idea and I thought perhaps I’d buy my own yacht, so I purchased tickets for several days of the show.

Crowds of people checking out the yacht

We showed up at the show in Annapolis on Sunday morning, and after valet parking our SUV at the Marriott, we made a beeline for the Catatonic.  Wow, it was awesome seeing her again.  We were welcomed with open arms, and met Dirk and Sandy the owners.  We ended up spending a majority of our visit aboard the sailing yacht.

Catatonic hiding among the yachts

Sunday night we went back to the Catatonic to meet up before going to dinner with the Dirk, Sandy, Captain Rick and Mate Missy.  As soon as the show closed we found out what it was like to have the most popular boat in the show.  A lot of people showed up and soon the decks were full of so many people.  After some partying we went to dinner at Pussar’s, and then tried to talk security into letting us back into the marina.

It was all real good fun and we met some new people.  Marie and I both had a great time.  Dirk and Sandy are real cool people to let us use their yacht as we love to do.  And it was great to see Captain Rick and Mate Missy again.

Marie, Sandy and Dirk

The 2010 Catatonic Crew together again

It sure brought back a lot of memories.  The short time we were aboard during the show made us feel like we never left.  I’m not yet sure if it will make waiting the final months until our trip easier or harder.  Marie and I are both in planning mode now.

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I added this late blog entry because several people asked me if we’ve ever been sailing before and how we decided to go sailing for this vacation.

Well, it all started in November, 2009.  Our 24th wedding anniversary was coming up and i was looking for a cool way to celebrate it.  My wife Marie and I hadn’t had a vacation in nearly five years.  First we had a cat that was old and needed a lot of TLC, than I was diagnosed with cancer.  Well our beloved Muffin passed on earlier in 2009, and I just won my fight with the cancer.  So I know a good vacation is what we needed.  So I stared by searching for resorts.  Jamaica was first, then the Bahamas.  I worked my way South into the Caribbean.  www.tripadvisor.com is a wonderful place for reading reviews of all these exotic locations.

I just didn’t like the feel of a big commercial resort, so I started looking at private islands.  These get expensive fast.  They range from Necker Island (which we actually sailed by during our trip) to many smaller less expensive private islands.  The reviews were good, but some had warnings such as no screens on the windows, bugs, no air conditioning.  Then, while reading reviews of one private island a reviewer said, “It’s not really a private island, sail boats anchor offshore and use the beaches as they please.”

That’s when it struck me, I could charter a sailboard and see all these islands, and if I don’t like something I can move on.  I can stop at a resort for a massage or spend a lot of time ashore if we don’t adapt well to sailing.

Next, I started searching for charters.  Having visited resorts around marinas before, I recalled seeing the monohull boats rocking, sometimes rather violently, in the swells and the catamarans just sitting there like a solid stable platform.  I read a few blogs like that at http://tritonsatsea.blogspot.com.  I decided we’d charter a catamaran.  As I search for my requirements, luxury,  location, cost and information I kept coming back to the Catatonic.  My wife and I decided that was the yacht we wanted.  So we booked the charter, and it was worth every penny.

I’d also like to thank Dirk & Sandy for making their extremely nice Lagoon 440 available to charter.  To Pamela for all the answers to my many questions and most of all to Captain Rick and Mate Missy for giving us such a wonderful adventure.

http://www.yachtcatatonic.com/

We’re already planning our next Catatonic vacation!

Oh, and when they tell you not to bring anything, they mean it.  A bathing suit, a nice hat and some decent sunglasses is all you need on the Catatonic.

PS, as Robb from the Triton wrote me, “Sometimes a cigar on the back of a boat in paradise, is just a  cigar on the back of a boat in paradise.”

Rain at Buck Island

January 16, 2010
Well today is the day. The day we’ve been dreading all week. The day we must return to Virginia and end our vacation.
We woke up to rain in a small cove off Buck Island. Missy made some breakfast sandwiches of fried eggs, cheese, sliced marinated pork on English muffins with the more fresh fruit. Marie and I were contemplating one last snorkeling swim when suddenly the cloud broke and the sun came out.
We took that as a sign and jumped into the water. It was like jumping into a fully stocked aquarium. There were fish everywhere. You couldn’t look in any direction without seeing hundreds of different kinds of fish. It was the best snorkeling we’ve done yet.
After swimming around the Catatonic for an hour we headed in. Marie went for a shower, but I wanted to keep the salt of the Caribbean on as long as possible.
Soon we were dropping the mooring ball and heading for Yacht Haven. On the way Marie and I packed then sat up on the bridge in a misty rain for the last time. After docking, Suzy showed up to take us to the airport and the long trip home.
Going home from St Thomas is no fun. You go through Customs, then Security, then Security again then a two hour wait for the plane. A short flight to Puerto Rico for a three hour layer over, then then final flight back to Dulles. At least we were in first class, which made it a little easier.

