Left Anegada about 9ish for the 20nm journey back to Tortola island. Had a great reaching sail across to Marina Cay again averaging 8kts VMG despite a fair bit of a side-on swell. We furled the headsail and strapped the main to motor through the Camanoe Gap between Great Camanoe Island and Scrub Island, dropping the main just off Marina Cay before dropping the anchor. It’s a deepish anchorage here and we are south of the mooring field. It’s nice enough but turns out to be a bit of a thoroughfare for ferries and power boats going across to Trellis Bay on Beef Island, off the eastern end of Tortola. We decide not to stay the night and after lunch so we head across to Trellis Bay ourselves. Its right beside the end of the airport runway (a lot of people use it to pick up guests) and with all the mooring buoys and shallow depths there is limited space to anchor so we have to take a buoy. The bottom is weedy, rocky and corally, with a smattering of boat hooks (from charter boats no doubt) and doesn’t look fantastic holding anyway. We go ashore and have a walk along the beach as well as checking out the “market”. There is a small wreck in the middle of the bay so we swim over and take a look. Not much to see, a few fish hanging around. In the afternoon there are people camped on the beach and having races with remote controlled power boats. They sound like leaf blowers on steroids! Who knew there was something more annoying than jet skis. Every time you thought they were finished they started up again! Must be just changing batteries. Later in the day they cranked up the doof-doof music but thankfully that was short lived!
In the morning I took the RIB ashore solo(!) and went to the supermarket, launching and docking the dinghy by myself. No bananas! Must be the first time in history we have run out!! When I got back to the boat I realised I was missing the cheese so I had to go back again and repeat the exercise again. Very stressful but I managed! We motored the few miles across to Guana Island, a small island just to the north of Tortola. There are 2 anchorages here both with a few mooring buoys as well. Ashore in the north there is a nice looking white-sand beach as well as an resort and a few houses stretching up the hill. We anchor south of the northern set of buoys, not far from the beach, and have lunch. After lunch Keith swims the anchor and the verdict is not good, the bottom is quite hard and rocky and the anchor is not set well enough for an overnight stay. We decide to put motors on and head across to the aptly named Little Bay that we can see less than a mile away, on the NE corner of Tortola. Here is a small, white sand beach with nothing much ashore and sand, glorious sand! The anchor digs in nicely and we decide to stay a couple of days as we have the place to ourselves.
The next morning we take the paddle boards ashore. There is a bit of a headwind and I am behind Keith (as usual). I watch him fiddling with his hat and see a reasonable sized wave coming towards him from behind. Nothing I could do but watch him do a little dance on the back of his paddle board and fall off! He was only in waist deep water, unscathed if not a little surprised by the experience, and did not lose his sunglasses or dunk his phone. There is not much ashore but the beach is lovely and we have it all to ourselves so we go for a swim. Although we can, and do, always go for a swim off the back of ITIKI, it is a nice experience to swim off a beach as well. Walking on sand into the water and floating gently about in the shallows, out of the current is lovely.
Left this beautiful spot mid-morning and just pulled out a headsail. Made our way slowly the 8nm across to Sandy Spit with 10-20kts up the duck. The anchorage is a tiny sand island inside a reef off Little Jost Van Dyk Island, and we anchor in quite close to it. Keith swims the anchor and we are all set for the night. A lot of boats come for a few hours, visit the tiny sand island, take their selfies and move on. After lunch I take a paddle board ashore and do the same, there are a couple of palm trees and a pile of Lambi shells but that’s it. We stay a couple of nights and spend some time chilling out, doing boat jobs and swimming and watching the comings and goings.
Keith was determined to be first on the tiny beach island the morning we left. He paddled ashore and wrote ITIKI on the beach for me to photograph from the boat, but it looked like iciki… Anyway you get the idea. We left just before 9am and swung around the end of Sandy Cay, another nearby but slightly larger sand island. We had intended to stop here but it is so similar to Sandy Spit and already packed so we don’t bother. We head across to Cane Garden Bay on Tortola Island, intending to just spend an hour there going to the supermarket, but we find a nice spot to anchor avoiding the mooring buoys and decide we like it. Just repositioned ourselves when we realised we had swung too close to another boat on a mooring buoy. Went ashore and the supermarket shelves were a bit sparse but she suggested coming back later as they were awaiting a delivery. We took what we had back to the boat and had a chat to an American couple on a Saona (QuiteTheCatch) who live on their boat 6 months of the year. In the afternoon we take the paddleboards ashore and watch the dive bombing pelicans. We stop at a beach bar for a cocktail and sit under an umbrella for a while, then head back to the supermarket and bingo! Delivery in, so we have bananas again! In the evening the music is fairly loud and goes on until about 11pm and then the parties continue on the charter boats. Well it is a popular place!
The next morning head north again to the southern shores of Jost Van Dyk Island, Amazingly there is no one anchored at Sandy Spit, they are all at Sandy Cay. We take a peek in to Garner Bay but there is really nothing there, a restaurant that looks closed and a barge on the western side, no beach. A few mooring buoys – meh! We continue on west to Grand Harbour and again its full of mooring buoys and lots of boats, there is maybe room to anchor right at the mouth of the bay but it is quite unappealing. Next stop is White Bay. This has 2 sides, the western side looks very busy with buoys and charter boats and plenty of restaurants and beach bars line the shore. We choose the eastern side and reluctantly pick up another buoy, as there is no space to anchor. We have to reverse onto it as it has no pendant, but no fancy trick techniques this time. Then we realise we are right next to QuiteTheCatch again. We take the paddle boards ashore on the western side and go for a walk up the hill a little to get a view. Lots of private villas here and a on the beach is Ivan’s stress free bar (great name!). Later we paddled over to the western shore and went for a walk along the beach, there are a lot more boats, people and beach bars over this side. Ran into Cathy and Steve from QTC who were drinking cocktails and smoking cigars in the water. Quite the party atmosphere!
Well White Bay was a nice enough bay, particularly our spot in the south, and we considered looking for a sand patch between the mooring buoys to stay for another night, but instead we decided to move on. QTC left earlier than us and put some sails up. We motored, intending to put a headsail out but it was on the nose and the batteries were a bit low so we ended up motoring all the way. From our anchorage we headed around the western end of Tortola, past Soper’s Hole – it’s a very popular, deep and well protected bay but quite tight, full of mooring buoys and plenty of boats. We keep going south realising later we probably passed through US waters as we skirted along the top of St John (USVI). Crossed paths with Quite The Catch again who are still sailing - hope they don’t think we are stalking them. Arrived at Privateer Bay, on Norman Island, just before lunch and we were delighted to find that it wasn’t full of mooring buoys or charter boats. There are some day use buoys on the eastern side near some caves, about 8 overnight buoys along the shore in the south of the bay, but they left a fantastic sandy patch to the west which had our name on it. Three other boats here already but we find a nice gap and the anchor is well set. Our mood lifts when we find somewhere special and uncrowded like this. After lunch I go for a snorkel along the western shore. There are some interesting fish and the water is incredibly clear. Later we take the dinghy across to the caves and have a snorkel around there. The coral is not fantastic but there are some more colourful fish, including quite large parrot fish. There is not much life in the caves themselves though, as they are a fairly dark.
From our anchorage, I swim and Keith takes the paddle board over to the western point again and we go for a snorkel. There are a few large bombies off the point but again, not very spectacular. A few larger fish. Keith does some more cleaning under the hull and spies a large barracuda and a sting ray. In the afternoon we take the dinghy across to Bight Bay, the next one around from our anchorage, and check it out. There are a lot of mooring buoys and charter boats as well as a resort in the corner. We then head over to The Indians, 4 conical shaped rocks near Pelican Island with a large reef surrounding them. There are quite a few day moorings over here and a line for the dinghy which we tie to. The snorkelling here is the best we have seen so far, quite extensive, good variety of coral and lots of fish. I swim with a school of small, flat blue fish for a while before being distracted by a larger, fish with flouro markings.
It’s time to move on again so we leave our lovely spot mid-morning and motored around to White Bay, tucked into the SE corner of Peter Island, 4nm away. It’s a lovely looking white sand beach and there are 3 monos here when we arrive, but they soon leave. We anchor well in the weedy sand but find that the boat is turning 360s. Swam ashore and walked along the beach where there is a big sign saying that the island is closed to visitors and we must stay on the beach. That is not too difficult given the high cliffs and dense scrub inland of the beach. After lunch we are not feeling too comfortable with all of the twisting and turning. The anchor has reset but the movement means we won’t get a good night’s sleep. It’s getting late by the time we decide to leave so we need to move quickly. In the next bay there are 2 cats anchored close to shore so we stick our noses in but find the bottom looks too rocky for our liking. There are a couple of mooring buoys but they are a long way out and too exposed to the strong prevailing wind. We head around the top of the island past Little Bay, Grand Harbour and finally into Deadman’s Bay on Peter Island, a further 10nm from our lunch anchorage. There is one other cat here (Flu Flu that we have seen in various places before). We anchor outside them and we are very happy with the set. It’s quite windy here but a strong breeze from consistent direction is a good thing as it holds us steady on the anchor. We are here just in time for sundowners and enjoy a beautiful sunset.
It was quite gusty overnight, a fair bit of swell coming into the bay and it’s too bouncy go ashore so we get away mid-morning. First “stop” is to take a look at Salt Island which has some mooring buoys to access a wreck dive, but it’s quite exposed and bouncy through the passage so we decide to continue on. We come into the bay at Cooper Island which is full of charter boats on mooring buoys and anchoring is prohibited, so we pick up a buoy intending to just stay for lunch. Some Canadians from a charter boat come around the anchorage in a RIB trying to get rid of their beer and some spirits before they leave to go back home. Surprisingly they do not have any other takers so we score a free case of Corona Light, a full bottle of Cointreau and one of Triple Sec, very generous and a worthwhile stop indeed, especially as we didn’t pay for the mooring buoy... We head away after lunch towards Virgin Gorda and our favourite anchorage near the baths. Sadly the conditions are very much different to before - there is a big swell coming in here so it is nowhere near as nice. We have to give it a miss and head to the more protected anchorage at Spanish Town, where we spent our first night in the BVIs. It’s still quite gusty but we are able to anchor in the exact same spot we did before. We have done a full circle of the BVIs, visiting all of the main islands, anchoring at or sailing by many of the smaller ones and so many beautiful bays.
Sadly it is now time to leave the BVIs and start heading south, so we go ashore in the morning to complete the check-out formalities and swing past the supermarket for a few last minute items for our upcoming crossing. As we don’t need a Covid test for our next destination we don’t need to go to Road Town and we can leave the BVIs the next morning. We head over to Prickly Pear Island 6nm away, so we can start our journey a little further to windward before heading south. We motor all the way and this time we choose to enter Gorda Sound through the narrow and shallow gap between Virgin Gorda and Mosquito island, as we had seen other cats exit this way when we were here before. At one point we had 15cm under the keel and very interesting look on Keith’s face! We anchored in the same spot off Prickly Pear island, rested up and prepared for tomorrow’s big passage.
Hughey’s first law of sailing karma
If you cast your mind back to high school physics you might recall Newton’s 3rd law of motion (For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). A similar law applies to sailing and it goes something like this: For every glorious downhill run there is an equal and opposite ie “god-awful” upwind beat that is deposited into your sailing karma bank. Sooner or later, you have to make a withdrawal. We have been reaching and running with the trade winds since our Atlantic crossing and apart from a short slog from Les Saintes to Gwada, we have managed to avoid sailing to windward for a very long time. As everyone knows, gentleman and cats don’t go to windward. In terms of pointing, the best we can manage is around 45 degrees to the wind before you add our 10 degrees of leeway, but that is only half the story as our shallow keels mean the wind and current can more easily push us sideways, sending us off course and forcing us to tack back and basically zig zag our way to our destination. Our journey north to the BVIs had also been taking us gradually more westward so getting back to the French Antilles in the prevailing easterly trade winds was always going to be challenging. Ahead of us lies a 220+nm journey from the BVIs to Deshaies, Guadeloupe with a COG of 130o. We were expecting 16kts gusting 21kts Easterly (80-95o) with a swell 1.7-2m (at 60o). It might not sound ideal, but there is no point waiting for better - that’s about as good as it gets as the trade winds are pretty relentless at this time of year and don’t tend to change direction all that much. Needless to say, there would be windward sailing and lots of tacking involved! We were mentally prepared for it, if not looking forward to it.
We left at 7:30am, motoring around Saba Rock Resort, through the well-marked gap in the reef and out in the open waters. We started with 1 reef in the Main & Genoa, close hauled at 45s. Our progress was slow, as we expected, and we had lumpy seas. Conditions are very similar to the Atlantic crossing except we are going to windward! Our leeway means we are gradually falling further and further south of our course. Late on our first night we tack onto starboard and our VMGs go into the minus. We are just west of Saba, but on checking the radar it looks like we have tacked into an approaching squall, so we quickly tack back again. We continue on starboard tack through the night, passing Statia on our left. In the wee hours of the morning we tack onto starboard and head in towards into Kitts & Nevis. We would have liked to stop here, however their entry requirements were prohibitive and unwelcoming so we satisfy ourselves with a motor-sail along the south coast of this green and misty island. The wind shadow is a welcome relief although short-lived and as we come back into open water we tack back onto port and switch the motors off. We continue this way through the day and into the early hours of the next morning, falling further and further south of our course to Deshaies. We can barely make out Montserrat in the darkness we are so far from it. As I come on watch at 3am we decide to pull the pin on windward sailing and put the engines on so we can reach our final destination in reasonable time. We do the “two Volvo reach” for the final few hours which saves us from heading further south and having to do 15 tacks to get back. We can make a bee line to Deshaies, on the NW side of Gwada and arrive in time for breakfast! As much as I hate burning fossil fuels, for the sake of our sanity it was the right decision and lovely to arrive and drop anchor in a familiar location after a challenging passage.
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We spent just on 3 weeks exploring the BVIs and this was as far north as we went this season. The self-governing British territory consists of 4 larger islands (Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyk) and 32 smaller islands and islets, 20 of which are uninhabited, and with a total area of about 150sq km.
