It’s an interesting thing being on a new boat after being on the same one for a year. There are things I miss about Prince Diamond but it is also exciting being on Windbird.
Windbird is a 1982 Teyana 42 and is a very comfortable boat. Lots of wood downstairs gave it a very homey and welcome feeling. She has a midship cockpit, which I love and prefer. The midship cockpit, although sometimes challenging to get in and out of, feels like such a cozy nest to me and it gives one a feeling of protection against the sea. I realize it might be a false sense of protection, but I like the feeling nonetheless.
I love the sailing system on this boat. From the jibe preventer system keeping the boom in check to the whisker pole, keeping the jib in place, everything seems in order. The navigation system was also newer and easy to use, not only at the console but also from an iPad and phone if the software is installed. You could basically observe and change the plotter settings and auto pilot settings from bed if you wanted to. In fact, Sam, the skipper of Windbird once took his phone to the top of the mast and managed the plotter from there.
Sam is a conscientious sailor and seems very knowledgeable. I’m sure his background as a pilot helps. Dawn doesn’t really like sailing as much as Sam does, but she she handles it quite well. She is also a wonderful cook and takes great pride and interest in providing insanely good food for all of us. I honestly didn’t feel I had much to offer in the way of cooking on this boat whereas I have on other boats. I gladly washed up over trying to add anything to her culinary expertise.
I really enjoyed having a dog on board. Piper is a loving and sensitive dog and I struggled with him over his anxiety of feeling the need to relieve himself and not having an appropriate outlet for doing so on board the boat. He really wanted to go ashore and find some grass to take care of his business and often barked at us to help him do this, but alas, there was no shore for 3-4 days. He had to figure out a way to take care of his business on deck. Poor guy.
The passage from Grenada to Bonaire took us 5 hours more than we thought it wood. This was due to some lighter winds than predicted. We did 3 hour shifts the entire way and it worked out really well. We arrived in Bonaire around 5pm and didn’t get checked in until after 6. Believe it or not, immigration and customs was still open and processed us. We did not expect that on a Saturday evening at 6pm.
I am now in Bonaire for a couple weeks, hanging out with friends and hopefully doing some diving and snorkeling and other fun activities. I’ll be looking for my next boat then, going to Panama. Here are some pics from this last passage. Had a great time aboard with these folks and their dog.
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I was happy to see you that Piper was one of your mates on this boat. As a pet lover, I did wonder how stressful it was for a dog to have to go potty where he lives. What a happy addition to have a fur buddy on board though. ❤️🐾🐾❤️
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He was awesome.
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Great to meet you and read about your sail to beautiful Bonaire. Sailed there back in 2008.
Many thanks for stopping by my Travel and Photography blog.
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Thanks! Great to meet you, too!
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