Casting Off
6
And We're OffâNot
Need Fuel?
So Thirsty
Energize Me
7
Bahamas Here We Come!
Tacking
Back on Track
Exploring the Islands
8
Welcome to the Bahamas!
Great Sale Cay
Allans-Pensacola Cay
Green Turtle Cay
What Do You Mean You're Leaving Us?
Who's in Charge Here?
A Quick Note About Charts and Navigation
9
Becoming Green Turtle (Abacos) Bahamas Residents
Who Anchored This Thing?
If One Anchor Is Good, Two Is Better, Right?
Making Friends
Brrrr on Green Turtle
Not Again!
Thankful on Thanksgiving
The Whale (Cue the Suspense Music)
After the Whale
What Did We Learn Here?
10
Breaking Free!
Ping-Ponging Around the Rest of the Abacos
Becoming One with the Abacos
11
You Can't Go Home Again
12
Back to the Abacos: Practicing and Fixing, Fixing and Practicing
Sailors in Training
Fixing Things in Exotic Locations
I See Another Pep Talk Coming
Final Days in the Abacos
13
Good-Bye, Abacos, Hello, Exumas (in the Central Bahamas)
Royal Island
Allen's Cay
Hawksbill Cay
Warderick Wells Cay
Compass Cay
Big Majors Spot and Staniel Cay
Black Point Settlement, Great Guana Cay (Yes, Another One)
14
A Milestone Is ReachedâGeorge Town (Bahamas)
Long Island
George Townâ
Part II
Guess It's Time to Stop Pussyfooting Around and Get Out of Here
15
Who You Calling Chicken? Bahamas, Stage Left
What Broke?
16
Turks and CaicosâDefinite Possibilities
East Caicos
Grand Turk
Big Sand Cay
What Broke?
17
The Dominican RepublicâIsland A+, Anchorage Fâ
Life on Luperon and Beyond
Road Trip!
Who Invited Hurricane Dean?
Break Out the Tissues
Hurricane Season? What Hurricane Season? We're Leaving
What Broke?
18
Our Longest Sail EverâAdios, Dominican Republic!
19
Hola, Puerto Rico! The United States on Island Time
A Tour of the Southern CoastâFirst Up, Cabo Rojo
La Parguera
Coffin Island
Salinas
Puerto Patillas
Cayo Santiago
Isla Palominos
What Broke?
Let's Talk Anchor Rode
20
If We Can't Be Virgins, Then Let's Go to Them (the Islands, That Is)
Spanish Virgin Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
Gobble Gobble on Tortola
Final Moments with the Virgins
What Broke?
21
Bonjour! Welcome to St. Martin (and a Quickie to St. Barths and Anguilla)
St. Martin: The Prequel
St. Martin: Redo
Work, Work, Work
Play, Play, Play
Back to Work
What Broke?
22
Island Hopping to Saba, Statia, and St. Kitts and Nevis (Islands That Brush the Clouds)
Saba
What Broke?
Statia (St. Eustatius)
What Broke?
St. Kitts (St. Christopher)
NevisâThe First Time
Back to St. Kitts
What Broke?
Nevis as a Launching Pad to Antigua
What Broke?
23
A Stowaway on Antigua
What Broke?
24
Graffiti and Guadeloupe
What Broke?
25
Oh When Des Saintes
What Broke?
26
Lush-Ous Dominica
What Broke?
27
Martinique Gets a Quickie
What Broke?
28
Was That St. Lucia?
What Broke?
29
Reverse CourseâBack to Antigua!
Dominica
Guadeloupe
Antigua
What Broke?
30
And Back Down Again on the
Jacumba
Express
What Broke?
31
Coo-Coo for Carriacou
32
From Miami to Grenada: Who'd Have Believed It?
Island Fun
Hauling Out and DIY
What Broke?
33
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Otherwise Known as Paradise
Carriacou
Sandy Island
Back to Carriacou
Union Island
Tobago Cays
Canouan
Bequia
Mustique
St. Vincent
Bequia (Again)
Tobago Cays (Again)
Union Island (Again)
Mayreau
St. Vincent (Again)
What Broke?
34
Solo Sailor on Grenada
And He's Gone
A Trinidad Quickie
Back to Grenada
Solo Sailing
He's Back
Waiting Out Hurricane Season
A Brief Respite
It's Time
What Broke?