The BVIs are physically very close to the USVIs (which due to the high level of entry bureaucracy we decided to skip). There are also a couple of Spanish Virgin islands but they are a bit out of the way, making the sailing angle of a return journey even worse than the one we had. The islands do not seem all that British, although English is the official language, the $USD is the official currency. The inhabitants of the islands, are mostly descendants of slaves imported in the 17th and 18th centuries to work the sugar plantations. The BVIs are hugely popular with charter boats and here we saw the highest concentration of them so far, and mostly catamarans, very few monos. Most popular anchorages have mooring buoys put in place by the local authorities, yacht clubs or National Parks and the price is set at US$30 per night! Some bays are completely full of them, making anchoring very challenging if not impossible. We generally avoided those spots if we could. That said, without the buoys I can imagine it would be sheer chaos in the popular bays, with so many “inexperienced” charter boats vying for space. It was nice to be able to do short hops from island to island, bay to bay, without having to change countries! We didn’t do a lot of exploring ashore or inland on the islands. The islands are quite steep so walking anywhere, other than along the beaches, involves a serious trek. Private, gated mansions and thick forest also limit access to the interior and in some of the townships the impact of Cyclone Irma, that came through in 2017, is still quite evident.
Getting there
We are away just after 4am for the 84nm journey from Marigot Bay in St Martin (FR) to Spanish Town on the island of Virgin Gorda, BVIs. We hoist the main with 1 reef as we are expecting the usual 20+kts but downwind for a change. Its lovely to have the wind behind us and the following sea is not too rough, although there are some cross swells. We pull out the full genoa and change to a goosewing configuration. As the breeze starts to lighten we shake out the reef and switch to the gennaker, goosewinged. We are getting along quite nicely when BANG! we snap the gennaker halyard and the sail comes crashing down and heads under the boat. Keith was able to get it out of the water but it is covered in antifoul – not a good look. We once again put it up on the kite halyard but the gennaker halyard is well and truly buried inside the mast. Surprisingly we don’t see many other yachts along the way, and the rest of the journey is pleasant and uneventful. We come through the passage between Fallen Jerusalem Island and the southern end Virgin Gorda, avoiding “The Blinders” – some nasty rocks which are awash but well charted and clearly visible in daylight. We sail past the iconic “Baths” and drop the sails before motoring into St Thomas Bay, Spanish town. We drop anchor inside the mooring buoys and are informed by another yacht that we can’t check in here. I thought that might be the case, although we were still able to select it on the SailClear form. They don’t have the facilities here to do the Covid checks so we have to go to Road Town, on the island of Tortola. It’s already after 4pm and it’s a couple of hours away so we decide to go early tomorrow morning as we still have time on our Covid test clock. We treat ourselves to welcome cocktails and have an early night.
Another early start the next morning to motor the 22nm into Road Town, on Tortola island. We anchor off the ferry wharf and take the RIB to check in. The “dinghy dock” (ie the shore end of the ferry wharf) is a bit dodgy, solid concrete, very surgy and a long way up! A security guard rushes over and when we ask for check-in he ushers us around the back of the building toward the health officials. We pass the health check and then go into immigration and customs. US$40 all up, including the pass for the national park. We head to an ATM but don’t bother hanging around Road Town. There are quite a few vacant lots around town and we realise later that the buildings here had been razed by Irma and not rebuilt. We head back across to Virgin Gorda and anchor at Valley Trunk Bay, which is just north of The Baths. Some fellow cruisers mention a cable on the bottom and when we swim the anchor can see that it’s just beside our anchor. Also the anchor is not that well set on hard ground. Just as we are resetting it another cat is leaving who was closer in to the beach so we motor up to take their spot. A skippered charter boat charges towards the same spot at a rate of knots, giving us the glare and expecting us to back off. She clearly has never skippered on Sydney Harbour for NYE and Keith stares her down so we win out and anchor closer to the beach. The water is so crystal clear we can see the anchor from the foredeck! We are still quite tired and decide to stay for a few days as it is really lovely and calm. Keith goes up the mast and tries to find and retrieve the gennaker halyard but it is firmly stuck and he ends up cutting it off. I go for a bit of a snorkel but there is not much sea life and the coral is all dead.
In the morning we dinghy over to visit the “iconic” Baths, a short distance to the south. It’s not permitted to anchor here and dinghy’s are not allowed on the beach either but some mooring buoys are provided for daytime use only. We tie the dinghy to one of these, swim ashore with our masks and snorkels and we are the first on the beach. A couple of cats have already picked up buoys but they seem more intent on fishing off the back of the boat than enjoying the location.
The area itself is a small beach surrounded at either end by huge boulders of various shapes. How they got here is a bit of a mystery, but it’s quite amazing how they are stacked here as if they were tossed down from above. Waves crash in between them and the sand is beautiful and white. There is a cave formed by boulders at one end of the beach that you go into and see daylight up above. There is also a small beach bar as well, but it’s not open yet and the crowds are starting to arrive so we head back to ITIKI.
In the afternoon I take a SUP to the beach by our anchorage and walk along it. There are also some boulders here that are quite spectacular and again the sand is beautiful and clean. The water colour is incredible as well. Plus there are no other people here! Sadly, we can’t put the drone up as it’s a no-fly zone, due to the proximity of the airport.
We can see the mooring buoys at The Baths from our anchorage and by 8:45am the next morning there are no buoys! Completely full of charter cats! We must have got lucky yesterday, maybe it was “changeover day” for the rentals. We decide to put the SUPs in the water and go for another look between there and our anchorage. We follow the water’s edge and stop for a swim at the beach south of ours. There is no-one around at all and the water is again beautiful and clear. We can take the SUPs into The Baths as well and despite the number of boats anchored, few have made it to the beach yet so it is not too bad. We get our picture taken and head back to the boat. In the afternoon the boat that told us about the underwater cable is leaving but their anchor is stuck between two rocks. Keith heads over in the dinghy to help try and dislodge it. They have managed to attach a trip line to it and eventually it shifts and they are off.
Several quite large catamarans have turned up at our anchorage, obviously attracted by ITIKI. Keith makes another attempt to retrieve the halyard and this time, incredibly, finds the other end of it! It’s difficult to pull through though and he manages to get about a meter out. To be continued. We up anchor and head over to take a look at Dog Islands just to the north of us. We could see one beach from our anchorage that looked ok, and there has been one powerboat anchored there the whole time. As we get closer we see it’s not much of a beach and no anchorage, and in fact the powerboat is on the shore! We head around the Western side of Great Dog Island and see there are some mooring buoys here, it’s quite wild but not what we are looking for so we go between George Dog Island and Great Dog Island and head for Savannah Bay, which is also on Virgin Gorda Island and 7nm from last night’s anchorage. Here we need to enter in the bay at the southern end where there is a gap in the reef, and anchor in sand between the reef and the shore. We anchor in what looks like sand but turns out to be hard so we move a little closer in to get a better set in nice sand. There is a beautiful long, white beach ashore and we watch as the 7 crew from a large motor yacht bring umbrellas, beach chairs, dining table, BBQ etc ashore for the 3 “guests” to enjoy.
We go ashore in the dinghy and have a bit of an adventure as there is quite a bit of surf hitting the shore, despite the protection of the reef. We were getting close to shore checking whether it was safe to go in and I looked back to see a largish wave about to break on us! Too late! We copped it side on then the prop we hit a rock as we tried to manoeuvre away and the engine stopped. Another wave then took us broadside and fortunately pushed us nose in towards the shore. We surfed in and jumped out to pull the dinghy up the beach. Not quite as we had planned, but hopefully the powerboat people didn’t notice. We walked nonchalantly along the beach and back past them and they did seem to be smirking a bit. We noticed that they have written their boat name in the sand, so we did the same. Leaving the beach in the dinghy was an even bigger challenge. Our first attempt, the dinghy got swamped while I was in it. Keith wasn’t in yet and got knocked over, losing his good Oakley sunglasses. I managed to jump out and pull the dinghy onto the beach. We were lucky not to capsize! Keith searched in vain for his glasses. The second attempt at launching was more successful, although still a bit hair raising! The dinghy is full of sand and a fair bit of water and we are both soaked so we go back to ITIKI to catch our breath. Fortunately there were no phones in pockets etc… Keith takes a paddle board in to look for his glasses on the off chance they have washed ashore, like Martin’s flip-flop in The Canaries. Meanwhile I clean the sand out of the dinghy. No luck with the sunglasses unfortunately.
It was a rolly and noisy night with waves slapping the hull and knocking us this way and that, so we decide leave early. We head out taking a tour around Seal Dog Island before heading into Prickly Pear anchorage 7nm away in Gorda Sound. We can see Necker Island as we pass through the entrance to the Sound. This is Richard Branson’s private island home which can be rented out in its entirety (48 guests max) or at certain times of the year, by individual cabins. Lord only knows what the price tag is! If you have to ask you can’t afford it! Anyway there are quite a few boats in close at to the shore at Prickly Pear Island when we arrive so we anchor a bit further out/north. Anchor sets well in sand and the water is lovely, lots of turtles here and we immediately like the place. We dinghy over to Leverick Bay Marina on the opposite side of the Sound, to take a look around. It is a small marina with a bar/restaurant. There is a small market here so we get a couple of things and head back to the boat.
We spend the afternoon turtle spotting from the boat, even seeing a ray jumping out of the water – amazingly we were both looking at the right time. Keith dropped some food scraps off the back of the boat a few small fish turned up for a meal, as well as a rather sinister looking Remora. In the afternoon we dinghied around to the Bitter End Yacht Club and to have a drink. It’s a very laid back place with a small marina and busy little bar, as well as a few villas and a restaurant. There is a mini-market here as well with a rather gourmet and pricey selection.
The next morning we dinghy over to Leverick Bay to get some fuel for the RIB, then to the next bay around to find a skip for the garbage, thus saving the US$2.50 fee that Leverick Bay wanted (oh it’s a matter of principle!). The wind has really gotten up and its quite bouncy going across the bay so I got a bit damp in the front seat. We dropped into The Bitter End gourmet market and on the way back to ITIKI go ashore at Prickly Pear island to have a wander around. The beach bar here looks well maintained but doesn’t seem to have been open for a while. We walk along the beach and wander back to a small lagoon. Keith decides to bail out a dinghy that has been sitting at the dock for a while, slowly deflating and filling with water.
Left at 7am the next morning and had a great reach across to Anegada, 17nm north. The island is only 35 square metres with the highest point being 10m! Had 18-20kts, gusting 22s and it’s a little bit rough as the passage is quite exposed. Making 8kts VMG we arrived in good time and picked up a mooring buoy - the bay is quite shallow and there is limited anchoring area. It’s reasonably protected but still a bit of swell coming in. Ashore we rented a scooter to explore this small island, heading west first to Cow Wreck Bay. It’s a lovely beach with a bar and some accommodation but not many people around. We have a bit of a walk along the beach and then head back to the Bay.
We have booked The Wonky Dog restaurant for lobster dinner tonight so we have lunch on ITIKI and to pick up rain jackets as it looks a little threatening. Next we head east and find the flamingo lookout beside a large and mostly dried out lagoon. Of course there are no flamingos! I find out later they head out to feed in the morning and don’t come back until the evening. I guess that is what we have been doing wrong all the time, we have been visiting the flamingo haunts during the day. Nevertheless we have a great view across the huge pond which takes up a big chunk of the western end of the island. We head further along the road past the botanical gardens, which is a traffic island with a few trees in it. Also the Iguana Sanctuary looks like it has been closed for a while. I hope those Iguanas all got rehabilitated ok! We reach The Settlement, which is the main town of the island, but it is more of a collection of shacks and a few goats than an actual town. Next it is up to the north of the island were there some lovely beaches, including Jack Bay and Flash of Beauty Beach - I go for a swim at Loblolly Bay. Heading back we stop at Fisherman’s wharf, which is a smelly mangrove swamp with a few dead boats. We stop at a lookout for the conch shell mounds and it is possible to see a couple of them through the binoculars. The largest one is on the south east tip of the island, it must be huge. They are protected relics of the Amerindians and can only be visited with a guide.
We head to the restaurant around 6:30, Keith has ordered Lobster Thermidor and I got Jamaican Jerk lobster. They were huge beasts and we are totally stuffed afterwards and we have definitely “done” Anegada!
It seems that as we head north we keep coming back to France. The French have maintained a strong presence in the Caribbean and their islands, The French Antilles, remain French territory, using the Euro and speaking French as an official language. They are financially supported by mainland France and European produce is readily available and reasonably priced (well except for St Barths where nothing is reasonably priced…), which means it is great place to provision. From Antigua we make the long hop east to St Barthelemy or St Barths as it is known, and from there it’s a short step across to St Martin/Sint Maarten (or SXM as it is known amongst cruisers – more on that later).
Got away from our Anchorage at Dickensen Bay (Antigua) just before 7am for the 73nm crossing, starting with 1 reef in the main and full genoa. Windspeed was up and down for the first half of the trip in terms of speed and angle. We had high teens initially but down as low as 10s, with angles shifting from 100 to 130! We had stowed the gennaker thinking it was always going to be too strong to use it but now of course we need it so we dig it out of the starboard hull again. Just as I am tightening the halyard, bang, down it comes narrowly avoiding Keith’s head. Fortunately it was not unfurled as it is a major problem to get this big sail back on board if it goes in the water. Seems that the shackle had opened up and is still at the top of the mast so fortunately we have not lost the halyard. Re-hoisted it on the kite halyard, which is a bit stretchier so it’s hard to get good luff tension, but it works. Once we had passed under a line of cumulonimbus the breeze settled into a steady 18kts AWS and came back into the 80s AWA. We were on the edge of the range for the gennaker and as we got closer to the island and the “compression zone” (where wind speeds get a little higher) we swapped to the genoa and could climb a little bit too. The anchorage of Gustavia is incredibly crowded with a lot of boats on mooring buoys and other boats anchored in between them. The wind is funnelling down the narrow bay as well, making manoeuvring tricky, particularly as we came in side on into the middle of the anchorage. We thread our way through the boats and head to the leeward end and find a spot almost at the back of the anchorage. There are some quite spectacular rocky islands behind us. It’s a very windy and rolly anchorage, we are moving around like being underway and its quite noisy. We see Ella of Stockholm on the AIS, we knew they were crossing from Barbuda today and had been watching them on the chart plotter. We radio them and direct them to a spot behind us. They settled in and invited us for a quick drink before a spectacular sunset. We will do check in formalities tomorrow. Quite a few squalls go through overnight and we are rocking and rolling. Also it seems to smell of diesel fumes and avgas here. Lovely spot – NOT! Oh and we have to pay for the privilege of anchoring here!
