The Windwards

The Cruising Log - The Windwards

Allen and I arrived in St. Lucia on January 3rd. We’d set up our flights so we would arrive in daylight to get to the boat, but due to delayed flights we ended up arriving in Marigot Bay in the dark. We had so many suitcases of things we'd hauled in. Now how were we going to get to the boat. We found someone to dingy us to the boat and load all the packages aboard. That was enough work for one day -- we headed to the Shack (our favorite place in Marigot Bay) for drinks and dinner.

Allen spent the next day in bed recovering from being overserved. Cheryl spent the day putting everything away and started cleaning the boat. It's pretty clean, but the walls and floors need to be wiped down to avoid getting mildew. Sequel was anchored close to the trees to be safe while Allen was here alone, but it has a lot more bugs here. We're going to take the dingy out and look around for a better spot soon.

Cheryl is wondering if this change in lifestyles was a good choice. So for, her trips to the boat have been so short we haven't been able to venture out. In Tortola we were bombarded by Hurricanes or problems with the boat. We want to be out traveling and meeting new people. It is what we expected this life to be all about. For Cheryl, it was really hard to leave Amy and Keith behind. Establishing a new life afloat is going to take some time.

We moved the boat to the outer harbor in Marigot Bay and it is much nicer. The water is clear, and there are fewer bugs. We work on the boat in the mornings and jump in for a swim when we get too warm. Most afternoons we head in to the Shack for Happy Hour where we’ve met several cruisers. They all seem to enjoy life. One night a group of cruisers arrived in Marigot Bay and two guys played the guitar at the shack. They were great they had people singing along and really getting into it. The group says things like this happen a lot in the cruising community. Things are looking up!!

Traveling with Ray....

We're sailing with a British guy named Ray. He's been around boats most of his life. He worked on a dock in England until he retired three years ago. He travels around during the winter months then returns to England when the weather is nice. He seems to enjoy himself, but I would hate to be always living out of a suitcase and traveling alone. He's pleasant to have aboard and helps out with the sailing which is nice.

The day we got here we went to Fort de France which is the Capitol of Martinique. We left St. Lucia about 9:00 am and traveled all day. The seas were flat and we only had about 15 knots of wind. Ray was at the helm most of the way so I got a chance to sit out on the rail and relax. It was a really pleasant sail and I ended up with a sunburn inspite of using sunblock. (I'll be looking like a native soon). We reached Martinique about 4:30 and spent over an hour trying to anchor. The bottom was really hard and it was difficult to get the anchor set. We're going to get a different anchor that handles this kind of bottom so we don't have such a hard time. Since we were all tired after the days sail we settled in for our "sundowners" (drinks at sunset) and relaxed. We had dinner aboard and all went to bed early.

The next morning we took the dingy to shore and stopped for croissants and coffee on the way to the ferry. We took a ferry over to the main part of town to clear customs and wander around. I'm usually the one to take care of customs because they're not used to women and we get less hassles. There are even times they skip the countries entrance fees.

Martinique is a nice island. I'd like to spend more time here at some point. The capitol has a canal running through it and a beautiful park. Since we'd wandered the shops before we let Ray take off and see the shops while we wandered through the park.

In the afternoon we took the ferry back to the other side of the bay where we were anchored. We stopped for lunch and watched a swim suit fashion show on the beach. The girls modeling the suits changed right on the beach! (It was a topless beach, but it is still strange to have them changing suits then modeling). They certainly had a lot of interested shoppers.

We spent the night in a REALLY rolly anchorage. It seemed like we should put bumper pads around the bed to keep from being bounced off the walls. The next day we decided to leave the rocking and rolling behind so we headed to Saint Anne which is at the southern end of Martinique. There was no wind so we just motored south. The water is deep really close to shore so we traveled close in so we could get a good look at the island. We went by a small island (or large rock) called Diamond Rock. It is a spectacular little island that has dramatic lines. Sharp cliffs, caves, and interesting rock formations. There were people diving around the island. We’ll have to try it some time.

After anchoring at Saint Anne, we headed into town to look around and do some shopping. I bought some vegetables from the open-air market and some meat from the local market. The meat was not labeled, but came from the poultry section. My big concern was the price. I got 8 pieces of meat for the equivalent of 1.50 US. I fixed it along with some leftovers for dinner. Allen called it “Poultry Surprise”. We were all a little leery as we didn’t know what we were eating. (I think it was probably duck wings, but in the future I’d rather know what I’m eating.)

