Dominica 2012

Dominica 2012
Wednesday 2 May – Thursday 17 May

Steve gets us checked out of the marina in Antigua. We are med moored, getting off is easier then it was getting in, so we hang on the anchor out in front of our slip as we secure the dinghy. We are under way and out the harbour by 9, seas and winds are not as predicted so the first 2 hours of our journey are a little rough. By 11 the winds have clocked east and the seas are calmer and we are able to shut the motor off and have a great sail the rest of the way to Deshaies Guadeloupe arriving by 2:30. Relax a while then Steve & George go into “customs” (French island just a little cafe/store) and check us in and out as we are just stopping overnight. Wild Thing comes over for dinner and we make plans to leave after trying to get Chris Parker's weather report Thursday morning. Thursday under way by 8 out of Deshaies motor sailing in calm waters in the lee of the island. Just north of Basse Terre winds & waves pick up BUT on the nose so still motor sailing. Clearing the island conditions are not as predicted, winds SE instead of east and seas sloppy, but since we are out there we push through to Dominica, not stopping at Les Saints and are anchored in Prince Rupert Bay in Portsmouth Dominica by 2:30. Reuniting with JoAnne & Bill on Ultra who are still here. They have in the past and currently are using Martin, AKA Providence for a guide so we meet him and talk a little about doing some more tours with him during our stay. Due to some weather down over Venezuela the anchorage is experiencing some swells making it VERY rolly. Not a lot of wind to work with so hard to use a bridle to keep the boat facing the swells, we try several times but mostly just hold on. Wild Thing (and several others) put a stern anchor out to try to reduced the roll. Friday it feels good to get off the boat onto solid ground, we go over to the Cabrits National Park, home of Fort Shirley and several hiking trails. Have lunch under a huge mango tree helping ourselves to mangoes, some workers coming over with a long piece of board to knock some fresh ones off the tree. It is mango season and there are TOO many to eat so everywhere you go you can just pick some up off the ground or pick them from the trees. We have a fun time exploring the fort grounds. Back to the boats for a swim to cool off, boats still rolling we join George & Jan going ashore for dinner. Picked the wrong restaurant, 1 out of 4 dinners was good, the other 3 over cooked, very tough. Saturday we make a quick run into the fresh market at 7, then get picked up at our boats for an island tour at 8:30. Martin has 8 of us on this tour, Steve & I , Jan & George, JoAnne & Bill and Colleen and Pat from Cool Change. Stopping at several scenic views, a little local distillery making bay oil for bay rum, exploring some gardens getting a lesson on some of the local flora, a cold Sulphur Spring and an area known as red rock. Sunday is a cloudy drizzly day, we finally get off the boats late in the afternoon for a walk. Sunday night we had signed up for a BBQ on the beach, put on by the local PAYS (Portsmouth Association for Yacht Security) guys for the cruisers. Weather was not the best. but the food was good for a good price and we got to meet a few other people from the different boats, and met back up with Blue Song, Judy & Jochim who we knew from Grenada. Monday another rainy day dinner on Ocean Star with Wild Thing as they make plans to head south. Tuesday morning along with JoAnne & Bill from Ultra we go over to Wild Thing to say good by again. They have a tighter schedule needing to get south to St Lucia to haul their boat out before going back to Texas. Wanting to see a little of Martinique on the way, and hopefully finding a calmer anchorages they are leaving. They are dear friends we have been traveling with for the last 3 months and we will miss them greatly. We do a few boat chores and some swimming off the boat passing the rest of the day, HH over on Blue Song to catch up on things since Grenada. Wednesday a good day to dinghy over to Douglas Bay to do some snorkeling with JoAnne & Bill. Back to the boats for lunch before going to check out the new IGA supermarket south of town. It is always so funny going to a store not really needing anything just wanting to see what is available. Never fails we always come away with several bags full of stuff even though “we really did not need anything”. Dinner on Ultra talking about another island tour and when to head down to Roseau. Thursday raining again, anchorage still rolly at times, but still a beautiful spot. Friday 8 am pick up for another island tour with Martin / Providence. A group of 10, seeing some different sights and then Spanny Falls. Mostly cloudy day but most of us went in for a swim anyway. Me and another couple waited there as the rest climbed up over the ridge and hiked a little further to another waterfall. A good lunch at Islet View restaurant with lots of rum tasting. They make their own rums using almost every fruit, vegetable and spice found on the island, and several of us had fun sampling a few of them. A few stops on the way back to the boats by 6. Martin / Providence did a great job showing us some of the north end of Dominica. Saturday rain on & off most of the day. Steve went back to market while I slept in, a few more boat chores and a relaxing day getting ready to head down to Roseau, the capital, on the south end of Dominica the following day. Sunday easy ride down past Roseau, get settled on Sea Cats mooring, but we have to tie a stern line to his dock so we don't bump into the huge Cat on the next mooring over. Not the best situation, a lot of tension on that stern line at times, but it works. Early Monday the big Cat leaves and Ultra moves onto that mooring but still not enough swing room. Sea Cat needs a few more moorings better spaced for bigger boats. We get off to a late start (11 am) for another island tour with Sea Cat. He's a great guide, full of fun and very knowledgeable about the country and it's flora and fauna. We stop frequently to sample fruits growing by the side of the road. We have a great time hiking to Middleham Falls, and go for a swim in pool below and climb up a cliff into a cave, then higher up the cliff for a jump into the pool. The water is cold. Next we drive to Titou Gorge and swim up a very narrow gorge to the falls, climbing up and over the first fall into a chamber with another fall. Have fun getting a “falls massage”, then jump over the first fall into the pool below and swim back out the gorge. We start heading back to the boats, then decide to divert to Trafalgar Falls where they're just closing, but let us in anyway since we're with Sea Cat. Time for a few pictures and a quick soak in the hot springs to warm up and ease tired muscles then stop at the River Rock Cafe & Bar for rum punch as the sun sets, getting back to the boats by 8. Tuesday is a perfect day, sunny and calm, for taking the dinghies down along the coast first to Champagne Beach to snorkel then to Scotts Head to snorkel. Champagne beach has warm bubbles coming up from an underwater vent. Scotts Head is part of a marine reserve, and we can see why with it's crystal clear waters and beautiful reefs it is a magical place that on this day we have almost all to ourselves. The bay is even more unique as it is an extinct volcanic crater with some indeterminate depths. The area is breathtaking above and below the water. Wednesday we go into Roseau to walk around, stopping at Ruins Rock Cafe, known to have some of the weirdest rums and they do. Like snake rum, snake fat rum, lizard, to name a few. It was just around 12:30 so we did not try any of these rums, don't think I could at any hour of the day !! A third of the building is full of Caribbean spices, so we spend a good amount of time in there learning and buying spices. A walk up to the botanical gardens with a hike up to a lookout over the town. Stopping at the Drop Anchor bar & restaurant for HH on our way back to the boats. The place is owned & run by a fellow Texan so the 4 of us from Texas felt we had to stop by. She had nachos on the menu so we could not resist, then it started to rain so while waiting for it to stop JoAnne & Bill ordered a fish taco and we ordered a BBQ baked potato. Had not seen those items on a menu in quite some time. Thursday morning we settle up with Sea Cat saying goodby to him and Dominica once again. Knowing that even though we have seen more of this beautiful country there is much we have not seen. To us it is one of the most beautiful islands we have visited, not the easiest to get around, but we are in awe of its beauty.

