St. Kitts & St. Eustatius (and lots of pics)

We are sorely lacking Internet here and take our equipment to the island every once in awhile to pick up mail.  Today, posting the blog, is no exception.  Usually a cold beer helps with the process!

We arrived here in St. Eustatius (Statia Island) last Tuesday, straight from Basseterre, the capital of St. Christopher (St. Kitts).   It was a pretty good 22 mile sail, with the distance exposed in the straight being only 8 miles.  We did ship some pretty big salty waves over the bow, but nothing too scary.

We had moved to Basseterre both to get our clearance out, and to catch a bus to the northwest corner of the island to see the fortress at Brimstone Hill.  While getting instructions, all locals we talked to suggested it was not possible to walk up to the top of the hill, and that it was best to hire a taxi to get us there.  Undaunted, we stepped out of our bus, and enjoyed a steep, short walk in the shade to the fortress, ultimately rising only 800 feet to the highest fortification.  It does amaze us how the locals down here seldom walk or hike, can seldom read maps, and do not even use street names to get around.  When getting directions, we are often better served by asking another tourist.

The hill was created by a strong vertical injection of lava up through the sea bottom sometime during the making of the rest of this mountain chain some 35-40 000 years ago (I think I read that somewhere), bringing walls of ocean-floor limestone with it.  After erosion, it stands out very near the island shore, and, with some cannon, can easily dominate this corner of the island.  Work started on the fortress in 1690, by the English, after the French took their Fort Charles down on the shore.  A few cannon balls from up here, and the French said: "Okay, you're king of the castle" and surrendered.  That wasn't the greatest battle, however.  In 1782, 8000 French trapped 1000 English in the fortress, and they fired at each other for over 30 days.  The English negotiated their way into an honourable surrender only as their powder was running out.   The cannon fire must have been astounding, and one would imagine it should be easy to find the odd cannon ball.

Restorative efforts have been magnificent, and the primary citadel, eastern bastion, Prince of Wales Bastion, and much of the rest of the place looks pretty good; and take up three different elevations of the hill.  Still, the ruins of the many barracks, officers' quarters, engineers' quarters, and of course the many slaves' quarters are overgrown or missing.  This has been our most impressive fort so far.

We are once again in awe of Statia, remembering visiting here in 2009 with s/v Strider.  The port and only town has a shoreline that is totally ancient ruins.   Since the Island's heyday, when it was known as the Golden Rock, the sea has risen over a metre, and the port's wall is under the water, about 40 metres out under the water.  The shore is cut up with old foundations made of mortared round stone, and the round stone of the totally ruined walls make up the beach between these walls.  All this area was port offices and storehouses, since Statia made its wealth by trading, not so much by farming.  As there was always a war of some sorts going on, the Dutch provided the way to get around rules and tariffs, and made a mint doing it.  This was the Caribbean's primary port for buying and selling slaves straight from Africa.  The local museum dwells greatly on this terrible source of misery.  Statia ended up with a large Jewish contingent, complete with a synagogue, as many moved here both to make a living and to escape the terrific persecution being doled out elsewhere.  However, they could not escape totally, as the island was regularly taken over by English and French, and the persecution of the new masters was often worse than in the parent countries.  We came away thinking that the larger part of the work in creating the museum must have been done by Europeans, as only they could have taken the time to talk about the unhappy local Jewish history amid the absolutely evil backdrop of the slavery.  The history of Statia is really interesting, but we direct you to Wikipedia to scan it.

Statia, here we come!  The volcano we will conquer!

Part of the ruins down by the water where they warehoused goods for duty free trade

More and more ruins...

Yesterday, Friday, Dawn and I hiked up the volcano, and climbed down inside it.  Supposedly, it has been at least 1500 years since it was active, so the risk was quite slight.  Still, 4 hours of perpetual motion, and possibly the most difficult of hikes so far, has taken its toll on us, and today is a day of rest.  I can report that the crater was steep, rocky, and slippery; with everything moist and covered with the most resilient green moss.  The crater bottom had a beautiful garden trail that led to one of the largest cottonwood trees I have ever seen.  We saw only one Red-Bellied Racer Snake (Dawn may have deafened it), and one rooster on the trails; although we searched in vain for the American Kestral and the  Antillean Iguana.  The rooster was particularly well trained by hikers and appeared at the end of the trail looking for 'snacks'!

