svbeachhouse

Category: 2014 Blog

  • St. Barth\’s…..

    March 26th – 31st, 2014 (-4 on UTC) (Same as New York on Daylight Savings time)

    Dear F&F,
    After sailing by our \”competition\” from St. Kitt\’s, arriving at the French island of St. Barth\’s was wild and entertaining. We saw several \”mega yachts\” sailing around looking like they were practicing for a race. Indeed they were! The outer anchorages were packed, no moorings available and the inside of the main harbor at Gustavia was about as close to off limits as it could have been except for dinghies. We did manage to find a spot to drop the hook between five privately moored boats in Anse de Corossol. Calm and close enough to be able to dinghy into the harbor. The dinghy docks were well past capacity and Nikki and I found a secret spot by one of the waterfront cafe\’s which we used on all our trips ashore.

    Unbeknownst to us, we had arrived just before the start of the three day \”St. Barth\’s Bucket Regatta\”.
    To see some really cool short video of these boats under sail and learn more about what a \”Bucket Regatta\” is.

    Sailing Video link: http://vimeo.com/91319608
    St. Barth\’s Bucket Regatta link: http://www.bucketregattas.com/index.html

    The video of the boats under sail is absolutely worth the few minutes.

    The \”Bucket\” as it\’s known locally is a three day extravaganza for the most elite sailing vessels on the planet! There were 38 boats (invitation only!) ranging from about 90 feet to 220 feet! The \”gold plater\’s\” were at the low end around 6++ million USD and the high end around 50++ million USD! I estimated the fleet\’s worth at about half a billion USD! These yachts are incredibly fast and incredibly powerful. If things go wrong aboard, stuff breaks, it\’s a real problem. The crews ranged from around 15-25 on each boat. It takes that many people to just move things around (like sails) on these boats. We met a young guy from Boston who told us, \”I\’m paid to ask no questions and move heavy objects\”. That about summed it up for the need of most of the crew.

    Imagine boats where if a smudge appears, someone is there within a few minutes to make it disappear. This is the Rockerfeller & Vanderbilt\’s of old – \’type financing\’. The co-founder of Netscape – Jim Clark was aboard his gold plater as were many of the owners. Most of the crews don\’t know who the owners are but if they do, they\’re sworn to secrecy. The security that follows this group is just another part of the spectacle.

    We rented a Quad ATV and drove up to the overlook to watch the start of the first day\’s racing. The boats are started in a reversed staggered order by their sailing handicaps. This prevents 200,000 pound boats smashing into each other on a crowded start line. The courses were varied and mostly used the small islets around St. Barth\’s as marks of the course. A few years ago, the largest boat in the fleet (218 feet), \”Hetairos\” hit one of these islets and it\’s 20,000 pound break away keel feel to the bottom. They were lucky the boat didn\’t capsize! This year would not be an exception either. \”Seahawk\”, the 197 foot Peri Navi brushed a rock while apparently trying to take a tight corner – or so we heard. Apparently, no major disasters which is a really good thing.

    As these races go, the concept is to show them off, but not necessarily make a big deal out of who wins….yeah right! These guys have former America\’s Cup sailors as hired guns to go as fast as possible. Paul Cayard of America\’s Cup fame was aboard \”Hetairos\” this year.

    Our Quad ATV was fun too and we enjoyed doing a self tour of the island; chasing many of the \”gold platers\” around and watching them bunch up as they got closer to the finish line.

    We ran into old friends Richard Spindler and Dona de Mallorca of sailing magazine \”Latitude 38\” out of San Francisco. We knew they were in the area, but they saw us and dinghied by. We went to a modern art photography gallery event with them and Richard told us that Jimmy Buffet was in town for the regatta and would do a free concert on the wharf. For those of you who don\’t know the musician, author and general troubadour to sailor\’s and adventurer\’s everywhere – Jimmy Buffet is an American Icon. Jimmy is and has been for the last 25+ years, consistently in the top 15 grossing concert artists in the USA. He finally got a number one hit a few years ago, \”It\’s 5 O\’Clock Somewhere\” with Alan Jackson. Well Nikki and I thought that was really a cool thing that he was going to play and we went early. He did indeed appear and did a 45 minute set with a local band. I\’m not sure he ever played with this band before, but they seemed to breeze along through Jimmy\’s greatest hits without much difficulty.

    Cindy and I always wondered if we\’d ever come across Jimmy Buffet while sailing vast distances across the world with the Caribbean (his stomping grounds being the most likely place). Here he was, the man himself in St. Barth\’s. Nikki and I enjoyed the brief concert and drank a toast to Cindy\’s spirit – that she could see him too. Jimmy apparently has a house here overlooking the harbor and was rumored to be on one of the big boats on the race.

    We had a lovely meal at \”Maya\’s\” just outside the harbor. Maya, a local gal from Martinique and her American ex-pat husband Randy own it. Very nice, very pricey! St. Barth\’s seems to be all about the privilege of spending more money than the next guy….) It\’s the most expensive (of the expensive) places we\’ve yet been too in the Caribbean.

    I will say, the people\’s attitudes with only one exception (stay away from the bakery near the post office!) was better than all the previous French Islands of the Caribbean. Very high end stores are here like Cartier, La Perla, Louis Vutton and more. Though the prices were very high, the food and service were very good. The mega yachts were paying between 500-800 USD per night for the privilege of dropping an anchor and tying up to the dock at their sterns. This did not include the diving services they had to help set and move their anchors. This was exciting to watch and if you were around; quickly shooed off. At least we only had to pay 30 USD/night to anchor outside the harbor. This was a first – paying to anchor OUTSIDE the harbor.

    Despite the costs – the sights, the spectacle, the town of Gustavia and the ambience made this perhaps our favorite stop of the season to date.

    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki (Currently in Puerto Rico!)

  • St Kitts and Nevis…..

    March 23rd – March 25th 2014 (-4 on UTC)

    Dear F&F,
    We sailed the 33 nautical miles from Montserrat to Nevis with the genoa and full mainsail. A great downwind sail and the first (downwind) since we left Trinidad at the end of last season. This allowed us the first chance this season to use the spinnaker pole; \”wing and wing\” or as Nikki says, \”goose-wing\”. We passed close by the west coast of the small island of Redonda (which is connected politically to Antigua). This mile long scrubby and very steep sided island was once a mining facility for the extraction of phosphates. The mining was abandoned in the 1930s and the island has been uninhabited since then. It didn\’t look very inviting, there are no anchorages and its coastline is nearly 1000 ft of sheer cliffs.

    An interesting side story was that an Irish Montserrat merchant, claimed Redonda for his son in 1880. His son was 15 at the time. He landed on the then uninhabited rock and declared his son \”King Filipe I – King of Redonda\”. Along with the Bishop of Antigua and some other friends, they all had a good time and consumed much in the way of \”Caribbean Spirits\”. Believe it or not, eventually Parliament in the UK actually approved of such a move as it kept the every changing alliances of the islands of the Caribbean more to their liking.

    We arrived off Neviss main town, Charlestown and anchored at Pinney\’s Beach. This is a long stretch of sandy white beach with yet another up-market – Four Seasons -resort. At that end of the beach, the \”yachties\” are not encouraged to frequent! Pinney\’s beach has a couple of famous beach bars, one of them being Sunshines home of the Killer-Bee cocktail. No we didnt get there, the walk from town was too long and the steep wet beach landing was enough to keep us away, so we enjoyed a G&T on board \”Beach House\” instead and listened to the music from the beach – we must be getting old! For those who follow in our wake, the dinghy ride is almost a mile to the dinghy dock – each way.

    Next morning we went ashore to check in and explore. Nevis has a history of sugar plantations, most of which have been converted into high end boutique hotels with good restaurants attached. The island is also famous for two of its former residents; Fanny Nesbit married Lord Horaito Nelson here and Alexander Hamiliton was born here. Hamilton left at the age of 9 and was mostly raised into his teens on Jamaica before emigrating to the colonies. The rest is history. There are two museums on the island giving a piece of both Lord Nelson\’s and Hamilton\’s life stories. Neither \”museum\” was much to see, but it was interesting nonetheless to read about both nations heroes of a bygone era.