35
The Final Run
The Grenadines to St. Lucia
Dominica
Les Saintes to Guadeloupe
Montserrat
Nevis and St. Barths
What Broke?
36
Hurry Up and Wait
37
Is This It?
Onshore
A Visitor!
Work, Work, Work
38
Maybe, but Let's Go to Barbuda for a Look-see
What Broke?
39
It Was a Bad Sail; It Was a Good Sail
Spinnaker R.I.P
.
Landlubbers Again
40
You're Hired, We're Home (Sort of)
Back On Board
What Broke?
41
Sell, Sell, Sell!
Who's at the Helm?
Meet Ana and Bill
Happy Feet
42
Sold ⦠Based on Survey
Another Survey Story
43
D Is for Deflated, Dispirited, Depressed
44
Change That to Delighted, Delirious, Disembarking!
Our Last Tropical Storm!
Our Last Shark Sighting!
Our Last Boat Bottom Scrubbing!
Our Last Deck Scrubbing!
Our Last Intruder!
Our Last Peeping Toms!
Our Last Boat Payment!
Our Last Night of Lasts
45
Where Are We Now?
Now It's Your Turn
46
Time to Take the Plunge
47
Observations and Lists
General Thoughts
Tips
The End
Appendix: How We Chose Our Island
Acknowledgments
Index
Lessons
1 Own Up
2 Don't Ever Assume Anything
3A Know Whose Side Your Broker's On
3B Become a Boat Broker
4 Pictures Lie and So Do the People Who Take Them
5 Shop Around, Be Patient, and Trust Your Instincts
6 Don't Panic
7 Your Eyes Should Not Be Bigger Than Your Wallet
8 Don't Completely Abandon Your Ship
9 Sh** Happens
10 Ca Ching!
11 Past Employers Are Your Friends
12 Voodoo Is Real
13 Be Afraid
14 Can You Hear Me Now?
15 Build Good Karma
16A You Can Never Have Enough Spares
16B Be Shipshape
17 You Cannot Have Too Much Stuff!
18 You Will Wait for WeatherâA Lot
19 Is It You?
20 Neptune Has a Strange Sense of Humor
21 Bigger Is Better
22 No, You Do Not Like It Rough
23 Trust Your Instincts
24 Size Does Matter
25 Let Me See Some ID
26 Role Play
27 There Cannot Be Two Captains
28A Books Are Your Friend
28B Keep Your Friends Current
29 Need Drugs? Stock Up!
30 Anchoring Is an Art
31 Fun Is Important!
32A Dinghies Have Anchors Too
32B About-face
33 The Tide Is High?
34 Use People
35 Stay Tuned
36 Dinghies Are Engines Too
37 Pickup Lines
38 Everyone's an Expert
39 Do Not Drink and Drive
40 Don't Be Sheep
41 To Sail, You Need Your Sail Up!
42 Pull the Plug
43 Get a Hearing Aid
44 Go with the Flow
45 Use Protection
46 Safety First
47 Patience, Patience, Patience
48 It's Not Heavy, It's Your Anchor
49 Do Your Homework
50 If It Smells Like a Fish â¦
51A Make Sure All Systems Are Go
51B Do the Same for Your Engine
52 Keep Your Balance
53 Don't Force It
54 Check and Double-check
55 Paging Al Roker
56 Get Wheels
57 Be a Pessimist
58 Recycle!
59 Trash Talk
60 Déjà Vu
61 Stop and Smell the Roses (or Sand)
62 Avoid Shark Week
63 Don't Always Go by the Book
64 Birds of a Feather â¦
65 The 15-Minute Rule
66 Get a Beeper
67 Don't Be a Snob
68 Hide Your Bling
69 There Is Safety in Numbers
70 Did Someone Call a Doctor?
71 Calling Dr. Kevorkian
72 Become a Storm Chaser
73 Anchoring Can Be a Drag
74 Get Used to Anchor Diving
75 Become a Grocery Store Connoisseur
76 Don't Hold Your Breath
77 Boating Isn't for Hermits Anymore
78 Dinghy Lessons
79 Double-Bag It
80 Investigate
81 Play Bikers for a Day
82 Don't Be Fooled
83 Don't Be Too Proud to Turn Around
84 Ignition a Go
85 Swimming Lessons
86 Put a Reef in It!
87 Be Flexible
88 Turn Out the Lights
89 Prop Check