Leg XII Dominica to Puerto Rico, The Leewards
(Logs are posted with the most recent entry first)
This is the end of Leg XII and 593-miles of some very windy Leeward Islands that started back in Dominica on the third of January. We have been 6-months under way since our last shore leave…some 2,000 miles since we left Panama. As we say in the boating world, that’s a lot of water under the keel. It will be good to take a break and go home to family and friends even if it is only for three short and very busy weeks.Our next leg will take us through some new territory for Jo and I, the Dominican Republic and the Turks & Caicos Islands as well as some old territory, the Bahamas ending in our documented home port, Key West Florida. We hope you will mark your calendar to rejoin us on March 29th as the adventures of Wandering Star continue…
Puerto Del Rey to San Juan and the end of Leg XII
3/2 Monday
Latitude: 18:27.61 N Longitude: 066:05.36 W
Weather: sunny some clouds Wind: 900 at 14-16 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 3
Barometer: 1009 Passage time: 6 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1696 Fuel used/on board: 4398/562
Distance trip/to Date: 40/10,708
The final passage to San Juan was uneventful as it should be. We’ve had enough adventure for now and are enjoying the familiar scenery this last 40-miles as we cruise up the northern coast of Puerto Rico. It looks very much like the coast of southern California until you come to the massive citadels of San Cristobal and El Morro that once guarded old San Juan from the ravages of war.
Our benign following sea has now piped up quite a bit becoming a six foot swell with a six second. By the time Wandering Star makes the final turn to safety at the welcoming red and green buoys, she is surfing down the face of these short steep waves. Once inside the protection of El Morro, the waters immediately become a quiet lake without a trace of the confused fury that seems to help guard the harbor entrance.
We cruise by several miles of city waterfront as we head past the busy cruise ship docks to our marina. Club Nautico, a serious sport fishing club, will be the temporary home for WS as we depart by plane for California on Thursday. It is a safe, convenient place close to the historic old town of San Juan and the up-scale residential and hotel district of Condado. While short on cruiser services like laundry, internet, and walking distance stores, it makes up for it in competent staff and 24-hour live security.
Once we are hooked up to shore power and the dock lines are secure, Jo and I head off to find a rental car that can help us overcome the distances between the marina and the places we need to go. Cars are cheaper in the long run than taxis if you don’t mind being lost a good deal of the time and we soon find a helpful rental company that will take us to our departure airport as well.
Back on board for a quick clean-up of WS and then ourselves before we head out to find a gourmet dinner place called “Baru” deep in the narrow, hilly, unnamed streets in old town. Recommended by a cruiser casually met on the public dinghy dock in Culebra, typical of how we find most our most enjoyable experiences, this one proves to be a worthy quest as well. It provided both delightfully different food and a uniquely personal ambience despite being very busy for a Monday night.
The next several days will be a flurry of activity as we get our girl ready for her much deserved three weeks of rest. There are covers to go on, valves to close, holes to plug, heads to treat, rust to remove, rails to varnish, and the inevitable repairs to be made after months at sea. The most challenging repair this stop is the removal and shipping home of our Magna inverting system which has been acting up since St Lucia. It will need to go back to its factory, be rebuilt and then returned with us before our voyage can resume at the end of March.
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Isla de Culebra to Puerto Del Rey, mainland Puerto Rico
3/1 Sunday
Latitude: 18:17.19 N Longitude: 065:38.04 W
Weather: sunny some clouds Wind: 900 at 8-12 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 2
Barometer: 1011 Passage time: 3.5 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1690 Fuel used/on board: 4383/579
Distance trip/to Date: 23/10,668
Our usual Sunday morning breakfast of Spanish omelet’s seemed all the better now that we are back in the waters of the Spanish Main. Then it was up dinghy - then up anchor and we were still out to sea by 0930 on our way west to the mainland. The wind and seas were still calm till we were out of the lee of Culebra Island and then only a minimal northern swell could be detected. This is fairly shallow water between islands here never getting much over 100 feet in depth compared to the down island depths often reaching well over 1,000 feet.
By noon, we were making the call to the marina office just off their breakwater for our slip assignment and for someone to meet us on the dock. This is a huge marina, one on the largest in the Caribbean, with over 1,000 slips so finding ours for the first time can be a bit daunting. Once WS was secured safely, it was still a ¼ mile walk up the dock just to get to dry land and the marina office. Jo & I decide to take the afternoon off to see what we can of Fajardo, the resort beach area of north east Puerto Rico.
There is not much to do or see here and what there is - is very spread out and the taxis fares are outrageous. We did manage to discover the Conquistador Hotel, a deluxe resort perched high on a hill over looking the coast and the entire Spanish Virgins. Compete with golf course, small marina, casino and at least five swimming pools, seeing this beautiful destination resort was well the trip.
Back on WS by late afternoon for another quiet evening on board. It is time to empty out the refrig/freezer as we prepare to go home so we are eating our way through anything that won’t keep till we return. Tomorrow it is up early for the final 38-mile to old San Juan along the dreaded rough and rock strewn northern coast.
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Red Hook Bay to Isla de Culebra, Puerto Rico
2/28 Saturday
Latitude: 18:18.23 N Longitude: 065:17.79 W
Weather: sunny with rain squalls Wind: 1100 at 8-12 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 3
Barometer: 1010 Passage time: 4 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1686 Fuel used/on board: 4375/587
Distance trip/to Date: 29/10,645
After a leisurely day yesterday which ended with a very happy hour with friends from Grenada, Walt and Susan on Kingdom, the crew was ready to start the final passage of this leg to Puerto Rico. We were both up before daybreak and ready to go well before the American Marina office even opened to check us out, but by eight, we were on our way. Ken met us in his dinghy as we left the bay to hand off a few borrowed DVD’s in exchange for Jo’s home baked cookies. We will leave Dreamweaver and Voyager here in the VI to follow us later to PR as travel plans home for us begin next Thursday the 5th.
After days of unrelenting wind, the morning is almost flat calm as we make our final turn through Current Passage and proceed up the coast of St Thomas and the 28-miles to the Spanish Virgins. Culebra Island is just over half way between Puerto Rico and St Thomas. While once the lair of pirates like Henry Morgan and even visited earlier by Christopher Columbus, it is mostly a modest resort Island now for the PR locals and a few of us more advantageous yachties. With anchorages galore, good snorkeling and a well protected harbor of Ensenada Honda, it is a great place to stop to break up the otherwise long passage.
