Hello Again
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| SHAMAL at anchor, St. Bart's |
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| Fort Oscar |
This delightful little French Island lies just 15nm slightly
to the south east of St Maarten. For us – 30nm tacking on a close reach in
winds of 25kts and 3mt seas, but a lovely warm sunny day with not a cloud in
the sky. Just us, the frigate birds and the sapphire blue ocean with sparkling
breaking tops of waves. Oh there are a couple more sails off on the horizon.
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| Gustavia Harbour |
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| Gustavia |
But once there it is well worth the visit. It is claimed to
be the party Island for the very rich and famous who bring their super yachts
into the picturesque harbour of Gustavia to spend Christmas and New Year here.
High-end boutiques and upmarket restaurants line the quaint little streets, but
for us as it is now the down season, much was closed while their owners take
their summer breaks. We found a lovely restaurant for coffee and Wi-Fi. We must
keep a very close eye on the weather. Our coffee was 8 euros each! My Nespresso
machine on board makes a nicer latté. The whole place is lovely and clean with sidewalks,
so one is not run over while browsing the shop windows. After walking right
around the harbour, we climbed to the lighthouse at Fort Gustav which has
lovely panorama views over the red-roofed buildings tucked around the harbour.
Fort Oscar stands on the opposite side of the harbour, and one can see back to
St Maarten and out to the Island of Saab to the South West.
Christopher Columbus named the Island after his older
brother Bartholomew in 1493. It was fought over by the British, French and
Spanish. In 1784 the French gave St Bart’s to the Swedes in exchange for free
port rights in Gothenburg. This tiny Island was ruled by Sweden for a century,
after which the Swedes sold it back to France as trade was declining, hurricane
damage, and a destructive fire. Throughout the 19th and early 20th
centuries is was no more than a poor quaint French backwater, but in the 1950’s
tourists slowly started arriving. Today the casinos, high-rise hotels and fast
food chains have been kept out making for a delightful, yet expensive, holiday
destination.
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| Gustavia |
The main anchorage is just outside the harbour sheltered
between small Islands and the main Island.
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| Guatavia |
After spending two days here, it was time to move on again.
We are very aware we are in hurricane season, and need to keep heading south.
We are also surprised that there are quite a few others who are still sailing
around like us, but also moving south. The summer can be hot, but we always
have a lovely cooling breeze at anchor as the trade winds are always blowing.
In summer they are a little lighter than in the winter. Some say if you watch the weather it can be a
better time sailing around the Caribbean. We are now heading for St Kitts and
Nevis. Our first stop will be on the western side of St Kitts at Basseterre.
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| Passing between St. Eustatius and St. Kitts |
These two Islands are the oldest British colonies in the
Caribbean. Sir Thomas Warner landed on St Kitts in 1623. A group of French
joined them soon after and were only tolerated long enough to help them massacre
the Crib inhabitants. 2,000 were slaughtered in one day. The British built a
huge military stronghold, one of the largest in the Caribbean, called Brimstone
Hill. It is perched on top of an 800ft volcanic cone on St Kitts western coast.
Sailing past it is an impressive site. In 1783 the treaty of Versailles brought
St. Kitts and her sister Island Nevis under British rule. Today they are a
fully independent twin-island state.
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| Port Zante Marina |
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| Cruise Ship Village, Basseterre |
We have a lovely sail this leg passing St Eustatius to our
starboard before rounding the top of St Kitts and running down the west coast
where we lost the winds as we are now in the lee of the Island. We drop anchor
outside the Zante Marina, Basseterre. The following morning we check in before
visiting the township. It is also a cruise ship stop over, and, one is in this
morning so the terminal and cruise ship village are full of tourists. Tomorrow
we are picking up our daughter and her family for a week’s visit, but we decide
we will anchor down the coast a bit as there is a surge at this anchorage. We
move SHAMAL down to Frigate Bay. I am not sure which was worse, the surge
outside the marina, or the music till 4.30am In Frigate Bay.
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| Basseterre |
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| Oualie Beach, Nevis |
Next morning we bring SHAMAL back into the marina before
heading out to the airport to pick up the family. The marina staff here are
wonderful. We can stay alongside for half a day for free while we do the
pickup. By 1430 we have our daughter, her husband, the twin boys and baby Ethan
who is not quite one, on board, and we are motoring out of the marina. We are
heading for Oualie Beach on the north western corner of Nevis. Daughter,
husband and baby have booked into the Beach Resort, and the twins, now five –
nearly six – will be sleeping on board with Nana and Poppa.
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| Poppa and William |
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| Poppa and Ethan |
Oualie Beach is a delightful beach and anchorage. We are
able to tuck SHAMAL close in under the shelter of a cliff at the north end. Out
of any swell. We are close enough to swim to the beach, and spend lots of time
in the water, relaxing and fishing. The twins both catch their first fish here.
Dan has an epic evening one night by catching a stingray twice, a baby shark,
and then a moray eel. It is so nice to have the whole family with us. One day
we take the local bus into the Capital Charlestown for groceries. Unfortunately
not much is open as it is carnival time here. We would like to see it, but the
children are far more interested in beach time.
The week passes very quickly, and no sooner they have arrived and it
comes time for them to leave again. With Dan on the helm we sail back to the
marina at Basseterre. They are spending the night at the Marriot Hotel as they
have a very early start in the morning and it is close to the airport.
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| Matthew and Ethan |
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| Boys in the Tender |
The following morning Alec and I are just getting ready to
leave the marina and see their plane flying them back to the States. So we
think!! Next thing the Marina manager sends down a lady to inform us there is
an urgent phone call coming through for us. I return to the office and the
phone rings. Our daughter tells us they would not let her on the flight as she
had left her Green Card at home. That is like her visa as she lives and works
in the States. The airline should have made a phone call to confirm she had one
but did not. The next three days they are trying to solve the problem. Part of
the trouble is flights off the Island are cancelled due to low loads – they are
told it is due to weather, but we all know how airlines work and this was not
to be. The airline puts them up at the Marriot again, so we stay on and spend
the extra days with them. The boys live in the pool which is lovely, and become
very confident little fish which we are delighted in. They arrange to have her
Card sent down. It does not arrive in time for their next flight out, but they
allow her on. It is our job then to go out to the airport, collect the card,
then FedEx it back to her. Takes longer than we anticipated, but job is done
and she receives it the very next day - at home.
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| Dan's Shark |
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| Fun in the Marriot Hotel pool |
So we can now head on out. Again the marina staff here were
wonderful to us as we kept extending our stay. We sail back to Oualie beach to
spend the night before heading down to our next Island, Montserrat.
So we will sign out for now
Love from
The Admiral and The Commander
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| Farewell St Kitts |
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