At the top of the volcano, we were met by an aggressive rooster who wouldn't take no for an answer!

The picture doesn't show how steep the climb into the volcano was! The ropes were definitely appreciated!

This tree could cure anyone of being a 'tree hugger'!

The volcano as seen from Cat Tales.  All the way to the top and then down INTO the volcano!!  Dawn stopped short of getting the whole way down, but Laurie continued!  Dawn saw no reason...

We are looking at Monday for our sail to St. Martin.  It is a 36 mile passage, all in exposed water, but the weather window seems to be developing well.  Dawn and I have been traveling alone for 3 weeks now; and although it has been nice, we look forward to crowds and friends again.

Well, Hullooo from Whitehouse Bay, St. Kitts.

 We've been busy and we've been slack. 

Saturday, a week ago yesterday, Dawn and I bussed north on Nevis and rented two lovely modern bicycles at Oualie Beach.  At approximately 10 in the morning, we attempted our ride around the island, going clockwise.  We took a side trail near the airport, very near our start to see the first historical property, The Cottle Church.  Cottle, the plantation owner, had it built specifically to provide spiritual training of and with his slaves.  He was also apparently one who was very much at odds with slavery, but believed the region, the economy, and other factors had the practice terribly fixed and in balance such that all would perish together if it was immediately abolished.  Still, for us, 1824 was a late time for Christians to come around to so simple an idea as desegregating worship or even attempting to provide for the souls of those they tormented.  Oh, don't get me started...

Restored Cottle Church

The rest of the bike ride was fun, tough, challenging, and included a lot of bike-walking up very steep slopes.   At the highest peak, we found a wonderful bar\restaurant, and although the beers were not exactly what a doctor would order for our tired bodies, they certainly were enjoyed.  The meal, as expected, was half the price of a meal downtown or near the water, and fantastically flavourful.  From there, we had a long, tense downhill run back to Charleston, and another hour back along the flats to return to our starting point.  All in all, it was approximately 20 long, hot miles back to the rental operation; and we finished around 3 in the afternoon, with great wobbly knees.  The next day, we were so filled with a feeling of accomplishment that we couldn't move.  There has been no problem with my right rotator cuff, however.

A great bike trip around the entire island of Nevis.  And yes, there are too many hills!

Imagine looking at Pinney's Beach and this beautiful volcano every day for a solid week!

 Our Nevis time concluded with some fun time at the Sunshine Beach Bar, significant exploration of Charleston, and a lovely afternoon walk the length of Pinney's Beach.  In 2009, the large Four Seasons complex was closed due to damage from Hurricane Omar, and with over 600 people out of work, the island was an unhappy place.   The complex apparently reopened in late 2010, and we can report we find all the inhabitants quite happy and friendly.  Something that we notice a lot, is that in Nevis, and indeed in St. Kitts, the amount of litter is terribly low compared to many islands; and I dare to suggest there are relationships between litter, self respect, crime, happiness, etc.  Don't believe me - read Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point".

We arrived in St. Kitts on Wednesday, after only a little more than two hours travel.  We were using the opportunity to motor the first portion so as to run our watermaker.  After 45 minutes, we checked the tank and found there seemed to be less in it than when we started making water.  A run around the boat allowed us to find that our stern shower hose had blown, and we were pumping the precious stuff overboard.  We ran the watermaker and engines for the rest of the trip and an hour more to catch up.  The hose had provided little more than 2 months of service, after replacing another that had served since 1996.   And people ask me why I prefer my old equipment.

On our way into Whitehouse Bay we saw this freshly crashed car at the base of a cliff, complete with beach towels hanging from the rocks.  Two locals sat on it last night as their fishing spot, so it must be 'old' news!  Hopefully, it rolled down the cliff with no one in it!

You can just see the crashed car at the far left of the rocky base of the cliff.

