Guadeloupe to the BVI's

We stopped in the Saints again for a few days, on our way back north from Dominica before heading to  the marina at Pointe a Pietre, Guadeloupe as we needed water and to go online.  Great to have mains power and water ‘on tap’ (and to do loads of washing at the laundry) but it was very, very hot.  At anchor the boat tends to lie head to wind so there is a breeze blowing through most of the time, and we are usually too far offshore for the mosquitoes to reach us.  In port there are loads of mosquitoes and no breeze!

 When we left  we motored round to the market, dropped anchor, rowed ashore and just caught the last stallholders as they were packing up.  We bought the biggest avocado I have ever seen – perfectly ripe, creamy & full of flavour, and plenty of fruit.  Then we motored round to the entrance of the river Sallee, in amongst the mangroves & by the fishing village – huts made of corrugated iron and planks. 

By nightfall 3 other boats had anchored too as we were all waiting to go up the river, between the 2 islands of Guadeloupe, at 5am when the bridges lift. There were a lot of mozzies, being in the swamp, and we had a really hot, sticky night so were glad to get up at 4.30 – even Harry got up! There was a faint flush of colour on the horizon as we motored under the bridges (old & new) and within 2 minutes, just after a boat 500 yards ahead went aground we did too! Completely stuck in the mud and it took a lot of engine power backwards and forwards until we finally popped off. The other boats had gone on to the next bridge, about 20 minutes further up, so we had to catch up before the bridge lifted or we’d be stuck for 24 hours. We did it, went through and the pilot guide recommends anchoring (no more bridges) and enjoying the sunrise over the mangroves, So we decided to do just that, and have breakfast. Just as we were about to drop the anchor the midges (called ‘no see-ums’ here) came out in force, we cancelled anchoring and promptly ran aground again! This time, somehow, with all the engine manoeuvres the dinghy painter got round the propeller – so John ended up having an early swim to free it, giving the midges a mega feast.

We left quickly, trying to outrun the little beasts, and anchored in crystal clear water, near a little island in the north bay where we all jumped in for a snorkel to the reef. Harry & I saw a southern stingray and we all got stung by jellyfish – what a start to a day.  We are all covered in bites and John has a really nasty sting on his side.

 

          Later we anchored off a little village, Port Louis, and had a walk ashore, to watch the frigate birds diving for the scraps from tne fishermen.  We left the next morning at 6am for Montserrat.

Friday 6^th April
There was no wind so we had a really comfortable motor across, and just off the southern end of Montserrat  John caught a barracuda!  They are not safe to eat but as they have teeth like an Alsatian’s, he used pliers to get the hook out and threw it back before it bit him. 

We skirted the south of the island by 2 miles (the exclusion zone for the volcano) where we had an excellent view of the steaming volcano, and all the lava fields which have increased the size of the shoreline. It started erupting in 1995, after nearly 400 years of lying dormant, and now with the capital town, Plymouth, buried in ash, the southern half of the island abandoned and over half the population gone, it is a sad sight. We sailed past Plymouth, under a stream of sulphurous fumes, and saw the roof tops jutting out of the ash, and the abandoned but untouched buildings around the perimeter. The new ‘capital’ is in the north at Little Bay, where we anchored at about 4.30pm, near the pretty beach with a scattering of buildings around the new jetty. All was calm and peaceful with people swimming and kayaking from the beach. We decided to go ashore at 9am the next day, visit customs & immigration then organise a tour of the island and find somewhere to go online.

The buried town of Plymouth

By morning the wind had got up a bit, but the swell had come from nowhere to change the gentle murmuring of waves onto the beach into a thunderous roar as huge waves crashed ashore.  There was no way we could get ashore and very quickly we realised we couldn’t safely stay where we were with the waves breaking further offshore and closer to us – we did a very quick stowage, getting down the sun awning etc and weighed anchor as fast as we could with the boat heading out to sea as soon as possible – all a bit hair-raising.  Once we were clear we had a brilliant sail past the tiny rocky island of Rodonda, home to thousands of sea birds, where curious boobies surrounded us, flying close by and really looking at us for ages, in between wheeling, swooping, skimming the waves then doing ungainly flops onto the sea for a quick rest before seemingly effortless lift-offs.  We anchored off Nevis, a green and sombrero shaped island, in the evening of Maundy Thursday.

Sensible Nevis believes in using Bank holidays for rest and recreation, hence, apart from the churches, nothing was open on Friday, a few shops & immigration, on Saturday & nothing on Sunday (and I guess, Monday, but we had left by then).  Instead most people go to church then nearly everyone goes to the beach with picnics & kites – very civilised.  We walked up to the Nelson Museum (closed!) which is by the Bath Hotel, now government offices, where Horatio and Frances Nelson had their wedding reception.  There are some (very) hot springs there, used as baths for centuries, and too hot for me at 107F.  On Sunday we moved to anchor off a beach and then moved along the coast to go for a walk to see some green-backed monkeys.  We then sailed across to St. Kitts but there was a big swell coming into the harbour, the ‘marina’ was tiny and full of local boats and tour boats, so after checking out with customs & immigration we went off to find a sheltered bay to anchor in.  We had one all to ourselves apart from two hawksbill turtles that were swimming around as we came in, then saw again when snorkelling, which was fantastic. 

