Tilly Mint's travels

After a full week of preparations, Tilly Mint is now loaded up with food and crew, and ready to head out for her 4th Atlantic crossing! Depending on the weather, we might stop in Bermuda or head straight to Gibraltar, where we will fuel up and get some fresh provisions before sailing on to Malta, and ultimately to Sardinia and Corsica where we will be based for the Summer season. So now it is time to say goodbye to the Caribbean until next December, we had an amazing season here filled with great charters, and we are very much looking forward to our next adventure on the other side of the pond! For updates of our position check out our Facebook page regularly! (look for S/V Tilly Mint) See you on the other side!

When a good looking yacht is at the dock, it seems to be a rule that every tourist walking past her has to ask a silly question. The top 3 of silly questions we get is the following:  - How much is that boat worth? (too much for you is almost always the right answer)  - Who owns that boat? (actually, the Queen of England does. What do you mean, you don't believe us?)  - What is a Tilly Mint exactly? (it's a furry little animal that lives in the mountains of Scotland, what, you mean you've never seen one?) It is true that Tilly Mint is an unusual name for a yacht, even though there actually is another Tilly Mint sailing around (an Oyster 82 that looks quite similar to us, which sometimes causes some confusion). The good part about having an atypical name is that people usually remember it. The bad part is that no one, and by that I mean no one, is ever capable of understanding it over the VHF or the phone. Even spelling it isn't always enough, and the result is...

Tilly Mint has had a busy season this winter, and it is not over yet! Since our last post in January, she has gone from Antigua to St Martin via Barbuda, Montserrat, Nevis and St Barths twice, been photographed under sail in the Virgin Islands, circumnavigated Antigua, watched the Bucket regatta in St Barths and explored lovely Anguilla. In the midst of all that activity, it has been hard to find a moment to update the blog, but here are photos of some of the highlights of the past 2 months. Thanks to everyone who made this a great charter season! Perfect beach in Barbuda Sunset on Tilly Mint Trying my hand at the new rope swing Perfect spinnaker run from Barbuda to Montserrat Night out at the Montpelier Plantation in Nevis Squally sky over Scrub Island, Anguilla Impromptu photo shoot in the BVIs Sailing hard Sailing away to Virgin Gorda Whale breaching near Antigua Maltese Falcon and Adela on the start line of the St Barths Bucket The J...

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.....