The Grenadines

After our departure from St Lucia we had 12 days to reach Grenada before Fred needed to catch his return flight to the states.  We chose to give St Vincent a pass and go straight to Bequia.  Some cruisers still stop at St Vincent, and I hear it is supposed to be a nice island, but theft has become such a big problem there we chose to pass it by and not deal with the hassle.  The options there are to always leave someone on your boat or hire someone to sit on your boat while you are ashore.  The island doesn’t seem to be trying very hard to stop the crime, so we chose to not support them.  I have talked to some cruisers who stopped there and didn’t experience any trouble at all.. you just never know.

            We stopped at Bequia for a couple of days and then heard our first tropical cyclone warning of the season.  A 60% chance for a formation over the next 48 hours.  Depending on if a tropical storm / hurricane would form we may need to be ready to change our plans and run straight down to Grenada.  As it turned out, the chances of formation decreased everyday until it just fizzled out and our plans were not hindered.

            We continued to buzz through the islands:  Canouan, Mayreau, Tobago Cays, Union Island, Carriacou and then to Grenada.  We spent long enough on each island to sample the town, food and see what was beneath the water.  Mostly it was a very enjoyable trip and a great time hanging out with Fred, who was not only great to hang out with but was excellent at cleaning the galley!  We ended the trip with Fred in Mt Harman Bay, which was to be our home for the next four months.

St Lucia

The new Avon dingy

     I would like to tell you all about the island of St Lucia, but we hardly saw any of it.  We arrived in St Lucia, after a short sail down from Martinique.  With ten days till we picked up our guest and continued on south we thought there would be plenty of time to explore the island.  We were wrong; it was just enough to deal with a leaking dingy and explore the marina.

      Shortly after arriving at Rodney Bay we heard over the local cruisers net that Rodney Bay Marina was hosting a cruisers BBQ that included two free nights in the marina on Friday and Saturday.  Whoo hooo!!! Free marina nights… no way we were going to pass that up, and since the marina was only $25 USD a night we opted to go in a day early.

 As it turned out that was a slightly fortuitous decision as we discovered a leak in our Achilles inflatable dingy on Wednesday evening.  Since we already planned to go into the marina Thursday that seemed to be sufficient time to patch it and allow the glue to dry before moving back out to the anchorage on Sunday.  It sounded like a nice plan anyway, and even seemed to go okay, until IB inflated the “repaired” dingy on Saturday.  His patch, that was in the seam held just fine but a new spot busted out along the seam.  Plan B consisted of just buying a new dingy.  Since we had our davits installed in Florida we had discussed the benefits of a rigid bottom dingy, one less place to worry about leaks, and better performance.  So we asked around for 10’ rigid bottom dingys but there were none to be had. .. onto plan C:  have the dingy professionally repaired. The Liferaft & Inflatable Center located right in the lagoon would be able to look at it on Monday and hopefully have it repaired and be on our way mid week.  It sounded like a good plan, but once they had a chance to inspect it, the entire seam was giving out.  They suspected it was the result of a bad batch of glue, and would cost more than replacing the dingy to repair it.  Since the dingy was only about a year old this was not happy news.  We took pictures and contacted the warranty department of Achilles, who actually did a good job of sending us a new replacement dingy, only the process took longer than we had at the time and was not completed until we were in Grenada.  The good news was that the Liferaft & Inflatable Center also sold dingys and had just what we were looking for in stock in their warehouse.  An Avon 310 Lite Rib, they drove IB to the warehouse and customs to complete the purchase. With our pockets a little lighter, but with reliable transportation we left the marina to spend a pleasant evening with friends out in the anchorage.

Although we were not happy about our circumstances that kept us in the marina over a week we were quite happy with the marina.  Nice secure floating docks made getting on and off the boat easy, several good restaurants right at the marina as well as a pool that we frequented everyday.  For the first time on our trip we met many different cruisers that we would continue to see over the summer months.  By this point south the part time cruisers had mostly gone home, and the charter boats were not around, what we were mostly left with were those that would be spending the summer in a hurricane safe destination.

The pitons in the distance

The following day we pulled out of the anchorage and headed down to Soufriere to pick up Fred; our friend / guest / glorified mail carrier.  As soon as we knew he was planning to visit we started some Internet shopping.  All of our guests get to bring us packages; it’s much cheaper and more reliable than having things shipped. 

The night before we collected Fred we spent on a mooring near the bat caves and it was a very rough rolling night with the boat constantly beating against the mooring ball.  As soon as Fred was aboard we moved over between the pitons, two tall mountains on either side of the bay, and spent a very calm evening before heading on south the following day.