By noon, WS is feeling her way into this great harbor which could hold hundreds of cruising boats with ease but today there is less than a dozen on the hook off the island’s only small town of Dewey. US citizens can check in with customs with a simple phone call so with that taken care of, Jo and I are off to find some lunch and get to know our way around.
The “Dinghy Dock” waterfront bar & grill fills the lunch need nicely. After a short walk through the tiny town, a drink at Mamacita’s and a dinghy trip through the old fishing boat canal that still connects the bay with the open water channel to Puerto Rico, we head back to WS. With no one to be social with - it is nice to just enjoy a peaceful afternoon on board and a quiet evening on our own happy home.
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Coral Bay to American Marina, Red Hook Bay
2/26 Thursday
Latitude: 18:19.45 N Longitude: 064:51.12 W
Weather: PC Wind: 900 at 10-15 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 2
Barometer: 1011 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1682 Fuel used/on board: 4365/597
Distance trip/to Date: 17/10,616
I forgot to mention the pod of five Humpbacks we encountered as we came into Coral Bay yesterday. This was the first family group we have seen since leaving Alaska two years ago. These big beauties were just hanging out in 65 feet of water fairly close to shore. There appeared to be a couple of juveniles mixed in as well enjoying the seclusion, I am sure, this remote bay affords.
The nice quiet night at anchor in this rather exposed to the east bay let us know early that the winds and sea had further mellowed and were perfect for the continued circumnavigation of St John’s. This morning we will go around the extended eastern end and then down to long northern side of the island before turning across the straits for St Thomas Island and our marina in Red Hook. Here we will do some needed maintenance and top off the water and food before starting the passage to Puerto Rico on Saturday.
The American IGY Marina in Red Hook is the main US cruising headquarters for all smaller boats (not the mega yachts of Charlotte Amalie) and is well organized for that purpose. Everything a cruiser needs is either there or in walking distance including several nice bars and restaurants. After WS was washed top to bottom, laundry done, and the oil changed, Jo and I set out to find a good one for dinner and were not disappointed by the fresh fish at “Off the Hook” just up the bay. After dinner, it was back to WS for a unsocial, nice quiet night of watching TV and early bed.
Note: Oil and filters changed in the Cummins at 1682 hours - next due at 2000 hours.
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Caneel Bay to Coral Bay
2/25 Wednesday
Latitude: 18:20.57 N Longitude: 064:40.70 W
Weather: PC Wind: 900 at 10-15 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 3
Barometer: 1012 Passage time: 2 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1677 Fuel used/on board: 4359/602
Distance trip/to Date: 12/10,599
An early start this morning was planned to get ahead of the wind and wind waves of yesterday. As it turned out, conditions were much milder today and the 8 AM departure, while not necessary, served us well in the long run. We were able to get to Coral Bay by 10:30 and have time to hike around the whole bay and do some shopping before settling in for lunch ashore.
Coral Bay is one of the last hippie generation outposts in the Virgins or anywhere else for that matter and was known in the past for as a refuge for those wishing to remain out of sight from our mainland authorities. Many of these aging characters can still be seen ambling along the shoreline roads or hanging out in one of the several open air bars.
After a required stop at Skinny Legs, a popular cruisers bar at the dinghy dock, our afternoon and evening was spent back on WS just enjoying the quiet and ambiance of this remote, tourist free bay.
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Charlotte Amalie to Caneel Bay
2/24 Tuesday
Latitude: 18:20.82 N Longitude: 064:47.35W
Weather: PC Wind: 1000 at 12-16 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 4
Barometer: 1012 Passage time: 2.5 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1679 Fuel used/on board: 4355/606
Distance trip/to Date: 11/10,587
Took a nice long, early morning walk through downtown Charlotte Amalie before departing. Not much has changed in this, one of the first cruise ship ports of the Caribbean. Three ships in today with over 1,000 visiting every year makes it still the most popular “big ship” port of call By 10 AM we were back on board, the anchor was up, and we were on our way back to the more small boat cruiser friendly St John’s Island.
Our plan had been to head directly to Coral Bay, a seldom visited town on the eastern, Atlantic side of the island but wind and sea piped up to the point after Current Pass that it was just not worth the wet, rocky ride. Instead, we veered off back to the more protected Caneel Bay and took a mooring again for the afternoon. Jo and I then headed ashore to the old Rock Resort in Caneel for a great lunch. While the place has changed owners many times, it still has the quiet elegance of the grand old tropical hotels of the past and has not changed much in thirty years.
After lunch and a rest back on board, Jo and I headed for Cruz Bay by dinghy just around the corner for some shopping time. We stopped by on the way to see Cousin Bob & Paula on the Freedom 44 in the same anchorage and plans were made to join us ashore later for happy hour. It was sure nice to be able to spend some one on one time with them and plans were made to spend some more time together once we reached Connecticut this summer. Back on WS just after dark, Jo and I settled in for a light dinner and another borrowed DVD movie.
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Francis Bay to Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas Island
2/23 Monday
Latitude: 18:21.51 N Longitude: 064:44.85W
Weather: sunny Wind: 900 at 12-16 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 2
Barometer: 1013 Passage time: 2 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1673 Fuel used/on board: 4746/615
Distance trip/to Date: 9/10,565
We took the 13-mile ride across the bay to St Thomas this morning. We originally planned to dock overnight at the new deluxe Grand Haven Marina run by IGY in Charlotte Amalie but decided to drop the anchor to have a dinghy look first and were glad we did. This place has gone completely Mega Yacht now and is just not appropriate for our little boat. High concrete docks, bollards so far apart our dock lines won’t reach, and only 100 amp power -not to mention their extravagant fees make this place very cruising yacht unfriendly. When you add in the proximity to the cruise ship dock with the usual high end jewelry and dress shops and the lack of yacht services…not even a marine store and we were very happy to stay out on the hook.
We did go ashore for a very nice lunch though and a look around while we did some provisioning. We came here every year when we had the yacht charter company for the annual broker boat show and have very fond memories of how much fun the place used to be but there is not a trace left of the old Yacht Haven Marina. For the late afternoon, we were invited for sunset cocktails on Voyager who have been here for a few days taking care of business and waiting for guests. It was well after dark when we headed back on board WS to watch one of our new movies left by Bob & Pat before turning in for an early start in the morning.
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Caneel Bay to Francis Bay
2/22 Sunday
Latitude: 18:21.51 N Longitude: 064:44.85W
Weather: sunny Wind: 900 at 12-16 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 2
Barometer: 1013 Passage time: 2 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1673 Fuel used/on board: 4746/615
Distance trip/to Date: 9/10,565
Took a early dinghy ride back around the bend into Cruz Bay to do some shopping and better look over the town. We were joined by the crew of “Joy for all Seasons” as we plan to spend the day on St John together. Cousin Bob Walker has extensive experience cruising down here and once even owed a mountain top on St John. As soon as we were back on board, both boats dropped their mooring balls and headed around the Hawksnest Point end to explore the beaches and coves between here and Leinster Bay, just across from Tortola.
