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FROM HANS AND ROSIE BREUER:

Hello, dear Susie and Lance,

we enjoy your website very much, indeed.

Kajen in Rodney Bay Boatyard

We were also "fair weather sailors" and lived aboard our 58' sloop, Kajen, for five years ending up for the last 2 1/2 years in the Caribbean. St. Lucia was our base, too, especially Marigot Bay, which we often had all to ourselves. Yes that's right, no hotels, no charter company - it was in the years 1974 - 76!

I have now started  to write an account of those five years for our sons, who were very young, then. 

The Kessel family, who lived for many years on their boat in Castries, bought our yacht as they intended to return to Australia in her. He was a mechanic and she a school teacher, he used to sail from one island to the other to service the church clocks and other things.

Do you know them or could you find out what has happened to them? I wonder whether 'Kajen' is still sailing somewhere. She was a steel beauty built in 1949 by a Dutch shipyard owner for himself (a De Vries-Lentsch design and no costs spared). I was hoping to find her among the beautiful vessels of the Classic yacht regatta.

Wishing you much joy!

Rosie

FROM ACCIDENTAL CRUISER

Mygo is now quite a circus. There was a big development and the inner lagoon has been converted to a mooring field. St. Lucia is developing very fast.
Chris Kessel is a boat surveyor here and was raised on a boat in Castries. I'm sure he is the son of your Kessel family. I will probably see him and ask him about
what became of Kajen and his family.

Many thanks for your kind words.

Lance

FROM CHRIS KESSEL:

Hi Lance,

Damn talk about dredging up the past LOL!

My parents owned and lived aboard 'Kajen' for probably 12 years, I lived aboard with my parents for 9 years, so there are lots of memories. My parents decided to move back to Australia in 1989 and sold her to a Englishman named Christopher Calderbank. At the time the boat was run down (didn't have me to work on it LOL) and needed a fair amount of work.

Calderbank started off with good intensions and stripped out the interior to sand blast the bilges and to rebuild everything but unfortunately he had personal problems leading to getting divorced and along with a nervous break down, ruined things for him in St. Lucia. Consequently he left the island.

After that the boat was abandoned in the boat yard and after several years was launched by Ian Cowan due to non payment and was tied up against the concrete wall between the work dock and the office. She eventually sank and settled into the mud and when the management of the yard was changed, it was decided that she was too much of an eye sore and they raised her and hauled the hulk out again!

You have probably walked past her many times. She is the old steel hulk in the dry dock nearer the road, totally rusted out and probably beyond being rebuilt unfortunately.

When I am next in the yard I will take a couple of pics and e-mail them to the Bruers.

Best regards,

Chris

Hello Lance,

Remember me from Sun Microsystems?
I would usually start out a letter like this with how are you, but I can see from your photo album that you're doing just GREAT!
Wow, it seems like you have the right work/vacation mix going. I love to sail and my wife Lynette is a sailor too, but with all this work who has the time? Boy will I show this web site to Lynette.......  gets one to thinking.
I'd love to touch base with you and talk about your current adventures.
I'm doing fine -- still doing project management work, but it's getting a bit old. I guess for that matter so am I, and Lynette and I are thinking about trying to get into another business. Gee, it sure would be nice to be on a sailboat in the islands somewhere. Hmm..

Craig.

 

Lance and Susie,
Hello again .....if you will recall I had sent you an email back in Jan. of this year as I had stumbled upon your web site and was very entertained with reading your journal and viewing your photos of your sailing adventures. I 'll admit I did check back  often too see where you were and to again enjoy your stories and photos throughout this seasons sailing.
I was wondering how your season ended after your last entry and it was quite the surprise when I was on vacation last week in St Lucia traveling in a shuttle from one Sandals Property to another when I spotted your Sailboat. I yelled out to my wife like spotting a celebrity "Theres the Eaux Vives!"  Many heads turned on the shuttle bus it was funny.
I told the friends we were with of your stories and adventures and why I was familiar with your boat.I thought you might enjoy a picture  or two so enjoy, these were taken on July 24th. our last day before we flew home.
Thanks again,
Regards,
Jean-Jacques

Dear Lance and Susie,

Cannot exactly recall how or where we found your website but I saved it and have just finished the two day read of the entire journal. I loved it and hope my Susie will get to it sooner than later. She is a bit concerned about the live aboard concept and your journal has such a positive feel I believe it will help overcome her apprehensions. We sail about four weeks a year now so this is a big step for her.

May the warm wind at your back not be your own,

Guy and Susie Auxer

1/11/2005: Happened to stumble on your website while doing research on Montserrat after just visiting there last week. I ended up spending over an hour viewing your wonderful pictures. I don't sail but I wonder if its not to late to join in the fun.....it looks like you are having some most memorable moments. Stay safe and thanks for sharing.

Dear Susie and Lance,

Hi, my name is Gail. My husband, Jeff, and I are sailing on our boat 'Sea Witch'.  We are currently on the hard in Trinidad doing a refit and we have flown to the states for the holidays.

Last May we took a tour with Martin in Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica and I took some pictures I would like to send to him.  Of course I forgot to bring the mailing information with me to the states. After searching the web for an address or way to contact him I found his picture on your web site.

I'm hoping you might have an address or the Chris Doyle cruising guide.  It would be terrific if you could forward an adddress to me.  I would love to get these pics in the mail to Martin.

Thanks for your help.  Maybe we'll see you out there

Cheers

Gail