Iles Des Saintes (The Saintes)

15 52.0 N 61 36.0 W

Iles Des Saintes (The Saintes)

The Saints is a small archipelago of French Antilles located in the South of Basse-Terre Island. It is a dependency of Guadeloupe which is a region of France. The Saintes is composed of two very mountainous inhabited islands, Terre-de-Haut Island and Terre-de-Bas Island, with seven other uninhabited islands.

On our arrival at The Saintes our first stop was the Ilet Cabrit where we hooked onto a mooring ball. The bay was spectacular – deserted island, white sandy beaches and gentle lapping shores. We hiked to the top of the hill and was surprised to find the ruins of Fort Josephine.

The following day we motored across the bay to Terre Den Haut and anchored in a protected bay behind Pain De Sucre – only a few boats could squeeze into the tiny bay but more kept lurking around trying to find a spot . We were joined by Bobby on “Spirit” - the life of any party – Bob puts a smile on everyone's face.

We spent a few hours wandering around the township looking for a cake/slice that the locals made. We eventually found it and it was amazing – I wish we had bought more.

Guadeloupe

16 18.0 N 61 48.0 W

Des Haies Anchorage

Guadeloupe is the southernmost of the Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Guadeloupe consists of two islands shaped like a butterfly with the two halves being separated by a narrow sea channel called Salt River. The larger mountainous side is called “Basse Terre” (low land) and the other smaller low lying is named “Grande Terre” (large land) -makes sense !!

Basse-Terre is a rough volcanic island whereas the eastern Grande-Terre features rolling hills and flat plains.

The folks on “Ner de Well” and Don and I rented a car for two days and circumnavigated the island stopping at waterfalls and hiking tracks. We visited the main town and we actually managed to get our brand of bottom paint for the boat in the local marine chandlery – what a find – of course that means it has to actually get painted on the bottom of the boat – any volunteers ??

We are getting into the volcanic islands now so intermittent rain, stunning views and narrow winding roads. The rain is always welcome as we have been suffering with water shortage since Bahamas. We make water via reverse osmosis with our water maker but it is a very slow process and doesn't keep up with our minimal usage - everyone around us has the same issues. We can purchase water which is usually town water, sometimes good drinking water via reverse osmosis other times from a well and not suitable for our delicate stomachs. Carting water in jerry cans is a pain especially in our dinghy !! The floor is still leaking despite many years of fixing it so when we put a heavy container on the floor the water rushes in - very welcome for tired aching feet :-)

We shall make our way down the western side of the island tomorrow and maybe over to the Saintes, the winds are strong at the moment which will make the 7 mile crossing from one island to the other very rough - our friends who arrived in this bay this afternoon had a very rough crossing from Antigua so we will go as far as comfortable ie. in the lee of the land and see what it is like out there.

We went to the markets today and bought local spices - vanilla bean is grown here but very expensive, I bought turmeric which I haven't been able to find for some time now -and that is because they call it saffron here. I also bought star anise because it smells wonderful - no idea what I am going to do with it though !!! We were given some nutmeg in their shells with the lacy mace still around the outside -too pretty to use and ate some of their starchy fried foods - it was good fun.

We shall make our way down the western side of the island tomorrow and maybe over to the Saintes, the winds are strong at the moment which will make the 7 mile crossing from one island to the other very rough - our friends who arrived in this bay this afternoon had a very rough crossing from Antigua so we will go as far as comfortable ie. in the lee of the land and see what it is like out there.
We went to the markets today and bought local spices - vanilla bean is grown here but very expensive, I bought turmeric which I haven't been able to find for some time now -and that is because they call it saffron here. I also bought star anise because it smells wonderful - no idea what I am going to do with it though !!! We were given some nutmeg in their shells with the lacy mace still around the outside -too pretty to use and ate some of their starchy fried foods - it was good fun.

Antigua

17 00.0 N 61 47.0 W

Antigua has two important harbours that sit side by side – Falmouth and English Habour. Their potential as ports that were easily defended was recognised around 1723 and work began on dockyards. This was to be Britain's main naval station in the Lesser Antilles.