We go into town around 9am the next morning and check-in is quick and easy, as we had already done the “paperwork” online. Looks like they are setting up for a regatta –St Barts Bucket of course! Quite a few big boats in town and some seriously expensive looking kit in the harbour. We wander around and see the sights of Gustavia, which are limited to a couple of forts, or monuments where forts used to be, a Swedish clocktower and old Swedish prison. The island used to belong to the Swedes and there is a Swedish embassy here too. We organise a car for tomorrow and spend the afternoon on the boat. The wind and movement is doing our heads in and we have another awful night’s sleep.
Head into town just after 9 and end up checking out of St Barths before picking up the car. We drive first to Anse Colombier, or the hill overlooking it, to check out tonight’s anchorage. There are quite a few boats here but still a few free moorings. We go down to Baie des Flamands on the northern coast, which is quite wild and empty with just a small beach. We pass the famous roundabout at the top of the airport runway, where the planes come in quite low and practically shave the top of your head. Wow! It looks like a difficult approach. The planes have to take a nose dive once they get over the crest to get down to the runway to land. We hop from bay to bay, but it’s a bit frustrating as there is little parking and cheek to jowl private property lines the shore here. The town of St Jean is at the other end of the runway, literally, with planes shaving your head as they take off. We tried to park at Lorient but kept missing the turn for the parking so drove over to the eastern side of the island and around the north east corner. The windward side of the island is of course pretty windy and the surf is rough, but there are a couple of sheltered bays, protected by reefs as well as a couple of saltwater lagoons, one of which smells pretty sulphurous. We make it around the headland before coming back and finding a park at Lorient. The graveyard here is quite colourful, full of freshly painted white headstones and crosses, decorated with plenty of plastic flowers and Lambi (conch) shells. The highlight though is the entertainer Johnny Holliday’s grave. Not sure of the significance of him being here but clearly this pilgrimage is in the French guide book, as a steady stream of tourists drop by. We find a little bakery for a quick bite and decide to take the car back early as we have seen the whole of this tiny island. As we are dropping the car at the airport we get to see a plane landing and another taking off on the steep runway.
From Gustavia it’s a whole 2nm to Anse Colombier, on the NW end corner of the island. Apparently the bay used to be owned by the Rockefellers, and there is quite a big house at the top of the southern headland. This is the only other “anchorage” on the tiny island. We pick up a mooring ball, these are provided free of charge, which seems odd after having paid to anchor in Gustavia! Keith decides this is a good moment to try out a new technique of picking up a mooring buoy. Normally the buoys have a big steel ring that you put your mooring lines through and they can’t be lifted to reach them from the front of the boat, so we normally bring the stern of ITIKI alongside them and I put a line through from the back transom, walking the buoy forward as Keith reverses, lead the lines under the seagull striker and cleat both ends off at the front on the starboard side. Then we have to get the second, port side mooring line on somehow. This newly imagined technique involves taking two leader lines through the ring at the same time. These are joined to the mooring lines which are already attached at front of the boat. The leader lines are necessary because the mooring lines are not long enough to reach from the front to the back of the boat. What could possibly go wrong?! Well only everything. The lines are joined by knots, which of course get stuck on the loop of the mooring buoy. Then I get very confused about which line is which, which one I need to pull etc as they are both the same colour and there is literally rope going everywhere. In the end the whole technique wasn’t really necessary because the rope mooring line running through the buoy could be lifted easily and we could have picked it up from the front of the boat with a boat hook. Oh well, we did actually manage to test the technique in the end, but it could have been seriously ugly! There is no 3G connection though and I was supposed to have a call with Australia so Keith runs me ashore to see if I can get a signal if I walk up the hill and stand on one leg. At least I can send a message to cancel the call. We have already seen heaps of turtles in the bay here which is nice. The buoys mean that the sea grass, their staple diet, is protected from damage by anchors.
It’s gusty and bouncy overnight and we spin in all directions. Not a great night’s sleep so we are keen to move on. Even though we have checked out of St Barts yesterday and have already hand one extra sneaky night here, we decide to push our luck and have another. We head over to the tiny island of Ile Fourchue, a mere 3nm west of last night’s anchorage, arriving around 10am. By 11am most boats are gone but new ones start arriving. There are 10 mooring buoys and this time we just pick it up from the front of the boat – easy peasy. The buoys are put in by National Parks to protect the sea grass, and again are free of charge, which seems fair if you are obliged to use them. It is really lovely here and we immediately relax and enjoy watching the turtles. Ile Forchue is part of St Barths’ territory - it’s an uninhabited island, privately owned which is part of the marine sanctuary. We take the paddle boards ashore and walk up to the saddle between the two peaks of the island. We can see back to St Barths to the east and further west across to St Martin, as well as a few other small barren and rocky islands in between. It’s very dry, stony and barren place with plenty of cacti and some nesting frigate birds. It’s still pretty windy but not quite so gusty and jerky as we have had. At least the wind is holding us in a consistent direction and we finally have a decent night’s sleep.
You say Saint Martin and I say Sint Maarten – let’s just call the whole thing SXM
We would have been happy to stay at Ile Forchue another day, but we have checked out of St Barths and there is not much else to do so we set off after 11 for the 22nm step across to Marigot Bay in St Martin (FR).
This island of SXM is divided into French and Dutch territory, with an open land border. They have their own flags, different official languages and different currencies. Arriving in a private vessel by sea both have entirely different procedures. The Dutch part of the island is in the South and therefore would have been a closer arrival point for us, but my eyes start to glaze over reading the entry requirements in terms of paperwork, bureaucracy, fees, advance notification, Covid testing and isolation etc. Pretty crazy when you can just drive across (in your car or dinghy) without any restrictions! French side check-in is free of charge and self-service at the computer in the chandlery. Guess where we are going?!
From Ile Forchue we have a really lovely downwind sail with the full main and Genoa and the wind and waves are coming from behind us. We arrive around 2:30pm and anchor in Marigot Bay, just north of the entrance to the lagoon, which lies between the French and Dutch sides. It is a good sandy bottom excellent good holding, a large anchorage which is very popular. There are extensive yacht services here, with numerous marinas and boatyards, chandleries and workshops etc so of course it is a popular place and the anchorage is very busy. It is also a great place to provision before heading to the Bahamas or BVIs. We head over to the Ile Marine Chandlery to check in and even though they don’t charge for the check in, it would be rare that any boatie would come out of a chandlery empty handed. A very smart business move putting that computer in as First Mate does the check in whilst Skipper goes browsing… Lo and behold! Keith finds the Whale Gulper sump pump that we need for our shower and at a very reasonable price. After that we took the dinghy into the lagoon and did a bit of reconnaissance on town and the supermarkets.
It was very gusty and bouncy in the night and we were not sleeping so well. Looked at the track on the anchor alarm in the middle of the night and decided to get up and let some more chain out to dampen our movement and secure us better in the conditions. We possibly didn’t have as much chain out as we thought as Keith had serviced the windlass in Ile Fourchue and we hadn’t recalibrated the chain counter.
Went ashore in the morning with a mission to do a supermarket run and find the “gas man” as we need to fill our gas bottle. Not really exactly sure what kind of gas we are going to get, but apparently there will be some butane in it. We ended up having lunch ashore at ArhAwak. Lovely mussels and Keith had goat curry. Oh and we had dessert too! Very naughty. When we got back there was a note on the swim ladder. I thought it was going to be from the guy behind us complaining that we were anchored too close. Turned out it was from a Canadian couple who have bought a Helia, sight unseen and lying in Columbia, who wanted to have a look around ours. We invited them over tomorrow afternoon.
The next morning we drop off the gas bottle to get filled. It’s been such a drama the past couple of times, due to changing EU regulations that I am nervous when someone says “Yep, no problem!” We left it with the guy intending to pick it up on Monday and went for a walk up to Fort Louis. There is not much of it left, just a few walls and rusty cannons. Great views though and we can see Ella in the marina (Matts and Helena are back in Sweden for a couple of weeks). Decided to go back to the gas man and exchange our bottle instead of waiting for a refill. Tested it out when we got back and it seemed to work fine. Mark and Myra come to visit around 5ish and we showed them around ITIKI. They are a lovely couple who already have a Lagoon and decided it was time to upgrade. They have paid top dollar for the Helia but it has a lot of extras, including a full freezer by all accounts. They plan to have it moved to Panama and cruise north to central America.
We do a supermarket run in the morning and then in the afternoon we took a RIB tour around the lagoon. There are plenty of hurricane wrecks on the French side, but the Dutch seem to have removed them from their side. It’s quite shallow inside the lagoon and although it is possible to anchor inside at various points, it puts you at the mercy of the opening times of the varying bridges at the entrances and across the middle. We went all the way though the causeway into Dutch-land and then out through the lifting bridge into Simpson Bay on the southern (Dutch) side. It’s a long bay with nice enough beaches and plenty of resorts line the shore. Not much in the way of charm but would have been a nice enough anchorage. As we were coming back into the lagoon in it was time for the lifting bridge to open so we went through after the last yacht. Everyone at the yacht club comes out on the balcony to watch. Great entertainment! Wayne and Barbie (SY Hope that we met in Ragusa, Sicily in 2018) came over for drinks in the evening. We have stayed in touch and as very experienced cruisers they have been very helpful with tips and advice. Team Hope have been in SXM since mid-November as they had issues with their bow thruster coming north from the ABCs and then got diesel bug which took out their engine! They have been up on the slips a couple of times, but touch wood, will soon be on their way again. Lovely to see them.
Tour de SXM “en voiture”
We pick up a car at 9am and head off on a tour of the island. We go south first and cross the open border into Sint Maarten. It’s a bit ironic that there are no checks considering the rigmarole you need to go through to check in if you arrive by boat. Anyway our first stop was at Maho Beach, right next to the airport. Planes come in quite low over the beach and when big jets take off, people stand by the fence and get blown over. It’s quite a tourist attraction. Not much action when we get there although one small plane did arrive and fly low overhead. At the airport we can see the dozens of private jets lined up. Check out this classic YouTube video below!
From there we headed north to take a look at Friars' Bay. It’s a small bay with a couple of beach bars and some watersports and the water looks lovely. A small but popular anchorage. We then took the winding and narrow road up to Pic Paradis, at 424m the highest point on the island. From here we had great views down to the east coast. There are some anchorages here, but protection is limited on the windward side, and it feels like it’s been blowing “dogs off chains” since forever. We descend down to Grand Case, stopping for a coffee and pastries along the way. It’s a nice wide bay with a long sandy beach. Quite a few holiday resorts and beach bars but with a really laid back feel. We walk along the beach for a bit and then along the “shopping strip” and decide to come and anchor here in ITIKI for a couple of days for a change of scenery. We also checked out Anse Marcel, a much smaller bay further north, but there is nothing here and it smells of rotting seaweed. Across to Cul de Sac, the lagoon was also a bit smelly too so we moved on. Stopped at a view point overlooking Oyster Pond at the same time as several busloads of cruise ship passengers, but they are slow moving creatures so we managed to get to the lookout and get our photos before too many of them spoiled the view. We crossed back into Dutch land again and the main town on this side, Philipsburg, where 3 cruise ships are currently anchored. It’s hot, noisy and very touristy, and we end up at a Peruvian restaurant to have burgers for lunch (managed to resist the Pisco Sours). The beach here is quite nice, long, white sand but lots of beach bars and loud music. Back from the beach the streets are lined with shops selling duty free and luxury goods. Our final stop (of course) is to the super large Carrefour supermarket. Its huge and at first seems really expensive, until we realise prices are in NAFs or North Antilles Florins (WTF!?) and not USD, which is the other currency used on this side of the fence! Not sure why they don’t just use Euros, I guess they want to differentiate themselves from the French! Grog was relatively cheap though and we end up with lots. Even found tahini, Branston pickle and Vegemite! We drop off the car and load up the dinghy with our booty!
The next morning, after a final shore run, we head north in ITIKI for the 2nm journey to Grand Case, which looked like a nice spot when we were here by car. We only just remembered to empty the holding tanks along the way! We anchor in the NE corner but it turns out to be a poor choice. Holding is good but we spin around 360. The anchor keeps resetting but it’s pretty annoying bobbing around, so we move the next day closer to the centre of the bay. It’s still gusty but at least we were not doing donuts anymore. There is an airport here as well and the small planes come in quite low over the anchorage. We take the RIB ashore and have a long walk along the beach. It’s always lovely to sink your toes into sand.
We have another restless night with rain squalls and strong gusts coming through the anchorage. Around 5:45am there is a loud bang and we realise the anchor bridle has gone, and the weight of the boat is being held on the windlass – not good for it! We have had numerous issues with the clip and shackle breaking and coming off but this time we head up front to see that the port line has completely snapped off close to the central knot. Wow! There was a tiny bit of chafe in the casing but that is major. We jury rig a line through the knot to our foredeck cleats to take the pressure off the windlass. We will need to head back to Marigot and get some materials to make a new bridle. I try to book a marina but it is too complicated, and we eventually anchor close to the lagoon entrance again, with our temporary bridle solution. We go ashore and do our Covid test for entering BVIs as we will be leaving shortly, then it’s over to our favourite chandlery to check-out of SXM and gather bridle materials. We have decided to put snubbers on the bridle and they have to be ordered in and picked up later today, along with a new clip. Keith does an amazing job putting it all together based on someone else’s design we found online. We are still at anchor in 20+kts with a temporary anchor bridle, so once everything is assembled, I steer the boat up onto the anchor to take the pressure off the temporary bridle, ensuring it does pull back onto the windlass. Finally Keith ties on the new bridle at the front of the boat and I attach it to the anchor chain. Now we have 2 bridles on the anchor chain and we end up in a bit of a tangle removing the temporary one, but finally we free the lines and we are on the new bridle alone. It’s quite a different experience. The laid line has more give in it than the old bridle and the snubbers dampen the snatch that normally occurs in the gusts. The lines don’t creak and strain like the plaited line. We don’t seem to swing from side to side as sharply as the snubbers dampen the movement. Very happy with the result and we sleep well, which was long overdue! We are off to the BVIs tomorrow and it will be an early start!
