St Lucia Once Again

First of all, to answer some questions that "Sitting in the Bush" asked (I shouldn't really unless you tell us who you are (I have an idea) but - what the heck!)

Is Jason sailing? - as much as he wants - we will likely go down to the Pitons, which is about a 3-4 hour sail. After that it is up to him.

Markets and Food - there are usually fresh veggie markets nearly everywhere and fish is also usually available either directly from the fishermen (listen for the conch horn they use to announce they are in and selling) or in the markets. Regular meat buying is sometimes a bit harder although there are a variety of meats sometimes available that you don't get in Canada - goat, chicken feet, beef hoof, pig snout etc. The meat we are used to, sold the way we are used to seeing it, is sometimes a problem on the smaller islands. Some of the islands have small 'supermarkets' similar to Canadian corner stores. Quite a few of the islands have bigger stores, somewhat like Safeway but not as big. Like on Tortola BVI, Antigua, Grenada, Nevis, Trinidad - in fact we found a store in Trinidad laid out EXACTLY like the majority of Costcos and they also sold Kirkland brand products. So - enough of that stuff.



Our trip from Dominica to St Lucia was an overnighter and of course, as is most often the case, at the new moon (meaning the littlest moon). We had decided to skip Martinique on the way down and maybe re-visit it after Jason's visit. This was mostly because of the time factor of wanting to see the Perrys in St Lucia and getting settled in before Jason got here. Also we figured we would give Martinique a little more time to get things back to normal after the strike the whole island just experienced.

The forecast was for low winds and low seas and we weren't disappointed, although we left hoping we would pick up some breezes. Dominica is quite mountainous so when we left Portsmouth on the lee side of the island we knew that any wind would be well off the coast. Unfortunately, although we went a long way west off the island we were not able to find any wind at all so ended up doing the first 30 nm in winds that maybe peaked at 5 kts and coming from all directions so we had to use the motor to make way. Fortunately the seas were also low so we weren't dealing with waves crashing over our bow.

After we cleared the end of Dominica we finally found some wind and were able to sail at around 7 kts between the south point of Dominica down as far as St Pierre, Martinique where we again - in spite of staying well off the coast - had the wind "removed" by the island. It was not quite as bad as previously but our main propulsion all the way down Martinique and up to about 10 nm from St Lucia was motorsailing. We finally got some wind again and were able to sail into Rodney Bay, St Lucia but we made the absolute worst average speed we had ever made on a voyage. Consequently instead of getting there about 8:00 as planned, we were dropping the mainsail at about 10:30. The absolute neatest thing, however, that made up for the slow voyage, happened just as we were dropping the sail. We keep a handheld VHF radio in the cockpit and just as we started out approach we heard this young but very mature sounding voice saying: Mystic Journey, Mystic Journey, Mystic Journey, this is Artemo, Artemo, Artemo. You guessed it, Alex (my 12 year old grandson) was calling us from the marina where the Perry's were docked working on Artemo. Fantastic!!!

After getting our sails down and stowed we anchored in close to Pigeon Island in a spot just after the northwest corner of the bay. Although we are at the farthest point from the marina, we are also in the best place to be sheltered from the north swells that have been all too prevalent this year. We got here on Wednesday and this is being written on a Monday, I will close it out and the next blog will catch up to our latest stuff. Needless to say lots of it involves the Perry family but there will be lots more besides by the time we write the next one.

Relics and Ruins

On Sunday we decided to head back to Cabrits National Park and hike up East Cabrits. We went with another Canadian couple - Randy and Susan on NANCY DAWSON out of Halifax. They are headed to Antigua to sail in the Classic Regatta in April. A classic yacht is one that is of a design that could have been built out of wood, has a full keel and has a keel hung rudder. They have been busy cleaning up the boat for the 'beauty' part of the regatta.

