February 25, 2008 - St. Kitts

After a couple of days in Nevis, we had a gorgeous sail to St. Kitts, a few miles north of Nevis. We anchored just outside the town of Basse Terre, its capital, in what turned out to be a miserable anchorage. It was very rolly and unpleasant. However, we decided just to stay there overnight so that we could enjoy the town for a day and then move on.

The people in St. Kitts were very friendly. The town is modeled after London in some respects with a center square called Picadilly Circus(pictured above). It is much larger than Charlestown and to us lacked the charm of Charlestown. The town has a new area where cruise ships arrive under construction to appeal to the masses. There are lots of new shops being built. The area reminds me of the open-air malls now common in the US. I guess this shopping mode is designed to appeal to the cruise ship clientele.

After roaming the town for awhile, we returned to our boat to spend a very unpleasant rolly night. In the morning, after obtaining fuel and water, we moved to a lovely anchorage a mile or so south called Whitehouse Bay. We spent a day there hiking the main road in search of monkeys that we heard are very prevalent there. We did see one, finally. We saw lots of goats and cows, though. Apparently, the island is preparing for some development in this area. Workmen were checking the water pipes; there were dump trucks moving loads of dirt. Things will be changing this pretty countryside soon. Pictured above is the salt pond area where we hiked.

We left for Nevis to clear out, another necessity, before moving south.

February 23,2008

We set out to sail to Nevis and St. Kitts on Tuesday, Feb. 19, but somehow didn't realize how long a trip it was--7 hours--and realized we needed to get an earlier start. So instead we sailed up to Jolly Harbour, a pleasant sail but with big, 7-10 foot waves and plenty of wind. When we arrived, our starboard motor failed to go into gear. Uh-oh! So, Mike decided we'd spend Wednesday figuring out that problem before we could go on to Nevis.

Luck was with us, though. Mike soon discovered that the cotter pin had broken and with a new one on board, we were in business in no time. However, we still needed a full day of sailing, so opted to spend another night in Jolly Harbor.

Thursday morning, we took off at 6:30 a.m.--quite early for us. There was a little wind and the seas were calm. Unfortunately, that meant we had to motor a good way before the wind built. Plus there were squalls all around us meaning we couldn't use our spinnaker. However, we enjoyed our day arriving in Nevis about 2:45. We located our friend Clark, who was parked just south of Pinney Beach, without difficulty and enjoyed a pleasant evening with him. We had met Clark in George Town, Bahamas, last February. He has since been down to Grenada where he spent hurricane season and is on his way back now.

Friday we went in to Charlestown (pictured above), the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton and the capital of Nevis. It's a charming little town with colorful buildings on the waterfront and friendly townspeople. We did the obligatory check-in--one can't anchor a boat without ensuring they've let the customs/immigration officials know they're there. Usually there's a fee involved as well. This was no exception. In fact, once again, there was a lot of paperwork to fill out followed by a four-block trek to the police building to have our passports stamped. Oh, well. It was worth it. We are very impressed with Nevis. We lunched at a place called Unella's (pictured above) with a beautiful view of the coast with sandy white beaches and palm trees. Then had dinner with Clark aboard our boat.

Today we moved from Pinney's Beach to Cades Point, three miles north, with plans to snorkel. Because the ocean was a bit choppy, we put off our snorkeling till tomorrow.

February 17

On Saturday, February 16, we enjoyed an unusual event at The Catamaran Club, outside of whose marina we are anchored. They sponsored a Build Your Own Boat (BYOB) event where different teams from the Wobbly Club competed. All had about two hours to build a small boat of particle board, duct tape, glue, etc.--spartan equipment, you can tell. There were about 10 teams. At 4:30, time was called and the boats were divided into two categories: those that would sail their crafts and those who powered their crafts other ways such as rowing or motoring, etc. There were numerous spectators sharing opinions and watching avidly as the participants hustled to finish their boats. There was even a kids' entry. All had a great time, even the two boats that got dumped in the drink after taking off on the brief path to the finish line.

