St. Barts

February 18-20 - Saba to St. Barts

At first it started out like it was going to be a good sail from Saba to St. Barts. We hoisted all of Lahaina Roads’ sails, including the mizzen and were doing over five knots in the right direction. Well that soon changed. The wind dropped and pretty soon we were not making much headway - about two knots. We started the engine.

We got into Gustavia Harbor in St. Barts early in the afternoon. We anchored amongst a number of boats in the outside harbor. The big boys (the super yachts) were visible inside the harbor and we knew there were moorings in there too, but the likelihood of finding an available one, was remote.

We took the dinghy in to register at the port captain’s office and to check out the town. It’s a very charming U-shaped harbor with tidy buildings surrounding it. You can instantly see what the old salts liked about this harbor - a beautiful anchorage that’s relatively safe. As is typical around these islands, the Spanish, French and Brits all fought over this place. Also, the Swedes got involved when the French gave it to them in exchange for free port rights elsewhere. But then many years later they in turn sold it back to the French - which is what it is today.

On Friday, we took a hike up to Fort Gustav. We headed up a windy and narrow road that runs from town up a small hill. Lots of cactus and other dry-climate vegetation, including a very huge and gnarly looking tree. At the top, there wasn’t much of a fort. A couple of fake canons and a functional lighthouse. But the view was panoramic. In the distance, you could see from St. Martin all the way south to St. Kitts, with a number of islands in between.

On the way back, we went through town and walked up towards what we thought was another fort. It turned out to be a working garrison, not open to visitors. We continued onward walking down the street and saw some of the spectacular villas with infinity pools and views that were spectacular. No other adjective would do these views justice. Looking out from the pool was an azure blue sea with nearby rocks, islands and reefs. What a view.

During our walk, we ran into a British couple (Dick and Mary) who also were cruising the Caribbean. We later met up with them at Le Select, a local hangout known by the cruisers as one of the more affordable bars in town.

When we got there, next to us, was a gregarious group of Americans, who we struck up a conversation with. After a brief chat, we found a number of coincidences in our lives. Like Dave, Larry was a private pilot. The other couple they were with were Whitby 42 owners and were cruising the Caribbean (Dave‘s boat is a Whitby 42). Larry’s niece had been in the Peace Corp in Nicaragua (Kristi‘s son was in the Peace Corp in Honduras). Larry‘s son works in San Francisco as a wine importer (do I need to say that I like wine?) and lives in the East Bay in the Oakland/Berkeley area (very near to where Meredith lives). And the best part - we found out that Jimmy Buffet owns a home here, keeps a boat in the harbor and when in town, often ends up performing informal sessions at a local bar (I don’t think Dave meets the criteria of a parrot head, but he does own most of Jimmy’s albums).

I think that one of the best parts of traveling is meeting people. It’s so refreshing to find people our age leading such full and exciting lives. For example, the one couple lives in St. Barts part of the year, the other part they divide between Philadelphia and New Jersey (Hhmmm….must be grand kids in those other places - I’d live here a majority of the time). Dick and Mary divide their time between England and the Caribbean. Tough life.

That evening the four of us went out to dinner (which we don’t often do) to a French restaurant. We had been told by Larry (who lives here), that it was one of the best and most reasonably priced restaurants. “B4” turned out to be a great find.

On the dinghy ride back to Lahaina Roads, we scooted past one of the super yachts and peeked into a series of elongated portholes - inside was a large weight training room with all sorts of equipment. Although a bit on the conspicuous consumption edge, it would be nice to have a workout room during the cruise.

Incidentally, if you’ve been following the blog, you saw a photo I posted of a wild looking Captain Nemo super yacht that we saw at the Baths in Virgin Gorda. It turned up here. I researched it on the internet and found that the Hamilton belongs to a Russian billionaire who reportedly maintains a fifty man private security cadre on board to ensure his safety. Its earlier sightings were in the Mediterranean. Apparently, it gets around.

And speaking of posh, Dick, told an interesting thing about the word’s origin. It actually is an acronym meaning portside out/startboard side home. When the wealthy traveled by steamer from England to the USA, they preferred their cabins to be on the sunny side of the ship. Hence, they requested cabins on the portside going west and on starboard going home.

Today we're heading to a small anchorage on the north side of St. Barts. After that it's back to St. Martin to drop off Kristi and Rob. After that Dave and I are off to Antigua.

