Onward

Next up?  St. Lucia.  We tho’t Martinique was pimped-out for tourists?  Rodney Bay may be moreso.  But more than Martinique, i can see inequity at work here.  We anchor and are almost immediately approached by vendors in beat up little boats selling fruit.  They deck their craft out with palm frond bimini for shade and flags from the boats they’ve served.  Very colorful and hard-working.  At our next stop in Marigot Bay, the crew was still picking up a mooring buoy forward when the vendor (with crutches aboard) was aft trying to sell me stuff…and barring that, asked if i had a beer for him.  Soon after another vendor showed up in another dinghy to offer tour services…  Sure, we’ve seen the like before but these boatmen feel more desperate.  Maybe a preview of what we’ll find in St. Vincent?  Still they deserve respect too.  I haven’t “walked in their shoes” (or in this case, “paddled in their boat”). 

Marigot Bay was described as a “must see” by a charter skipper…the Moorings has several boats based from there and it’s encircled by high rent property.  The various tour boats that come in and out point out to the tourists the homes of celebrities.  But we noticed that each tour guide named different celebrities for the same homes?  And we disagree about it being a “must see.”  The must see for us was our next mooring at “The Pitons.”  Two big distinct peaks.  Property ashore is private, but the scene is beautiful.   

The crew caught a panga into Soufriere too.

We thank Akimbo’s previous crews for taking a “beating” for us.  When i listen to the Carib weather man, it appears that the weather we don’t want is in our wake.  Our area (14N & 61W) seems to have the best of the forecasts.  And…we have slowed our pace, which we can afford thanks again to the hard sailing of previous crews.  I am still adjusting to pokin’ along.  Late morning weighing anchor, 10 to 25 miles to make…or simply go for a hike and stay a day. 

Barry sleeps in the cockpit still…even tho Jessica left an open berth below.  Given that he snores, that may be a good thing.  But he even sleeps thru light rains?  Wow. 

Chaos is still winning the combat over the dinghy floor.  It still leaks and i’m still workin’ on it.  And this morning i got more entertainment than i wanted…with the waffle iron.  I’m lucky that i am getting to pick and choose more important victories.  But tryin’ to be lazy and unroll the genoa alone for the next ten miles, a squall came as if on cue.  As we went to roll up most of the genoa, its sheet snapped and broke the starboard dodger window.  Damn!  Clear tape is patching it for now. 

How are clouds like sailboats?  They sail across oceans…until they run aground on islands.  The islands do indeed gather them.  To climb over the islands, the clouds lighten their load by dumping their rain.  And then on they sail.  Suckin’ up wind, blowin’ it back out and raining as they go. 

We found a nice anchorage at the south end of St. Lucia, near Vieux de Fort.  It stages us well for the 41+nm crossing to the south end of St. Vincent.  I’ve planned to go around the windward side of the island for a change.  This should keep us in open water and clear winds and make for a fast day…and the final turn to our anchorage downwind instead of up.  Crew change tomorrow:  welcome aboard Patrick and Julie and thank you Sandra (she departs the following morning).  Again, a little overlap between crews is…a party, oh boy!  People sharing their stories and excitement, encouraging each other, and the departing crew helping me out by showing the newbies some details.  Thank you all. 

From St. Vincent – squalls came and went, so…so did the wind.  One area had surprising white caps.  I’ve seen a much smaller version of it in Puget Sound when opposing currents meet.  And there IS a lot of current around here, so that’s my best guess.  From here to Grenada…about 70nm for which we have 11 days.  Oh boy!  

Details

Sorry about this.  I keep thinking of things i've forgotten to mention.  Looking back at a few photos helps me remember.

Did i mention that in Puerto Rico, at the marina, there were two open air (with roof) domino pavilions?  Really.  And there was a name on their shingle, like “The Ramon Suarez domino pavilion.”  Boy, HE must have been a good player.

I forgot to mention – after driving in Virgin Gorda – they have speed dips instead of speed bumps.  Our theory is that the dips may direct the water from torrential rains off the pavement better than speed bumps.  And they’re good at slowing traffic down too. 

Then there was Jolly Harbor in Antigua, where we rendezvoused with Jessica.  (how can one not go to a place named “jolly?”)  Antigua was where we caught up with some maintenance – fixed a leaky faucet, checked the jib halyard sheave at the top of the mast, patched the dinghy (again and on-going)…and sent an e-mail to Sandra and Barry to expect us a day later than first planned.  Catching a ride into town for parts, i recalled the saying, "you haven't really visited a foreign country until you ride their public transit."  On Antigua, the better of the transits are all the mini-vans.  The busses?  They sit at their terminal in town and wait until they are full before they get underway.  I'm not very good at waiting.  

From there we beat some more to make our way to historic (not commercial) English Harbor.  Admiral Horatio Nelson based the Caribbean English Fleet out of here around 1800.  So we walked the same cobblestones he and his navy walked.  Akimbo's anchor dug into the same mud Nelson's anchor dug into.  We feel like we are part of history too now.  Which we all are, y'know. 

