Our new figure head
The Burnet boys plus the Belles
Ringo behind the dinghy
bicycling in the dinghy.
Time to get the ensign down
Team Belles
Christmas in the Caribbean
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
CHARGING NORTH IN FEB
Charging North
After putting Wind Belle back in the water, we charged north from Grenada, only stopping briefly to say goodbye to our friends on Tabasco of Sweden.
As you go north in the windward isles you tend to be going northish while the wind tends to come from the north east, which means that you are generally on a close hauled fetch. In addition to the wind you have the waves which can be quite large as they have rolled across the Atlantic until they meet you and the islands. I.e. its not much fun and can be quite to very uncomfortable.
The highlight of our trip north must have been Martinique, which is 20 miles from St Lucia, but is actually still part of France. We stayed in a lovely bay called St Anne, which has a beautiful church and village square as if you were in France. While we were there we saw a lot of people in Costumes, men dressed as women, women dressed as men and the kids dressed in all sorts of colours. It turned out to be Carnival, and it lasted three days, with masses of noise every night and marching bands and dancing in the streets.
The other thing about French Islands is the amount of investment compared to the previous English Islands. So when you go to a supermarket, it really is super and has all the same stuff as France.
After St Anne we went to St Pierre which is also in Martinique, it came to fame as a place where a volcano erupted and killed all the towns people except the prisoner in the darkest deepest dungeon. We didn’t hang around. We also saw a school of over 50 dolphin Yawn yawn. Actually we still get very excited every time we see one.
We stopped briefly in Dominica, but have little to say except that as the guide book said the wind can howl on the leeward side of the Island. We saw 38 knots but luckily as we were sailing in the lee the sea was very smooth and we scooted along with only one reef in.
Then on to Guadeloupe, where we really liked the Saints. This is a picture post card village, and again you get fresh baguettes and croissants.
From Guadeloupe we went to English harbour Antigua, which is where the famous Nelsons dockyard is. It is great fun to walk around as it feels like a very active dockyard, not a museum, and you can just imagine what it was like in Nelsons days.
What a drag!
We anchored in Freeman’s bay right by the beach, where the wind swirls around and around and you tend to meet you neighbour in the middle of the night. We spent the night dragging, the same thing happened the next night and we had anchor watch on. I.e. very little sleep. The wind was forecast to increase to 30 knots so we decided to move into the mangroves for a nice safe anchorage.
Bumper boats in the Mangroves.
We did the text book manoeuvre, and dropped our anchor to fall back towards the mangroves which we would tie a stern rope around. So far so good, until our bow fell off and we dragged onto a charter boat. Then we both got tangled and both locked together started to drag, our anchors wrapped together and mostly around our starboards propeller. We then drifted rather swiftly towards the Sunsail charter base and fleet, Sophie made a diving lunge with a bit of rope and tide up to a moored boat. And the armada ground to a halt. Ironically we were only feet away from our friends on Sun Set Sam who had left their boat safely tucked up in the mangroves while they went back to New Zealand for three weeks. I kept praying we would not hit them and Sophie kept praying that Scottie would beam us up.
After a bit of help from Sunsail base team and the TMC charter boat Captain and crew who turned out to be from Chichester Yacht club, we found out the problem. We had snagged a disused mooring, and all its chains and ropes that had been lying on the bottom unseen since Nelsons days. (IE not buoy or float).Sophie was in tears and I was in quite a state. At this moment a group of rubber neckers turned up in a water taxi. Sophie was about to tell them where to go when she recognized them as Jim and Graine her parents who had turned up as a surprise to celebrate her very important birthday that weekend. Even more tears followed and flowed. This also explains why I had made us sail through the windy and rough weather from Grenada, as I knew Jim and Graine were coming, but couldn’t tell Sophie or slow down the boat, however ill or tired we were all feeling.
We also saw fellow Itchenor members, Nigel and Elizabeth Pattison, we could spot them easily as they swam around the bay in white sun hats. It is a wonder that one of the sunsail boats didn’t try to moor up to them. Elizabeth put on a superb High tea on their boat Chantel for the girls. The girls really enjoyed the Cucumber sandwiches and popcorn dipped in marmite. Sadly Elizabeth and Nigel had sold Chantel that day so it will be our last high tea in the Caribbean.
Birthdays and grockles
For Sophie’s birthday we went to Nonsuch Bay and Harmony Hall for lunch, after a great meal we anchored off Green Island which was great. So good that we stayed for 3 days. It is just like all the holiday brochures except no hotels or people or so we thought. Now I am not a snob, well not a huge one but….As we sat on our deserted beach, with only two other boats at anchor, a rib arrived with 20 people, 20 minutes later a sailing cat turned up with 30 people, then a huge motor cat turned up with 60 people and music blaring. Suffice to say that the once deserted beach now was as packed as bennidorm and there were more tattoos and beer guts than I have ever seen and that was just on the women. However after an hour our friends from package holiday land left and we had the place all to ourselves once again. As we had a full moon we did a beach BBQ, the girls did a good job foraging for wood and sticks and some local fishermen gave us their spare wood.