Saba Island

February 14-17 - Kristi Actually Arrives

The airport scenario was strange. The video monitors stated that flights were on time and announced that flights had landed, when in truth, the flights never even had left their points of origin. In Kristi’s case, on our third adventure trip to the airport, the monitors stated that her flight was on time. Soon afterwards, the monitors announced her flight had landed. In fact, her flight was still in the air and did not land for another half hour. But her flight did indeed land and Kristi did, in fact, arrive.

As soon as we got to the boat, we decided to get out of Margot harbor and sail to Grand Case, a quaint beach town with shops, French restaurants and bars along the beach. We ended up anchoring near Lisa and Renz’s catamaran, a couple we had met earlier in Margot. That evening, we had cocktails on their boat and afterwards went out to dinner at one of the beach-front restaurants (not to be confused with the fine French restaurants that were there but were a bit too spendy). The cruising life can be so grueling, at times.

The next day, we sailed to the Dutch part of St. Martin to spend the night in Simpson Bay. The plan was to position ourselves for a sail to Saba Island the following day.

To get into Simpson Bay, you need to go through a bridge that opens at particular times. We planned our arrival and queued up. At 5pm they had the outbound vessels exit. At 5:30pm, as an inbound vessel, it was our turn.

At first, some boats that had appeared to be at anchor, were now starting to move towards the bridge. It was like a race - all the boats started to head for the gate - large and small. We lined up with some of the super yachts, who ended up right behind us.

The bridge is not a huge one - allowing for a maximum width of about a 56 feet. We went through just fine and at the other end were greeted by revelers at a bar that happened to be positioned well to see the boats traverse the small channel.

The following day, we listened to the weather - SE winds of 15 knots, with gusts up to 20 knots. Not a bad forecast. Again we went through the bridge. When we got out of the harbor, the winds were a little bit stronger than had been forecast, but not bad. We reefed the main and unfurled a little bit of the headsail. Soon we were cruising at about 5.5 knots, on a beam reach and had Saba in our sights.

It’s interesting to sail around here. Once out, you can see a number of other islands 30 or 40 miles away that are other countries. Right now we’re sailing to Saba Island. In a few more days we’ll sail to St Barth’s, Nevis and Antigua. All, relatively short distances.

As we approached Saba, it looked like a foreboding island - a big rock jutting out of the ocean with side wings that dropped straight into the sea. We found an available mooring, tied up and relaxed for the evening.

In the morning we dinghied over to the small harbor and found a taxi to give us a tour of the island. Billy, the taxi driver, was a local, born in Saba. He was a bit of an oddball, but in a nice way. He took us to the towns of Bottom (the capital), Windward and St. John’s and showed us a bird’s eye view of the small airfield.

Saba’s history goes back to you know who - Christopher Columbus! He discovered it on his second trip to the new world and didn't think to much of it. The Spaniards claimed it anyway. But eventually a group of British sailors claimed it for England, after they were shipwrecked in Saba. Then later the French claimed it in 1635. Shortly afterwards, Holland sent people over from the neighboring island of St. Eustatius to take up residence in Saba. Finally, in 1816, Holland formally took control of Saba and it has since remained a part of the Dutch Antilles.

Historically, Saba was a seafaring island with various nationalities. Today, Saba still has a variety of people who make it their home, including Brits, Scots, Dutch and blacks. It’s a neat and tidy place. We found out from Billy that you can paint your house any color as long as it is white with green trim. All houses must have red roofs. Saba has a medical school and the tourist trade going for it. It has a rain forest, beautiful hiking paths, diving and eco lodges with beautiful ocean views.

We had lunch at Scout’s Restaurant. We had a table that was on in a room at the edge of a cliff with a spectacular view. It was a bonus that the food happened to be tasty too. Of course with that view, anything may have tasted good.

After we got back to the boat, we went snorkeling. We enjoyed it, but the waters were deep - more suitable to diving. But I still got to see a turtle and some nice coral formations. We truly enjoyed our day-long excursion of Saba.

Tomorrow we off to St. Bart’s.