Antigua is beautiful and I hope we get to stay here for a while – Antigua hosts 2 famous yacht racing events each year – The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta runs from 19th – 24 April and we are anchored in the middle of the bay with first class views of the yachts. After a break of a few days the “racing” boats have their regatta. Both Regattas are sponsored by their individual rum company which in turn offers caps, t-shirts etc for those who purchase the required number of rum drinks. Parties are held every night – purchase 3 rum drinks and you get a ticket, 3 tickets gets you a free red cap – these caps are highly sought after and we have one – it is a matter of debate as to whose cap it actually is but it does fit me and looks very nice :-)

We have made Falmouth Harbour our temporary home – the bay is large and does not have a swell – yea !!! To those who may consider I place too much store on a calm anchorage or complain about a swell a little too often just picture our normal day ….... get up tired and cross because of a bad nights sleep, get out the tupperware container of granola and bowls – milk and yogurt from the fridge – just then the boat rolls and the eggs and margarine fall out of the fridge onto the cabin sole – the lip comes off the margarine of course which then splatters up the walls – my hands are still full of milk and yogurt, which when placed in the sink so I can clean up the mess fall over and spill their contents. Expletives are sounded and the mess cleaned up – meanwhile the bowls are sliding backwards and forwards on the bench making a screeching noise. The kettle is boiled for our cup of tea and just as I am pouring the water into the cups another roll and the cups fall over and I now have weak boiling tea running around the kitchen bench and have to start over again. Beginning to get the idea ??? That night I decide to make a fritatta (with the few unbroken eggs) and potato chips in the oven I actually crack the eggs, beat them and get them into the pie dish without mishap – just as I go to place the dish in the oven the boat rolls, the dish is now on the tray in the oven whose gimbals allow to rock with the roll of the boat but I am stopping that rock by holding the oven still while I place the dish. The contents of the dish pour over the back side of the oven that is now at a strange angle, run down the back of the oven and onto the base leaving an omelette looking mess in its path – did I mention that the drinks I had prepared also tipped over ?? Combine this with moving around a rocking boat – feet fall lower than expected as the floor dips, hips get bumped into corners and nothing remains in place – I should mention the terrible affects on ones stomach as well but will leave that to your imagination – now to bedtime – gentle rocking is wonderful when sleeping – comforting and relaxing. More than gentle rocking is nasty – you have to hold onto the edge of the bed to prevent from rolling onto your partner, once you eventually fall asleep the rolls appear to get bigger and shorter in duration and your hand no longer has its grip on the side of the bed so over you go, the only other solution is to use all your muscles to keep in one place leaving you with a tired sore body the next day. A calm anchorage is as close to heaven as I can get on a boat.

St Kitts

17 15.0 N 62 39.0 W

The island of St Christopher (St Kitts) is green with a has a steep mountain range rising 3750 ft high most of which is covered in rain forest. The Caribs (original inhabitants) called St Kitts “Liamuiga” meaning “fertile isle”. Columbus renamed the island after his patron saint. British landed on St Kitts in 1623 making it the first British Caribbean colony. They were joined by a French group and the two nations teamed up to massacre the 2000 Carib inhabitants before they fell out between themselves. After 150 years of fighting St Kitts came under British rule. Today they are fully independent.

Our plan was to sail to St Eustatuis, spend the night then onto St Christopher (St Kitts) – with the weather deteriorating in the next few days we bypassed St Eustatuis and headed directly to St Kitts and anchored in White House bay. We flew our yellow flag (which means we are under quarantine ie have not checked into the country as yet). It is generally considered ok to fly this flag when stopping overnight in an anchorage without checking into the country but you must not go ashore, it is used by boats who have made an unscheduled stop due to engine problems or similar. We spent the next day in the anchorage doing washing and cooking then left very early the next morning to sail to Antigua – the closest secure harbour to wait out the nor-easter. We motored for 11 hours that day – absolutely no wind but no big seas either – this island is usually a hard beat to windward so a day without wind or seas was a nice surprise.

