We made it to the BVIs! After three years of trying, we finally made it! We left St. Kitts without too much ado and made our way over to the island of Saba to anchor for the night. We decided not to stop at Statia because checking into a country for only one day can sometimes take your entire day and we had an amazing weather window we did not want to miss. We spent a bouncy night in Saba but it calmed a bit on Tuesday so we could rest and prepare for our overnight jaunt to the BVIs. We left at 8pm and the further we went, the more amazing the trip became. The water was like glass and Galt chugged along beautifully with just a little encouragement from Bill every so often (we still can’t figure out the air bubble that causes the engine to bog down but Bill has figured out a system that is working for us). Bill went to nap around 1am and I sat up on watch. A large cruise ship passed a few hundred yards off our port bow which was exciting! I also spotted what I thought was a UFO. Bill popped up to check on me and he said, “It’s a plane” to which I responded, “Just watch it.” As the object began to dart side to side and up and down, he said, “Not a plane. Just call me if they come for you.” After a few minutes, I looked behind the boat and there were dozens of the UFOs in the sky….like an invasion on War of the Worlds! It was at that time I realized I was witnessing the eighth wonder of the modern world….Starlink! It was quite the sight to see! Bill then took over watch while I slept for a few hours. I am not usually one that is up for a sunrise, at least not happily, but it was a beautiful morning. We had sunrise to the back of the boat and a full moon setting to the front of the boat. The water reflections were absolutely beautiful. To finish off the trip, a whale surfaced and rolled just as we were entering the main channel into Virgin Gorda. Bill expertly pulled Galt into the marina and we both happily crawled into bed for a few hours rest.
We decided to stay in the marina a few days due to the evil westerly winds. Every anchorage in the Caribbean is set up for the usual easterly trade winds. Therefore, west winds tend to wreak havoc on anchorages and wave patterns. Rather than fight the rolling, we just stayed tucked into the marina all nice and cozy. The main event on our list for Virgin Gorda was a national park called The Baths. The Baths are huge rocks that line the shore and you can swim and snorkel along a path in the rocks. The first day we were going, it rained a bit so we decided to go get some provisions instead. We walked into “town” which consisted of two grocery stores, a few restaurants, a school and a broken ATM. The entire island has a population of only 4000 people so not much action here. After dealing with getting yet another SIM card for internet at our not so favorite Digicel provider, we headed to eat lunch at a place recommended by the Digicel gal. We approached the restaurant to find at least 30 teenagers taking over the restaurant. Evidently, the restaurant provides lunch for the school kids if they need it at discounted rates. As the door opened, the smell of marijuana flooded over us and we figured the kids would definitely have the munchies! The owner walked us out to the deck into another cloud of weed and as he gave the kids a menacing “I am going to kill you” look, they all scattered inside. We aren’t sure what age they start smoking but I am guessing the afternoon classes are pretty quiet at the school. Since we have not been able to locate the air bubble in the engine, Bill wanted a diesel mechanic to take another look. We had two guys show up to look at Larry and both of them said the set up should work. Neither saw an air bubble in the filter area and all the fasteners seemed snug but the both agreed, “You have an air bubble”. So, the mystery remains but the guys gave us a few ideas to try to determine possible areas where an air bubble may be lurking so at some point, we will try some of those ideas. Until then, Bill will continue to sweet talk Larry and we will chug right along. The next day, we were going to head toward The Baths. Then, we were told they were “red flagged” due to rough waters so no swimming was allowed. They were red flagged the next day so we figured by Saturday, things would have calmed. When we arrived, the Baths were red flagged again so we hiked down to the water which was very rough and definitely ‘red flag worthy’ and then made our way along a trail that was a combination of crevices, wading in shallow water and sand paths. Bill slipped and tore up his only pair of shoes so now he has duct taped them back together until he can find a new pair. Quite the fashion statement! The winds are supposed to shift back to a more normal pattern on Sunday so we will head out of the marina to explore the islands. This week’s current plan is a bay on the north side of Virgin Gorda for some nature and snorkeling and then on to Anegada Island which has flamingos! Until next week, figure out which of your shoes will look the best with duct tape added…..Bill is starting a trend! **All pics from St. Kitts and Nevis posted on pictures tab...finally!