Link to Pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Dominica2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJPI2NjKle-DdA&feat=directlink 

Antigua 2012

Antigua 2012

Saturday 14 April - Tuesday 1 May

After a glorious 7 hour sail, in an almost cloudless sky with the calmest of seas, we arrive at the customs dock in Jolly Harbour, Antigua at 2:30 Saturday afternoon. Wild Thing who had an earlier start and took the short cut through the river back in Guadeloupe was just finishing up with customs so the helped us tie off at the dock as we helped them cast off. Steve had filled out the EZ clear form that is supposed to be used here in Antigua but the customs guy just smiled and shrugged as he handed Steve the forms to fill out. To the customs, immigration & port authority personnel it is job security not to use the easy form to clear in, to us it is just a matter of filling out multiple forms asking the same information. Luckily here at Jolly Harbour they are all located in the same little building right at the end of the customs dock so within 30 minutes we are cleared in and heading out to the anchorage. A beautiful anchorage, surrounded by low hills and sandy beaches. After a short rest and showers we head into the marina at sunset for a drink and to find a restaurant for dinner. Since it is dark and we do not know the lay of the town we stop by 2 places right by the dock. Sunday the predicted front comes in and it starts to rain at 4 am and continues through the day, during one break we make a run to shore but get caught in a little shower. Winds have also picked up and it continues to blow for the next few days, luckily the rain stops and we just have partly cloudy skies,making for some cooler temps. Monday and Tuesday morning are spent checking out the area and of course a visit to Budget Marine and the grocery store both very conveniently located next to the marina. Internet wifi is available we have managed to get a signal on the boat, but it is painfully slow. We hear from a friend who is interested in a boat located in Jolly Harbour so Tuesday we stop by to see it. We are going in for lunch with our computers for a faster connection, but the owner of the boat is not there. After lunch with a fast internet connection we stop back by the boat. This time the owner is there, he is Italian and speaks pretty good English so we manage to tell him we want to look at the boat for a friend back in the states. He loves his boat and is happy to show us all around, his wife does not love the boat so he is selling her. The boat just got hauled out and he is in the process of getting it ready to leave but we still get a good feel of her condition and report back to Rick about her. Back to our boat and check with Wild Thing and we are ready to go check out another anchorage, up at Deep Bay. We get there by 4 Tuesday afternoon by which time it has clouded up. Wednesday started a little cloudy with a shower but cleared up so we go to shore to walk up on the headland to the remains of Fort Barrington, great views of our bay and into the the capital of St. Johns, the next bay north. Back to the boats for lunch, then out to snorkel the wreck in the middle of the bay. The water is not very clear, a lot of very fine sand stirred up in the water, too bad as it would have been really neat to see in clear water. This bay is also internet challenged but we can get a signal, but we decide to check out Five Islands Harbour for a change of scenery and to see if we can get a better internet signal. This is a huge bay with very little development, so not much to see or do. But the Hermitage Hotel is on the south side, and has a great internet connection we can pick up out at anchor, hard to beat that. Thursday morning we are under way by 8:30 after cleaning off about 50 lbs of clay/sand mixture from the anchor, makes for great holding. We take 4 hours to do the 2 hour trip as we are sailing very slow so we can make water wanting to go into Falmouth Harbour with full water tanks. As we are approaching Falmouth Harbour we see some of the boats out practicing. We are arriving just in time for the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, and the day before my sister comes to visit. Entering the harbour what a sight it is, full of boats anchored and at the marinas. A big difference form last time we were here back in mid June, maybe 10 boats at the marina and maybe 10 anchored out, everyone already south. Most of the shops and restaurants were also closed, not so this time. We find a place to anchor and it is right next to friends Barb & Stew on La Luna. Get the boat settled and have a quick lunch before launching the dinghy. Stop by to say hi to La Luna, a lot to catch up on so we make plans to do so later in the week. We are out looking for a spot for Wild Thing to anchor, they are about an hour behind us having left later with a stop at Jolly for fuel & water. We find them a good spot and as we are going around in the dinghy are surprised to see how many boats we know. After Wild Thing gets settled we arrange to meet on shore, as I want to go in and get info on the weeks events and to confirm my car rental reservation. This week and the following sailing race week are two major events for Antigua and they do a good job putting out magazines telling you of the weeks happenings. Walking the docks in awe of the beautiful classic yachts, they are just amazing, but I sure would not want to keep up with all the varnishing of the wood work. Oh course not too many of the owners worry about it either, as they have crew for that. Friday morning we go out on Wild Things dinghy to watch the start of the days race. Even with it being cloudy and a few sprinkles it is an awesome sight seeing these beautiful boats under sail. Back to the boats for lunch then Steve & I go get the rental car to pick up Carol, who arrives at 4. We gave ourselves plenty of time not knowing how long it would take and wanting to stop at a hardware store or any anyplace else that looked interesting along the way. As cruisers, we are in the hunter/gather class of humanity. Driving through St. John's the capital and a few other areas on the way also. We still get there early and 1^st Steve goes to use the restroom with me parked out front, since I do not have an Antigua drivers license which a policeman asked about. Next since we did not think we could stay parked there we decided to make the short circle around as I went to use the restroom. As Steve is coming back around to pick me up, 2 cars stop in front of him forcing him to stop, unknown to him in a crosswalk. He pulls forward but the cars are still stopped in front of him so I walk to him to get in the car. Next thing we know a police man is waving us over. We are thinking maybe he wants to help the foreigners, and will tell us where to wait for arriving passengers. NO he wants to give us a ticket !!!! For stopping in a crosswalk that we did not even notice since the crosswalk in front of us had big yellow stripes and was raised like a speed bump, this one was just faded white lines on the road, definitely a trap for those not familiar with the airport. No warning, no have a nice visit, just we need money so here is where you get to contribute. Carol arrives and so does all her luggage so all is good. Back to Falmouth Harbour, it has been a long day of travel for her so we have dinner on board giving Carol a chance to unpack and unwind. Saturday Carol & I decide to get a little exercise and walk up to a lookout point of an old fort to watch some of the races. I had been told about this spot that a lot of people were using to watch the races from, and that there was an easy trail and a hard one. We found the hard one, passing the easy one thinking it was not the way. Enjoy the beautiful views and visit with some other people up there before heading down the easy way. Back to the boat for lunch and get the kayaks out for a trip over to Pigeon Beach. Going in early for dinner to once again walk the docks to look at these multi million dollar boats, such a unique event to see so many of these spectacular yachts in one place at the same time. Sunday I convinced Carol that it would be fun going out on the dinghy to watch the start of the races, it is a beautiful day and she is glad to be able to see this amazing sight up close and personal. Monday Jan & George join us to drive around the island hitting a few of the sights like Devils Bridge and downtown St. John's. Tuesday since there are no cruise ships in we go to do a Zip Line / obstacle course. This is Carol's first one and she does fantastic considering her fear of heights. The zip lines are the easy part, its the walking across suspended rope ladders and tight ropes that gives her a challenge since she can not look down! She makes it all the way through conquering her fear, not sure how soon she will want to do another one, but she did this one. Time to go to the beach for a nice lunch and a relaxing swim. Wednesday we sail up to Five Islands Bay, do some snorkeling and swimming staying there overnight and enjoy a nice morning Thursday relaxing, swimming and reading before heading back to Falmouth Harbour. Friday morning we take Carol to shore to get her taxi to the airport, a week sure went by quick and I was sad to say goodby. Friday afternoon Steve & George go out on a practice sail on a boat they are going to crew on for the upcoming Antigua Sailing Week. Saturday they do the around Antigua race and the boats traveler breaks. The boat has a few maintenance problems as it is left alone most of the year. The owner and his family and friends are not serious racers and are more here for the vacation. Steve & George hang in there with them for a few days being on the rail getting soaked. By Tuesday the winds start to die down so they resigned Monday when they got back in and we make plans to head south. Starting with us coming into one of the marinas here in Falmouth to fuel up and equalize the batteries again as it will be a while before we are near a marina again. We enjoyed our time in Antigua, glad to see and explore a little more of the island this time but only making a VERY small dent in seeing their 365 beaches.

