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“We can snorkel that wreck once it’s sunk a bit.”
“We can snorkel that wreck once it’s sunk a bit.”
James’ response to a pan-pan exchange between the US Coastguard and the local search and rescue, hearing that the occupants are walking ashore and the vessel is taking on water.
Posted in 2014-2015 a family adventure, Caribbean, Destinations, Other VIs
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Bowing out of the British VIs with a birthday bang
Best-of-the-best beach, birthday and buddies – Chili’s birthday, Jost van Dyke and Sandy Cay, with one of our last opportunities to celebrate en masse.
Au revoir to Chili, Morning Haze, 99 Bottles and Katyna (thank you for the thoughtful gift from Barbuda), as we head off to the US & Spanish Virgin Islands. Hasta la vista, babies!
Gaining on the BVIs’ roundabouts!
A week into our stay in the British Virgin Islands and our initial reservations have been swept away by superb snorkeling in piratical locations, natural adventure playgrounds, relaxed beach clubs with decent food, uncrowded anchorages with perfect beaches, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of rocky coves to be discovered and a marina with beach, reef, sea, pool, wifi.
Now resorting to a marina for a couple of days to replenish our more or less exhausted provisions. With any luck the best is yet to come.
Superb snorkeling (Katiche Point, Cooper Island – The Baths, Virgin Gorda – The Indians, Pelican Island – Treasure Caves, Norman Island (aka “Treasure Island”)
Natural adventure playgrounds (The Baths, Virgin Gorda).
Relaxed beach clubs with decent food (Manchionel Bay, Cooper Island).
Marinas with beach, reef, sea, pool, wifi (Nanny Cay, Tortola).
Uncrowded anchorages with perfect beaches (Dead Man’s Bay – so-named after – as folklore would have it – 15 sailors marooned on Dead Man’s Chest, the island opposite, by the infamous Blackbeard with a bottle of rum, who failed to make it to shore).
Swings and roundabouts ….
Overrated? Maybe not, but definitely overpopulated.
We (still) have high hopes of the British Virgin Islands. After rushing past St. Barts to get to St. Maarten from Barbuda, we were looking forward to getting away from it all again. Quiet wilderness, unspoilt nature, pristine beaches and marine habitats.
Unrealistic expectations? Perhaps, and our first impressions of the BVIs have made us a little uneasy, for if not overrated it’s definitely overpopulated with altogether too many other boats (who likely think much the same of us).
We had to sneak round behind Eustatia Island to get away from the crowds around Saba, Bitter End and Vixen Point in North Sound, where the boys made the most of the beach we found we had all to ourselves (it helps to choose a private island).
The water is a wonderful picture-postcard turquoise with visibility of 25 metres and more at times, even if snorkelling was marred by too much bleached coral.
The following morning we left for Anegada for a less developed, less crowded anchorage, and our arrival showed promise as a pair of dolphins and a turtle welcomed us as we approached.
Here’s the view from our transom after dark:
Yes, they’re all anchor lights. One of the most crowded anchorages we’ve ever seen. Maybe we just picked the wrong day to visit?
Tomorrow we’ll take a bus to visit a highly-rated beach on the other side of the island. Swings and roundabouts ….
Heineken Cup – racing with Phaedo at St. Maarten’s Heineken Cup regatta
Well actually competing in CSA4 so not quite in the same league as the Brian Thompson / Michel Desjoyaux dream team rocket ship , the gunboats and the Volvo 70s like Monster Project, more of a scratch crew really, composed of mates of the skipper from back home and a bunch of friends from the ARC.
Had some of us arrived a little earlier than the day before the first race, we might have had an opportunity to practise. Expectations were accordingly modest in a “very hot fleet”, with a number of the other crews in our class very tight, well-drilled units.
We satisfied ourselves with aiming to do our best, get better with every race, and, most importantly, have fun.
Day 1 – Thursday – Commodore’s Cup – Abandoned.
Boomvang mast fitting snapped – miraculously managed to secure a second-hand replacement to be ready to race the following morning.
Day 2 – Friday – Round the Island – Last in our class.
Another rig failure. This time our main halyard shackle blew less than five minutes into the raise on our first upwind leg – retrieving the halyard and getting main back up meant we got going 20-30 minutes behind the rest in our class – not recoverable – but at least we finished.
Day 3 – Saturday – “round the cans” – Race 1: 9th, Race 2: 12th, Race 3: 9th (out of 14).
Having beaten a number of other boats, we were 10 minutes too late to make it through the bridge into the lagoon at 3pm, but the fortuitous arrival of 99 Bottles meant we had someone to raft up on and drink with whilst we waited for the 5pm opening.
By 4pm all the families had turned up so that made it Khujada 2, Chili, Take Off, 99 Bottles, Spray, Nisida (6 ARC boats) all together for the aperitif, along with the rest of our racing crew. The party started in earnest ….
Tenders galore!
Day 4 – Sunday – half the other way round the island and back – 10th (of 14).