We stopped briefly at Fort Shirley because Randy and Susan hadn't been there since it had been restored. Once we found the correct trail we headed towards East Cabrits. The first thing of interest we came to was the Commadore's Quarters. It was obviously a large, 2-storied building when it was built. Being the Commadore's Quarters it was built away from the fort itself, but because it was built closer to the swamp it was uninhabitable and mosquito ridden and apparently abandoned shortly after it was finished. It was amazing to see how the trees had overgrown the walls of the building. Some of the trees here have air roots as stabilizers. These roots were growing around and down the walls. Most of them were larger than a man's arm.

Walking the ruins with Susan was interesting. She is knowledgeable of what to look for by way of artifacts or relics. At the Commodore's Quarters she was finding pottery shards and pieces of clay pipe. Once I knew what to look for I was able to find a few things too - pottery, glass, a top of a jug and a couple of pieces of pipe. Susan found a half sphere about 1 1/2 inch in diameter that was quite heavy. We decided it must be 'grapeshot'. Grapeshot was a type of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons in place of a large cannonball. It consisted of many iron balls or other materials in a canvas sack that was loaded into cannon. It was very devastating. Back to our relic hunting. After Susan found the half sphere I found a whole one. Then Griff walked into one of the rooms and the entire floor was covered with the balls to about a depth of 1 foot. The last thing I found was what appeared to be part of a musket firing pan. We found more pottery shards and pipe pieces while walking further along the path. Susan theorized that maybe the gravel used for the path came from close to a dump because it didn't make sense to find pottery shards out in the middle of nowhere.

Pottery Shards

Clay Pipe Pieces

Grapeshot

Rather than head up East Cabrits as it was getting quite warm, we chose to take the path that lead to Douglas Bay where we came upon the Douglas Bay Battery. We found some more ruins covered with tree roots and also cannon that were not refinished and painted. They were actually in very good shape, just with a green patina that old metal takes on. The other thing we saw here was a Grove Snake. It was similar in size to a Garter Snake back home, but black with yellow diamonds and much longer and slimmer.

We also saw some different trees along the path including the first mushrooms that I have seen growing in the Caribbean. Some of the trees here have interesting 'defense mechanisms'. They grow thorns just like rose stems have. On St. Kitts one is called the Monkey Cry Tree because the monkeys cannot climb it. We ended the hike at the Welcome Centre which had a sign acknowledging assistance from the Canadian International Development Agency.

Tuesday morning we went into Portsmouth for the last time before heading out for St. Lucia to meet the Perry's and Jason. We visited our friendly bread lady and bought some more of her bread and sweet breads. Hers' are unique because she bakes them in a 'stone oven'. This is an oven that uses wood for heat rather than propane. The bread has a nutty taste to it and the sweet breads are delicious. She does not have a store, but sells her wares from a stand on the street similar to the fruit and vegetable stands of the market. We also picked up some grapefuit and an apricot which is the size of a small grapefruit.

Apricots

Along Bay Street, which is the main street of Portsmouth, and the next village of Lagoon we saw examples of other ruins. Unfortunately a lot of these buildings are still being lived in. A majority of the houses we saw would be about 12 - 15 feet square, some made of wood and brightly painted, others made of corrugated metal and rusted. Most of them had colourful plants around them.

(Griff here) - thus ended our latest visit to Dominica. We had tried Rosseau, the capital, last time we were here but didn't find it that interesting so we decided to skip it this time and go straight to our next stop from Portsmouth. We spoke with Martin (Providence), our "boat boy" (actually yacht services man) at length about Portsmouth and Dominica yesterday and I mentioned that if I had the money I would certainly consider opening a marina and "Yacht Stop" in Portsmouth. As I have said before, Dominica is the most lush and verdant island that we have seen in the Caribbean, with an astounding array of plant life. It is such a strange contrast to see the abundance of the island itself compared to the harsh reality of how the people live. And yet the people are friendly and helpful and the community here has a relatively low crime rate. Oh well, perhaps our marina and "Yacht Stop", when we win the lottery, will help to bring the prosperity that the people here deserve.

Dominica Revisited

When we decided to come back to Dominica this year we planned on seeing parts of the island we had not seen last year. The island is just as lush and green and the people as friendly as we remembered.