Link to Pictures:  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Antigua2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNLewfC4hoCkfw&feat=directlink

Guadeloupe Continued

Guadeloupe Continued
Monday 2 April – Friday 13 April

After a quick dinghy trip into town Monday morning Ocean Star & Wild Thing are on their way to the Island of Marie Galante by 11:30. We have a pleasant sail east in calm seas, approaching the island we feel like we are back in the Bahamas with the turquoise shallow waters. Marie Galante looks flat as you approach from the water, but has lovely rolling hills 300 to 600 feet in elevation, with very rich soil making it very green and great for growing sugar cane, still a major crop here. We first go to see the anchorage by Grand Bourg inside a break-wall so well protected. There is a marina here with limited anchoring space right off town, but NO room for us so we head up to the main anchorage off the town of St. Louis. With the light winds and calm seas this winds up being a perfect anchorage, and we are anchored by 3:30. We chose this weather window to come east to this open anchorage, and it worked out great. Boats are able to anchor any where along the western shore with it so calm. We go into town around 4:30 to see what is there, not a lot open at this time on a Monday but we do make a car rental reservation for the following day. Back to the boats where Jan & George bring their leftovers to have with our leftovers for dinner and to plan what we want to see of the island on Tuesday. We get an early start and are at the dock shortly after 8, as we are walking towards town several people are walking out asking if we want a car rental. We realize we just beat the ferry in and all the car rental people are there to meet visitors to rent them cars. We get a better deal than the quote from the day before, so go with this lady and get a nice little MANUAL 4 door Hyundai. I Started to drive, it's been a while since I drove a manual shift and after about an hour of Steve not liking the way I was driving and Jan & George were not being entertained by us discussing my driving abilities we stopped and let Steve drive. Sugar cane is a big crop for this island and with that they have several rum distilleries that you can go visit and of course have free tastings. By 11:30 we had hit all 3 of them and decided we were ready some lunch. Finding a nice little beach restaurant south of the town Capesterre, we enjoy a great lunch with a great view. We have fun driving the roads, most of which do not have street names so we were never quite clear if we were going the right way. But we got around the Island and saw most of the sights. In addition to the 3 rum distilleries, a huge 200 foot sink hole on the north end open to the sea, an ox driven cart that is still used on the island to deliver the sugar cane, and a local honey making shop. She reopened for us since a local Jackie from a bar down the street told us about her wonderful honey. Back to the boats by 5, relax a little before going back in for dinner at 7. Our 1^st choice place was not open, so we walked around checking out a few menus. I do not eat fish, a main dish for this island, and Jan & George try to stick with a plant based diet with fresh local fish, and Steve likes unusual dishes, so finding a restaurant is not as easy as it sounds. We find one and Jan & George & Steve are very happy to hear that Dorado is the fish of the day. We are the only customers and there is only one man running the place, who speaks NO English. Steve does very well ordering in french, so he orders an appetizer and the fish, Jan & George both order the fish and I order chicken. One man operation, so we understand it taking a while to prepare our meals. What a surprise when we finally were served 3 chicken dishes and 1 appetizer and NO fish !!! LOL Trying to correct the meal was out of the question so we all enjoyed what we had, not knowing where the translation went wrong. Wednesday we head out around 8:30 and have a great sail over to Pointe a Pitre the capital of Guadeloupe located on the Grande Terre side of the island. As we are sailing over from Marie Galante, Ultra is sailing over from The Saints. We all arrive around the same time Ultra anchoring out Wild Thing anchoring for lunch before going into the marina, and Steve & I just heading straight into the marina. We tried calling the marina several times on the VHF radio but no one would answer. We pulled up to the fuel dock so we could talk to someone about getting a slip. The harbor master is there so he points over to a slip and tells us to head over there and he will help pick up our mooring line. The marina is all Med Mooring, so you back in in between 2 other boats, tying your bow line to a mooring out in front and your 2 stern lines to the dock. So I throw him the bow line and he secures it to the mooring and we are backing up BUT our bow line is not long enough to get us to the dock. The harbor master is leaving to go help with another boat, I have to yell at him to come back, mean while the wind is pushing us forward over the mooring lines. We get a longer bow line on but now we have to be careful not to catch any lines in prop or bow thrusters. All goes well and we get backed in, a little harder throwing the stern lines with the new arch and dinghy behind us but we finally get settled. The main reason we are coming in to the marina is to have power to equalize the batteries again. Makes it a lot easier to do laundry also and we have a lot of it. Steve is happy to find out that the for the 37.50 Euros a night ($50) INCLUDES water and electricity !! You almost NEVER see a flat all inclusive rate at a marina down here in the Caribbean. So we get to run the AC for a couple of days and give the boat a really good wash down. After lunch Wild Thing comes into the marina and Bill & JoAnne come in by dinghy and stop by to say Tomaz & Lilly on Heron (met over in The Saints) are also anchored out and have invited us all out to their boat for HH. Steve & I do a quick walk around finding the self serve laundry and bathrooms at the marina and the full service laundry up by the marine store and grocery and all the restaurants. I find a hairdresser and make an appointment for the following morning to get a hair cut and touch up of color that is now 7 months old. Thursday morning drop off several loads of laundry at the full service place, I go for my hair appointment while Steve goes for a walk with George to see what else is around before going back to the boats to work on boat projects. Some things are just easier done at the dock than at anchor so most of Thursday is spent trying to do boat projects. It is surprising how quickly the day can disappear with only a small amount of things getting done. JoAnne & Bill came in for a few errands and to make arraignments for a car rental the next day or so. We all wanted to do some exploring of the islands interior and this weekend was a holiday weekend so we wanted to get something set up. It did not go as smoothly as they had planned and the guy did not come through so another rental agency was found and a cars booked for Saturday through Monday. Which worked out well giving us Friday to finish all the boat projects we did not get to on Thursday. Saturday morning we leave the marina and go out to anchor by Ultra, then back in to get rental cars and we are on our way by 11 heading back over to the mountainous side of the island Basse Terre and drive along the scenic road of Route De La Traverse. This road runs through the national park and has several hiking paths along the way. First stop, just a very short walk but one section had a picnic area where we had lunch. The 2^nd hike we got a little more exercise with the 45 minute de Bras David (Davids Arm) trail. Next stop Le Tapeur, Parc Aventure en Foret Tropicale AKA Zip line & obstacle course in the trees !!! This is the best zip line we have been to, good price and they just let you loose to do it on your own. What a blast we had !!! You will have to take a look at a few of the pictures to see, words can't do it justice. After this we are very close to the western shore and our former anchorage off Pigeon Island and the next days planed adventure. So we drive over there to be sure of the location and talk to the guide. I am 98 % sure that I will NOT be able to do the hike up the canyon river and rappel down the canyon walls but we asked the guide and he said you needed to be very sure footed and able to easily climb over the rocks on the canyon floor. With my left knee acting up this is definitely not for me. As the sun begins to set we make our way back across the Island not wanting to drive these winding, unlighted roads in the dark making it back to the marina just after dark. Stop at the pizza place for dinner then back to the boats for a good nights rest. Steve, Jan & George & JoAnne & Bill have a 7:30 am departure Sunday morning to go back across the island to the canyon adventure. They have a wonderful day hiking up the canyon and rappelling down, once again words are hard to describe so take a look at some pictures. I have a quiet day back on the boat. Monday is a sleep in late day for the hikers but we still have the cars so we get underway and head to the beach section along the southern coast of the Grande-Terre ½ of the island finding a beautifully shaded beach for lunch. A swim and walk along the beach, a short nap for some and then continue the drive east along the coast to Pointe des Chateaux. This is at the end of a peninsula where on this holiday Easter Monday the locals have come to spend the day / long weekend along the beaches that border both sides. We spend a short time looking out at the rock formations and beautiful beach but don't do the short hike up to the cross on one of the bluffs as it is getting late and we do not want to be stuck in the line of traffic when all the locals start to pack up and go home. Life is good in the islands. Tuesday cars need to be turned in, still some site seeing we want to do but Steve needs a break from driving the last 2 days, he is not use to it anymore. Boat projects and Wild Thing finally breaks away from the marina to come out to the anchorage. Jan & George & JoAnne & Bill come over to Ocean Star for dinner that evening. Wednesday a few more boat projects and we made arraignments for another car rental for Thursday to go to another section of the national park to see the waterfalls known as the Chutes De Carbet. Thursday we pick up the car as Wild Thing stays behind to finish up on a sewing project while they can still use Ultra's sewing machine. Fill up the little car with back packs, cooler and 4 people & we are under way by 10:30. Guadeloupe has some great roads and we are on the N1 “freeway” heading to the southern part of Basse Terre and the rain forest of La Soufriere mountain. After turning off the main road we wind our way up the very narrow D4 until it ends at the main entrance to the paths to the waterfalls. A 20 minute walk along a path brings us to one of the tallest waterfalls around, at 325 feet, a beautiful sight. But a little disappointed as due to falling rocks you can no longer get close or swim under it, you just see it from an observation platform. There is another slightly taller waterfall but it is a 3 hour round trip hike over some very difficult terrain so we opt to do another 20 minute hike down to a river bed and small waterfall and swimming hole to have lunch by. Driving back down the road we stop at Grand Etang (Big Lake) to hike around the lake. As is typical with island hiking there is NO easy way around a lake or up a hill, this one is no different. A lot of climbing up and down along a path lined with tree roots, rocks and mud. We get a great work out with this hike and are ready to call it a day afterward. Back towards Pointe a Pitre and the boats we make a stop at the near by HUGE Casino Supermarket, think super super Walmart. Our rental car is a very little Chevy Spark, with 4 people and hiking gear not a lot of room left. But we just had to check out the store and being cruisers once inside had to buy stuff. So loading all our purchases into the little car & then into the dinghy was quite a site. Dropped Ultra and thier goods off at their boat then back to Ocean Star to unload and rest our tired bodies. Ocean Star will be heading out Friday morning to go off shore around the island back up to Deshaies before crossing over to Antigua on Saturday. Wild Thing spending Friday finishing up boat projects then taking the short cut through the River Salee that runs between the 2 islands of mainland Guadeloupe on Saturday to head over to Antigua. We are parting ways with Ultra for now, as they will be spending more time in Guadeloupe before heading south to Dominica where we hope to catch up with them again. SO glad we got to explore so much more of this beautiful country and to be able to do it with good friends made it that much better!! Next stop Antigua with my sister Carol coming to visit and Classic Regatta week followed by Sailing week.