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We have now followed the highlights of Horatio Nelson’s life from beginning to end. He was born in England and when we were in Portsmouth, England, we toured his ship Victory which he commanded when he was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar in Spain. We visited Nelson’s Boatyard in Antigua where he spent a portion of his navy career and we now visited Nevis where he was married and served in the Navy for several years. St. Kitts and Nevis were quite the hotbed of activity back in the day. Samuel Jefferson, great-great-grandfather of Thomas Jefferson, lived and died on St. Kitts. Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis. The Jamestown settlers stopped on Nevis for a week to get supplies and rest and Cecily Tyson was born on Nevis. Today, Nevis is a quiet island with a population of 11,000 people. We headed over to Nevis via a short ferry ride and were met at the port by Sam. Sam was a self-proclaimed tour guide and he gave us a fair price so we climbed into his taxi. Upon further inspection, Sam had to have been at least 104 years old. He drove an average speed of 15 mph. At top speed, he reached 40 mph but we were going downhill so that was probably by accident. When other drivers would blow their horns behind him, he would say, “Not sure what their problem is today!” His daughters lived in New York City and he told me, “I call them several times a day. It costs 25 cents a minute so I only talk for two minutes. Then, I call them for two minutes later in the day….at least a few times.” I could just imagine his daughters trying to explain to him that 25 cents a minute was all the same whether it was in two minute increments or not! Bill and I nicknamed him Sam the Sloth. When we zipped past the local drag racing strip at a blazing 20 mph, Bill jokingly asked Sam if he raced there on the weekends. Sam responded, “No, that’s for the youngsters” as he totally missed the irony and humor of the situation. At his own speed, Sam took us to all the places we wanted to see including the botanical gardens, the first church in the Caribbean, Nelson’s places and a haunted ruin (that’s what happens when the groom gets into a duel on his wedding day and dies….it tends to piss off the bride!)
We spent our other two days of exploring seeing the rest of the sites on St. Kitts. Our first stop was the Eco Park which was built by the government of Taiwan….do not ask us why, we just knew we had to see what it was. The park will forever remain a mystery as it had not reopened since the Stupid. The Eco Park employee handed us a brochure but she would not let us walk around the property. There was more than likely a hidden nuclear facility hiding under the guise of wind vanes and solar panels but who knows! After our Eco Park disappointment, we drove over to Fort Brimstone which was an amazingly restored British fort. The views were incredible and other than a few tourists and about 30 elementary school children, we had the place to ourselves. Another site we visited was a plantation that featured Old Road Rum and batik cloth making. The property had a 400 year old tree that was spectacular! I also got to hold some baby Vervet monkeys that were so sweet. We spent the night at an Airbnb which, once again, featured a rooster outside the window with the added joy of a barking dog. I believe all Caribbean Airbnbs should just be called “The Farmyard”. That way, our expectations would be set accordingly prior to arrival. Our final day with the rental car, we drove to the south end of the island to investigate our next anchorage. We have decided the best anchorage will be the one next to the Shipwreck Beach Bar….our kind of place! It featured ocean views, a beach, beer and more monkeys! After a few days at anchor seeing more monkeys and doing some snorkeling, we will be crossing over to the BVIs where we will jaunt about the islands for the next month. We are both looking forward to the beauty and party atmosphere of the BVIs as our “last new first stop in the Eastern Caribbean”. I have lots of pictures this week but the internet is not currently cooperating. I will upload as soon as I can. We started the week with a rental car so we could take the 30 minute drive around St. Barts. With Carnival celebrations starting later in the day, we got an early start to go visit some vistas and beaches. We pulled in for lunch at the marine reserve and after having a heart attack over the food prices, we split some over priced but delicious chicken and potatoes. We then hopped in the ocean to hunt for turtles. The cool part of the marine reserve was the water was only waist deep even 200 yards off shore. We spotted three turtles which seems to have been the record of the week according to one of the restaurant workers. As we drove back into Gustavia, the police stopped us and said Gustavia was closed for Carnival so we had to just park the car and leave it. The rental guy said, “Just park it somewhere and take a picture. I’ll know where to find it that way.” We are assuming he found it since we have not heard from him all week! The Carnival parade in St. Barts was very different from Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It was family friendly and one needed extreme patience to watch the parade. A float would pass by followed by 25 dancers in the carnival costumes. Then, we waited another 15 minutes. The next float would pass by followed by 25 dancers in different costumes. Then wait another 15 minutes. In between the floats, random people, randomly dressed, wandered down the middle of the street. After an hour and some rain, we voted we had seen enough of carnival and headed back to prepare to sail the next morning.
