We started the New
Year in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua. Having completed the essential
maintenance tasks, though with cooling pump on board rather than
fitted, it was time to move on. We had been in close company with
many other yachts for too long and craved a little isolation. So
ashore to check out and buy bread then up anchor and sail back along
the south coast to Johnson Point to anchor for the evening. On the
second, we were up early and were under way at 0810 for the 45 mile
sail to Deshais on Guadeloupe. The wind was a little stronger than
forecast, at 20 knots but, with 2 reef in and the wind just ahead of
the beam we had a fine sail across, albeit with occasional showers,
dropping anchor 6 hours later, in time to dinghy ashore and use the
self service check in located in a tourist shop. Guadeloupe has 2
main islands: The one with the mountains, where we were, is call Basse
Terre, or Low Island; Grande Terre, which is flat, is the smaller of
the two. Deshais is a touristy town with plenty of cafes and
boutiques but not well served for provisions. We decided to do a
little inland exploration and on Thursday, 3
rd, we hired a
car for 48 hours, taking a small circular route that afternoon
through the mountains. On Friday, we did a full day, driving across
to Basse Terre and following its coast round. Our first stop, at
Anse Babin, had a muddy beach ands many people smearing themselves in
the mud, no doubt considering it to be theraputic.
From there up to
Anse Bertrand, a pleasant enough tourist resort, then on to the
northerly Pointe de la Grande Vigie to peer out into the Atlantic.
Down the East coast to Pointe de Chateaux, the last few miles along a
small road lined with ‘Galeries Artisanal’ with more or less
revolting local art and craft works. There was a stop at the end
with more craft stalls and a view out to La Desirade, the easternmost
island of the archipelago.
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| Pointe de Chateaux |
We managed to view this in a break to the
increasingly frequent showers then headed back along the south coast
with a deliberate stop in Saint-Francois and unintentional ones in
traffic at Sainte-Anne and Le Gosier. Back across the bridge to La
Basse Terre and a stop at a supermarket to stock up. This was a
disappointment as there was no fresh meat so it turned into a minor
shop instead. On Saturday, we returned; Elsie dropping off to do
laundry while I continued on to Sainte-Rose to find another
supermarket and get enough food for a week. We had the car until
1400 but had run out of enthusiasm so dropped it off, returned to
Ruby, picked up the anchor and sailed, close-hauled, down to Riviere
Sens near the southern tip. This is where we had topped up on
duty-free fuel 2 years before so, in the morning, we motored into the
marina only to find that regulations had changed and we would have to
pay the taxable rate. We had also banked on topping up on water but
found that we had to move to a (stern-to) marina berth to get this
and pay 15 Euros for the privilege. An exchange of camping gaz
cylinder cost 30 Euros, [Edit. I don't know what gas was inside, but it didn't burn properly, sooted up the cooker and gave us headaches. The remains of the bottle were vented on a windy day] But at least we got good, cheap, bread for
lunch. We then had a 10 mile beat with 2 reefs across to Iles des
Saintes into a F4-5. We picked up a mooring buoy at Ilet a Cabrit,
as anchoring is prohibited. The buoy had a large steel ring on top,
which made it easy to pick up but, with fluky winds and currents,
knocked against us marking not only the hull but also out new SS bow
protector. Ashore in the morning for a walk round the, deserted,
island then a short motor across to Anse de Bourge, the only town on
this group of islands. This is, again, very touristy with frequent
ferries across from the mainland. We made a quick trip ashore for
the essential lunch time bread and a longer one in the afternoon for
a walk across to the Atlantic beach and a full exploration of the
town. Although the mooring buoy was similar design to the previous
day’s one, this time there was a steady wind keeping us off it so
obviating any further damage.
Our ‘new’ genoa
is now 4 years old and has sailed over 20,000 miles. I suppose we
shouldn’t be too disappointed that it has stretched a little and
does not allow us to point so close to wind as when new. The next 2
legs were going to be into wind, so I rigged the inner forestay so we
could experiment with the blade jib that I bought second hand over 3
years ago and we have hardly used. A final trip ashore on Tuesday
morning, for bread, then let go at 0830 to sail up to Marie-Galante.