The island of Antigua was discovered by Columbus in 1493, but never settled by the Spanish as it has no natural source of water. It was only in French hands for 1 year in the 1660s and for the rest of the time has been decidedly British. The British used it as a base for 3 centuries making it the stronghold for their squadrons on the Leeward islands. With the ships of Admiral Rodney and the great Horatio Nelson the British could control the whole of the Antilles from English Harbour. The island, especially English and Falmouth Harbours maintain a very British feel.
We set out from Deshaies in Guadelope at 8:30am for the 43nm journey north. Ella of Stockholm was up earlier than us and we spot them on AIS a bit later. We have full sails initially but then the wind builds as we pass the end of the island and get into open water. The significant swell is beam on and slapping us about a bit. The wind is easterly as forecast (70o TWD) but as usual is somewhat higher in speed than expected - high teens & low 20s. We put in a single reef and we are also able to foot off a bit. We seem to manage to work our way between two rain squalls, one passes behind us, the other in front, arriving in English Harbour at 13h45. On our starboard side as we enter the bay are the Pillars of Hercules, a rock formation which looks like a badly made set of false teeth.
Ella has already anchored in Freeman's Bay and we stalk the crowded anchorage, snagging a spot as another catamaran leaves. Now comes the process of checking in which is notoriously bureaucratic here (a British legacy). We called the Harbourmaster on VHF 12 and listen to other boats doing the same as we all wait for a call back. This came about an hour later and triggers an almost comical race as everyone in the anchorage quickly jumps into their dinghies and head ashore to Nelson's Dockyard. Keith ran into Mitch Booth (who runs the race yacht Comanche) and then I had to drag him away to go and to fill in some forms. There was only cursory interest in our Covid tests and none in our vaccine status - just self-reported the latter. The skippers have to do the formalities whilst us gals hang around chatting. It took them while with visits back and forth to several counters before money was exchanged for a number of obscure reasons and we were allowed to stay. The marina and port complex here is really quite charming, a couple of red phone booths of course and the old stone buildings, including the old Arsenal, have been renovated and the grounds are immaculate. There are several restaurants and shops here as well as a small maritime museum. The whole area is know as Nelsons Dockyard and after checking in we stop for a drink at The Pillars’ bar before heading back to the boat to lower the Q flag and put the anchor light on!
English harbour in the south and Falmouth harbour to the north west are separated by a narrow spit so it’s easy to walk across between the two and we did so mid-morning to check out the marinas and stores. Here we find the famous Antigua Yacht Club which runs the annual Antigua Race Week. Found Comanche on the dock but Triple Lindy (who is managed by an Australian couple) was too far around the bay to walk around it. Back in the anchorage the wind has dropped out and we find ourselves swinging side to side a fair bit and circling around on our anchor, so we decide to reset in a little closer so we can put more chain out and give ourselves more room. Got it sorted and held through a rain squall, but decided to skip the regular Shirley Heights BBQ rather than get drenched heading up the hill. Keith spent the afternoon cursing over the shower sump which died in Deshaies, and he finally managed to swap it for the one in the port side.
The next morning we took an early morning walk ashore, up to the Fort Berkeley on the western side of the harbour. Walked around the ruins and up over the headland know as Middle Ground and down into Falmouth Harbour. The anchorage is much larger and there are some places near Pigeon Beach that look good if and when we return. Ran into Brad and Tori Kellet on the way back to English Harbour. They have been spending a fair bit of time here running the race yacht Triple Lindy and doing some racing as well. Took the SUPs for a spin after lunch but looks like Keith’s has a slow leak so he had to turn back. Walked along the beach and ran in to Matts and Helena from Ella, who had just walked up to Shirley Heights. They invited us over for a drink aboard Ella later on, and we paddled over later which was lovely.
After breakfast we took the RIB ashore and walked up to Shirley Heights, to the east of our anchorage. There is a restaurant at the top, some ruins and spectacular views over English and Falmouth Harbours. They have a BBQ on Thursday and Sunday nights, but we missed last one due to the rain squalls. There are some more ruins up here from the days of English occupation.
After the walk we left to head a few miles north with just the headsail out. The breeze was behind us and up to 17kts. Put the fishing line out but yet again, no fish were willing to sacrifice themselves for our eating pleasure. Anchored at Carlisle Bay, it’s a wide bay with a resort ashore and nice enough but lacking in ambience. We stopped for morning tea and decided to move on.
We continue on to Jolly Harbour anchorage which is only 12nm from English Harbour. The anchorage stretches along the northern headland leading into the large main harbour & marina complex. We cruised along from west to east and ended up anchoring in the NE corner of the of the anchorage, not far from the harbour entrance. It’s very shallow but good holding. Went ashore after lunch and did some provisioning. The harbour is quite large with some canals branching off on either side and these are lined with housing complexes, with as their own docks of course, as well as marine workshops. The main marina at the head of the bay. It’s well maintained and with nice grounds and a few cafes etc. The anchorage is blissfully calm overnight.
After breakfast Helena from Ella of Stockholm came over to do a load of washing. I made a lemon cake so they both came back for morning tea a little later. Went ashore again and checked out the chandlery to see if they have a Whale Gulper pump for the shower (no) and get a couple more things in the supermarket. Decided to up anchor and head around to Hermitage Bay , which is just around the corner. It’s a small indentation in the headland roughly on the other side of Jolly harbour where we were anchored last night, a whole 3nm away! There is a white sand beach and an upmarket resort with bungalows nesting discreetly in the hill above the beach. Cheryl and Richie (Serenity Now, who we met in Gibraltar) are anchored here and they drop over as we are eating lunch so beers are opened. Got some great tips for fishing and seeing Antigua. While they were aboard, Double Shot II, our dock mates from La Rochelle, who are from Brisbane, randomly turned up and dropped anchor behind us. Haven’t seen them since Lipari in Italy. They are heading to Barbuda tomorrow. The kids had harvested a heap of Lambi (or conch shells) and Mel will cook them for dinner.
Our tour of Antigua continued after a side trip to Barbuda, which you can read more about below. As we arrived back at the NE corner of Antigua, we checked out a couple of anchorages on Long Island and Jumby Bay, but they are just in front of private beach resorts and you can’t even go ashore. Water-skiers and Hobie cats around too so no thanks. Went over to Maiden Island just opposite and dropped anchor for lunch and to take stock, but then decided to stay. There is one power boat on a mooring and another cat in the next bay. Nothing ashore on the island, and we are under the flight path. But we are out of the wind and the gusts and it is nice to have a “rest” from that. Keith sorted out the bridle clip situation and hopefully this solution will hold well. After dark a large, unlit RIB came and took a look at us, sitting behind the boat for a few minutes. Possibly Coastguard checking we had paid our cruising tax. It didn’t even have nav lights.
The next morning we took the RIB ashore to Maiden Island to go for a walk. Not much here except some old ruined buildings and piles of Lambi shells scattered about next to old BBQ fires. It’s still blowing some and the thought of heading down the windward coast to unprotected anchorages just doesn’t appeal, no matter how amazing they may be, so we decide to head back to the west coast for a couple more days before crossing to St Barts on the weekend. We came into Deep Bay just 12nm away. The bay is a lovely, with a long white beach and there is a luxury resort with over-water bungalows that have their own plunge pool. We take the SUPs ashore just as the wind picks up so it’s really hard work. There is just no let up! Walked up to see the fort at the northern end of the bay. Behind the beach there is a lagoon with a narrow opening to the sea. We are just south of St John’s harbour which is the main industrial port on the island, we won’t be heading in there. We watched from the fort as a Coastguard RIB come in and do a cruise around the bay.
The following morning we have some strong squalls with heavy rain and gusts getting up into the high 20s. Not much fun. We don’t feel like doing much, but manage some boat cleaning. After lunch we decide to head back over to Hermitage to annoy Cheryl and Richie again and use the free internet from the resort. It’s a bit more protected here but still getting the strong gusts coming through. Invited Cheryl and Richie over for dinner and had a lovely evening. Great to be social for a change. Richie put us through our paces on an Aussie quiz he has put together. Very funny.
The weekend is approaching and we are getting ready to leave Antigua so we walked into Jolly Harbour to formally check-out of Antigua. Google took us through a private golf resort to reach the Port Authority offices... I think we did a reasonable job of looking like we belonged as we passed the various security guards. After doing the formalities, the usual to-ing and fro-ing between officials with the associated paper-fest, we walked into the town. The supermarket was closed due to an electrical error so we stopped for lunch and to wait for it to open. 1hr and 1 soaking rain squall later we finally got served! Bought a little bit of fruit and veg from one of the vendors opposite the still closed supermarket before heading back to the anchorage.
Friday morning we went ashore in the RIB to one of the smaller beaches to the south of us and walked up to the road and around Pearns Bay. Looks like a bit of development going on here. Plots for sale going up over the hills, reminiscent of Mount Whitsunday. We swing by Cheryl and Richie to say farewell and after lunch we head up to Dickenson Bay, 10nm north, which will be our departure point for the St Barts. It’s a long beach with numerous resorts including Sandals but we tuck in to the north west away from it all. It turns out to be the calmest night we have had in a long time, although with an early start tomorrow and an alarm set we don’t sleep as well as we should have. Next stop? Another French island – St Barthelemy, or St Barts as it is more commonly known. Coming soon…. Barbuda's Blue Waters
The sand on the beach is blindingly white and water a beautiful turquoise. Quite a few rocks around but they are easy to see and we have already spotted plenty of turtles by the time we are settled into our anchorage. Went for a look around in the RIB, there is a private resort occupying the eastern end of the beach. Apparently this was Princess Diana’s favourite beach and has been (officially or unofficially) named Princess Diana Beach. The anchorage is well protected from the swell and good holding but it’s quite windy.
We spent a few days here exploring on the SUPs, walking along the beautiful, long beach. Past the end of Cocoa point is where the exclusive resort is. This is a popular spot for kite surfing, flat water and plenty of wind. There is another anchorage around this side of the island further east but looks much more exposed to the wind and swell, plus there are a lot of reefs and shoals. Walked back along the beach and chatted to French couple (Arthur and Ann-Sophie) from Pearly (a little orange trimaran that we admired in Jolly Harbour). Arthur was kite surfing and explained to Keith how it works. They came over for drinks later. A very adventurous young couple who have travelled up from Martinique in their tiny boat.
It’s been quite gusty in the anchorage, making going ashore on the SUPs, into the wind, pretty challenging. You paddle like crazy just to stay in the same spot! It’s very quick coming back to the boat but you have to have very good aim and steering to make sure you don’t go flying past it! We have booked in to have a lobster BBQ at the famous Shack A Kai on Princess Diana Beach. We checked in with Inoch to confirm our booking tonight and its lucky we did as he advised us to bring our own plates and cutlery as well as sides. We returned in the RIB just before 6pm and Inoch helped us bring it up the beach, quite a long way considering the small tides. We watched the sunset from the swings at the bar sipping rum cocktails. Keith reckons he saw the green flash, but it must have been very tiny! Or maybe I blinked! A couple of donkeys were frolicking around on the beach as well. Fantastic BBQ lobster and a nice white wine. Inoch is an interesting character. We talked about cricket, dreams and life in general. Left about 8 and got back to the boat in the dark without incident. Good to leave those blue lights on!
We are leaving our lovely anchorage to go and take a look at the Western side of the island. We had a rain squall follow us west along the coast, saw up to 33kts TWS, thankfully from behind. Just had the genoa out and we were making 8.5kts at one stage. We turned right and headed up the west coast to anchor just south of the gap in the narrow sandbar at Low Bay, which is the entrance to the lagoon. It’s about half way up the windward coast of this long, narrow island. Conditions are still very gusty and we are jerking around on the anchor bridle. Just like being back in Greece in the Meltemi! From the top of the boat we can see over the sandspit to the lagoon and across to the town. There is surf breaking across the entrance and it looks like it could be quite a spectacular ride to get in! We watched one couple head over there but turn around and come back again. After lunch we took the paddle boards ashore which was no mean feat in a 20kts headwind. Walked north along the sandspit to the gap, it looks fairly rough so we won’t be going in there today either. There is an abandoned beach bar here with piles of conch shells, wooden furniture and what looks like some brick structure that is almost sinking into the water. There is a frigate bird sanctuary inside the lagoon, but looks like we won’t be able to visit that either. The beach along here is supposed to be pink but you have to try really hard to see it without the rose coloured glasses.
The next day conditions had settled a bit so we decided to try and go through into the lagoon. Checked out the ruined hotel on the northern side of the spit first, either a victim of a hurricane or coastal erosion as it is now sliding into the sea. We got pretty wet going back and forth across the entrance until we spotted the marker buoy (ie a couple of dark coloured 20L containers) and found the gap to go through the channel. It was a bumpy ride across the shallow lagoon and it is quite far to Codrington. There is not much in the town, and nothing to see so after a short walk around we came back to the boat for lunch. Quite a few boats have left today and many use this as a jumping off point to head to St Barts, although it is a hassle to check out from here. Meanwhile the surge in anchorage is doing our heads in. The swell hits the shore and then bounces back almost throwing you off your feet. We are getting a bit over this wind too, it is supposed to back off tomorrow so we will head south again.
We are keen to see the windward side of Antigua as there are apparently some lovely anchorages, protected by reefs. So we took off after breakfast with a forecast of 15-17kts to cover the 34nm back to the NE of the island. Got a nasty surprise when raising the anchor, the clip on the bridle (actually a stainless steel carabiner) had opened right up and fell off the shackle when I clipped it onto the boat! It does have a huge amount of pressure on it but really… That was so close to failing it was not funny, only the pressure on the chain was keeping it in place. We put one reef in the main and full genoa but we had mid 20s and gusting up to 30s (so much for the forecast) so we reefed the genoa and put a second reef in the main. Swell was 2-2.5m, short and on the beam. Copped quite a few waves over the deck. We are both feeling worn out by this heavy weather and BS forecasts. Its good to be back in Antigua in a sheltered anchorage.
The Island of Guadeloupe is shaped like a butterfly, and the butterfly is the often used symbol of the island, gracing the much of “We love Gwada” street art around the island. Once we dragged ourselves away from the lovely Les Saintes islands we spent some time cruising the “West Wing” of the Guadeloupe butterfly. We revisited this lovely part of the world on our way south again and enjoyed touring inland as well.