 

On Terre-de-haut (the largest of the Guadeloupe islands in the “five saints” island group) there are very few cars while there are very many scooters.  Very French, oui, oui.  Jessica and i rented one to get to Fort Napoleon. 

The standard of living on the islands that are “dependencies” of European countries is “higher” than that of the independent islands...  The financial benefits are obvious tho i’m sure it doesn’t come without some costs too.

On the British isles…the unhappiest people were the uniformed bureaucrats working at customs and immigration.   Consistently so.  While at the “French” islands…arriving at Guadaloupe, i felt lucky to find the customs office.  But there i found a page taped on its door, in French and a little English, directing me to “The Pelican” gift shop on 81 Main Street.  There i found a smiling civilian rather than a frowning uniformed bureaucrat.  He had a couple of computer terminals in a corner of his store.  $6 later, he printed out and stamped a page and told me to enjoy my visit.  Now that’s progress. 

More camera chaos…it got dropped.  It took a few more shots but soon quit working.  If i add more photos to the blog, they will come from my crew or else another new camera. 

Our visit to Guadeloupe was delightful.  We snorkeled at a Natural Reserve named for Jacques Cousteau.  As we left the Saintes…a 183’ square rigged ship came in.  Nice surprise.  We made the 20 or so miles to Dominica (pronounced Domineek).  As we approached Portsmouth we met one of the famous Dominican “boat boys” – Alexis.  See, Dominicans are relatively poor.  And years ago they recognized that the yachts stopping by represented a LOT of money.  Inequity being what it is, they got aggressive about getting some of that money…and scared away the yachties.  Next evolution, they organized to eclipse their desperation.  Now they welcome yachts, direct them to anchorages where the boat boys will patrol to keep the truly desperate at bay.  Alexis knew where to take me for customs and immigration…in his skiff (i didn’t even have to use Sea Cow).  He knew where everything was and had “all the answers.”  Still it was an almost hour long process, during which we found Sandra (our next new crew member).  The “boat boys” is a term of respect here.  And they hold a barbeque on Sunday nights, $20 per ticket, to fund their patrol.  Luck had it that we arrived on a Sunday.  Oh boy!  So that night we met a lot of other yachties.  Jim and i pumped them for all the local knowledge we could get…and got full bellies and a little drunk in the process.  (I hope Sandra doesn’t expect a party every night).

We made the south end of the island the next day.  Jessica, Jim, Heather and Sandra went ashore, did some reprovisioning and found a cab driver/tour guide to give them a ride to some  waterfalls (apparently this little “impenetrable” island has 300 rivers).  I did boat chores and prepped pasta putanesca for dinner.  Yum!  So Sandra got to acclimate to this adventure with an easy day’s sail and adventuring with new friends ashore.  Perfect. 

The next day she experienced a day of sailing that had five sail changes (including the “iron genny” for a few hours) over 48nm to Fort de France in Martinique.  A metropolis!...the difference between where we came from and where we got to was huge.  Shortly after we dropped anchor i heard Akimbo being hailed on the vhf radio.  Barry was calling from the nearby customs office.  As soon as Sea Cow was ready, i picked him up and we welcomed him aboard.  The next morning we all split up and were tourists.  Fun but exhausting…as opposed to our next idyllic anchorage only 10 or so nm away. 

After that it was 20 nm to the yachting capitol of Martinique – Marin.  Which is where Jessica departed Akimbo (thank you again for your help and enthusiasm) and where i sit while i write this entry.  As we make our way here, i wonder what views i am seeing that my brother saw when he backpacked here in 1968 or '69.

And somewhere in between, i got tired of my longer than usual hair.  Heather helped me out with the clippers.  

I have never seen such a density of yachts as there are here in Marin.  Combine ALL the marinas in Puget Sound…and still there are more yachts in Marin.  So there are services to take advantage of here.  The stop solenoid on the engine failed recently.  We were pulling a jury rigged string to stop the engine.  I am proud to have traced it to a corroded relay – which a store here had in stock.  Still, i know “chaos never sleeps.”  The jib is worrying me a bit, as much wear as it is showing, but we are here on the weekend and the lofts are closed.  I wouldn’t want to be without “my favorite sail.”  So i’ll try to add some stitches here and there and hope it makes it thru the trip. 

From the crew:  awesome rum, yummy boulangeries, butchering a foreign language, great stylish European clothing in the boutiques (this from a woman who prefers goodwill? even she is tempted), nice nice people – fond memory of the boat boys’ barbeque, great snorkeling…  The Carib weather is being kind to us.  Yes, it is hot.  But the tradewinds (now on our beam) make it tenable.  And a couple times a day a squall cools us with some rain.  Did i already say what i am feeling?  I don’t know why i am grateful but i am grateful to “see” this corner of the world.  As every place is, this one is it’s own, it is unique.  As are the people who inhabit it.  Is there something holy about each time and place and person?

We are warned that St. Vincent has more crime…yet we have to make a rendezvous unwittingly made for that island.  So we’ve made a plan that will minimize our exposure there and take care of meeting and departing.  So far…so good.  