    We decided to go and visit the Golden Rock Plantation up in the foothills of Nevis Peak. Nevis is an English bastardization of the Spanish – \”Nieves\”. Nieves means snow! When Columbus first sighted the island on his second voyage of discovery in 1493, it appeared covered in snow and hence the named it after his favorite Cathedral – \”Nuestra Senora de las Nieves\”.

    We negotiated an (expensive) taxi ride for the 25 minute drive into the hills. Nevis is a pretty island and seemed unspoiled overall with locals who welcome the recent expansion of the airport and the big hotels coming to town. The water front seemed to have been tidied up over the last few years and the entry facility definitely geared up to receive the smaller cruise ship crowd. Thankfully on this island, they have maintained most of the Caribbean style architecture from the original. The Golden Rock Plantation had been renovated and was looking very good. The food was good but cold. The service strictly \”Caribbean\”. The views to the north of St. Barth\’s and St. Maarten\’s were fabulous. A day ashore was all we felt we needed to do some justice to Nevis so we headed on to her big sister, the island of St Kitts the next morning.

    St. Christopher (St. Kitt\’s) – 25 March 2014
    The islands are almost joined together so we motored the 6 miles into the main anchorage – Basseterre which means \”lowlands\”. It didnt look very tenable and so we hailed the local marina and they replied that they had space for a 51 ft. Catamaran inside. Unfortunately their idea of space was the end of the main dock. We side tied along a small cargo pier which was 5ft higher than the deck. As we were on the \”outside\”, we couldn\’t reach the water and power, but it did have security at the gate and we were able to walk into town. Oddly, despite St. Kitt\’s and Nevis being the same nation and only a quick trip from each other, we had to check in and out with Customs and Immigration from both islands. As we were adjacent to the main cruise ship dock, this was fortunately easy.

    Port Zante, Basseterre is really a duty free stop off for the large cruise ships. We found some decently priced wine and the cheapest Bombay Sapphire gin we had seen since we bought it (also) duty free in Darwin Australia two seasons ago. It took us two years to drink two & half bottles, so we stocked up….and bought two…:-)

    The big attraction on St Kitt\’s in the Brimstone Hill Fortress. This fortress gives the island it\’s nickname,The Gibralter of the West Indies\’. We had the afternoon left and decided to get a taxi and have a look round the restored fort. The view from the top was of St. Eustatia (Statia) and Saba to the northwest with St. Barth\’s and St. Maarten to the northeast. We learned about the history and conflict that the English and French had here in the late 1700\’s and a bit about how the various wars and lands were divided up in a few important European treaties which are for the most part, still in effect today. St. Kitt\’s also has a train which does a few hour tour. We would have done it but couldn\’t get tickets as the cruise ship had it fully booked.

    We came back and bought some (likely locally produced) DVDs. The guy who was selling had Nikki in hysterics. We thought he must have got his college degree in marketing. He told us the plot of every film we picked up off his stand. He kept pulling more must see before you die\’ movies from under the counter it was pretty funny! We finished off looking round \’The Circus\’ in town, a small area designed with Piccadilly Circus London in mind. Apart from a derelict red London phone box – we could really get the connection! We decided to go by the guidebook, (famous for misrepresenting restaurants; especially those that advertise in their guide). We had tea at the Ballahoo Restaurant. The food was pretty mediocre but a pleasant setting to watch the world go by around \”The Circus\” roundabout below. The waitress at the restaurant was right out of the 1970\’s film, \”Five Easy Pieces\”. She couldn\’t imagine that we would ask questions and actually expect her attention. We were one of two tables seated in the restaurant. She clearly couldn\’t be bothered. Unfortunately, some of the locals are quite jaded (especially to the cruise ship crowd which she assumed we were from). After our lovely experience we met an American chap in the marina who said we should go to the \”All American Bakery\” the next morning…\”it was to die for\”, he said. The next day, I went early and found the place. It was clear that – first, the waitress from last night\’s experience had a daughter who was working the counter and second, the product was in effect..Winchell\’s Donuts.

    The island has it\’s strong points, but don\’t ask me for them. Let\’s say, it wasn\’t one of my favorites. The other funny experience we had at the Marina was running into a very stuffy Brit and his wife who were a bit too posh for Nikki\’s taste. The \”chap\” told us that he sailed his (very nice) Benateau 50 over \”on the ARC don\’t you know\”! For those of you who don\’t know, the ARC is the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers which leaves the Canary Islands with about 200 mostly European boats heading to the Caribbean for the season. He was all about knocking down catamaran\’s. He asked how we \”pointed\”? Pointing is how close to the wind a boat can sail and cruising cats (which he knew ahead of time), are notoriously bad at it. It\’s really our only weakness. So I told him essentially \”not very well\”. I used my analogy, which sailors will appreciate. I said, \”as well as a 50 foot shipping container with a mast could…:-)\” I did my best not to \”get into it\” with him and fortunately succeeded. The highlight of this experience was when the next day we set sail together. There was no doubt that from his perspective, \”the race was on\”. I\’m quite sure the chap thought he\’d sail right past us \”pointing\” to St. Barth\’s. We flew right by him, arriving almost an hour ahead in the 22 mile journey. When he got to Gustavia (the main port of St. Barth\’s) he somehow kept avoiding us….:-) Funny, we saw him again the other day at Norman\’s Island Bight (BVI – where we are now) and yet again….he didn\’t say a word….:-)

    Next…St. Barth\’s! This would be one of our highlights to date in the Caribbean.
    Stay tuned,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Montserrat…..

    March 20th March 23rd 2014 (-4 on UTC)

    Dear F&F,
    The sail from Jolly Harbour, Antigua to the north end of Montserrat was remarkable. With full main and genoa set, we averaged 9.3 knots, it took less than 2 1/2 hours.

    Antigua and Montserrat were geologically linked in their distant past as the water depth between the islands was only 100 ft. most of the way. This made the sea swell pretty steep and choppy. Moreover, cooking poached eggs on toast was a bit sloppy in the galley for Nikki. We could see Soufriere Hills Volcano (yet ANOTHER Soufriere) still smoking from it\’s last major eruptions in 2008 and 2010. From Antigua, on any clear day, you could see the steam on top of the volcano quite clearly. As we sailed by, we saw the site of the original airport on the southeast coast which is now under 20 feet of volcanic ash having been completely buried in the 1997 eruption.

    We dropped the mainsail at the north tip of the island, rounding the headland and entered Little Bay, the now new capitol and main port of Montserrat. This is one of the few places anchoring is allowed as the southern 2/3rds of the island is an exclusion zone. We didn\’t know why people were excluded as the volcano has not erupted in 4 years, but we found out the reason on our tour. The sulfuric acid rain that falls from the smoke can be hazardous to your health. But I\’m jumping ahead!

    The entrance to Little Bay reminded us of the approach to the scenic bay (James Bay),at St. Helena when we crossed the Southern Atlantic Ocean last season. Like St. Helena, this island too is a British Overseas Territory. We had a bit of the anchoring blues as it took awhile to find the ideal spot away from the offshore reefs and out of the ferry channel – which was unmarked. There were between 4 and 15 boats here during our three day stay. We dinghied in to the wharf; the check in proved fairly painless (once we found an island official). We then went off to explore on foot the newly constructed Polynesian style huts overlooking the bay. We found reasonable internet and a decent Sauvingon Blanc at Monty\’s Bar. The government is trying to build a marina and set up a tourist industry here as quickly as feasible to lure back the cruise ships that once frequently visited Plymouth.

    Monty is a British ex-pat who after sailing most of the seven seas courtesy of the Royal Navy, decided to settle into \”civy life\” and buy a beach bar somewhere. He had originally looked at Asia for his business but got lured back here by the friendliness of the locals and what he said was very low crime as well (but more on this later). He wanted to get in on the ground floor and the chance to buy something new and build up it\’s reputation. He had a marvelous oil painting of an old Thames dock master on his wall. I wonder if Captain John Prentice (long deceased) ever knew his portrait would end up looking over the lovely Caribbean turquoise ocean, I think he would of liked that! While we were admiring the deco and local artefact\’s, Scott was doing his get to know the locals\’ pitch and I found him later negotiating a deal for a tour of the now defunct main town (Plymouth) by way of a recommendation by a local ex-pat Canadian girl who had a house further south of the bay.