Only 16 miles in a straight line but, into wind and dodging (some)
showers we had nearly 30 miles on the clock when we dropped anchor at
1350. It took us a while to get the sheeting for our 2 headsails
sorted out but, once we did, there was a definite improvement in both
angle and speed to windward. Ashore after lunch to explore
Saint-Louis, the big town of the island. This was very tatty and
didn’t inspire us to linger so the following morning, after an even
earlier bread run, we picked up at 0800 and headed up to Iles de la
Petit Terre. These are a pair of tiny low islands that are
Guadeloupe’s answer to Tobago Cays. The sail across was
‘interesting’ with frequent squalls, causing us to heave-to a
couple of times and have the genoa in and out like a fiddler’s
elbow but we managed better at tacking to the wind shifts and, for a
direct distance of 18 miles, managed to only do 26 across the ground
and arrived at 1315, taking one of the obligatory buoys.
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| Ruby at Isles de Petit Terre |
As well as
a few yachts on these, there were a multitude of day trip boats,
filling the only beach with tourists so we waited for them to leave
at 1600 before going ashore and exploring. A quiet night, an early
rise and ashore at 0730 to again have the island to ourselves before
the first day trip boat arrived at 0830. A lazy middle of the
day then ashore again for a longer explore before returning for
sun-downers, joined by Andy and Lisa, fellow OCC members from yacht
Kinetic.
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| King of the Castle |
On Friday we decided
to complete the circumnavigation of Guadeloupe so, with an early
start, we headed north with full sail in a light easterly. Once
again, there were passing showers and much reefing and un-reefing of
the genoa. Our first check point was to pass between Pointe de
Chateaux, where we had been a week before and Desirata. Towards the
top of the island, a larger shower came through. We had the genoa
well reefed but still full main up and it was an interesting few
minutes of hand steering with the wind gusting up to 27 knots on a
broad reach. I found it exhilarating; Elsie possibly not so much.
What did disappoint was my ‘new’ Helly Hansen jacket. I had
bought this 18 months earlier in Newport, Rhode Island but only worn
it 3-4 times. I now found that it was leaking badly and the lining
was coming away in shreds. Change of brand required. Once round the
top of Grand Terre, the wind died and we motored the 7 miles down to
anchor off Port Louis. As we settled in for the night, there was
loud drumming from the town and fire-crackers going off. We later
found out that this was part of the carnival which seems to stretch
from Christmas to Mardi Gras.
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| Supper |
Ashore in the
morning, leaving Rubette in the fishing port. A pleasant little
town, with a street market on. We managed to find a butcher, for
some nice pork steaks; a stall selling bakery goods including a
lovely pate en-croute and a fish monger butchering a fresh tuna. We
bought from all 3 and stocked up on vegetables from a green grocer
and, of course, bought fresh bread and pain chocolates from the
boulangerie. We then had a pleasant broad reach across Grande
cul-de-sac Marin to Basse-Terre and our starting point, Deshais,
where we checked out and prepared for our crossing to Saint Kitts.
The direct distance
is about 80 miles, which is too much for a daytime trip so we did it
in two. On Sunday, with an ENE’ly F4 we had a close reach back
across to Johnsons Point, which had been our departure point from
Antigua 10 days earlier. A quiet night, then an early start as we
wanted a daylight arrival and check-in. The wind was E’ly F2-3 so
we started broad reaching with full main and cruising chute, giving
us 4, then 5, 6, 7 knots as the wind built. By 10:00 it was up to F4
and still increasing, so we put it away and used full genoa instead.
We were aiming for the gap between Nevis and St Kitts but the wind
didn’t have enough north in it to allow us to make this on a reach.
Rather than slow down on a run, we accepted a slightly longer track
to route north of Booby Island. This worked well and, with just a
short wing-on-wing run, we were able to gybe round to slip between
the islands then back to sail on a beam reach up to the capital,
Basseterre, anchoring off Port Zante at 1545. This allowed me to nip
ashore in the dinghy, check-in and get a few goodies. A slightly
rolly night at anchor, then discovered the following morning that we
could come in for US$20 a night so did that. This allowed us to
wander around the town at leisure and plan on a big touristy day for
Wednesday.
