Trip Itinerary

Bernadette and Douglas set out from their home in Newport, Rhode Island, in the summer of 2000, and headed north on their shakedown cruise. They spent that first summer exploring Maine up to the Canadian border, and getting to know their boat. After that, they returned to Newport to do a few more projects onboard, fix the problems that cropped up, hugged their families good-bye, then headed south, visiting Long Island Sound; New York; Atlantic City, New Jersey; then spending the fall in the Chesapeake. In October, they explored the nooks and crannies of Mobjack Bay, Virginia, then set off south – via the Intracoastal Waterway, and offshore – for the Caribbean. Their travels over the next three years took them to Cuba; along the coast and atolls of Mexico; inside the barrier reef to the cays of Belize, and its outlying atolls; a journey up Guatemala’s spectacular Rio Dulce River, then down to the spectacular Bay Islands and coast of Honduras; to the reefs and cays off Nicaragua; down to the culturally rich San Blas Islands and the unspoiled coast of Panama, and finally to the electric energy of Cartagena, Colombia, the jewel of South America. In 2003, Ithaka headed north, to revisit favorite places, and return to the United States for a refit, and new adventures.

From 2004 to 2006 the Bernons sailed from Newport south to the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica, then offshore, strait down to Panama and Colombia, where they explored the remote Colombian coast. From there, they visited favorite places on their way home to the United States.