    Our guide wouldn\’t be available for two days so we decided to do a dive at the bay just north of Little Bay – Rendezvous Bay – where there was a mooring on a nice dive site. The dinghy ride was short and it was calm and easy diving. We saw a coral banded shrimp, a box fish, a puffer fish and an invasive species – a Lion Fish. These were inadvertently introduced by either an aquarium that was destroyed in a hurricane in the Caribbean or released by a bored private aquarium owner. Stories abound!

    The next morning we came ashore and were promptly met by Winston, our recommended tour guide for the day. It turned out Winston was the former Vice Commander of the Montserrat police force and knew almost everyone and everything about the Island and it\’s unfortunate recent history. He was quite educated and very well spoken. He kept us enthralled with tales from the cruelty of the old slavery days to the recent volcanic eruption stories. Winston, as Vice Commander, was instrumental in advising and overseeing the complete evacuation of the southern part of the island. These eruptions started in 1995 and in 1997, 19 people were killed when they were lulled into returning to their homes against advice. During that eruption, the airport had to be abandoned as it received it\’s first coating of lava in a pyroclastic flow eruption. This is where the ash and gasses travel at over 100 miles/hour down the path of the eruption. Anything even near in the way, is literally – toast!

    As part of his tour we got special day passes from the police station to go into the daytime exclusion zone. This started off with an overview of the old airport at Jack Boy Hill. Winston then took us through a grey lava valley which resembled a moon scape where previously the area had provided most of the fertile soil for local agriculture. Once self sufficient, sadly most of the fruits and vegetables are now imported to the island from Dominica. All local agriculture collapsed after the last major eruption. Sulphur from the aftermath of the eruption makes the soil subject to acid rain and intolerable for many years to cultivation of any kind.

    Standing at the former, Montserrat Spring Hotel (which is destroyed), we could see the valley of lava, ash and mud that flowed down the southwest side of the volcano burying the once picturesque seaside capitol of Plymouth. It\’s estimated that the depth of the lava and ash is 20-40 feet in most places. An eerie site is the port\’s pier still standing, looking as if a big ship could tie up any moment; but to the reception of no one. The beach is now \”black sand\”, but very calm. We could smell the heavy scent of sulfur in the air which is why, at least to this point, entering Plymouth is not allowed. In the near hit zone of the eruption, houses and businesses stand in various states of decay. A notable feature is the heavy corrosion of anything iron from the mild sulfuric acid in the air. As this has been constant for almost 20 years, it has taken quite a toll on the structures that remain in the area.

    Plymouth once had 8,000 residents, (12,000 on the island). Now the entire island has only between 3,500 and 5,000 people depending on whose opinion you get. After our viewing of Plymouth, we went to another former luxury resort where the \”lahore\” (volcanic mud flows) added several hundred yards of land and filled in Old Road Bay. We next went up to the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (closed on the weekend when we were there) where scientists from all over the world come to view and study the volcano. The type of lava \”andestic\”, from the volcano is a heavy mass type that is more destructive than other types of lava. To see more on this volcano and it\’s recent eruptions go to: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soufriere_Hills.

    Another point of interest on Montserrat is that it is the winter vacation residence of Sir George Martin, former producer for the Beatles. Sir George set up a state of the art recording studio – The Air Montserrat Studios adjacent to his home – Olveston House. It was very active in the 1970\’s – 1989. Artists came from all over the world for the scenic beauty, the isolation and the complete absents of \”paparazzi\”. It was destroyed in 1989 by Hurricane Hugo (poor Montserrat)! The insurance policy wouldn\’t pay for it\’s restoration and Sir George decided not to rebuild it. A veritable list of who\’s who in the Music world recorded here. A partial list is: Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Sheena Easton, America and of course….Jimmy Buffet! Jimmy Buffet actually recorded his album \”Volcano\” here with the title song being prescient. A few years later, the volcano blew!

    The one major artist from Montserrat was \”Arrow\”. He recorded his one and only hit – \”Hot, Hot, Hot\” at the Air Montserrat Studio. Arrow passed away a few years ago after a battle with cancer, but he is THE national hero of Montserrat. We visited Sir George\’s estate which is used as a restaurant when he\’s not in residence. It was a lovely plantation style, not over the top in anyway and quite authentic to the early days of the Caribbean.

    After our tour, we went back to Monty\’s Bar where we discovered Monty was not in today as he was mugged the night before! Monty had told us one of the reasons he finally settled on this island was there was almost no crime!….Welcome to Paradise.

    Next…Nevis and St. Kitt\’s then on to St. Barth\’s!
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Antigua & Barbuda…..

    March 7th – March 19th, 2014 (-4 on UTC)

    Dear F&F,
    We were holed up in Deshaies (Guadeloupe) for a couple of days waiting for a suitable weather window to go over to Antigua. The gusty winds finally subsided on the morning of the 7th giving us a great sail (and angle) for the 40nm run into Freeman Bay – just outside English Harbour. Ron and Kathleen on our ‘buddy’ boat s/v \”Lady Amelie\”, were not far behind us and they decided to go into the next bay (Falmouth) to get fixed up with a new anchor, taking advantage of the well-equipped \”Budget Marine\” store which serves the numerous mega yachts here.

    Freeman Bay is one of the most delightful anchorages we\’ve been in so far. We anchored with no trouble in 8 ft of water just off the beautiful white sand Galleon Beach. Freeman is also right at the outside of the harbor and just below Shirley Heights where Nikki and I enjoyed the steel band last August when we flew here.

    Beaches are what Antigua is famous for – white sand beaches! There are apparently enough in Antigua (and its sister island Barbuda) to visit a different one for each day of the year! We never actually checked this out, but for the tourist brochures, it\’s a definite hit. Antigua & Barbuda has built it\’s tourist reputation on it\’s \”Three S’s\” – (namely: Sun, Sand and Sea). Even the island vehicle license plates tell you so!.

    We decided to get customs over and done with before they closed at 4pm and took the short dinghy ride to the Admiral\’s Inn dinghy dock where the lovely old naval buildings have been renovated into their former Georgian glory. Much of the restoration is due to retired British Commander Vernon Nicholson. Nicholson sailed into the harbor in 1947. He dedicated many years to restoring the ruins and making the harbor into a major hub for the yachting industry that it is today. This harbor is re-pleat with history from Admiral Nelson and the great age of sail. English (and Falmouth) Harbors host the annual Antigua Sailing Week Regattas which also form part of the \”Grand Dame\” sailing circuit in the region. We would definitely get a taste of the \”Grande Dames\” when we arrived in St. Bart in a few weeks at the \”St. Bart\’s Bucket Regatta\”.

    Descendants of Nicholson are still involved in local businesses, the yachting industry and \”Nelson\’s Dockyard\”. English and Falmouth Harbour\’s are home to many of the major sailing/charter operations in the Caribbean. That evening we took a dinghy ride to a local Italian restaurant right on the waterfront overlooking the Dockyards called Papparazzi’s. It was the best meal we\’d had to date this season! Nikki had a lovely Vongole with home made pasta and I had the Puttanesca Gnocchi. We polished it off with a perfectly chilled Sauvignon Blanc – divine. Yes, still pretty expensive but worth it. Well, let’s just say, a bit pricey for L.A. or even N.Y., but not so much for Perth prices!

    The next day we met up with Ron and Kathleen and after a bit of provisioning in Falmouth Bay, Ron and I took a taxi ride to the Budget Marine store to purchase a much needed new Rocna anchor for s/v \”Lady Amelie\”. After much deliberation (and making the poor guy in the shop stay open past closing), Ron decided on the 35kg one over the 25kg as they no longer made the 30kgs (which is the one we have on \”Beach House\”). In hindsight Ron made the right choice as we found out later that another Switch 51 sports a whopping 40kg anchor!

    To celebrate their ‘new mooring\’, (What I have taken to call the EVER dependable Rocna anchor), we decided to go and have lunch at Roxy’s restaurant on Galleon beach. This restaurant is owned by the same guy who owns Paparazzi’s and is more geared to the casual beach crowd. We all had great Angus burger\’s and of course more drinks which extended into their Happy Hour – just another hard day in paradise!