We set out from Les Saintes about 9ish thinking we would head to Marie-Gallante, the round, and less visited island to the east of us, but the wind was stronger than forecast (when will we learn…) and we were banging into short chop so we changed our minds and headed to Pointe a Pitre, the main town of Guadeloupe. It’s in the centre of the two parts of this butterfly shaped island. We are still going to windward but on Starboard tack initially the swell is not so bad. On port tack we had negative 3kts VMG at one stage, but we kept pace with a couple of monos, one of which gave up and put the motors on. We end up doing several tacks to make course into to our destination but it’s a good exercise in sailing to windward and it took us about 5 hours, in total to make the 21nm passage. The anchorage is outside the marina in a very sheltered, enclosed bay although the surrounds are quite industrial with views of the cargo port and dockyards. We go ashore in the afternoon and walk into town but it is very seedy, dirty and nothing much open. There is a lot of very colourful street art though, a vain attempt to distract from the scruffiness.
The next morning we do the obligatory supermarket run - only cruisers truly understand the need to take advantage of a large supermarket to stock up on those items you just can’t get in small island village markets. As a bonus I managed to get a quite reasonable haircut while Keith loaded us up for the walk back – we really must get a “nanna trolley”! Rather than heading straight for the west coast we diverted to a small anchorage 3nm east. Islet Gosier is a tiny island with a reef either side and not much ashore, just a lighthouse, some abandoned buildings and a small bar. It is popular with day trippers and school excursions too! We took the dinghy in, walked the island and had a swim at the beach. A good call to come here and a lovely relaxing spot for a night.
We dragged ourselves away the next morning, expecting to be sailing to the southern tip of the west wing, but had to motor to the corner, where we can see a large white lighthouse. We had shifty breezes, increasing and decreasing as we made our way north along the west coast. Passing Riviere Sens we see how amazingly green this part of the island is. There is a large and active volcano here and we find out later that it attracts some 15m of rain per year! There is a large fort that we can see from the shore and the rather drab anchorage, where we stopped briefly on our return, which is overlooked by a quarry…
Our next anchorage is in the north of the bay near a town aptly named Bouillante, 33nm from Ilet Gosier. After lunch we took the RIB across to the very high dinghy dock and had to tie fore-and-aft in the corner of the T to avoid getting bounced under the dock by the swell - not to mention scrambling up to the dock from the dinghy. From here it was a short walk along the black sand beach to the “Hot River”, where steaming hot water enters the sea. Ashore there is a geothermal station which uses this water, as a natural thermal stream runs through the town and meets the surf at the beach. And it really is VERY HOT! Boiling in fact! Surges of hot water come out of the rivulet and mix with the sea water. The current is quite strong, pushing you back in to the cooler water. It was lovely and novel to have a hot bath in the surf, but it did leave a bit of a sulphury smell on the skin.
We were up and away fairly early the next morning and motored the 2nm north to Anse Malendure, opposite Pigeon Island, part of the Jacques Cousteau nature reserve. We heard snorkelling was great here so we took the RIB across and had a look underwater. We could not find the underwater Jacques Cousteau statue that is supposed to be here but the water was lovely and clear and saw quite a few fish. Nothing spectacular coral wise though and quite a strong current running as well, making it hard work. We stopped here again on our way south for a provisioning run as there are a couple of good supermarkets ashore. We took the opportunity to walk along the shore to the beach, which is a black sand one. Nowhere near as attractive as the beautiful white sand beaches in the north, but people are enjoying themselves in the beach bars that line the shore.
In the afternoon we continued on north to the town of Deshaies, motoring as there was not enough breeze intially and then it was on the nose with quite a chop wrapping around the top of the island. The bay is pretty crowded but we manage to find a spot. Boats are swinging all directions and a number of them get too close to each other and have to move. It all seems very amicable though. We end up with a big steel boat near us but put out plenty of fenders.
We woke the next morning to see the deck covered in tiny dead insects and took some time to clean them off. We took a walk up hill to the local Jardin Botanique. Great views over the anchorage and the garden was nice enough, but the highlight by far was the flock of rather orange looking flamingos!!! As we have never managed to see any in the wild, this was indeed a bonus. It’s our last day in Guadeloupe on our trip north so we treated ourselves to lunch at Chez Lelette down on the beach in Deshaies. Lovely food and a great atmosphere. It’s time to check out of Guadeloupe, and we do this at The Pelican, a small souvenir shop, where we ran in to Matts and Helena from Ella of Stockholm. They are also leaving tomorrow to Antiqua so they come over to ITIKI for drinks, happily brandishing their negative Covid test results! These are needed to check in to Antigua. I am in the shower and just as they arrive and Keith is taking their dinghy line the shower malfunctions – Great timing!
We returned to Deshaies two months later on our way south, arriving in the morning after a 2-day, 220nm windward sail from the BVIs. Thats a story for another blog... After 2 days of bouncing around on our windward crossing, the remote control on the windlass has packed it in so we had to work from the helm station. This means Keith has multi-task and steer the boat and lower the anchor chain at the same time. It was then time for a long overdue kip, but as there was very little breeze in the bay we ended up swinging in the opposite directions to a nearby boat, and got a little too close for comfort. Anchorage etiquette dictates that the more recent arrival (ITIKI in this case) has to move so Keith’s nap was short-lived. The water was clear enough to see the anchor chain which had cleverly wrapped itself around a rock while we had been turning in circles so with Keith again working the controls from the helm and me directing from the foredeck we had some interesting manoeuvring to do to get it free. We anchored further out but then the wind picked up considerably so we reset the anchor putting out some more scope. Spent the rest of the day chilling out and cleaning the boat, which of course was covered in salt from our crossing. Fortunately we had a few heavy rain showers over the next few days to give us a really good rinse. We also get some really strong gusts through the anchorage, up to 30kts at times! The anchor is holding well though and we are quite comfortable with our new bridle snubbers that went on in St Martin – that’s also a story for another time...
Deshaies (which is apparently pronounced “de-aye”) is famous as the location for filming the BBC series “Death in Paradise”. We have never seen an episode of this but we learn that it is about to start filing its 12th season and so it is clearly very popular. I quickly google it so that I can take some pictures of what would be familiar scenes to those that enjoy the show. The arrival of the film crew and actors in May brings welcome income and employment just as the tourist season is starting to wane.
We took a hike over to Gros Morne (=big hill) and down to Grand Anse (=big beach) to the north of us. It is supposed to be an easy walk but it’s quite steep and stoney and we are only in sandals. At least it is in shade but that means there is not much of a view along the way. The beach is indeed quite big, a long white stretch of sand in contrast to the black sand beaches in the southern part of the island. We stop for a drink at the rather derelict looking Chez Samy as we are too knackered to walk further. Fortunately we can walk back into Deshaies along the road, which is much shorter and flatter. We pop back to the boat to freshen up and then go in search of lunch ashore, which is a bit of an adventure. Places are full or run out of food! We find a place by the dinghy dock and narrowly avoid ordering black pudding (boudin) which is a local Creole delicacy. Opted for Accras (a kind of spicy donut) and a lovely grilled snapper with too many frites! An afternoon nap was in order and no dinner! The wind has backed off significantly, which is a relief after several days blowing dogs off chains. It’s a much different and more pleasant place now.
The next day we take 4 x 4 tour of the north of the “west wing” with Pelican Safaris, as we did not have a chance to see much of the inland on our initial visit. We head south and take the traversing road inland towards Pointe a Pitre. The road winds up hill and down dale, through very dense rainforest. This part of the island clearly gets plenty of rain. We stop at a river with a waterfall and a popular swimming hole but its quite crowded. Across the road there is another small rivulet with a swimming hole and waterfall which is harder to get to so a lot less crowded. The water here is not so warm but it's novel swim in fresh water and very refreshing. Next stop is a short rainforest walk, the jungle is quite thick and very diverse flora. Scenes from our tour of the island:
There are no snakes on Guadeloupe as mongoose were introduced by settlers, who also shot all of the larger birds, including native parrots. Nice! We head back to the coast and Pointe Noire to stop to look for iguanas before a lunch stop at Hibiscus restaurant, Grand Anse. Lunch was lovely but 2.5hrs was way too long in the middle of a tour. Next we headed up into the hills to a sugar cane plantation and could see a fantastic view over the Grand Cul de Sac which is the middle of the top of the butterfly. Here there are extensive reefs making navigation pretty challenging, and mangroves line the shores. It used to be possible to go by yacht through the middle of the island from Point a Pitre to the Grand Cul de Sac but the bridge no longer opens. We take a very bumpy stone road which was built by slaves, through thick sugar cane which lines either side. We stop at the top to try some sugar cane and check out the view. There are a few wind turbines up here as well. From there we head down to the coast and through Saint Rose where there are dozens of tour operators to doing mangrove tours. We stop in at a rhum museum but it is now so late that it is closed so we check out some of the unusual plants around the garden. Our final stop is the north-western-most point of Guadeloupe - Pointe Allegre. It’s a pretty wild place and the orientation of the trees leaves you in no doubt of the direction of the prevailing wind! There is a also tree here which is really deadly. When it rains it drips acid onto you. Also the fruit is deadly to eat. These are marked with a red band, not sure why they don’t cut them down but I guess they are protected… From there it is back to Deshaies, its getting late and we just make it back to the boat before sunset.
And so our time with the Guadeloupe butterfly is coming to an end and we are winging our way south. Although it's not yet officially rainy season, the weather is becoming unsettled and we are starting to see rain squalls come through. Sometimes these are short-lived and are over by the time you have closed the hatches or brought the cushions in from the cocktail deck. They can be quite heavy though although we don’t complain about the boat getting a free freshwater wash. Unlike the rains in the Med they are not laden with Saharan dust. As we sail down the coast we experience an interesting phenomenon. Despite the trade winds blowing consistently from the east, we find ourselves heading south on starboard tack! Yes a westerly! With the trade winds wrapping around the top and the bottom of the island there must be some sort of back eddy. As we continue south towards Les Saintes the wind inevitably eventually comes onto the nose. As we pick up a mooring ball the heavens open, but we are in our happy place at Ilet Cabrits, Les Saintes and celebrate with a BBQ in the rain.
Les Saintes is a small group of islands just to the south of the main island of Guadaloupe. It’s a lovely, peaceful and charming place that is easy to be in. We visited it twice for a few days each time, once on our way north and again on our way south. There are some places its nice to come back to, and this is one of them.
The first time we arrived at the end of a 65nm sail and a 6am departure from Martinique, bypassing Domenica. The moon was almost full and providing good light as the sun started to come up. We hoisted the main with one reef and one in the genoa as well. The wind and swell were on the beam of course as we are heading due north. We have 18-22kts with some stronger gusts and a few rain squalls. Once we get into the lee of Dominica we get some relief from the swell but eventually we get a wind shadow as well. We motor for a while and then sail a little more with the reefs shaken out, getting some pressure coming through one of the bays. That was short lived so the motors went back on again. Out of the lee of Dominica and the breeze returned, hitting the high teens again as we approach Les Saints. We check out Anse Fideling for our first night. It is on the less developed island of Basse Terre so it sounded like our sort of thing, but it is not particularly nice. The water doesn’t look really clean, its crowded with older boats that probably don’t have holding tanks and think they own the place - we are getting the death stare so we move on. We pick up a mooring ball at Anse Cointe, €14 per night, which is reasonable. The anchorages here are deep and the bottom is weedy so mooring balls help protect sea grass for fish and turtles to enjoy. It’s a really pretty spot with a couple of small beach resorts ashore and overlooked by a headland called Pain du Sucre (literally sweet bread).
nWe head ashore to check in the next morning. It’s a really pretty town but very touristy and as it’s a weekend, there are a lot of day trippers. Plenty of shops and bars too. We can use the internet for a while at the LSM office as part of the mooring ball fee. After lunch we go looking for “No Worries” some fellow Aussies who we heard were here and find them over at Ilet a Cabrits. We have a few mutual cruising friends - such a small world but there are always Aussies out there!
On Sunday we hired a 50cc scooter and toured around the island of Terre de Haut. It was a bit like riding around on a lawn mower, particularly interesting going up the steep hills. First stop was Fort Napoleon just after opening time. Great views from the top and a lovely garden area with many different cacti and some iguanas hiding in the bushes. We visited the various beaches around the island. Marigot Bay looked like it could have been good to anchor in but having seen it from above, it looks a bit nothing. Lots of weed. We stop at Plage de Pompier but again huge piles of weed (Sargasso) on the shore and along most of the beach. It has been a huge problem in this area and when it blooms, large volumes end up rotting on the beaches which is very bad for tourism. We watch a pair of pelicans doing synchronised diving for a while, before moving on.
Grand Anse is a long beach on the windward side of the island, which is too rough for swimming and again has lots of weed. We take a quick look at the tiny Anse Roderique, which looks a bit like Little Bay at South West Rocks. Each time we try to go to another bay we seem to have to drive back into town and get stuck in the one way street system trying to find the next turn off. We swing by Anse Figuier and then back into town again to drive down to the western end of the island, near to where we are anchored. We stop along the way for some scenic photos back to our anchorage, you can never have too many pictures of your boat! Anse Crawen on the southwest tip is the last beach we visit and probably the nicest, although the cloud has come over and we don’t feel like a swim. We visit to the colourful cemetery, where a number of graves are decorated with huge conch shells. It looks like rain so we decide to grab a baguette and head back to the boat for a late lunch. We have pretty much done the island so we return the bike early. We departed the next morning to Pointe a Pitre on Guadeloupe but returned to Les Saintes 2 months later on our way south.
Our second visit we picked up a buoy at Ilet Cabrits (or Goat Island) having arrived from “Mainland” Guadeloupe which is just a short distance away. The skies are getting dark and menacing as we arrived and we had some heavy rain just after we picked up the mooring ball. There are a lot less boats here this time than when we were on our way north. Dinner is a BBQ on board and we put out lots of buckets out to catch the rainwater that drips off the back of the boat. We use that the next morning to have a big boat washing session, tackling the cockpit area with soapy rain water. We don’t just sit around drinking cocktails in exotic locations you know!
Mid-morning we went ashore to Ilet a Cabrits and walked up to Fort Josephine. It was abandoned in 1903 and now is just a collection of ruins, inhabited by goats. From the top we can see across to Terre de Haut and Fort Napoleon that we visited before. After lunch I go into town (on my own in the dinghy, out of sight of ITIKI!) and try to connect to the internet, however they have changed the password since our last visit and as its Sunday the office is closed! Anyway some good practice in the dinghy and I have booked a restaurant for tomorrow. We go ashore mid-morning to spend some time at the internet café but it is frustratingly slow! We also check out as we are leaving tomorrow. Our anniversary lunch (its Anzac Day!) is at Au Bon Vivre and it was the best meal we have had in a long time. French with a Creole twist and a lovely bottle of Rose. Just perfect! And a lovely way to finish our time in Les Saintes & Guadeloupe, as we head to Dominica tomorrow.