Margot, St. Martin

February 11 - St. Martin

I had confused the spelling of this island a number of times. The crux of the problem is that half of the island is Dutch (the southern end), while the northern end is French. The Dutch side is called Sint Maarten and the French side is St. Martin. The island was split many years ago in a peaceful manner. Dutch settlers liked the southern part because of the salt ponds, while French settlers grew tobacco and sugar cane in the north. Today, all they really have is tourism, yachting and duty-free shopping.

February 13 - St. Martin

We’re still in Marigot Bay. It’s a comfortable and low-keyed kind of a town, with lots of restaurants and shops. We took the “dollar bus” to Philipsburg (the Dutch side) and were not impressed. Very touristy along the beach and mainly attracts the tourists that come from the cruise ships.

Back in Margot, we hiked up to Fort Louis, which offers a beautiful panoramic view of the area. The fort has an interesting history. Built in the late 1700’s, it was once attacked by a British flotilla consisting of some 200 men. The French garrison only had about thirty men in total, but fought the Brits off, sending most of them scurrying back to their ships and imprisoning others. Interestingly, the Dutch also came to the fort’s rescue and had snuck around the fort to catch some of the other British troops.

Enough history - in the afternoon, Dave and I went by dinghy to the airport to pick up Kristi. Rob stayed behind because he wasn’t feeling well. To get to the airport by dinghy, we needed to go under one of two bridges that lead into Simpson Bay. Luckily, we found a bar that was located right across from the airport with a dinghy dock.

At the airport, Kristi’s flight already had landed by the time we got there. As we waited, all the passengers came out except Kristi. Apparently something had gone wrong.

We headed back to the Lahaina Roads. As we passed under the bridge leading to Margot, we noticed big swells coming in. Then we saw a large tender being hit by a breaking wave. It was a bit unnerving to see huge swells (some breaking) in the harbor.

When we got to the boat, it was rolling violently from side to side. The anchor chain was being jerked hard with each passing swell. It was going to be a rough night. We decided to move in a little closer to the marina where there was more protection from the swells. We checked to see if there was an available slip in the marina, but they never got back to us. I’m sure they were full.

Needless to say, it was a rough night. None of us got much sleep with all the violent rolling the boat did all night. This morning, things are a little more settled. We’re again attempting a run to the airport. Hopefully, Kristi will turn up this time.

St. Martin

February 6-8 - The Bitter End

The Bitter End is on the north side of Virgin Gorda. Apparently, Columbus thought the island resembled a plump woman lying down and saw fit to call the island Virgin Gorda. The spot we were anchor at was beautiful and reminded me somewhat of the South Pacific. Surrounded by hilly islands, palm lined beaches and reefs it looked idyllic. The water was crystal blue.

The hotels have done a good job developing their resorts without overwhelming the surroundings and the environment. The buildings fit in neatly and the bars and restaurants neatly adjoin the white, sandy beach. From one end to another is a brick promenade. It’s a bit touristy and attracts many charter boats, but it’s nicely developed.

We snorkeled at one of the reefs and saw a colorful variety of soft and hard corals, turtles, long, spiny sea urchins, tiny crabs, eels and lots of fish. Apparently, there were some canons in the area too. But we missed them.

In between two islands lies a sandy cay named Saba Island. It’s really tiny consisting only of a large waterfront restaurant/bar and a small resort. We hung out at the bar for happy hour one evening because they had a good wi-fi connection. Later in the evening, after dinner, Dave and Rob went in to watch the Superbowl game on a large outdoor screen at one of the other pubs.

The following day we motor sailed back to Spanish Town to formally check out of the BVI and prepare for our night crossing to Anguilla and St. Martin. After dealing with immigration and stocking up on some provisions, we anchored out to the island of Fallen Jerusalem (I don’t have a clue where the name came from). Like the area of the Baths, the anchorage had huge granite boulders along the shoreline.

On the way to the anchorage we passed by a huge, 200 foot, ultra-modern yacht. It looked more like a space ship than a yacht that had just landed on the water. When nightfall came, the yacht had lights all along the hull that brightly lit its surroundings. Definitely ostentatious.

After dinner we headed for Anguilla.

February 9-10 - Overnight Crossing to Anguilla

Often times, from what we read, the crossing from BVI to Anguilla is not an easy one. The chances of big seas and high winds are high. We got lucky. The crossing was an uneventful thirteen hour motoring journey, under a beautiful starry sky.