The sail to St. Kitts was a perfect day. Easy wind, easy seas, no issues from Galt. We arrived in Basseterre and dropped anchor for the night. The next morning we checked into the country and went exploring. Basseterre was a typical cruise port town with a cruise shopping area and a small downtown. We mapped out the sites we wanted to see while on the island and put together our plan. On Friday, we went on the St. Kitt’s historic railroad. It was a double decker train and they served free cocktails….even at 10:00am! We hopped aboard, grabbed our pina coladas and we were on our way. On islands, you have the leeward side and the windward side. Usually, the leeward side is where everyone lives and the windward side is where they hide all their junk. Alas, the train took us 1 ½ hours down the windward coast. The poor tour guide did her best to liven up the windward side (imagine an island accent for full effect)….. “To your right, we have the large machinery company. If you need a cement truck or a bulldozer, that’s where you go! On your left is the rock quarry. All the rock on the island for our roads and houses comes from this quarry. Further down to your right is the garbage disposal site. All the island’s garbage ends up here!” God bless her soul! The ocean views were lovely and even a cold rain shower didn’t dampen our spirits. At the end of the train ride, we hopped onto a tour bus for a ride back to the station. Our new tour guide pointed out highlights along the way on the leeward side. She showed us the church where Amazing Grace was written and she sang it for us as well which was touching. She showed us all the churches, the fort and the plantation sites. She summed up her tour with, “St. Kitts has just about everything you need for a wonderful vacation. If we could get our crime under control, it would be perfect.” Following silence on the bus, she stated, “Well, the local boys smoke too much marijuana and then they shoot each other. So, you have nothing to worry about!” Bill and I both decided she should probably keep that local tidbit to herself! Today, we relocated Galt into the marina so we could go out and about the next few days. We will go to the fort, the plantations and we will take the ferry over to Nevis for the day. Then, we will head back out to anchor so we can explore the southern portion of the island while we wait for good weather to make the crossing to the BVIs. Until then, look around you on your drive home from work and see how exciting you can make the McDonald’s and the Starbucks sound….I bet you won’t be able to match our St. Kitt’s tour guide! More pics on pictures tab I need to learn to watch what I wish for when I say “adventures”. We pulled into PDP marina in St. Maarten to finish up our last few adjustments on the sails and make the final preparations for departure to St. Bart’s. We woke up early to get everything stowed and tied down. As we pulled out of the slip to head to the bridge opening, the alarm on our autopilot system started screaming and Bill stated that he did not have any rudder response. Needless to say, being within 50 yards of at least 5 superyachts was not the time we wanted to have no control of the boat. I immediately shut down the autopilot system and the rudder control came back in line. We got in line for the bridge opening which was right on time….until an ambulance needed to cross the bridge so back down it went. We circled around the lagoon with about 15 other boats until the tender re-opened the bridge for us to pass. The trip to St. Bart’s was a standard one with our usual fuel line issue rearing its’ ugly head but Bill quickly refilled the line and got us on our way. While we were in St. Maarten, we bought a gadget called a “Happy Hooker” (I kid you not). The Happy Hooker was designed to make catching a mooring ball a much simpler task. Once we get to the BVIs later this spring, there will only be mooring balls so we knew we had to find an easier way. Most boats are closer to the water than Galt so grabbing a mooring ball is not a big deal. On Galt, we are at least 8 feet off the water so leaning over and grabbing a line at water level is physically impossible. As we pulled into St. Bart’s, we entered the mooring field and attached the Happy Hooker to our line. I stretched the Happy Hooker out to the maximum length, leaned over the side of the boat and snagged the top ring like a pro (see picture below for what a mooring ball looks like). Then, I pushed the Happy Hooker back off the ring and our line was supposed to slip right through the loop and be secured. Not so much. The knot I had tied in the line to attach to the hooker was a little large and got stuck on the loop. So, while I held onto our new gadget with all my might, Bill moved Galt closer to the mooring ball to ease the tension on the line. As soon as he moved the boat, voila! Our line came through the loop and we were on the mooring ball! Even though it did not go perfectly, it was much more successful than our previous mooring attempts so we are quite happy with our Hooker!
