Dominica

March 11-14 Iles des Saintes to Dominica

We put many a footsteps in Bourg de Saintes. It was a place that had an island feel, yet it did have a bit of a touristy touch to it. But all in a tasteful manner. We found one restaurant that had excellent sourdough bread. It made very tasty sandwiches.

On Friday, we went to check out at customs and immigration and to our surprise found out that it was a holiday (not mentioned in our book). We investigated and found it was a religious holiday dealing with a post Mardi Gras day. Well, I could think of worse places to have to spend another day. The rest of the day we went to another beach on the eastern side, snorkeled a bit, then went back to the boat and took the dinghy to explore some other areas of the island more easily accessible by boat and did some more snorkeling.

We went to customs first thing Friday morning and checked out. We were on our way to Dominica by 10am. With a fresh breeze out of the northeast, we had a comfortable beam reach for the short sixteen mile crossing.

From the stories we had heard, Dominica had a mystic and somewhat dangerous side to it. There were reports of boats being boarded at night by thieves and the island was known for having “boat boys”. These fellows hang out waiting for incoming yachts and approach them wanting to provide yachting services such as tours, laundry, trash, fuel, water and security.

We’ve were given a couple of boat boy names to utilize. Albert and Martin are reportedly reliable guys who provide general yacht services, tours and boat security. Sure enough, as soon as we entered the harbor, a couple of boats approached us. We kept our eyes open for either Albert or Martin (names written on their boats). We shooed away a couple of fellows that approached us. Sure enough, in a few minutes Martin showed up. A nice guy, he greeted us and we told him that we’d like to use his services. Somehow this gets transmitted to the rest of the boat boys and after that no one else bugs you. Apparently, all of them have banded together and have provided yacht services and a measure of security in the night time to the yachts they service.

Still, knowing that boats have been boarded by thieves, we took extra precautions by locking things up on deck and hoisting the dinghy out of the water (engine and all) and locking it to the boat.

Enough emphasis on security. One of the things I love doing after a day’s sail is to get into the water. Mind you, the water is a comfortable mid-to-high 70’s. So after a hot and sweaty sail, to be able to jump into clean, clear and refreshingly (warm) water simply is outstanding. A light rinse with fresh water afterwards, and I’m a new man. Ah, the simple pleasures are the best. A glass of wine follows soon afterwards. Seriously, can it get any better?

The top thing that Dominica is known for is its nature. The saying goes that, if Columbus were to return today to all of the islands he visited in 1492 and 1493, the only one he’d recognize would be Dominica, for it has changed the least. It remains verdant, wild and rustic.

On Saturday, we got up and went to the fresh produce market. It definitely was third world qualities, but offered up lots of good looking vegetables, eggs and breads. The afternoon was busy with what is called the Indian River trip. More on that later.

Deshaies to Iles des Saintes

March 8-10 Deshaies to Iles des Saintes

Monday was spent on the boat because it mostly poured all day. We went into town briefly to buy a few grocery items but came back immediately - sopping wet. Luckily we had bought time on an internet wi-fi site so we got caught up with email and the blog.

Tuesday started out slightly cloudy but at least no rain. We opted to leave to check out Pigeon Island, known for good diving and snorkeling at the Cousteau Underwater Park. The sun became ever so stronger but, unfortunately, the wind and sea did too - all from the south where we were heading. By the time we got to Pigeon Island the wind was clocking twenty plus knots from the south. The anchorage was on the southern side of the island, which made it untenable to try to moor safely and the underwater visibility also probably was effected. We motored onward.

Next we thought of stopping at a small anchorage called Anse a la Barque. But as we approached it, the bay didn’t look all that inviting - small, deep water, a road around it and an unspectacular beach. Hey, we’re spoiled - if it’s not pristine looking, it’s thumbs down.