    9th March 2014
    Kathleen and Ron knew Nelson\’s Dockyard and some of the locals pretty well having spent a few weeks there last season after they sailed their boat here from the Mediterranean. Kathleen had stayed at the Copper and Lumber Store Hotel and wanted to try their newly opened cabana style bar and infinity pool area over the other side of the waterway. We hailed the hotel water taxi (they knew the driver!) and took a quick boat ride over the bay to check it out at lunch time. It really was a lovely spot and the original house had been modernized and expanded with local materials. They also had an incredible fresh herb garden right outside the kitchen! We had lunch but spent a couple of hours waiting for the unbelievably slow kitchen and service. We used the time to admire the antics of the local holiday makers and \”beautiful people\” sunning around the pool area. It was truly a great \”people watching spot\”. The highlights were the three late 20 something guys and the late 20 something girls jockeying for position with each other moving around different areas in the pool and eyeing each other. They then all got together for lunch. The other highlight was the elderly chap who took 5 minutes to swim one length of the pool for an hour. Each length was less than 60 feet btw! It looked so painful, we didn\’t know whether to laugh or cry!

    10th March 2014
    We decided to move on from English Harbour and head up to Jolly Harbour. We had been to this area before when we stayed at the very nice Sugar Ridge Resort on the other side of the marina last August when en route to Florida (by air). After a morning of motoring along an interesting coastline, watching the smoke (25 miles away) from the steaming cauldron of Mt. Pelee on Montserrat – further taking in the vistas of more long lovely white sandy beaches – we arrived in the outer bay of Jolly Harbour. We anchored in what we thought was a nice quiet spot. Shortly thereafter, we figured out why we were the only boat anchored there as it became increasingly untenable. A rolly sea swell started to come up and we were uncomfortably close to the lee shore. As such…

    We picked up the hook and hailed the Marina who informed us we could pick up any available mooring inside the bay, which we did. We then went to explore a little and find where Ron and Kathleen had moored their boat. Turns out they were only 100 meters away! Jolly Harbour is a massive manmade waterway complex comprising of many canal houses and yet more charter boat operations. It had almost an air of 1980’s boom and bust years about it all. The casino was closed and was up for sale, even Peter – the manager at the local Italian restaurant told us business had become quite slack recently. The Caribbean in general seems to be \”hit and miss\”. Some places are really busy, then bust. It moves around but still speaks to the very slow world wide economic (non) recovery. Often the problems with tourist establishments is that they don\’t respond in price to changing economics. They go higher, stabilize and higher again. This then causes many of them to be abandoned by the clients and out of business they go. It is somewhat astonishing to see abandoned properties almost everywhere we\’ve been.

    The next day we moved into a slip for a couple of nights to get some boat jobs sorted. One thing Jolly Harbour does have and that is the best provisioning supermarket since leaving Grenada. Epicurean is a massive market with loads of Waitrose (English)and U.S. items on the shelves. It was great to be able to get food stuffs Nikki liked and recognized. As expensive as food can be \”at home\”, food and fuel are dramatically more expensive out here and we spent a small fortune on provisioning. Typical super market bills can be twice that of Los Angeles and fuel is rarely less than $7.50/gallon. Despite this, I always tell Nikki to “buy it when you see it as you never know if you will get it again”. Nikki has tended to be over cautious in the past on buying too much and lived to regret it later when she never sees the product again. Nikki says she\’s learning – fast!

    While here, I wanted to get the electric start back in operation on the dinghy motor and find out why it was continuously flooded after it warmed up.
    The dinghy battery, (which we\’d replaced in Martinique), was most likely good as it turned out it was the starting solenoid that was bad and why it wouldn\’t start. The carburetor had some worn parts as well which is why it was flooding. I try to have every spare known to man and indeed had a spare new carburetor for the outboard. In a few hours time, we were back in business. Pushing a button is a dream compared to pulling the starting cord – over and over again!

    14th March 2014
    Barbuda is the sister island just north of Antigua. Indeed the nation is called Antigua & Barbuda. Barbuda however is treated a bit as the poor step child however. There is \”friction\” when the situation of economic resources is discussed.

    This was one of the best sails of the season to date. Steady 15/18 knots apparent wind, with a nice calm sea state – lovely! Cocoa Bay is a beautiful spot and off the charter boat track. We would spend one night here and got together with Ron & Kathleen for dinner. Cocoa Bay has white, almost pink! sand beach as far as you can see and very clear shallow water in the anchorage. We hit it on a really good (read that as calm) day as well. Despite being off the charter boat track, there were still 15 boats here including three mega yachts. The resort ashore strictly did not allow the boats to use their restaurants or facilities. They feel their exclusive clientele wants total anonymity.

    The next day, Ron & Kathleen arranged for us to get a tour of Codrington (main village) and the Frigate Bird nesting site. We motored up to Barbuda Outback Bar\’s beach to do a tour of the island. This Island (together with Montserrat) were the friendliest islanders of the Caribbean. So many of these islanders seem jaded with the tourists or only interested in servicing the mega yachts which abound these waters! The island in many ways reminded me of the Yasawa\’s in Fiji. Long pinkish/white sandy beaches with no one around.

    Claire Frank, local ex-pat Brit and owner of a local crafts shop in the main (very small) village of Codrington, tells us some recent history about the construction site huts pushed over the cliffs. The main man behind this was George Jeffery and his daughter!!! George as it turns out is our tour guide. Seems that some (what the islanders call) \”crooks\” were trying to more or less change the entire tourist structure here without the permission of the local council. As such, they took action. The \”crooks\” closed shop and went away after the locals (led by George) pushed all their temporary construction trailers over the side of a cliff! The island has a ruling council and is as close to a socialist government as you can imagine. Effectively, no one owns any land; the entire group of islanders own it all. But, much like many socialist paradises…well, turns out you can \”control\” your land and turn it over to your dependents after all…:-) The island attempts to act collectively and as such, things move at a slower than snails pace.

    George had to borrow a boat to take us to the Frigate site, which gave us much more time than needed to explore Codrington. Our tour of the Frigate site was very interesting and educational. We learned that flying fish (the flies of the seven seas), are the main diet of the Frigates. Also, they cannot land on water! There ar about 20,000 Frigates on this island. The last time I saw a colony like this was at Isla Maria with Cindy in the southern Sea of Cortez, Mexico. One of our \”splash screen\” shots on the website home page is a photo of Cindy at the sulphury lake on Isla Maria.

    After the tour, George\’s brother found us some local lobsters and Ron got him to cook them on the beach. We went back to the boat and had lobster lunch aboard \”Beach House\” with a simple salad and lemon butter sauce. Even I, (the world\’s only sailor who doesn\’t eat fish) ate one! Another bottle of lovely wine was provided by Ron and Kathleen, great end to the day.

    Barbuda Outback Bar Beach anchorage was GREAT till 2am. Then the swell got big and we felt like we were surfing at anchor. We did wonder why when it was so calm on our arrival, George had insisted we pull the dinghy way up the beach! Now we know why. Where we left it the previous morning might have seen it swept out to sea!
    We were up early and off before we found ourselves beached on Beach House too. As the conditions seemed worse everywhere, we decided to sail back to Antigua and go to Green Island\’s – Ten Pound Bay.

    Ten pound bay – what a lovely, lovely spot with only one other boat on a mooring! This is how we imagined the Caribbean would be – hard to leave this anchorage in 6ft water! We went snorkeling on the reef and Scott took a SCUBA tank and cleaned the boat bottom while standing in the sand below the boat! The inner side of the lagoon had about 15 boats, but also in a really nice anchorage with wind and kite surfers. This reminded us of Tobago Cays in the Grenadines but with about 10% of the boats and people. On our way back to English Harbour where Nikki wanted to do a quick shop, we passed the cliff side estate of Eric Clapton. He owns an entire bluff overlooking two bays and just a mile or so from English Harbour. Yes, we took pictures…:-)

    18th March 2014
    We didn\’t stay long at English Harbour and kept on to Jolly Harbour for 2 nights.
    We went to an Italian Restaurant on our last night, called \”Al Porto\”. We checked out of here and did a final stock up at Epicurean getting ready to be on our way to the volcano island – Montserrat. We\’ve seen Mt. Pelee on Monteserrat – smoking for the last few weeks. The adventure continues. But as Jimmy Buffet says, \”I don\’t know where I\’m a gonna go, if the volcano blow!\”…:-)

    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Les Saintes & Guadeloupe…..