Above are some pictures of the event as well as one of The Catamaran Club.

Antigua, Feb. 17, 2008

Sticking to the busses is not without risk. Bus drivers seem to compete with each other on speed, how close they can come to each other without missing a beat, and how close they can come to individuals walking in the street. That said, I'd rather take the bus than a car. The bus system works very well. One just needs to hail a bus which come every few minutes. The price into St. John's is $3, Easter Caribbean, which they state as "3 dollars." One must always make sure that the price quoted is US dollars or EC dollars, as 1 US dollar equals about 2.70 EC dollars. The bus goes to a central bus station across from the market although people get on and off all the way there.

Yesterday we made our second trip into St. John's primarily to go to the market for fresh vegetables. Our trip was fun. There are tons of vendors inside an old concrete hall-like building with a myriad of tomatoes, cucumbers, bora beans (not unlike green beans, but longer) and other assorted known and unknown vegetables. We bought a few things, not much because things don't keep well in this climate and we don't like to throw away food. There were also many vendors set up outside around the market and up and down the streets. Many street vendors are selling CDs which blare on outdoor speakers on each and every corner. St. John's is a busy, busy place with lots of locals and tourists milling about in the streets, vying for space on the limited sidewalks or trying to stay out of the paths of cars, trucks and busses.

After buying a few veggies, we hopped a bus to a large shopping center a little north of town called Woods Center. There is a large, well-stocked grocery store there called Epicurean. We were very glad we'd gone. We were able to get some pork chops, chicken, bacon and other foodstuffs that we hadn't seen in Falmouth Harbor, where we are anchored. There was also a Radio Shack where we searched for a battery charger without luck. After shopping, we hopped the bus back to the main station in St. John's to change to the bus back to Falmouth Harbor. A successful, enjoyable day.

Pictured above are the marketplace and a statue there of the famous Antiguan founder, Sir Vere Cornwall Bird.

Feb. 12,2008

Since our Christmas and New Year's holidays spent in St. Maarten/St. Martin and Anguilla, we parked in St. Martin to await the arrival of Colorado friends, Larry and Dana Darien. Sue went to Maryland to help her mother move to a retirement home then returned in time for a sail to St. Barth's and on to Antigua.

The Dariens arrived on Jan. 24th. Unfortunately, we had to stay put in the St. Martin area because of weather and waves which prohibited safe travel onward. However,we spent a couple of days in a favorite spot, Grand Case, sampling Germaine's fried chicken and ribs and lounging at the Calmos Cafe, a great beach bar. Finally on Feb. 3 we were able to move. On St. Barth's we visited a couple of favorite haunts from a trip five years ago with the Dariens--a boulangerie with great pastries and a restaurant that promised the Superbowl for Larry and Dana, but in the end couldn't deliver.

A night sail to Antigua proved challenging with higher than expected waves and wind, but we made it. We rented a car which Mike agreed to drive to see the island. Poor Mike! Driving Antigua's twisty, pothole-filled roads fighting the speed -crazed Antiguan drivers took its toll. Mike and I couldn't wait to get rid of the car. We'll stick to busses from now on.

St. Maarten - December 18-23

St. Maarten is an island half Dutch and half French. We sailed into Simpson Bay Lagoon where many sailboats are anchored and many more megayachts are docked. We had a number of repairs to make on our boat as the crossing from Norfolk the previous month took its toll. One of the most important things to do was to get a new dinghy. The glue holding the pontoons to the base of the boat has been working loose and can no longer be repaired. However, it turned out that there were no dinghies to be had--sold out--of the size we needed. We were stunned. With Ray & Lou, Mike's brother and sister-in-law, arriving for Christmas we surely needed a decent "car" to get around in. Fortunately, two were due in shortly after Christmas, so we put our money down not wanting one to be sold out from under us.

