St Barths’ 12th –17th March
Very nice to be back again after an absence of two years. There has been so much surge in the Windward Islands and here is no exception. Our dear friends Jane and Paul meet us ashore for all sorts of fun. Instead of sailing to Petite Colombier we walked this year. AND we put in a days sail and picnic to Ile Fouchue just five miles off shore. Needless to say it all came to an end far too quickly when they flew home at lunchtime on Saturday.
Sunday 17th March, (St Patricks’ Day) We prepare to sail to Saba, leaving through the Dutch Bridge, A pleasant Sunday sail and we arrived to another huge swell. Seeing on shelter we circumnavigated the whole island and then returned for a peaceful night in Marigot!
Wednesday 20th March, set off again this time for St Eustatius. Unfortunately the water in the channel was at its’ lowest and we grazed the soft mud a couple of times before going hard aground. Luckily for us Sally Anne at ‘Shrimpies’ was able to wrest Mike away from cooking and come to our aid. He immediately put out a call for assistance and within the hour we had been towed clear. Five ribs came to push and pull and we thank them all! But the next day, we lift anchor to find a wrecked boat attached to the anchor, thanks Lee from S/V ’Allegro’ for helping us out! then we once again left through the Dutch bridge. Yet again a cracking sail and only 5 hours ish to St Eustatius. Only three other visiting yachts in Oranje Baai and no wonder the swell was dreadful. Hey ho ‘Piano’ is happy bouncing around on a buoy provided by the National Park. We go ashore to check in and on the way discover the outboard engine is not running too well. So after asking help at the Park office we set off to find ‘Naldo’ who comes to fiddle with it. 1/2 an hour later the problem is found– a dirty spark plug.
We did try walking up the Quill Volcano, however only one of us (with a dog called Crook) made it to the top.
That night we ate ashore at the Blue Bead (sic) Restaurant. Jolly yummy it was too!
Sunday 24th March We checked out and sailed for St Christopher. Such a short distance we almost thought that we would be there for coffee time…. No such luck! The wind came round to the East and it took another 4 hours. Malcolm went ashore to check in while I made tea.
Monday we took a guided tour around the Island with a driver called Timothy. He was very friendly and informative. We stopped by at the Batik workshop, and the Brimstone Hill Fortress.
Like so many of the Caribbean Islands St Christopher has changed hands a few times during history. The Original Arawak Indians were slaughtered by both the French and the British, who seemed to live side by side quite amicably until 1690 when the British mounted a cannon atop Brimstone Hill and ousted the French from St Charles.
By 1782, the valuable sugar crop the main means of wealth, with it the slave trade grew to satisfy the labour market. The next war between Brits French and Americans ended with the British having to surrender. A year later the Island was given to the Brits in the Treaty of Versailles.
In 1965 it was in need of restoration and had been fully restored by 1973 when Prince Charles re-opened it.
In 1983 St Christopher and Nevis gained Independence and in 1999 the Beacon Hill Fortress became a World Heritage Site. Our tour took us through the 8 of the nine parishes on St Christopher. They are : George, Trinity, St Thomas, St Ann, St John, Christchurch, St Paul, St Mary, and St Peter. They each have a primary/junior school, but children are sent further for the completion of their education. The highest point , the volcano is in St Pauls’ parish, it rises to 3,792 ft. The vegetation is ’rainforest’ and many Vervet monkeys live here. Passing through Dieppe Bay Town, Sandy Bay and Black Rocks we get to the airport and head out to the South Eastern and drier end of the island. We had a smashing lunch of BBQ’d ribs and chicken with a cool beer on the beach at South Frigate. Finally a quick trip back to Basseterre, and Port Zante.
After paying Timothy our guide we walked the cruisers duty free Mall to find a battery for my number 2 watch, the assistants couldn’t understand why I didn’t want any other piece of jewellery. The shop next door did have the right type of watch for Malcolm and he got discount as he was the best customer of the day ( there were no cruise ships in today). Back aboard ‘Piano’ we continued rocking and rolling and decided to have a look at the town centre tomorrow then check out and move to a calmer bay.
Basseterre, is a quiet and pleasant enough town with all the regular shops needed for life. The Singer shop was empty and up for rent so no hex nuts for the sewing machine– shame! And the only fresh meat was to be had at the market. No mushrooms or fresh milk either maybe we will have enough for another few days….
Motored up to Frigate Bay where we had a peaceful night with no rolling. Amazed to find a free wifi spot the next morning so downloaded emails before setting off for Nevis. Lunch on the way we found plenty of free buoys, had a Chinese meal ashore.
Thursday we were greeted by Sinclair with his ‘Taxi on the Move’. He waited patiently while Malcolm checked us out for early tomorrow. We then drove to the Botanical Gardens which were delightful. (A few pictures on Picasa soon I promise...)
There were many brightly coloured orchids and a good selection of palm trees. The highlight here was a ‘glasshouse’ which had net instead of glass and was really effective at producing a cooler micro-climate, while still allowing a gentle breeze through.
We next stopped at the marker board for the marriage of Horatio Nelson (Captain of HMS Boreas) Frances Herbert Nisbet 1787, at the Montpelier Plantation Inn.
This is now an upmarket hotel and restaurant. We stopped for a late lunch at the Golden Rock Plantation where another table of diners had flown in by private jet from the Dominican Republic just for lunch! Continuing on past the American Medical University we arrived at the Nisbet Plantation Beach Club but didn’t stop for a swim! Finally round the tip of the Island, past the airport, Hurricane Cove beach, and the Four Seasons Resort Hotel—which we overlook from the anchorage, stopping only at the spring which Nelson used to water his ship, we arrived back at Charleston a happy pair of travellers. Thanks for the informative ride Sinclair we have already recommended you to our neighbours!
An early start tomorrow (A FRIDAY! Eeek!) We have decided to sail to St Barths for the Bucket Race and some fresh milk, meat & mushrooms!
