March 18, 2012

Arnd — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:13:50 GMT

All I managed today were two dives - not bad for a vacation!

A large school of fish

March 17, 2012

Arnd — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:33:12 GMT

I did some work on the boat in the morning, then a dive around Creole Rock island today and then, suddenly, the day was over.

Cold Carib beers waiting

March 16, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:15:08 GMT

The only accomplishment for the day was a short dive at Turtle Reef then happy hour and BBQ dinner aboard Zanshin with Audrey, Sally, Darrell, Chris and Keith.

Turtle on eponymous reef

March 15, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 17:08:33 GMT

A busy and long day of sailing, diving, eating, diving and then sailing back from Île Fourchue off St. Barths to Grand Case with Kendra, Chris and Keith.

Kendra and Keith post-dive 2

March 14, 2012

Arnd — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:04:06 GMT

Not a terribly exciting day - a comfortable downwind sail from Île Tintamarre to Grand Case and a quiet afternoon followed by sundowners with Audrey and Darrell from Leila and dinner ashore at a LOLO.

Golden honey sunset

March 13, 2012

Arnd — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:58:46 GMT

Today was spent at Ile Tintamarre with a bit of walking around the island, a short dive at the tugboat wreck, then a great dinner with friends aboard Mau

Old aircraft engine rusting

March 12, 2012

Arnd — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 02:19:50 GMT

I finally made it out of Grand Case for a day of sailing and diving at Île Tintamarre.

Fish at the tugboat

March 11, 2012

Arnd — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:02:01 GMT

Today was filled with doing laundry, general maintenance, a dive at Turtle Reef and some happy hour drinks with Sally and Chris of Octopus Diving.

T-Shirts drying aboard

March 10, 2012

Arnd — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:57:33 GMT

I spent a quiet day aboard the boat, just going ashore to return the dive gear and do some shopping prior to returning the rental car.

Zanshin's dinghy garage

March 09, 2012

Arnd — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:39:19 GMT

Today was Agathe's and Desi's last day and it was spent packing, cleaning and getting to the airport.

Fendergirls aboard Zanshin

March 08, 2012

Arnd — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:35:58 GMT

The day was filled with travel and diving; starting off with a dive at Île Fourchue then a sail to Île Tintamarre but the conditions were too rough for a second dive there so we continued on to Grand Case after a short stay at the mooring ball.

Colorful fish at Île Fourchue

March 07, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:04:16 GMT

The day was filled with travel and diving; starting off with the sail from Anse Colombier to Île Fourchue where we did a single dive and then walk up to the top of the hill for the view and a happy hour drink.

Looking down at the Fourchue anchorage

March 06, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:59:33 GMT

It doesn't sound like much - we took a walk along the cliffside path and took one dive in Anse Colombier but somehow these two activities managed to take the whole day.

Toast at Happy Hour

March 05, 2012

Arnd — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:34:09 GMT

Much stronger than expected waves and winds made the passage to St. Barths an exciting one for Agathe and Desi and they enjoyed the big seas more than I did. In St. Barths we cleared in and watched aircraft land before motoring to Anse Colombier for the night.

Gustavia from above

March 04, 2012

Arnd — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:23:29 GMT

Today we headed off to Île Tintamarre for a day of lounging aboard and watching the Heineken Regatta on motor trip to the island and quick downwind sail upon return. The evening was also the big party at Kim Sha beach to mark the end of the Regatta.

Lounging aboard Zanshin.

March 03, 2012

Arnd — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:48:13 GMT

An exciting day beginning with assisting a capsized catamaran, then a nice dive at Créole Rock and then some shopping and dinner followed by Desi getting in the way of the Freezer Door of Death.

Desi nursing her injured hand

March 02, 2012

Arnd — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:52:12 GMT

Hangover and R&R day for us aboard the boat.

Just resting my eyes...

March 01, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 12:54:22 GMT

This was Agathe and Desi's big PADI diving day where they were scheduled to complete their certification.

We made it!!

February 29, 2012

Arnd — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:36:10 GMT

This was Agathe and Desi's first real diving day, but before they spent the afternoon in the water we hit the Ma Dou Dou factory outlet store.

Choices, choices at the store

February 28, 2012

Arnd — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:45:06 GMT

This was a diving day - not in the water but studying for the written exams in the classroom in the afternoon.

