Early spring in the Leeward Islands was shaped as much by friendship as by sailing.
In St Maarten and the BVI’s we were happily hanging out with our friends on s/v No Worries — Claudia, Rick and their crew. Those weeks slipped by in a rhythm of shared anchorages, children drifting between boats, and long evenings of cocktails and shared meals.
St Maarten delivered its usual colour and character. School lessons at the saloon table sat alongside iguana encounters and beach days. We crossed under the bridge separating the French and Dutch sides of the island and stood at Maho Beach watching planes roar overhead.
In Anguilla, we left Spacegrazer safely anchored and climbed aboard No Worries instead, sailing together across to Prickly Pear Bay. We tied up at the bar and claimed the afternoon as our own – salty, spontaneous, stitched together with laughter.
In the BVI’s we explored The Baths on Virgin Gorda, scrambled over giant granite boulders, and paused for the obligatory stop at the Soggy Dollar Bar.
Next up: a four hundred nautical miles’ trip to Turks and Caicos – our longest passage in some time.
