Let it storm

Not as strong as expected but still enough to remind us of how incredibly small we human beings are on this place called earth. It is a reminder of that the nature doesn't care all that much wether we live or die. We are just a part of the life we created for ourselves and we'll stay around only for as long as we manage to survive. Human life and the raw nature feels brilliantly synchronized and in harmony with one another at times, incomprehensibly incompatible at others. 

Bring it on

Doesn't it look like we're just about to ride a hurricane? No? Well we're ready either way. Looks like tropical storm Maria could be throwing in some hurricane winds to us tomorrow with storm beginning already tonight so we have not much else to do than prepare our dear Caos as much as we can. We've just tied up to a mooring, threw out an anchor, secured all possible flying stuff off the deck and that should be fine to begin with. This is supposed to be the strongest tropical storm in our Caribbean stay so far. Perhaps even a hurricane if we are really damn unlucky. But like they say; there's always a first time for everything.

Wanna get out on the sea

To stay on land, especially on a happening island like SXM, is wonderful but we can't wait for the storm to pass so we can get out sailing again. Much to discover also outside of this lagoon..

Randoms

Listening to Beck while awaiting the storm.

Mueve la cintura

Lots of salsa, bachata & other ritmos latinos going on here on this island.. here's a good one to get you in the mood.

Bar of the night

If you're ever around in St Martin you should check out our friend Guy's beach bar by Maho Beach. It's a simple bar made out of a boat, perfectly located right at the end of the airport runway. Great experience, good ambiance and amazing views where the planes land and the sun beautifully sets in the Caribbean sea.

Mullet Bay

last pic is from Maho Beach

Alex got a couple of smaller waves from the swell of hurricane Katia on Saturday afternoon on Mullet bay and there was that other bay which was even better with some nice barrels (no pics from there unfortunately due to the late hour in which we finally found the place). Apparently there was even better surf on the NE on Sunday which we unfortunately missed out on. Shall check the place out next time there's a good swell coming.

Back in business

Bikini from Babajaan.

Hello!

We took a weekend off from boat work, writing, the blog and everything else and instead we've been devouring the beauty of this island. I mean seriously, I don't think I could've ever imagined here to be so beautiful. The beaches, the ambiance, the water, aah, the water! It is way better than most other places we've seen thus far on the islands below in the Lesser Antilles. And all those amazing rocks by the shore, loving the change of view. This week has been all about surfing (yes me too), celebrating Alex's birthday, swimming, drinking Jagermeister with our crazy yacht broker and some other friends we've made, watching beautiful sun setting in the sea and salsa dancing, to top it all up in good style. Yeah we could definitely imagine to live here in the future, but you know how it is, we fall in love with every second place we sail to so no need to worry about us settling down in the nearest future. Happy to death though that this place is above all our expectations since we will spend quite some time here this fall. More about everything a bit later. Hope you all had a good weekend.

More photos from our travels

If you wish to see what's going in our lives when we're not posting here on the blog, friend us on Facebook. That's also where we answer questions and easier can have a dialogue with our readers and fans. See you there..

Now and forever more

Waves rolling in on Maho Beach. Chilling out with a cocktail while the sun is setting, feeling thankfulness for life, dreaming of the future, listening to this.

Tikkels & Munten

One thing that is both good and bad with being on a Dutch island (ok half Dutch, half French), is that there's loads of different salty liquorice, very similar to the Swedish and Finish stuff, to find in the stores. That's great because I haven't had any since we had friends visiting us back in February or when I flew home to Finland a couple of days after that. But it's also really, really bad because I can't hold myself from eating too much of it when I get it, I mean too much when you can't eat your lunch or dinner because you're already full from the two bags of salty coins and pastels you just treated your poor stomach with. I certainly have no self control whatsoever when it comes to this shit. Shall we move over to the French side, please?

Beach break

My beautiful silk kaftan is from this brand.

We're having a really good time here, in between all work.. Alex forced me to move my ass from the computer today to spend the afternoon at the beach instead and I must say it was a good move. Loving the vibe of this island. Should have less work to deal with and more time for island exploration after the weekend hopefully. 

Purple sky

Caos lonely at the quay, one quiet night in Gustavia, St Barts. St Martin (SXM) in the background.

Hey Randy, you forgot your cap!

Les Voiles de St Tropez

Did you know that the previous owner of this beauty of a boat that we're now busy preparing for a circumnavigation was D Randy West? Yes, the professional racing sailor, multihull captain and author of the famous Hurricane Book. Randy is very well known here in the West Indies, particularly on our favorite island St Barts where he lived for over 30 years, with Duende for some of them. Alex and I had the chance to meet this crazy entertaining man a couple of weeks ago and boy did he have some interesting stories to tell. Look out for more of them in his upcoming new book. I'd also like to suggest you to check out his very amusing first: The Hurricane Book, that's 18 stories from the 18 hurricanes he has survived, all told in a very humorous and informative way. 

Galley friend

These miniature bottles of rum that people left here or I don't know from where we got them, comes very handy in the kitchen. Instead of opening the big bottles, I use these little bastards to add a few drops in the cakes that I bake, in my West-Indian chicken stew, in fruit-salads, over grilled vegetables and every thinkable concoction that could be in need of some sweet improvement. Very practical as there are only very few things in life that wouldn't taste better with some rum mixed with it.