We left very early to sail to St Maarten, a 7 mile island divided into a French north and Dutch south, even the power supply is different!  Sailing past St Bart’s, in tropical downpours, we started to see super yachts once again, all tucked into the shore.  We spent a short time in St. Maarten, in the busy harbour where up to 5 cruise ships visit each day, and the whole waterfront is geared up to cater for the thousands of visitors that pour off the ships.  The weather forecast for the next few days was dire, and we needed to be in the British Virgin Islands by the 17^th April, we had to cut short our visit.  So we left on Friday 13^th and sailed overnight – motored half of it as it was a beautiful calm, clear and starlit night.  It was the first time we’ve sailed at night with so many other yachts around, as they too were taking advantage of the ‘weather window’.  What was astonishing was that at least half of them were showing incorrect lights, one even motoring with only an anchor light on – really stupid as your lights should  indicate not only what type of vessel you are but also your heading.

Sailing through the reefs in Virgin Gorda in clear blue water we saw several turtles, wonderful.  The bay is almost enclosed by islands and reefs, making it a very sheltered and secure, and we found a quiet area to anchor in, just in time for a snorkel before lunch.  By mid afternoon it was really windy and gales blew for most of the night, and it was very windy for the next few days so we are glad we left when we did.   

In Virgin Gorda we met up with several other boats, all members of the Cruising Association, which was lovely.  We were going to meet the CA co-ordinator for the Caribbean on the 17^th but it was still too windy for him to come across.  So for a couple of days we got to know Warren & Judy on La Contenta, who have been cruising around the world for 16 years.  Bernard and Maggie on yacht Beesmej, which they keep in the Caribbean and sail when they can, and Rob & Sarah on Seraphina of Maldon.  On the 18^th, with calm weather at last, Chris Lloyd and his son-in-law, Dan, motored across from Tortola and picked us all up for an exhilarating 40 minute ride at 20 knots (Harry loved this!) back to his home in Tortola.  What a welcome.  He and his wife, Vivien, gave us a delicious lunch and a thoroughly enjoyable day in their beautiful home before the fast boat ride back.  

                             John, Harry, Sara, Bernard, Judy, Vivien, Chris & Maggie

We sailed over to Anegada  with Bernard & Maggie, who have a new catamaran that they keep in the Caribbean.  They are a great couple, we shared a couple of meals and they even joined us for our weekly ‘games night’ and played Monopoly for hours!  Anegada is the only coral island in the group so it’s just a big sand dune really. It is only a maximum of 28 feet high, is mainly sand and covered in tropical dry forest, which looks scrubby but is very rare. 

                                                    'Sara Jane' seen through the trees

We got out the bikes and had a couple of hot cycles.  We started off wondering which side of the road to cycle on – a car parked by the beach bar was left-hand drive so we duly set off on the right.  On meeting our first car we all crossed the road!  In Antigua, Dominica, Nevis (& the BVI’s) they drive on the left, in Guadeloupe, St Maarten’s the Saints they drive on the right..  We cycled to Loblolly Bay (beautiful beach, great snorkelling as the reefs are just feet from the shore)  where we had lunch and lots of water before the hour’s cycle back. 

 During over 2 hours of cycling we saw a total of: 12 vehicles, 12 cows, 7 goats, 8 bronzed marching men wearing speedos with belts (I had to look), and a donkey!  A couple of days later we went off to see the breeding station for the endangered Anegada Rock Iguana.  We saw lots of little ones they breed and rear until they are big enough to not be eaten by feral cats.  No men in speedos this time, but more donkeys & goats.  

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28^th April.  .  It turns out that all 3 of us need US visas to go to Puerto Rico by yacht – not needed if we fly or cruise in.  We had a long day yesterday in our quest for US visas.  Got up at 5am for 6am ferry to US Virgin Islands (having done our initial applications online).  Got to St. John Island at 7.30 and queued until we were all given 90 day visas.  The immigration chap confirmed that this means we can sail the boat to US territory during that time.  Next ferry back was at 4.30pm so we went for an excellent breakfast, then a walk in the National Park and to a pretty beach, saw a superb iguana and a wild bee nest in a fallen & rotting tree trunk, with a big honeycomb, then back just after 4 for the ferry. 

Which came at 5, took us to St Thomas Island (US Virgins) and we had to clear out of immigration then wait until 7pm for the ferry to leave – except at 7pm about 30 people arrived and started to buy tickets, the ferry skipper wanted to make sure no-one missed the ferry & eventually we left at 8, then came back for one last drunken reveller before finally leaving. We got back on boat by 9.30pm absolutely shattered. Harry fell asleep on the ferry then went straight to bed when we got back. The‘music’ from the nearest bar started at 10pm & was so loud it was like trying to sleep in a disco – and it went on until 4am. 

                                                The beautiful view from the national park


We left the next day and sailed round the coast of Tortola to Cane Garden Bay, a pretty and popular beach area.

Sara Jane at anchor in Cane Garden Bay

Next stop is Puerto Rico.