Pitons Still

We spent a week in the Pitons, what a glorious place. We took the opportunity to snorkel every corner, play endlessly on the beach and tour about the country side. We hiked to the volcano, which is collapsed so you can go into the cone and see the sulfur, water and steam being emitted. Further down the volcano you could bath in the pools of water that are black from all of the mineral content. We then hiked into some natural water falls with the same original source, but by then cooler and purged of the mineral content so crystal clear.

We left the Pitons at about midnight to sail to the Grenadines, having one of the best sails we have had in a long time, perfect winds and very light seas. We in fact skipped our initial destination and sailed another 30 miles to the southern Grenadines settling in the Tobago Cays. The Tobago Cays are a set of uninhabited cays that are protected by the Horseshoe Reef to the east, such that you literally anchor with full exposure to the Atlantic ocean with only the reef breaking the seas. The snorkeling has been outstanding. There are several small beaches, we have been on a mission to visit each. There are several turtles here that have been relaxed in their feeding so you could snorkel quite near them.

Beyond Horseshoe Reef to the east lies, Worlds End Reef. Conditions were clam enough for us to snake the dinghy through Horseshoe Reef and make it out to Worlds End for a snorkel. Great barrier reef that clearly sees little activity given its exposure to ocean swells and the difficulty of getting there through the other reefs. After we finished our snorkel we turned around and headed back to the anchorage, quite frankly we dared not go any farther.

Well weather and time close in now. There is quite a wave forecast for later this week (waves become depressions become storms become hurricanes). This one is the strongest we will have seen yet but not nearly strong enough to move into depression category. We have a haul out date in Grenada mid July so we will likely let this wave pass then make the last miles to Grenada.

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The Most Beautiful Spot

We are in St. Lucia at the Pitons. We had spent 4 days in Rodney Bay on the northern end before moving down to the Pitons. Rodney Bay is a great anchorage with beach, some hiking in the park hosting the restored British fort on Pigeon Island, and way too many boating services. The last item caught our attention resulting in the addition of some LED lighting (a great investment as it reduces electricity consumption by 90%) and a Honda generator. Several other cruisers swear by the Honda's as a means of generating electricity efficiently. Unfortunately with our wind/water generator out of commission again, though the winds are fluky enough in the anchorages to mute it anyway, we were using our main engine too much to charge the batteries. So it was happy fathers day....

The Pitons rise 2,500 feet straight out of the water. Petite Piton, because it is skinny, to the north and Gros Piton to the south book end a small indentation on the coast. A marine park was established here many years ago with conservation responsibilities, the upside being they maintain moorings thus simplifying the anchoring in the limitless depths. There is a small but perfect beach at the base of Petite Piton and good snorkeling all along the coast line between the Pitons. In the evenings the stars seem to rise out of the Pitons as everything goes perfectly still. A very magical place that is difficult to capture in words or even pictures.

Looks like we have some nasty weather for the rest of the week so we will be staying put in the Pitons.

I promised not to blog this, so I will. When we were on Pigeon Island visiting the British fort we landed our dinghy at a park dock. As we were getting set to leave, Jake after having removed his shoes, went to the other side of the dock. Isabelle suddenly gasped "jaaake" Rae and I turned our heads not seeing him, then he let out a small cry for help. Rae rushed over and plucked him out of the water on the other side of the dock. He was wet head to toe, and a little scared, though with his swimming abilities now, in no real danger. He later explained that he was trying to wash his feet off.... well I guess they were clean as well.

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Martinique

We have spent the past week in Martinique covering three anchorages, St. Pierre, Fort de France and Marin. St. Pierre was the most interesting though somewhat exposed. For history buffs, they will remember that in 1902 Mt Pelee erupted burying St. Pierre, killing between 30,000 and 40,000 people leaving just one survivor, and jailed murder convict. The ruins of the theater and the jail are well enough preserved and very interesting. The convict was then taken by an American circus operator so that he could be displayed in the freak show with all of his burns. Not sure if jail would have been better in the Caribbean.

Fort de France is one of the largest cities in the Caribbean, very busy with traffic, shops and restaurants. The anchorage is right off the downtown quay side so is rather neat, though you suffer through many ferry wakes during the day. One day was sufficient for a walking tour and some play in the park.

