by chris | Jan 2016 | UK to New Zealand
Had a reasonable crossing to Antigua although the wind was very variable so lots of sail configuration changes. Arrived in Freeman’s bay English Harbour, spotted Harvey & Rita’s yacht so said hello before finding a spot to anchor. They invited me to dinner and drinks later which was very nice.
Highlights of the next few days were a beach barbecue, a walk up Shirley Heights with Rita & Harvey.
English Harbour from Shirley Heights
A walk over Middle Ground to swim at Pigeon Beach, a cycle ride to Bethesda (as you may know I lived in Bethesda N Wales for a long time) just had to visit .
Bethesda
There was also the donkey sanctuary there to visit.
At the donkey sanctuary
A tot and toast at the Naval tot club followed by fish Friday then a long bike ride to Carlisle Bay down and back up Fig Tree Drive, a bit of a beast of a hill in parts and hilly the rest of way too, legs pretty tired after this little excursion.
Time to move on so when the winds eased and the seas were calmer, as it had been unsettled and squally for a few days. I weighed anchor and in two long tacks made for Green Island and then into Nonsuch Bay through the reefs, eyeball navigation this for which the sun very unhelpfully hid behind a cloud, you need good light to see the reefs, but through OK and anchored in Ayres Creek, just had to go there didn’t I?
Screen shot, Sea Bear in Ayres Creek
Very little there but a quiet place, I was the only boat anchored there. When leaving Nonsuch bay there was quite a swell on York Bank built up by the strong winds, so not so much fun but Sea Bear coped well as usual. Then a fast run just under yankee, rolly and with breaking waves past English Harbour, through the Goats head channel between Cadie’s reef and the mainland past Pelican Island and into the lee of the west coast to anchor off Jolly Harbour. I will make my departure from Antigua here.
by chris | Feb 2016 | UK to New Zealand
Weighed anchor in the predawn for the 45 mile crossing to Nevis. Calm at first but a bit offshore and we picked up a following or Soldiers wind. After a while calm again so engine back on but later we had wind back, about 15 knots. Later when plotting position we had gone further than the log read, either it was under reading or more likely the current was given us a helpful push westwards of I knot. Late morning we came into soundings again when passing over the bank to the north of Redona, a useful confirmation of position. The afternoon became cloudy and the wind dropped to about 10 knots but nothing threatening. Closing the coast of Nevis at the southern tip, Dogwood point it is easy to misjudge how far off you are. At first I though I was a mile offshore but realised what I thought were trees were just bushes and I closer inshore and the depth shallow. Easily corrected by a slight course change but a reminder to be ever vigilante. At least one yacht has been wrecked here. A little later I picked up a mooring buoy off Pinney’s Beach. 10 hrs for a 45 mile passage, not bad considering the light winds.
Pinney’s Beach is a lovely spot to just chill out and relax, a beautiful long beach, clear waters and some nice beach bars. One is owned by another Vancouver owner, so it was good to pay him a visit again, have a beer or two and catch up on things.
There was a beautiful modern classic 56’ sloop moored near by, “Spirited Lady of Fowey”, the skipper, Susie, dropped by one morning. Mark had mentioned that I was thinking of going to Cuba and that was her intention too. I was invited to her boat for a meal and we swopped notes. It was truely a lovely boat but must be a bit high maintainance with acres of teak decks and varnished woodwork.
Next day she took me to the hot springs, the existence of which I was unaware. The water was very hot, like a very hot bath, just bearable but on getting out you felt a little chilly in contrast although the air temperature was in the thirties, a strange feeling but slightly odd to have salt free body again.
One day I watched for ages a big shoal of little fish no more than about an inch swim about the boat, all changing direction at once just like you might see on a nature programme on the telly then some bigger fish perhaps 8 to 18 inches dart in to quick to grab a mouthful of them.
Oh and I saw a turtle that morning, thought they might be about here but that was the first I’ve seen here.
Another day I went for a cycle around the island. This time the opposite direction to last year and enjoyed it, legs bit tired afterwards – they don’t get enough use!
Would be so easy to stay here for ages but I felt the need to move on again, a long way to Cuba from here and first I want to go to St Maarten to stock up, it’s a duty free island and then I’ve a mind to call in at BVI.
by chris | Feb 2016 | UK to New Zealand
It was 3 am when I slipped the mooring at Pinney’s beach, but the wind had gone so I motored the first hour before it returned lightly 10 – 12 knots. Daylight saw me passing Brimstone hill and then I was at the North end of the St Kitts. Here I was becalmed for a short while but the wind returned a bit stronger this time, up to 20 knots. I passed Statia and set the course for St Maarten, arriving here and anchoring in Simpson Bay after a passage of 15 hrs for the 61n miles.
Sunset on ancient & modern Simpson Bay
I left clearing in until the next morning, then later when the bridge opened I moved into the lagoon.
