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When an escape is needed

By November 9, 2014 No Comments
Sailing the Guiding Light

Sailing the Guiding Light Snorkeling If Shane can jump so can I Rough seas at ateh jacuzzi

I needed this headshop suppliers.  My wife had enough foresight to recognize that I needed this trip.  The death and funeral of an old high school friend the week before my trip slammed home the point that I needed this trip, even though the funeral Bagpipes did a great job at his funeral, they just made me feel depressed.  I had never chartered a sailboat before but had sailed in Lake Huron with my own boat, but Huron is a far cry from the Caribbean and so I decided to hire a captain only charter to create a small adventure, an escape, an unplug, a recharge. I did my research and landed on “The Guiding Light” a 41 foot Laggon catamaran, captained by Shane McClellan.

When I arrived in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on Sunday evening, I found Shane standing on the dock next to the boat.  Right away, he made me feel welcome and helped me stow my gear.  Got a quick tour of the boat as we went through the safety briefing.  I was impressed at how well the boat was squared away.

We spent the next 5 days sailing the boat around the Spanish Virgin Islands as Shane guided the adventure.  We visited Vieques, Palaminos, Culabra, and then Culabrita.  Each island and surrounding reef had its own unique flavor and adventure to be had.  The snorkeling was spectacular as well as the scenery.

One of the days I was aboard I posted on Facebook that we were hanging out in an anchorage and a friend immediately wrote back and asked how long I was in Anchorage, Alaska and if I wanted to have dinner. Haha

Of all the islands and anchorages, my favorite was Culabrita, where Shane anchored the boat on the west side of the island and guided me on an all day snorkeling and hiking adventure of the island.  We went up to the old lighthouse (decommissioned) where we explored the old building and tower.  At the top of the tower, the view was breathtaking as the expanse of the local island chain could be seen for miles with St. Thomas visible over 20 miles away.  We then went to an absolutely stunning beach on the north side of the island and then worked our way northeast along the shore to a place the locals call “the jacuzzi”.  As the swell was coming from the north that day, the waves were crashing hard against the rocks with a deafening sound.  I was in awe of the power and stark beauty of the interaction between the ocean and the rocks.  It was a great place for photo opportunities as we spent most of the afternoon there.

I look forward to coming back down and making this an annual trek.  Shane and the Guiding Light will be my go-to charter as I explore all the Caribbean has to offer.

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