Marin is on the south east coast and a bit of beat to get to, but once in a very well protected bay with much anchoring room and alot of boats. We rented a car for a couple of days and drove through the islands rain forest, stopping for a couple of hikes. One to a set of waterfalls and the other to summit Mt. Pelee. Unfortunately the Pelee hike was about 5 miles each way, so long for the kids in any event. The hike was also very difficult with very little but straight up including a scramble for 100 yards up a lava flow that was very steep. The clouds were blowing all around sending cold winds and rain on us. The kids were very upset that we turned around, they were having a blast and wanted to make it to the top. Rae and I knew there would be a breaking point on the way down if we went too far so we came back down with everyone still in great spirits if not exhausted. All the people we met on the trail told us in French we were crazy for hiking this trail with children. Of course since my French is terrible, they could have been saying "Hi" but their body language betrayed their amazement.

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The Cake

We have spent the past week exploring Guadaloupe. We spent the first few days in a fishing village, Deshaies, and then moved down to the Saints, where we are currently. We had the chance to visit an amazing botanical garden, hike to some great black sand beaches and do some very nice snorkeling. We have also become addicted to French pastries in the morning along with a baguette for afternoon consumption.

Guadaloupe as a French territory, is rather relaxed about the customs process. In Deshaies it was four days before the customs office was open. A bit annoying in that I would stop by (a short walk) to see every few hours, until Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 when suddenly four officers were in. Unfortunately the rest of the islands in the Caribbean are a bit stricter so one needs to keep the trail of check in's and check outs up to date and realistic otherwise suspicions will be elevated.

Jake finished home schooling, his kindergarten program. We are very proud of him as well Rae Ann for her diligence and effort. Rae Ann baked a cake to celebrate. It was a rather rainy squally day so everyone was in their own corner reading or playing. We were then hit by a sudden squall with a blast of wind, the boat heeled over and something crashed. Neither Rae or I could determine what had caused the crash. A while later Rae went to frost the cake and could not find it. She started accusing me... of course. She looked high and low, once lifting a pillow in our cabin, another time opening a cupboard which was about a third of the size of the cake. Still reading I helpfully suggested that it would not fit in that cupboard. Rae became frantic as the search dragged to the 10 minute mark. Saying "I can smell it but cannot see it", she looked behind the stove and sure enough that was the crash, the cake had slid off the counter behind the stove. For everyone except Rae Ann this was an enjoyable event.

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St. Martin to Guadeloupe

We stayed in St. Martin for three days, spent mostly recovering from the long motor sail from St. Thomas. We also caught up on home schooling and a couple of boat projects. St. Martin has numerous boat related services, about anything anyone would want, and also has a well protected lagoon that you enter via an opening bridge through a small channel. The downside of this is a very commercial atmosphere, with the assorted pollution, not to mention the airport with the flight path right over the anchorage. All said not one of our favorite spots, but if one is in need of a protected anchorage and or boat repairs, it would be hard to beat.

We now have a deadline, a haul out date of July 16th in Grenada with flights back to WA state on the 17th, so with this in mind we started to make some tracks. We have seen some amazing islands but unfortunately are just filling the list for things to do next year as we spend a night at each island and then push on south again.

We stopped on the northwest corner of St. Barts in a marine park, very dry area with nice snorkeling, beaches and hiking and a nice remote feeling after St. Martin. We then sailed to St. Kitts and Nevis, the islands being separated by only a narrow channel. The islands have huge mountains nearing 4000 feet, that plunge right to the ocean. There are not very many good anchorages unless conditions are settled, which fortunately they were. We anchored for the night on the north west coast of Nevis. Both islands are very lush as they get frequent rain storms from the mountains trapping moisture. We then pushed on to Guadeloupe, but not before passing Montserrat.