One of the nice things about St Maarten is the bar Lagoonies, happy hour here and a bottle of Presidente beer is just 1 US$, current rate of exchange about 68 pence. Lagoonies is set on the edge of the lagoon with its own dinghy dock and is a lively place often with live music.
Lagoonies
The island being duty free booze is amazingly cheap so we stocked up. Rum at 5 US$ a bottle a bargain and since I am bound for ex pirate islands next we needs some rum aarh!
Stocked up too on provisions so two big supermarket shops, one on the Dutch side and another on the French side, staggering back each time with a full rucsac and two laden shopping bags, should have the staples for a couple of months or more.
A street in Marigot – French side of island
The other thing the island is good for is Chandelries there being a big Budget Marine and big Island Water World, so I was able to get some necessaries including a pilot book and some charts of Cuba.
A few little jobs on the boat done and I was ready to move on again before I became a permanant fixture propping up a bar stool at Lagoonies!
by chris | Feb 2016 | UK to New Zealand
A False start
I left on Monday but didn’t get very far. Firstly there was a hold up at the lifting bridge. a big motor boat went through oh so slowly, must have taken him 15 mins or so. The bridge keeper was getting really irate with him over the vhf, telling him he was causing a holdup and that he must clear the channel now,
quite amusing, the keeper obviously cared nothing no deference shown for the megarich man in his superyacht, who I bet not often gets talked to like that, though probably it was a lackey captain at the controls.
Anyway I got through eventually but then along came the first of many squalls, you cant see them coming as they come over the mountain so little warning, high winds and torrential rain, and visibility down to about nothing. After about the third or fourth in about an hour I decided to go back I was drenched and fed up with it. Two more on way back including one just as was about the drop the anchor. It was thoroughly unpleasant. Anyway I made right decision because rest of day, eve and night was very cloudy and dark, not nice at all.
Succesful passage
I left at two pm the next day, Tuesday. Bit of a repeat performance, really nasty squall about half an hour after I’d left with really really strong wind. Martha couldn’t cope and the boat rounded up and made a dash for the shore so I fought that and steered offshore. With the full yankee out I had way too much sail up for 30 knots of wind I then struggled to roll up the yankee, lost a sheet to the wind, normally the stopper knot stops it pulling through the blocks but not this time. Anyway I got the sail furled and just lay ahull for a while until the squall passed, then I could sort it all out. Fortunately just the one squall this time thereafter the weather looked fine. It was a bit windy mind 25 knots or so but downwind sailing so not splashy or sprayey, just a bit rolly with a sizeable swell. After sunset I had a nice half moon until it set about 4am. Not too much chance to cat nap as there were quite a few boats about. When it got light at 06.30 we had done 75 miles and I could see the island, perfect timing. Switching on the gps to double check and were 6 miles from our waypoint at end of Virgin Gorda and bang on target, pleasing that. Past Pajaros Point we just had to thread a way past the reefs and Richard Branson’s private island (Necker Island) and past Pull or be Dammed Point to follow the channel get into Gorda or North Sound. So here I am in BVI.
North Sound , Virgin Gorda
by chris | Mar 2016 | UK to New Zealand
I cleared in at Gun Creek, North Sound, a quick and painless process and then moved over to anchor off Prickly Pear island on the over side of the sound.
Prickly Pear Island
A lovely spot this, there is a little beach restaraunt on the island but it was closed for the eve, dashing my hopes of some nice food. Thought I would go there for lunch the next day but in the meantime a cruise ship had arrived and anchored off and they had taken over the place, so hopes dashed again. I moved over to Leverick bay and lunched here, there was also a small shop so I could get some more fresh provisions.
Leverick bay Hospital
Des Res, Leverick Bay
Next morning I took a walk, hoping to get up to the top of Virgin Gorda peak, I got close but a number of tracks I tried turned out to be dead ends so in the end contented myself with a stunning viewpoint overlooking the whole of the North Sound.
On to St Thomas, the main town of Virgin Gorda main requirement an ATM to top up funds but it was near to the Baths, a spectacular mooring with white sand beaches and huge granite boulders. Very popular so apparently all the moorings get taken by mid morning. It was beautiful calm evening but things changed in the night, a brisk NE arrived and with it a big swell, caused a few boats to drag and they had to move in the middle of the night.
Next day was no day for the Baths so I had a boisterous sail across to Tortola and found shelter in Fat Hogs Bay, it was till blowing 25 knots but flat water in the shelter behind the reef. Ashore in the eve I dined in a local eatery with a barbecue set up outside, jerk chicken, delicious.
The wind had departed in the morning so I returned to the Baths, swell still running crashing into the boulders so no chance to go ashore but I took a mooring and had lunch before returning to Fat Hogs Bay.