Sun comes out for a final swim

Our driver was waiting for us, and before we knew it, we were home.
We plan to return to the Virgin Islands as soon as possible and we’re already planning our next trip.

January 15, 2010

We woke up in Little Harbour, a small cove on the East side of Jost Van Dyke, with high winds and rain.  After a quick breakfast of steaming hot banana walnut pancakes we set sail of St. John.  It was really blowing hard as we dropped the mooring ball and Captain Rick carefully guided the Catatonic out to sea.

Sailing in the storm

Since we’ve been in the British Virgin Islands most of the week, we had to go through customs at Cruz Bay on St John.  Even though we obviously looked like an American couple on a yacht charter the customs officials grilled us for information about purchases and food.  These seemed particularly interested in what we do with our trash.

After clearing customs we took on some fuel, water and ice then set sail for the South Coast or St John, to find a place out of the wind and rough seas.  We ended up in a small cove inside Rendezvous Bay.  On the map this cove was called Dittlif Bay.   Here we had a big lunch served as a smorgasbord.  I made a tasty Neapolitan sandwich, with three sections of turkey, chicken and salmon.

After lunch Captain Rick and I were going to explore the land we were anchored off of, but I fell asleep in the cockpit.  Then I went down to our stateroom and took a short nap with Marie. 

After napping we decided to move to a protected cove on Buck Island, just off the Southern coast of St Thomas.  From here we can make an easy run to our final destination, Yacht Haven, even if the big storm continues.  Buck Island was a place unruly slaves were kept during slave trading days and you can still see the remnants of old buildings.

As it got dark, Captain Rick put out the fish light and grilled some delicious marinated pork loins with Missy’s tasty potatoes.  Today’s fish show brought a large puffer fish and a huge sea turtle into our view and I almost caught a small coronet off the port side swim ladder.

Lighthouse on Buck Island

After dinner Captain Rick and Missy went to bed early leaving Marie and I with some solitude on deck for our last night in the Caribbean.  We later went to bed with all the hatched open to enjoy the warm tropical breeze.  But during the night a big rain storm came and I woke up to being rained on.  As I shut all the hatched in our stateroom I could hear Captain Rick starting the generator for the air conditioning.

January 14, 2010

 Today we motored out of Marina Cay early looking for a deserted beach.  We soon found one and set anchor off a beach we termed Chuck and Marie’s beach.  This beach is on the southern edge of a private island called Guana Island.  Here we had a breakfast of some yummy fried egg, ham and cheese sandwiches.  Then Captain Rick took Marie and I to the beach in the Kittytonic.  We ended up diving in and swimming the final few yards to the beach because we didn’t want to roll the Kittytonic in the surf.  Once on the beach, Marie and I explored nature while Captain Rick dived on the small reef protecting the beach.

Chuck and Marie's Beach

 When we finished frolicking on the beach Captain Rick worked pretty hard to get us back into the Kittytonic – but we finally made it.  We motored back to the Catatonic, and headed out for Jost Van Dyke.  This trip was probably the roughest one we’ve had so far, but once we put the sails up Captain Rick cut the engines and we maintained 8 kts all the way across the North side of Tortola and at one point we we under sail at over 11 kts.  As we approached Jost Van Dyke, Captain Rick started the engines and suddenly out of nowhere a large pod of dolphins started leaping and playing around the boat.  They seemed to especially love swimming in our bow wake.  I did manage to get some short video of them playing off the bow, but they were gone as fast as they appeared.

 When we arrived at Jost we anchored off White Beach, the location of the famous Soggy Dollar Bar.  There were a lot of boats here, filled with mostly younger tourists and their small bikini girls.   Here we had lunch, Greek grilled chicken pasta salad, and then Captain Rick and Missy made a quick run to Great Harbor while Marie and I relaxed on deck.  I wanted to cool off and since no one else was on board I dove off the back of the Catatonic naked.  When I climbed back on board a group of people on a nearby catamaran gave me a standing ovation.

Captain Rick following the storm

 We knew a big storm was coming, so before dinner we raised anchor and motor sailed to another cove called Little Harbour.  Here we grabbed a mooring ball for the night.  

