New dive gear

We left the BVI a day later than we intended because New Years Eve Trip managed to remove the old prop zinc but ran out of air (we have a small tank) before he could get the new one on (too bouncy & not enough weights). We tried talking to the dive shop owner on the island (where we had done some work the week before), but he said no one was diving Jan 1 ( they survived the storm and were intending on getting shit-faced New Years Eve. Can’t say I blame them), but he would loan us a tank that afternoon. The next day came and no sign of John in person or on the phone. Trip was relaying his problems to Stephen via radio when new friend Don broke in with the news that he had a spare scuba tank if we wanted to use it. Lifesavers! Trip went over, got the tank, attached some extra straps and he had the prop zinc attached in 20 minutes.

Since we were staying the night we had the Judds and Don & Mel Roy over for one final BVI sundowner. We didn’t have to leave early the next morning, so we tidied up, disposed of trash at the ferry dock (where Trip went in to say hello and goodbye to the woman who runs Sugar N’ Spice – she treated him to a final pate on the house), and stopped by the Judds to say goodbye. I have to admit it was a total treat having them around for both Christmas and New Years. We had talked about meeting up by boat in the Caribbean for so long it was hard to believe we made it come true. Here’s to hoping we see each other somewhere down island, along with all our other new boating friends.

We managed to sail for a couple of hours, but unfortunately the winds were coming directly from where we needed to go (does this sound familiar?). Fortunately we had a clear sky with a startling full moon (this should sound familiar too). We had a pod of dolphins swimming under the boat for about 10 minutes that was wildly entertaining – we jokingly wondered if they were the “don’t go” group from the BVI or the welcoming party for Saba.

Just before noon the next day we arrived in Saba. The approach is incredible – the peak visible clearly at sunrise. The island is dramatic – volcanic stone rising sharply out of the sea. There was one – count one – other yacht in the anchorage. We headed around to Fort Bay to clear in. Customs & immigration is great – one building and you can clear in and out at the same time (most countries require clear in and clear out separately). We went up the road to pay for our marine park permit (the waters surrounding the island are a marine park sanctuary) where we also were able to book a taxi tour of the island for the next day. One of the local guides offered us a lift up the hill where we filled our gas and diesel jerry cans (no docks deep enough here to come in and fuel up). We also found one of the dive shops where we dropped off our tank for a refill.

Local resident

Bottom

The island is so small that buses and taxis aren’t super plentiful, but hitchhiking is normal here. We stopped someone to ask how to get a ride up to the Bottom (one of the two villages & yes, you have to go up to get to the Bottom) so we could grab lunch and he offered us a ride. Trip got in the cab like a sensible person, silly me thought I would be fine in the bed of the truck (having watched others do it). Oh. My. God. I have never been on roads so steep and stacked in my life. Being local, our driver sped around hairpin turns with less than 2 feet of a wall in between us and the plummeting hillside. Google some images of Saba – I’m not joking when I say plummeting. I still can’t figure out what even made someone think to land on the island much less colonize it! So we get to the Bottom and none of the restaurants or bars are open. So the driver continues on to Windwardside – the other village. More hairpin turns. I closed my eyes, breathed deep, and started meditating. Luckily we made it to a nice lunch with a grocery store right across the street for a bit of provisioning. The island is Dutch so they had a load of wonderful Dutch cheeses, cured meats, & cookies. Once again – we wouldn’t starve. We caught a taxi back to the harbor and dinghied back to the boat, where we took off for the mooring field.

Goats in the hills

The mooring field is on the leeward side of the island – the 1 mile stretch with the least wind and current. There are 6 mooring balls (normally 10 but the storm ripped out a few) and I’m pretty sure they’ve never been full. We grabbed the first one which happened to be really close to ‘the ladder’. Centuries ago the island was only inhabited by pirates – men so crazy they would call home the top of the steepest cliffs with no access so they couldn’t be attacked. When the island finally became colonized, they cut a ladder out of the stone in the cliffs – it rather looks like the Great Wall of China. Boats coming in had to wait for small surf and bring all their gear in through this ladder. People rarely hike it today it’s so steep, and the one remaining building is the customs building that was only half way up when it was used. It really gives you pause and amazes you about the sturdiness of the locals. The rest of the view was no less spectacular. The island looks like something out of the Isle of Dr Moreau, and Trip kept expecting to see King Kong come leaping from one of the peaks. When the sound of the surf died you could hear goats bleating up in the hills from impossibly craggy peaks.