The Baths
Next stop was Road Town the Capital but I didn’t stay long, about an hour, a soulless place I found it, all new concrete buildings and a busy road. Instead a nice sail across the Drake Passage past Pelican Island and the Indians took me to the Bight on Norman Island,. A proper old pirate haunt this and reputably the setting for the book, Treasure Island. Ashore I dined in the Pirates Bight restaurant, which is the only thing on the island on barbecued ribs. A walk ashore in the morning took me to the highest point of the island with lovely views.
The Bight Norman Island
On then to Sopers hole and passing through Thatch Island Cut across to the island of Joss Van Dyke. It was as I’d feared a bit choppy in the bay here, too much South in the wind so I returned to Sopers Hole. Here I ran into Richard and Eilish again in their lovely homebuilt steel gaff cutter “Granuaile”. I first meet them in Northern Spain.
I decided it was time to leave the BVI, it is undoubtedly a beautiful place and would be a perfect cruising ground if only it weren’t such a perfect cruising ground and hence so crowded out with charter boats. Its expensive too, the tourist and charter boats seem to push up the prices and its the most expensive place I have been in the Caribbean so far.
by chris | Mar 2016 | UK to New Zealand
Spent my last day in BVI at Sopers Hole, checking over the boat and getting some supplies. Someone once said that cruising is about fixing your boat in exotic locations and there is truth in this. I overhauled the bilge pump as I discovered it to be leaking at the flange and dripping salt water over the engine, not good. A new diaphragm dug out of the boson’s stores was fitted to cure this.
I slipped the mooring early on the 25th and clear of the harbour since it was quite windy hoisted the staysail only to run down the Narrows between Tortola and St Johns, part of the American Virgins. I could then turn towards the Windward Passage, so with the wind more on the beam up went the reefed mainsail and I passed through the Durloe Cays between Rata Cay and Henley Cay. Passing in between Cruz bay and Steven Cay I carefully avoided Skipper Jacob Rock, a more wicked looking rock I have rarely seen, sharp and pointed and I wondered on the unfortunate skipper who it was named after. The last obstacle in threading my way through the islands was the Dog rocks and then I could set a course to pass south of the Isla de Vieques, one of the so called Spanish Virgin Islands. I reached here late afternoon, I am sure they would be a delight to visit but they belong to Puerto Rica and you need an American Visa, which I don’t have.
Our first night at sea sunset at 6.30 and dark shortly after but around nine thirty a nice 3/4 moon arose to shine us on our way and off to the NW I could see a light high on Puerto Rica. Coasting westwards about 8 miles offshore shore lights could be seen clearly but it was a quiet night, no ships at all in sight or on the AIS. The Puerto Rican’s do however seem to use AIS extensively as a navigation aid for there were lots of AIS targets showing as leading lights and beacons.
Morning came with little change although the wind had dropped some and the swell which cause that troublesome rolling, eased a little. Later I rigged the genoa pole with uphaul, downhaul and two guys so I could pole out the yankee, its not a job i relish singlehanded but with a light wind and from directly aft, necessary to maintain some progress. All day spent passing Puerto Rica and in the late afternoon a pod of dolphins came to visit, playing around the boat and staying with me a long time, very nice.
And so into the second night for which I put a precautionary reef in the main and rolled away the yankee as the wind had gone around a little. Midnight saw me past Cabo Rojo and the red light of the buoy which marks the SW corner of Puerto Rica so I was starting to cross the Mona Passage and altered course a little towards the Dominican Republic. Another quiet night so plenty of cat naps, some curled up in a corner of the cockpit behind the spray hood and some stretched out below with the alarm religiously set.
Not long after dawn after I had reset the poled out yankee I could just make out the low shape of Mona Island to the NW and not long after a big black dolphin came to pay a visit. So past another day, towards eve I saw 3 ships in fairly close succession so I must be crossing the shipping lane for the Mona passage. With sunset the wind seemed to shift more abeam so I de-rigged the yankee pole, wishing I had done it an hour before while there was more light. The chart showed a nasty area of shoal and reefs extending a way south from the Isla Saona at the SE tip of Dominican Republic so I made sure I kept well off shore here though I could see the loom of the lights. Later I was past these hazards and could alter course towards Boca Chica.
Came the dawn and with the by now very light wind more abeam I could hoist the staysail so all plain sail set. Shortly before midday I was just about becalmed and concerned that I may not make port before dark resorted to the engine, fortunately after about an hour the wind returned.
Approach to Marina Zar Par
I handed the sails as I approached the buoyed channel which led through the reef and behind the small island and into the Marina Zar Par. I was soon tied up alongside to be greeted by a welcoming committee of the marina manager, the coast guard and M2, the drug enforcement agency. After a cursory search of the boat all was OK, it being Sunday Immigration can wait until the morning.
It had been a fairly slow passage of 300 miles due to light winds but a fairly stress free one so I was happy to settle for that.
Dark clouds over Zar Par