    February 28th – March 7th, 2014 (-4 on UTC)

    Dear F&F,

    The sail from Dominica to Iles Les Saintes had a bit less wind than our previous inter island sails,(which was fine with us!), yet another Caribbean gem and only 20 miles. We found upon arrival that the 70 moorings were all full and anchored in a bit of a rolly spot a few hundred yards west of the mooring field.

    That afternoon we struggled to find the \”E-Seaclear\” office, but finally did so. We made reservations at a shore side eatery, La Frindale. The service was lovely, the food, not so much. The prices?…Well…priceless….:-)

    The next morning, peering through our binoculars, a mooring came available and as they were first come/first serve, we did the \”yachting tango\” and grabbed one. The visit to the town was a lovely surprise, very French tourist hamlet; very clean. We found a great French bakery for chocolate croissants and coffee. We also welcomed Ron & Kathleen who came a day behind us. That evening we had a nice meal aboard \”Lady Amelie\” where Ron made me a great steak and Nikki, Kathleen & Ron had yellow fin tuna. Ron made a mean \”Mojito\”. I have taken to calling them \”pond scum\” for their look and their effect makes me feel like I\’ll be scum in the pond soon enough….:-)

    Next day was Sunday and the local church with bells a-ringing was full. Singing could be heard over much of town. The main town, Terre de Haut (Highlands), has a history of people from the northern coast of France\’s Brittany and Normandy. Many of the locals as such have light skin and red hair. As there was no sugar cane here, no slaves were ever imported and all the locals living here have come by choice. The town has a \”small town\” French atmosphere with several restaurants and shops along the shoreline of this small islets protected western shore.

    As March has arrived, we were feeling the need to keep moving. There is still more of the Caribbean to see than we have seen so far! Hurricane season isn\’t that far off. We decided as such, to miss Pointe a Pitre, the main town and big time Mega Yacht harbor. It would have been a 20 mile sail straight upwind and then a 20 mile return to continue on the lee shore of the island. We had high hopes for our next intended destination, Pidgeon Island which has the Cousteau dive park as it\’s center piece. En route, we stayed the night at Marina de Riviere Sens. This is a tiny little harbor where the only fuel dock was on this entire side of the island. We actually stayed the night at the fuel dock and would fuel up the next morning. As it was Sunday, the fuel dock was closed. While I fueled up, Nikki went on a \”recky\” for food, fruit and veg at the local market. As per usual, fueling can be an experience. After I filled one tank, they ran out of fuel. I took 6 jerry cans and fortunately was able to carry them to the local gas station which ran the fuel dock via intercom. 6 x 200 yds. of carrying 50 lb. Jerry cans of fuel gave me my workout for the day. We were topped off.

    We then anchored in the bay inshore of Pigeon island (Malendure) and went for a \”recky\” via dinghy. The ride was about a half mile each way. We did some snorkeling and hoped we\’d find better parts of the area the next day with our underwater viewer. Ron & Kathleen showed up the next morning and we did a pre-scout of the snorkeling dive area. Unfortunately, it\’s living on it\’s name – Cousteau. The coral essentially had all been wiped out by a recent hurricane. The dive area wasn\’t so nice, but Nikki wanted to do a bit of a refresher dive with me and we went in the sand off the stern of the boat. It would mostly be about getting Nikki used to the equipment as she hadn\’t dove in 20+ years since gaining her Rescue Diver certification in the Middle East. She did great, but the site wasn\’t much to look at. Good first time, more would come shortly.

    That night, the four of us went ashore for dinner at \”Le Rocher de Malendure\”. It was Mardi Gras, but they were open. Our guide book gave this restaurant high marks as to food and price. The setting lovely, the bugs not so much. The waiter was a local and quite a character. As usual, the food wasn\’t very good and the prices were high. We can stand the high price occasionally IF the food is good. It wasn\’t – Ce la vie baby!..:-) Our guide book has never met an advertiser he didn\’t like!…:-)

    The next morning we did the short motor up the northwestern most town, Deshaies (pronounced Dez-a as in the letter \”a\”).

    We were able to do our e-seaclearance at a local shop and Nikki learned that she will soon be a Grandma via email! Congratulations to Hollie, Adam and of course Grandma Nik. The anchorage was a real zoo; very crowded. There was some \”anchoring antics\” that night, but all survived. The town was worth the day, but not much more. Tomorrow we\’ll be off to Antigua – Freeman Bay, English Harbour where Nikki and I had flown to last August. Back to the English speaking world.
    Stay tuned,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Dominica…..

    February 23rd – 28th, 2014 (-4 on UTC)

    Dear F&F,

    Yet again, we had a lovely 32 mile sail on a close (just forward of the beam) reach to the island of Rainbow\’s and Rivers – Dominica. The French call it Dominique. Dominica was formerly French, now independent. Interestingly, English is far more spoken than French. When Columbus first tried to describe this island to King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella, he crumpled up a piece of paper and told them that this was the topography of Dominica, it certainly has many contrasts – from volcanos to rain forests, waterfalls and hot sulfur springs. The main reason it has been spared the tourism development phase is that there are really no \”white sand beaches\” and hence no mega hotels here. There are cruise ships daily in the Capitol, Roseau. This dramatically increases the population of the island\’s main town and brings in much needed cash to the local artisans and merchants. This island is also home to the last pre-Columbian society in the Eastern Caribbean with 2,200 Caribes. Originally, these were a very aggressive and warlike culture which was decimated by modern European firepower in the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries. That of course is the \”short story\”. Local resistance to being absorbed by European Colonialism certainly had it\’s controversy.

    We arrived in Roseau and quickly found a mooring. The area is very steep and deep and as such, moorings are advised. Otherwise, anchoring close to shore can be daunting as the water is quite deep right up to the shoreline. On our first full day, we did a tour and hike to Middleham Falls with friends Doug and Ursula of s/v \”Island Explorer\”. Ursula had twisted her knee and we weren\’t sure how she would do on what turned out to be a fairly moderate to difficult hike. Ursula proved to us how tough South Africans are. Knee brace, walking stick and all; she did great. Nikki found a lovely stream at the end of the hike and we went for a swim while waiting for Doug and Ursula to finish. They weren\’t that far behind! We returned to Roseau for lunch and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We did a bit of shopping and Nikki bought a huge mortar and pestle. She\’s still wondering how she might get it through Australian customs one day as they\’re pretty strict on unfinished wood imports.

    The next day, we motored up to the northwest side of the island to the town of Portsmouth. The moorings here are regulated and maintained by \”PAYS\” (The Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security). This group actually patrols their anchorage and makes sure all is on the up and up. Tourism is key to their survival and they want no bad \”yachtie stories\” hitting the grapevine. They also arrange whatever services you might need, such as tours, fuel, water, etc.

    Portsmouth town wasn\’t much in the way of sight seeing but was a place to try and see the Cocorico Parrot up the Indian River which is only found on Dominica. We didn\’t see any, but hear they\’re a most re-splendid bird.

    We had been \”chasing\” sister ship s/v \”Lady Amelie\” (Switch #4 – Beach House is #11) for several weeks and we finally caught up to Ron and Kathleen Hamilton from Toronto, Canada. Ron just missed making the Canadian Olympic team in Tornado Cats – twice! As such, he knows how to make the boat go. \”Lady Amelie\” is much lighter than we and has an 8 1/2 foot taller mast with lots more sail area. In light airs, she would sail right by us. Poor \”Miss Piggy\”, she\’s a heavy girl, but still our favorite…:-)

    Nikki made some very Australian \”ANZAC Biscuits\” and we had Ron, Kathleen, Doug and Ursula over for coffee, biscuits and boat tour. We all became acquainted and as we would be following a similar track to Ron & Kathleen, we\’d spend most of our time on the next three islands north together. Doug & Ursula would be traveling at a slower pace, but we\’ve kept in touch via email. The night of the 27th, we saw a clear and distinct \”Green Flash\” at sunset. The Green Flash for those of you who don\’t know, is where the sun refracts as it sets and the top separates into a distinct moment of green just as the sun disappears over the horizon. Many think it\’s a legend, but I\’ve seen dozens of them out here over the last 6 1/2 years. The first one I ever saw was in Marina del Rey at Dockweiler State beach with Cindy.