Now we were looking at the major town of Basse Terre, where there was a marina just south of it. As we closed up on it, we could see the volcano appear. It’s an active volcano but not spewing lava. The city of Basse Terre looked nicely laid out, with fields of sugar cane on its northern border. We called the marina on channel 16 but got no answer. The cruising book said it was difficult to find a slip there. The anchorage generally was considered to be a rolly one. We had had enough of that the last couple of nights at Deshaies. Onward we went, now to Iles des Saintes.

The weather kept improving, so it became warmer and the wind and sea action died down. The Iles des Saintes are a small group of islands, only a short distance south of Guadeloupe. There is only one small fishing village, Bourg de Saintes, that is on the island of Terre d’en Haut.

As we proceeded south, we suddenly saw a huge tail and a big splash - whales. The performed for us (all be it far away) doing some fancy tail maneuvers, breaches and more. It was quite the spectacle that lasted for several minutes.

We got into Bourg de Saintes and anchored just in time for drinks and dinner. The following day we walked around the village and ended up at the Napoleon Fort, high on a hill on the east side of town. Great view. They had a worthwhile museum that told of the island’s history and the naval battles that had taken place just off the islands against the British.

All-in-all we had a very pleasant day at this spot and decided to stay another day before heading off to Dominica.

Antigua to Guadeloupe

March 3-4 - Jolly Harbor to Falmouth

We left Jolly Harbor in the morning after getting Lahaina Roads ready to sail. The weather looked good with a promise of a fresh breeze that would make for a good sailing day.

As soon as we got out of the harbor and were able to, we hoisted the sails. Darren appeared to enjoy the experience of getting everything ready. We ran him through all the tacking strategies, using the GPS, using the wind gauge and setting the auto-pilot.

After about a five hour sail along the coast and making a few tacks, we pulled into Falmouth (though not without a small engine malfunction that Dave quickly fixed).

Falmouth is an open harbor to the west, but otherwise is well protected. On the other side of it lies English Harbor and the historic (Horatio) Nelson Dockyard. It’s a far better protected harbor, but it’s very tight with not much room for the boat to swing.

The following day, Thursday. we decided to rent another car since we had not seen much of the eastern part of Antigua. Among the places we visited, were Half Moon Bay and Nonsuch Bay. One of the interesting spots we found was in Nonsuch at a place called Harmony Hall. It had an exquisite panoramic view, with an old wind-driven sugar cane mill turned into a visitor center and a unique art gallery. We would have enjoyed a lunch there was it not for the fact that lunch prices hovered in the $40 price range. But the view would have been a good one.

On our island tour, one of the things that befuddled us was the cost of local pineapples. Apparently, these fruits are like gold here. At the mom and pop fruit stands we found them for $10 each and thought we were being taken advantage of and so balked at buying any. Turned out that that was the going rate. We don’t get it.

After a few more sights such as Parham Bay and Shirley Heights, we drove back to Falmouth. It had been a long but fun day.

March 5 - Antigua to Guadeloupe

Friday morning, after coffee and breakfast the three of us headed in by dinghy to the dock of the Antigua Yacht Club. Darren was taking a bus into St. John, spending the night there to be close to the airport for his early morning flight. Dave and I were headed out to Guadeloupe. It was odd sort of parting with Darren walking off to a bus stop near Nelson’s Dockyard and Dave and I, going off in the dinghy, back to Lahaina Roads.

Dave and I were quickly underway and had an uneventful forty mile crossing to Guadeloupe. The island appeared low to the east and mountainous to the west end. It was a few more miles to our destination.

We anchored in Deshaies (pronounced day-ay), a small fishing village, on the northwest side of the island. No sooner had we plunked down and secured the anchor, when customs officials off of a navy boat came by and requested permission to come aboard. They didn’t have the serious commando look - the commanding officer was in shorts and bare feet.

But it was the first time we ever had been boarded and checked so thoroughly. The crew, three men and a woman, asked all sorts of questions and searched the boat from stem to stern. I really don’t know what they were after, but obviously they found nothing. They were very friendly, cordial, finished their search and bid us adieu.