Montserrat was and remains a stunning island, but in 1997 the volcano erupted on the southern end burying the town of Plymouth as well as several residents. The volcano remains active. We sailed down the west coast going within a quarter mile. The north remains lush with beautiful houses then suddenly gives way to a barren brown landscape, with the town of Plymouth only visible as the roof line. As we passed sulfur was being vented providing a sharp smell for the crew. Jake wants to be the first people to step foot on the island (ignoring that people still live there) and hike to the top of the mountain to determine whether "it is a volcano or there are bad guys pouring lava down"

We are now anchored in Deshaies Guadeloupe, a picturesque fishing village that is quite possible the most beautiful anchorage we have seen.

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A Year of Cruising

We have been out one year, actually one year and a few days as I write this. We have always maintained that we will cruise as long as we are having fun and able to cope with the kids schooling, assessing it at each critical juncture. As we approach our first hurricane season in the tropics we feel very confident in continuing for at least another year, even talking more and more openly about the South Pacific. Which we find ironic given what I am going to say below.

The one thing that we significantly struggle with is passage making. Specifically, the upwind variety. Even our last trip from St. Thomas to St. Martin was a struggle, though only in 4 foot waves and light winds, we still slammed and banged around enough to make us uncomfortable. The point is that it has not been fun. While the comfortable runs are fondly remembered, they have been to far and few between. Usually involving protected waters (BVI's, Bahamas) or downwind (Maine and the US East coast) sailing angles. Clearly the upwind stuff has got us a little rattled, and sitting in St. Martin we have done nothing but this since Clarence Town Long Island in the Bahamas, nearly 750 miles. We hope that now running up and down the Island chain we will get more comfortable sailing angles, thus some relief and renewed confidence. It is hard to be a cruiser if you do not move your boat after all.

What we have really enjoyed, the Bahamas, with the spear fishing, snorkeling, great beaches and great friends. Maine, the Chesapeake and the Virgin Islands have been quite enjoyable as well, though the perfect mix yet remains the Bahamas, with the sense of remoteness, and self sufficiency the other places do not offer.

Raising the kids on the boat has been a challenge, but this is a grass is greener issue, as every parent says the same about young children. Rae Ann and Jake have done great with home schooling, making all of us very proud. We do wish there were more families out cruising allowing for additional playmates, maybe the coming cruising season will offer more opportunities.

So last night I asked myself, why keep doing it? Surprising myself with a rather strong response, was first I get to see my kids grow up and be a true partner with Rae Ann, something special to this lifestyle.

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BVI's

Ok so I have been a bit lax about posting. So this will be a catch up week. We are now in St. Martin having had a great week with my parents in St. Thomas. The grandkids/grandparents got along famously allowing Rae and I several nights of couple hood - so we slept alot.

Prior to my parents visit we spent 2 weeks in the BVI's. Visiting all but Aneganda, and enjoying each island for its differences, from the endless beach bars, great snorkeling, artist colonies and fabulous sailing. Yes you do share the BVI's with many charter boats, but we found that they were friendly (as most boaters anywhere are) and there to have a good time which is always a bit infectious, especially at a bar like Willie T's (I can say no more given Rae will read this and she was boat bound with a flu ridden Isabelle). Rae Ann made it a personal mission to not pick up a mooring while in the BVI's. As these are everywhere filling nearly every anchorage, made it no small feat. We succeeded, sometimes by being on the outside looking in with a rolly swell and others, we got a front row seat, tucking right up in front of everyone next to the beach. Our favorites were Jost Van Dyke for the snorkeling, North Sound for its calm anchorage, and Normans for Willie T's. The only downside, cost, clearly the market is made by the one week charter guest, pricing long term cruisers out of the market.

The sailing, given all the protection and short distances, was outstanding and real treat after so much motor sailing to windward over the previous couple of months. Though we did get a bit of retribution as we slogged down to St. Martin nose on the wind and seas again. We will be making fast tracks through the leewards and windwards on our way to Grenada for hurricane season, though we plan on coming back up island nest season we will spend our time as the islands deserve.

A Dinghy circle of life. The replacement dinghy we acquired in the Bahamas was sold to another cruiser when we got our new one in Puerto Rico, who with the similar designs used it temporarily and has since resold it. Well we have been carrying our old 5hp outboard engine looking for a buyer... and behold the buyer was no other than the same person who now owns the old Bahamas dinghy. I had the pleasure of reuniting the engine and dinghy last week. Really quite funny given the probabilities....

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