We also needed things like batteries, so we spent the days before Christmas mostly getting our boat "fixed." On the 23rd, there was a dinghy drift where 25 dinghies hooked up to float in Simpson Bay Lagoon singing Christmas carols. Great hors d'oeuvres were passed around too. We ended up at the cruisers' hangout for food and drinks. Lots of fun.

Tortola/Virgin Gorda - December 14-17

We stayed at Norman's Bight a bit longer than we'd planned because of the threat of Olga. Moved on to Tortola's heading to the west end for continued protection just in case. Spent several days there renting a car one day to see the island. One day on advice we hitched a ride with a neat couple--yes, there was a Colorado connection. It turned out Betsy currently living in Montana and Rick from Seattle could tell we were yachties when they saw us materialize out of the mangroves with our backpacks...What does that say??? Anyhow, they gave us a ride to Road Town, the main city on Tortola and filled us in on how things work on Tortola. Later we rented a car to see for ourselves. Tortola is a beautiful island with an interior of mountains and spectacular views. Although we could not get to Cane Garden Bay, an old haunt, by boat because of the weather, we drove there and were surprised to find that it had not changed a great deal. Stanley's Welcome Bar, the scene of a lot of partying, thirty years ago, was still there as was the local rum distillery--now basically a museum for tourists.

From Tortola, we sailed to Virgin Gorda to prepare for the crossing to St. Maarten, which would take approximately 14 hours. We joined forces with 4 other boats heading there on Monday, December 17. Steve, on Clear Day, hosted a net so that we all communicated at regular intervals to ensure all were safe. We had been hearing Steve over the SSB radio checking on the weather for the crossing. We were happy to see him pull into Virgin Gorda shortly after we did.

Our crossing on the 17th and 18th was okay, but the wind and waves were on our nose the entire making it less comfortable than we would have liked.

Hassel Island, St. Thomas; Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Just a quick post to let everyone know that we are in Fat Hog's Bay in Tortola, BVI. We are power-challenged currently, so we're making the most of the little power we have. Our plan is to leave Sunday as the weather should be better and head for St. Martin. Hopefully, we can rectify the power situation when we get there as there are competent, reasonable repair facilities there.

Just a brief recap of our last few days. Mike got his HAM license while in St. Thomas which means we should be able to get free email more regularly.

We met a couple from Michigan, Karen and Jason from YOLO, a PDQ 42--a BIG catamaran., with whom we hung out for about a week.

We were anchored at Hassel Island, a pretty place with goats roaming the hillsides, a beautiful beach and great scenery. We were constantly watchiing cruise ships coming and going as we were just outside Charlotte Amalie, the capital city of St. Thomas, and seaplanes landing and taking off.

Had a little diversion of a beach party at Honeymoon Bay on Sunday, Dec. 2. Then after a brief stop at Charlotte Amalie, we sailed around the eastern end of St. Thomas to Red Hook Bay for one night; then over to St. John.

Stayed in St. John for a couple of days anchored in extremely rolly, but beautiful Caneel Bay--a bit of a long dinghy ride from Cruz Bay, the center of town. One day we rode the bus to Coral Bay. The ride was a rather exciting one as the streets are narrow and very steep. The bus driver who seemed a little angry would lay on her horn as we rounded blind bends to alert others coming our way. Somehow we got there and back safely.

Coral Bay turned out to be the site of an American ex-pat community with full-time liveaboards enjoying paradis. Everyone seemed to know each other.

Although most things on St. John's were expensive, we did find Woody's with $1 drinks at happy hour as well as some local restaurants with fried chicken and barbecued ribs--mmmm...good.

On Friday we headed over to Jost Van Dyke and Foxy's, a well-known sailors' hangout. Of course, we met some other charterers there from Colorado. We never cease to be amazed how many Coloradans we meet.

