Linda and I retired from the Army in February, 2000. At that time we moved aboard our 28ft sail boat "Bellatrix" and began a voyage that took us from our home port of Shady Side, Maryland, down the Chesapeake Bay, and out into the Atlantic for a seventeen day passage to the Island of St. Martin in the Eastern Caribbean. From there we island-hopped down the Leeward and Windward Islands to St. Lucia where we secured ourselves at Rodney Bay Marina for three months waiting out the 2000 hurricane season. After that we, once again, began wandering amongst the islands. This time we traveled North and eventually West back through the Eastern Caribbean, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Caicos, Bahamas, and finally to Florida, returning and settling in the place where I grew up. During the fourteen months of our voyage I kept a journal which I frequently updated to a personal web site to let friends and family share a little of the voyage with us. Stories from my journal are archived here for you to enjoy if it so pleases you.

Bellatrix is a name of a star in the Orion Constellation but we didn't name our boat after a star. My Father was a career navy man and during World War II he served aboard two ships. One was the destroyer "Charles S. Sperry" and the other was an attack cargo carrier named the "Bellatrix." It wouldn't make any sense to name our boat "Charles S. Sperry" but "Bellatrix" would make a fine name for a sailing yacht. When Dad was alive he rarely spoke of the horrors of war and, for the most part, would only tell us the funny stories. It was only after his death that I finally read his service record and found that he indeed saw quite a lot of action, enough to earn him four bronze stars. I guess our boat was named in remembrance of Dad and that made me happy.

For the Record!! Linda and I took our instruments, a viola for Linda and a F-Tuba for me, and we practiced regularly.

We no longer own Bellatrix but we are left with great memories of the adventures we had aboard her. The stories from our voyage are chronologically listed below. Enjoy!

• We're Off; 6 April 2000
• The Leak, Part Two; 21 April 2000
• Sailing down the Chesapeake Bay; 3 May 2000
• Passage to St. Martin; 26 May 2000
• Sint Maarten; 4 June 2000
• Anguilla; 4 June 2000
• St. Barts; 14 June 2000
• I Don't Know and Sowhatawedo; 3 July  2000
• Dom-en-EE-ka and Joie de Vivre; 19 July 2000
• Getting Beat-up; 19 July 2000
• The Road to Soufriere; 31 July 2000
• Stepping Down From the Curb; 4 September 2000
• 25 Millimeters; 24 September 2000
• Surviving Hurricane Joyce; 15 October, 2000
• Good Morning Everybody; 18 December 2000
• Out of Sync; 15 January 2001
• Culebra; 24 January 2001
• Waiting for Weather & A Cafe Named Internet; 17 February 2001
• Clearing In; 19 April 2001
• Bahamas; 1 May 2001

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