All of the moorings in Leinster were taken and after some discussion with a irate cruiser about the legality of anchoring there beside the mooring field, we decided to head back to the more hospitable and open Francis Bay where balls were readily available. As soon as WS was secure, we joined the Audrey & Don gang in the dinghys for some much enjoyed snorkeling along Whistling Cay, a rock at the entrance north of the moorings.
Evening cocktails for all were on WS followed by a delicious, old fashioned hamburger BBQ on Joy. Back on board, Jo & I stayed up to the wee hours watching “Slum Dog Millionaire” sweep the Academy Awards on our Satellite TV.
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Sopher’s Hole to Caneel Bay, St John, USVI
2/21 Saturday
Latitude: 18:20.52 N Longitude: 064:47.51 W
Weather: sunny Wind: 950 at 12-16 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 3
Barometer: 1013 Passage time: 2 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1671 Fuel used/on board: 4343/631
Distance trip/to Date: 8/10,556
Our crew was up early on their last day on WS. Bob & Pat will leave this morning by ferry for St Thomas and their flight back to California. They’ve been great fun and a delight to have aboard and share our voyage from St Maarten. We’ll miss them on board. Our last farewell breakfast on board together was joined by Dottie & Ken but by 0900 it was all hands on deck as our dock space was needed by the local charter operator to turn around his fleet of weekly catamaran charters. We make a quick trip by dinghy to clear customs dropping Bob & Pat at the ferry terminal at the same time. Then back on board by 0925, record time for port clearance, disconnecting power and dock lines on our way to St John’s Island and the USA again at last after more then a year in foreign waters.
Once we cleared into the US in Cruz Bay, we moved into Caneel Bay next door and picked up a mooring. My cousin Bob Walker, who has brought a friend’s Freedom 44 sailboat “Joy for all Seasons” down from Connecticut, is moored close by and it was good to see him again after many years. He was joined later tonight by Don & Audrey for a long weekend of cruising together.
Jo and I spent a quiet evening aboard after a farewell dinner with Dottie & Ken who may be nearing the end of their cruise as they look to return to a more “normal” life.
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Cruising the British Virgin Islands, Virgin Gorda to Sopher’s Hole
2/17 - 2/ 20
Latitude: 18:23.24 N Longitude: 064:42.04 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 75 to 950 at 10-20 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 3/4
Barometer: 1013 Passage time: 46 hrs over 4 days
Engine Hours: 1669 Fuel used/on board: 4340/634
Distance trip/to Date: 46/10,548
We will be moving around a lot in this closely knit island group so instead of individual daily logs for each short passage, I’ll just report on the overall experience. As many of you know, Jo and I have been here many times over 30 years both with family and as charter brokers with our own company, Yacht Holidays International in the “80’s”. In many ways, it feels like coming home for us to the place where our love of cruising could be quenched on the installment plan as we and our kids were growing up.
Day 1
Spent our 1st night at anchor just off Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda. It is Jo’s birthday today! The wind has died, the channel is like a lake and the sun is shinning. Took the dinghy ashore in the morning with guests Bob and Pat for some dinghy gas and a stop at the dive shop. Underway by 11AM for Long Bay on the north end of VG and its Bitter End Yacht Club. Picked up a mooring and headed ashore after lunch for a look around before taking the dinghy out for snorkel expedition to the reef on the far side of Saba Rock Not much there except one large sting ray and some small reef fish. Water was exceptionally clear but a chilly 78 degrees.
Jo’s evening birthday festivities began with a happy hour ashore at the BEYC followed by dinner of fresh Wahoo on board Dreamweaver with gift opening and dessert with game of Cranium on board Voyager. Girls against guys ended in a tie after the guys lead for the entire game…some foul play is suspected. Wind piped up to 20 knots for a bumpy ride back to our big boats.
Day 2
Wind is still howling so we decide to stay put on our mooring today to better explore the north end of Virgin Gorda, in particular, the Briar Creek Resort. This remote and luxurious property is tucked back into a small corner of the VG Sound with access to water on two sides, the sound on our side and Deep Bay/Berchers Bay on the Atlantic ocean side. Our crew takes a nice 2-mile hillside hike for some spectacular views of both bays before having lunch at the Fat Virgin Café just off the resort property.
Back on board for naps, before Bob and I head ashore for an internet session. This evenings activities include an authentic Caribbean dinner (from our cooking class on St Kitts) cooked by Jo assisted by Pat and another great movie up for Academy Award best Actress consideration “Frozen River.”
Day 3
Departure from Bitter End today…the weather be damned! Still blowing 20 with gusts to 30 but time to move on and the protected nature of the Sir Francis Drake Channel should at least keep the waves limited to the fetch of the east-west oriented strait. We decide to hug the leeward shore of the eastern islands for the scenery and some protection from the ugliness. .
Plans to stop for lunch at Norman Island, the southern most rock in this chain, were abandoned once we arrived to discover the advertised shipboard restaurant there was not as inviting as it sounded. We grabbed a quick lunch on board while still moving in the mostly calm bay and then continued west over the top of St Johns, past the south end of Tortola, through the narrow Thatch island Cut and finally on to our destination for the day, Jost Van Dyke Island.
Foxy’s world famous beach bar and grill is located in Great Harbor on Jost Van Dyke. Yes, this is the real reason we have endured wind and waves for thirty plus miles…it is simply not to be missed. The legendary Foxy still performs with song and guitar nightly plus tonight he will be accompanied by a R&R Caribbean dance band so we dropped our hook in 34-feet, took our naps and got ready for yet another night of painkiller punch and dubious memories.
Day 4
Our night in Foxy’s started out with disappointed expectations - no Foxy, no live band and only a quiet, small crowd of older cruisers showed up for the fun. With a little perseverance we did manage to make a memorable evening with a good dinner, lots of punch and all of us diehards dancing to a local DJ till midnight. After a surprisingly quiet night at anchor, all hands took a quick morning trip ashore to take a walk and to shop at Foxy’s general store. By 10, the wind started to clock around making Great Harbor a lee shore so we quickly headed back to WS, raised anchor to get out before things got much worse.