We did a whirlwind tour of Basseterre, the capital, and found gasoline, a surprisingly lovely St. Kitts amber rum, and necessary groceries.  Basseterre has a terribly inhospitable harbour due to the exposure, so we left as quickly as we could and have enjoyed Whitehouse Bay, in the south end since.  Most of our time here has been taken up with minor chores and reading, with the usual enjoyable sundowners in quite flat but breezy conditions.

Friday, however, we got ashore early, and attempted a walking tour of the rather desolate south end.  Most of this territory is involved in one giant development, called Christophe Harbour.  Our old guide suggested that the development had taken over an old haunt called Turtle Beach resort, over in Turtle Bay, 3 1/2 miles away; and although that was true, it was no longer true that they were serving food and drink to the public.  Part of the way back, however, we found the old owner in an new bay, Cockleshell Bay, and his new reggae beach bar appears to be a most happening and fun spot.  We enjoyed our food and beverages before making our way back to the boat for a soak and quiet afternoon.   Along the way, we saw literally dozens of green vervet monkeys, and we have proof in pictures.  Locals imprison these or carry them around for the entertainment of tourists - which is a little sad as they are truly pack creatures, requiring their friends and family for happiness.

Rasta Beach Bar just plugged full of cruise ship visitors coming in and out by the bus load.  Prices reflected this!

Part of the development of south St. Kitts - the Christophe Development which will include a lagoon and marina.  We watched them dredging out a section to make way for docks and moorings.

We saw many monkeys along the way!

Another vervet monkey in the wild.  Many are captured to serve the tourists up a treat.  Many locals walk with them on their shoulders complete with diapers to pose for photos at $5 US.

Final report is the entertainment in this little harbour.  Although rather barren when we arrived, we were joined soon after by Cat Ppalu, a favourite of mine: 1977 Peter Spronk 75 foot catamaran designed and built in St. Martin, out of wood epoxy saturation technique, with a ketch rig.  Initially constructed for offshore racing, the boat has spent most of its life in the Virgins as a cattlemaran daysailer, hauling crowds of burning tourists to one bay or another.  The new owner, Randy West, out of St. Barths, said he has been trying to buy her for 20 years, and intends to enjoy her fully.

Cat Pplau, one of Laurie's all time favourite catamarans was anchored in front of us for the past 3 days!  He has seen this catamaran up in the BVI's over the years and even talked the company into a free t-shirt years ago, which is now in tatters!

Last night was quite entertaining in the anchorage.   An older gentleman sailed in, dropped anchor, worked himself haggardly to get the boat straightened away; then up jumped two toe-headed children of about 8-10 years, who were slapped into bosun's chairs, placed on separate halyards, and allowed to run back and forth a few feet below the toe rail on the port side.  They were at it for hours into the darkness, and have spent most of today as well.  Captain is obviously going for the title of "Best Grampie Ever".  We've never seen him out of the boat since he got the grand kids set up!

How many hours can these kids play like this and never tire of the game?  So far it's 2:00 pm and they've been pretty steady since 10:00 am!!

After that, two ladies arrived with a 45+ foot vessel "Blue Planet", with the jib in tatters.  The jib was in two great slabs of cloth, split about 18 feet up, and the two slabs would not furl and unfurl synchronously to allow it all to come down.  I dinghied over and offered my assistance, and we quickly determined it was too dark and windy to make a full attempt.  Quite as well, as I was already deep into the sundowner tradition.  This morning, after our morning weather net, Dawn and I returned to make a better acquaintance with Captain Lou (Louise Orion) and her crew, Mia.  We worked with them from 8 until 11 to get all the tatters down in the rather unrelenting 12-18 knots.  I did at least two trips up with the bosun's chair, and we all did a lot of tugging and pulling between head scratching.   Still it was fun, and we were successful in clearing the forestay furler.  The ladies have now left to take the boat over behind the Nevis volcano and bend on a second, newer jib, before continuing to Pointe-a-Pitre.    Louise and the "Blue Planet" operate a portable sailing school for those who fly down here and book the time segments.

s/v Blue Planet sailed by Capt. Louise, with her forestay cleared

Our plans are to leave tomorrow morning for a potential anchorage at Brimestone Hill, at the north west corner of the island, where we might be able to get ashore and tour a historical fortress and national treasure.  After that, we'll return to Basseterre to check out, and continue up to the little Dutch island of St. Eustatius.  At this point, we wish to share our empathy for our friends in New Brunswick who are suffering through a terrible week of snow, ice and more snow.  It really sounds like a record-breaker up there.

