Tilly Mint's travels

During the Antigua Charter Show we had the privilege of being photographed by the very talented Billy Black. The pictures will soon be posted on our website, but until then here are a few of them...

Tilly Mint has been very busy for the holiday season, with two great charters in the British Virgin Islands. From Willy T to the Bitter End and Foxy's for New Year's Eve, she went to every place where there was a party to be had. We also did more than our share of beach time, snorkeling and watersports - guests loved the new SUPs (Stand-Up Paddle Board) that were our Christmas present to Tilly Mint. Happy New Year to everyone, and thank you to the guests who made those two weeks amazing for us as well! Tilly Mint in Christmas mode! Our exotic Christmas tree Tinsels on the bow Christmas morning on board Rainbow over Norman Island Lunch at the Peter Island Yacht Club Raising the Annapolis Yacht Club burgee Paddle boarding in a dress on Christmas Eve! Last night at Foxy's New Year's in Great Bay, Jost van Dyke... The Maltese Falcon and Hemisphere rafted together at the Bitter End!

Tilly Mint and her crew have been quite busy since her arrival in the Caribbean - first step was to get her cleaned up after the delivery. From the Virgin Islands, we then moved to St Martin to start the process of getting her ready for the Charter Show, and to load up on some French wine and provisions. Finally we sailed to Antigua where the last detailing took place. Tilly Mint was then officially a Show Boat! The Charter Show was eventful and overall successful, with a photo shoot of the interior and exterior by Billy Black (pictures coming soon!), two brokers' lunches and the Yacht Hop night. Those of you who ate on board during the Show will remember that I decided to play the French card by cooking duck and lamb, with a Caribbean twist  of course. For the second lunch I prepared one my favorite appetizers for the Caribbean season: a cold carrot, orange and ginger soup. It proved so popular that I promised to release the recipe, so here it is! Carrot, orange and ginger ...

After a week of preparations, Tilly Mint finally answered the calling of sunshine and warm weather on October 22nd. Four days later we reached Charleston, South Carolina, just in time to dodge Hurricane Sandy. While our friends in Newport worried about strong winds and flooding, Tilly Mint was safely docked and made it through the storm unharmed. On November 1st we left Charleston and set sail for our final destination - the sunny Caribbean! After 3 days of great sailing, we motored for a few days before finding favorable winds as we got closer to the islands. On November 8th at 12pm Tilly Mint was moored in front of a perfect beach in Jost Van Dyke. After some swimming and pleasant time on shore, we set sail again for St Thomas, where we are getting some work done before the start of a busy charter season... Resting on the lifeline This one got a little bolder... Bow escort Dolphins everywhere! The first catch of the trip - tuna! Mahi mahi ceviche for dinner.....

We realized last week that October was the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and decided that we had to do something about it. Girls wear pink t-shirts, supermarkets distribute pink bags, men wear pink ribbons on their shirts... We decided to go bigger. Our raspberry neon pink spinnaker Go big or go home! Sailing under the Newport bridge We are now thinking about our contribution to Movember next month - men raising awareness for men's health issues by growing a moustache. Not sure yet what will happen, but pictures will definitely be taken. Tilly Mint is now almost ready to sail South, as it is getting colder by the day up here. We have successfully tested our new mainsail a few days ago and are now waiting for the right weather window to leave. If all goes as planned we should be leaving Newport on Monday and sail down to Charleston, South Carolina, where we will wait until November 1st to set sail for the Caribbean. We are sad to leave Newport but very exci...

You might have heard about the famous Bucket regatta that took place in Newport last weekend. Big yachts sailing around the bay and competing for one the most prestigious trophies of the season, all that is great but I feel like we have all seen it before. Let me tell you about the REAL Bucket Challenge that simultaneously took place in Newport last weekend. Shame on the press for not giving the event the publicity it clearly deserved. Make sure you have a scoop of ice-cream in front of you and enter with us the fabulous ice-cream shop of Spinnakers in Jamestown, right across the river from Newport. No, your eyes are not deceiving you, this is real! After two weeks of discovering New England, from Boston to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Tilly Mint, her owner, his family and crew finally arrived in Newport after a very calm night sail. Two weeks of eating all the desserts prepared by a French chef made them feel ready to take on the challenge that the Captain had been dre...

Last week we woke up to find Newport harbor drowned in fog - and the Harbormaster circling around Tilly Mint, waiting for the Eagle to come into port. The Eagle is the Coast Guard Tall Ship, an impressive looking three mast square rigger that barely fits in the channel and has to be helped by two tug boats to maneuver in the harbor. Phantom masts behind Goat Island Emerging from the fog The Eagle looked completely surreal as she emerged from the fog and slowly glided past us in the early morning light. Of course I got my camera out to capture the moment - but little did we know that at the very moment I was snapping a shot of her, someone on board was doing exactly the same thing! Much to our surprise, we received this morning a picture taken by Ron Holland - who designed the Discovery 67 - as he happened to be on the Eagle that day and was pleasantly surprised when the first boat they saw as they came out of the fog was Tilly Mint! Tilly Mint seen from the Eagle The ...