Look ma - no diesel! (And no I don't mean we ran out of fuel!)

The Sunsail Jeanneau fleet at English Harbour.

 

The alarm went off at 0500 and we were up. Engine started at 0530 and we weighed anchor and were out of English Harbour at 0600. The winds were as predicted. We set the course and set the sails. We had an average wind speed of 15 to 17 kts. Full main and reduced genoa and we averaged 6 kts all day. The wind was directly 90 degrees on our port side. One tack all the way to Guadeloupe! We traveled how many miles and how many months to get to this point? It was perfect. We had hot Caribbean sun, warm Caribbean winds and warm Caribbean spray. What more could we want? We made the trip to Deshaies in 7 hours, approximately 45 miles. We were smoking! OMG I love those trades (when they work in our favour). We set anchor at 1330, straightened the boat out a bit, lowered the dinghy and went ashore looking for an ATM machine (Euros) which I might add worked with our first card on the first try. We then found Customs and cleared in. Having accomplished that, we set about wandering through town. What a quaint, well kept, pretty town! We found a bakery, found a restaurant with internet and then headed back to the boat. We were very happy with the day! Having had an early morning, it was an early night.

Approaching Deshaies, Guadeloupe.

Walking bridge over the Deshaies River.

That's CS'ta Time immediately to the right of the little palm.

Approaching the dinghy dock at Deshaies.

 

We were up around 0800 having had a wonderful sleep. The anchorage was very quiet and well protected. After breakfast we planned the next step in the cruising and then went ashore. The guidebook mentioned a walk up the Deshaies River to some waterfalls. After getting the general directions off we went. We didn't make it. The walk along the river got a little too dense with foliage so we turned back, found a very small waterfalls with a small pool at the bottom of it and decided that was where we were going to get cooled off. We had brought soap and shampoo and had a great refreshing wash. We then had a picnic and I had another dip before we left.

Waterfalls and pool for a refreshing dip.

A Tarzan's vine in Jorge's hand (some 60' long).

After lunch at the waterfalls.

Foliage along the river.

Jorge teasing a young bull along the river with his red bathing suit.

We went to the bakery as they had an outside t.v. where we had beers and watched a soccer match, one of the semis in the European Championship. Jorge was happy.

I am blogging and Jorge went to clear us out. Tomorrow we are heading to Les Saintes, still part of Guadeloupe but we have 48 hours to leave the country. We will stop there overnight before heading off to Dominica.

We left Basseterre, St. Kitts at 1330 on Thursday, April 24. Our intended anchorage was Majors Bay but we anchored in the bay next to it, Banana Bay, in about 7' of water but it was a little rolly. We set the alarm for 0500 the next morning and were underway shortly after 0530. It was already light out.We had good weather to Antigua. The winds were no more than 15 kts and seas about 4', just what was predicted. Of course we were heading into the wind.

St. Kitts.

Shops across from cruise dock at St. Kitts.

Port Zante Marina, St. Kitts.

We arrived at English Harbour, Antigua around 1600. We picked the worst (or best) week to arrive. The Antigua Sailing Week is this week. Lots of boats. Last weekend was the classic boat races, some amazing boats.

137' classic race boat.

 

The stern of the same boat.

We are anchored right beside Nelson's Dockyard, lots of history here.

Unfortunately we missed Customs by about 3 minutes but that was okay, we were still allowed to get off the boat and tour the town (we had previously been told Antigua was very strict). It is advisable not to carry too much money on your person but we were cutting it very close! $5Euros ($6.50US) and $2.25EC (Eastern Caribbean) or less than $1.00US so we set out to find a bank or ATM. The one bank in town was closed for the weekend and the one ATM machine spit out all our bank cards. Hence we were broke! Not all restaurants accept Visa so we were on the hunt for one that did. We found one that we liked and had supper there.

