Its been a busy month… sailing from St Martin to the BVI where we worked on board getting new television shows edited… (The episodes from Madeira and the Atlantic Crossing via the Cabo Verde Islands are in the queue for editing. It typically takes more than 40 hours of work to edit together the final cut of the episode ready to send out to our broadcasters)

Sheryl raises the yellow Q flag as we arrive in the British Virgin Islands after crossing the Anegada Passage today, a 90 mile sail from St Maarten.

Big Bang

After clearing customs at Virgin Gorda (Spanish Town) we moved up to North Sound. We were only anchored a few days when we had a rude awakening…
Big Bang!! Exciting morning... at 06:50 a large 51 foot charter power-cat dragged anchor and hit our bow. For 20 minutes or so we worked to untangle their anchor which was snagged around our chain. Its 60 feet deep here and we have 230 feet of chain out (see blog on short scope anchoring) . Strong gusts and our fabulous Rocna anchor was holding both boats. Main damage seems to be to the cat as our roller poked a small hole in their topsides...

Distant Shores Fans

We met up with quite a few fans of the television show over this visit. Thanks all for coming up and saying hi!
10 years ago we met South Africans, Desmond & Lynette, in Turkey where they had just bought a boat & were starting a cruising adventure with their young family inspired by watching the Distant Shores sailing travel show on Travel Channel in South Africa!
"Travel Channel played the show several times a day & sometimes we'd watch you twice a day taking us to exciting places. We learned a lot and it kept us motivated," said Lynette.
Now that their kids are in university, they're back at work but keep Pirate Lady in the BVI where they come over to sail it for a few months each year. Great to meet up once again!


We also met up with former guest-stars from earlier Distant Shores episodes…

Remember Hermione, owner of Zigzag Bags in Itchenor UK, featured in DS episode #79 "Chichester Harbour" and also #108 "Burgundy" which recently aired on AWE TV in the USA and Caribbean?
Well, we met her and her family on Norman Island! They're taking a sabbatical and cruising in the Caribbean. Great to catch up with her, Douglas and the children and hear the news of friends in the UK and the Itchenor Sailing Club.

Chilling in the BVI

Here's our anchorage in Great Harbour Peter Island. Its quite deep (over 50 feet) but very beautiful and a nice place to "chill" in the BVI.



Here are some scenes from the reef just beside the boat. Diving in the BVI is quite good, partly due to the clear water. Some of the best we have seen in the Caribbean.

Searching for Distant Shores III

We are continuing to search for Distant Shores III.
I visited Poland a few months ago to tour the Delphia Yachts plant, then did a test sail aboard the Delphia 46DS. It is a true pilothouse with raised saloon. So you can see out from the table and while standing in the galley. You can also steer, seeing forward from the helm.
Check out the Video on YouTube below. What do you think?



Before we left the BVI I did a check over the rigging including a trip to the masthead. Great views! Here is a blog on how we check over the rig.


Before we set sail it was Paul's Birthday… Sheryl made sure it was a special day1!

On to Antigua

Sailing to Antigua! Well motoring actually. Had a good night at sea after leaving the British Virgin Islands yesterday afternoon but have extremely light wind conditions. Just passing the island of St. Kitts right now. At this rate our ETA Antigua is about 4:30 PM. All is well on board.

Antigua - Classic Regatta & Sailing Week

Antigua is home to 2 of the most prestigious and fun regattas in the Caribbean. Classic Regatta starts things off from April 13 through the 19th with classic sailboats of all kinds. Then things really heat up with Sailing Week "Where Sailing Comes First" - Saturday April 23 - Friday 29th. We are filming all this for an episode of Distant Shores!!

You Might Also Like
Top 10 Transatlantic Gear Review

Sheryl and Paul Shard have now been cruising internationally for 25 years. They are sailing authors, instructors/consultants and the fun-loving hosts of the Distant Shores sailing adventure TV series (AWE TV, Vimeo on Demand). The Distant Shores series profiles the world's best sailing destinations and provides insights into the joys and challenges of living aboard a cruising sailboat. The shows are also available on DVD and as HD downloads.