Link to a few pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/GuadeloupeContinued?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJPd5u6H5-HrUw&feat=directlink

More from Guadeloupe

 Monday 19 March – Monday 2 April

After Sunday's birthday celebration for Jan, Steve & I were trying to sleep in Monday morning. First Ultra called 6:30 ish to say they were getting under way when Steve got up about an hour later Wild Thing was already gone so we got ready to leave also and are underway by 8. We are motoring in very light winds on the nose, as we round the north end of the island and are passing the one town on the east side of the island when I look back to our port side and see Wild Thing whom we thought was in front of us. Hail them on the radio and they say yes that's them they had been hanging out in a bay waiting for us and we hadn't noticed as we went by so they were now just behind us and they say Ultra is actually sailing so they are tacking way out trying to get a good angle on the wind. A final look at the volcano as we pass the south east end of the island, once again in awe of the impact to this little island. Once off shore the winds pick up and the angle is better so sails are up and we have a great sail east to Deshaies (Day-ay) Guadeloupe and are anchored by 2:30. Steve & George go in to check in to find customs is closed until 4:30, by which time Ultra has arrived and settled into the anchorage also. Everyone gets checked in and we make plans for the following morning to hike up the Deshaies river to a waterfall. JoAnne & Bill have done this hike several times before so will be our guides. We head out shortly after 9:30 making our way up the river bed along the shore line if possible but mostly going from rock to rock. The few times we do make our way along the shore you can tell how few people do this hike as the trail if there is one is very overgrown. But we have a fun time watching our footing as we make our way up the river. By noon we are at a good size swimming hole, so break for lunch and a refreshing swim. This is where we (Steve & I , George & Jan) learn from Bill & JoAnne that this little 45 minute hike up to the waterfall might take a little longer with this group as we are only about half way there. We gear back up after lunch and push on, when we finally get to a road and car park Jan & I get very excited thinking we made it and Bill tells us it is only another 10 minutes to the waterfall. 10 minutes later with no waterfall in sight and the rocks we are having to climb over getting bigger and bigger Jan & I decide to sit and wait while the others hike on to the waterfall. As Jan & I sit on the rocks in the river we are entertained by some fish in a little pool, and are happy with our decision to sit and wait as it is quite some time before the group returns. Steve & George are glad we stayed behind also as the trail did prove more difficult the closer they got to the waterfall. They all had fun swimming under the waterfall, and Jan & I got to look at the pictures without any injuries. We hike back to the road and walk back to town via the road. “Next Time” we will get a ride up the road and then hike to the waterfall instead of starting all the way down at the bottom. It was a lovely day with a lot of laughs and plenty of exercise to make up for the baguette and cheese we ate for lunch. Wednesday some snorkeling and boat projects, dinner on Ocean Star. Thursday more snorkeling on the way back see another Texas boat, stop by and talk to Melanie & Casey on Bliss from the Austin area. They agree to meet us later at Hemingway's for a drink, and realize Steve & I had briefly met them in Grenada. We all decided to go to the Botanical Gardens the following day. It is not that far but it is straight up a steep road and they provide free transportation so we make arraignments to be picked up 10:45 Friday morning. We love to visit the botanical gardens on the different islands we visit, and are always glad we do. This one Jardin Botanique, is just absolutely beautiful with the added attraction of a koi pond, and a bird section where you can feed the parrots and have them stand on you. They have a fancy restaurant with a great view and a snack bar serving sandwiches, which we choose and it also has a great view from the shaded picnic tables making for another wonderful day in paradise. The walk down the road is not bad, so Steve George, Melanie & Casey tell us, as Jan, JoAnne, Bill & I got a ride back down in the van that picked us up. Meeting back up in town and a short walk up a street on the other side to a grave yard. Not just any grave yard, I have never seen so many mausoleums in such a concentrated area. It stands out so that you see it from our boats so we just had to get a closer look. Saturday all 3 boats depart Deshaies for the anchorage at Pigeon Island, a popular snorkeling and dive spot along the western coast of Guadeloupe. Plenty of room to anchor so once settled in we load snorkel gear into the dinghies and head over to Pigeon Island to snorkel. Steve & I had stopped here on the way down island the first time, it is surprising how few fish there are here in this national park. Slack tide this time so we got to swim around most of the island(s). George was towing our dinghy as he swam along so when Jan & I got too cold we were able to climb out. JoAnne & Bill carry tanks on their boat and wanted to do a dive the next day, saying we would be able to see a lot more. Steve & I would use 2 of their extra tanks and dive with them on Sunday, George came along and snorkeled above us towing the dinghies once again so when we came up we could just climb in, what service !! Sunday was Bills birthday so another celebration on Ultra that evening joined by Marilyn & Kent on M/V Cardena friends Bill & JoAnne met in Grenada. Monday we had 3 snorkelers & 3 divers go around the north point of the anchorage to check out another dive site. This location, still part of the marine park, had a good selection of things to see by both snorkelers & divers. Once back to the boats we noticed that the anchorage had gotten rolly. Poor Jan who had stayed on Wild Thing and gets sea sick at times was ready to get someplace calmer so they headed down to another anchorage. After lunch and getting the dive tanks refilled Ultra and Ocean Star went down to join Wild Thing at Anse a La Barque anchorage. Just a little less rolly and we just barely fit all fit in as it is a very small bay. Tuesday we were underway early for the short trip down to Isles Des Saintes anchoring in the bay behind Pain de Sucre, a short dinghy ride around from the town BUT no mooring balls so still