Caribbean Sailing Season 2023: Where are we, and what’s Going on?

If you have been following our journey this far, you probably know that I left Ellidah in Trinidad in June 2022 to return to Norway for an extended time to work and sort out some issues.

The second half of the previous season was mentally challenging for me because of these issues, which is part of the reason for the fewer updates. I’m not making any excuses, but at least now you know why! Luckily, everything is in order, and we’re finally cruising again.

This article will explain some of our goals and the future of this website ahead, where we currently are, and the plan for the Caribbean cruising season in 2023. 

So keep on reading!

What is happening with Sailing Ellidah?

Recently while I was in Norway, I focused on creating helpful and valuable content intended to inspire and help people in their research to become sailors. As a result, there have been fewer stories from The Journey and Life Aboard lately and many new articles in Cruising Tips.

I want to grow Sailing Ellidah into a brand. A brand that provides content about our experiences while cruising and practical information to help others become liveaboards and realize their dreams to do extended bluewater sailing.

I remember spending a lot of time researching decent content explaining what I wanted to learn before I bought Ellidah. Some excellent sources are available online, but also many terrible ones that you shouldn’t rely on.

However, some of you are more interested in reading about the journey than learning about sailing and sailboats. It has been some time since I updated you on what’s happening and where we are.

But fear not. I still remember you!

From now on, I will publish more content in all the categories, especially The Journey. I hope to fill your traveling minds with tropical adventures, warm weather, and remote exciting sailing destinations.

For you, this means more stories and adventures from the Caribbean ahead! This brings me to the following topics:

Who is onboard Ellidah now?

I have two awesome crew members from Norway onboard, and things are great. Hedda will sail on Ellidah for another month, and Vegar will finish his trip and muster off in about a week. 

There will be crewing opportunities later in the season, so sign up for the newsletter and be the first to get the fantastic opportunity to experience sailing and cruising in the most exotic places in the Caribbean!

Where are we?

Right now, I’m writing this post onboard Ellidah. The sun is shining, and the temperature has just passed 30 degrees Celsius. My little fans work overtime to keep my body temperature at human levels, even though I went for a morning swim around the boat not too many hours ago.

We are moored in Pirate’s Bay in northern Tobago, close to Charlotteville (Link to Google Maps). Tobago has turned out to be the dreamy green and lush Caribbean that I’ve been chasing since arriving here last year and is easily one of my favorite locations on the journey this far.

This island is truly stunning! Its clear water and magnificent marine life make snorkeling and freediving great. (I caught some delicious lobsters on the spear the other day!) The green jungle surrounds us with tropical birds with their songs, and a short dinghy ride brings us to the super charming little town called Charlottesville. 

Local fishermen are fishing in small wooden boats inside this massive bay sheltered from the relentless Atlantic swell from North East. This is the first adequately protected bay we have visited since arriving in Tobago. We no longer live inside something that feels like a washing machine!

The locals are amiable and usually greet us with “Welcome to Paradice!”. Any questions or issues are always handled, but since we’re on “island time,” things can take some time. But when in paradise, time has the most significant value in the world and shouldn’t be stressed.

I will get more into the details about Tobago in another article, but that’s a brief update!

Where are we sailing next? 

The plan for the 2023 sailing season is flexible. I like to take things as they come and enjoy places until it’s time to move on. Having said that, I have a rough plan between now and the coming hurricane season this summer.

Once we are ready to move on from Tobago, we’ll sail northwest to Grenada and Carriacou. Next, we’ll explore some of the Grenadines and possibly sail up to Dominica. 

Eventually, we need to start making our way west, and we’ll continue to the ABC islands, which consist of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. By the end of April, I expect us to be on our way to Colombia! Then the possible highlight of this season, The San Blas Islands in Panama.

Finally, we’ll continue west to Bocas del Toro, also in Panama. I plan to stay in a marina in Bocas for at least a few months, but we’ll see how it goes. I have to take a few offshore jobs to top up the cruising kitty and prepare Ellidah for the Pacific Ocean. 

Panama is also an excellent base as it lies outside the hurricane belt.

How is Ellidah doing?

When I arrived back in Trinidad after seven months in Norway, the wet and tropical weather during hurricane season had definitely been hard on Ellidah. Everything outside was black and moldy. Luckily, I left a dehumidifier running inside the salon after listening to some horror stories from others that didn’t.

When I came back, Ellidah desperately needed a proper scrub and clean. The cockpit table even had physical mushrooms growing from it! It took a few weeks of hard work in the boiling heat; the most challenging part was to get used to the humid and hot climate again, to get her ship- shape and ready to launch back into the ocean. Eventually, The Lady Dressed In Blue, AKA Ellidah, shined like never before.

Final Words

So there you have it. Now you know where we are and the rough plan for the rest of the season. The next post will be about storing Ellidah on the hard in Trinidad, my return to the boat, and the preparations for the 2023 season. We have exciting times ahead with new external partners and new adventures as we continue the journey to some of the most remote parts of the Caribbean!

If you want to help us grow, please share our articles on social media and tell your friends about us! Who knows, maybe you’re the next one joining aboard for a tropical adventure.

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