Saturday morning we were up early and cleared Customs after 1-1/2 hours and Jorge biting his tongue a number of times. Luckily they accepted Visa. We again tried the bank machine but to no avail. We had lunch at a restaurant that accepted Visa however their phone lines were down when we went to pay. The owner was very kind. He bought our $5Euros and gave us a bit more so we could take the bus to St. John's where there were more ATM machines. He also trusted us to come back and pay the lunch bill when we got some money. Off we went by bus to St. John's, some 30 minutes away depending on how many stops the bus had to make. We found a Scotiabank and successfully withdrew money. It was an inconvenience but hey we got to see the countryside and some of St. John's. We also bought some groceries before catching the bus back to English Harbour where we squared up with the restaurant.

Nelson Dockyard Marina office.

Part of the dockyard.

Building converted to bar/restaurant.

Downtown St. John's, Antigua.

I spent all morning defrosting the fridge while Jorge did some internet work and made two trips to the fuel dock with the jerry cans. We cleared out of Customs this afternoon as we are leaving for Guadaloupe tomorrow morning. The winds are supposed to be 15 to 20 kts and coming from the east. Guadaloupe is south, maybe we will be able to sail??? Its about 45 miles so another full day, 9 hrs give or take.

We are in St. Kitts. I tried to blog from St. Martin the day we left but I kept getting an error message - saying I was trying to get into my account via an "unusual location" ?? The last two days in St. Martin we just wandered the streets and checked the weather, nothing too hectic.

The steps leading to the fort and our shaded area for internet access.

Precious cargo.

CS'ta Time in Marigot anchorage, St. Martin.

Art gallery in renovated 19th century townhouse.

 

The gardens of the art gallery.

Artistic expression of homeowner in Simpson Bay Lagoon.

Anyhow, we left St. Martin Tuesday afternoon after clearing out. We then radioed the marina for permission to get fuel. Well, they were out of diesel! A megayacht arrived the day before and left that morning. I assume he drained the resources. We headed out to St. Barth's knowing we had enough fuel. Jorge just likes to have full tanks before heading out anywhere. Once we got to St. Barth's we radioed ahead looking for the marina and fuel. We were told "tomorrow morning at 0800". We anchored in a very deep, crowded and rolly bay just outside St. Barth's. It was not a good night. We weighed anchor at 0700 and headed to Antigua, again knowing we had enough fuel. However, the winds and seas were not favourable and the going was slow. And I thought once we headed south the trades would be with us but they were SE today. As always, we had Plan B. We changed course and headed to St. Kitts. With the course change, we were able to put up the genoa and motorsailed, averaging 6.5 kts. When we got to the lee of the island (around 1300) the winds and seas calmed and we were forced to just motor to Basseterre (the capital). We arrived at Port Zante Marina at 1530, tied up and cleared in. There was no fuel dock in the marina. The procedure was to take a taxi to the Shell station, order and pay for the fuel and they deliver it - tomorrow. Okay, so we took a marina slip for the night. Besides after the rolly anchorage and poor sleep last night, we needed a restful night. Basseterre Bay can also be rolly with any type of "south" component and we definitely had one.

Lee side of the island of St. Kitts.

This morning the fuel arrived shortly after the scheduled delivery time. We paid for unlimited water so Jorge gave CS'ta Time a much needed wash down and I am catching up on my blogging.

I am almost relucant to say what our next plan is as we always change them! We are hoping to leave Basseterre and head to Majors Bay at the south end of St. Kitts, about 3 hours away, just before Nevis. Tomorrow morning we plan on heading to Antigua making the 50 mile trip instead of 75+ miles from St. Barth's. So far the winds are forecast to be 15 kts and from the east, just the direction we have to go!

Okay, we have not fallen off the face of the earth but things have been challenging. The internet at the marina in St. Martin does not work. We are on the French side and they only have 220 power, our computer needs power (battery is almost dead) and we don't have an adapter. The Dutch side has our power (not exactly close). We finally found a hardware store, bought an adapter, had to find a restaurant with plugs for power and viola, now I can blog! Its long, sorry about that.