More Fun Times in Martinique
Now that we have a functioning autopilot and 2 new MDIs we can finally leave the Le Marin area and enjoy the rest of Martinique. Keith’s shoulder is still a work on progress and physio is helping. Our spinnaker is awaiting an inspection by the sailmaker so we can get a quote to repair it, so we leave it in their safe hands.
Finally we cut the umbilical cord and leave the south of Martinique after morning coffee. We are heading north on the leeward side of the island. The breeze is coming from behind us as the Easterly trade winds that brought us across the Atlantic are wrapping around the bottom of the Martinique. We goose-winged the Genoa and head away from the coast as the breeze shifts. Eventually gybed back in and reefed as the wind strengthened closer to the shore. Our next stop is only 13nm away and somewhere that we visited when we hired the car - the lovely bay of Petite Anse D'Arlet. We anchored in the south (Anse Chaudiere) and it is a great spot, a little bit away from the busy town. It’s a popular anchorage and one of those where everyone ends up facing opposite directions when the breeze drops and swirls around the bay. Sadly anchoring has since been banned in that spot, to protect the sea grass that the turtles love to feast on.
I went for a snorkel - the bottom is sea grass over sand and there are a lot of sea urchins and starfish as well as some soft corals and small tropical fish closer to shore. There are also a couple of large, diving pelicans here. They are brown and a little smaller than their Australian cousins. In the late afternoon we watch a fisherman in a small wooden boat throw sticks into the water, then cast a large net in a wide circle. Pelicans come out of nowhere seeking a free feed. The fisherman beat the water with an oar as they pull the net in. He seems to be getting quite a few small silvery fish and tossing them into the boat. A couple of times he jumped into the water, fully clothed and with goggles on. Not sure what he was doing but it was interesting to watch. A tough way to earn a living.
The next morning went ashore in search of bread and found a nice little bakery, one of the best things about being in “France”. Of course we had to have a Pain au Raisin as well as a lovely fresh baguette for lunch. Had a wander around town and along the town beach past the pink mangroves swamp (the water is pink not the mangroves, hopefully a natural phenomenon). There are some lovely, brightly coloured buildings here and local fisherman have their colourful boats up on the beach. Looks like there is some sort of swimming carnival happening as there is a DJ setting up and some extra buoys ready to be placed in the water. The town beach is quite popular and lively with lots of cafes and well as a reef for snorkelling off the beach. We will come back later for that.
We took the dinghy around to the next bay to our north, Grand Anse d’Arlet. The town is not as pretty and the bay is full of mooring buoys. On the way back we have to take a detour around a group of swimmers, the carnival is now in full swing and those brave souls are heading out around a buoy and back to shore. After lunch we go for a snorkel on the reef in the bay. It’s quite interesting and the water is reasonably clear. Lots of colourful fish around despite the number of tourists. We have had a few rain squalls today and ITIKI has turned every which way. When we get back from our snorkelling we take a look at the anchor and decide to reset it now that the wind direction has changed.
We move on the next morning after breakfast intending to head into the main harbour of Martinique and anchor opposite Fort de France, but sometimes things just don’t go to plan. We put the main up to first reef and full genoa initially, but ended up reefing it as the breeze kicked in. Quite strong winds and swell coming out of the bay at FdF so we soon go to second reef, we crossed the bay and continued north as we had the water maker on and wanted to top up the tanks. It seems to be a bit slower than normal. Also conditions are a bit rough with strong winds funnelling out of the FdF bay. Maybe we have gotten soft since our Atlantic crossing but we can’t quite face turning right and banging into it. We spotted a few boats anchored to our north in Fond Boucher and decided to take a look, maybe stop for lunch. Well anyway it was quite nice so we decided to stay the night. We are only 12nm from our previous anchorage. Some local fishermen came into the bay and again were tossing sticks in the water to attract the fish to the surface. We had a chat to them in broken French/English and they offered us some of their fish that was floating around in the warm, dirty water in the bottom of their dinghy (we politely declined) but we gave them some beers.
After breakfast we head off and motored all of the 10nm to our next anchorage at Anse Mitan. We are in a wide bay and due south of Fort de France. Having changed the sediment filter in the water maker it is now much quicker so we could finish topping up the tanks. Anchored near some Aussies - Karen and Neil from Perfect Timing who have been cruising in Europe for quite a few years now and finally took the plunge to head home. Took the dinghy ashore to check out the beach and town. We did swing by here in the rental car but only visited the touristy Creole village, which at least has yummy ice cream! We dinghied to the next bay, Anse l’Ane (=donkey bay). A nice anchorage but a little more developed and crowded but no sign of any donkeys! Went for an afternoon snorkel under and in front of the boat. When we anchored I saw what looked like a big flat squarish rock under the water, we managed to avoid dropping the anchor on it, but it turned out to be a submerged pedalo boat! There are some other small “wrecks” close into the shore and reasonable coral and fish around, but nothing spectacular. Fort de France For something different we took the ferry across the bay to Fort de France, which is the capital of Martinique. It is lively and clean with a bit of street art and plenty of shops. We visited the beautiful and unusual cathedral, checked out the covered markets and a number of the old colonial style buildings. The Bibloteque Schoeler is another amazingly decorative building, although not open to the public to go inside. As always we visit the any half decent supermarket we pass by and Keith had an incredibly bad, and very short haircut here as well. This one is going to take a while to grow back! Had lunch in town to commiserate before taking the ferry back to our anchorage. The following morning we motored across to FdF and anchored under the Fort St Louis in the Baie des Flamands. It’s not a particularly nice anchorage, which is why we visited by ferry. It’s quite crowded and with boats swinging every which way, you get the glare from the incumbents as you arrive and start motoring around with intent, looking for a spot to drop the pick. We went ashore for a few more errands before heading further north to St Pierre, on the north west coast.
We raised the main with 2 reefs and Genoa with 1.5 reefs. Saw gusts of up to 30kts at times, before we came into a wind shadow approaching St Pierre and its down to 2.5kts! Finally put the motors on after we involuntarily tacked a couple of times. The anchorage fairly large and spread out along the beach, but it is packed and difficult to find a space between other boats, many of them on local moorings. It’s also a narrow shelf with a steep drop off to the west. This end of the island is dominated by Mt Pelee, the highest peak on the island and also a volcano. We took our time to make sure we were dug in well and positioned so as not to swing into any other boats. Its uncanny how just as you come to anchor you get the day's strongest gusts. We had repeated, short, sharp squalls come through as we anchored and me on the foredeck got a bit wet!
St Pierre
Sainte Pierre was the first town established in Martinique and was once a thriving shipping hub of great significance in the Caribbean. This all changed in 1902 when a volcanic eruption all but wiped out the town, leaving one lone survivor. This was a prisoner who had the good fortune (!) to be incarcerated in a very thick walled prison cell adjacent to the town’s theatre. I went ashore and checked out the memorial to the “Catastrophe of 1902”. Hundreds of boats were lost in the eruption and wrecks are still strewn around the bay today. I also visited the ruins of the Theatre de Petite Paris and the Cachot Cyparis where the lucky prisoner was held. We spent the afternoon watching boats coming and going and trying to find space and then we are twisting and turning on our anchor as the wind dropped out. We put lots of fenders out just in case things go bump on the night.
Well it is almost time to leave Martinique so in the morning I went ashore to do the check out. It’s such an easy process in the French islands. You find a computer in a café, tourist office or marina and fill in a one page form, get it printed, stamped, pay a couple of Euros and voila! You are ready to go. On the way back to the boat I got some lovely fresh tuna from the fish markets, we still haven’t managed to catch any ourselves, and of course some fresh bread from the bakery.
We left around 11am and headed north, motoring all the way as it was a relatively short distance and the wind was wrapping the north end of the island and coming at us on the nose. The bay we have chosen for our last night is only 9nm from St Pierre, but as we are bypassing Dominica on our way to Guadeloupe it gives us an extra hour and a half of sleep before we set off early morning to arrive in at our destination daylight. Anse Couleurve is a stunning place, a small bay with a little beach surrounded by steep hills and thick jungle. One other cat arrives just as we did, Keith had met them in St Pierre. Went for a snorkel to the north of the bay and it was pretty good. Lots of fish and coral. We are treated to a beautiful sunset over the sea. As advertised in the guide book it is a very rolly place and we swing around on our anchor but we are really well dug into the sand. There is a lot of hull slapping from the waves during the night but we sleep through anything these days. We wake early the next morning to leave at first light. There have been some rain squalls overnight and we make our way towards a lovely rainbow, passing along the west coast of Dominica towards Les Saintes a small archipelago just south of the main island of Guadeloupe. Check out our YouTube video below for more on Martinique.
Our time in Martinique is divided into before and after Le Marin / St Anne, before and after we got Ellie the Autopilot back to her old self again. Having not managed to fix any of our problems in Barbados or St Lucia we were confident that Le Marin, Martinique would be the place. After all it’s a huge yachting hub with all manner of boatyards, workshops, chandleries and where all the major marine equipment suppliers have agents. It has a great reputation for quality work and service. Provisioning here is really good as well with several markets and supermarkets to choose from, and reasonable prices too. We spent close to 3 weeks in and around Le Marin waiting to get things fixed, with a little bit of touring and sightseeing in between. Martinique is part of France so we are flying the French courtesy flag, speaking French (well I am trying to…) and spending Euros (lots of them!).
The morning of our departure for Martinique we go into Rodney Bay in the dinghy to chase our PCR test results and complete our formalities to check out of St Lucia, leaving the anchorage about 9am. Full main and Genoa for the reach across, 15kts windspeed except for a short squall that drove the apparent wind up into the 26kts! Had a large flock of frigate birds flying around and swooping close to us which was lovely except when they started taking aim and crapping all over the bimini! The wind squall also brought some rain, but unfortunately not enough rain to wash off the bird crap. The wind built as we got closer to the island so we reefed the main and genoa. Hand steering the 22nm from St Lucia to Martinique was a piece of cake, relatively speaking, now that we are getting used to it!
As we get in sight of land we are gobsmacked by the number of boats anchored here. Both outside the port area at St Anne’s anchorage and inside the port where the marina and services are. There must be thousands! We head to the inner port area “Le Marin” anchorage which is a huge bay, lined with mangroves on one side, and marinas and boatyards on the other side. There are many boats on mooring balls as well as on anchor. This is also a hurricane hole, although given the number of boats (and wrecks) here, I am not sure how safe I would feel in a blow. Many of the boats here look like they never go anywhere, judging by the growth on their anchor chains and hulls.
We looked for a spot in close to the marina but came aground, mixing the Martinique mud with our prop wash! At least we now know what is on the bottom here when we come to anchor. There are lots of shallow patches throughout the anchorage and we managed to find one! We plough forward through the mud, leaving a huge plume behind us, it just wasn’t feasible to reverse out. A guy in a dinghy saw what had happened and led us out between the moored boats. We ended up anchoring around the middle of the bay, a little too close to a local boat who came and had a chat to us. Went ashore after lunch to check in, nobody looked at our Covid tests - what a waste of money that turned out to be! We found the Ludovic at Inboard Diesel Services (the Volvo guy for our MDIs) and made a plan for him to come over and replace both of them. Volvo have already agreed to extend the warranty, but we will need to pay for the labour costs. Feels good to line up a solution to one of our problems, at least!
All the workshops here are so busy with all of the ARC boats and others like us who crossed the Atlantic and broke stuff. The sailmaker has a 5 week backlog to even look at our kite, so that repair won’t happen for a while. We managed to track down Jacques from DigiNav (the autopilot guru) and as soon as he heard about our issues and error message he felt confident he knew what the problem was - and more importantly how to fix it. He sends us back to the boat on a mission to remove the AP drive motor unit and bring it back to him. He gives us instructions and loans us some tools, it sounds so simple! Needless to say it proved to be a really difficult task – working in a confined space did rather challenge Keith’s yoga skills. Jacques had warned us that that a few drops of hydraulic oil might leak out… Well it seemed like it haemorrhaged several litres and a few choice words leaked out of Keith’s mouth as well!
Notably one of the power wires connected to the unit it did not need cutting - it just slid out of the crimping sleeve!! Hmmm, could that be the source of our woes? Keith got the unit back in to the workshop just on 4pm as it was closing, so we are not sure when we will hear back. (If you want to read the full gorey details of our Autopilot saga, click here)
And now we wait… Well we can’t go anywhere as our hydraulics are in pieces so we have no steering. We are now anchored just to the east Point Le Marin, the spit that separates the Le Marin anchorage from St Anne anchorage. We are to leeward of the entire anchorage (and at the mercy of their holding tanks, or lack thereof…) so swimming is off the activities list! Fortunately we can take the dinghy around to St Anne and visit some of the smaller beaches that line the shore.
We have a few hiccups with the Volvo MDIs and some to-ing and fro-ing with head office around the warranty so that ends up being another week’s delay. When Ludovic (Inboard Diesel Services) finally comes to fit the new MDIs our engine hours on both engines are back to zero! He adjusts the idle speed to 850RPM and recommends fitting temperature gauges to the engines (we didn’t because they were too expensive!). He also recommends replacing the fan belts due to wear and adjusting the tension. He recommends disconnecting the batteries if we are not going anywhere for more than 2 days, or in a marina etc. – I guess that means NOW! He also recommends removing the MDI from the side of the engine and placing it nearby – this could reduce the heat and vibration that contributes to failure. Keith can move the starboard one to the shelf where the batteries used to be but in the port engine bay there is no handy spot nearby. Great to have an expert come and proactively look at your stuff!
We spend the next few days doing boat jobs, soaking lines, cleaning, sika-ing etc and chasing people! Being French, work hours are strictly adhered to and of course all the workshops are closed over the weekend. The good news leading into the weekend was that Jacques had identified the problem with our autopilot and will have the rebuilt component back to us next week!