A short time later, a white, young, long-haired French fellow came by on his skiff asking if we wanted anything for the morning such as baguettes or croissants. Only in a French harbor does this happen, eh? I’m surprised he didn’t asked if we needed an expresso with that!

On Saturday, we took the dinghy into the town dock, which is up a small river. We got our customs and immigration check-in done and took and then decided to take the bus to the main island town of Pointe-a-Pitre.

Guadeloupe looks kind of like a lopsided butterfly. It’s actually composed of two separate islands divided by a river. The eastern island is flat and geologically older, while the western island is younger and more mountainous.

Pointe-a-Pitre is situated on the eastern island, where the butterfly’s wings connect to its body. Although not that far away, it took us 2 ½ hours by bus to get there. Since it was Saturday, lots of things were happening - fresh fruit markets, spice markets, clothing street vendors, street musicians and flea markets. It was a happening place.

We walked all around a section of town near the water, had a very tasty paiea lunch and set about to find our way home. We found Guadeloupe to be more prosperous and livelier looking than Antigua (of course - one is British and the other is French). The people seem friendly and most are well dressed, looking all too Western.

Lots of young teens walk with MP3 and cell phones. Some of the boys dress like the gang bangers back home with baggy pants that hang down to their knees and baseball caps, while the girls dress very smartly and look beautiful. Obesity, although present, doesn’t seem to be quite the problem it is in Antigua. They must be eating the French diet.

We got back to the boat in time for a quick swim before the evening’s cocktails were served - Crown Royal for Dave, wine for me. A light dinner consisting of scrumptious cucumber salad with soup followed.

Sunday morning, we walked up the hill to the south of Deshaies to find the Botanical Garden. With the warm weather, it was a hot and sweaty, one mile walk. The Jardin Botanique was a very nicely laid-out botanical garden with native and non-native tropical plants and birds. The paths were curvy and several times cut across a creek and a small waterfall. Although it wasn’t cheap, it was a worthwhile excursion.

The afternoon was spent catching up on email and reading. Just another grueling day in the life of a cruiser.

Antigua

February 25-March 2 - Antigua (St. John to Jolly Harbor)

The anticipation of making landfall at a new destination in the early morning always brings excitement and some anxiousness. In the early morning darkness, the island’s lights and the navigational lights, at times, look very similar. In spite of having the GPS, you still need to reconcile your position with what’s ahead of you and to ensure you are where it says you are. In my opinion, the attention given to this moment is not unlike that of a hunter in wait of his prey. Your alert, take note of every detail, look for reefs, buoys, wind position, lights, other incoming and outgoing traffic and what you need to do on the boat to prepare for landfall. It’s an exhilarating moment.

In the case of Antigua, we actually were heading to a nearby waypoint that was different from where we thought we were going. So things weren’t reconciling. But that soon became apparent and we made a small course correction and headed for St. John, Antigua‘s capital. Soon afterwards, we were joined by two cruise ships, all heading into the same harbor channel. What fun.

All went smoothly and shortly thereafter we were anchored safely in one of the three anchorages of St. John.

Antigua has well protected harbors, forested hilly areas and lots of beaches. Like most of the Caribbean islands, it was discovered by Christopher on his second voyage in 1493. What I did find out about his second voyage is that he was accompanied by a small armada - 17 ships that time. So often, when we hear that Columbus discovered such-and-such-a-place, in reality it could have been one of his ships that actually discovered it, not Chris himself.

Historically, like so many of the other islands, sugar plantations and salt ponds were worked by slaves. In those days salt was the key ingredient used not only to enhance the flavor of the food but rather it was used as a food preservative.

For the British, Antigua remained a strategic island. One of the more notable personalities who was in charge of its ports in the 1700’s was Lord Nelson. Turned out he was a real stickler to rules and thus kept the island’s harbors closed to any other commerce but British (certainly not to that renegade former British colony - America).