Martinique

St. Pierre and the Mt. Pelee volcano. On May 8, 1902 erupted releasing a giant fireball that destroyed the town and 12 ships at anchor in the bay. Only two people survived. Several minor eruptions and grumblings from the volcano in the preceding weeks had been ignored resulting in the deaths of nearly 29,933 people. As the town was rebuilt they tried to preserve a part of the old buildings in the new structure. The ships still rest at the bottom of the sea and are visited by divers. Most are at a depth greater than 100 ft. Most of the bay is very deep leaving a narrow shelf near the town dock for anchoring.

Canal de Beauregard. We went with our friends Shadowfax and Spirare by bus up into the mountains to the small town of St Denis. We had lunch at a small restaurant overlooking the valley full of lush greenery. After lunch, we parted ways and hiked down the road to the start of the canal walk as our friends went to catch the bus back to town. IB was intent on walking the canal, I was much more reluctant but agreed to go along. The guidebook warns that you should be comfortable with heights to walk along the 18-inch wide canal wall. Not quite so comfortable with heights, I have a good idea of what I’ve gotten myself into as IB tries to assure me the areas will high drops by the wall are only a few feet long, I didn’t believe him. I was right. The walk starts off easy as it meanders through a tunnel, but we do eventually get to the drop-offs, they are long sections and a long ways down. The view is breathtaking… if you can manage to look. I don’t think I saw anything but the wall and my feet, until I took that last step off the canal, and started breathing again.

The following morning we had planned to hike to the top of Mt. Pelee, however as we looked up toward the volcano all that could be seen were the clouds surrounding it. As we drank our coffee and contemplated what to do, the winds began to shift to the WSW, blowing us toward shore and blowing in waves. That made our decision for us and we pulled up anchor and headed south to Fort de France.

Fort de France may have been a nice place to see, stores to actually go shopping, but as it was we arrived on Saturday afternoon. The one inconvenient thing about French islands are the opening times for businesses. Weekends are not a time they like to open, just forget about Sunday, I think you are really supposed to stay home and rest then. And restaurants… well I’m still trying to figure out their hours, I think you are supposed to eat dinner after 9 at night. We enjoyed the evening on the boat in a calm anchorage and headed on south the next day.

On our way to Le Marin, we made a brief stop at Anse Noir where the guidebook claims there is really good snorkeling. Really good is really relative. There were certainly some creatures to see, some coral alive and a wall, just a little too deep for snorkeling, but it was definitely a big whatever. Just after pulling into the anchorage we spotted our friends on Elsyium.

Our one-day in Le Marin was spent getting checked out at customs, spending some time with our friends and making a huge mistake we wouldn’t realize for several days yet and would regret for islands to come. Having been hop-scotching down the French Islands we got quite comfortable with good cheese, inexpensive wine and a variety of other goodies from the grocery. Somehow we didn’t stop and think that this was our last French Island and we chose not to go to the grocery store. In two days we will realize that the great selection of really good wine at really cheap prices does not exist after Martinique. The great deli cheese and fresh goat cheese .. forget it. We won’t even talk about olive oil. We’ll just mark this down as cruising lesson #243.

Dominica

Eco-tourism. That about sums up Dominica. We knew the anchorages were not going to be fabulous, there are not very many, and there are a lot of restrictions. It’s true. Scuba diving can only be done with a dive boat, and many of the snorkeling areas we are not allowed to even dingy to, requiring a tour operator. There is a lot of hiking on the island, and the national parks are the main draw to the island. Never being built up most of the island is still wilderness with small towns, no large hotels or resorts are found here.

Our first stop is in Portsmouth, before we even make it to the anchorage we are met by the boat boys. They are a part of an organized group of certified tour operators, PAYS. In addition to being tour guides, the boat boys will buy ice and bring it to your boat among other services, provide you with information, and they monitor the anchorage that has really helped to reduce theft problems that have been a big issue in the past. We met up with Alexis and agreed to go on an Indian River tour the following morning. No motors are allowed on the Indian River, and no yachts are allowed to take their own boats, you must go with a guide. During The one mile paddle up the river, Alexis tells us some of the history of the island, points out different flora and fauna, birds, and even a filming site from Pirates of the Caribbean. The trip ends at a riverside bar; from there we take a walk through a plantation, where Alexis points out the different local fruits and vegetables. Alexis was friendly and a very knowledgeable guide.

The country really does it’s best to hide trail maps, bus routes and schedules and pushes taking a guided tour to visit it’s many destinations. The guides do provide a lot of information about the area but at $160 price for two to go on a 3-hour hike is a bit more than our budget really allows for. I’ve never really thought too much about eco-tourism until now. I realize that the government is trying to create jobs for the people and I would be happy to help the economy but not at US prices. In a place where the cost of living is fairly low, these tour guides are making more money than many of my friends back home.