Our first indication that our memories of the island were true was the arrival of Martin in his fishing dinghy PROVIDENCE. If you remember, Martin is the 'yacht service provider' (Boat Boy) we used last year. We had called him on the VHF as we were coming into the harbour, but he had not heard us. He found out from another boat that we had called him and came over just as we were finished dropping the anchor. He welcomed us to the island with a friendly "Welcome to Dominica". He took our laundry to be done and came back later with grapefruit and some fresh herbs - basil, chives and big thyme, all of which was delicious.

It is grapefruit season on the island and the grapefruit are soooooooooooooooooo juicy and sweet. Orange season is just finishing so there are still a few oranges still available.

The Bounty of Dominica

We spent one morning with Martin going snorkeling in another bay. There was us, Tom and Kathy from YELLOW ROSE and Joyce from LADY H. The bay we went to was Douglas Bay on the other side of Cabrits National Park. We stopped at three different sites. One of them was particularly spectacular with shallow areas and a deep canyon with blue star coral. There were different kinds of sponges - barrel and tube. The barrel sponges were all different shapes and sizes, but all shaped like open ended barrels. Some of the fishes we saw were Spotted Trunkfish, Stoplight Parrotfish, Yellowtail Damselfish,Trumpetfish, and Yellow Goatfish. Joyce is a diver and she gave us the names of most of the fishes we saw. I also looked them up in the fish guide we have. Unfortunately we do not have an underwater camera until Jason comes in April, therefore, no pictures of the snorkeling. Here is a website that you can access to see pictures of some of the fish we have seen. http://www.reefnews.com/reefnews/index/fishes.html

On Monday we headed out on an island tour with a group of other cruisers. There were two couples from England and another couple from Canada.

Left to right: Ruth, Geoff, GERU (CDN); Phillip, Jana, DELPHINUS (ENG); Dillon GUIDE; Lizzie, Dic, INDIAN SUMMER (ENG)

Last year we toured the north end of the island so this year we went along the east coast to visit a Carib Indian village. Carib Indians are some of the original natives on the island. They are not indigenous to the region as they came and conquered the Arawak Indians who were the indigenous population. The Caribs were pushed to the north-east of the island by the British when they arrived and later that area of the island became 'Carib Territory' similar to the reservations in Canada. However, the Caribs were treated differently than the aborigines in Canada and they are an equal part of the Dominican social structure although most of them still live in the Territory. The Territory looked like the rest of the island as far as housing goes. They do have a Caribe Village set up where the buildings are like the ones they used to live in - thatched roofs and open sided. We did not go to the village proper due to time restraints, but were able to watch women do the basket weaving for which the Caribes are known. They had some interesting carvings of heads along a fence. When asked what they were made of we were told 'hair'.

One other stop we made was at an agricultural station just north of Portsmouth. Here Griff found a Katie dog replacement. The big sows just loved having their ears scratched like Katie does. The look on their faces (the sow's and Griff's) was one of pure contentment.

Dillon, our guide, made frequent stops throughout the day. He was a wealth of information about the country and the plant and animal life. There are no large animals on the island or as Dillon put it "nothing that would attack us". For animal life there are wild boars, iguanas, agoutis, and mountain chickens (a large forest frog) that the people hunt for food and lots of parrots. The only ones we saw were one iguana and a pair of parrots. We saw lots of different plants. Dillon was able to tell us the names and what plants were used for. He said he learned a lot of the information while he lived with his grandmothers. At one stop, a filmsite for Pirates of the Caribbean Parts 1&2, he husked a couple of coconuts and we were able to drink the coconut water and then eat the flesh. It was much nicer than the water and flesh we tried in Grenada. Maybe it was because it was definitely fresh.

One place we revisited was the Red Rocks by Calibishi. It was every bit as spectacular as last year. The sea wasn't quite as wild as last year, no waves splashing up over the area we were standing on, but with the sun shining and the blue, blue sky the red of the rocks really stood out.