Although we can’t move ITIKI we spend the weekend getting around in the dinghy. We checked out the anchorage at Sainte Anne. Its calmer around here, a bit more protected and water is probably a bit cleaner as its more open to the sea, however so many boats and beach resorts. We tied up at the crowded dinghy dock at Sainte Anne and walked around the small, quiet but colourful little town. The church dominates the town square and there is some interesting street art. It’s a Saturday so not much is open but there a few tourist shops and bars as well as a fish market and a few fruit vendors. It’s a pretty laid back vibe. We come back on Friday we talk a walk along a trail that follows the shore past several small beaches and bays, its lovely and shaded and we can stop and swim. We find one particular bay that we need to come back to in ITIKI, there is only one boat anchored here today. On the way back we stop at a beach bar for beer and ice-cream.
On Sunday we go for a picnic to one of the tiny beaches around near Sainte Anne and have a swim. On the way back we spot a FP Elba with an Aussie flag and drop by to say hi to Cheng and Ying, from St Ives. They know all the Aussie MHS team of course and are in the process of bringing their boat back from La Rochelle to Australia. They pop around to ITIKI later for a drink as they are off to St Lucia tomorrow.
Off to see the MD
One of “our” problems to try and solve in Martinique is Keith’s shoulder. After a fall in Mindelo and advice from the local Dr there (via Google translate) that he would need an operation, we decide to try and seek a second opinion in a more “advanced” country – we are in France after all! Our travel insurance has recommended we go to the local University hospital (CHU) which is on the outskirts of Fort de France, the capital of Martinique. Its an early start to catch the 7:30am bus to the interchange and then on to a tram and then another bus to get to the hospital 2 hours later. Keith gets a free Covid test and an opportunity to wait in A&E. I get the opportunity to deal with hospital bureaucracy and practice my very rusty French. In the end Keith doesn’t get to see the specialist today, but gets a referral to see an orthopaedic surgeon next week and a request for a MRI. Unfortunately the hospital MRI is unavailable so we take a taxi to a private MRI place but it only takes appointments over the phone and only up until 1pm (and its after that by now!) We grab a quick bite to eat and head back to Le Marin. It’s an epic journey and we are exhausted, getting back just before 4pm. Keith goes to see Jacques at Diginav and he confirms he has rebuilt our autopilot drive unit and will give it to Keith to refit it before he comes back to do final checks. Small steps forward.
Marooned in Le Marin
The days start to run together as we wait for stuff to happen. We run small errands from the disabled mothership, back and forth to chandleries, workshops and markets. It’s a good place to re-provision and we are slowly re-stocking the pantry with those non-perishable items. No one supermarket or shop has everything we need so we end up going back and forth to 3 different ones. If only we could remember where we bought that nice chardy… We are anchored about a mile or so from the action and Keith makes a point of ensuring I get plenty of dinghy driving practice going back and forth. By the end of our stay I can launch and retrieve the dinghy from ITIKI, get along at a reasonable pace, land in the general vicinity of a dock and start the motor after only 14 tries! I must remember to pull the right face when I pull the cord! As we have spent so much time in the one spot we have had time to observe the comings and goings, as well as those that don’t seem to go anywhere. In particular, the traditional wooden sailing boats catch our eye. At first the single square sail looks like a Bunnings tarp, but on closer inspection they do carry a North’s logo! These boats get along pretty quickly and involve one or more crew hanging precarious over the side on a hiking board. Here is a selection of photos of some of more interesting sights of Le Marin. Le Marin Boats:
Motoring around Martinique (in a Picanto...)
We are dab hands at public transport now so we caught the bus up to the airport and picked up a hire car for a few days. We headed north up through the mountain area of Martinique. This is an area of high rainfall and thick tropical rainforest. Our first stop was Jardin de Balata, a lovely botanic gardens. After a bit of drama explaining our Covid vaccination status we were able to visit these beautiful, lush gardens with its stunning collection of tropical flowers and some amazing encounters with the local hummingbirds. Next we stopped at a riverside park with a couple of short nature walks through the rainforest, which was living up to its name as it was raining (again). We missed the turn off to a gorge and went in search of a water fall instead but gave up when we had to start walking along a riverbed. Headed down to Basse Pointe for a lovely and very filling 3 course Creole style lunch before driving back along the east coast. There are some anchorages around here that are well protected, and it seems somewhat of a novelty to head down the windward coast, however we decided they did not look that spectacular so we won’t visit them in ITIKI.
The following day we started with a bit of a hiccup as the tyre on the rental car was flat when we arrive. How long since you have had to change a tyre? Keith managed to do it quickly enough though and then spent 5 minutes wandering around the car park trying to find somewhere to wash his hands. We spent the day touring around the peninsula at Trois Islets, between Le Marin and Fort de France. We stop at Anse Diamant and from here we can see the famous Diamond Rock. We visited the Memorial Cap 110, a memorial to the many slaves that have lost their lives in this area. Next we stopped at the view point directly overlooking Diamond Rock – it’s a spectacular and imposing landmark and we will sail past it as we head north. Diamond Rock has an interesting history, having (allegedly) been commissioned as the “sloop” HMS Diamond Rock (a stone frigate…) in 1803. The British were able to hoist two 18 pound cannons to the summit of the rock and for the next 17 months used it as a base from which to harass French ships trying to enter Fort de France, before it was finally recaptured by the French.
Our next stops were at the small bays of Petite Anse and Anse d’Arlet. The latter is a lovely bay, colourful little village and a nice, quiet anchorage - a great spot to come back to in ITIKI.
We drove out to Pointe de Bout which is on the southern side of the bay facing Fort de France and checked out the very artificial “Creole Village”. Its bars and cafes were packed with tourists, so we move on. One of our other tyres needs a bit of air so we stop at a petrol station but the “gonfleur” is en panne (out of order). Fortunately we spot a bakery next door so we stop there for a lovely, simple lunch and pick up some yummy bread. From there we drop into the pottery village but most of the shops are closed on a Sunday so no pottery today. We backtrack to the Cane Museum to learn a bit about the history of sugar cane production and the relationship to the slave trade in this area. It’s a similar story in many of the islands, where the production of sugar boomed to meet European demand, as well as local rum production, and then declined as Europe turned to other sources of sugar including sugar beets, and the slave trade, which supported production, was abolished. From there its back to ITIKI, via a gas station to inflate the tyres – all this talk of sugar - rum cocktails on the upper deck, a great way to finish the day.
And back to the MD
Our last day with the car is an early start to drive up to CHU (hospital) for Keith’s meeting with the orthopaedic surgeon. Parking at hospitals is the same the world over – packed! And needless to say, lots of bureaucracy to get through, more bad French from me and a fair bit of waiting. Finally we see the specialist and fortunately he speaks good English! After hearing how Keith acquired the injury and without even examining him he seems to know what he is dealing with (a bit like Jacques without autopilot!). He prescribes physiotherapy to manage the pain, improve mobility and potentially mitigate surgery. It’s a common injury in someone of Keith’s age (which he keeps telling me he isn’t). It’s a relief that we don’t have to rush back to Oz for an op. As a reward we have a trip to Mr Bricolage (French Bunnings) and a lovely lunch at the pottery village.
Final arrangements
We decide to leave the Parasailor with Incidence sailmakers, here in Le Marin. They have a big loft and are agents for IsTec, the manufacturer. We will be long gone by the time they are even able to give us a quote for the repair, but what else are we going to do? Jacques comes back to the boat to help with the hydraulics and provide further advice. Keith has also had a few physio appointments which have been helpful. After replacing one more part and doing a final bleed of the hydraulics we are able to cut the umbilical cord, albeit temporarily, and leave the Le Marin anchorage. It’s a welcome relief to be able to hold a course on the AP, although we still have some fine tuning and recalibration to do.
Over the next few days we are “hanging around” the lovely beach anchorages to the south east of St Anne and Le Marin, namely Anse Meurnier and Petite Anse de Salines. This means we can come back and forth into Le Marin in case we need to, and also do our final provisioning. We re-inflate the paddle boards and enjoy time swimming, walking on the beaches and exploring the lovely bays and beaches in the dinghy, trying to get back into cruising mode. We visited Les Salines, the lagoon tucked in behind the beach at Les Salines, sadly no flamingos…
We continue to work on fine tuning the autopilot calibration to the point that we are confident it is working well and set the way it should be. Finally we can settle up all our workshop bills and head north to explore the north of Martinique. Lynda, Keith, ITIKI and Ellie are back in action! Stay tuned for the rest of our Martinique adventures…
Where did it all begin?
Well, that is a very good question. I recall writing in one of my first blog articles, going back to our Biscay crossing, that the AP sounded like a sick hydraulic wildebeest calling its young. It was loud! It was constantly working back and forth and made it difficult to sleep in our starboard bunk (the autopilot motor is just behind our bed head). You could even hear it over the top of the starboard engine and creaky window when lying in bed and it is a sound you really fixate on. We assumed this was normal though, and maybe it was. It’s a brand new boat so there couldn’t be anything wrong with it, right?! Also, we had nothing to compare it to. But looking back now, we wonder if everything really was perfect. After not missing a beat since we started cruising in August 2018, the first sign of a glitch in our autopilot (AP) was on the way from Gibraltar to the Canaries. In relatively benign conditions, It just quietly, and without any warning or error messages, still displaying “Heading Hold” on the GHC20, the AP stopped holding a course and started wandering off in an alternative direction. This rather surprised the person on watch who quickly hit “Standby” and hand steered back onto course before re-engaging heading hold. Hmmm...
This happened again a couple of times on our trip down from The Canary Islands to Cape Verde – the AP was having to work very hard in the rough conditions, with the confused sea and 3 different wave directions constantly knocking us back and forth, smacking us on one hull and then the other. We blamed the conditions for the issue as we have never been in such bad sea state before. A couple of times we even restarted the instruments (the old “turn it off and turn it on again” trick), which seemed to help but in hindsight was probably coincidence. Then on our Atlantic crossing, about halfway across, it started happening with increasing frequency. Several times during every 3 hour watch was becoming the norm, which did give us all some practice at hand steering. Getting the AP to re-engage was not always straightforward either, hand steering in rough conditions, manually holding a course sometimes without a visual datum and often trying 2-3 times before it would engage in heading hold. Finally on our last day, after one last gasp mid-morning, the autopilot gave up completely and we had to hand steer the final 20 hours to Barbados. Gruesome! But at least it happened on the last day and not earlier!
Troubleshooting
Once we got to Barbados we spent a lot of time on the phone to Garmin US. They were really good, going through all sorts of trouble shooting, recalibration and eventually agreeing to replace our heading sensor (Reactor 40) under extended warranty (thanks Covid!). Getting it to us would be the difficult part, but as luck would have it Keith’s niece was coming over to St Lucia from the UK and, long story short, we were able to get her to bring a replacement unit with her (thanks to Garmin UK for stepping in). This meant hand steering from Barbados to St Lucia, however this was not too bad in the end as conditions were much smoother and we were prepared for it. Sadly though, replacing the part did not immediately solve our problems. We fitted it and promptly performed all of the calibration wizards but alas, still not holding a course. The course computer was simply not engaging with the AP motor which drives the hydraulics and moves the rudder. The only good news that came out of this exercise is that we finally got an error message – Drive Unit Overload – this (eventually) turned out to be GOLD! More time on the phone to Garmin and they had agreed to replace the ECU, the computer that drives the hydraulics. Having failed to solve our problem so far though, we were beginning to wonder though whether electronics was indeed the issue, and again we have the hassle of getting a part to us with no fixed address. Garmin US did not even have an agent listed in the Caribbean at all. We decided to head to Le Marin in Martinique where there are a huge range of yachting services available, including a company called DigiNav, that had great reviews on NoForeignLand.
An answer at last!
We made contact with Jacques at DigiNav shortly after arrival and as soon as he saw our error message and heard the background he immediately identified the problem. The drive motor was overworked and had worn out. He told us (well Keith actually) how to remove the drive motor for the autopilot and lent us a couple of tools that we would need to do it. He explained what he expected to find and how he would fix it for us when we brought it in to him. He inspired confidence from the start, although we still had some “homework” to do ourselves. This would probably be a good learning experience. Keith set to the task of removing the drive motor, which was no easy feat, but he was up for the challenge despite having never touched hydraulics before. In the first place, getting to the motor is very difficult. It is in the starboard engine bay, on a shelf forward of the engine with everything you need to access facing forward (ie away from you) and its surrounded by stiff hydraulic hoses. Oh and it’s up against the bulkhead at the top so you really have limited space to work with. We are wondering if they built the entire boat around this particular part!
The steps for extraction went something like this
1.Disconnect the tiller cross bar, to give you access to the electric motor behind the hydraulic pump, leaving it to swing back and forth as the boat moved at anchor, while you continue working around it. 2.Unbolt the whole drive unit (motor & pump) from the shelf in the engine bay to manipulate it into a position that you can access the 4 bolts holding it the two components together. 3.Unbolt the motor from the hydraulic pump. To do this you need a special ring spanner ground down on one side to fit the narrow space available to access the bolts (Jacques loaned us his). Oh and the hydraulic pump has 4 very stiff hydraulic hoses coming into it restricting access to the bolts. 4.When removing the electric motor, which has the connection to the hydraulic pump’s impeller, you need a plug to stop the all the hydraulic oil draining out of the hydraulic system where you have just removed the motor from. Jacques said to expect a small amount to come out, but it felt like we lost a couple of litres at least! The engine bay resembled an episode of MASH, with the blood soaked surgeon calling for more paper towel! 5.The final step in removing the electric drive motor was to disconnect the two power supply wires. Usually these need to be cut to as they should have been crimped firmly in place, however one of them (the positive) slid cleanly out of its crimping sleeve. It had never been crimped properly. It was a smaller diameter to the wire it was connecting to, and the crimping sleeve was for the larger size wire. By contrast, the negative wire needed to be cut to remove it. Could this “loose” wire have been the source of or at least a contributor to our problems? Intermittent loss of power while it worked its way loose would be consistent with the pattern of behaviour we experienced as it failed. 6. Once the motor had been disconnected it was obvious that there had been a lot of strain on the drive arm as the sleeve that has a cotter pin holding it in was very badly elongated and the pin itself was heavily gouged and nearly sheared through. This would have made the autopilot work even harder, as there would have been a lot of slack between each movement.
Feeling as if he had just extracted a living organ from a reluctant donor, Keith proudly presented the drive motor to Jacques for him to perform further surgery, or some kind of miracle. As soon as Jacques saw the worn sleeve and cotter pin and heard about the lose wire, his suspicions about our problems were confirmed. Of course the brushes on the motor were also shot from working too hard and would also need replacing. With the vital organs now in the workshop we are in Jacques capable hands! He would rebuild our drive motor!