St Barts

17 54.5 N 62 52.0 W

Our next stop was St Barthelemy (St Barts)

In the early days St Barts has insufficient rainfall for agriculture which it low on the list for settlement. Being placed in the middle of the Lesser Antilles with a good harbor and several sheltered bays was appealing enough for the British, French and Spanish to fight over. It prospered under the French in late 1600's when it was used as a base for pirates. In 1784 the French gave St Barts to the Swedes in exchange for free port rights in Gothenburg. The Swedes made it a free port, which it remains today. The Swedes sold St Barts back to France in 1878 and is still under the French flag.

Our first stop was at Ile Fourchue a small island north of St Barts. This island has a lunar landscape the goats having devoured everything including the prickles. We had intended to spend the night there – unfortunately it was very roly so after a quick snorkel around the reefs we headed off to Anse De Colombier. Whilst at Ile Fourchue we snorkelled over to a catamaran that had been washed up on the rocks – one of the engines lay beside it on the rocks under water along with clothes and debris – Don climbed up and into the vessel and noticed that all the condiments and books were still in place – so very sad as this was someone's home. The deck fittings had mostly been stripped off the vessel and it is now left to the waves to destroy.

Anse De Colombier was beautiful secluded bay with white sandy beach, snorkelling and a walk up over the hills to a tiny seaside town where there was suppose to be a bakery. Don and I left the boat at am and headed for the bakery thinking we would buy croissants for everyone and deliver them to the other boats for breakfast – well that was the original plan. We walked the ½ hr walk up and over the hill, then another ½ along the beach to the other end and still no bakery. After asking we were told it was up the hill – a very steep long hill – we decided to give it a go and trudged and puffed our way up a 2 miles extremely steep hill and finally found the bakery – after ordering our goods we were very embarrassed to find we had left our money on the boat – I glared at Don with accusation in my eyes – he did the same back to me and a truce was called and the lack of money and whose responsibility it was to bring it was never mentioned again (I may add that Don always has carriage of his wallet). The following day we had a 3 mile motor down to Gustavia the main port. After completing our entry into this new country we spent the afternoon walking around the town which is beautiful, clean and historically interesting. We had intended to spend a few days looking around the island but a bad weather system was approaching and unfortunately there were no secure anchorages on the island. The anchorage at Gustavia was nasty – extremely roly and uncomfortable – no one slept very well that night and everyone was glad to get away early and head for the next island, St Kitts. Bob on SV “Spirit” has his two cats on board with him – the anchorage was so roly that Holly could not stay in place and cuddled up to Bob who had to put his arm around this very large cat to keep her in place – when he fell asleep and his arm moved Holly woke up and put her paw in his mouth to wake him up so he would again hang on to her and keep her in place – not a good way to get a decent sleep – did I mention the cats whiskers up his nose also :-)

St Martin

18 03.0 N 63 05.9 W

Opening Bridge to Simpson Lagoon

St Martin (French) Sint Maarten (Dutch) is a small island barely 7 miles in each direction, divided roughly in half – the northern half is owned by the French and the southern portion by the Dutch. The island has beautiful white sandy beaches and has embraced the tourism trade whole heartedly – ie casinos, condominiums and scores of hotels. The whole island is one duty free shopping plaza. Not my idea of a place to linger. There is a large lagoon through which runs the dividing line – the lagoon can only be accessed by two opening bridges, one on the French side and as you have already guessed the other bridge on the Dutch side. Both sides have their various fees for customs and immigration and the Dutch also charge for entry and departure via their bridge. You can clear in to the French side and freely travel to the Dutch side via road or dinghy but need to complete new customs and immigration if you decide to take your boat over the line – (which is debatable as to its exact position). How strange !!! To check into the French side we arrived at a marina office, went up a narrow wooden stairway and found some computers – it was a “do it yourself” arrangement. All the people from the 4 boats in our flotilla arrived at the same time and it was so funny listening to all the advice about what certain words mean in French – the format had drop down boxes for place names etc but of course it was all in French – a drink was needed by all after completion. My extensive knowledge of the French language was via Grade 3 in Primary School for about 1 term – I can still count to 3 and still remember Frere a Sharka !!

