Month: February 2018

Bourge Des Saintes harbor

Much as I loved Deshaies, everyone was talking about the Saintes. We headed south as soon as the weather permitted. It was a wonky sail south, pleasant at first but then getting slammed by the winds screaming down off of peaks and then the winds altogether wrapping around and coming from different directions. Tivoli passed us (damn newer boats that are much faster) but then came about and passed us again going the other way. I figured they realized the seas were too big to be towing their dinghy but it also happened that they caught the line off a fish trap on their prop (something we always dreaded but never came across in Maine). Soon enough we felt how lumpy the seas were. And so much for that forecast of gusting to 15 knots. It was blowing 20, gusting to 25 and luckily we had already reefed the main, brought in the jib and hoisted the staysail (loving the repair job) instead. We managed to make good time, but still arrived mid afternoon which meant all the moorings were taken and we had to anchor for the evening.

Iles Des Saintes. Think Nantucket small island charm dropped in the Caribbean and now throw in good French food and wine. It’s a cluster of islands with charming architecture, great hikes, and pretty beaches. What more could one want?

Anchoring turned out to not be so bad.  I got to watch the local fisherman seine for bait, then use the bait to catch bigger bait, and then use that bait to catch & club something the size of wahoo or barracuda…..right abeam of us during breakfast.  We were then able to move up to a mooring.  Better protection for the winds coming.

Baby goat

Torben & Judy showed up the day after we did and Eva & Jean-Luc arrived another two days later. Add on John, a friend of Tivoli who sailed solo (with companion Captain Jack the dog) from the BVI and we had built in friends all around us! Trip and I walked up to Fort Napoleon for a history lesson about the Saintes. We then joined the others for a hike up Le Chameau (The Camel), a rather steep but paved climb. Every hike on the island rewards you with spectacular views and I’ve taken to having my phone out for pics all the time.

With our new little ‘family’ in the harbor we did dinner on board again with lots of wine, a creamy chicken stew, sautéed zucchini from Eva & fabulous pineapple cake a la Judy (I’m loving the fact that we’ve met foodie cruisers).

Everyone abandoned us today for Point a Pitre, they have sail repairs and people to meet, but we’re hoping to see them again soon. And in the meantime I’m finally updating the blog. And we’re debating diving. On our hike up to Fort Napoleon we watched divers from a local shop march across the street, into the water from the beach and then climb on board the boat – all the time wearing their BCDs and tanks. Now that’s hard core. I’m not sure that’s what I had in mind, but Eva reassures us there’s another dive shop on the island where they do rendezvous diving – they pick you up at your boat.

Mooring Hunger Games (red boat waiting impatiently)

So we’re hanging out enjoying ourselves while the winds and the seas pick up over the next few days. It was a morning I referred to as Mooring Hunger Games as we watched boats either new to the islands or upping anchor (had to be a rolly night in the anchorage with all that fetch) motoring around looking for available moorings. As soon as you see someone raise a mainsail you race over and hover to claim their spot. That didn’t work so well for one boat (charter I think) who took an hour to raise their main and forced several boats to move on.

Deshaies harbor

The second time is the charm – we decided to skip Montseratt and get to Guadeloupe to get organized before John & Natalie (Trip’s niece & her Dad) arrived. This meant an overnight sail. The only problem was that we didn’t anticipate better speed and we don’t go into new harbors at night so we wound up having to drift off shore of Deshaies for several hours waiting for daybreak. We tried heaving to, but had too much sail up so went back to drifting.

Deshaies sunset

Flamingos at the gardens

Deshaies is one of the most charming fishing villages we’ve ever visited. It’s a popular place and we had to anchor in 40 feet of water, but we hooked well. Guadeloupe is a French island so I immediately started brushing up on my high school French (later downloaded a dictionary app onto my phone). There’s really only one main street but it’s loaded with cute tourist shops and fabulous restaurants. There’s one boulangerie in the center of town where we’d do croissants or quiche and coffee for breakfast before heading out for the day.

John & Natalie

We were fortunate enough to come across Zen Latitude, the boat we had chatted with during our off-shore passage. Turns out they were in a very similar situation to us, running low on fuel, and had convinced a cargo ship to drop diesel in jerry cans a mile away from them. Sylvie showed us pictures of his messy fuel filters and advised us to think twice about doing the same. Worse yet, they told us that another sailboat made the same request but came alongside the cargo ship and wound up damaging their boat in the process. They’re heading south so we’re hoping to see them again.

New friend at Poisson Rouge

The only thing lacking for Deshaies is a marina or any facility for boats other than the local fishing boats. Luckily a local boat concierge service had just been started by a woman named Anne Laure who became our new best friend. She delivered water for our tanks, took laundry (ouch, so expensive!), and helped us arrange for repairs on the staysail. As I was dropping the staysail after our ride over from Nevis I noted that the top hanks had completely blown and the next several were close to going. Luckily North Sails is operational in Point a Pitre (Guadeloupe’s capital), and Anne Laure arranged for the new hanks as well as hand delivering the sail.