We headed to Marin in the morning to clear out of Martinique and do a little provisioning. The market in Marin is like a U.S. supermarket which is a real pleasure down here. We moved the supplies back to the boat then spent the afternoon at a little beach bar. They had tables on the sand at the waters edge. We ate lunch and spent the afternoon sipping beers wondering what the rest of the world was up to.

Saint Anne is a much nicer anchorage so we moved the boat back for the night. We hung the hammock and I relaxed and read a book while Allen and Ray worked on polishing the boat. We barbecued steaks and listed to Andrew Lloyd Weber. What a wonderful night. We all sang along and talked about the wonderful time we were having. I spent some time that night in the hammock looking at the stars. This is a wonderful life.

This life seems so far from reality. There is no TV, no radio, no cars, no traffic, no crowds, no hassles. I wonder if the novelty will ever wear off. We have relaxing days and nights looking at the stars. I spend my time enjoying the look of the ocean, the birds, the palm trees, and the beaches. I take the time to notice how the sea sparkles in the light, how blue it is, how blue the sky is, how bright the stars are. The pleasure of life aboard a boat is something I never anticipated. We have our problems with mechanical things not working, but that is just forcing us to learn new things so we can be self-sufficient.

Back to St Lucia

We’re back in St. Lucia and have moved the anchor 7 times in two days. The weather here is something no one can figure out. (Makes you wonder what this years Hurricane season will be like. Everyone says the weather is strange this year and are predicting a bad hurricane season. We don’t plan on being here to find out). The wind comes howling from all directions and boats keep dragging their anchors and coming close to smashing into other boats. We’ve move the anchor sometimes because we were dragging and sometimes because other boats were swinging into us. It makes for restless nights, but we are sure getting practice anchoring. At this point we’re getting pretty comfortable with what the boat can do, but we would sure like a secure anchorage for a few days.

Rich and Pat, from La Bella, came back though Marigot Bay. We met them on their way down island a few weeks ago. We had them over for dinner. It turned out great. I made a Pork Roast in garlic-crumb crust, a wine sauce from the meat juices, baked onions and carrots, potatoes, peas, mushrooms and a Caesar Salad. Pat baked a Key Lime pie and brought her blender for Pina Coladas. We had a wonderful evening and they headed out early the next morning. They are on their way back to the states as their year sabbatical is about up.

We invited Ray to stay on the boat until he moves on to Trinidad in early February. He has been a pleasure to have aboard. He spent some time in the English Navy and has spent enough time on boats to know it is close quarters and everyone needs to keep things cleaned up. He has worked really hard on the boat. Everything is polished and looking beautiful. He’s like Mike in that he needs things to keep him busy and is always looking for a work project.

Heineken Regatta

We’re getting ready for the St. Lucia Sailing Club’s Third Annual Regatta. We have lined up some crew and are ready for the activities. We’ve got Ray, Mo (a skipper from a 70 foot racing Yacht), his girlfriend Paula, their two charter guests.

We've been polishing the boat to make it look good and the crew will be fun to have aboard. Mo (the skipper from the 70-foot racing yacht) is a young guy that loves life. We were busy cleaning the boat yesterday when he came by in his dingy with one of those high-powered squirt guns to cool us off. Allen got him back with a huge glass of water when he came by later to borrow a chart of Martinique. With our crazy crew, the Regatta can't help but be fun and we've been told it is full of full of fun events and parties.

Well.....after the first race of the Regatta. We WERE in first place. We WERE creaming even the bigger boats (professional racers aboard definitely helps!!). THEN we blew out the jib. We were sailing in 35 knot winds with 8-10 foot seas. It was one wet and wild ride. Loosing the jib was the end of our racing for the day. We dropped out of the race and headed into the marina. One of the guys went aloft in the bosuns chair and tied the pieces of the jib together so we wouldn't drive our neighbors crazy with the sail flapping all night. It is NOT a pretty sight!!! So we all went out for beer and pizza and let the rest of the racers go ahead in these crazy conditions.

It turns out the 6 of the thirteen boats were damaged. We blew the jib, someone else blew their main, and one boat even lost their mast!! We’ve decided not to enter any more Regattas on our boat. It is just not worth the risk.

Loosing the jib was hard on Allen. Too many things have been not working well and he was getting discouraged about the boat. The guy in the slip next to us was talking to Allen about it and told him the first year is discouraging because of the problems you run into on the boat but after a while you get things under control and just take the repairs in stride. In fact, he says if something breaks you just live without it. (Not me, I like the things we have aboard and I want to keep them in nice working order).