Atlantic rowers
While we were in English harbour a boat from the Atlantic rowing challenge arrived, with two French men in after 72 days crossing the ocean. We were amazed to see the size of their boat and the exposed position that they had to row in. In addition we couldn’t believe that they had spent quite so long in the boat. See photos. We also saw or a four man or a should say women boat arrive some two days later. The women had to be helped from the boat and were understandably wobbly on their feet. The youngest women was 17 yrs old. It seemed our own crossing in Wind Belle was a walk in the park by comparison. I respect their achievements but think they must be mad.
2 degrees of separation.
While anchored off Pigeon beach in Falmouth, two people swam up to the boat. They said " I know it sounds funny, but I think your brother operated on our daughter two days ago". And so it turned out that ben had done a op for the ST Johns who were subsequently out in Antigua staying at there house across the bay. What a small world.
A head for heights.
While in English harbour we climbed up the hill from the Calabash to Shirley heights. It was quite a climb for the kids and I hated the vertical drop offs on each side. But after about 40 minutes we arrived at the top to see one of the best views in the world, and also a very well deserved rum punch. As it was Thursday the crowds that are normally there on a Sunday were not around so we almost had the place to ourselves.
Old friends.
We were delighted to meet up with our friends the Burnets who were staying in Willoughby bay for two weeks. They provided a welcome refresh on the UK social scene. Amazingly we had met Lucy and Simon at antenatal classes in Clapham when Imy was due. The Burnet boys and the Pudney girls got on like a house on fire and we enjoyed the catching up on all the gossip from home. Lucy very kindly invited us to the house they were staying at , and we took all our laundry, The girls also enjoyed having an unlimited shower, while Sienna, said she liked a house because it had grass.
While in English harbour we also saw Debbie and Ras and also a whole contingent of Itchenor elder folk, who had stopped in Antigua as part of their cruise liner trip.
Finally we caught up with Alistair Ashford and Jackie plus Steve Roose at the horizon base in Antigua. They have a tremendous operation and Antigua has many cruising stops so give them a call if you want a fun but windy week or two.
After putting Wind Belle back in the water, we charged north from Grenada, only stopping briefly to say goodbye to our friends on Tabasco of Sweden.
As you go north in the windward isles you tend to be going northish while the wind tends to come from the north east, which means that you are generally on a close hauled fetch. In addition to the wind you have the waves which can be quite large as they have rolled across the Atlantic until they meet you and the islands. I.e. its not much fun and can be quite to very uncomfortable.
The highlight of our trip north must have been Martinique, which is 20 miles from St Lucia, but is actually still part of France. We stayed in a lovely bay called St Anne, which has a beautiful church and village square as if you were in France. While we were there we saw a lot of people in Costumes, men dressed as women, women dressed as men and the kids dressed in all sorts of colours. It turned out to be Carnival, and it lasted three days, with masses of noise every night and marching bands and dancing in the streets.
The other thing about French Islands is the amount of investment compared to the previous English Islands. So when you go to a supermarket, it really is super and has all the same stuff as France.
After St Anne we went to St Pierre which is also in Martinique, it came to fame as a place where a volcano erupted and killed all the towns people except the prisoner in the darkest deepest dungeon. We didn’t hang around. We also saw a school of over 50 dolphin Yawn yawn. Actually we still get very excited every time we see one.
We stopped briefly in Dominica, but have little to say except that as the guide book said the wind can howl on the leeward side of the Island. We saw 38 knots but luckily as we were sailing in the lee the sea was very smooth and we scooted along with only one reef in.
Then on to Guadeloupe, where we really liked the Saints. This is a picture post card village, and again you get fresh baguettes and croissants.
From Guadeloupe we went to English harbour Antigua, which is where the famous Nelsons dockyard is. It is great fun to walk around as it feels like a very active dockyard, not a museum, and you can just imagine what it was like in Nelsons days.
What a drag!
We anchored in Freeman’s bay right by the beach, where the wind swirls around and around and you tend to meet you neighbour in the middle of the night. We spent the night dragging, the same thing happened the next night and we had anchor watch on. I.e. very little sleep. The wind was forecast to increase to 30 knots so we decided to move into the mangroves for a nice safe anchorage.
Bumper boats in the Mangroves.