2009

2008

The last stop of the day was at Chaudiere Pool. We drove along a farm access road, very similar to what the forestry trunk roads were like before they were paved - single lane, dirt track. When we got to the end we saw the sign for the pool, 2684 ft, with the arrow pointing downwards. We should have taken that as an omen because the trail went straight down the side of the hill for 2684 feet. Fortunately the tree roots grew across the path and acted as a staircase. When we arrived at the bottom it was worth it. A pool 18 feet deep with a small waterfall and a 20 foot cliff surrounding it. One of the guides used the waterfall as a waterslide and Griff, forgetting he is 66, jumped from the cliff. No picture you just have to take my word for it. Swimming in the pool was a refreshing end to a long day.

We got back to the boat 10 hours after we left in the morning, tired but more knowledgeable about the island.

Ashore in Portsmouth, Dominica

We spent most Saturday in Portsmouth with Tom and Kathy from the boat YELLOW ROSE. They are from Michigan and are the couple we mentioned in the previous blog who asked us for information.

We headed ashore right after breakfast to take in the Saturday morning market. It was just like the farmers market at home. There were some stands under a roof, but the majority of the vendors were set up at tables or out of the back of pick-ups along the road leading from the town dock. Lots of different fruits and vegetables. We stocked up on vine-ripened tomatoes, leaf lettuce, carrots and bananas. I decided to buy some Christophene to try. It is a bland vegetable that the locals in Trinidad use in stir-fry. We were also able to get some figs. You may remember from our blogs last year that figs in the Caribbean are small bananas that are very sweet when they are ripe. We haven't been able to get them since we were in Grenada. After the market we just walked around the town for a bit again and then headed back to the boat to put away our purchases and have lunch.

After lunch, Tom and Kathy picked us up in their dinghy and we went to Cabrits National Park. Cabrit is French/Spanish/Portuguese for goats. In the past goats roamed over the area. The park is situated on the peninsula of land that forms the northern edge of Prince Rupert's Bay where we are anchored. Originally the peninsula was two volcanic islands. Over the centuries wave action filled in between the islands and between the islands and the mainland. The British reinforced the area between the islands and the mainland when they built Fort Shirley on the western most peak. We explored around Fort Shirley a bit and then hiked to the top of West Cabrits. The hike was reminiscent of hiking in Waterton Park at home except for the difference in vegetation and the height of the hills. The highest peak on Dominica is 4106 feet and West Cabrits is 623 feet. When we got to the top all that was there was one old cannon that hadn't even been maintained. The view would have been spectacular if it hadn't been so hazy. On a clear day we probably could have seen all the way to Isles des Saintes and Guadeloupe.

The main part of Fort Shirley has been partially restored so we spent some time exploring there. It seems whenever we see cannons we have to kid around. This time Griff had a close target to aim at and I had an appropriately sized canon.

After a stop at the Purple Turtle Beach Bar for a Lemon Lime and Bitters(LLB) we got back to the boat about 4PM. We spent the evening doing our usual - watching an episode of M*A*S*H and an episode of Stargate - SG1.

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

So here we are again - blogging, this time from Portsmouth, Dominica. We just wanted to update everyone on how we got here, what we are doing and what's next.

We had planned to leave Nevis on Wednesday the 11th and sail overnight to Portsmouth but after our first REALLY rolly night (during the bad weather the wind had kept us into the waves so there was lots of rocking but not much rolling) on Monday night we decided on the spur of the moment - but of course after due and diligent consideration!!, to leave on Tuesday afternoon. We headed into town to fill our jerry cans (army term for 5 gal. storage containers) with gas, diesel and water and to pick up some groceries. We were back on the boat by 10:00 but still had to go back into town to clear customs and we picked up two beef and one swordfish pastie for eating on the way. After our final return to the boat we had to square the boat away, hoist the dinghy and generally prepare for the overnight so it was about 2:45 by the time we slipped our mooring and were on our way.