For Rob it was exciting because he had never made an overnight crossing. We did our standard shift routine of one hour on, two hours off, which seems to work well for us. 'We encountered some shipping traffic during the night and in the morning light saw the outlines of Anguilla, a low profile island with no mountains. A couple of hours later we anchored in Road Bay.

After preparing to go to shore, though, we had a change in plan. The harbor looked pretty dismal - same old bars and restaurants lining the shore. Dave suggested just pulling up anchor and heading out to St. Martin, just five miles to the south of Anguilla. Otherwise, we'd have to go through all the formalities of customs, immigration, fees, etc just for a one night stay.

An hour later we were anchored in Margot Bay, on the French side of St. Martin. And now, in the morning, we're sitting at a French café, having a café American with a baguette with butter and jam…and internet. Ah, the good life.

Anageda Island

February 4-5

Wi-fi at the Spanish Town marina was an fleeting enigmas - it came and went for no apparent reason (mostly went). No one knew where the antenna was located to be able to get a stronger signal. This had a humorous effect - there were a number of people walking around like zombies looking for a wi-fi signal (me included). I’d see somebody with their laptop sitting under a tree and with great expectations walk over to them and ask if they got a signal, but the answer was usually no.

We left the Spanish Town marina in the morning. We had gotten fuel and topped off the water tanks. We headed up the coast towards the Bitter End anchorage. But as we got outside, a nice breeze came up and Dave suggested that we consider going to Anegada Island and then return to the Bitter End the next day. We sailed on a close reach, with hardly any chop. Unbelievable!

We got to Anegada in about three hours, after a smooth and easy-going sail. Making it through the reef was a bit tricky since the last buoys appeared to be missing. We proceeded slowly and cautiously through the channel keeping an eye on the depth sounder while Rob and I stayed on the bow as look-outs. We anchored in about ten feet of water.

Anageda is different from the other islands in the BVI in that it is very low and flat. It looks more like the Bahamas. With all the surrounding reefs and its low elevation makes it treacherous for navigation. As a result, Anageda has over 300 wrecks.

The following day we rented bikes and toured the island from one end to the other. It did have some beautiful beaches and good snorkeling spots, particularly in the northern part. But the (mostly) dirt and sand roads didn’t make the going easy. We got back to the boat exhausted.

In the morning, after breakfast, we had a good sail to the Bitter End, on Virgin Gorda.

Tortola, BVI

February 2-3 - Trelllis Bay to Virgin Gorda

I failed to mention on the last blog that when we anchored at Lee Bay, the anchor seemed to catch well. But it was a good thing that, later, I decided to go for a swim/snorkel. When I got a look at how the anchor was set, it turned out to be stuck on a rock - probably not enough to hold us through a good blow, but enough to cause a problem in the morning when trying to bring it up. We got the anchor reset at a spot that was all sand.

Back to the story - the day after Greg left, we spent working on the boat. Dave’s major project was to install another, larger Raycor fuel filter while I worked at getting a flow valve on the salt-water intake for the galley faucet. That night, we went to the airport and picked up another one of Dave’s friends.

Rob walked out of the airport customs area earlier than scheduled. He was a little peeved at the baggage handlers. They had thrown his carry-on baggage on the tarmac and managed to break one of the bottles of Crown Royal he had brought for Dave. Besides the small carry-on bag that contained all his clothing, Rob brought another large suitcase filled with lots of goodies for us. When we got back to the boat, it was like Christmas. .

In the morning, after coffee, we set off for Virgin Gorda. By the time we got to the Baths, an anchorage and snorkeling spot on the western end of VG, all the moorings already were taken by visiting yachts. We had to settle for anchoring outside.

The snorkeling was pretty good. The uniqueness of The Baths are the huge boulders that lie along the beach and in the water. They boulders, some over twenty feet high, create a unique setting for snorkelers in that you see mini walls, caves and ledges in shallow areas.

From The Baths, we took a short hop to Spanish Town, a place that two hundred years ago, had a thriving Spanish community. But all we saw of it was the marina and it’s immediate surroundings - some stores, bars, restaurants and a market.

We had not been at a marina since the Caicos and Turks. It was nice to just be docked. I had the first “land” shower in quite some time. Our standard shower for the most part, consists of getting out the Joy liquid soap (because it suds up in salt water), getting all cleaned up and jump in to the water. After washing the soap off, we typically rinse off with fresh water. It works great and uses very little of our fresh water!