Back to Marigot Bay

We headed back to Marigot Bay to lick our wounds. We’ve decided to get back to the two of us. Ray has been fun, but having an open-ended visitor is hard to deal with. Having to ask someone to leave ends things on a bad note. Allen told him we needed to put him ashore and he was real good about it, but it sure was awkward.

Roger (the guitar player we met at the Shack) and Penny from Leyla were at the Shack again. Roger played the guitar and sang. Allen was up dancing on the tables. Several women were enjoying dancing with him. He’s such a good dancer. Even the St. Lucian guys told him he has good moves. I’ll bet those women go home from their vacation talking about dancing at the Shack.

We had Roger and Penny over for dinner. She brought homemade pita bread and a yogurt dip made from homemade yogurt. They’ve been living aboard for almost 4 years now and just love the lifestyle. They told us to move slowly and really get to know the people in the different places we visit. They’re interesting people.

It had been raining a lot that night and we had a full moon. Allen spotted what we think is a moon rainbow. It had the shape of a rainbow but without the colors. The things you see when you spend your life outdoors is a never ending set of new

In the morning we tried to take the sail down. The sail ripped more and we started sailing on our anchor. (Not good with boats around us). We put the sail down quickly which let us settle back down on our anchor. Another lesson learned - don’t put the sail up while you’re at anchor unless you are planning to sail somewhere. We’ve decided to take it back to Rodney Bay and get the guys at the sail loft to help us.

Docking at Rodney Bay Marina

We were up at 6:30 to go back to Rodney Bay. I made coffee and put it in the cups Amy gave us from Sonoma Valley Bagel company. We motored back to Rodney Bay sipping coffee and enjoying the early morning sunshine. We’re ready to start venturing out on our own. We’re getting in tune with the boat and more confident of our abilities. As soon as things are up and running we’ll be venturing out.

Our docking at Rodney Bay was a real crowd pleaser. (We like to watch them, not provide them). We came in okay, but the dock line Allen tossed to the guy on the dock had a loop on the end and he thought he was just supposed to put it over the cleat, not tie it off. The boat started to drift into the boat next to us and Allen tried to pull it in from the rear dock line which didn’t help, it started pushing us too close to the dock. By the time we got things under control we had 4 people pushing us off the dock to keep us from hitting it. Another lesson learned without any damage. We could have handled the whole thing on our own. We need to be careful about getting help and we can’t throw a dock line with a loop when we want to be tied off to cleat!!

We had Cay Electronics there waiting to look at our refrigerator. It turns out we need a new compressor on the refrigerator so it is on order and we’ll be without refrigeration for a week or so. We also ordered a satellite communication system so I can communicate via the PC anytime I want. It will be so nice to have. It makes me feel like I’m not cut off from my family and friends.

We pulled the dingy aboard for cleanup and a new patch. The bottom had quite a growth. We took out some kitchen spatulas to clean it off. (Someone walking by told Allen he was a good cook). At first I didn’t want to touch the growth on the dingy, but I really got into it and we had it cleaned off pretty quickly. It is ready for the patch repair, but enough dingy work for today.

A cruiser came by and helped us get the jib down. Allen went up in the bosuns chair and untied the leach line from the rigging and tied a line to it so we could get the torn part unfurled. We got the jib down and folded which was a big relief to have done. It is so windy here you have to find a break in the wind and get it down quickly.

Since SunSail was so unresponsive at helping us with our sail, we decided to go to Martinique for the repairs. We called the sail maker in Marin and he said he would take care of it right away, so we cleared customs and headed for Martinique. It was our first trip to Martinique alone. Allen was at the helm most of the way and while I was taking a nap, a big wave splashed into the cockpit. (Not a nice way to wake up). The water quickly drained out, but that was the end of my nap. We anchored at St. Anne and had a quiet dinner ashore.

Sail Repair in Martinique

The next morning we headed to Marin. After clearing customs, we headed to the sailmakers. They were ready to look at the sail so we brought it in. They took a look and said it would be ready the next afternoon! What a difference from SunSail who wouldn’t even take the time to look. They were so responsive we decided to have them build an awning as well. We want a really big one that will cover most of the deck and have sides that can drop down to block out the hot afternoon sun. It was pretty interesting to get done. The sailmaker is French, but speaks some English. Trying to explain what we wanted involved a lot of pictures and pantomiming. We think we know what we're getting, but we'll know for sure when we go to pick it up. It won't be done for a week and a half. It doesn't take that long to make, but next week is Carnival (Mardi Gras) and the whole country parties for a week. (Oh darn, we have to go to another party....).