Once back across the Tortola channel and through the cut, we turned into Sopher’s Hole, a well protected port on the west end with an accommodating marina. As soon as WS was secure here, we had lunch ashore at Pusser’s Rum Cafe and set off to see the many other small shops making up this picturesque tourist town. As the final night for our guests, we wanted a memorable dinner so we found a great new gourmet restaurant called “WATERMARK” in Frenchman’s Key resort and spent the evening enjoying excellent food, spirits and our company.
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Anguilla to Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
2/16 Monday
Latitude: 18:27.23 N Longitude: 064:26.44 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 950 at 15-20 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 4
Barometer: 1010 Passage time: 12 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1661 Fuel used/on board: 4324/666
Distance trip/to Date: 182/10,502
It was already a pitch black night by the time we weighed anchor and set out for our overnight passage. As luck would have it and to some extent our good interpolation of the many conflicting weather reports, the winds began to back down for the first time in weeks. Crossing the Anegada Passage is daunting in the best of circumstances and downright scary in heavy northerly wind and seas. We got this one exactly right with a light breeze right on the stern accompanied by a nice, gentle swell. While still lumpy, these winds and seas from behind WS seemed to push us along towards our destination.
Soon a half moon came up from behind the distant shadow of Anguilla with just enough light for the horizon to be visible and offer its encouragement as we plunged through the night. Daybreak put us about 16 miles off the pass around the north side of Ginger Island and Round Rock marking the end of Virgin Gorda. Making the starboard turn around the rock, and we were, once again, in protected waters and on our way to the anchorage at Spanish Town with its entry officials for the BVI.
We spent the rest of the day, clearance duties completed, napping and relaxing on board. BBQ dinner followed by one of the many great academy award nominated movies brought down by Bob & Pat rounded out a very nice day on the water and welcome to our new cruising grounds.
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St Martin to Anguilla
2/15 Sunday
Latitude: 18:12.03 N Longitude: 063:05..70 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 950 at 15-20 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 4
Barometer: 1014 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1645 Fuel used/on board: 4296/308+ 400-6=702
Distance trip/to Date: 17/10,420
Morning was busy getting loose of shore life after 10-days of dockside living. We checked out of the marina, the country and the local supermarket all in an hour’s time so we would be ready for sea by the 11AM bridge opening. Bob and Pat joined our crew on Thursday night and will be traveling with us to Anguilla and the British Virgin Isles. By 1050 we were second in line behind a massive mega yacht and in front of a dozen other boats including Dreamweaver and Voyager, all anxious to get going north or south or anywhere after the long weather delay in St Maarten.
Once we were through the narrow bridge passage and out of the lee of the island, we were delighted to find the seas much more moderate than predicted so we had an easy run the 17-miles to Anguilla. By 1330, we had the anchor down in fifteen feet of water off its beach town of Road Harbor. Once all three boats were set, a dinghy expedition was launched to go ashore and check out this small independent island and to add it to our country collection…this makes number 97 for Jo.
From first look there was not much to see…just a couple of shabby beach bars and a smelly salt marsh. However, one of these bars called Johnny O’s, it turned out, was known for its Sunday afternoon jam sessions and soon we were right in the swing with one of the best Jazz bands I’ve heard in a long time. What started out as a quick walk on the beach turned into a whole afternoons entertainment. Then it was back on board for naps, a bit of the Daytona 500 and then a nine o’clock evening departure for the overnight run to Virgin Gorda and the British Virgin Islands.
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Simpson Bay Marina, St Maarten
2/5 to 2/14
Well the combination of continuous bad weather and our new engine problem conspired to keep us in lovely St Maarten much longer than intended. What was planned as a 2-3 day quick look around turned into over a week of boat maintenance and the inevitable cruiser’s partying that seems to follow us from island to island. We’ll take care of the engine hiccup by replacing the fuel lift pump with a new one sent down by Cummins. We also found a stress crack on the radar mounting platform from all the thrashing around we’ve done in large seas that we will need to have welded.
WS needs some TLC in the cleanup department too - especially with Bob & Pat, our neighbors and good friends from Big Bear joining us here by the end of the week. I spent an hour today taking the big dinghy apart to clean it up and get the sand from a dozen different beaches out of its bilge and then had to replace and change tires around on the bikes to get them operational again. Add to this list the master head that keeps locking up and a full social agenda and you can see that we’ll have plenty to do here in St Maarten before we move on the British Virgin Islands next weekend.
The boys and I spent Saturday morning replacing the fuel lift pump on the Cummins after a week’s drama of trying to get Fed Ex to get it here from Florida. They managed to send it to Curacao first so it took three days for an “overnight” shipment. Once it was here, the three of us figured out how to get it installed after removing half the engine including the fuel cooler, a wire harness, the computer, the cooling plate for the computer and a bunch of miscellaneous wires and gismos. Once back together, she started right up and ran beautifully so I think the problem is solved. We immediately fired up WS and ran over to the fuel dock for 400 gallons of the liquid gold (down to $3.35/gallon here) then back to our dock for our last night in St Maarten.
Note: Filled fuel with 400 gallons bringing total up to 700 gallons on board at 1644 engine hours - 4,289 total fuel used to date.
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St Barts to St Maarten
2/4 Wednesday
Latitude: 18:02.01 N Longitude: 063:05.87 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 900 at 15-20 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 4
Barometer: 1014 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1644 Fuel used/on board: 4289/308
Distance trip/to Date: 416/10,430
Just before we left St Barts I was able to get on the internet long enough to get several days worth of backed up email. Sadly, I learned of the passing of my long time (49-years) friend and business partner, Bill Veis. Bill had been having a series of small strokes for several years until he was just barely clinging to life the last time we were home for a visit. So while still painful, his departure was not unexpected. Bill was the founder of our company, my mentor in the orthodontic business and not only a great guy but a second father to me through all of the important decisions of my life. Any financial success I’ve achieved, I owe largely to him too. It is a very sad day.
The days voyage started off as a nice easy run across the 16-miles to the Dutch side of St Maarten in the company of our little fleet. Our only boating concern was to get there in plenty of time to make the 11:30 opening of the drawbridge that gives access for boats to enter the popular yacht haven of Simpson Bay. It is in here that you would eventually be able to see most of the mega yachts from around the world as they pass through here for maintenance, crew changes, or just to take a break from cruising the Caribbean. About 30 to 50 of these floating palaces can be found here at any given time.