No major improvement over the previous day losing too much ground on one upwind leg, but it all started to come together as we overhauled a number of boats on the final downwind, getting used to our roles and working together, and the regatta was over all too soon … and yes, we had a lot of fun!
Thank you to Jorgen and Take Off for allowing me to be a part of it.
Lots of boats … waiting for one narrow bridge:
Impressive spectator boats:
No shortage of sand here
Nor of turtles, wind, miles and miles of deserted beach, and frigate birds.
The only downside is the underwater visibility, rendering snorkeling less than amazing even where surrounded by protective reefs.
Barbuda stands in marked contrast to Antigua. Only 40m above sea level at its highest point, it’s all coral, sand, mangrove and water, with very little development and unobtrusive tourism making it feel more like an undiscovered Pacific paradise than an over-exploited US dollar-grabbing feeding frenzy.
The sand is so fine and white (or coral pink, depending on the beach) that it coats our feet like flour, and the reflected sunlight is eye-achingly bright.
In Cocoa Bay, our first anchorage, we had at least a dozen visits a day from the local turtle population – large in stature, gregarious in nature, quickly coming to feel like friendly neighbours.
The frigate bird sanctuary justifies the hype. We HAD to go with George, the face of the Doyle guide (his photo adorns the front cover of the pilot book / guide we depend on throughout the Leeward Islands), and he took us on an adrenalin-fuelled boat ride (BF5+ across the lagoon at speed – “better than Pirates of the Caribbean!” (the Disneyland ride, not the film) said one child, the others concurred – up to within a metre or two of these monarchs of the skies, so effortless in soaring across the oceans, so tolerant and accepting of us gawkers within a metre of their nests and young.
The lack of amenities and windward location puts off some yachts and especially motor boats, and charter vessels are not allowed here because of the prevalence of ill-charted reefs, resulting in wonderfully spacious anchorages with few other boats in sight. And lots of room for beach cricket, body- and skin-boarding.
No hassle at all. Just friendly, welcoming locals happy and justifiably proud to share their island with us.
St. Barts and then St. Maarten and the Heineken Cup regatta are beckoning so we’ll leave for ‘civilisation’ again tomorrow.
Barbuda. Brilliant.
Beach bar.
Body-boarding on the beach in front of the boat.
W-w-w-w-w-w-wipeout!
Frigates everywhere.
Out and about in Codrington.
Footprints in the sand.
OUR awesome beach.
Beach cricket.
MORE family time!
This time in Les Saintes, Guadeloupe.
Les Saintes: French food quality. Mediterranean style. Reasonable prices. No hassle. Laid back vibe without too many tourists. Crystal clear water with great snorkeling.
No wonder we stayed for several days longer than we planned – notwithstanding the fact that we enjoyed another visit from a family member – we’re spoilt!
Henri-François, Albane’s cousin, spent three or four days on board with us and was an easy guest, whether jumping off the boat, fishing, shopping or just hanging out, whom the children in particular were sad to see leave.
Merci de ta visite, HF! A tres bientot!
“We could have a pet!”
Parents expect this sort of nonsense from their children at Christmas, less so on arriving in a new Caribbean harbour. Skippette’s roast chicken (there is none better, as some of you will know and none of you should doubt!) is a rare treat in these climes where any meat seems to go off within a day of purchase, but our first night in Antigua proffered a worthy occasion.
As the meal gently ground to a close I posited whether it might be prudent to ease the stern lines a metre or so to deter any casual visitors in the night … JUST as a passing dog should wander past with the scent of (let’s not forget THE VERY BEST) roast chicken filling its nose. As it hesitated we bravely eased both stern lines by several metres.
Yes, of course it could still easily make the distance, but it had the good manners to sit there and whine briefly, quietly before retreating to the lawn behind.
Perhaps we should just stick to fish! (At least we’ve got wifi on board for the first time in – is it? – a fortnight?)
Posted in 2014-2015 a family adventure, Caribbean, Life on board
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Welcome to Antigua!
Longest clearance ever?
The sail up from Deshaies in Guadeloupe went to plan – plenty of fish biting our hook, followed by a breezy if variable easterly to reach up to Antigua. Arriving in the natural harbour used by the British for over 200 years, we effected a smooth stern-to berthing using our anchor for the first time in the eponymous marina that’s now taken over the historic site once governed by Lord Nelson himself.
Spirits were high but the edge of an otherwise brilliant day was taken off by the clearance process. We thought Rodney Bay (St. Lucia) was impressive for being unable to keep up with demand but Antigua’s English Harbour takes it to another level. Despite their vaunted e-clearance system it seemed to take forever as we move from one desk to another and then back again.
All that notwithstanding that the legal status of our children (crew or passengers, adults or children) also seems to vary based on how much money they can squeeze out of us. And clearance, customs and port authority all have a different view on what the corresponding age limit is! It’s a far cry from the ease of Martinique and Guadeloupe where the whole process amounts to a single electronic form, €4 and a stamp – what a contrast.
Feeling ready to be plucked …! But still, what a beautiful place.
Posted in 2014-2015 a family adventure, Caribbean, Destinations
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Khujada 2 