Ladder Bay

It’s not the kindest anchorage – there’s a bit of a roll which we don’t notice on a boat as heavy as ours. However when the wind meets the current we no longer pull back on the mooring ball and instead smash into it, which can make for an unpleasant night. My goal someday is to come up with a solution to this and make my millions…..

The next day we headed into town for our tour. Rodney picked us up right away and was kind enough to deliver our dirty laundry to a local woman. It was expensive, but nothing like drop off at 10:30 and pickup at 2:30. He gave us a more detailed tour of the Bottom including the local Roman Catholic Church (beautiful) and a stop at one of the local artisan shops where we picked up some local spiced rum and tatted lace (local specialties). We also got a first hand look at the architecture – white houses with green hurricane shutters and red corrugated metal roofs. Turns out these structures were Scottish in design (one of the original settling groups) and judging by how little damage they suffered from Irma (the hurricane passed 60 miles from shore) it’s a successful one.

From the Bottom we passed through St John and then went to Windwardside – the other main village. We passed on to Hells Gate and the airport. Holy crap, it’s the size of an aircraft carrier – supposedly the flights in are very memorable.

A note here:  The main road here is nicknamed ‘the road that couldn’t be built’ when the Dutch government said it couldn’t be done and the locals did it anyway, resulting in a steep but beautifully designed roadway. Then there’s ‘the road that shouldn’t have been built’ which comes down to the anchorage. We didn’t try it but everyone says it lives up to its reputation. The airport is another spot where the government said it wasn’t possible so the locals found someone who could do it. The result is utter madness and it’s listed as one of the top 10 world’s most dangerous airfields, but they have a spotless record.

We came back to Windwardside for lunch – Rodney’s wife owns a café right in the middle of town and we were happy to give her the business. We also stopped and booked a dive trip for the next day. Laundry was running late as we came back to the Bottom, so we stopped at a local café for smoothies (my body doesn’t know what to do with that many fresh vegetables and greens anymore).

Then it was back to the boat for the most magical sunrise behind these magnificent peaks. I think we were both in bed by 8:30…..

The next day we came ashore for a scuba trip with Sea Saba. There were only 4 others on our boat, a nice small dive trip. Saba is known as one of the top diving destinations in the Caribbean and it makes up a significant portion of their tourism dollars. (It’s not the easiest place to get to – requires a flight or ferry from St Maarten.) Because the island is so small you can be at any of the dive sites in less than 20 minutes. It was 5 maybe to our first dive – Babylon. The dive site is named so because it looks like the hanging gardens of Babylon. The lava oozed out as the island formed, no spewing. Consequently, trails of lava went down the mountainside and into the water with furrows in between. The furrows are currently beds of sand and the lava slides support an amazing abundance of wildlife. As I descended we immediately saw a reef shark. The dive took us past moray eels, a nurse shark, and all sorts of corals and sponges. Absolutely amazing. After the limited snorkeling we’ve been doing in places that were hit by the storms, it’s lovely to be in a place with this kind of underwater marine wildlife. Our second dive easily rivaled the first. The Man o’ War shoals rise from just north of our boat mooring and are a pair of pinnacles covered with every color of soft coral and sponge. The current passing through creates an environment for fish swimming everywhere. Because it’s a marine sanctuary, the grouper and the lobster are the biggest you’ll ever see, without any fear of landing on someone’s dinner plate. As I read in a local tour book, diving this site is like swimming in an underwater painting – it’s absolutely dreamy.

After the dive we hitched a ride up to the Bottom again with local dive mates with a car and had lunch at Island Flavors – highly recommended for their spinach salad with seared scallops. The mother of the owner offered us a ride back to the dinghy dock rather than get a cab so we accepted and headed back. We’re enjoying our final sunset on the boat over cocktails. Dinner will be served at 6 and we’ll probably be in bed by 7 (diving is exhausting). Tomorrow off to St Kitts!