We headed back from Martinique in the morning and we think we hit every squall that was even thinking about rain and gusty winds. We were double reefed for most of the trip then finally gave up and motored back to St. Lucia because the winds were blowing us so far off course.

I'm glad we put in the reefs. The winds were gusting over 30 knots and the rain was so heavy we couldn't see very well. We'd read that you should reef as soon as it occurs to you it might be a good idea. Well, we waited awhile hoping the first squall would pass. Bad idea. We finally decided to get the boat under control just about the time the squall hit. That's when we figured out with just two people (and I'd hurt my back a couple of days ago and am not as mobile as I ought to be) we really should put in the reef when it is easy to do.

It was a bumpy wet ride that just isn't much fun. I'll be glad when we get a weatherfax aboard so we can find out what the weather is like. At least then we know what to expect if we decided to head out in unsettled weather.

Carnival in St. Lucia (March 1996)

It was nice to get back to Marigot Bay. Our friends saw us come in and called us on the VHF to welcome us “home”. It was nice to be welcomed back! After the weekend in Marigot, we headed to Rodney Bay to get the work done on the boat.

We spent a week and a half in Rodney Bay getting things repaired and installed. We’ve finally got the autopilot back and installed. We also got the watermaker and the satcom installed and the refrigerator fixed. It is frustrating to work with the people at Cay Electronics. They are not very good at telling you the complete facts. The worst thing is the satcom. The owner told us it would cost a few dollars to send a page of text. It turns out it costs $35 to send a page of text. That is REALLY expensive. It is too bad when you can’t trust the people doing work for you. We also paid for federal express of the compressor and they didn’t even bother to figure out where it was and it ended up taking over 3 weeks to get it to the boat. When you’re told a few days to a week and it takes 3 weeks, it gets frustrating. We’ve been told that is common down here, but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. The one thing that is good is that they seem to do quality work.

It took so long to get everything done in Rodney Bay, we weren’t able to get our awning before Mark and Kathy came for a visit. It would have been nice to have, but patience is something you just need to have around here.

While we were waiting to get all the work done, we did some work on the boat and read a lot of books. We also went into Castries to watch the big parade for Carnival. It is a big deal down here and the town basically shuts down for a week in order to go to all the parties. The parade was great. They have colorful costumes and great music. Everyone dances through the parade. People join in and go to the town square to dance the night away. I took lots of pictures. Allen took off for awhile and I couldn’t find him. When I finally found him he was in the parade! He loves to perform! I was all out of pictures so I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of him in the parade. The TV camera took a picture of him, though. I wonder if he was on TV in St. Lucia?

Bequia and Tabago Cays

Well... we just finished two weeks of traveling up and down the Windward Islands with some friends from the States. We ran into big seas, strong winds and the "Northern Swells". It was definitely not our normal trip. We had unbelievable swells, a leak, a missing boat and a dead body. Read on....

We left Marigot Bay under blue skies and headed down to the Pitons which would be our jumping off point for a 50 mile trip south. The anchorage at the foot of the Pitons is really spectacular. We put up the hammock and settled in for a quite evening aboard the boat. It is fun to watch people the first time they get in the hammock. They can't help but laugh. It is kind of like being on an amusement park ride. You do nothing and you keep rocking. The more the boat rocks, the higher you swing. It is really fun.

During the night, the Northern Swells kicked up and the anchorage was really rolly by morning. We were glad to get under way. Along with the Northern Swells comes strong winds and big seas. As we were heading south we got the boost from the seas and spent a lot of the time surfing down the swells. The winds kept us moving even in areas that are usually pretty calm so we had a great day sailing.

e arrived in Bequia in the late afternoon and found a nice spot to anchorage near a pretty beach. We had two young boys row out to our boat and sing us a song to welcome us to Bequia. They were cute and it was a nice welcome. Bequia is one of our favorite spots. They have a great walkway along the water front. At high time, the walkway is sometimes pretty wet. It wanders along the shore line with palm trees and lots of little shops and restaurants along the way. The picture on the left shows a part of the walkway. The one on the right is the Frangipani restaurant. We've spent many an hour in those white chairs just enjoying watching the people and the anchorage.

Bequia is well-known for the model boats they make. They are really a piece of art. If you pick the right time of day to go to the shops, you can watch the men carve them. They are all hand-made and very intricate.