In the evening, Rob master-minded a tasty meal consisting of tortillas, refried beans, shrimp, grouper and cheese with a salad. Hey, this guy seems like he’ll work out just fine!

St. Croix to Tortola

January 22 - St. Croix to Buck Island

It was a short sail from St. Croix to Buck Island. By 11am, we were anchored in a white sandy bottom with crystal clear water. Buck Island is known for its great snorkeling. It’s a national marine park and has an underwater trail that’s marked, identifying the types of coral you’re looking at and also the types of fish that inhabit the reef area.

We took the dinghy to the trail and tied it up to a mooring. As soon as we got in the water, the very first fish we saw was a nosy grey shark, snooping around. The water was exceptionally clear, with lots of other snorkelers in the water who had come on tour boats. The reef was quite spectacular, with lots of varieties of coral such as elkhorn, brain, a soft tubular type and fan coral. Lots of fish too. We saw a number of barracudas, puffer fish, purple tang, clown and trumpet fish, groupers, parrot fish and many others (that I mostly know by “yellow fish, blue fish with stripes, etc). It was one of the best snorkeling swims I’ve done.

After snorkeling, we took a walk on the island’s trail. It started around the beach and wound up the hill. The first thing that we were greeted with was a sign on an inconspicuous tree. It stated “Menchineel Tree. Do Not Touch! Danger! Do not eat the fruit!“. Apparently, the tree is highly poisonous. Some of Christopher Columbus’ men got very ill from eating the fruit. We gingerly walked around the tree. Onward, there were panoramic views of the reef and of St. Croix from the summit. The foliage along the way was predominantly cactus. Some very unique looking specimens.

January 24 - Sailing to St. Thomas

The next day, we pulled up anchor and headed for St. Thomas, the main USVI island. It was an easy crossing and we even got in a little sailing. We anchored on the east end of the island, in a place called Red Hook.

Not long after anchoring, the wind started to pick up. Great, we thought! It turned out to be a restless night with the wind piping up to a steady 22 knots with stronger gusts.

Not a place we want to stay for long, but Red Hook had restaurants, bars and marine stores. We took a ride into town the following day on one of the safari taxis. It only cost a couple of bucks to go anywhere on the island in an open bed truck with bench seating. We got to Charlotte Amalie and soon had our fill of the place. It mostly consisted of duty-free shopping stores to attract the cruise ship tourists.

We asked around for a restaurant that offered free wi-fi to their customers. After following a couple of misguided leads we met a gal who told us to go to Hooters for good wi-fi. Honestly! We talked to her for a few minutes. She divulged that she had worked for Hooters, but left after becoming unhappy with the pay. Besides that, she wasn’t using her masters degree in education. She then made a career change and got a job teaching at a Catholic elementary school. Now she would have been a fun elementary school teacher (that I never had). Anyway, we did find Hooters and indeed it turned out to have good wi-fi and not a bad sandwich to boot. And, yes, the server was indeed well endowed!

That night, a friend of Dave’s came to sail with us for a few days. Greg is one of the people that Dave knew from Ashley Marina in Charleston. Greg is a yacht broker. He worked on the sale of Lahaina Roads to Dave. That same night, I booted up my Acer netbook and the unexpected occurred - it croaked. I tried several times to reboot it and got nothing but a dark screen.

I had to have a computer. The following day I frantically called around town and found out that K-Mart sold computers. As it turned out, I found an HP netbook at a decent price at Office Max. So if my blog sounds a little different, it’s because I have a new computer. :)

After the shopping spree, we went back to the anchorage. When we got to the dinghy, we found the inflatable going flat. Since we didn’t have a pump with us, we took a chance on making back to the boat. With the three of us in it and a good sea chop against us, the dinghy really started to soften. It was at once funny and worrisome. The dinghy was very near to collapsing and folding in half by the time we got to the boat. But we lucked out. It never felt better to grab a hold of Lahaina Roads‘ toe rail!

January 26 - A Quick Three Mile Motorsail to St. John

The following day we picked up anchor for Cruz Bay, St. John. It was only three miles to Cruz Bay from Red Hook. We got there very quickly but found it to be too busy. We moved on to Caneel Bay, an anchorage just east of Cruz Bay.