    The next day, we set sail just ahead of Ron and Kathleen and headed to our next French Islands – Les Saintes and Guadeloupe. Les Saintes are a small group of islets just south of the main island of Guadeloupe and a magical little spot. That will be our next tale…so stand by!…
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Martinique…..

    February 17th – 23rd, 2014 (-4 on UTC)

    Dear F&F,

    Yet another blustery 25 mile sail was at hand! A close reach with reefed main and (mostly) genoa.
    Martinique would be our first French island of the season as well.

    We pulled into Marin Bay at the southwest side of the island and picked up a mooring. Most notable was that the well protected bay was very much like many lagoons in the South Pacific and there were several hundred boats at mooring, on the docks or anchored out. This would be our first experience with \”e-seaclear\” check in system too. We went to the Marina office where the lovely local ladies, all very French, guided us through the computerized check in. This is an attempt by many of the islands to expedite the hundreds of boats coming and going while reducing time and costs of having customs and immigration officials having to be on site.

    There are lots of marine services here and our most pressing need was to get a new battery for the dinghy motor as well as figure out why we\’re flooding the carburetor all the time? We had a nice meal at the \”Le Mayday Cafe\” and after much ado, found a reasonably priced battery. Our old one was load tested and they said it failed, but as future \”fixes\” would indicate; the battery may have been fine! The dinghy did indeed start with the new battery, but alas, that didn\’t last long…more on this later.

    We did some area touring and for the most part, it was what it appeared to be. A picturesquely lovely giant boat storage and service area. There are a few nice beaches in the bay, most notably at the Club Med. There do not seem to be the hotel crowds we would expect to see, but there are lots of boats. The hotels we suspect are still in recovery from the world\’s economic woes. En-route to Fort-du-France, we stopped at Grand Anse for the night as it was getting dark. Along the way we passed Diamond Rock. Diamond Rock has a very interesting bit of history. It\’s a 250 foot high island, only 1/4 mile off shore and perhaps 100 yds wide. It is almost inaccessible by sea. Therein lies it\’s story. Apparently, when the British and the French were \”unhappy\” with each other in the late 1700\’s, a British officer figured out that the French ships had to pass close aboard Diamond Rock en route from Fort-du-France to Marin. As such, they hauled several cannons up on the rock which the French could not aim their ship\’s guns high enough to hit. The British called the rock \”HMS Diamond\” and in essence treated it as a vessel of the Royal Navy. As such, the British became a thorn in the side of the French along this short 15 mile route. Eventually, French Admiral Villeneuve took \”HMS Diamond\”, but had much difficulty in doing so. Napoleon, who never really understood the problems of fighting at sea, was most disappointed in his Admiral who took so long to overcome the British at Diamond Rock. Admiral Villeneuve, who was also tasked with chasing British Admiral Nelson (and couldn\’t find him), feeling slighted – went off to the Battle of Trafalgar to \”die in a glorious battle\”. Oddly, Lord Nelson was killed by a French sniper aboard his flag ship, \”HMS Victory\” and Admiral Villeneuve survived. The British won the day however and as such, Admiral Villeneuve, gained no fame for his actions. Napoleon as you can imagine, was not pleased.

    As we entered the main bay at Fort-du-France, a most notable part of the area is the south side at \”Trois Pitons\”. This was the birthplace of Empress Josephine, Napoleon\’s wife, which of course was the reason Napoleon was so upset by \”HMS Diamond Rock\”. Napoleon was incensed that the birthplace of his wife was being bedeviled by the British and to defend her honor (and presumably his?), the rock had to be taken at any cost!

    Fort-du-France, which would be our primary base of operations while here in Martinique is a lovely mix of the old and new. The anchorage is in the lee of the old Fort and there is a lovely dinghy dock provided by the town. Our first impression was a good one as there were literally a dozen English speaking tourist office personnel, scattered in town. They were very helpful in finding lots of places, shops and hire cars. We decided to hire a car and drive up the coast to see the town of St. Pierre, do the Mt. Pelee volcano and rain forest drive. While we had the car, we took advantage of shopping at Carrefours and the Hyper-U mart (which was actually much nicer). We were a bit pressed for car time as we couldn\’t return the car at the waterfront on the weekend and had to take it to the airport.

    The next day we motored up the lee of the island to St. Pierre. We had visited the town on the northwest corner of the island the day before and found out lots about it\’s fascinating history. The area in the north of Martinique was covered in Sugar Plantations. In 1902, Mt. Pelee began to \”act up\”. After many months of showing that an eruption might occur, one did. It buried one plantation completely, many of the workers and owners were lost on the side of the mountain. Local officials, knowing that the harvest season was upon them, discouraged the town\’s populace and nearby plantations from evacuating. Tax revenues were at stake. On May 8th, Ascension Day, Mt. Pelee awoke in a big way at 8:02 a.m. There were 30,000 people in St. Pierre and 12 ships in the bay. Within minutes, all but two people perished and all 12 vessels lit on fire. A few managed to escape, but most of them did not. They are now wreck dives, part of the marine park off St. Pierre.

    The original disaster film of the 1960\’s was \”The Devil at 4 O\’Clock\”. It starred Spencer Tracy as a French Priest and Frank Sinatra as a criminal.
    The group of three criminals were told if they helped evacuate the orphanage on the side of the volcano, their sentences would be commuted. The last ship would wait for them till just before \”4 O\’Clock\” the next day. If they were late, they would be resigned to their fate by the volcano. I\’ll let you rent the DVD to see the film, but just as in the film, one of the only two survivors of the real event was a criminal locked in a stone cell.

    We\’d spent time ashore there as we visited by car the previous day. We also met up with s/v \”Island Explorer\” from South Africa. Doug and Ursula were our slip mates during the off season in Trinidad. After a one night stay, we were off to Dominca, one of the lesser developed islands of the Eastern Caribbean.

    Stand by for more,
    Scott and Nikki (writing from St. Bart\’s and the famous \”Bucket\” Regatta…an entire blog will be devoted to this event!)

  • St. Lucia…..

    February 9th-17th, 2014 (-4 on UTC)

    Dear F&F,

    We departed Chateaubelair, the northern most anchorage of St. Vincent for the VERY BLUSTERY 25 mile sail to St. Lucia. We actually had two reefs up for the first half of our very close reach. The Caribbean continues to be a bit of a boaters freeway as we counted well over twenty boats going either too or from between the islands.

    St. Lucia is a very geologically dramatic island when approaching from the south. The two prominent peaks are the Petite and Grand Pitons.
    Behind these are the \”soufriere\”,(yet another soufriere – and there will be more), where a bubbling mud vent from the dormant volcano resides.

    We took a mooring just north of the Petite Piton and the view was spectacular. We checked in at Soufriere Bay, did a little wifi and had an afternoon
    glass of wine. The waterfront buildings were a Creole style and we found a marker at the church grounds in town where the French has set up a Guillotine.
    Colonization back in the day was not necessarily a pretty site.

    Despite the beauty, we wanted to move on (but would include this spot as part of our hire car tour). We departed Soufriere and headed the short trip up the coast to Marigot Bay which is a lovely narrow cul-de-sac at the innermost side. We again picked up a mooring, did a bit of a beach tour and restaurant stop.
    James Michener spoke of this bay as one of the most lovely in the Caribbean. We could see where he was coming from, but today, it\’s a bit \”touristy\”. Jacko came by in his small dinghy selling lovely fruits and vegetables. We also bought a lovely palm frond woven basket to keep them in. The entire bay was essentially a mangrove and mossies\’ were a bit of an issue. We again had a bit of a \”been there, done that feel\” after one night and moved on again to the major yachting center of Rodney Bay at the top end of the island. This would be our base for touring, etc. We took a dock here to get the batteries fully charged, the air conditioning on and to have good access to hire cars and the shopping. We could actually dinghy about 1/2 mile inside the harbor to the shopping area which was nice.