Although the anchorage feels safe in Portsmouth, and the PAYS guys are friendly and helpful, there is also a constant barrage of other guys paddling out in boats or on surfboards trying to sell fruit take trash or anything they can make a buck on. These guys are mostly just annoying. If trying to take a nap, read a book or relax inside they will hang on the boat knocking and calling, refusing to leave until someone comes out. One day of that was really quite enough so we didn’t stay long, and headed down to Roseau.

Roseau is the southern most anchorage available, below it everything is a marine sanctuary and no boats are allowed, well except dive operators. The anchoring space was a bit limited and we opted to pick up a mooring for $10 a day, a very reasonable amount. With a nice southern swell at night, the anchorage is not the most comfortable. I wake up with my arms and shoulders sore from constantly bracing my body from rolling in my sleep. Aside from that it’s a pleasant enough place to be.

We try, unsuccessfully to find a trail map and see if we can hike on our own. We do find the forestry office and they tell us where we can find a trail map, but the store is already closed for the day. They also mention a number of hikes that are marked well enough to not need a guide (the first time we’ve heard this). In the meantime our friends find a taxi driver that will take us to Middleham Falls for $100 and claims we will need a guide there that is available when we get there. Splitting the cost 3 ways we decide to go along with the plan, since we need at least another day to figure out a trail map and transportation on our own. We should have known we were in for a ride when the next morning the taxi driver raises the price because he didn’t know there were 6 people :-/ Then he promptly hands us over to someone else, he wasn’t even taking us. Once up at the park, we see the Ranger who is collecting the required park permit that our driver has failed to acquire first. We keep going into town to get the permit, stop at one location that is closed, turn around and go back. This time I hear the conversation with the Ranger who informs our driver that he told him to go to all four locations before coming back and he should know the regulations, the Ranger than informs our driver that he will drop us at the trail and go get our permits while we are hiking. Good Ranger. Bad cab driver. The supposed available guides are no where to be found.. thankfully as the trail so did not require either a guide or a trail map. The trail was very well maintained with good signs at any intersection. The falls were beautiful and were too tall to fit in a photograph. A refreshing dip in the cold fresh water was wonderful. On the way back we detoured to the stinking hole. Which was exactly that, a hole that stinks. We find out later for $1.50 a bus comes up to this area. Great information to know for next time. It was a successful adventure; don’t think I’ll be keeping that cab drivers number though. Next time we’ll just spend a few days getting appropriate maps rent a car and go where we want.

Skipping the rest of the islands natural beauty to visit on the return trip the following day after a particularly rolly night we take off bright and early in the morning for Martinique. As we head out of the bay there is hardly any wind at all, seems as though it will be an easy trip down. A few miles later as we near the southern tip of the island, the wind and seas start to build and we start to wonder if we should have checked the weather forecast. As we clear the tip of the island, the wind is 25kts with gusts to 30kts, the seas are 6-8 ft with some occasionally higher, and we wonder if we should go back and wait for another day. There is a squall in the distance and we wonder where it’s headed. We do keep going and eventually the wind drops down to a very civilized 15kts and the seas subside to a very reasonable 3-4 ft. As we sail into the lee of Martinique our wind all but dies and we complete our trip into St. Pierre motoring.

Guadeloupe

Our first island that feels like a foreign country. Although almost all the islands we have visited are foreign countries Guadeloupe feels like it; a French department, the official language is French and English speakers are rare. We are fortunate to be here with our French Canadian friends on Spirare who are able to do some translating for us. When we are not with them we are glad to have bought French for Cruisers to help stumble through the language. The entire time I’m trying to pick up words, phrases and thinking it’s time for a language school. Speaking Spanish on a French island just doesn’t get me very far, although sometimes it does help.

Dashaies is a comfortable town to be in, except for all the rain we had there. We read through our cruising guide and decided to take a recommended “walk” up the river. The recommended walk consisted of hoping rock-to-rock up the river and occasionally bushwhacking along the banks. At least there was a road at the other end, although we had to leave the river and find it over the top of a hill, at least we had an easy walk back to the boat. Although we got along just fine, I think the “walk” was a little understated in our guide.

Guadeloupe leaves us with time decisions. There is supposed to be a beautiful waterfall on the southern end and nice national park. The Saints are supposed to be very nice. We are looking a bit at our time schedule. There are also language schools here I wouldn’t mind visiting, but I know we don’t have time for that. We decide to spend a few days at Les Saints and skip the rest. With this decision we also decide (very definitely for now at least) that next season we will return back up the island chain (at least to the VI’s) and have time to take in everything we are missing on the way down. With this in mind we head to the Les Saints stopping briefly overnight to break up the trip.