We did the text book manoeuvre, and dropped our anchor to fall back towards the mangroves which we would tie a stern rope around. So far so good, until our bow fell off and we dragged onto a charter boat. Then we both got tangled and both locked together started to drag, our anchors wrapped together and mostly around our starboards propeller. We then drifted rather swiftly towards the Sunsail charter base and fleet, Sophie made a diving lunge with a bit of rope and tide up to a moored boat. And the armada ground to a halt. Ironically we were only feet away from our friends on Sun Set Sam who had left their boat safely tucked up in the mangroves while they went back to New Zealand for three weeks. I kept praying we would not hit them and Sophie kept praying that Scottie would beam us up.
After a bit of help from Sunsail base team and the TMC charter boat Captain and crew who turned out to be from Chichester Yacht club, we found out the problem. We had snagged a disused mooring, and all its chains and ropes that had been lying on the bottom unseen since Nelsons days. (IE not buoy or float).Sophie was in tears and I was in quite a state. At this moment a group of rubber neckers turned up in a water taxi. Sophie was about to tell them where to go when she recognized them as Jim and Graine her parents who had turned up as a surprise to celebrate her very important birthday that weekend. Even more tears followed and flowed. This also explains why I had made us sail through the windy and rough weather from Grenada, as I knew Jim and Graine were coming, but couldn’t tell Sophie or slow down the boat, however ill or tired we were all feeling.
We also saw fellow Itchenor members, Nigel and Elizabeth Pattison, we could spot them easily as they swam around the bay in white sun hats. It is a wonder that one of the sunsail boats didn’t try to moor up to them. Elizabeth put on a superb High tea on their boat Chantel for the girls. The girls really enjoyed the Cucumber sandwiches and popcorn dipped in marmite. Sadly Elizabeth and Nigel had sold Chantel that day so it will be our last high tea in the Caribbean.
Birthdays and grockles
For Sophie’s birthday we went to Nonsuch Bay and Harmony Hall for lunch, after a great meal we anchored off Green Island which was great. So good that we stayed for 3 days. It is just like all the holiday brochures except no hotels or people or so we thought. Now I am not a snob, well not a huge one but….As we sat on our deserted beach, with only two other boats at anchor, a rib arrived with 20 people, 20 minutes later a sailing cat turned up with 30 people, then a huge motor cat turned up with 60 people and music blaring. Suffice to say that the once deserted beach now was as packed as bennidorm and there were more tattoos and beer guts than I have ever seen and that was just on the women. However after an hour our friends from package holiday land left and we had the place all to ourselves once again. As we had a full moon we did a beach BBQ, the girls did a good job foraging for wood and sticks and some local fishermen gave us their spare wood.
Atlantic rowers
While we were in English harbour a boat from the Atlantic rowing challenge arrived, with two French men in after 72 days crossing the ocean. We were amazed to see the size of their boat and the exposed position that they had to row in. In addition we couldn’t believe that they had spent quite so long in the boat. See photos. We also saw or a four man or a should say women boat arrive some two days later. The women had to be helped from the boat and were understandably wobbly on their feet. The youngest women was 17 yrs old. It seemed our own crossing in Wind Belle was a walk in the park by comparison. I respect their achievements but think they must be mad.
2 degrees of separation.
While anchored off Pigeon beach in Falmouth, two people swam up to the boat. They said " I know it sounds funny, but I think your brother operated on our daughter two days ago". And so it turned out that ben had done a op for the ST Johns who were subsequently out in Antigua staying at there house across the bay. What a small world.
A head for heights.
While in English harbour we climbed up the hill from the Calabash to Shirley heights. It was quite a climb for the kids and I hated the vertical drop offs on each side. But after about 40 minutes we arrived at the top to see one of the best views in the world, and also a very well deserved rum punch. As it was Thursday the crowds that are normally there on a Sunday were not around so we almost had the place to ourselves.
Old friends.
We were delighted to meet up with our friends the Burnets who were staying in Willoughby bay for two weeks. They provided a welcome refresh on the UK social scene. Amazingly we had met Lucy and Simon at antenatal classes in Clapham when Imy was due. The Burnet boys and the Pudney girls got on like a house on fire and we enjoyed the catching up on all the gossip from home. Lucy very kindly invited us to the house they were staying at , and we took all our laundry, The girls also enjoyed having an unlimited shower, while Sienna, said she liked a house because it had grass.
While in English harbour we also saw Debbie and Ras and also a whole contingent of Itchenor elder folk, who had stopped in Antigua as part of their cruise liner trip.
Finally we caught up with Alistair Ashford and Jackie plus Steve Roose at the horizon base in Antigua. They have a tremendous operation and Antigua has many cruising stops so give them a call if you want a fun but windy week or two.
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