Things got exciting for us while still crossing the channel when, about a half hour from the southern St Maarten city of Philipsburg, our engine started to act up. The main engine’s computer alarm came on with an error message of “Prime pump error” which means the injector pump is not getting enough fuel from the small lift pump that brings the fuel from the tanks. Symptom wise, it started to lope - repeatedly slowing down and then revving up acting like it was going to quit at any minute. A quick check of the engine room does not show anything obviously wrong - filters are clean, engine is cool, oil and alternator normal and no fuel leaks etc. By slowing the rpm’s down to 1200, I found the Cummins would settle down to a nice steady hum again without the alarm drama.
At first, we thought we would need to make an emergency stop at Bobby’s Marine, a boatyard in Philipsburg. Since we are making a steady 5-knots and the Cummins seems like it will not stop completely, we decide to keep going to try to still make the bridge opening and all of the expert services we know are available in the Bay. Unfortunately, the slower speed gets us there just as it closes so nothing to do but drop the hook and relax till the next opening at 5:30. This also gives us the time to take the dinghy to clear customs and pay our multitude of fees - even one for passing through the draw bridge. Later in the afternoon, we get boarded by the St Maarten Coast Guard just to add more excitement to an already emotionally packed day.
By 5pm, the staff boat from Simpson Bay Marina, our intended destination, comes all the way out to the anchorage to meet WS and guide us to our slip. Once through the channel, the huge bay with hundreds of boats of all sizes spreads out in every direction. We follow our guide boat as he circles an island of med moored mega yachts to get to our very nice marina. All of the yachting services you could want or need are within a short dinghy ride of this marina…ship chandleries, electronic shops, welding shops, grocery stores, fuel docks not to mention dozens of restaurants, casinos, movie theaters and, of course, great cruiser hangout bars are all within walking distance too.
It’s a quiet dinner on board though and early to bed for a very tired and emotionally drained WS crew after another dramatic day at sea.
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Gustavia at anchor
2/1 - 2/3 Sunday to Tuesday
Superbowl Sunday and hard to believe it is February already. Our party today is planned on Voyager and Dottie/Ken on Dreamweaver will also be able to join us from Saba before game time. Jo and I head to town early for a further look around and some much needed exercise walking. The town is clean, nicely kept up and compact so we hiked up to some of the surrounding, residential hills as well. All of the shops are closed today but we did manage to find a nice dockside spot for a gourmet lunch…so far the food here is suburb! Then it was back to WS for a rest before game/party kickoff.
And what an exciting game it was! I can’t remember a Superbowl I’ve enjoyed more. Besides my old home team, the Steelers winning in a squeaker, the food and company on Voyager was outstanding and fun as usual so it made for a most memorable day indeed.
St Kitts to Gustavia, St Barts
01/30 Saturday
Latitude: 17:53.78 N Longitude: 062:51.01 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 900 at 16-20 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 5
Barometer: 1010 Passage time: 7 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1641 Fuel used/on board: 4283/313
Distance trip/to Date: 43/10,414
It was a fairly rocky ride to St Barts but this was the last of the northern legs for quite awhile and only 40 miles at that so we didn’t mind. We’re getting good at setting WS up for beam to beam rolls so that nothing inside gets tossed around. We could see Gustavia’s crowed anchorage from miles at sea. This French island is very popular with the rich & famious and a favorite stop of the mega yachts as well. Jimmy Buffet claims it as his favorite which makes it popular with the rest of us.
Once we treaded our way through the yacht’s of all sizes at anchor. We took up a stern-to position on the harbors inner seawall as instructed by the port captain. This involved dropping the anchor mid channel and then backing down till the stern almost touches the wharf using fenders to protect the swimstep, not an easy maneuver in a 15-knot crosswind. We managed to get WS tied up just fine but it was quickly apparent the swell roll and boat wakes in the harbor made it a rather precarious mooring at best and downright dangerous for our swimstep should it bang against the dock. We gave it an hour before we decided it was just too risky, undid the whole mess and headed hack out to the anchorage.
Voyager and arrived from Nevis and dropped her anchor while we were playing about inside so we picked a likely spot next to her and set our anchor in 25 feet of water. While a bit of a dinghy ride into the inner harbor to customs for clearance, we felt much better about leaving WS than we ever would have at the dock. After clearing in, both crews took some time to walk around the very up market town before picking Eddie’s as the best likely spot for dinner. We were not disappointed either as this quaint restaurant served up a great diner for us in their outdoor garden patio. Then it was back to the yachts for a good nights rest.
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St Kitts/Nevis
01/25 - 01/30 Monday to Friday
We are taking an extended, week long, weather break here as the NE Caribbean kicks up a fuss of wind and waves. All-in-all, this is not a bad place to hang out with lots to do and fairly good marina facilities. Oddly enough, the internet is not provided to the marina or easily available nearby so this is the one, very serious drawback for communicating with friends and family and checking on the weather. We did finally hook up with a good internet service from “The Tour Store” right off the cruise ship dock and only a block from our marina.
These islands are not real popular with other cruisers either with only a handful of boats here, so we miss the sense of being part of the cruising community we have enjoyed so much down island. This is a shame as they have so much to offer and still resemble the “old” Caribbean on days when the cruise ships are not at the dock.
This having been said, we are keeping very busy with the Dreamweaver crew taking island tours, the ferry back to Nevis for a better look, rum tasting crawls, movies, shopping, bonfires on the beach, lobster feasts, and even attending a Caribbean cooking school. We have met and befriended the new owners of a great restaurant in downtown Basseterre called “Stone Walls” now open for a gourmet breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Looks like we’ll hang in here till Saturday then head the 43 miles to St Barts by passing the tiny island of St Eustatius (Statia for short) which is just 20-miles further west and very visible like the mountain top out of the sea that it is, just off the west end of St Kitts.
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Charleston to St Kitts
01/25 Sunday
Latitude: 17:17.47 N Longitude: 062:43.78 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 450 at 16-25 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 2
Barometer: 1010 Passage time: 2 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1633 Fuel used/on board: 4266/329
Distance trip/to Date: 11/10,371
Took us a while to get moving but made it ashore by 10am to do the customs/immigration/port captain shuffle. Here takes three stops like in Central America with fees and slow typing to match. Being Sunday, everything in the small town of Charleston was closed except one supermarket so our walking around tour was very brief and we were back on board and ready to move on to St Kitts by noon.
Both islands are part of the same country and it only takes two hours to move the eleven miles to the town of Basseterre on St Kitts. There’s a bit more wind then we expected out of the northeast today but being in the lee for all but the narrow passage between the islands makes the journey a pleasant, wave free, romp. .
The new Port Zante Marina, just off the cruise ship docks, is full (we suspect its just a lazy weekend dockmaster) but with the promise of accommodations first thing in the morning, we opt for what will be a rolly night at anchor just outside of the breakwater instead of going back a couple of miles to a more protected bay.