Bequia used to be an active whaling station. It is whaling season between February and April. Humpback and Sperm whales move south during the whaling season to mate. There are some whalers left in Bequia and they are allowed one whale per year. They hunt in open boats using hand thrown harpoons. We were there on Sunday so we weren't able to see any of them men head out to hunt.

ustique is our next stop. Mustique is a privately owned island that has homes for the "rich and famous". (Mick Jagger, Princess Margaret, David Bowie). The picture to the left if of two boutiques, as well as an ice-cream shop. The anchorage is off a beach with beautiful turquoise water. We took a taxi ride to the windward side of the island and saw some really beautiful beaches. There is a rock pathway between the beaches and you can walk on the reef to another small island. I really want to come back and spend some time on Mustique. There are supposed to be lots of nice hikes and you can rent mopeds to get around the island.

We had another of our "exciting" adventures here. Allen noticed the bilge pump was running every so often so we lifted the floor boards to see what was going on. It turns out the stuffing box was leaking. I looked it up in the repair book, but ours was not the same type. The one thing it did say was you can take a LOT of water on fast. (What shall I save before the boat sinks??!!) The island has no boat yard and we weren't sure what to do so Allen got in the dingy and went over to another boat to see if someone knew more about what to do. The guy was great. He's the skipper aboard a beautiful 60 foot boat and he came over to take a look. He got the leak fixed and had me turn on the engine and put it into forward and reverse to see if there was any problem. We were all ready to head back for repairs, but he said he thought things were fine for now, but that it was a warning sign and we should get it looked into. As he was leaving he added that he was going back to HIS boat and it is easy to say things are fine when you're going back to another boat. (comforting words.... but we ARE still afloat)

That evening, as we were sitting in the cockpit enjoying the stars, we had bats flying into the boat. We either had about 30 bats visit or we had one bat coming and going all evening. They would fly in and spend about 30 seconds then fly out. (I slept fine, they're small... )

We were still dealing with the Northern Swells and the anchorages were just not comfortable. I wouldn't be surprised if we were having a 20 degree roll half of the time!! We even had bad conditions in Tobago Cays which is one of nicest spots in the area. The Tobago Cays which is a group of small deserted islands protected from the sea by a horseshoe reef. The reef colors are unbelievable shades of blue and the beaches have white sands. The snorkeling is great BUT, we had 30 knot winds blowing through the anchorage. Who wants to swim and snorkel off the boat in 30 know winds!!!

We spent the night and decided to head back to St. Lucia where the anchorages are more protected. We stopped in Bequia to clear customs and spend the night. Now for our next big "excitement". After going to shore to clear customs we came back to where we anchored and the boat wasn't there!!! NOT A GOOD THING. Thankfully we saw the boat about 300 yards away. We asked the guy near the boat how close we came to them and he said within inches. We aren't sure exactly what happened. We know the anchor drug, but the chain was also all the way out and the snub line was still on the anchor chain when we brought it in.

Well, we re-anchored in better holding ground and settled in for the night. About 3 AM we heard 5 blasts (which means danger) and Allen flew on deck. He was afraid we were dragging again. It turns out another boat was dragging into the boat we almost hit. (I bet the guy didn't sleep that night!!)

In the morning we were under way by 7am. We had 60 miles planned for the day so we wanted an early start. Now for the next "adventure"?? We were sailing along between Bequia and St. Vincent when we spotted something in the water. We thought it might be a seal. It came within a couple feet of the boat and it was a dead body. Pretty gross.... We decided not to report the body as the police here are unpredictable and we weren't sure what would happen if we tried to report it. So we kept sailing.

I've really gotten used to being at the helm. We had 30+ knot winds at 8-10 foot seas between St. Vincent and St. Lucia. The rest of the "crew" was huddled under the dodger trying to stay dry and I was getting drenched as we pounded into the swells. I was having FUN!! This is a far cry from our first trip from Tortola when I was rather timid in these conditions. I had really wanted to sail the complete 60 miles, but after 8 hours I needed a bread so Allen took over once we got in the lee of St. Lucia. I went out on deck and just relaxed and watched the scenery. We pulled back into Marigot about 5:30. It was nice to be "home".

We took long showers at the Marina then headed to the Shack for dinner and dancing.

Rodney Bay. Spinnakers, water taxi, shopping. Cleaning calcium off the lines in the head in Rodney Bay - nice way to entertain guests.