Among other things, I have been a blogger for over several years. It started with Jacumba At Sea - the basis for A Sail of Two Idiots. Then came Island Babble about our life in the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, where we lived for four years (2008-2012). The Babbling Conch was born after an involuntary move to Florida, and the latest has been Scoop Fountain Hills. All have been modified from their complicated beginnings, as I wound down to move on.Key West was sort of a transition location for us. After living outside the country for 7 years, it was a rather rude awakening to come back to the hustle and bustle of life in the U.S. Many people consider Key West laid back, and I suppose if you're coming from a large city it may seem that way, but when you've left an island that didn't have a single traffic light, and you've spent every weekend on a deserted beach, Key West is just as overwhelming as New York City. It took months to go through our stages of reverse-culture shock. So after a year of relearning how to drive on the correct side of the road and getting used to being surrounded by hordes of people again, we decided it was time to move again. Florida is just too flat for people who love to hike. Forced to make a choice between water or mountains, we chose mountains and moved back to Fountain Hills, Arizona.
I started a new blog to document our life there - Scoop Fountain Hills only to move back to the Caribbean. our latest antics are now on St. Kitts Happens.
Any of you sailors, wanna-be-sailors, or dreamers out there might be interested in A Sail of Two Idiots, a fun and informational book about our sailing adventures prior to landing in St. Kitts. It's available in all most brick & mortar stores around the world as well as available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and their associated e-books.
Among other things, I'm a blogger. My last one was 
Any of you sailors, wanna-be-sailors, or dreamers out there might be interested in
Just finished your book and loved it.
ReplyDeleteGreat read,
Edward
Thanks for buying the book and touching base Edward! If you didn't already catch a few odds & ends on the www.ASailofTwoIdiots.blogspot.com check it out. Feel free to ask away if you have questions or leave comments, I love the feedback. Sail on! Renee
DeleteI just finished the book a few days ago. A friend told me about it when he got wind of my plans to buy a Lagoon Cat and spend a couple of years in the Caribbean. I planned to sell everything and the house, but my wife chickened out. She agreed to try 6 months and rent the house out. I leave Monday to put a deposit on a Lagoon 420. Your book was like candy.
ReplyDeleteThank for all the advise!
John Fearnow
Hi John! Great to hear from you. I think you and your wife are doing it just right. Who knows, you might end up agreeing with her and might like to divide up your time once it all gets going. Our 2nd and 3rd choices were a Lagoon and then Fountaine Pajot, so I think you've made a fine choice. Lagoons are laid out well and have probably even gotten better since we were buying. Be sure to let us know if you're in the neighborhood so we can toast to your exciting adventure. And if you haven't checked it out already, go to the Must Haves slideshow on the bottom of the Idiot blog (www.ASailofTwoIdiots.blogspot.com) - and buy the stuff (make/mfr. doesn't matter). I promise, it'll make the sail more comfortable/fun. Good luck to you and email any time!
DeleteJust finished reading your excellent book. I've sailed for years on the Chesapeake with a few trips to Newport. Page for page your book is the most interesting and informative I've read in a long time. Great advice!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jack. My mother lives in Norfolk on the Chesapeake and that's where my hobie cat "experience" was. I'm glad you enjoyed Idiots. Happy Sailing! Renee
DeleteHi Renee! I just finished your book "A Sail of Two Idiots"today and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it. When I read that you had chosen St. Kitts to live on I was quite amazed in that of all the islands in the Carib you had chosen St. Kitts. That is where I had honey-mooned with my wife, now ex... :-( , and fell totally in love with the island. This was in 1999 and I know there have probably been many changes since we were there. I do remember one of the coolest, and most beautiful bar/grill was on the extreme southern end of the island. I want to say it was called Turtle Beach but I might be wrong...its been awhile! :-) Anyway not to get too long winded you are now in my favorite Florida location...Key West. I was most recently there last year and stayed in a condo across from Smathers Beach. One last comment...as living on board a boat and sailing to the Caribbean is on my bucket list (I have a small sloop at the moment) I was surprized and a little dismayed at what seemed to be an inordinate amount of items that simply broke or quit working and needed replacement or repair during your three year journey. Not routine maintenance but actual BROKE items. Did you find this to be true of all of your sailing friends that you became acquainted with? Also I wonder if a monohull would at least have somewhat less maintenance issues? Again, thanks for a great book and maybe I'll run into you and your husband next time i'm staggering out of the Bull & Thistle! :-)
ReplyDeleteTake Care and Keep Bloging!