    Our second day, we hired a car and drove back down to the Piton\’s. Their was a great deal of traffic, especially around Castries, the Capitol. Nikki and I had flown in here en route to Florida last August and we recognized the runway as we entered Castries. It\’s parallel and right along the shore in the Capitol city. Often, landing fields in the Caribbean are a bit of an odd puzzle as the constraints of getting a long enough, flat enough strip that is NOT mountain adjacent, can be challenging.

    We did a bit of local marketeering in Castries and caught it on an \”off cruise ship day\”. This was nice as the crowds weren\’t bad, but the locals are indeed a bit jaded over haggling with tourists over their wares. We continued down the coast and the very windy road back to Soufriere passing Marigot Bay along the way. This time, we drove through town and up to the actually mud vents of the \”Soufriere\”. Soufriere means a place of sulfur in French. We did indeed get the smelly sulfur and were a bit surprised by how popular coming here just to see a smelly mud vent was!..:-) The \”tour\” (really a talk), takes 10 minutes. That\’s it…back to your cruise ship and next. We did enjoy the view…and the smell. On our way back to town, we decided to stop at the \”Sugar Beach Resort\”. This is located between the Grand and Petite Pitons off the town of Soufriere. The setting is spectacular and it\’s very up-market. We had lunch at the lovely beach restaurant and I found Nikki\’s Valentine\’s present in the gift shop. A lovely sheer chiffon blouse. We were taken around the resort from the guest parking by golf cart. It was the highlight of the day. We made the 2 hour drive back to Rodney Bay and did a grocery shop as we had the car.

    The next day, we\’d made arrangements to be picked up at the marina to go on the rain forest tram and zip line tour. We drove up with a group, were suited up in our gear including helmets and instructed on \”how to\” by our guides. First, we took the 20 minute trip thorough the rainforest on the tram. The views were fabulous and we could see both the east and west sides of the island. Our guide told us much of the history of St. Lucia and much about the local plants and endemic animals. This was another of the Caribbean islands that had gone from French to British and back again before obtaining their independence. Nominally, the locals speak a Creole patois, but really they speak English.

    Once we arrived at the top, we took a short hike to begin the 1 hours series of zip lines that essentially led in a big circle. I think there were 12 or so of them and it was quite fun. Nikki really enjoyed looking straight DOWN to observe the rain forest. We were also lucky that we weren\’t rained on in the rain forest! Our highest elevated platform was at least 150 feet high. We again did a short hike back to the tram and this time, the views were even better on the way down (no neck craning!). We returned to the boat to relax and cool off. The next day was a bit of fuel toping, boat chores and maintenance.
    We took a taxi out to Pidgeon Island park, but we arrived to late to do a tour of the old fort. The French history here dates back to the 1500\’s where they used it as a base to attack the Spanish. British Admiral George Rodney, fortified Pidgeon island to monitor the French. This would be the staging area for the final decisive battle of \”Les Saintes\” (Guadeloupe) in 1782 which precipitated most of the final definitions of who owned what in the Caribbean between the European colonial empires; ending with the Treaty of Versailles.

    On the 17th, we were off to Martinique, our first full fledged French Island in the Caribbean!
    Stand by, more soon!
    Scott and Nikki

  • St. Vincent…..

    February 4th – 8th, 2014 (-4 on UTC)

    NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ON OUR \”POSITION REPORTS\” NOTIFICATION LIST (WHICH HAVE A SHORT UPDATE AND ARE SENT AS WE MOVE THE BOAT FROM PLACE TO PLACE), LET ME KNOW VIA EMAIL AND I WILL INCLUDE YOU.
    IF YOU ARE ALREADY ON THEM, YOU WILL REMAIN SO.

    Dear F&F,

    We had a bit of a bumpy departure from Bequia to St. Vincent for the short trip to the \”Blue Lagoon\”.
    Blue Lagoon is an enclosed reef with a very shallow entrance on the south side of St. Vincent. The trip was only a few hours and it was nice to get inside the lagoon for rest on a nice mooring. This would be our main base for exploring as it was close to the Capital (Kingston) and very secure.
    The shopping was just so so, but we\’re well stocked and that\’s not of much concern…..yet!

    We took the dinghy for a tour of the area and went to Duvernette Island where the English placed cannons for defense on top of the very steep cliffs. The island is only a 3 minute dinghy ride around and about 250 feet high, but very secure defense for aiming down on unsuspecting ships. These were placed in the late 18th century and used primarily as defense against the \”Caribs\” who were very fierce and warlike; presenting the largest obstacle for European colonization of the Eastern Caribbean.

    Just shoreward of Duvernette, was Young Island. This is a fairly exclusive resort that Bill Gates apparently rented out once upon a time. We had some nice drinks a mini tour of the island and it\’s facilities. Most of the island is cliffs, but the resort has a very protected nice stretch of white sand beach. A dinghy dock was a nice feature and their welcoming of \”yachties\” to use the restaurant. We met an M.D. from the US who was here as a volunteer surgeon in the local hospital. We\’ve met lots of volunteers around the world. They volunteers are always interesting, do great work and meeting them enhances our voyage.

    The next day we hired a car and drove up to Georgetown on the windward coast to do the Soufrierre volcano hike. Soufriere in French means \”a place of sulfer\”. There are several volcanos in the Caribbean referred to as \”The Soufriere\”. Their is a new international airport being built along this shore as the current airport is a bit dodgy and cannot take the long haul aircraft. As we approached roads end to begin a bit of a climb up the lower east side of the volcano, we went over several detours and washed out bridges. This was the result of a short duration late season tropical storm on Christmas Eve.

    We were told to drive to the parking lot and our guide \”Butcher\” would meet us. He was not as threatening as his name sounds! Quite a nice chap. This approach to the volcano is the easy way. A four hour round trip hike through the rain forest to the top. These mountain tops are often in the clouds and unfortunately, we picked a very cloudy day. Nonetheless, it was quite an exciting hike and I literally walked the bottom off my tennis shoes. I ended the hike in the tops of the shoes with my socks completely on the ground (photos to follow when I can!).

    The hike was in the mist and the river was flowing, but not too much. When we got above the canopy, the rain came and believe it or not, we were freezing cold! Yeah, I know it sounds strange. The temperature in the forest was a humid 85 deg F. The top of the volcano\’s rim was about 60 deg F. Add the wind and rain and you quickly see the problem of wearing shorts and light shirts. When we got to the top, we were clouded out. We could see perhaps 100 feet down from the rim. We were told that on a clear day, you could see the existing lava dome forming and a bit of steam. A few people told us you can see where the lava is close to the surface. The hike from the leeward (west side) is apparently 6 hours round trip and quite steep. It was hard enough as it was!

    After the excitement of the day, we decided to move on to Kearton\’s Bay, home of the \”Rock Side Cafe\”. Just before we left, we did a quick breakfast at the Cobblestone Inn in downtown Kingston. The experience was lovely and the most interesting thing was….there is NO PARKING anywhere. When they designed town, they literally forgot about where to put the cars. As such, it\’s a hodgepodge and quite daunting as we had to park inbetween two open drainage ditches in the middle of more than a great deal of traffic.

    We checked out Walliabou Bay first, but all the mooring were taken or too close to each other and the anchorage was very deep. As such, we moved back around the corner to the Rock Side Cafe. The cafe is owned by Orlando and Rosi (Rosie). Rosie is an expat from Germany and Orlando a local chap. Due to the tightness of the mooring field, we had to tie up bow and stern. Only one other boat was there, he too from Germany. They knew friends Nancy and Burger Zapf of s/v \”Halekai\”. We enjoyed the meal and had a lovely nights rest. Just before dark, we had a customs vessel come by to check papers. A first in the Caribbean.

    The next day, we dinghied around the corner to Walliabou Bay. This is the bay where the last \”Pirates of the Caribbean\” film was shot. There is a kitschy museum with the memorabilia and we took a few photos which would look familiar if you watched the film. The town was worth the hour we spent there. Their dock was severely damaged from a Hurricane in 2008, so it was a bit tricky getting in and out of the dinghy.