Studying at Octopus Diving

February 27, 2012

Arnd — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:05:50 GMT

Today we played tourist with our rental car and circumnavigated the island, then proceeded to study the PADI manual for the exams the next day.

Desi studying in the dark

February 26, 2012

Arnd — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:12:03 GMT

Today was Desi's and Agathe's first dive - very exciting indeed!!

Green Moray Eel

February 22, 23, 24 & 25

Arnd — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:08:01 GMT

Several days to update at once - once I get behind on writing the blog I find it hard to catch up.


Downwind run	Desi and Agathe arrive	Candyscape II before the bridge	Jet arriving

February 21, 2012

Arnd — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:32:50 GMT

I don't know where the time went - I seemed to be constantly doing something but at the end of the day it seems to me that all I did was take one dive and transition through dinner to bed.

Filling up a dive tank

February 20, 2012

Arnd — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:04:52 GMT

Today I wanted to get some chores done and to go ashore for shopping, as I'm almost out of water and have no fresh food left aboard, but I opted to do a “quick” dive and upon return decided to do a second dive - and suddenly the day was almost done! The second dive as my shortest one to date, as I had changed the lens port on the Ikelite underwater housing from the wide-angle to the normal one and after descending to about 20 feet I noticed that not only had I switched the lens to “manual” instead of “auto” focus (and left the setting at infinity, which didn't work underwater) but that there were droplets of water inside the housing. Thus I quickly went back to the surface and headed back to the boat to see if my camera was going to survive. Luckily, it really was just several drops in the case and I think it might have been a bad seal on the dome port, perhaps it wasn't seated correctly or a piece of sand had gotten into the works somewhere as I took the housing on a test dive underneath the boat after cleaning and drying and there were no problems at all.

Ikelite underwater housing

February 19, 2012

Arnd — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:20:06 GMT

It looked calmer than it actually was at sea, so I changed my original plans of heading to Saba to a short sail to Grand Case for the day.

Motoryacht lowering dinghy

February 18, 2012

Arnd — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:13:20 GMT

The diving had been so nice the day before that I opted to stay and swim a bit, plus it was time to repair the water maker.

Diving in clear water

February 17, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:59:20 GMT

Today I sailed the short distance from Île Tintamarre to Île Fourchue (going from St. Martin to St. Barths in the process) and did two dives from the anchorage.

St. Martin panorama seen from Île Tintamarre

February 16, 2012

Arnd — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:03:43 GMT

Today I finally got moving, but only made it to Île Tintamarre. I did two dives on the sunken tugboat, mainly because my camera settings on the first dive were wrong and no pictures turned out.

Tugboat Pilothouse

February 15, 2012

Arnd — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:24:20 GMT

Today was spent diving again, between bouts of working on the boat and using the internet (to which I've got a fast and free connection from this anchorage location).

Cleaner shrimp and green Moray

February 13 & 14, 2012

Arnd — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:07:40 GMT

Another two days spent in Grand Case, the first of my own free will and the second an enforced stay.


Tasty Ribs	Heavy Swell

February 12, 2012

Arnd — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:43:04 GMT

Today was spent diving at Île Tintamarre on the old tugboat wreck, then cleaning the boat back in Grand Case

A very shy porcupinefish

February 11, 2012

Arnd — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:37:31 GMT

As I was getting ready to leave a friend came in and told me it was much windier and rougher than it looked, so I stayed and did 2 dives - one of them a night dive.

Pederson cleaning shrimp

February 09 & 10, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:25:28 GMT

Another two days spent in Grand Case and spending time underwater.


Corals	Sand Diver

February 08, 2012

Arnd — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:18:11 GMT

As I'm stuck in St. Martin until the paperwork arrives I decided to stay put in a place where I knew that my anchor would hold and where good food was available ashore. I tried one more dive but the conditions were murky and otherwise had a relaxing day aboard.

Dusk in Grand Case

February 07, 2012

Arnd — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:08:17 GMT

Although I had hoped that the waters would clear up, visibility below the surface was miserable today.

Ikelite housing

February 06, 2012

Arnd — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:43:33 GMT

It was too windy and the water too cloudy today to do anything but sail around for a bit, which is what I did - to Île Tintamarre and back to Grand Case.