Ted L
Hi Ted,
DeleteGreat to hear from you, and thanks for sharing your enthusiasm for Idiots. We're actually trying to get back to St. Kitts. Once you've done laid-back, it's not easy to give it up. We made a lot of friends there and feel it's our heart-home. Key West was just a slight detour. Can't say it wasn't interesting! Things have definitely changed since your honeymoon, but I still think you'd like it.
If you want to sail the Caribbean, then you absolutely must do it. As far as repairs, I hate to say it but you really have to factor that into the mix. Weekend sailors think I'm exaggerating because their little boats don't have what cruising boats do. Most cruising blogs don't talk about it much because they don't want to scare off prospective/future buyers and don't want to sound like they're complaining when so many are jealous of their lifestyle.
Monohulls can be cheaper to fix, but if you have a true cruising boat, you'll still have house batteries, generators/inverters, refrigeration, heads, water tanks, electronics, a dinghy/with motor, and of course, sails, winches, a windless, and engine... Those things break at some point. We were clueless how to do repairs and yet we still survived because when you have to step up, you just do. If you can't figure it out, chances are someone near you will be able to help. That's what's so great about the boating community. You've got plenty of time to take classes (including diesel repair), and if you have professionals walk you through your boat's electrical systems, rigging, etc., you'll be in great shape. Prepare and save $, but don't overthink it. You can do it! Thanks so much for reaching out, Renee
Thanks for the response Renee. Having "been there, done that" your opinions/insight are very valuable. Can I ask a real off the wall question? I had for about 10 years an aerial advertising business (towing banners with an aircraft). Having given serious thought to not only sailing the Bahamas/Caribbean etc but actually moving to St. Kitts or somewhere down there, have you seen much of that type of advertising going on down there on any of the islands? Specifically the more desirable islands one would actually want to live on such as St. Kitts or any of the others you found to be a consideration on your personal list of possible "home" islands? Thanks again for your earlier response and good luck on getting back to St. Kitts!
DeletePS I promise no more silly questions! :-)
Best Regards,
Ted L.
Hi Ted,
DeleteI actually thought that question was rather interesting. I have to admit that I don't recall seeing aerial ad planes in the Eastern Caribbean. I just did a search for the subject and there is a company who offers services for that out of Puerto Rico, which makes sense. You would have to pick a large or busy island like that, I think. St. Kitts (and a few others) would be too "slow" and not the audience that you need. There are a couple of guys with small planes there and I think if there had been a market for it, they'd be doing it. Maybe the Virgins, Puerto Rico, and/or St. Martin (Dutch side). Guadeloupe, Martinique, & Barbados are large enough, but they're also very business-oriented (it might be like flying over Manhattan), so I'm not sure of the audiences on those islands or the beach situation. Key West has them in-season and I'd love to shoot them down since they ruin the peacefulness, but the island is so loud anyway, it's just one more buzz really. You could certainly ask around as you sail from island to island, I don't think you'd have any competition. I'm always happy to help, Renee
Hello,
ReplyDeleteJust started reading your book a sail of two idiots and I cant put it down its great. Its funny and some great learning tips since I plan on doing the same thing in a year or so and have very little experience but Thanks again for a Great read and I will be telling others about this great learning/Adventure book.
thanks,
John k