 Tonight’s dinner was Spaghetti with meat sauce and grilled garlic bread.  Tonight there were heavy winds and rain, but we slept well in the Catatonic’s owner’s stateroom while Captain Rick went out several times to check on our mooring.

January 13, 2010

 I woke up before early again and watched the sunrise from the swim platform while having coffee and a Padron cigar and a cup of coffee.  Internet was down so I worked on this blog locally while Marie did a crossword puzzle on the fly bridge.  Missy made a breakfast of fresh made waffles, sausage patties and more fresh fruit.

 Since we were anchored off a beach, not in a cove or marina — last night the wind and swells changed and made sleeping a pretty rough ride.

 First thing we did this morning was move the Catatonic to Anegada Bay, a protect anchorage then we locked up the yacht and went ashore in the Kittytonic.

 Today we decided to rent some motor scooters and see the Island of Anegada.   The scooters rented for $45 each.  Marie and I took one, and Missy and Captain Rick took the others.  After stopping for gas we headed to an area called The Settlement.  Wild goats and cows lined the road.  You could see cow foot prints in the concrete used for a road surface.

Scootering around Anegada

 We stopped for a lunch snack and a swim at Loblolly Bay Beach, which is on the north Atlantic windward side of Anegada.  Then we scootered to Cow Wrecks Beach, where I went skinny dipping.  From there we headed back and returned the scooters and went shopping in a local gift shop.  Marie purchased a bunch of shirts and I got some good Cuban Cigars.

 After reboarding the Catatonic, we dropped the mooring ball and headed for The Dogs.  The Dogs is a small set of uninhabited Islands just North East of Virgin Gorda.  We briefly dropped anchor on the leeward side of the dogs, but the women on the boat voted it as too rough for dinner and sleeping.  So we picked up anchor and motor sailed to Marina Cay.

 While waiting for Missy to prepare another wonderful dinner we put on the fish light and got a great show of the circle of life. About 30 Tarpon and Baracudas lurked outside the green light.  The Tarpon would drift in grabbing small bait fish while the barracudas would come darting in at 40 mph to grab their dinner.  This show continued until we finally went to bed.

 Tonight’s dinner was Captain Rick’s grilled Jack Daniels Chicken with Corn on the Cob and grilled garlic toast.

Captain Rick and Missy

January 12, 2010

 We spent the night off of Fallen Jerusalem Island.  As I have been throughout this trip I got about 4 am and worked on my blog, then watched the sunrise.  As the sun came up everyone else would get up and then Missy would make breakfast. 

Catatonic off The Baths

 For breakfast we had these great ham and cheese omlets with fresh fruit.  After breakfast we motored a short distance to the Baths.  Marie and I went and laid on the beach while Captain Rick and Missy went to a nearby Marina to dump the trash and get some provisions.  When they came back the beach was crowded with people who arrived from the land side.  Captain Rick had  to  swim and pull the dingy into shore because there were too many people to use the engine. Once we got aboard we headed back to the Catatonic.

 While he as gone, Captain Rick decided we should take the Catatonic back to the Virgin Gorda Yaught Harbor for water and ice.  So we motored the short distance to get there.  I went ashore and bought a baseball cap, which turned out to be a woman’s cap and a nice Cuban cigar.  I smoked the cigar while we took on fresh water.

 Next we motor sailed a long distance into the wind to the Island of Anegada.  There we anchored  next to a large catamaran, the Kings Ransom.  While underway we had some sandwiches and left over burgers since it was a fairly rough trip.  At Anegada we used Kittytonic to motor around the Western edge were some beach bungalows had succumbed to the sea.  From there we motored to a Marina were the natives were preparing for a big lobster roast.  They had 55 gallon drums cut in half with large piles of some local scrub wood.

Marie and I sailing the Catatonic

 At this Marina I purchased a few more nice Cubans.  I smoked one at an outdoor bar, while sipping run on ice and I gave the second one to Missy who expressed a liking for smoking cigars.  We all had drinks and watched the local fisherman cleaning the lobster.  Then we headed back to the Catatonic for dinner and drinks. 

 For tonight’s dinner Captain Rick grilled flank steak which Missy served on a bed of wild rice.

 We went to bed rather early because of this exhausting day. That night the swells came up and gave us the most active sleeping ever.  I got up around midnight to see what the movement was all about and ran into Captain Rick who was checking the Catatonic’s location compared to a nearby reef.   Whenever we were anchored Captain Rick was up many times through the night to check if we were pulling the anchor.

Approaching Anegada