a free anchorage. Wednesday Steve & I moved over to the town mooring field so we could get internet, Wild Thing came over for one night but it was too rolly for Jan so they & Ultra hung out in the other anchorage. Meeting up for snorkeling reefs, diving caves, shopping and hiking excursions over the next few days enjoying all the beauty these islands have to offer even a few boat projects got done. Over to Fort Caroline and de Pompierre beach one day and to Fort Josephine over on Ilet A Cabrit on another. Steve & I can now say we have been to all the forts in The Saints. Sharing many laughs, some at my expense like when I was trying to gear up for a dive in the dinghy and with the weights in my BC & the tank as I leaned back just a hair I fell backwards to the floor of the dink unable to get back up like a turtle on it's back. Thankful George was still in the dinghy and helped me up and into the water. On another dive I came up early getting cold and leg cramps so George used my BC and remaining air and I was going to stay near by for pick up with the dinghy. BUT the motor flooded out and I could not start it so I am drifting further & further away. I'm thinking they have to be almost out of air and will be coming up soon and see I am drifting away and come get me with the other dinghy. Well I was almost to Terre D'en Bas (next island over) when Bill finally got to me. There is a song WHO the F@!% is Alice, they were all saying WHERE the F@!% is Alice when they came up looking for me and the dinghy.

So glad we are getting to see so much more of Guadeloupe this time around and having so much fun doing it with friends. Monday the “plan” is to run into town for a few things and then head over to Marie Galante another Island part of Guadeloupe about 20 miles east of here that we have not been to yet.

link to pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/DeshaiesGuadeloupe?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP3HmuSAzpe0ugE&feat=directlink

link to more pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/MoreFromGuadeloupe?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMj64r7yhsnnRQ&feat=directlink

Montserrat

Montserrat
Saturday 17 March – Monday 19 March

We left the anchorage in Nevis at 6 and made it to the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean by noon. Just in time to celebrate St. Patrick's day, a national holiday on this island. We meet back up with S/V Ultra who we ran into in St. Martin after meeting them down in Grenada, another Texas boat form the Kemah area. They had made arraignments for a taxi ride up to the village of Salem where the days celebration festival will take place. A quick clean up and lunch and Joanne & Bill pick up Jan & George and us with their dinghy and into the dock to meet Sam our taxi driver. Joanne & Bill had done an island tour with Sam the day before so on our drive up to Salem they are filling us in on some island history they learned the day before. Of all the islands we have visited, Montserrat as one of the more interesting histories, due to a still active volcano Soufriere Hills on the southern end of the island. In 1995 it erupted destroying the capital of Plymouth and surrounding area. Years later several business were starting to rebuild when in 2006 and 2008 the volcano erupted again causing the government to permanently close off the southern end of the island. Montserrat gets it's strong Irish heritage from the Irish Catholics settling here after fleeing problems from the Protestants of near by St. Kitts. Then another wave of Irish came over when England invaded Ireland, leaving their mark before many years later returned to Ireland. So St Patrick's day is a big celebration here, and we thought it would be fun to celebrate with them. We arrive at the fair grounds in Salem and the area is starting to fill up with people, with local vendors set up in booths selling food and a few local crafts. Several parades and just about everyone dressed in green. A fun filled day. Sam drives us back to the dock and Steve & I with Jan & George set a time for 9 Sunday morning for our Island tour. Sunday we know some things will be closed BUT they will also be closed on Monday since it is a holiday so either way we will miss out on a few things. Sometimes timing works for you sometimes not. Unlike many islands where the towns are along the coast line, Montserrat has most people living inland in the lush mountains sheltered from the volcano. We go to Old Road Bay where the river has been filled with mud and ash washed down from the volcano. What once was a golf course with a club house, a hotel and homes is now buried under 30 to 60 feet of black sand, the shore line is now a ¼ mile further out. Next stop is St Georges Hill looking down at the ruins of the former capital of Plymouth. Seeing the homes, and businesses amongst the trees it is hard to believe they are all abandoned. Just past that you see the ruins of the capital hard to tell the difference between the burned out buildings and huge boulder's from the volcano. There is a small area of the Exclusion Zone that you can visit after signing a waiver. Being Sunday this is one of the things that is closed. Joann & Bill told us what a surreal experience it was, walking through a hotel with everything in place covered with ash blown in over the years. The exclusion zone covers ½ of the island where no one is allowed to go, no new construction, no renovations, no one allowed to live an amazing sight. The Montserrat Volcano Observatory, also closed on Sunday, has another great view of the volcano and surrounding exclusion zone. The government is trying to build a new capital over in Little Bay where we are anchored. Trying to convince the < 5000 residents (12,000 pre volcano) that this is a good spot to build. There is very little work on the island, they export the volcanic ash which is very fertile, other then that they are trying to build up the tourism trade. Back down by the bay where we are anchored we go to Ponts' restaurant for lunch. The open-air restaurant is filled with plants and things washed up on the beach below, it's like having lunch in a conservatory. Soft smooth jazz in the background, a beautiful view of the bay and our boats, hummingbirds and lizards to entertain us, and a barbecue lunch before we go back to the boats. Today is Jan's birthday and Joanne & Bill invited us all over to their boat for dinner and Joanne generously offered to make a cake to surprise Jan for her birthday. We have a wonderful dinner followed by a delicious chocolate rum cake. Monday morning we will all depart to head over to Deshaies (Day-ay) Guadeloupe.