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| Lime kiln or 18th Century space rocket? |
There is a well
preserved 18
th century fort on top of a volcanic outcrop
on the western side of St Kitts. One can pay for a taxi from town to
the top but instead we had an early start, taking a local bus to the
foot of the hill and walking up. Our timing was perfect and we got
to the gate as it opened at 09:30 to get the whole site to ourselves
for an hour or so before the cruise ship hoards arrived. A full
tour, walk down the hill again past troops of Green Vervet monkeys,
and we decided to stop off for more tourism on the way back. Again,
a bus, then walk up a hill to Romney Manor where there is a batik
printing workshop. There is a ‘tour’ which consists of of a
bored
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| Brimstone hill |
woman reciting her spiel for the 27
th time today
while painting a little wax on a piece of cotton before pointing you
in the direction of the shop. I must confess that some of the
product is gorgeous but it is the first time I have been charged $3
to enter a shop. Bus back to town and, while Elsie did a little food
shopping, I had a much needed hair cut.
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| Batik |
A lazier start on
Thursday then out and motored the 5 miles across to Whitehouse Bay to
anchor and spend the afternoon sun bathing. On Friday, we dinghied
into the, very posh, Christophe Marina. The average size of the
yachts here is in excess of 200 ft but they still met us with such
charm that we spent $28 on some fresh Italian and balsamic vinegar,
which was kept in the shop for us while we went for a walk. The
marina is the first stage of a development and, as is our wont, we
strolled around and picked the plot we would buy as soon as the
lottery paid up. As we untied our scruffy dinghy, I noticed the fuel
price and a bit of mental arithmetic showed me that it was the
cheapest we had seen for months so resolved to top up the following
day. Back on board, we pigged out out on fresh bread then, after a
pause to let it settle, a dinghy into the shallows for a little
snorkelling. On Saturday, we swapped islands, stopping off for fuel
n the way. As it was only 6 miles across to Charleston, the capital
of Nevis, we didn’t bother with the main and just reached across
under the genoa. Not terribly efficient but, in the flat waters with
12-15 knots on the beam we did the trip in an hour, taking one of the
obligatory buoys on arrival. We dinghied down to the town and managed, after a
struggle, to land on a derelict pier. Wandered around the town for a
bit then, on our way to find hot springs, noticed that a cricket
match was being set up. Dangle of feet in the springs then back,
beers in hand, to watch a seniors match between Nevis & St Kitts.
The cricket might not have been of the highest standard but was
enlivened by the commentary: "The crowd is building, we expecting a
capacity of 26,000" (there were about 100 of us on rickety bleachers); "They are going wild" (our polite British applause at a six or a clean
bowled or groan at a dropped catch were the loudest reactions). Also
entertaining were the breaks when, after almost every 6, someone had
to scramble over a wall to retrieve the ball or ask a passing
pedestrian to fish it out of the main road.
On Sunday, we took
the dinghy to the beach and walked up the hill opposite and through
the forest to an abandoned sugar estate and beyond to work up an
appetite for the last of our Italian bread. Monday was, basically, a
lazy day with just a little trip ashore for bread and to check out.
We had an early
start on Tuesday, 22nd, letting go our buoy at first
light, 06:30 and motor-sailing the first few miles back past Booby
Island to the windward side of St Kitts. Here we were delighted to
find that the wind was due East, just a little further round than
forecast and giving us 15 knots from just behind the beam. With full
genoa and a single reef in the main we flew along and were at anchor
off Gustavia, the Capital of St Barts before 14:00. Leisurely lunch
and dinghy ashore to check in and explore the town. Voyaging round
the Caribbean we encounter the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.
These latters are often elderly, poorly dressed and have been left
behind by the consumer society. While some may beg, they mostly seem
content with their lot. In Gustavia, we realised that we were the
have nots. The harbour was filled with yachts, but they were almost
exclusively of the motor sort and averaged about 150 ft long. The
bigger ones, including Abramovic’s Eclipse (435 ft) were anchored
outside. While there were some of the usual Diamond ‘n Emerald
shops for the tourists, there were also some seriously high class
boutiques and our brief foray into the liquor store revealed that
wines at less than 50 Euros per bottle were not to be considered.
Even the Thai takeaway had dishes priced at 30 Euros plus. But
looking at the lovely ladies in their designer floaty dresses and
their bronzed men sitting at the cocktail bars, we couldn’t help
wondering if they were actually having more fun than us. The local
supermarket provided baguettes for a Euro, good rum for 12 together
with fresh meat, fruit and vegetables at European prices, so we just
enjoyed our stroll, stocked up the fridge and retired to Ruby to
watch the sun go down.