Feeding the lorakeets

Aboard Nautilus at the Cousteau Marine Park

We had a day to kill before John & Natalie arrived so we went up to the botanical gardens. After a delightful lunch by the waterfall, we wandered through the gardens enjoying the samples of plants from all over the world that fare well in the Caribbean climate. The birds had to be the highlight though. You can feed the lorakeets which was wild, you can talk to the macaws (though they obviously didn’t like my accent and wouldn’t answer), and you simply stand there and admire the grace of the flamingoes.

Carbet Waterfalls

Rainbow in Deshaies harbor

After a day of missed flights and crazy misdirecting (at one point Delta booked them to Haiti because – hey – what’s the difference between Point au Prince and Point a Pitre?) John and Natalie made it. Natalie had been our first guest on board over the summer in Block Island and she was the first one to make it to the islands too! They had booked a car, and Guadeloupe is a rather large island, so we made tracks.

The first day we headed south, looking for waterfalls. Unfortunately the map we had was pretty basic and I earned my nickname ‘doubleback’ by getting us to a trail that would take hours to make it to the waterfalls. We didn’t realize that though till we were 45 minutes into the hike. Only the French would pave trails with the most beautiful stone arrangements – it made you forget (almost) the height we were ascending. Turns out we were on our way up to La Soufriere, the summit of the island. Aside from people coming down warning us that you needed better shoes and jackets (the summit was clouded in that day), we also witnessed a young man with a broken arm, clearly still in shock, being guided down by friends. We turned around and decided there was a better way to find the waterfalls. After an hour of driving downhill, around the southern end of the island and back up, we found it. The Chutes du Carbet are spectacular and because we got there so late in the day there was no competition for a great view and lots of photo opportunities. Unfortunately, after storms and an earthquake in 2004, you can no longer hike directly to the falls because they’re too unstable, but it was a great view anyway.

Second trip to Grand Anse – hiking with          Torben, Judy, Klaus & Karin

After a day of hiking we decided the next day was a beach day. Grand Anse Beach was just north of Deshaies so we made the drive in just a few minutes. The beach is huge and the sand is the most spectacular range of different colors from white to pink to brown to black. There was plenty of room to lounge without feeling crowded and most people wound up just floating in the water for as long as they could take it before they got all pruny. From the beach we headed up to an eco lodge called Tendacayou that Natalie had heard about from someone on the plane. We lucked out and got a table overlooking the ocean at their restaurant Poisson Rouge. It was there we discovered that marlin, a fish for sport only back home in the US, is quite tasty on a skewer. Back in town we strolled through the boutiques and wound up having an early dinner at Paradise Kafe where half the cat population in town found us and were rewarded well with chicken and duck from our plates.

Elusive waterfall hike

For our final day we headed south to the Jacques Cousteau Marine Park in Malendure. There are different dive and snorkeling options, but we opted to take a boat out called the Nautilus. Once they get you out to the islands you walk down into the bilge of the boat which is lined with plexiglass windows. They circle the islands and you get to enjoy the fish and coral in all its beauty. We also had a chance to snorkel as well which was fun if too short.

Grande Anse Beach

John and Natalie had to head back to frigid New York (an 0400 dinghy ride to bring them ashore!) after a much too short visit. Tivoli had arrived the day before, so we had dinner with Torben & Judy at Le Katz. Great to see them again. The next day we were exploring the option of a car rental where we met Jean-Luc & Eva (the owners of the Amel ketch “Reve de Lune” that we were next to in Nevis). Later that day, they invited us for sundowners (which morphed into dinner, dessert, digestif, etc.). We managed to snag a mooring knowing that stronger winds were coming which required better protection. Turns out we were moored next to Reve de Lune & wound up organizing a dinner party on board. I did the main course but Judy brought a curried mango cheese ball and Eva baked a chocolate cake – we eat in style in the islands! We may be one of the smaller boats in the harbor but we know who to invite for entertaining!

Guadeloupe lobster special

We also managed to get a booking with one of the local dive companies. The water in Guadeloupe is full of nutrients and some sediment, but the dives were still great. Massive barrel sponges invited exploration and every once in a while you’d find a crab or even soft coral growing in the base. There was one new type of coral I have yet to identify that looked like brain coral but was the colors of fruit loops. And the highlight was seeing a frogfish – looks like a lime green toad in fish form just calmly sitting there. We also saw five Lionfish – beautiful to look at but a real nuisance with no predators.

Busted Tevas

Point a Pitre market

Judy and Torben organized a hike with another Danish couple Klaus and Karin. The guide books gave a sketchy description and Active Captain (Yelp for boaters) gave even sketchier reviews but we decided to try anyway. The trails disappeared frequently and we were left bouldering up the water which was fun I admit. We finally gave up and tried to bushwack back to the main road only to wind up in the backyard of a local who greeted us with a machete (luckily he was just clearing land and we weren’t perceived to be any threat). His wife got us situated on the road and we meandered back to town.