In case you are wondering why we chose to sail straight down to Dominica and do it overnight, here is what made sense to us. We could have sailed to Montserrat and overnighted and then gone to Guadeloupe and overnighted and then sailed to Dominica but first of all the north swells were still very much making themselves felt and the Montserrat anchorage is horrible in north swells so we didn't want to stay there. Another reason for not staying in Montserrat is that the volcano on the south end had a minor eruption in December and was still occasionally spewing ash, not a nice thing to clean off the boat. We could also have done a long day trip directly to Guadeloupe but two things against that. They just very recently settled an island-wide strike that involved quite a bit of violence and one murder so "settled" would not be a term we felt we could safely apply to the island. It would also have meant a very long day to get there and then another very long day to get to Dominica. The final reason for sailing straight through is that for all of our previous overnights except for one, we were sailing with the smallest moon possible. Would that be the waniest??? Anyway, the moon was full and we wanted to take advantage of that. The one time we had a good moon it was really beautiful so we wanted to re-experience that.

So away we went on one of our best long trips for wind, waves and "the light of the silvery moon". We made great time and were on our way to averaging 7 kts an hour, including the slower time in the beginning when we were in the lee of Nevis with mild winds. Once we cleared the end, the winds came up on a broad reach (from the rear port) with the swells, although increasing to 5-6 ft, also coming from our stern more than any other direction. It is funny how, when the conditions are right, how awake and alive we feel, even in the latest part of the night. We were able to see Redonda and Montserrat quite clearly even though it was dark when we passed them. We lost a bit of our wind again passing on the leeward side of Montserrat but as soon as we cleared we were back on track for a 7 kt average.

Although we saw a turtle and quite a few flying fish earlier on, when it got dark we were of course not able to see any more sea life. One down side of a full moon I must mention is that it blocks out most of the stars. On dark nights when we have been sailing the heavens have come alive with a carpet of phosphorescence dotted with innumerable bright spots. But that's the trade off.

Not much happened for the rest of the journey except for two things. One, we lost our chance for the 7 kt average as soon as we got into the lee of Guadeloupe. The terrain is quite high all the way down the island and effectively blocked the good wind we had been using so we were slowed down and had to motorsail for about 3.5 hours (we still ended up with a 6.5 avg!!).

The second thing that happened occurred during Cheryl's early morning shift. I had gone below about 5:00 AM and about 5:30 Cheryl noticed this boat in the distance moving north from the direction of Dominica and then along Isles des Saintes. They were running with no lights and the boat appeared quite big. A few minutes later Cheryl called me to come up because they were heading right for us. As they got closer we could see that it was a big Coast Guard boat. They pulled alongside us and after looking us over gave us a wave and said something we thought was "It was not you" and then they pulled away. In a few seconds though they came on the VHF and asked us to respond in French. Cheryl came back and told him we didn't speak French so they switched to English and I used the VHF downstairs. After asking us our destination, the port we left, how many on board, whether we had things to declare in French waters (we told him we weren't stopping in any French port) and what our relationship was to each other, they said okay and left. We thought and still think that they may have been looking for a boat that disappeared between Martinique and Dominica with 4 people aboard on February 28 but who knows?

Insert by Cheryl - I can't really describe what I was feeling watching that boat. Initially I thought it was one of the outer islands of Isles des Saintes and then when I realized it was a boat running without lights I wondered why. When it turned and started heading towards us I started to get worried. Although we were sailing in "safe" waters, we have heard so many stories this past year about boats being approached and boarded by boats running without lights that I must admit that was the first thing that entered my mind. I didn't call Griff on deck until I was certain that the boat was approaching us. By that time I also realized that is was a Coast Guard vessel. They are very obvious since they are military in appearance. It was a relief when they hailed us.

Sunrise

Back to the voyage - later we were listening to the Coconut Telegraph and checking in at 0:800 and one part of the net is asking for boats underway to respond. Usually you hear 3-4 at the most but that morning there was at least 10 responses. The north swell and north winds had been keeping people in place for about 2 weeks so since this was the first break in that weather lots of people were on the move. As a matter of fact when we reached the entrance to Prince Rupert Bay, where Portsmouth is situated, we counted 11 boats that were sailing away from the anchorage. It looked more like a regatta than a normal sailing day.

So, here we are in Dominica, where we will stay until the 25th. Customs here have a system where, if you are staying for 2 weeks or less you can clear in and clear out at the same time. Since we want to move down to St Lucia towards the end of the month so we can visit Artemo and the Perrys and also be there to pick up Jason when he arrives to visit, that time frame works for us. We both really like Dominica so it will be fun while we are here. We have already met 2 couples that we have had contact with through the Coconut Telegraph so that is cool.