Dottie & Ken on Dreamweaver arrive from Antigua by five pm after a week long visit from Ken’s brother Marshall and family. I think that this is the first time just our two boats have been together at anchor since the coast of California. Their anchor is barely wet before plans are made for an evening of catching up with a happy hour and fresh fish fry on WS
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Jolly Harbor Marina to Charleston, Nevis
01/24 Saturday
Latitude:17:08.17 N Longitude: 062:37.95 W
Weather: cloudy Wind: 1000 at 14-18 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 4
Barometer: 1011 Passage time: 7 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1631 Fuel used/on board: 4262/334
Distance trip/to Date: 47/10,360
Nice early departure from the marina by 7AM. It feels good to be underway again after the protracted but fun stay in Antigua. Over the next several weeks we’ll be moving on a much more regular basis as we explore the remaining Leeward islands on our way to the British Virgins roughly 200 miles to the west.
Once we are out of the lee of Antigua, a nice, long for the Caribbean swell shows up off the starboard beam.. It feels good to have both wind and waves behind us for a change instead of right on the nose or starboard beam. WS handles these seas best of all as she accelerates down the face of each wave up to nine knots from our usual seven. While its cloudy most of the day we can just see the North end of Montserrat with it’s very active volcano.
We pass the south end of Nevis just after lunch and head directly for the only town of Charleston. As we approach, we are surprised to see the anchorage area as marked in our guide book covered with moorings and a distinct lack of cruising boats except for a lone Sunsail charter boat at anchor. We take up a position behind it and drop our hook in twelve feet of firm sand. Since we know customs/immigration are already closed for the day, we decide to just relax on the boat and clear in tomorrow while we have a look around before heading to St Kitts.
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Jolly Harbor Marina
01/19 - 1/23 Monday to Friday
Our final days with the Hazen’s were spent enjoying the beaches of Jolly Harbor Resort and the local ambience. On Monday night, Audrey made us a fabulous sauerkraut dinner, the old Alsatian way (we are of Alsatian ancestry on our Dads side), which was the best sauerkraut I’ve ever had - even Jo loved it and she is Irish! Tuesday finds us glued to the TV watching the “coronation” of our new president whom we have come to admire, though somewhat reluctantly, after reading his books. On Wednesday, our guests leave for the frozen north and we return to boat chores and the reality of getting ready for sea. Thursday and Friday just more of the same…working on our computers and catching up on maintenance.
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Deep Bay to Jolly Harbor Marina via Dickenson Bay
01/18 Sunday
Latitude:17:03.93 N Longitude: 061:51.05 W
Weather: sunny Wind: 900 at 12-15 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 2
Barometer: 1012 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1624 Fuel used/on board: 4244/352
Distance trip/to Date: 12/10,313
We started off the day with a nice hike up the hill to the old fort for a panoramic view of the bay and WS at anchor quietly waiting for us to return. Then it’s up anchor at 1030 and we head north once more for the popular beaches of Dickenson Bay for a lunch stop and some water sports. We anchor in a skinny, 7′ of water just off the crowed, pristine beach of Sandals Resort. Don & Audrey have a fun time rowing Twinkle, our small collapsible dinghy, to shore.
By 1300, we are tired of being target practice for a screaming fleet of jet skis so as soon as the crew is back on board , we turn south again for our new home in Jolly Harbor. This marina is situated far back in a long channel surrounded by homes, condos, and hotels. While an active tourist area, it is a great place for us to spend our last few days with our guests and then to regroup, re-provision, and make our departure for the next island of Nevis. We have a great super market, ships chandlery, fuel dock, good restaurants, swimming pool, and various shops of all kinds.
Afternoon finds us in the sports bar watching the end of the Eagles/Arizona NFL playoff game where we stay for dinner. Then it’s back on the Star for the victorious Steeler’s game over the Ravens for we former Pittsburgh natives- which lasted till late in the evening.
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English Harbor to Deep Bay
01/17 Saturday
Latitude:17:07.50 N Longitude: 061:54.00 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 900 at 12-15 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 4 to 2
Barometer: 1013 Passage time: 3 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1622 Fuel used/on board: 4239/357
Distance trip/to Date: 16/10,208
Left the dock at English Harbor with Don and Audrey on board at 1030 after an hour spent untangling our bow mooring line from the other three yachts sharing the buoy. Once free of the dock, we needed to retrieve the anchor while Don did the hose down duties to get off the thick bay mud. Then it’s around the old Fort Bradley guarded bend and then out onto the bounding main, in this case, the ENE Caribbean Trade driven seas. Today, we face 5′- 6′ swell on the beam for the first ½ mile till we are able to make the turn and head due west for the first time since we left the Straits of Juan de Fuca in Washington State.
Our mission today is to explore the bays and coves on the south west side of Antigua on our way to Deep Harbor, a small bay just south of the main port city of St John. Here we dropped the hook in 20 feet of crystal clear water just off the once prestigious Royal Antiguan Hotel, now fallen on hard times. Old Fort Brady overlooks the bay from its lofty perch on the hill once guarding the entrance to this port from the French. In the center of our bay is the wreck of the Andes, a island freighter that caught fire in 1906 and conveniently sank in 30-feet of water making it an ideal fish habitat and snorkeling destination. We spent a great afternoon exploring it and dinghy exploring the entire bay.
Cocktails at sunset on the fly bridge followed by dinner of shish-ka-bob on the top deck under the stars.
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English Harbor - on Holiday
01/10 - 1/16 Saturday to Friday
Our first day into marina life in Antigua was spent polishing up Wandering Star from life on the high seas. Company coming next week starting Monday so we want to get our chores done so we can go out and play. While I washed down WS from stem to stern to get the salt off while Jo followed along to do the windows. I even got a haircut worked into the program in the afternoon as I was getting a little scraggly from Dottie’s last attempt on a rocking boat in Port Elizabeth Harbor.
Hosted a small happy hour for new friends on the world cruising Nordhavn ‘43, Kosmos, parked next to us. She is three-quarters of the way around starting in San Diego going west across the Pacific, through Indonesia and the dreaded Straits of Malacca, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Mediterranean, and just arrived from the Canary islands on Tuesday . Now heading back to San Diego and work, Eric and Christi will finish up their world adventure in just under 2-years…quite an accomplishment! You can check out their blog at http://kosmos.liveflux.net/blog.