St. John has that same slightly tacky and disheveled appearance of so many of the towns in the Caribbean. Some of the architecture is notably interesting and does have some nicely designed historical buildings that are brightly painted well preserved. But there are many other buildings that are in disrepair and in need of serious rehab.

As we walked around town, we first were accosted by the tour guides and taxi drivers. They were after the cruise ship tourists. But as soon as we told them we were off of a yacht, they mostly left us alone. We wandered through town and found the public market, the fish market and the meat market. The meat market was gritty. This was not the kind of place you picked up a Styrofoam package of irradiated meat. This place gave you the feeling that the animal had just been slaughtered and that the meat was still warm. Having just read Michael Pollen’s “Omnivore’s Dilemma” I really connected with the environment.

One of the more architecturally interesting buildings we saw was the Anglican church, built in the early 1800’s. Inside it was all mahogany-like wood ceilings and pews. Dark but nice affect. Afterwards we ended up at the King Casino - it was air conditioned and had GREAT wi-fi for free.

When we got back to the boat, we spotted a fort that was near us. We took the dinghy in to check it out. Fort Louis turned out to be a wonderful find. It is out on a peninsula, overlooking the harbor entrance as well as a very nice beach. Unfortunately, the buildings are in total disrepair, but the canons are there still pointed ready to fire on incoming Spanish or French frigates.

The following day, my friend and ex-Cal Poly colleague, Darren, arrived from San Luis Obispo. Coincidentally, we had had enough of St. John and were ready to move on. After we hooked up with Darren, the three of us motored (all of an hour) to Jolly Harbor.

Lisa and Renz, fellow cruisers who we had met in St. Martin, were anchored in the harbor. We decided to rent a car together to see the island. The sojourn started that very afternoon as we drove southward towards Carlyle Bay and English Harbor. We stopped at a fort, which had a great view of the islands of Montserrat and Guadeloupe. We even spotted the rehab unit owned by Eric Clapton. Nelson’s Dockyard also was of interest. A place where in the 1700’s they brought in ships for repairs.

We also stopped at a fruit stand that had pineapples and mangos for sale. But at $10 for a pineapple, we balked. How could such plentiful fruit cost that much? Was it because we were tourists? (We later found out that that was the going price. Guess we‘ll be eating canned fruit instead.)

Obesity is wildly out of control in Antigua. We have not seen it this bad other than at Wal Marts in the U.S. Women seem to be afflicted most. Even young teen girls. This is going to be a huge health issue for them in the near future.

We stopped by to watch a cricket game that was in progress and with the help of Lisa (who is from New Zealand), and one of the local players, got to learn a lot about the game.

The next day as I was starting to make coffee, the propane ran out. With Lisa and Renz also needing propane, finding it became the day’s primary objective since we had a car at our disposal. Finding the filling station became sort of a geo-cache game - without a GPS. We kept getting hints from helpful and friendly locals as to where it was, but it took many tries to home in on the place.

We dropped off our bottles and went out to lunch at a beach resort. It turned out to be a place where many cruise ship tourists spend the day. We discovered that the severe obesity problem appears to afflict these Anglo-Saxons too. Lots of rotund, whitish-red folks walking around in skimpy bathing suits. It was not a pretty sight.

The following day we all met at the Java-Go-Go coffee shop. Free internet. Need I say more? The rest of the day, Lahaina Roads sailed along the western coast of Antigua in a brisk 15-20 knot breeze. Darren got a chance to steer the boat, handle the sails and sheets and tack a few times. After a good sail we put into Falmouth Harbor, among other cruising boats and super yachts. It was time for a cocktail and dinner.