Les Saints are a small group of islands just south of Guadeloupe. They have different anchorage choices that are all very close together, clear water, decent snorkeling, a very pleasant friendly town (that is even open in the afternoon), and some sites to hike up to. We chose to hike to the highest point, the old watchtower. A rational planning person would start this hike early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day; we started at noon. There is a paved road the entire way, although it has been closed to all motorized traffic, it’s fairly steep and up all the way. On the way up we pass the local trash dump that falls steeply down the edge of the mountain and is constantly lightly burning and smoldering. Approaching it we see a cat dart out of a pile very close to fire, a hen and her chicks precariously pick their way through the smoldering garbage narrowly missing the flames, and another poor chicken that looks half roasted already with it’s tail feathers completely singed off. At the top we find the old watchtower with metal ladders we can climb to the top where the views are worth the hike up.

For our last night here we go out to dinner to sample some French cuisine. Our friends do not join us, so we are on our own. Right off the dingy dock we head to Linsolente, get out French for Cruisers and start stumbling through the menu. We manage to order and mostly know what we ordered. The food was great; since we ended up with two seafood dishes and no land meats we considered our night out a success.

Antigua

A night at sea provided steady winds and a great sail to arrive bright and early in the morning at Jolly Harbour, Antigua. That is Antigua in the West Indies, not to be confused with Antigua, Guatemala a very landlocked town. After a nap and breakfast we head to the customs office. In addition to figuring out business hours, another conundrum is customs fees. Checking in and checking out within hours of each other the fees we paid and Spirare paid differed from slightly to a lot. I’m not sure I’ll ever understand.

From Jolly Harbour we head north and spend a couple of days at Deep Bay. There is the wreck of the Andes that can be snorkeled , but the visibility was poor and the jelly fish ever present. There was also some snorkeling near the point that was nice enough, the best being the thousands of tiny fish you could swim among as they moved in unison in their shimmery dance. A hike up to Fort Barrington provided a beautiful view of the anchorage and surrounding area.

Planning to cut our stay a little short, feeling anxious to be moving south we head on down to English Harbour, home of Nelson’s Dockyard. Completed in 1745, and providing good hurricane protection, it was Britain’s main naval station in the Lesser Antilles. The main road of town runs from English Harbour to Falmouth Harbour, and is full of restaurants. Once again, don’t go to dinner before 6:30, it’s uncivilized. We’ve almost got it this time.

Our stay here was extended by a few days as a tropical wave in the area deteriorated our weather. Clouds and rain every day. At least the rain doesn’t stay all day, but when it clouds over and the shower starts, closing all the hatches on the boat becomes a sauna. The first day of such showers found me below sweating and finishing the rain tarps that will just cover the two main hatches and allow some air even during a rainstorm. That is unless the 30kt gusts blow the rain in anyway. With the forecast not looking great for the next week and a half, we pick the day that looks like it has the lowest (ish) wind and least chance of squalls to sail the 40 miles to Guadeloupe. Sunday appears as a beautiful morning, with 20kt winds and 5-6ft seas. A great day for a beam reach to Guadeloupe. All went great but about 10 miles from the coast we were enveloped in the outskirts of a squall for about 15 minutes life became exciting. Watching it’s arrival, IB put a second reef in the main, pulled in the jib, donned our lifejackets and were ready when the 30kts gusts blew in soaking us in rain.

We arrived in Deshaies (pronounced Day-ay) wet but happy, and anchored before the next rain cloud settled overhead. Of course it’s a Sunday, most of town is closed and no customs till tomorrow.

St. Barthelemy

A mere 15 mile cruise, on a nice day lands us in the waters of St. Barthelemy. We make our first stop at Île Fourchue, just off the north east of the main island, and rendezvous with Spirare and Shadowfax. A very nice little anchorage, they actually have free mooring balls to protect the seabed, by a beautiful rocky island. The water is clear, and snorkeling is okay, although there is not a lot of coral. We end up staying two nights, and spending each evening hanging out with our friends. The second day everyone, but me, heads to shore in the afternoon to hike around the island. I have the sewing machine out, making flags, and too far into the project to stop.

We say our goodbye’s to Shadowfax, we will probably meet up again in Guadeloupe or later, and head down to Gustavia for the afternoon. There we check in and out with custom, see the town, buy some groceries and get ready for another overnight sail to Antigua. Spirare calls as they get near, we pull up anchor and head to sea with them.