Impressions and flashbacks

When we were crossing the Caicos Bank, a single-hander went by in the opposite direction.  Don’t know how i knew he was alone.  But i knew.  I didn’t know that when i saw him in the distance, when it looked like we would pass starboard to starboard.  I went below to see if he showed up on my charts via the AIS.  Which he did not.  I came back on deck just as he crossed our bow a little too close for comfort.  Waved to him as he altered course and carried on.  As i watched him go by, a part of me felt i knew what he was doing.  How he felt.  Alone.  While it didn’t feel pathologic to me, it also didn’t feel healthy…over a long term.

At dinner with crew #3 and #4…Reed described how to achieve the perfect place on Akimbo’s deck as a member of the “bronzing team” (thank you Dave Nab for the term).  Reed IS several shades darker than he need be compared to when he got here.  His directions we so specific.   And this new crew, arriving from Seattle, seemed to be listening to him?  Over a week later i heard Kate’s quiet voice behind me.  “Reed is a genius.”  I turned to  see she had found that perfect perch.   

Rooftops appearing above the foliage…look like the tops of mushrooms. 

Crews #4 and #5, “passing the baton.”  Another successful rendezvous.  I gotta stop being surprised by this.    

A neighbor here in Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor, Paul, has been cruising here for 43 years.  He splits his time between here and the Boston area.  He very generously loaned us his car and gave us directions to Hog Heaven – a restaurant and bar with a stunning stunning view. Talk about spoiling my new crew!  I hope they don’t expect this kind of thing everyday.

Sending a post card i wrote “while my heart is with my community, my body is glad to be here.” 

So, Jim and Heather are off to a good start.  We made the overnight passage from Virgin Gorda to St. Maarten, the Dutch and southern side of the island.  The French claim the northern half.  We might have enjoyed the taste of Paris more than the main drag we saw.  Then again, would the French have allowed an iguana into the bar?  

But the next jump south was more direct from the Dutch side.  Once again or still, we got there beating under double reefed main and jib.  And left the same way. 

At first we tho’t to stop by a French Island included in the territory of St. Barts, but the wind would have had us beating again and made the day long.  So we eased off the wind and headed straight for Saba (pronounced as Say Bah).  There were lots of thunder storms around the horizon.  We managed to pick up a mooring buoy before we got dumped on.  Which was great for rinsing the salt off Akimbo.  After lunch and a nap and the rain stopped, we dinghied in to the beach below “the ladder.” 

This beach is where everything that built the current townships came ashore…whereupon all of it was carried up 485 steps (Jim counted them) to where the settlement was being built. 

As you can see from the photos, the coast is steep and dramatic.  And the snorkeling is very good.  Fun to swim with turtles.  We’re moored in 55’ of water and can see the bottom.   A young couple were snorkeling nearby and swam by.  They said they were going to school on Saba.  And when we answered their questions about our trip they said they were envious?  While we envied their life on Saba?  Human nature…gotta laugh.  They also said the turtles we were swimming with would let you hold on and would tow you.  

We got lucky.  There are so many islands to choose from, and Saba had not been “on my radar” at all.  Yet it turned out to be a favorite stop, we enjoyed our solitude and decided to stay an extra day.  I’d recommend it or be happy to return.  And could have so easily missed it.  So, we know there are lots like Saba that we are missing.  Can’t get to them all, and even if we could, there would be others (like in Polynesia and Indonesia) that we missed. 

That  night the 288’ Maltese Falcon arrived at our anchorage.  And she chose our anchorage?  Perhaps confirming our good taste in places to go.  As i checked in with customs and immigration here, i overheard that she was checking in with 16 crew and 2 passengers.  Imagine that.  We’re glad to have a new insight into what is possible.  Maybe not desirable (to some of us), but possible (for very few of us).  One tends to stare when she’s in port. 

So, we’ve worked hard to go east against the tradewinds.  And now that we’re ready to “turn the corner” and reach south…the wind is coming out of the south?  Bud called this ironic.    I could think of some other descriptions.  But we trust the tradewind pattern will return and we will get to reach straight for our destinations soon instead of tacking back and forth for them.

Beat our way south 40nm south to St. Kitts next...under full main and genoa, for a change.  Really quite a nice sailing day.  Stayed in their marina and checked in and out of their customs, port and immigration.  It’s a shame bureaucracies like these are so inefficient and subjective…and define as much of my experience as they do.  But then that’s my own fault.  Were i lingering in each place, they’d play a smaller role.  

On our way out, we anchored the next night at the south end of St. Kitts.  On our way, we sailed close to a local race.  We voted one boat the winner whether they crossed the finish line first or not. 

Later, we took our cue from a catamaran that anchored nearby:  we set a stern anchor to keep our bow aiming out into any incoming swell, and we slept much better for it. 

Our day to sail to Antigua was the first that we motored most of the day.  Lots of squalls were around and sucked up most of the wind.  We managed to scamper away from the dark clouds and sailed the last few hours into an anchorage just north of Jolly Harbor, to rendezvous with Jessica the next day.