link to pictures:  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Montserrat?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOLz_sK-otuZSQ&feat=directlink

St. Maarten / St. Martin

St. Maarten / St Martin
Tuesday 21 February – Friday 16 March

Well I think St. Maarten was just as sad to see us leave as we were to leave, we spent A LOT of MONEY while we were there. The new dinghy and outboard motor which we are loving. A life raft and BBQ grill both of which we did not have before. Numerous miscellaneous boat maintenance parts from both Budget Marine and Island Water World (IWW). Several trips to the grocery store to provision since they have such a wonderful selection. A trip to Cost U Less a big box store, and several stops at Ace hardware which is more like a small home depot with home furnishings down here. Not to mention eating out more than usual, since they have so many good restaurants to choose from it was a hectic but fun 3 + weeks. We first checked into Lagoon Marina since it is located between Budget & IWW the 2 marine chandleries we needed to visit that 1^st week. Friends George & Jan arrived the evening after we did, George had recently delivered their boat Wild Thing to Lagoon Marina, and now flew back with Jan to start cruising for a few months. We first met Wild Thing back in July 2010 in the Bahamas then cruised with them up in the Chesapeake and then back down the east coast to Florida and back to the Bahamas that 1^st year. We were looking forward to meeting back up with them to start buddy boating again. The 1^st week in St. Martin at the marina was busy getting the new boat things mentioned above, but we also mixed in several fun events. Finding my favorite spot in the Caribbean the Carousel, a Bar & Gelateria, we you can get the BEST Italian gelato !!! What a fancy place, never knew there was this much profit in selling ice cream but glad to make my contribution for them to stay in business. We rented a car for 2 days and on the 1^st day drove around the island stopping at several spots along the way. The 2^nd day (Sunday) we went to Loterie Farm to do another zip line, only this one had an obstacle course of hanging logs, rope ladders, or cables suspended between the trees and the zip lines that you had to walk across. It was a great time in a BEAUTIFUL setting. Loterie Farm is a privately maintained nature reserve with hiking paths, zip lines, a pool and bar lounge and a restaurant , a great place to visit. That Monday we moved out of the marina to anchor, while Wild Thing moved over to Simpson Bay Marina as they were having guests arrive that evening and wanted shore access easier for them. We talked to the dock master at the marina and he showed us a spot close by that he said we could anchor in, so we took the portable depth finder and went out to make sure where we could anchor. It turned out to be a great little spot, only enough room for 1-3 boats to anchor right outside the channel in front of IWW where we could pick up their WiFi signal and be close to the Simpson Bay marina. That week was busy running around with Jan & George and their guests Linda & her sister Debra. Hanging out at the St. Maarten yacht club watching the boats come and go timed with happy hour it is the place to be. 

The Heineken Regatta was upcoming so a lot of events were focused on that and geared to all the boats and crew coming for this event. George got on a boat as crew, and that boat Chillin the Most wound up winning a couple of awards in their division. We also ran into quiet a few people that we had met down in Grenada, so it was fun catching up with other cruisers we knew. Another fun filled busy week went by before we knew it. The following week was a slower pace and we made several trips to the different stores stocking up on supplies at the duty free prices of St Maarten. Making plans to go to several anchorages around the island before leaving the next week. On Sunday Steve was greasing the bearings on the main sail when he discovered some wear & tear on the leech line at the reefing points. First thing Monday morning we take it into the sail maker to see how quickly he can get it repaired. Not for a least a week he says, so our plans of leaving are not looking good. We decide to still go and anchor off Grand Case on the French side Tuesday, it is just a short distance ½ way around the island. We make it out the 11 am bridge and are able to sail with just the Genoa sail getting up to Grand Case by by 1. Have lunch on board and Steve goes in to clean the lagoon scum off the bottom of the boat. He is surprised and disappointed on seeing we also have quite a few barnacles even with our new bottom paint job. Tuesday night we go into Grand Case for their Tuesday night street festival, still hard to decide where to eat so many good choices. Fun walking the streets and looking at the street vendors and shops and restaurants. Wednesday morning Steve & George want to rent tanks to finish cleaning the bottom of the boats but we find out the French will not rent you a tank. So we motor sail back down to Marigot Bay and anchor, Steve goes into the lagoon to the Dutch side and rents tanks. And Wednesday afternoon is spent cleaning the bottom of the boats. The original plan was to leave Thursday morning to start to make our way to Montserrat where we wanted to be on Saturday for St. Patrick's Day. With our main sail in for repair that plan got canceled as Steve did NOT want to travel 90 miles south and then 90 miles BACK north with out a main sail. So Thursday morning we went in for a few errands and to get internet access and stopped by the sail maker just to check on our sail. To our great surprise the sail was ready !! So change of plans again, we go to have lunch with Wild Thing as planned to get internet and decide we can now still make it to Montserrat by Saturday. Back to our boat get the main sail back up, Steve goes and checks us out and we are underway by 3. A fast motor sail to Anse Du Colombier on St. Barts arriving just before sunset. Predawn departure Friday morning, thinking we can make it all the way to Montserrat by sunset but the wind and waves were making for an unpleasant trip so we bear off and head for Nevis where we spend the evening at anchor with a 6 am departure Saturday morning for Montserrat to make it in time for the St. Patrick's day celebration.

Link to pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/StMaarten?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMWEld-RwoHrEg&feat=directlink

Island Hopping North

 Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Nevis & St. Kitts, St. Barts