The rest of our time here was spent exploring the island with friends and family. Mark and Susan Ohlendorf stopped by off on their cruise ship for a delightful day of exploring the northern and eastern sections of the Antigua by rental car. We had a leisurely lunch at the beautifully set Long Bay Inn and finished up the day with a walking tour of English Harbor before heading back to their departing ship.
Sister Audrey and brother-in-law Don from Virginia arrived next and stayed aboard to play with us for a week that included continued in-depth exploring of the sights in the car by day, and the party/restaurant scene at night. One especially memorable night we were joined by the crews of Voyager and Dreamweaver for diner and dancing till closing at a quaint little local place called Bambu. At one point, Don joined the band at the keyboard for a set of Johnnie Be Good that even had the natives outside on the street rocking along with the rest of us. Hiking, snorkeling, shelling, windsurfing, wreck-diving and even some boating as we moved WS around to Jolly Harbor rounded out a very fun filled time together.
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Deshaies to English Harbor, Antigua
01/09 Friday
Latitude:17:10.45 N Longitude: 061:45.45 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 850 at 12-15 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 3
Barometer: 1012 Passage time: 8 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1619 Fuel used/on board: 4233/361
Distance trip/to Date: 42/10,092
We’re off the hook early again this morning as we try to get a jump on the AM winds. This island’s northern point is notorious for high winds and rough seas…nothing new there! This morning did prove to be the exception as things did not really kick up till about midway across the channel. An extra two seconds of interval between the waves and the lack of substantial wind waves seemed to help keep things more manageable today and while we did tangle with a few eight footers, it was not the white knuckle experience of some of our recent channel passages.
There was virtually no lee shore relief right up to the opening for English Harbor because it is located on the south east end of the island with no protection from the ENE trades till you slide past the old fort guarding the narrow entrance. Once inside, a hard left brings you to the narrow channel leading to the historic Nelson Dockyard Marina, our home for the coming week. That is it is after an hour of trying to get the dock master’s attention on the radio so he could assign us to a spot on the quay. As is typical more and more lately, all of the boats here are med moored with there sterns backed up to the sea wall and either a anchor or bow line to a buoy forward to hold the bow.. We squeeze WS into a spot between a couple of sailboats and soon have her tied up and secure.
Apathy seems to be a recurrent theme here so far and the customs/immigration folks are not to be the exception. While conveniently located right on the grounds of our marina, they could barely tear themselves away for their TV long enough to sign and stamp our entry forms. Once finished with the formalities, Jo and I head out the road for a look around Falmouth Harbor next door and to check out the competing marinas. We made the right choice picking Nelson’s Dockyard with the Antigua Yacht Club being the only possible 2nd choice in this adjoining Harbor. Our walking tour ends with a visit to the Jolly Bar on our marina’s grounds and a nice happy hour meeting fellow cruising yachties. .
Home to clean up and then it’s back out with my 1st mate to celebrate our arrival and the turning of the corner at the highly recommended (from happy hour friends) Abracadabra Italian Restaurant just off our marina’s grounds. Here our host Paulo made us feel like his old friends and favorite patrons in short order - what a gift. With excellent food and wine to match, he sure made up for yesterdays lack luster French experience in Deshaies.. A nice walk after dinner under the full moon and it’s the end of another perfect day in paradise.
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Portsmouth to Deshaies, Guadeloupe
01/08 Thursday
Latitude:16:18.41 N Longitude: 061:47.73 W
Weather: cloudy, occasional rain Wind: 610 at 15-30 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 3
Barometer: 1010 Passage time: 7.5 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1611 Fuel used/on board: 4215/380
Distance trip/to Date: 50/10,150
Slow getting the mental game going this morning after last nights bacchanal - the physical side though was up and around early enough to get underway before 7:30. Our companion boats got away on time as well. The crossing of the channel between Dominica and Guadeloupe went pretty much as expected and much better than the previous channel crossing. ENE Swells had a few 8-footers but with the absence of Saturday’s 30+ knot winds, they lacked the confusion and the tendency of the wind driven water to stack on top of the existing swells.
We passed to the West of the Saints, a small group of French islands 8-miles before the Guadeloupe mainland. They would have been a great place to stop if we had the time. The several reasons we have for being in Antigua early next week keep pushing us along especially with the lousy weather due in again Sunday night.
Once in the lee of the island’s high mountains, it is an easy run up the west coast about a mile off the land. We make a point to circle Pigeon Island, one of Cousteau’s top 10 dive spots in the world but it does not look inviting enough today to stop given the gloomy weather and the lack of any available moorings as anchoring there is forbidden. So we settle for a couple of photos and press on to our stop for tonight, the small fishing town of Deshaies (pronounced Day-ay) on the north end of Guadeloupe.
Pulled into the already full anchorage at 1330 and found a likely spot between Voyager and the cliffs that line the bay’s north shore in 30 feet of water. After a couple hours rest, the three crews piled into Dreamweaver’s dinghy for a shore excursion and a look around the town. Deshaies, while small, does not disappoint in character and French ambiance. It is clean, the buildings are in good repair, and most are gaily painted in the Caribbean tradition. Best of all, there are at least six French restaurants along its one-mile long waterfront.
We picked the fanciest of the six but unfortunately it did not have the food or service to match its decor but all in all it was an enjoyable meal for the fellowship and the help of a subtle little French Boudreaux. The almost full moon showed us the way back to our boats for an early lights out and pending departure for Antigua in the morning.
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Portsmouth
01/07 Thursday
Took a day off here to do the early morning flower and fauna tour up the Indian River. Really more bird watching as our guide (Martin again) rowed us a mile or two up to a small botanical garden. This area was also in Pirates of the Caribbean II & III as the setting for the witches’ home. Starting at 6:30AM, we were done by 9:00 so went back into town for some local breakfast and a walk around before going back to the boats for lunch.
It was a quiet afternoon on board with only a wet, rainy dinghy trip to the customs office for diversion. We did manage to make a pass by the incredible “Maltese Falcon” just in at anchor for clearing customs from the Antigua boat show. This is the world’s largest, most expensive, privately owned sailing ship at 90-meters long and costing $141 million USD to build. She charters for a mere $310,000/week but this includes a full crew of probably 10 to 12 and all the toys but fuel is extra should you choose not to sail.
Tonight it’s off to the highly touted weekly Reggae night at Big Papas. Music starts at 10PM and shuts down somewhere between 3 and 5 AM. With speakers the size of a Volkswagen in a dance area the size of a modest living room, it’s a wonder any Dominican’s are not stone deaf. Basically, all the pot you could inhale was free as the air was thick enough with the smoke. Add to this the entire freshman class of the local medical school and a lovely mix of local babes decked out in their finest and shortest and usual grungy Rastafarian guys and you have yourself a great evening of people watching.