It was a nervous wait over the weekend and although our anchor was well dug in after a week in a very protected and calm anchorage (actually a hurricane hole) it’s unsettling to know that you have no steering and if you dragged anchor, resetting it would be interesting. It would also be difficult to take evasive action should one of the thousands of other boats anchored in the bay, to windward of us, dragged towards us.
Re-implantation
A few days later Keith dropped in to pick up our AP motor, duly rebuilt and ready to be re-installed. The photo above shows the old and the new parts for comparison. To re-install the drive motor, repeating the steps above, but in reverse order, with a slightly different combination of swear words, and haemorrhaging of another couple of litres of hydraulic oil. We refilled the hydraulic reservoir and tried to move the oil through the system but had missed the vital step of opening the bypass lever, so the rudders were stuck on one side. Fortunately Jacques was coming to the boat to rescue us the next day! He showed us the bypass, quickly got the fluid moving and most of the bubbles out, but there was still some air left in that was causing a problem. He explained what we needed to do and later provided the poly tubing we needed after we dropped him back to shore. We started early the following morning with the tubing leading from either end of the hydraulic pump into a jar half full with hydraulic oil. Keith held this as I moved the steering wheel back and forth so the oil (and air bubbles) flowed out into the jar. We could then refill the reservoir at the helm station with it. We repeated this process 3 times until we were happy that all the air was out.
And now finally the moment of truth… Oh wait no, one more thing
Jacques had noticed a bit too much lateral movement in the ram of the autopilot, 2-3mm is tolerable but we have over 1cm! He suggested that the nylon bearings on the universal joint are probably worn and that these needed replacing, this along with residual air in the hydraulics would be causing the excess movement. He provided the part and instructions. He has a lot of faith in Keith’s mechanical prowess by now! Needless to say replacing this bearing was not a straightforward task either. Again, access to the part was hampered by the jungle of stiff hydraulic hoses surrounding it. The entire unit had to be removed so that the top half of the flange could be accessed from under the hydraulic hose fitting. The bolts holding the flange were way too long and had to be ratcheted all the way out to undo them (ie could not be hand turned once loosened). Then of course this needed to be reversed to put everything back together. Unfortunately, Keith cross threaded one of the bolts in the aluminium flange in the reinstallation process and had to pause the process, go ashore and drop it into a workshop to get it re-machined before continuing on. In re-fitting it he decided to reverse the direction of the bolts to make them easier to get out if we ever had to do this again (heaven forbid). Now that all of this is done, however, there is absolutely no movement in the arm! Jacques is impressed.
Putting it all together
Finally we take the plunge and lift the anchor, heading out of Le Marin with our refurbished drive unit and a fresh carpet of green growth decorating the hull and the anchor bridle. We go through the now familiar Garmin calibration exercises which involves setting the compass by turning in circles, setting the rudder gain and counter gain by doing a series of zig-zags. Once that is complete we check the AP responsiveness with some course changes to ensure she goes straight to the heading and stays there. A few days latter we reset the rudder sensitivity to lower it, so the rudder is not working too hard.
Root Cause Analysis
So in true “Air crash investigation” style we are keen to know what caused the problem? Was there a single issue/error/mistake that had a series of knock on effects? Or, as is often the case, were multiple factors at play? A few options to consider 1.The loose wire to the AP motor has to be a prime consideration. Losing power intermittently would have explained the loss of heading hold without error message. It would also lead to the motor working too hard. 2.Air in the hydraulic system – many people have this issue and we may have as well. 3.Rudder settings – we had never adjusted the gain and counter gain or rudder sensitivity/responsiveness from the factory settings. Once we have completed the auto-calibration we set the rudder responsiveness to the lowest level. The difference is noticeable, the autopilot is working a lot less now but still functioning quite well in terms of holding us on course. Was the higher sensitivity setting working the hydraulics too hard? Particularly in the rough, cross current of the ocean crossing. 4. Rough sea conditions on the crossing from Canaries to Cape Verde and on to Barbados making the AP work too hard? 5. Other (intermittent) electronics issues or glitches with the ECU and/or CCU? What do you think? Leave a comment if you think of any other possible causes.
Its Friday 7th of January and its finally time to leave Barbados. Our transit takes us from Speightstown, Barbados to Vieux Fort anchorage in, St Lucia, a total of 84nm. At this stage we still have no autopilot, but we have a plan to meet Keith’s niece and her husband in St Lucia with an all-important critical component that will hopefully solve our problems.
So today’s challenge: Get up at 4am, hand steer 84nm to St Lucia. Keep speeds above 7kts VMG so we arrive in daylight, do 2 loads of washing and fill the water tanks. Well apart from the 7kts VMG we managed all of the objectives, arriving just on sunset at the anchorage. We upped anchor in Barbados just after 4am, motoring for a short while until the breeze was settled. Took a punt on the trusty 2 headsail goosewing but it proved difficult to steer in the dark and not quite the right angles. Furled the genoa and then continued with the gennaker alone until daylight, and then put the main up (1 reef) and reached with that before goose-winging. Seas were very confused again with 3 different wave patterns and the breeze was shifting through 75-110 degrees and at times we saw a northbound set of 3kts. It felt like we were going sideways to St Lucia. At one stage on the chartplotter ITIKI was pointing at St Vincent. We thought it was because of the issues with the heading sensor, but actually it was probably correct as we were fighting the current.
A cruise ship appeared on the horizon and on the charplotter, Celebrity Reflection. We started monitoring them as we were under sail, hand steering in shifty wind, and they were just on the edge of our 1nm separation tolerance. They called us on the radio and said they were altering course by 5degrees to avoid us and asked us to hold our course. We thanked them as this gave us a 1.5nm separation when we finally did cross them. The breeze was up and down, dropping to as little as 10kts at stages, although fortunately not for long as we completely forgot we had 1 reef in. Finally about 25nm out, we could see land but it was very hazy. As we got closer to St Lucia the breeze started to fill in again and wrap around the bottom of the island. We could gybe the headsail and reach in to our destination, arriving about 2 minutes before sunset. What a relief. Friday night cocktails were in order!
St Lucia is a small island nation said to be first “discovered” by Columbus in 1502. The local Caribs accepted a treaty with the French in 1660, after having massacred an English colony in 1639. The ongoing conflict between the French and English around this era led it to “change hands” between the 2 countries 14 times! The Treaty of Amiens in 1802 saw St Lucia become French for the last time and in 1814. After the Napoleonic Wars, back it went to British again. In 1967 St Lucia became an associated state of the Commonwealth following a slow and steady decline in its agriculture, due in part to the abolition of slavery and declining demand for cane sugar. It finally gained its independence from Britain in 1979.
Our arrival anchorage was a good, safe landing spot however despite its view of the industrial port and proximity to the airport its nothing special, so we upped anchor around 8am and pulled out the genoa to reach up the coast all of 10nm to Soufriere Bay. The Gros and Petit Pitons (pointy mountains) which dominate the horizon here, and also appear on the flag of St Lucia, soon come into view. On the way in we were offered a substantial looking lobster by some likely looking local lads, but didn’t have any local currency so had to pass. As we enter the bay “boat boys” come out in their craft to entice you on to their mooring buoys and charge you for “helping” you pick up the buoy (it’s too deep to anchor). Our boy managed to bang into the port hull in his wooden boat and make a dog’s breakfast of putting our second line on. We didn’t have any local currency so told him to come back later.
We took the dinghy ashore and went to clear in with the Port Authority & Customs. Forgetting that it was a Saturday we got stung with an extra EC$100/A$50 to check in on the weekend - overtime fees! Its not like we got them out of bed or anything, the office was open and fully staffed… We also have to pay another EC$50 for port tax and EC$54 for our mooring buoy) We go in search of the immigration officer, who seems to be on a break. We have a wander around town and check out the supermarket.
An older guy in a wooden boat comes around the moorings later in the day selling fruit and veg, we buy some bananas, mangos, limes and the most amazingly tasty and creamy avocado ever. It was huge and ugly and the pip was the size of a small apple, it would never make the cut at Coles. Just delicious.
The town of Soufriere apparently it gets its name from the sulphur springs that occur nearby. We walked south along the coastal track to Piton falls, which is between the Gros and Petit Pitons. This is a small waterfall with some concrete pools and warm springs. I had a shower under the waterfall and a swim in the hot baths - beautiful. We are surrounded by very lush and dense rainforest which is a feature of the interior of St Lucia. On the way back we pass the entrance to the Petit Piton hiking track which must be undertaken with a guide. We pass on that and head to the Botanical Gardens. These are really beautiful, lush gardens with an incredible array of tropical flowers and small birds. The waterfall was an interesting colour, clearly rich with minerals and I took a swim in the mineral pools which were beautiful and warm, I could have stayed in for hours. Walked back to town and back to the boat for lunch and then left. Our boat boy hadn’t come back for his money but we got chased by one of his mates wanting to collect. He wanted 4 x the going rate, and was behaving a little aggressively. Sorted him out and motored up the coast with some head on gusts of up to 20kts, passed Anse Cochon (crowded and with just a resort ashore) before heading into Anse la Raye, all of 6.6nm for the day! Its only 3m deep so very limited room to anchor. According to the brochure it is a colourful, traditional fishing village. We are the only boat here.
The next morning we went ashore to explore and felt rather conspicuous. A couple of locals approached us trying to offer their services as guides, play us some music etc. there are some colourful houses, a mural and a tiny bakery with a limited selection. Back on the boat we did a little cleaning as we will have VIP guests on board this afternoon. The anchor bridle came off the anchor chain in a very small gust – it had already come off in Mindelo (at midnight in 40kts!) so the shackle is really rather bent now. We upped anchor but it was very difficult to lift and after a bit of back and forth a large piece of old tree truck was lifted by the chain up right next to the port bow which was a bit of a shock for me! I thought I had seen something from the foredeck when we first set the anchor yesterday, although I didn’t spot it when I swam over it. We must have wrapped around it when we turned in the night. After a little more house-keeping we headed into Marigot bay, which is all of 2nm north of Anse La Raye. We were expecting to have to run the gauntlet of boat boys again but there was no one around. We decided to pick up a mooring buoy from the Marina Resort for a couple of nights so we could enjoy the luxurious facilities. Debs and Martin were waiting on the dock and we went ashore for drinks followed by a late and mostly liquid lunch on board ITIKI. The marina end of the bay is quite enclosed and incredibly calm. It is surrounded by mangroves and is the first time we have encountered a designated hurricane hole. There are a couple of sunken and abandoned boats here, a reminder that it’s not perfect protection, although who knows what the story is.
There is not much on offer around the bay itself. We went for a morning walk in search of a supermarket with some fresh produce but no luck. Could not even find a ATM. Found a bakery on the way back but limited selection of food. Spent the rest of the morning chilling by the pool in the Marina Resort, had lunch on the boat and spent the afternoon by the pool. Logged into my very first Zoom wedding - Andy and Julie from SY Cushla were married on the beach in Barbados. A lovely ceremony with lots of friends and family from all over the world joining remotely as well.
The next day we did a round trip to Pigeon Island and back to Marigot via Castries (the Capital of St Lucia). It was an early start to pick up Debs and Martin and call in to Castries markets. On the way we tried to do some calibration of the autopilot but we are still failing the zig zag test. More work to be done there. We anchored in Castries and Keith dropped us ashore to go to the colourful Castries Markets to get some fresh produce and fish. Motored up to Pigeon Island and anchored off the lovely beach, which is overlooked by Fort Rodney. There are quite a few resorts and beach clubs along here as well, no doubt catering to European and American tourists. Its great to see people coming back to the islands, as they have really suffered these last 18 months. We had a few drinks on the cocktail deck before a late lunch of BBQ Mahi Mahi followed by a short walk ashore. Finally we had a quick peek into Rodney Bay marina before heading back to Marigot bay under gennaker. This time we anchored in the outer part of the bay rather than taking a mooring ball again.
The next day we spent the morning on the phone to Garmin (they have been fantastic!) before heading out with some different settings to try and re-calibrate the auto-pilot. Sadly we have still not been successful so there are still other issues at play here.
Debs booked us on a Rum tour at St Lucia Distilleries at 1pm which was not far from the Marina but in a dodgy part village whose streets were lined with seedy looking bars, that somehow must get some of the “leakage” from the factory. The tour was interesting although there was no fermentation going on at the time. The island used to grow a lot of sugar cane, and that is how the rum industry started, but when the British switched to using sugar beets the cane was no longer wanted and so now they grow bananas and import molasses to make rum. The rum tasting was extensive and some of the rums were excellent so we bought a couple of bottles. An afternoon nap was in order after all the excitement, before a farewell dinner ashore in the evening.
We had morning tea aboard with Debs and Martin to say our final farewells before heading back to their pad to spend another couple of hours on the phone to Garmin again. We are all out of ideas so it looks like we will have to go to Martinique to make more progress with our autopilot. Debs and Martin checked out and are heading to another resort at Anse Cochon, just south of Anse La Raye, which we passed along the way from Soufriere. We headed north, dropped into Castries markets again and checked out a bit more of the town. There is a very colourful church here – with a funeral going on at the time. From here we returned to the lovely beach at Pigeon Island where we will stay for the weekend.
After a lazy day yesterday we took the RIB ashore, saying hi to a couple of other boats along the way. One Australian couple have been living at anchor in this bay for 2 years straight! Hmmm! We did the walk up to Fort Rodney and around to the signal peak and ruins before heading back to the boat for lunch. Lovely walk and grounds with great views of the area.
As we are now getting ready to head to Martinique we go ashore for pre-arrival PCR test (US$150 each - ouch!). Moving around here is going to get expensive if this is a requirement every time we change countries. We dropped into the supermarket and visited the marina, which looks quite nice, had a coffee and used the internet, then back to the boat for lunch. Some lads came around in a dinghy selling overpriced tat, and I got sucked into buying a couple of bracelets which they claim were locally made, but I suspect that this was in China... We have a little rain in our anchorage that brings an amazing double rainbow and dramatic skies, as well as a full moon to say farewell to St Lucia. |
AuthorAfter more than 5 years of (minus time off for Covid) and more than 27,000nm Lynda has finally got the hang of this cruising life Archives
January 2024
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