Clipper Stad Amsterdam

February 05, 2012

Arnd — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:19:38 GMT

Today was another day spent in Grand Case doing nothing but a bit of diving.

Camera setup

February 04, 2012

Arnd — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:58:03 GMT

I did two dives today to practice bouyancy and camera work and the pictures show that I'm progressing a bit.

Camera setup

February 03, 2012

Arnd — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:11:46 GMT

Today I did a scuba dive in Grand Case and used the Bauer compressor for the first time!

Parrotfish in Grand Case

January 31 and February 01 & 02, 2012

Arnd — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:42:09 GMT

I finally caught up on my blog entries.


Configuring the Victron	Garlic bread for dinner	Scrawled Filefish in Grand Case

January 30, 2012

Arnd — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:52:01 GMT

Another tropical day spent working on the boat

Slowly filling up on diesel

January 28 & 29, 2012

Arnd — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:20:29 GMT

Two slow days spent doing very little aboard the boat.


Lagoonie's dogs	Stealing my croissant remains

January 27, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:51:06 GMT

With my comfortable position in the anchorage I didn't want to leave, so spent the day splitting my time between working on the boat, doing all my laundry, listenening to music and reading.

T-Shirts and towels in the sun

January 26, 2012

Arnd — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:59:12 GMT

A quiet day - said goodbye to Wolfgang and then lazed aboard the boat for the rest of the day.

Selection of fresh spices

January 25, 2012

Arnd — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:33:23 GMT

Sailing once again from Grand Case to Marigot via Île Tintamarre

Wolfgang at the helm

January 24, 2012

Arnd — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:06:07 GMT

Sailed back to Grand Case from St. Barths via the Dutch side of St. Martin.

Large yacht pounding upwind

January 23, 2012

Arnd — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:20:30 GMT

A wonderful day playing tourist in St. Barths.


St. Barths airport landing	Landing at St. Barths

January 16 through 21, 2012

Arnd — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:43:52 GMT

I finally caught up on my blog entries.


Filter replacement	Bart staff at Barnacle's	Fruit stand at Marigot	Grand Case dinner setting	Park marker bouy	Wolfgang at the helm

January 15, 2012

Arnd — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:55:30 GMT

Snorkelled the Indians, cleared out of the BVI for St. Martin and then had a big final BBQ dinner aboard Zanshin

Nat and Rob at dinner

January 14, 2012

Arnd — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:51:06 GMT

Diving the wreck of the RMS Rhone.

Nat and Rob descending

January 13, 2012

Arnd — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:22:33 GMT

What could be better - diving Coral Gardens and entertainment at the Last Resort with friends?


Rob in the fuselage	Dancing at the Last Resort

January 12, 2012

Arnd — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:27:52 GMT

I finally got to dive the wreck of the “Chikuzen” and also had my first chance to play with the new underwater camera gear (minus flash due to missing cable)


Yellowtail snapper	Lionfish and Yellowtail snapper	Fire Worm	Angelfish

January 11, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:58:09 GMT

Today was a quiet and restful day in the North Sound

Rob cooking breakfast

January 10, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:27:24 GMT

Today was the passage from St. Martin to the BVI and an early night in the North Sound.

Rob navigating (while at anchor)

January 9, 2012

Arnd — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:37:49 GMT

Bar hopping in St. Martin

St. Martin Yacht Club terrace

January 6, 7 & 8, 2012

Arnd — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:37:28 GMT

One full day of cleaning and another partial day packing away things before Nat and Rob arrived from the U.K.


Unpacking my cases	Rob and Nat at Marigot	Sunset at Grand Case

Updated sunset pictures

Arnd — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:22:07 GMT

Modified sunset pictures page.

January 4 & 5, 2012

Arnd — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:18:25 GMT

One day at the BVI and another of sailing from there to St. Martin Today was busy - sailing to the marina, docking without damaging the boat (too much), getting a survey completed and picking up my stored items from downtown. But all was accomplished for a successful day.


Calm waters with no wind	Sunset on passage to St. Martin

January 3, 2012

Arnd — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:19:57 GMT

Today was busy - sailing to the marina, docking without damaging the boat (too much), getting a survey completed and picking up my stored items from downtown. But all was accomplished for a successful day.

Cleaned and washed cockpit

SV-Zanshin