We managed to get ashore by 8:30 for dinner at Big Papas after a warm-up party on WS with the gang. Then its all aboard Ken’s dinghy for a rainy ride to the dinghy dock. Big Papa himself saw to it we were seated in his “VIP” area, a makeshift 2nd floor on stilts that still falls down with each passing hurricane. Dinner was good but slow in coming, the epitome of leisurely island dining.
The music cranked up before we were finished so it became impossible to talk, even in the 2nd floor of the a joining structure. We all hung out till eleven and Jo managed to endure a couple of dances with very touchy feely Rasta men and I had to settle for just being propositioned by one of the ladies of the evening before we all headed back to our floating, quiet homes by shortly after midnight. Probably would not have stayed much longer even without tomorrow’s early departure for Guadeloupe.
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Roseau to Portsmouth
01/06 Wednesday
Latitude: 15:34.97 N Longitude: 061:27.83 W
Weather: cloudy lt rain Wind: 1300 at 7-10 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 2
Barometer: 1011 Passage time: .3 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1604 Fuel used/on board: 4195/400
Distance trip/to Date: 20/10,092
Towed the dinghy for the nice, well protected, 3-hour trip up the leeward side of Dominica. Our Roseau new friend Pancho has called ahead and his contemporary Martin was waiting for us as we pulled into the broad Bay of Portsmouth. Jo & I decide to take up a mooring instead of anchor partly because you want to support the local boat business and with moorings you don’t get charter people anchoring on top of you in these busy harbors.
We head into Big Papas Restaurant, which has one of the few remaining docks for a look around town in the early afternoon. You do not appreciate how much these small towns are devastated by the frequent hurricanes into you stop in a place like Portsmouth which has 5 or 6 beached or sunken island freighters all along its waterfront. One is even locking the entrance to the main river. All of the small docks we use are completely destroyed and very hard for the owners’ meager business to afford to replace.
While one of the poorer islands so far, the people of Dominica seem happy and well fed. Groceries are mostly fresh grown locally with little prepared foods of any kind. The daily fare here is fruits and vegetables with fresh fish and occasionally goat or chicken. This island has the reputation for long life with the highest ratio of population to octogenarians of any place on the planet. The lady who was the recent record holder just passed at 128- years old.
Back on board for dinner and a movie tonight and a very fast internet for a change so we can get caught up on our correspondence too.
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On the mooring at Roseau
01/04-1/05 Sunday & Monday
Up most of the night with a battle of the bands going on till 5AM at the local nightclub which happens to be right opposite from our mooring. Music quality was not so bad it is just the incessant base drum they crank up till it is like a migraine headache. Then the church bells take over starting at 6AM to further punish both the revelers and the innocent. Town is all but closed so I spent Sunday helping Ken pull and repair his prop which was not badly damaged at all considering the possibilities while Jo got WS back in order after yesterday’s debacle at sea. Dinner and a movie with Ken joining us on WS,
Monday was our day for touring the island in the care of Celia who turns out to be Pancho’s wife and his young son…just love these family outings. This is the most rugged of all the Caribbean Islands with nine active volcanoes rising straight out of the sea, some reaching over 4,000 feet. To the point the early explorers left the place unbothered for many years just because it was so rough and daunting to even bother going ashore. All we could do in a full day was wind our way up one canyon to visit some more waterfalls, swimming holes, as well as the highest road and fresh water lake in the Caribbean. So high it was actually cold enough up there to need a sweater - unheard of in these parts -the coolest we’ve been since leaving Big Bear last fall.
Had a nice lunch at the top of the mountain today so will stay on board for dinner this evening. Voyager caught up with us by the time we got back from touring and will travel with us to Portsmouth at the north end of the island in the morning.
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St Pierre, Martinique to Roseau, Dominica
01/03 Saturday
Latitude: 15:17.90 N Longitude: 061:22.70 W
Weather: cloudy lt rain Wind: 0900 at 18 - 30 kts. Sea: Beaufort: 6
Barometer: 1009 Passage time: .2.5 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1594 Fuel used/on board: 4188/413
Distance trip/to Date: 36/10,072
The day started off in the calm of St Pierre Bay with little wind and not even a ripple on the water. Unfortunately this was not to last long for as soon as we moved out of the lee of Martinique all hell broke loose! The waves began to roll in from the East directly on our beam and rose to six feet up to occasional ten footers and the wind continued to build till it reached 30 plus knots by the time we were in mid channel. Our weather forecast called for more reasonable 5 foot seas and winds of only 20 knots so this surprise is exactly the kind of stuff we try our best to avoid.
Beam seas are the hardest to manage in any boat, especially for the occupants. Un-stabilized boats roll from side to side in beam seas till you would swear it was going to go completely over. Of course, anything loose inside becomes immediately airborne across the cabin and the wind howling through the rigging does not help the bedlam or your nerves either. For four hours, Jo stayed in our bunk which is low and lies amidships so is a more comfortable ride and I stayed glued in the helms seat and hung on for dear life…to the point you just get tired from hanging on.
Our boat did fine with nothing broken other than a plant that upsets and spilled some dirt on the floor. Ken on Dreamweaver ran over and destroyed one of the fish on his Paravanes and possibly screwed up the prop about two thirds of the way across the channel. He was just lucky he did not get the vane wire wrapped around the prop as stopping the engine out there would have been a very dicey situation indeed.
Things did not calm down again until we were well in the lee of Dominica and even got a bit rougher the last couple of miles as the wind and sea began to funnel around the end of the island. Once behind the land mass, it immediately became a lake again with little wind and no waves at all. We followed the coast line a couple of miles to the main town of Roseau where we were met by a very cheery Rastafarian looking boat boy named Pancho who soon had us secured to his mooring float just off the Anchorage Hotel. It is difficult to anchor here as the shore drops off to deep water immediately so moorings are the only reasonable way to get boats to stop in for a visit.
We’ll stay here awhile and wait for some really good weather before the next leg. The customs procedures are more rigorous too, more like old Mexico where you must report in and out of each port not just the country, so checking in was the next afternoon project. Roseau’s a nice little town but has three cruise ships in today so that disrupts its peaceful nature to put it mildly. At least it’s English again and the cell phone and internet work which has become almost a requirement of late as you do get used to the convenience.
Our crew took time to have a moving happy hour at the old fort hotel and a place called the Garage with car wheels for bar stools and great chicken wings. Then a quick look around as most cruise shippers had left by now before heading back to WS for a quiet dinner on board after a most strenuous day.
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