With Tropical Storm Olga beginning to materialize, we headed out Saturday with lively sail to Norman Island, the Bight. There we were able to stay out of the weather dangers, although we had plenty of wind and numerous showers. The swimming and snorkeling were wonderful although there wasn't a lot to do. We were anchored right next to the Willie T., a floating bar and restaurant that played a lot of loud music, which was okay. It was also the scene of a lot of partying.

Met another great couple who had sailed from London, Graeme and Gyllian Mulcahy. Their visiting friends, Jock and Jill, were delightful as well. They were true cruisers who were making their way all over the islands and further. We enjoyed our evening with them.

St. Thomas, Virgin Islands - Nov. 16-30

After 11 ½ days of sailing, we arrived in St. Thomas at 1:30 in the morning. It was great to get here especially having had such an exhilarating journey. Lots of wind and waves that our crew, Jeff and Steve, especially enjoyed. We saw only about five other boats the whole time—amazing.

There’s been a bit of rain here on St. Thomas, much to our surprise. Of course, being on foot with numerous trips to town for boating supplies and other provisions calls for rain gear as the skies are sunny one minute and pouring rain the next. Of course, these trips included a trip to have a brand new inverter/charger repaired as well. This is a large, extremely heavy unwieldy box that had to be disconnected removed from underneath the settee and carried by dinghy to a place that would repair it. (They just don’t come to one’s boat!) So Mike and I struggled with it in the pouring rain getting it into the dinghy then from the dinghy up a very steep hill to the shop. Fortunately, it could be and was repaired in a timely fashion but maddening as we had just bought it in Annapolis for lots of boat units, as we call the big bucks.

While in St. Thomas, we rode the open-air jitneys for one or two dollars, depending on how far you go, to shopping areas too far away to walk. It’s a little dangerous walking here. There are few sidewalks, and if there are sidewalks, they’re narrow and end abruptly. Streets are narrow as well and filled with all manner of busy island traffic. The jitneys are fun. They are a safari-type vehicle with four or five benches that seat about 20 people. They come every few minutes, and you flag them down. Of course, if not careful, you can end up in a taxi or a tourist jitney where it costs at least $4 or $5 plus a tip to get where you’re going. K-mart is the big department store here. Imagine! We didn’t spend much time there, but a couple of things such as a bike helmet for Mike –more about that later—were on our shopping list. The bike helmet we determined would be a handy safety item for times when Mike has to go up the mast in windy, inclement weather. This happened on the passage two days into our journey. One section of the radar reflector way up on the mast fell off. With the winds whipping up, Mike felt if not taken down, the sharp edges of the remaining pieces might rip the sails. We were all a bit unnerved when this had to be done just before a stormy nightfall. After raising him ¾ of the way up our 63 foot mast, Mike swung from side to side in the brisk winds barely missing the mast several times as we all held our collective breath. After finally getting hold of the remaining piece of the sharp-edged radar reflector, he was lowered carefully, battered and bruised but luckily no head damage.

Our anchorage at Cas Cay in Benner Bay was a quiet one but more importantly had great internet access, an often difficult thing to find without lugging the computer to shore. There was also a nice grocery store, the Food Center, where we did some provisioning. Had thought about getting a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. Even though turkeys were available, there were no deals like we’re used to in the states.

We decided to go to a restaurant Wednesday night called Buddha Sushi. The meal was outstanding—and that’s a real compliment from Mike who does not like sushi.

Passage Norfolk to St. Thomas, Nov. 4-Nov. 16, 2007

Hooray! We made it! After 11 1/2 days of sailing the high seas--and some were mighty high--we got there. It was an exciting voyage. Lots of wind and waves and a few storms, but with a crew of Steve Olson, an old sailing buddy from Denver, and Jeff Strouf, a new friend and fellow sailor, we had a fabulous trip. Steve and Jeff were thrilled to be out in the ocean out of sight of land braving the elements. Sue was not; but hard to stay that way when fellow crew were so positive and enjoying every minute of the joyride. We had a few bets on when we would arrive, but we all were pretty pleased to have made it by 1:30 am on Nov. 16th. More to follow.