Saturday 4 February - Monday 20 February

We have the anchor up by 10 and make a quick trip into the lagoon to go to the IGY marina's fuel dock to top off on diesel and fill the extra gas can for the dinghy, leaving Rodney Bay, St. Lucia and heading almost due north to Martinique, YEAH no more easting, the worst point of sail heading east into the wind & waves. We are sailing, no need for the motor, double reefed in both sails with 20 knot winds on the beam doing 9 + knots corkscrewing through the 8 foot seas hitting us broadside. We are anchored in Grande Anse D'Arlet, Martinique by 1:30. It is a beautiful bay and one we have not been to before. We go through our desalting routine of washing the salt spray off the stainless, windows, the cockpit, anything we might touch, as much as we can with a few buckets of fresh water. This helps a great deal with keeping the boat a little cleaner. Many times as soon as we are done we get a rain shower which is always appreciated, washing off the deck and giving the areas we cleaned a 2^nd rinse. We are in the dry season and have noticed rain showers are getting fewer and less intense, many of the islands already having grass & plants drying out. The French islands make it SO easy to check in !! In this bay you go to a little cafe right at the end of the dinghy dock. Using their computer, preset form, you fill in the boxes and print 1 sheet (your copy), take it to the person on duty and they stamp it for you and you are cleared in. This cafe charged nothing, sometimes they will charge a $1 the most we have paid was $5. The “English” islands could really use some help in simplifying their customs forms. A stroll down main street which runs along the beach checking out the little cafes and shops. Small place so does not take long, stop in for a drink on the beach and just enjoy the French atmosphere. On Sunday we hike over to the next bay Anse D'Arlet, another beautiful small bay / beach town, also an anchorage but with no place to clear customs. Mostly a rock path that has many inclines and declines before you finally get to the ridge to head down into the other bay. We enjoy the exercise and the beautiful views, have a nice lunch before climbing back over to our bay. Monday we are under way shortly after 7 am, motor sailing in calm seas up the western shore of Martinique. By 10 we are leaving the coastline and heading out into 6 foot waves as we make our way across to Dominica. By 2 we are picking up one of Sea Cats moorings again just south of the capital city of Roseau. Steve takes the dinghy down to town to go clear in while I stay on the boat to desalt. We have a lovely dinner at the Ever Green just a little south from where we are and right next to a dive shop dinghy dock we can use. Tuesday early morning we did get a nice rinse from a short rain shower, and the clouds hung around until noon. We went into Roseau to walk around and have lunch, refreshing our memories seeing what we did or did not remember about the town. Wednesday we are underway again by 7 AM motor sailing up the west coast of Dominica. As we near Portsmouth on the north end of Dominica the seas start to build and the winds pick up, one reef in the main and 2 in the genoa, sailing towards Guadeloupe at 9 + knots. We are stopping at the south end at a group of islands called Les Saintes. We are moored by 12:30 off the island of Terre-De-Haut. Clean the boat off, have lunch and go in to clear in. It is 3:30 Wednesday afternoon and many places are closing up. Island thing / French thing / no cruise ship in / break before dinner crowd or combination we are not sure. Steve goes to where the guide book says the customs office is but they are closed. So we walk around checking out menus at the many restaurants, Steve translating as best he can with the words he knows. Stop by the tourist office to pick up an island map showing hiking trails and points of interest. The main form of transport on the island are motor scooters, they have plenty to rent to zip around & tour the island but you can also just walk anywhere on the island as it is small enough. Thursday morning we decide the mooring we are on out in the middle is too rolly so we find one closer into shore before going in to check in with customs. The place is open but we learn that it is no longer the place to check in. We find the right place, go to the computer, Steve types our info in and pays $1 and now we are officially checked in. Go for lunch then take the walk / hike up to Le Chameau where there is an old lookout tower. The climb up is on an old road now closed to all but foot traffic, so other then the elevation (for me) a pretty easy hike. The views on the way up and the views from up on top are spectacular. Back down and to the boat and we go for a cool refreshing swim in the beautiful blue water surrounding the boat. Friday we have an earlier start to walk up to Fort Napoleon, a much easier walk but they close at noon. More great views and the grounds to the fort are beautiful. They have a really nice museum, even if everything was in French I was very impressed at how much they had. Back down, lunch in town at one place, made reservations for dinner at another place then back to the boat for a swim. Saturday we go into town early as I need to go by the post office to get stamps to mail my postcard and they are only open for a few hours in the morning. The town is nice and quiet, just a few shops starting to open and a few people out. Get to the post office at 8:30 and there is already a line, some post office's in the islands are like banks and handle a lot of different transactions. Wait in line and get my postcard stamped and mailed, Steve meets me out front with a fresh pain d'chololate, its a good morning. As we walk back to town 2 ferries have already arrived and the streets are full of people we walk around a little then Steve goes back to the boat and lets me really look in the different shops. I'm not a bigger shopper, no room to put anything new on the boat w/o getting rid of something old. BUT it's fun to be able to take some time once in a while to see if I do find something new that would work better then what I have and the French islands are a good place to look for such an item. Can't do that with Steve waiting out front, so we agreed to meet later for lunch. Back at the boat later we get ready to leave in the morning. Sunday, 7 am departure, sailing down wind with just the genoa out up the south coast of Guadeloupe in 3-4 ft. seas. Once we turn north to travel up the west coast of Guadeloupe we have flat seas with winds changing every 10 minutes. We are trying to motor sail, genoa in & out ½ dozen times, on shore breeze & off shore breeze, lulls of 5 knot winds to gusts of 20 knot winds. It's a calm slow ride up to the west coast of Guadeloupe, anchoring off the northwest town of Deshaies (Dey-Hey) by 1:30. We went in that evening just to walk around and to see what else was new besides the great new dinghy dock right out in front of town by the dive shop. For such a small town Deshaies has many good restaurants to choose from. It was Sunday night and many islanders were winding up the weekend so the streets were relatively busy, a favorite spot for islanders as well as us visitors. Another early departure on Monday from Guadeloupe heading west past Montserrat to Nevis. Montserrat, has an active volcano, so you can't sail too close (exclusion zone) but you can see it from over 30 miles out and come within 2 miles. You can also anchor and visit the island's north side, volcano on the south end, but the anchorage is not good for the northerly swells we have this time of year so we are unable to stop at this time. As we get close it is such an impressive sight, you can see the ash flow and ruins of the old capital city, hope we can stop here on the way south. We have an easy motor sail the whole way with light winds and calm seas and are moored off Nevis by 4. The mooring field is about a ½ mile north of the capital town of Charlestown out in front of the beautiful 3 ½ mile long Pinney's beach. Tuesday we go into town to check in, 3 places to go and $62 US later we are checked in to Nevis for 2 days and St. Kitts for 2 days. A little more paper work and $ than the French islands but the people were all very friendly. After check in was complete we walked around town, then went for an early lunch so we could do an afternoon Island tour. They have a beautiful Botanical Gardens, with many Asian statues amongst the plants from all over the world that we walk through. Finding out too late that they have a wonderful Thai restaurant. Then we visit a few of the old plantations that have been remodeled into first rate boutique hotels, it is fun to see how they have kept the old plantation style mixed with the modern. Up in the cool hills overlooking the islands mountains and sea, beautiful places on a beautiful island. Back to town around 4, since we had an early lunch and the place we ate was having burger night and it has been a while since I have had my burger fix, we thought we might do an early dinner. Dinner did not start until 6, and there is not a lot to do for 2 hours in this town so we went back to the boat and once back on-board we did not feel like doing another dinghy ride back to town so dinner on the boat. Wednesday we want to walk the beach, they do not make it real easy for boats anchored out to get onto the beach right in front of us. You can either go to town and walk the ½ mile back to the beach or you beach the dinghy. Beaching the dinghy is not usually a problem but most of this beach has waves crashing ashore steep to, so getting on to the beach would be easy getting back off the beach not so easy. We talked to the boat next door, who had the problem getting back off the beach the day before, and they said down by the Four Seasons Hotel they put some breakwaters in so the beach is much calmer to get the dinghy on & off the beach down there. We were worried they would not want us leaving our dinghy on the beach but they said it was OK. Great beach to walk up and down, then we stopped at Sunshine’s for lunch. The sign says it is home to the Killer Bee drink, so of course we have a couple each. No idea what was in these little drinks BUT they were killer !!! The food was good also, back to the boat for a little R&R. Thursday just a short 2 ½ hour trip over to St. Kitts, where we go into the marina at Port Zante. Reasonable rates and just easier to walk off the slip into town right next to the marina & cruise ship terminal. As we are tying up to the dock we see Kathy & John from Oceana whom we first met back in the Bahamas and they also spent the summer down in Grenada. They are making their way north also, checking out of St. Kitts as we check in. Checking into Nevis is good for St. Kitts also BUT you still have to go by customs to officially let them know you are here and give them a little piece of paper from Nevis. After lunch Steve goes back to the boat to give her a good wash down since the marina only charges $15 for all the water you can use. So even though we do little desalting after trips to be able to hook up a hose and really scrub the deck free of salt is a treat. I go and check out the 100 + shops around the marina, just trying to find a postcard !! Never thought finding a postcard could be so hard ! They have plenty of duty free diamonds, liquor, & cigarettes but VERY few postcards. Tons of t-shirts, shot glasses, beach towels and everything else you can engrave with the islands name, but only a handful of postcards at 3-4 shops ?? Guess cruise ship passengers don't send postcards. I did manage to find a couple to send off to my nephew so my shopping was complete. Taking advantage of our walk on walk off status at the dock we go out for dinner. Friday we made arrangements to do an island tour so we meet up with our taxi driver / tour guide at 9. In the islands most taxi drivers are also licensed as tour guides and the rates are fixed by the government. 1^st stop is the old Romney Manor, old plantation grounds turned into botanical gardens and now home of Caribelle Batik. They show you how they make the prints and have many wonderful

