HIGH // SEASON

The island is officially packed with cruisers, tourists, and racers as we gear up for the 40th Annual Heineken Regatta. As exciting as this is, it also brings a good bit of chaos. One of SXM's greatest downfalls is the traffic. There's basically one shoddy road that circles the island. So when there's a traffic jam– at any given time of the day– you can expect large delays and lawless drivers. This alone makes owning a dinghy one of the greatest advantages of being a cruiser. We can quickly zip through the lagoon, cut out an hour of sitting in traffic along with the noisy drivers stuck in place.

Although February had some seriously raining and windy days, we're looking forward to a peaceful March with glassy waters to great us. 

W I N T E R // C O A T

We've officially immigrated to the American South. It's a bit colder than we're used to, but our coats are thick and chasing squirrels keeps our blood pumping.

We retired from sealife in December to spend more time on land with family. It was not a fun or easy decision, but Margo and I both need to explore this soil. So many things to sniff here– and we're happy to have a yard to defend again.

N E W P O R T // O L D M O N E Y

It was never our intention to stay in New York so long, nor was Rhode Island on our radar. However, with September on our heels, we wanted a safe spot further north. Hurricane Dorian had just obliterated the Bahamas on a record scale. A place we fell in love with a few months prior. Then she slowly churned her way up to Nova Scotia, causing severe damage there as well. In hindsight, it was great we didn't make our destination in NS. (As originally hoped.) Instead, we found Newport, and if it were not for the winter weather, we may have never left.

Stardust is designed for warm water cruising. So to be in New England as the weather turns to fall was a risky move for these island kids. We were wrapped in every blanket on board. Perfect weather in the day, but frigid winds at night. We decided it's time to head home. Slowly, but surely, we started our way back through New York down the Eastern Seaboard.

V I E W S

Norway: A Contrast of Views

H O M E L A N D // C O L O R S

F L O R I D A

M I A M I

We landed in Miami on March 18th dragging 5 large bags tied to each other, train style. Stardust arrived a little late due to the Mississippi flooding. She had to go up river to unload in New Orleans before heading to Miami. So we waited a few more days for the Portuguese cargo-ship upon which she rode.

We spent a majority of the time sitting in Miami traffic between stops at West Marine, Home Depot, and Trader Joes.

There was a few complications with the boat, like a hole in the floor, a crack in the gel coat (where boatyard bumped her into the dock), a leaking valve in the sewage tank thru hull, and some others... but we are blown away with how beautiful this boat is.

It's a strange feeling being the nicest boat in the mooring field! Stardust is 42 years younger than our last sailboat, which was a CSY 44 (still for sale.) We don't even know what to do with all the room we have. It's incredible. And to think I gave a lot of things away before heading to Miami from St. Martin. There is so much room, if I hadn't maxed out my credit cards on boating equipment, I'd be taking advantage of the Target down the road.

After a few weeks, we are thrilled to get out of the murky Miami water and head into that Bahama Blue. Back to the islands before we depart north for the season.

Science Sundays

This past Sunday, I organized a “small group” of kiddos for beach experiments. I wanted to see if there is a desire to have more hands-on science with elementary-aged kids. I invited a few parents to bring their kids so we could create sand volcano eruptions and experiment with density (how oil reacts with water, detergent, honey, etc.).

I expected around 6 kids to show up. Luckily, I had enough food coloring to paint the Sistine Chapel… since over 20 kids appeared at my table. (When in doubt, give kids food coloring– nothing can go wrong!)

We created “water fireworks” with warm water, oil, and food coloring. We made colorful glasses of different liquids as each created a layer depending on its density. We tested the properties of warm and cold water (how they mix with each other due to their density/volume.)

 

Now I have parents asking me if I can do this every month, come into classes, organize a science club… The pressure is on! So glad to see parents and kids excited about science.

If you would like to order a copy of Stinky Stardust Feet (the behind reason Science Sunday) please click here.

Many thanks,
Chelsea

"Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge." - Carl Sagan