St. Barts to St. Martin and on to Antigua

February 21-22 - St. Barts to St. Martin

The following day we didn’t leave St. Barts until 3pm, mostly because of errands we still wanted to do but also because we had opted to stop at Le Select bar. We ended up spending more time there, talking to more cruisers and meeting other tourists.

It only took a half hour to motor to Anse de Colombier, a small beach on the north side of St. Barts. Although there were supposed to be some good hikes around the area, we never got off the boat and in the morning left for St. Martin with one stop-over along the way.

Ile Fourchue was a small, barren-looking island, a few miles north of St. Barts, right on the path to St. Martin. It made a great stop. A mooring was available, so there was no need to bring out the anchor. The snorkeling was excellent. We saw a variety of fish and coral, including a shark, barracuda, what looked to us as a dying, but good-sized, lobster and lots of colorful reef fish.

After our snorkeling we continued onwards to St. Martin. This time we headed for Oyster Pond, a small, peaceful, protected lagoon on the southeastern side of the island. The lagoon is surrounded by large hotels and private homes. One side of it is Dutch, while the other side is French. We splurged by getting a slip at the Captain Oliver’s Marina. We were here, as a way to get Kristi and Rob to the airport Tuesday morning.

February 22-23

Kristi rented a car after we got docked. We decided to circumnavigate St. Martin by car. We weren’t too impressive with the infrastructure and the housing that we saw. A lot of it was run down. The big fancy villas were behind gates. Certainly there were the moments of beautiful panoramas. But otherwise, the island is made up of the more ramshackle buildings in various states of disrepair, poor roads with huge holes and in some areas, dangerously open sewers along the shoulders. What I did not see, were all the iron bars on houses that were so typical in Puerto Rico. These people must steal less - was my conclusion.

During our circumnavigation of the island we got errands and shopping done too. It was the last evening for Kristi and Rob, so we decided to eat out at The Dinghy Dock Restaurant and Bar. Their happy hour is unique - they hand you the bottle of liquor and you pour your own drink. We each needed only one drink. Dinner was exceptional, particularly for a bar-type restaurant. The seared tuna steak that three of us had was the best.

I had an interesting conversation with a Dutch couple later on who went on to tell me that they had sailed a lot when they lived in New Zealand. The funny thing was that they mentioned that one of the sailing ethos they have in Holland is (and he said this in Dutch) - “The time to reef is when you first think about it.” Interestingly enough, that’s been our motto all along and one I‘ve lived by for most of my sailing years. I suppose from that conversation one might conclude that sailing theories are pretty universal.

The next day, we all got up very early and took Kristi and Rob to the airport. It’s always hard and yet emotionally awkward to see friends off at an airport. In a way it’s seems so superficial. But the flights looked like they were on time, so they each checked in and Dave and I returned to Lahaina Roads. Soon were underway to St. Barts in heavy seas and twenty plus knot winds.

On our crossing to St. Barts (as a stop-over to Antigua), Dave and I saw some whales breaching and making a big fuss! They were a quarter of a mile to starboard, so it didn’t make sense to take pictures of the event, but it was pretty special to see those giant mammals come to the surface, perform and then dive.

When we got to Anse de Colombier, we found out that each day we cruise, we continue to learn. Today’s lesson was - tie the solar showers down on deck before leaving port. We had lost our large eight gallon solar shower overboard. Darn!

February 24 - On to Antigua

We left Anse de Colombier on a blustery late afternoon day. The wind was gusting and the swells were steeper than normal. We’d had a rough night, not particularly restful. The boat had continuously rolled back and forth.

As we got out, the good news was that the wind was southwesterly. With Antigua lying southeast, it made for a decent sail. We continued on our course for about two hours and then the wind started to clock around and eventually became light. We started the engine and motored for most of the rest of the crossing. We even got rained on

We entered St. John's right along two large cruise ships that were coming in at the same time. We found one of the three spots to anchor in the harbor and got settled. Darren Kraker, a friend of mine from San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly, will be joining us here for a week.

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.