St Martin meant reasonably priced marina stores for boat parts, French patisserie (chocolate croissants) and scantily clothed women – I am just flabbergasted at the near or naked women – a small power boat anchored near White Rose, dad, mum (flabby 40's) daughter about 17 and daughter about 9 were out for a day's cruising. None of the girls had tops on – I noticed because the 17 year old was badly sunburnt above and below a tube type bikini top had been – she was bright red with very white breasts in between – mum – well what can I say – I must mention that it was Don that pointed out mum had the same dress code. We are becoming accustomed to bathing beauties without tops now – also to smoking in cafes and restaurants – yuk !!

When we arrived at St Martin we originally anchored outside in the bay – the lagoon being very shallow. A bad northerly swell was due to arrive and all our friends rushed to the next bridge opening – after some indecision we decided to follow knowing they would call out the depths along the way – we having the deepest keel of the group. We inched our way in with a mere couple of feet under our keel – the lagoon is riddled with dead and dying ships, half sunken yachts and various other debris. The dredged channel is not as claimed but we made is safely – leaving was another story – we dragged our way through lumps and bumps in the channel hitting bottom three times – we now have the cleanest keel. Another boat was not as lucky as us – they arrived at the bridge a little too early and did a small turn and ended up well and truly stuck on the bottom and missed the bridge opening. We only spent a few days in St Martin and was glad to leave.

Simpson Lagoon Anchorage

British Virgin Islands

The "crew" at Foxy's

We sadly left St Johns in the U.S. Virgin Islands behind and sailed to Jost Van Dyke on the British Virgin Islands. The island is small and has 200 residents. Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke is supposedly an easy place to “check into the country”. The anchorage was packed to the rafters and we anchored almost at the entrance which equals swell which equals a rolly boat !!




Jost Van Dyke

Ashore resembled a seaside holiday place – white sandy roads, colourful shops and clear aqua marine water. Jost Van Dyke hosts the famous Foxy's bar where we all celebrated our arrival into a new country – actually Don and I had not heard of Foxy's but apparently Foxy t-shirts can been seen walking the streets world wide. There is also the “Soggy Dollar” bar where you must have a “painkiller” and the list goes on....... we met Robin and Sue on the Australian boat “True Blue”, they came to White Rose 1 for sun downers and gave us valuable information on the upcoming Leeward Islands – what to see and what to avoid.



Lee in the Bubble Pool

Not being a great fan of rolly anchorages I was anxious to get underway the following morning – Ne'r Do Well and White Rose 1 made their way along the island to Little Jost Van Dyke – the anchorage was reported to be rolly but we found it excellent and had lots of fun in this spot. It was beautiful – but everywhere we have been so far is also – it just keeps getting better !! We hiked up to the top of a rock/bolder strewn hill covered with cacti and other prickly plants – great view. The next day we hiked to the “bubble pool” - the scenery was spectacular and the bubble pool lots of fun – the waves rush into a tiny alcove through a very narrow entrance across rocks which turns the waves into masses of tiny bubbles and froth – we stayed and played until we turned into prunes.

Our next destination was Norman Island – in order to reach this island we had to pass a few others and one of them contained “Soper's Hole”. This is the place to re-provision, get boat jobs done, repairs etc. so a busy full anchorage – as we passed close by I could see that the anchorage was perfectly calm and I almost got down on my knees and begged to stay there a while – a rolly boat gets very tiresome very quickly – anyway I held my opinion to myself and off we toddled to our new anchorage which had great snorkelling.