What is perhaps coolest is that one of the couples we met actually wanted to learn from us instead of us needing to learn from them. We were sitting at the Purple Turtle and talking when this lady asked us something about the paper we were reading. One thing led to another and of course you always ask boat names. When they heard we were Mystic Journey she immediately got excited and said they were hoping they would meet up with us because they had a bunch of questions to ask us. They have been sailing for quite a while so it felt really good.

Maybe we are starting to become sailors!!!!

Hodge Podge of Stuff

This is going to be a blog about a lot of different things.

When last we wrote we were headed to Nevis from Major's Bay. We arrived, picked up a mooring ball and went to check in with Customs and Port Authority. Because St. Kitts and Nevis are the same country we didn't have to go to Immigration. Customs just looked at our clearance from St. Kitts and clarified when we were planning on leaving. The Port Authority checked our coastal clearance and then charged us $95EC for the mooring ball.

We met Maggie and Roy on DRUM. They are from Toronto and have her daughter visiting with them. We teamed up with them to go on an island tour on Wednesday. Our tour guide was DJ, David Watusi. As you can see from the picture he is very tall. He also is a singer and we purchased one of his CD's after a very effective sales pitch from him. We toured around the whole island stopping at a few 'plantations' along the way. Montpelier Plantation is now an inn for tourists. Princess Margaret and Lady Di have stayed there. All of the plantations were at one time sugar plantations, but there is no sugar produced on the island now. On most of the plantations you can still see some of the old machinery and the bases for the grinding of the cane. We drove into one plantation, New River, which someone had mentioned on the Coconut Telegraph as being an interesting place to visit. It was another plantation, but there has been no restoration done. I would have found it interesting to stop and take some pictures, but nobody else was interested and since DJ was not the best guide we have had, it didn't happen.

At one stop DJ picked some Shaddock for us to try. It is a citrus fruit that looks like a grapefruit. It is not as juicy as most citrus are, has lots of seeds, and a milder taste. We did see lots of different plants and it is amazing at how big they grow.

We are now waiting to see what the weather has in store. The forecast is for northerly winds and swells. If I didn't have the doctor's appointment on Sunday we would be heading for Major's Bay in St. Kitts to wait until this weather slows down. The moorings here are more open to the north than Major's Bay. So far, 5PM Friday, the swells haven't been too bad. The wind is holding us into the swells so we are rocking rather than rolling. That is byfar a much more comfortable motion. In case you are wondering what the difference is between rocking and rolling I will try to describe them. If you are standing in the cockpit facing the bow of the boat and the bow is going up and down, think rocking chair or rocking horse, then the boat is rocking; if the sides of the boat are going up and down the boat is rolling. When both motions happen at the same time think Tilt-O-Whirl at the fair. One cruiser said the reason rocking is easier to tolerate is because that is a normal movement for the human body such as when we are walking. A couple of squalls have come through and dumped some rain.

Mystic Journey weathers the waves quite well. Her length and the shape of the keel help a lot to keep her steady. The northerly weather is forecast to be around until Tuesday/Wednesday so we will stay in this neck of the woods/sea until then and then head south east to Guadaloupe or Dominica before we head to St. Lucia to meet the Perrys and then on April 5th Jason arrives for a "laid back" (his words) vacation.

Just for general interest. The couple that is renting our acreage sent some pictures of the backyard taken this winter. They said at one point the drifts were higher than the treeline, that is 30 feet. The pictures made us realize how fortunate we are to be here where it is sunny and warm (usually), but they also made us homesick.

On To Nevis

Well, it is now the 4th of March and we are overdue with for a blog so here goes. We left you - or you left us - in White House Bay, St Kitts. Some of the things to catch up on there - we mentioned the boat Catalyst in the last blog. Well, we ended up going for potluck snackies on their boat along with another couple from the boat Piquet (pronounced PK for Peter and Karen - cute eh!). They were all old sailors, having travelled a lot farther and for a lot longer time than we have, although come to think of it, who hasn't. Anyway, we mostly listened and it was quite enjoyable. Catalyst left the next day for the north and Piquet left the day after, the same day we did, for Nevis.