Our anchorage was at the top of the island so the next day, we hopped in the dinghy and motored three miles over to Gustavia to check in at customs and immigration. St. Bart’s is marketed as the island for the rich and famous and it most certainly sets the standard high. It is amazing what some nicely cemented sidewalks, palm trees planted along side the main street and every designer store known to man does for an island. St. Bart’s is a beauty! The island’s prices also match the rich and famous so we were glad we had supplied in St. Maarten because $8.00 a beer was much more than Bill’s $5.00 a case he found on St. Maarten. We enjoyed a walk around town and reserved a rental car for Friday so we could tour the island. The drive around the entire island was reportedly about 30 minutes so we figured a day would be plenty. As the week wore on, the winds increased significantly as did the waves. On Friday morning, we climbed into Harry with pretty rough seas. We knew we would be okay because we had the new motor. We packed the VHF radio as well as a life jacket just in case. About 50 yards off Galt, our new motor died. Nothing Bill tried could revive it. We began to row against very strong current and waves. We had one last mooring buoy between us and a very dangerous situation so we rowed as hard as we could to grab the buoy. We missed it by 6 inches. As it flew past, we knew we were in serious trouble. I called out for assistance on the radio but no response. We knew we could not row to shore because we would be crashed into the rocks. We had no other choice but to row with all our might to try to maneuver through the very rocky and very rough cut. Waves crashing all around us and slamming into Harry, we managed to make it through the cut in one piece and still in the boat. We had a brief moment to breathe but then quickly had to begin rowing again because the current was heading out to sea. There was a large yacht directly in our path about a quarter of a mile away. We knew we could make it to the yacht and grab hold for safety. As we rowed, I called on the radio again. No response. To our dismay, the yacht hauled anchor and pulled away in the opposite direction. Our last hope was gone. Then, a miracle. We saw a catamaran pulling out of Gustavia. I hailed them on the radio. No answer. As Bill continued to row, I stood up and waved the bright orange life vest above my head, hoping the catamaran would spot us and realize we needed help. As the catamaran changed course and headed toward us, we knew we were saved! They kindly dragged us into Gustavia port so we could tie up and find help with the motor. They were truly our heroes. No longer in the mood for touristing, we found a Yamaha dealer to assist with the motor. Our brand new motor that had less than 5 hours of run on it had a loose wire that caused the issue. We contacted Outdoor World in St. Maarten but they refused to exchange the motor so we just have to hope that this instance was a rare oddity of really bad timing. Luckily, most islands have a Yamaha dealer so if we have further issues, at least it is under warranty. We were both very nervous about taking the dinghy back over to Galt at the end of a long day so we stopped by the coast guard office and they told us which channel to use on the VHF if we needed them. We made it safely back to Galt after a thrilling (for Bill) and not so thrilling (for Sally) ride back through the cut. Giving Galt a huge hug, we climbed back aboard. As we reviewed our situation from the morning, we both agreed we had done everything we could to be safe on that outing. We discussed all of the worst case scenarios and what we would do if they occurred again so we would be even more prepared in the future. Always learning. Always preparing. The next day we snorkeled over to the beach and watched as at least 70% of the dinghy motors caused their owners issues throughout the day. We felt a little better then! I decided perhaps the motor was upset because we had not given her a name. We christened her “Lulabell” and she fired right up for us! We are hoping to get our island exploration in on Monday or Tuesday and then make our hop over to St. Kitt’s for a couple of weeks. I will not ask for adventures over the next week! Just a nice day of sailing! (May not have pics this week. I'll keep trying!) Just learned that tomorrow is Carnival in St. Bart's! Hopefully I'll get some good pics for next blog! |
AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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