Norman Island – Privateer Bay has a series of 4 caves where snorkelling was excellent. We anchored in The Bight and took the dinghy along to the mooring balls. The balls have a line running from one to the other, some meters apart, which dinghies can tie up to – this keeps dinghies and their motors away from the snorkellers and also keeps anchors away from coral. The National Parks Trust has mooring balls in many locations to prevent damage to the sea bed by anchors. Our next stop was The Indians / Pelican Island, these amazing set of rocks were close to Norman Island and had mooring balls. We did a quick swim around the rocks – it was extremely rolly with waves and current trying to wash us up on the sharp edges of the rocks – I think everyone was glad to leave.


The Hard Life

White Bay on Peter Island was our next stop – I am getting used to these short hops to wonderful anchorages – we get up in the morning, maybe have a swim then up anchor and travel for an hour or two to the next pretty bay – tough life hey ?? Heather and Ray from Ne'r Do Well and Don and I walked up the steep road to the top of the hill and stared in wonder at the beautiful views – we even found a seat strategically placed to take in one side of the island and also a hut which contained a drink esky with ice cold water and plastic cups – my goodness !!! Being yachties our first thought was we should have brought our shampoo, sat on the ground under the esky and washed our hair :-). Most places we drop anchor Don will snorkel over the anchor and make sure it is dug in well, he was surprised to see a door mat near our anchor and an outdoor table. When we weighed anchor the next morning a new long sleeved bright blue dive top came up with the anchor – it had the BVI dive logo on it and Don wears it with pride.


White Bay Peter Island

Our next stop was Cooper Island where Don scuba dove on the wreck of the RMS Rhone – surprisingly well preserved wreck from early 1900’s.





The BVI's are the perfect place to bare boat – ie hire a catamaran or sailing boat and spend a week or two sailing the islands – all the islands are very close together and most bays are supplied with mooring balls. Each afternoon the games begin – charter boats appear from nowhere and race each other to the few available mooring balls, no patience or manners are involved – these guys zoom through anchorages with total disregard to safety or the wake they leave behind them. Those who are unsuccessful in acquiring a mooring ball have to anchor – they generally drop the anchor, pile 100 ft of chain on top of it then lower the dinghy and head for the nearest bar. Don and I hate being anywhere close to these knuckle heads because the chance of their boat dragging as soon as the wind picks up is 90%. The night we stayed in Cooper Island we spent many midnight hours watching charter boats re anchoring – two had chosen excellent spots right next to the wonderful snorkelling reef – never considering that when the tide changes their boat will be sitting on top of that same reef – and of course the tide did change in the middle of the night – after several attempts to anchor in depths too deep for the amount of chain on the boats. We have watched in horror as some of the charter boats got themselves into all kinds of pickles – as long as they stay away from White Rose then we are happy.

The island of Virgin Gorda was next and Spanish Town the anchorage. “The Baths” is an unusual formation of granite boulders – where the sea washes in between the huge rocks, large pools have been created where shafts of light play upon the water creating a dramatic effect. A trail leads up, over and under these huge granite boulders – it was amazing.

Our next stop was at the northern tip of Virgin Gorda where a large body of water is almost surrounded by land creating a calm anchorage (or at least that is what we hoped for). Our first anchorage was at Mosquito Bay – SV Caribbean Souls and Spirit met up with White Rose and Ne'r Do Well – the four musketeers were together again !! We played around this area for a few days then left for Anegada the northern most island of the BVI's.


Anegada


Hard at it again !

The BVI's are mostly mountainous volcanic formations. Anegada is comprised of coral and limestone and at its highest point is 28 feet above sea level. Anegada is 11 miles long fringed with beautiful white sandy beaches.


Beachside property goin cheap !

Ne'r Do Well and Don and I hired motor scooters each and travelled around the island looking for the pink flamingos – we stopped at pristine white beaches for a snorkel, were surprised and amazed to see the flamingos in their natural habitat and had a wonderful day. It was a wonderful finish to the spectacular British Virgin Islands.


The Flamin Flamingos

Off to St Martins our first stop in the Leeward Islands.