On Wednesday, we
headed up to a little bay, Anse de Columbier. On the chart, it
doesn’t look to give particularly good protection from the
prevailing swell but reports were good and proved to be accurate.
Buoys are provided and we picked one up. Unfortunately, there is a
very short eye on the top to pass ones mooring ropes through. Elsie
was struggling so I went to assist and ended up dangling over the
side, getting my shorts wet. Not a problem in this climate until I
realised that my phone was in the pocket. End of phone. Fortunately
the SIM survived and we put that in Elsie’s phone to tide us over.
We spent 3 nights here, mostly just relaxing with a daily trip ashore
for a walk or beach swim and back for some little maintenance jobs
including our bi-annual clear out of waste pipes, for once doing it
not under pressure. Time for another Island change, so on the 26th,
we went back to Gustavia, taking a mooring buoy this time as they are
included in the ‘facility fee’ and got us closer in. We booked
out the following morning and headed downwind to Sint Maarten, Dutch
side of the smallest territory in the world to be split into 2
nations. We anchored overnight at Phillipsburg in a large bay (OK
but lacking in charm) and then continued the next morning round to
Simpson’s Bay, the major yachting centre.
Initially we
anchored outside, as there is a lifting bridge and limited space to
anchor inside. In by dinghy to check in and check out maintenance
facilities as we had a few jobs to do. We managed to locate someone
to repair our dinghy (a tear in the bottom, first repaired in Lisbon,
was leaking); put a doubler on our lovely new bimini cover that we
had contrived to chafe a hole through and free up our inner forestay
adjuster. This had seized, having not needed any adjustment for 3
years but now requiring it as our new furling gear had added an inch
to the primary forestay. On dropping this off, at the opposite end
of the lagoon to the chandleries, etc. I saw that there was, in fact,
space in the anchorage for 2 – 3 yachts and, with a 5 PM bridge
opening coming up, we hoisted the dinghy on board and heaved up
anchor only to find ourselves the 4
th in line to enter.
Being British, we joined the back of the queue but, once inside, we
came over all continental for a few minutes, took a short cut and
dropped our hook in the prime space available. The others also
slotted in easily, so we didn’t feel too bad. Tuesday was a busy
day, dropping off bimini cover and dinghy early (getting a ‘courtesy
dinghy’ for the latter). We then caught a bus back over the hill
almost back to Phillipsburg to see if my phone could be mended (no),
buy a new, second-hand one and scout the supermarkets. On Wednesday
it time to set up my new phone. Fortunately, I was mostly up-to-date
with back-ups, so most of the aps, photos, etc. were there. The
only thing it wouldn’t do was act as a phone: it wouldn’t make
or receive calls or texts. The vendor had told us of problems with
the Dutch side system so we dinghied to France and tried there.
Eventually, with me one side of the buildings and Elsie on the other,
using different networks, we managed to assure ourselves that it was
working and, only pausing to buy some proper French bread, we returned to Ruby. Next was laundry. The owner of the laundrette
assured us that it was cheaper if we let her do it (though, at $28, I
dread to think how much self-service would have cost), so we left it
with her. While there, we were told that the dinghy was ready. Oh
dear! A not very convincing repair but worse, they had managed to
damage the joints between transom and hull tubes. Of course, they
denied responsibility but we are now in the position of being in the
one place in the Caribbean where we can get a replacement and not
knowing if we need it. A few more errands, including dropping off
cooking gas cylinders and collecting the forestay adjuster.
Thursday, an early bus to Phillipsburg, to walk round Fort Amsterdam,
built in turn by the Dutch, French, British and Dutch again but now
isolated inside a gated resort, which I suspect we shouldn’t have
walked through. A trek back up the hill to a discount supermarket
for some stores shopping and back in time for a quick dinghy trip to
collect laundry and gas bottles, a late lunch and then caught a bus
in the other direction to the beach at the end of the runway. Here,
the threshold is very close to the perimeter meaning that that those
on the beach feel that they can almost touch the wheels of incoming
jets and really can get the full benefit of the jet blast from those
departing. A good spectator sport if you judge your position nicely
to avoid the eflux but watch idiots getting sand blasted, bowled
over, lose their hats etc.
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| Warning sign |
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| Warned |
Monthly stats:
Log 433
Over ground 361