things to choose from in their gift shop. I wanted to just get a throw pillow COVER not another pillow (Steve thinks we have too many already) but we could not agree on a design. Leaving empty handed, next stop is the Brimstone Hill Fortress & Fort George Museum. They have done a wonderful job restoring the fort and the museum is very well done. Once again the views are spectacular. Next stop known as Black Rock, where when the islands volcano last erupted a 1000 years ago the lava cooling in the ocean waters made these rock formations. Pick up some BBQ chicken & pork to eat in the van on the drive back to town, back to the marina by 1:30. We make use of the duty free liquor store and load up on good cheap liquor, clear out from customs & immigration as we will be leaving Saturday morning. And once again later in the evening because it is so easy we walk into town for dinner. Saturday Steve checks us out with the marina and we are underway by 8 with light winds and flat seas as we dodge the fish pots on our way past the island. Once we clear the island and turn north we have PERFECT sailing conditions, with just 2 foot swells and 10-15 knot winds just aft of the beam it is a GREAT sail all the way over to St. Barts. One of those sails you wish everyday on the water could be like. St. Barts main anchorage is outside the main town of Gustavia. They have an “inner” port and marina area, where many mega yachts tie up stern to the dock, with their anchor lines dropped way out in the harbour. Many small power boats along the wall with stern anchors plus moorings in the middle that you have to tie bow & stern to. A very busy area. There are also anchorages outside the port area all along the the north side and all along the south side of the channel, they even have one “section” where the super mega yachts (too big to go into the port) seem to anchor out. All the areas seem crowded but we find a spot on the south side right by friends Linda & John on Kool Kat and are anchored by 2:45. Go to check in stopping by Kool Kat on the way, John & Linda have been here many times before so we make plans to join them for dinner as they will be leaving the next day. Checking into St. Barts, a French island, is still easier then the English islands BUT it is St. Barts so it does cost a little more $53 US for 3 nights -yes they charge to just anchor here. Took a little longer as it was busy, but the guy who was doing 5 things at once was very helpful and happy doing his job. Walk around town a little then back to the boat to clean up for dinner. We go in with Linda & John and they point out a few good restaurants and we enjoy the stroll around town reading menus before picking a place to eat. Stopped in at Le Select for a drink learning that this is supposed to be the place Jimmy Buffet wrote the song “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, the place sure is paradise but I saw a guy with a hamburger and I was not impressed. Sunday we go into town thinking we will take a taxi tour that Linda & John recommended or rent a scooter & do our own island tour. It's early 10 am, and nothing is open except a couple of bakeries and a couple of restaurants but NO taxis at the taxi stand and no open scooter rental places. So we decide to walk along the waterfront to the other side and go up to the Fort Oscar overlooking the harbor and the anchorage. We get up there and find out it is the national police headquarters and you can not visit (we overlooked this bit of info on the map). Walking the street up there trying to find other views, we make our way to the south headland where the ruins of Fort Karl are. Great views of harbor, town and shell beach just not of our anchorage. Still the weather is great warm but with a nice breeze so a great day for walking and exploring the town, even if everything is closed. Have lunch along the waterfront then take a walk up the east side headland to the lighthouse and Fort Gustave, now a weather station. More great views of the harbor, town and our anchorage. Not much more has opened, still no taxis at the taxi stand and we noticed there had not been any ferries, so I guess Sundays are quiet days. Back to the boat relaxing watching the boats come and go, dinner on board. Monday we are up and see a cruise ship coming in to anchor, so we hurry and get into town by 9, before too many passengers get in. We decide to rent a scooter for the day at 30 € instead of the hour taxi tour for 65 € (taxi can be up to 8 people), which at the time seems like a really good deal. Steve has not driven any vehicle in almost a year (11 months) and a lot longer since he has driven a scooter. We were not too concerned it was an automatic, and very heavy which made for a comfy ride with the 2 of us on it. The problem was it was under powered with the 2 of us on it (kind of like our dinghy). So going up hills we could not go very fast and cars started to pile up behind us. Steve trying to be nice and courteous would move over as much as he could and try to let people pass. But the side of the road was where most of the cracks and holes were so if we needed to get back over some drivers did not want to let us. Then we had side street traffic that you could not tell if they were going to stop until the last minute, so if we slowed down and it happened to be on a hill it was hard to get speed up again to get going. Pulling over to a look out spot, as we are stopping we hit dirt & gravel and the bike skids out from under us and we go down. Of course I wind up under the bike, but just a few scrapes and sure to be bruises. Wipe the dust off and get the map out to see where we want to go for lunch. On the way there going down to the hotel / restaurant we go over a speed bump (NOT the first of many we went over this day). We were going downhill, so Steve had his hands on the brake, and when we hit the unexpected bump, his hands reflexively hit the brakes, the front one harder than the rear, causing the back of the bike to jump up, my helmet hits Steve's helmet and I get launched off the bike onto the ground AGAIN ! Just another little scrape on my other elbow, back on the bike and continue to the restaurant. We sit and relax and have a nice leisurely lunch putting off getting back on the scooter as long as possible. We make several more stops and go up and down many more hills just one time the hill was too steep and the bike came to a grinding halt so I got off & walked up a little ways. Finally between my legs hurting from squeezing Steve so hard hanging on and Steve's hands cramping from holding the handles so hard we decide to call it a day and return the bike by 3:30.   I think this was the scariest thing I have done since we left Kemah.  Back to the boat hot showers, some aspirin for me, relax a little before going into town for dinner. St. Barts is really a beautiful island we can see why it is so popular even if you have to put up with a VERY rolly anchorage. Tuesday we will make the short trip over to St. Martin where we will be for a few weeks.

Link (s) to pictures;
https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/StBarts?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMXrhrbMjbLscQ&feat=directlink


https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/NevisStKitts?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO6U4Lif_oqr4QE&feat=directlink


https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/LesSaintes?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJPZz6euxuij1gE&feat=directlink


https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/MartiniqueDominica?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL3Bit25_r3k9QE&feat=directlink