April 15, 2014

We left The Bitter End anchorage at 0515. The weather was going to be the same day or night so we opted to travel during the day and arrive early evening but still in the dark. The forecast was for winds 10 to 15 kts and seas 3' to 6'. After two small squalls within the first hour with winds to 18 kts and some rain, the day turned our surprisingly well. Truthfully, I was not looking forward to the trip. It seems the winds are always 5 kts more than predicted and the seas are almost always at the higher end of the prediction as well. Mother Nature was kind (maybe making up for the southern coast of Puerto Rico?) The winds never went higher than 13 kts and the seas were closer to 3' than 6'. We did however, occasionally have those boat stopping waves but they were few and far between. After lunch the wind direction changed and we were able to put out the genoa and got a great lift of 1 to 1.5 kts by pinching hard, averaging around 7 kts (motorsailing) for about 3 hours. As we got close to St. Martin we ran into some squalls, had to furl in the genoa and then the winds never did return to a good sailing direction. We arrived at Marigot Bay, St. Martin around 2000. The clouds had opened up and we arrived at the anchorage until a full moon. We could not have asked for anything better! Happy hour was late but better late than never. We enjoyed cheese and crackers and beer once the anchor was set.

It was reassuring to know we weren't the only insane ones heading to St. Martin.

April 16, 2014

Yesterday was a great day but long. Needless to say, we were a bit lazy this morning. It was almost noon before we had the dinghy down and got into town to clear customs. The customs officer was a great guy, full of stories and super nice to deal with.

Afterwards, we found a restaurant, (no lack of them) had lunch, then checked out the marina, the waterfront and part of the town. We went looking for a bank but unfortunately they were closed on Wednesday afternoons and the ATM machines were rejecting our cards - just our luck. We went back to the boat, had an early supper and also turned in early.

Heading to Customs to clear in.

The market next to the dinghy dock.

Fort Louis Marina street entrance.

First sunset over Marigot Bay, St. Martin.

 

April 17, 2014

Priorities this morning included getting real showers, garbage disposal and finding a bank. When the restaurant we were at for lunch said they didn't accept visa (machine down) Jorge was forced to find a bank quickly. We were almost out of money! And the banks were closing early today because of Good Friday tomorrow. Jorge was successful in withdrawing some money so we were spared washing dishes!

We checked out Budget Marine on the Dutch side via dinghy before heading back to Marigot where we wandered to the grocery store, bought a bunch of stuff including some inexpensive wines. Next it was off to the bakery for a fresh baguette, a lemon tart (the size of a pie) and then we stopped at a street vendor, bought some ribs and a salad, then back to the boat for dinner. I'm blowing my diet all to hell!

Bridge into Simpson Bay Lagoon.

Budget Marine, as big as West Marine back home.

April 18, 2014

What does one do on Good Friday? Take the local bus to the airport at St. Maarten (the Dutch side)

and watch the planes come in. Despite the warnings . . . 

End of the runway with caution signage in red.

thrillseekers (a.k.a. people who need their heads examined) stand on the beach under the approach to the runway.

The thrillseekers.

After the planes land, people turn towards the airport watching the planes depart. Some get blown right off their feet from the jet blast!

We then took the local bus into Philipsburg, walked the waterfront and then took the bus back to Marigot. At this point, Jorge decided to reanchor closer to shore for better protection as the winds were forecast to blow 25 to 30 kts. Having securely reanchored, we settled in for the night with the usual happy hour, dinner and an early bedtime.

Philipsburg waterfront.

Philipsburg beach.

April 19, 2014

After getting into town mid morning, we discovered we were not able to use our main computer and therefore no blogging. Up until this point we were using the Blackberry playbook for checking the weather and emails. After a picnic lunch, we toured Fort Louis, (not as impressive as El Morro in SanJuan, PR), met a delightful couple with their kids from NY (on vacation, not on a boat) and then set about trying to find the power adapter. We also stopped again at Budget Marine, Jorge is almost as obsessed with marine stores as I am with grocery stores!

Marigot anchorage from Fort Louis (look closely for CS'ta Time)..

Entrance/exit to the fort.

Cross with Christ at the base of the fort.

We are now sitting at an outdoor patio, enjoying a beer and blogging.

Winds are supposed to continue blowing 25 to 30 kts until Tuesday, so we'll stay put for a few more days.