Virtuoso Travel Week Highlights, Sail the Grenadines

Sailing GrenadinesThere has been 60 total cases of Coronavirus in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and zero deaths. No wonder music tycoon David Geffen got out of Dodge earlier this year and headed to the Grenadines on his mega-yacht. But you don’t have to be rich to savor these Caribbean islands of yesteryear. Just follow in Lisa and my wake and sail these blissful cobalt waters like we did this past February. Hire a Captain, possibly a chef, choose another couple or go with the extended family on a private catamaran and monohull. It’s no surprise that Forbes chose our trip as one of the best Bucket List trips in the world. With a pandemic at our doorstep, there’s no better time to get on your own private sailboat. ActiveTravels can set you up with Moorings or Horizon Yacht Charters, who we used in both the British Virgin Islands and the Grenadines. We’ll help with all the logistics, including flights, recommended Captains, provisions, and sailing itinerary.

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Sail the BVIs

We had considered canceling our sailing trip to the BVIs earlier this month, but were grateful we pushed ahead. Classic sailing bars like Foxy’s (where we watched the Super Bowl), Soggy Dollar, Pirates on Norman Island, and Setting Point Reef Hotel on Anegada (known for their classic lobster dinner) were all open and grateful for our business. Taxi drivers, servers, and store owners all thanked us for coming so they can continue to work. Yet, everywhere you look, you find devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Upon arrival in Tortola, boats were capsized in the harbor, roofs were ripped off houses, and locals were driving cars with broken windows. The horrific aftermath of Irma would follow us throughout the trip—classic resorts like Bitter End and Peter Island in tatters, large tankers beached, homes destroyed wherever you looked. That’s why it’s important for sailors and boaters to return and thankfully they did. Over the next 2 years, it will be the sailors who can live aboard their boats that will greatly enhance the recovery of this classic cruising ground. 
 
We chose to rent a 41-foot monohull from the Tortola sailing charter, Horizon Yacht Charters. We also made the wise move of hiring a Captain, “Boss,” a 51-year old grandfather of 4 who grew up on Tortola sailing boats and ferries for a living when he wasn’t tending to his goats and sheep. Boss exuded an heir of confidence and calm aboard Island Karma, even during 27-knot winds in the open sea, when the rain and swells left us soaked. We would spend the week sailing to Jost Von Dyke, Virgin Gorda, and Anegada, which was worth the long sail over. We savored the chance to dine barefoot on lobster and conch fritters and making our way to both beaches on the island, Cow Wreck and the equally enticing Loblolly, stopping to see a large flock of flamingoes in the distance. We ended with stops at Cooper Island and Peter Island, before one last Dark and Stormy on Norman Island. A memorable trip that we’re happy to recreate for ActiveTravels clients upon request. 
 
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Maine Windjammer Week, Food, Glorious Food

A day of salty air and pulling on ropes can build up an appetite. Fortunately, the Windjammers are known for their hearty meals. And if you’re expecting Navy grub, you’ll be surprised to know that Windjammer food is so cherished that no less than three of the boats have already published their own cookbooks. The Captains source local harvested ingredients and often provide their own produce from home, like flowers, syrup, honey and eggs. Fresh baked breads are cooked in a cast-iron wood stove, with stews and salads another staple of the seafaring diet. 

 
The highlight of every trip, however, is the all-you-can-eat lobster bake, served with steamers and corn. Captain Barry King of the Mary Day once had one young man eat 13 lobsters in one sitting. Talk about getting your money’s worth! Captains know this is the signature meal on the cruise so they strategize carefully, taking the weather into consideration, finding the best beach to dine, arranging to pick up fresh lobster at the last minute from a local fishermen. The side dishes include corn on the cob, steamed clams, salad, potatoes, and often linguica. Hot dogs and hamburgers are also available for those foolish souls who don’t like lobster. 
 
Dessert is usually served back aboard the schooner. Expect hot pie topped with schooner-cranked ice cream or something more gourmet like butterscotch-topped gingerbread with sautéed apples. Then someone usually pulls out a guitar and banjo and you sing sea shanties under the brilliant night sky. The only way to digest!
 
The Maine Windjammer Association has dozens of their favorite recipes posted online. Have a look. 
 
