It is going to be strange not watching any soccer after
today.
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| Passages with our new sun shade |
Monday we spent sorting out our new shade cloth/awning to fit
over the boat when we are anchored off somewhere, as we need to try to keep the
boat as cool as possible. Remember, we are in the northern hemisphere 16
degrees from the equator and over the next 3 -4 weeks we will be only 11 -
12degrees north of the equator. It is going to get even hotter than what it is
now.
We also organised some lee cloths to go along the side of the
cockpit so that when we are heeling over, I can’t see the water. When we are
healing, I tend to freeze and get quite scared when I have to help with the
sails and I have to go to the side that is closest to the water. I have often
felt as if I am going to fall into the water although it would be quite
difficult since there are life lines and the stainless frame of the bimini. It
is all psychological, I know but if the lee cloths are going to help me, well
then that is good. They are also useful as they limit the amount of spray from
getting into the cockpit.
Mel organised a new anchor so Passages has a “new” second
hand anchor. We bought it from Shrimpy’s – see Week 25.
Tuesday we hired a car so we could see the rest of St Martin
– both the French and the Dutch side.
We started off from Simpson Bay Lagoon, went around to the
French side, via the airport. Stopped off at a French Bakery for coffee/tea and
croissants. We were tempted to stop off at every French Bakery we drove passed,
but we wouldn’t be spending our time with the car wisely.
We drove clockwise around the island starting in the south
and working our way around.
For lunch we stopped off at Grand Case – called the
Gastronomic Capital of the Caribbean because
of the amount of gourmet
restaurants housed in Creole style houses that sit side by side. There are also
open air lo-los (locally owned – locally operated) which serve island
specialities. We had lunch at one of the lo-los. The smell of the fresh seafood
and meats being grilled over oil-drum BBQ pits was inviting and made us feel
extremely hungry.
There are some beautiful beaches along the entire coast line
of St Martin.
Wednesday and Thursday we were back at the Boat Stores buying
a few more spare parts.
Thursday morning we actually left Simpson Bay Lagoon, went
through the bridge and anchored off Simpson Bay as we were planning on leaving St
Martin on Friday and sail to Nevis.
While we were preparing the boat for our sail to Nevis, a
couple drove passed us in their dinghy – Frances and John from Margaret River
W.A. They stopped and we introduced ourselves before they came on board and we
spent the next 1 ½ hrs. chatting to them. We made arrangements to meet up at
the Simpson Bay Yacht Club for Happy Hour later on, which we did. We had a good
time chatting to them and comparing notes. This is their second yacht that they
are intending to take back to Australia - whenever. The first time they sailed
back to Australia was in 2007/2008. They went back to work for 3 1/2 years,
sold their yacht, missed the life style so in 2012 flew back to St Martin,
bought their current boat. They spend 6 months of the year sailing and the
other 6 months back in Margaret River.
Friday morning at 4.00am our anchor was up and we were
heading south to St Kitts and Nevis. Yes south which meant it should have been
a pleasant sail but heaven only knows what happened as we got caught in squalls
and two huge rain storms. The weather forecast said Friday and for the next few
days were going to be great for sailing south.
We experienced winds of 27 – 30 knots and we were doing 7 – 8
knots with only half of our sails out. Mel coped but I didn’t so went down
stairs so I didn’t make the situation worse for the Captain.
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| St Eustatius |
We sailed passed Saba and St Eustatius which are two small
volcanic islands.
Information taken from DK Eyewitness Travel – Caribbean –“
Saba is only 5 sq miles, has very few natural harbours, a hilly interior
dominated by Mount Scenery, an extinct volcano, now covered in tropical
vegetation.
St Eustatius or Statia has an extinct volcano called the
Quill. The Quill has a deep crater that is home to a dense rainforest. Saba and
Statia are both part of the Netherlands”
Saba, Statia, St Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat are known as
“The Islands that Brush the Clouds”. They are small volcanic islands that rise
steeply from the sea until their peaks touch the clouds.
We decided to by-pass St Kitts and anchor/moor off Nevis as
it is quieter. You don’t have constant boat traffic going by, which can become
very unpleasant as many people don’t care how fast they go passed boats and
because we are a mono hull we can roll quite a bit. Motor boats are the worst!!
We arrived at Nevis - Pinneys Beach at 5.00pm and took a mooring
ball as you are not allowed to
anchor in the area and settled in for the night.
We had our yellow quarantine flag flying so had 24 hours to check in.
At Nevis they are trying to let the sea grass grow again. It
has been badly damaged due to poor anchoring techniques of sailors and there is
huge conservation of sea turtles and other sea life taking place at Nevis.
Nevis and St Kitts (Saint Christopher) are one country and
fly the same flag but both have considerable autonomy.
Nevis is 36 sq. miles, has a population of approximately
1200, its main town/port of entry is Charlestown. Nevis Peak or Mount Nevis is
the highest point on the island at 3,232 ft. and it is usually capped in
clouds.
When Christopher Columbus arrived, he thought the clouds
where falling down the sides of the peak, looking just like snow. Some say this
is why he named the island “Nuestra Senora del las Nieves” (Our Lady of the
Snows) – Nieves = Snow in Spanish.
Info taken from Chris Doyle’s book “The Cruising Guide to the
Leeward Islands” – “The first town, called Jamestown sank into the sea after an
earthquake and tidal wave in 1680. Various battles took place between the
British and the French which hampered development until 1783, when Nevis became
British for quite a length period of time. During this time the island
flourished due to the sugar cane plantations and cotton fields. All around
Nevis you can see the ruins of old mills.
Two historical figures associated with Nevis are Alexander
Hamilton, who was born here and Horatio Nelson who married a Nevisian widow by
the name of Fanny Nisbet.”
Who is Alexander Hamilton some of you might be saying
especially if you are not from the U.S.A. – well he is on the US$10 note and
was the first Secretary of the US Treasurer.
As for Horatio Nelson – he spent quite a bit of time in these
parts of the World, especially Antigua where we will be sailing to soon
(weather permitting). He spent some time in Nevis, fell in love with Fanny
Nisbet who had been widowed at the early age of 21 years old. She already had a
young son from her first marriage when Nelson met her. They got married in 1787
but the marriage didn’t last as while Nelson and Fanny were apart, Nelson was
not the most faithful of husbands. Their marriage only lasted a few years.
Back to present time – Saturday morning - Mel check us in
nice and early so we went for a walk around Charlestown only to learn that very
few shops are open on Saturday and most are closed by 1.00pm.
For sundowners we had been told about Sunshine’s Beach and
Bar at Pinneys Beach but the problem with getting there is that you cannot land
the dinghy easily. You have to anchor it slightly off the beach and swim to the
beach as the surge and drop off is too great. Thank goodness there is no dress
code for these places.
At Sunshine’s, there is the famous “Killer Bees” rum drink –
of course Mel had to try this.
Sunday – everything was closed except all the churches, which
was refreshing to see. We walked around town once again, found an area that had
reasonable internet connections so phoned our family back in Cape Town and
later on went back to Sunshine’s for sundowners.
So here we are once again ending our week on a beautiful
Caribbean island, drinking the local rum drink. We are not sure how long we will
be in Nevis as we may decide to head straight to Antigua, or stay and visit St.
Kitts, then sail via Montserrat to Antigua.
Until next week – keep well.
Sending lots of love
Captain Mel and Admiral Caryn/xx
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| Sint Martins well known run way landing - where the planes landing flight path goes right close over the beach and road Runway - left Beach - right |