Satisfied kittie at lunch

The next day the same fearsome six had a more successful hike, over the hill back to Grand Anse. Both bases of my Tevas ripped off but I had enough sandal to finish the walk. It was a completely different beach than what we saw with John & Natalie. What had been lapping low waves were now furiously crashing against the shore and the local surf community had come out to enjoy it. Absolutely amazing how high winds and big seas can transform a place. We had lunch at the Hibiscus Restaurant where I had some of the best octopus ever in a tomato creole sauce.

The food in the island is a beautiful mix of French and Caribbean. Fresh or smoked fish is available at every meal. The wine is fabulous (and cheap). Salt cod fritters have become my new favorite appetizer (much better than the conch fritters further north in the BVI). Baguettes available daily. Avocadoes the size of a small child’s head. I already mentioned the marlin but the wahoo and tuna here are amazing as well. Goats are all over the island and the goat curry is delicious. And I’m happy to report that Trip can not only eat the Caribbean curries (he can’t do Indian at all) but really enjoys them!

Uncle Trippy & Natalie

Trip and I also made it to Point A Pitre two different days. The first time I jumped into the markets and was excited to find spices and fresh fruit galore. Given the 1.5 hour ride back I opted not to get fish as well. We found a dive shop where we were finally able to buy weights to make it easier when we’re diving on the bottom of the boat, and I treated myself to a new scuba mask. We visited the Slave Museum on the second visit – a must see for anyone in the area. While it does not go into the true horrors of slavery, it’s a well presented (you could bring children) permanent exhibit about the history of slavery in the Caribbean. They go out of their way to point out that many other cultures have used slavery throughout history and it’s still alive and flourishing today. The building itself is a stark piece of art sitting right on the waterfront.

Nevis architecture

We were on our way to Nevis when we got hailed on the VHF by Tivoli. Turns out they had already checked out the island and found things to be too uncomfortable in the wind and roll so they were anchored in Cockelshell Bay off of Reggae Beach on the southern end of St Kitts. We dropped anchor and joined them as the only other boat in the harbor.
After admiring the baby turtles in the water (turns out they hatch on a beach across the pass on Nevis and winds/waves were bringing them over) and the mounds of tourists being cleared off the beach returning to their cruise ships, we headed ashore with Judy & Torben. Wouldn’t you know it the lights to the Reggae Bar turned off just as we beached the dinghy. We headed down the beach for what turned out to be a lovely dinner at the Spice Mill. On our way back to the boat I commented that we seemed to be further from Tivoli than I remembered, and wouldn’t you know it – we had dragged for the first time. It was probably about 150 feet and we were still in 10 feet of water with no one else around. But I spent an uncomfortable night making sure that we had hooked, checking my iPhone app and peering outside every once in a while.

Agave

The next morning we left for Oualie Beach in Nevis. We were lucky enough to tuck in far enough around the point to get out of the roll and drop anchor. We were a bit paranoid about anchoring in sea grass given the previous night so Trip dove the anchor. Luckily we had hooked nicely. We spent the afternoon ashore at the beach club having lunch and enjoying the laid back atmosphere.

We took a local bus into Charlestown and checked out the Hamilton Museum (he was born on Nevis). It’s really not much to see if you’ve read Ron Chernow’s book, but still nice to visit an important place from history. We tried multiple times to check in with customs about extending our stay but no one was around so we gave up and took another bus out to Gingerland, where all the former sugar mill plantations have been turned into restaurants and inns. On Judy’s recommendation we went to the Golden Rock Inn. We wandered around the magnificently sculpted grounds (complete with monkeys) and then went in for lunch on the terraced restaurant that had once been the long house. The owners are clearly artists and their touch was evident everywhere.

Lunch terrace at Golden Rock Inn

Nevis gardens

The next morning we left, or tried to. I should have known it was going to be an interesting sail when we buried the rail just five minutes into the sail under jib only. The run down the island was pleasant enough and then we hit the weather. Winds on our nose, steep seas, and of course squalls made for an umpleasant ride. Even motor sailing we were only able to make 1.5 knots – yes we could all walk faster to the next island. We gave up and headed back for Nevis.

It rained multiple times a day pretty much every day we were in Nevis. But the rainbows that came afterward (and they always did) were absolutely spectacular – something I will never forget!

Clear shot of Nevis peak

This time we picked up a mooring off Pinney Beach, the one place we hadn’t visited. We dinghied ashore for lousy service at the highly rated Sunshine Beach Bar so we wandered further down. Leave it to us – without knowing it we crashed a private party at the Four Seasons. I just thought they had a great steel drum band every night – who knew? We politely turned around and wound up at Turtle Time for apps & drinks. After noting a lovely Amel ketch anchored next to us with a Swedish flag (more on that later), we went back to Charlestown to re-clear in and extend our stay. After that we decided to give Sunshine another shot only to find that the Four Seasons private party had now taken over that bar! We gave up and went for a quiet pizza at Lime (great!) before rowing back to the boat.