Lots of pics today - Dominica, Saintes & Guadeloupe

Laurie & Brian looking pretty comfortable on a beach at Les Saintes

Laurie does drink Heineken when it's the only beer available and it's icy cold!

How "Not to Anchor"!  We were lucky to get the anchor up in the morning.  Notice the French Angel fish to the right.

Nasty lionfish!  They're taking over the Caribbean!

One of my favourites:  a spotted drum

Another nasty lionfish...beautiful though.

This octopus posed for us for a long time!  It was hard to leave him!!

A slippery, steep hike in Deshaies, Guadeloupe.  This was a tough one for all 4 of us!  Notice that Lorna is still smiling as she thinks of cold beer at the end of the trail!

Grand Anse in Guadeloupe.  We reached this beach after the hike along with all the beach bars!!  Ahhhh...heaven!

Laurie was actually swept up in this large wave!  It's amazing he wasn't hurt!

Peace & Plenty (Lorna and Brian's boat) traveling with us from Les Saintes.

Hiking up to look-out tower on Terre D'en Haut in Les Saintes.  1036 feet straight up!  There were ten of us and this is just a few in the picture.

The view from the top was AMAZING...the picture doesn't do it justice!

Anne (Cat's Paw IV) and Joanna (Baidarka) from a window up in the fort.

Cat Tales is presently on a mooring ball off Pinney's Beach, on the west side of the little island of Nevis.  Little it may be, but not short.  The giant volcano, peaking at over 3200 feet, literally blocks the sunrise!  As the cruising guide says, from many angles the island looks like a giant sombrero, with lots of flat plains spreading out from all sides.  Indeed, we're very tempted to rent bicycles while we are here and see what we might find.  However, an easy calculation suggests that just staying on the main road would make it a 20 mile bike ride around the volcano, and I'd probably have the return of my shoulder problems doing it.

We arrived Wednesday night, the 4th of February, at 5 PM, leaving Lorna and Brian aboard Peace & Plenty in Deshaies, Guadeloupe.  The 12 hour sail was a little bumpy and wet in the morning, but after we passed the big smoking volcano at Montserrat, we could angle downwind 15 or more degrees, and the sail became quite pleasant.  When we were doing the last 5 miles along the lee of Nevis, we had our jib and boom way out on a beam reach in flat water, and enjoyed stable speeds of 8-10 knots. 

Yesterday, we checked in and paid for our mooring, visited a few of the museums and walked about town.  The museums have lots of information on the two famous men of these parts:  Admiral Nelson, who got married here to a Nevisian girl; and Alexander Hamilton, born out of wedlock but rising to become the man who set up the US monetary system and adorns the $10 US bill.  Interestingly, both men got into a little trouble with extramarital affairs.

Cat Tales continues to be providing us with wonderful service.  The only failure worth talking about is the loss of a step on the swim ladder.  It happened only yesterday, and I have made repairs today.  Except for some rather dark marks on my left shin, I survived the failure.  It did remind me of Ron Roy, who stood on the same step in Grand Lake when it let go, and, like me, wondered why he didn't bite through his tongue as he went down.

It has been a few islands and a few weeks since we have had reasonable internet.  We'll likely adorn this post with a few pictures, and get the computer to a site to post a proper weblog.  It looks like a dinghy ride to the 'Sunshine Beach Bar' is in store for the job!

Our time along Martinique, Dominica, Les Isles des Saintes, and Guadeloupe with Peace & Plenty has really been fun.  We certainly did more together than we would have done if we were alone; with us showing off the sites, hikes, and attractions that we would not have bothered with otherwise.  I suspect the pictures that Dawn chooses will be more demonstrative than what I can write here.