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Disappointing America’s Cup

For those of you who caught that small short blurb in the middle of the sports section last week, smack dab between Winter Olympics, basketball, and spring training baseball coverage, the America’s Cup is finally returning to American soil for the first time in 15 years. Software billionaire Larry Ellison and his BMW Oracle Racing team easily crushed the Swiss in Valencia, Spain. But did you take a look at his boat, a space-age trimaran that’s all sail, little deck? This is what the greatest sailing race has been reduced to, creating the fastest object on the water? Call me a traditionalist but I yearn for my childhood where we would head to Newport and watch the likes of Ted Turner and Dennis Connor sail large mono-hulled sailboats that at least looked like sleek yachts, not something better suited for Star Wars. One of the greatest thrills I had was racing on the winning 1986 Stars and Stripes boat in St. Martin, now used as a tourist attraction, racing against other boats from that era. It’s a far better way to introduce people to the exhilaration of sailing races, at least compared to Ellison’s high-priced toy.

 

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5 Favorite Travel Days in 2014, Biking and Sailing Portland, Maine

To celebrate my 50th birthday, my wife, Lisa, set up a glorious day in Portland, Maine—biking along the shoreline, only to be topped by a private sunset sail with family and close friends. Thankfully, the weather was perfect. Norman Patry, owner of Summer Feet Cycling, led my family of 10 along the scenic shoreline of South Portland and Cape Elizabeth to five lighthouses. They included such picturesque gems as Bug Light, the smallest lighthouse in operation in America, and Portland Head Light, painted by the likes of Edward Hopper. Near Portland Head Light, we bought lobster rolls from a food truck and dined overlooking Portland Harbor. The lobster rolls were excellent, chockful of fresh meat, and you could order them Maine-style (with mayo), Connecticut-style (lightly buttered), spiced with curry (loved it) or wasabi. Washed down with locally made Eli’s Blueberry Soda and topped off with ginger molasses cookies from Standard Bakery in town, it was a perfect Portland meal. The ride ended at Kettle Cove, a small beach, just past Two Lights State Park.

 
Later that afternoon, we boarded the 74-foot long sloop, Frances, under the confident helm of Captain Megan Jones. On our 3-hour long private charter, we sailed Casco Bay past many of those same lighthouses we saw by land, while dining on locally catered food washed down with good wine and Maine microbrews. Want a memorable birthday celebration away from home? Contact Lisa Leavitt, a travel agent at ActiveTravels.com. She comes highly recommended! 
 

Celebrate Maine’s Bicentennial Aboard a Historic Maine Windjammer

Sailboats racingMaine will celebrate its 200th birthday in 2020 and there’s no better place to enjoy the festivities than on the mid-Maine coast in Rockland on July 3rd for the Great Schooner Race. Now’s the time to book one of the 20 schooners that are set to participate this year. They’ll be joined by additional historic vessels from throughout the region, along with members of Tall Ships America. Spectators can stand on the Rockland Breakwater with its impressive lighthouse at the end and watch dozens of windjammers enter Rockland harbor under full sail. But even more exciting is to be one of the lucky few aboard a windjammer. I’ve had the privilege of going on three memorable windjammer sails with both my dad and my daughter and I can say without hesitation that it’s the best way to savor Maine’s picturesque coast. Prices for Race Week start at $1000 per person, including all meals, accommodations, activities and participation in the Great Schooner Race during your week-long (or shorter) cruise.

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Learn to Sail This Winter off Captiva Island

South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, Florida, (right next door to the better known Sanibel Island) will once again be offering three and five-day Learn to Sail packages for those looking to earn sailing certification while on vacation. Overseen by the renowned Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School, the courses can be taken in a fast-paced three-day curriculum with full eight-hour days or a more relaxed five-day schedule in half-day sessions. We prefer the latter, so you have time to bike through the alligators at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, look for seashells on the spanking white Gulf Coast beaches, and search for manatees in the waters. Rates for the three-day Learn to Sail package start at $1,350 per person including the sailing certification course, resort accommodations, textbooks, Colgate Day Sailing certification, diploma and logbook, based on double occupancy. Courses are open to all skill levels, minimum age seven with adult.

 

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