Two thirds of St. John, at one time, was owned by Laurence Rockefeler. He donated the land to the U.S. Park Service. Thus, even today, most of the island is a park. The park service maintains a bunch of moorings to preserve the underwater reefs. So when we got to Caneel Bay, we picked up a mooring for the night. It was a picture-perfect setting, with a white sandy beach lined with palm trees.

The next day we walked into the town of Cruz Bay. Nice little place, but again, a bit touristy. We got back to the boat and decided to move further eastward to Maho Bay. As we motored along, we could see a number of pristine looking beaches.

When we got to Maho Bay we again picked up a mooring. It’s cheap enough. For those sixty and over, the moorings are half-price ($7.50)! After lunch, we went snorkeling. Although there wasn’t a reef where we were, the snorkeling along a rocky shore was fantastic. I got a chance to follow a leather back turtle for several minutes and later followed a bat ray, as it was skirting around the sandy bottom looking for some scraps. Along with those creatures, I saw countless other varieties of fish.

Greg had to go into town to get his passport. While he did that, Dave and I took a hike. Great panoramas from some of the plantation ruins up the hill. Wild goats were walking by us like we weren‘t there. We struck up a conversation with two couples traveling together, while at the plantation ruins. They seemed interested to hear the tales of our sailing adventure. After a brief chat, we went our separate ways. Dave and I headed up the trail and decided to aim for an old church at a place called Coral Bay.

It turned out to be quite a hike with lots of ups and down. As we neared Coral Bay, all we could think of is that we had a long home and had no money to buy a beer! I suggested that we might try to hitch a ride back. So we started walking down the main road. Just then, a car pulled up and the people inside waved at us. It turned to be the same couples we had met at the ruins (wisely so, they had driven to Coral Bay).

They were on their way to Skinny Legs Bar and Grill, which reportedly had the best burgers in St. John. We told them that we were on our way back hoping to hitch a ride, besides, we didn’t have our wallets with us. They waved us good bye and drove away.

A few minutes later, as we were walking down the street, the couples drove up behind us and said, “Hey, why don’t you come to lunch with us, we’ll treat!” We said “Sure!”

It turned out to be a really enjoyable lunch. Mary Jane, George, Paul and Julia were truly wonderful people and we had a great time exchanging stories. After lunch, they even gave us a ride back, which in their tiny Suzuki required MJ to sit on George’s (her husband) lap. Funny how things turn out.

When we got back to the boat I went snorkeling. Near where we were anchored there was a small cay called Waterlemon Cay. It was a neat swim. There were millions of small silver fish in the water. The brown pelicans were having a field day dive-bombing them. They were doing so all around me and I could watch the pelicans dive under water and fill their bills full of fish. What a sight! On the way back to the boat, a moray eel was quite exposed and curiously looked at me, while further up a bat ray effortlessly glided through the water. All in all, not a bad day.

January 29 - Off to Soper’s Hole, BVI

After one more fascinating snorkeling session at Waterlemon Cay, we left for the British Virgin Islands. In only minutes we were cruising Soper’s Hole looking for a mooring or a good spot to anchor. It was tight. There were dozens of other yachts there.

We finally anchored in twenty meters, deeper than we like to be in. Sopers is very commercial. To me it reminds of the many portside villages in the U.S. built to attract the out-of-town tourists. We took a short walk around the place and went back to the boat. It was happy hour!

January 30 - Just Jost van Dyke

I’m surprised at the short distances to all of these islands. Leaving Soper’s Hole, we made it to Great Harbor at Jost van Dyke under sail in not much more than a half hour. The beaches here are surprisingly lovely - white sand, palm trees and beach bars with wi-fi. What more can a yachty ask for? Near us is Foxy’s and in the next bay, which we walked to, are several more bars. We sat down at Sandy Bottoms where several catamaran yachts had pulled up near the beach. It was a nice afternoon.

January 31 - Feb 1

Dave and I are now sitting in Road Town, Tortola at a small French cafe having a French baggette with a buttery St. Marcellin cheese that reeks of cholesterol. Since Jost van Dyke we made a brief stop at a beautiful bay called Cane Garden Bay, then anchored at Lee Bay. Early this morning we motored to Trellis Bay on Tortola, right near the airport. Greg left from there this morning and we'll be expecting Rob tomorrow night.