Although we have to be in Nevis for the 8th for Cheryl's appointment, we were in no particular rush to get there so we elected to go to Major's Bay, which is on the very south end of St Kitts. Although seas were supposed to be from the NE we were still getting some roll when we got there so put out a stern anchor to keep us into the swells. Overall we were quite comfortable after we had gotten settled. We initially anchored in about 9 feet of water. The charts and Doyle's guidebook, our bible, indicated that the depth was consistent throughout the bay so we thought we didn't have a lot of choice. Our keep depth is 6 ft so that left us 3 ft between us and the bottom when we anchored. Of course there is a tide and there is also a certain amount of movement while the anchor settles in and also some constant movement due to winds and seas.

What this boils down to is we were watching our depth indicator and it showed we were varying in depth below the keel between 3 ft and 1.8 ft. Well, the bottom there is sand with weeds so even if we had touched it wouldn't have hurt anything but it still makes you think. Then when we dove the anchor and watched the keel from underwater we realized just how much up and down movement there was. Pretty scary view!!! As I said, however, charts indicated this was the depth everywhere so we thought we would not stay there too long. As it turned out there was another boat there anchored ahead of us that we had previously heard on the Coconut Telegraph so when we had the dinghy down to go to the next bay for a visit, we stopped and talked and found out they were in about 18 ft of water so when we got back we re-anchored, feeling much less apprehensive after doing so.

One of the first things we did after we settled was to dinghy around the corner of Major Point to a couple of bays a bit further east along the south coast, Banana Bay and Cockleshell Bay. Banana Bay was not very attractive so we focussed on Cockleshell Bay. There are a couple of bars under construction there and as well there is a hotel, beach bar and some small shops at the east end. We wandered around for a while picking up shells on the beach, doing some beach art and eventually went back to the boat. Since we were at a better anchor point we decided to stay in Major's Bay until Monday when we would head for Nevis.

Griff's self portrait in mixed media (sand and sea grass)

What was in Major's Bay you ask?? Well, there is a car ferry that runs from St Kitts to Nevis and back and it picked up and dropped off at the ferry station there. Actually calling it a ferry station is a bit of overkill because all that is there is a ramp into the water and a small building, I assume for the people who don't have cars to wait in if it rains. It was fairly busy over the weekend, with quite a few people bringing their cars to the ferry station and leaving them there,riding over on the upper deck of the ferry. The ferry was not noisy and in fact Major's Bay was one of the quietest we have been in, probably because a lot of the time we were the only boat there.

Item 2 of interest - there was a huge fuel barge that had been abandoned on the beach. We got a chance to talk to some guys who were doing an environmental study on the feasibility of moving it. The developers of the big resort complex that is supposed to be coming in (it will take up about 2/3 of the south end of St Kitts) would like the barge moved off the beach if it can be done safely and I suppose within reasonable cost. Apparently the barge had originally gone aground on the north end of Nevis. "Barge movers" had come in to re-float it and try to get it back to wherever they were going to take it when a storm came up. The movers apparently tried to beach the barge under control but it didn't work so now it sits, a huge rusted hulk on the beach. I suggested to Cheryl that knowing how these things work, if they can't move it they could always put a floor on the top and make a beach bar/restaurant out of it.

While we were examining it we saw 3 small squid swimming beside it. It was kind of weird because at first we couldn't tell which was front and which was back. They were moving in one direction and then without turning they would move in the opposite direction. We figured out that the water was floating them one way and when they got far enough (by whatever standard they used to figure out what far enough was) they would shoot forward until they were back where they had been. Cool.

Walking along the beach we noticed someone had been doing some sand sculpturing. It was some kind of reptile with eggs. We named it a sandosaurus.

Anyway, Monday we sailed to Nevis. Because it was only about 4.5 nm we just put the foresail up and were there in an hour. That will be the next blog.