We're home

So we are back in St Martin again. With our new baby, Duende. We're slowly getting used to this new island which will be our new home for the following four weeks at least. Looking forward to spend an extended time around here. It's always kind of exciting to get to know a new place/new country for real, and not just by passing by for a day or two. Particularly appealing is it here in the Caribbean, where a number of countries with many different cultures, people, lives and societies are located so close to one another, just a few hours of sail in between them. There's definitely an island for everyone and for every taste here in these crystal clear waters of the West Indies.

Busy

Sorry for the lack of interesting updates lately, its just that we are so incredibly busy with all kinds of urgent things around here. If I only had the time to process all the photos from these past four weeks, I would love to share with you:

• Pics from the week we spent with Alex family in St Vincent and Bequia


• A story from our rainforest trekking in Dominica


• All the wonderful photos from our day in the waterfalls and beyond in Pitons, St Lucia


• Also I'd like to answer all the questions and emails we've received lately


• Tell you more about our new boat


• Add a FAQ section to the blog

But this we have no time for what so ever, as we're super busy here doing this:

• Writing a long article for the worlds most stylish yachting magazine, deadline Monday


• Snapping shots for several different photo assignments


• Preparing the purchase list for the equipment we need for Duende


• Ordering everything we need for the same


• Preparing the new boat for further travels around the world


• Dealing with new sponsors and partners


• Answering the 20 most important emails in the list of hundreds


• Answering questions for an interview


• Also I'm trying to find some time to write on my book

So many projects and missions constantly going on in our lives, it never ends and being born restless, it really seems like we never can take a step back and chill down. Properly. We definitely have to work on this. One day. Maybe when we get to the Pacific?

And oh, somebody asked us why we have chosen to have someone else moderating the comments that we receive to this blog, and that's simply because out of thirty nice ones there's always one retard trying to annoy us and as you can understand, we have neither time nor space for that kind of bullshit. For the rest of you, you amazing people that send us normal comments, the ones that we actually do read and all of you who've been in touch with us by email and/or through our other social media sites, we love you all and appreciate that you take your time to talk to us. I just have to apologize that we have been late in responding some of the emails that we've received lately, we'll get better on this as soon as it chills down here a bit. I'm sure you know how much we love sharing this journey with y'all.

That's it for now, listen to this great track produced by Alex's brother in the meanwhile if you'd like.

We'll be back with you soon.

Back to the sea

So it took about two comfortable nights of quiet, non-rolly sleep and three days of land walking to get back to the sailing mood again. I think I told you before but sailing is deeply addictive, once you got the salt water in your veins it's very hard to get it out and it starts to itch under your skin when you've been away from the ocean for too long. We'll be hanging out in and around Antigua for a couple of more days before we head back to Duende. Hoping for the wind to shift back to E so we can get a pleasurable passage back to St Martin after the weekend.

5:30

One of the many fishermen you might meet if you are up early in the mornings. This encounter was made outside of St Pierre, Martinique a couple of weeks ago.

Exclusive Brazilian Beachwear

We're back in Antigua for a few days because of a number of reasons, one of them being that we had got a few parcels delivered to our address here. This is a sneak peak of what was hiding in one of those. Delicious bikinis and sophisticated beachwear from one of the most interesting swimwear brands right now: Babajaan. I'll show you some more of my favorites from that collection soon, in the meanwhile you can find parts from the Brazilian born Sandra Moleirinho's new collection here on Net-a-Porter. 

A harmonic weekend

Finally I'll have some time to share some more photos from our wonderful stay at Buccament Bay Resort in St Vincent the other week. One afternoon we anchored up in the lush bay of Buccament, we got greeted at the beach by the staff with drinks waiting for us upon our dinghy arrival. What a mad contrast to our simple cruising lifestyle. Being the only boat anchored in the private bay that weekend, we had our Caos in clear view during our whole stay, making the experience one step greater, I mean how often do you get to arrive with and park your own boat on a five star resorts private waters just outside of the luxurious villa you're staying in for the weekend? 

The resort itself is idyllically located inside of a volcanic valley, among rainforest and steep green hills, a place on earth almost surreal in its beauty. The settings reminded us of a colorful fairy-tale with its natural fairness beyond imagination. The perfectly white sand beach laid out a smooth and silky carpet before the crystal clear water and the large pool area with a sophisticated bar and a stylish restaurant overlooked the same calm sea from above. Our villa was tastefully equipped with the latest technology, discreet art and all was decorated in subtle peaceful tones. We had a large private jacuzzi on our terrace and everything else was available that one could be in need of. A large comfortable bed with crisp white cotton linen for example, something that we don't really miss in our nomadic boat life before we actually get into one. Oh those mornings in the bed of the resort, wish they could never end.. We had only three things on our mind when we arrived to the resort and they all got very much fulfilled: eat, sleep and relax and I can't think of a better place for satisfying those needs and wishes than this place where the food and drinks were outstanding, the staff and the service was all equally flawless in every little detail and the ambiance and the astonishing surroundings gave us an incredible peace of mind. Three days swept away faster than ever before... Definitely hoping we'll get the chance to revisit one day. 

For more info of this amazing place, check out the Buccament Bay Resort's website.