    We decided to move on to the final bay, Chateaubelair, before our trip to St. Lucia. We anchored in the north side of the bay with several other boats who had the same plans as we did. The checkout ashore was very simple, but landing was not! Their town dock was also wiped out in 2008. I anchored the dinghy off the dock and Nikki stayed with it while I scampered up the dock and took our boat papers. The customs gal met us at the dock and asked why \”my daughter\” wasn\’t coming ashore? Nikki got a kick out of that! We were approached by a local guy (Boy Boy) with fruits and veg to sell. He made an arduous shore hike to get near the boat almost a half mile from where we met him. We took the dinghy to the beach where we bought Limes, coconut, nutmeg and papaya for 20EC (about 7$US). Boy Boy saw the stainless steel wheel struts and big tires I have on the dinghy and was insistent that he wanted to buy them. Right then and there!
    I told him I needed them and he could look at them and copy the design with a local welder. He really wanted to buy them. He asked how much, so I flippantly said 1000.00 US. He didn\’t seem too dissuaded, but I again quickly re-iterated that I needed them and they weren\’t for sale. Yes, there are strange happenings out here in cruising land…:-)

    The anchorage was tropical with high cliffs completely covered in jungle. There were goats and cows running wild and we could here them along with the ubiquitous tree frogs that have an unusual high pitch and are everywhere in the Caribbean.

    We had a charter boat anchor right on top of our anchor and fortunately, the next morning had just enough room to clear his boat when we picked it up.
    The winds were up and we had a blustery 25 mile sail to Soufriere, St. Lucia. The arrival there is breath taking with the Grand and Petite Pitons. More on that in our next installment.
    Stand by!

    At the time of this writing, I\’m behind. We have been onward to St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda! We are currently back in Antigua in a very private and calm bay with emerald green water; gin clear. We think our next stop will be to Montserrat.

    I\’l try and catch up as quickly as we can, internet allowing!
    Scott and Nikki (Ten Pound Bay, Green Island, Antigua)

  • Bequia to Bequia via a loop of the Grenadines…..

    January 27th – February 3rd, 2014 (-4 on UTC)

    Bequia to Bequia via a loop of the Grenadines…..

    The Grenadines are a part of the nation of St. Vincent and The Grenadines. The Grenadines are a group of 23 islands which run north and south. They are as a group, north of Grenada by only 15 miles or so with Union Island as the main southern island stretching to Bequia about 30 miles to the north. North of Bequia is the largest island, St. Vincent. 7 of the southern islands are actually politically part of Grenada.

    Last we left you, we were enjoying the Bequia Blues and Jazz fest. Despite being a bit over marketed, we still had a lovely time. The thousands we expected turned into a few hundred and a good time. Thank goodness there weren\’t more of us! Alas, all good things must move on and we wanted to get to the exotic Isle of Mustique (only about 10 miles away). It seems a bit silly, but there is lots to see in the Caribbean and we do have to keep some eye on our travel time to get to Florida before Hurricane Season in June/July.

    We waited an extra day to leave Bequia as the winds were up in the channel and our pick was a good one. We sailed past the \”Moon Hole\” homes as we began our backtrack through the Grenadines. An American architect, Tom Johnson designed this unique community which attempted to use the natural rock setting incorporated into the homes. You can google it here! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonhole

    Right next to it is an ominous small cargo ship, wrecked on the point as you depart Admiralty Bay. I\’ll post a photo of this soon.

    We arrived in Britannia Bay, Mustique after only a 2 1/2 hour trip. It was a bit bumpy, but we\’re learning this is normal for the Caribbean. After all, the windward side of all the islands is the open Atlantic; trade winds, swells and all it\’s glory. About 30 of us on the moorings and a few mega yachts anchored out.

    The open bay had moorings which were 75.00 USD for three days. The famous \”Basil\’s Bar\” was on the beach next to the dinghy dock and would become a nice hangout while ashore. The music fest was more or less coming to Mustique along with us and it was a much nicer venue and more relaxing at Basil\’s.

    95% of the island was currently off limits as Prince William, Dutchess Kate and future King George were here. No, we did not see them. Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Sheryl Crow amongst others of the \”R&F\” (rich and famous) have homes here. There are only 90 or so homes on the islands and being a multi millionaire is essential.

    Upon going to shore a few days ago, we discovered our dinghy battery was dead so hand starting techniques were perfected. The guys ashore at the harbor office tried to trickle charge it for us over our first night, but no joy, we\’ll need to find a new one soon.

    We had a lovely but extremely pricey lunch at Firefly\’s 1/2 way up the valley overlooking the bay. Five rooms and a restaurant and very exclusive.
    We then toured town (takes about 20 minutes) as much as we were allowed to and explored a few lovely boutiques with the upmarket prices to go with them.
    We bought a souvenir pencil for 1 USD!..:-) There was also a lovely bakery/coffee stop where we enjoyed first breakfast the next morning.

    The highlight was Basil\’s Bar – Mustique Music Fest night. The music was not quite as screaming loud and a nice dinner show was put on. We enjoyed it.
    As we were ready to go into shore for the music, our neighbor charter cat with no one aboard swung around and bumped us. We dropped our mooring and re-located. No harm, no foul.

    January 30th
    Off to Canuoan. This is a little \”C\” shaped island about 12 miles south of Mustique. It appeared to be an up and comer in the tourist world as they are extending it\’s airport runway and it has a few high end beach resorts. We heard the hike to the top of the island would take a few hours and had great views. We were not all that enthralled and were anxious to move on to the famous Tobago Cays, so we only stayed one night in Charlestown Bay, Canuoan.
    We found a lovely specialty food shop where we got sandwiches and ate on the deck at the Tamarind Resort. There appeared to be few guests, but it was a lovely spot.

    January 31st
    We motored off to Tobago Cays (note: all spellings of Cay, Quay, Key are pronounced \”Key\”). This is a lovely group of low islets surrounded by classic atoll type reefs. They are exotically named \”horseshoe reef\” and \”The Reef at the End of the World\”. The later is a reference to the fact that seaward of it there is no land for about 2000 miles! Despite it\’s being gorgeous with all the blues and greens of the spectrum, it\’s pretty windy and more annoyingly, quite crowded. There were about 40 boats in an area that would have seemed crowded with 10. The moorings are in a protected reserve and they prefer you use them though you can anchor if they are full. They were full! Our 4 neighbors were all close enough to have a conversation with. We took a dinghy tour and grabbed the snorkel gear, but it was just either too windy or too many people on the nice areas. We decided on our second day to try Salt Whistle Bay on the very nearby island of Mayreau.

    February 1st
    About mid-day we motored through the reef system to Mayreau, Salt Whistle Bay. A very pretty spot, lovely views and crowds! The moorings were almost full when we arrived. The nice one was too close to other neighbors for my comfort and the back row mooring upon inspection had 2 of the three lines of \”three strand\” cut though. Of course the locals don\’t care if your boat breaks loose, tough luck. They just want their mooring fee! We anchored near the entrance and it was on coral rubble plate. I dove the anchor and realized the holding was marginal at best. The next morning we had slipped about 100 feet. I don\’t think any anchor in the world wouldn\’t have and our \”Rocna\” is (as far as I\’m concerned), the best anchor ever designed!
    The other thing of note here is that it\’s a local day trip spot that does a lot of cooking on the beach. The flies were legendary! I\’ve never seen so many.

    February 2nd
    We left early the next morning with intention of staying the night at Clifton Bay on Union Island. The trip was another very short motor and we did a grand tour of the bay. It was again, way too crowded, bouncy and frankly, town looked more than a little bit run down. As such, we decided to sail all the way back to Bequia which as it turned out, was our favorite Grenadine.

    The wind was a bit close, so we motor sailed some of the way, arriving back at the same mooring we were on off the \”Gingerbread Hotel\”. We went ashore that night to Papa\’s Bar which had a big crowd watching the Super Bowl. We spent a leisurely day including a dinghy ride to \”Jack\’s Bar\” on Princess Margaret Beach for lunch. We enjoyed our time in the Grenadines (despite the crowds) but were anxious to head to St. Vincent, about a 12 mile trip to the north.

    Next, our arrival in St. Vincent, touring and our hike up the Soufriere Volcano.

    More soon!
    Scott and Nikki