Higher Ground

We spent most of the time in the Saintes in Terre de Haut (High Earth.)  It was a great little fishing village much like Brittany, France (so we've heard) and we were pleasantly surprised with new adventures around every corner. 

We were taking Kala to the beach and stopped at Ile a Cabrit for her to play on the beach.  We saw a path that led further into the island so we followed it.  Next thing we knew, we were atop Fort Josephine, which was built in 1777 by Napoleon and named for his wife.  The French and British fought for a while over control of this area.  Horatio Nelson was the British Admiral fighting against the little French Emperor and his commanders. 

The next morning, again on a walk with Kala, we kept walking and walking until found ourselves at Fort Napoleon, opposite from Fort Josephine.  The fort is officially a museum and it was closed, but fun nonetheless to view Guadeloupe and the Saintes from a different perspective.

Our last adventure before heading to Dominica was Le Chameau.  It was described as being only for the fit and 1,000 feet on a very steep incline.  We had to accept the challenge.  The tower atop was exceptional for 360 degree views.  You could see Dominica, 20 miles away to the south and Guadeloupe, 10 miles to the north and every reef in between. 

On the way back from our hike, we thought we had earned an indulgent French lunch at Les Pieds de l’eau which I believe means “A walk on the water.”  It was a great little café on the bay, where everything moves on island time. 

The next morning we sailed off our mooring and didn’t run the engine until anchoring in Dominica five hours later.  It was such a great sail, I didn’t even whine too much during the 40kt (no exaggeration) squall that decided to welcome us to Dominica.  I’m really getting the hang of this Carribean sailing.

Anchored next to us in Iles Saintes

Carnivale parade on Mardi Gras

Baxter and Kala atop Fort Josephine (Le Chameau in back over Baxter's right shoulder.)  This tall ship was anchored next to us in Dominica a couple of days later - pictured in yesterday's blog (History Lessons)

Kala scoping out the mooring field.

My turn.

Little kids amongst the ruins.

Big boat, little boat.  Terrapin on right of "Royal Clipper" cruise ship.

Ocean front property for the season.  This one had an infinity pool on the deck.

If only we could do this in the US.

View of Le Chameau from Terrapin.

Excusez-moi…Je mange le petit dejeuner.  ("Excuse me, I am eating lunch.)

Translation:  Leave no trace.

The tower on top of Le Chemeau.

View from inside the 1700s tower fortress.

Fun playing on old rickety ladders that go into deep dark holes.

History Lessons

As we travel from island to island in the Caribbean, we check in and out of different countries.  What is exceptionally noteworthy is that most of the islands are British or French, a few Dutch here and there, but no one in the West Indies is governed by Spain and Portugal.

If you go back just 500ish years ago, which isn’t that long in terms of history, Spain and Portugal agreed to split the world in half.  Spain would rule anything west of Europe and Portugal would rule anything east.  Neither of these countries today would even make a Top Ten list of countries that could rule the world.  In fact, the Washington Post published an article that New York's economy is bigger than the entire country of Spain.  I don’t know if kids would even recognize Spain or Portugal on a map of the world.  Just food for thought that power is fleeting and it is best not to put all your eggs in one world domination basket.

I digress…here is our take on the Caribbean islands as they are governed today for what it’s worth:

British Islands – More paperwork to clear in to the countries…very difficult to get Kala into a British country (though none of the island dogs are neutered – most are malnourished and are strays.)  Nice benefit is the are usually on EC (Eastern Caribbean dollar) which is a good exchange rate for USD.  

French Islands – Love love love French islands.  They could care less if I have a dog..they have one too.  Checking in to the country is usually done at a wi-fi café.  No one speaks English which forces me to use my well paid for education (6!! long years of French had to get me somewhere in life.)  and the streets are usually very clean.  As icing on the cake (pun intended), a patisserie can be found on any corner.

Taking it one step further, you can usually identify the countrymen who have come to visit their homeland-removed in the Caribbean.

British Sailors:   Typically have crossed the Atlantic and hail from Falmouth, South Hampton or another port that has been sailing for thousands of years.  They are members of the Ocean Cruising Club, Royal Cruising Club and every other club that has a burgee and it would not be good practice to not raise the burgee accordingly.  Typically, they are on an Oysters (sailboat, not shell), they definitely display day shapes in the rigging (i.e. black balls at anchor), and you can usually hear the word “Lovey” as you approach.  

French Sailors:  Lots and lots of French sailors in the Caribbean – usually on Amels, ALWAYS naked, of course and like to anchor on top of you, the closer, the better.  They are proud and love to be among other french so if they are in a British anchorage it is only to drop off crew and then they are going back to "France" as fast as they can.  We overheard one boat checking into customs on a British island and they were asked for their clearing out papers from their last island (which was French.)  They replied, "Vee don't check out since vee are French, fee just leave."

Discussing the current governments and the sailors as they roll into an anchorage can occupy plenty of time over sundowners in the cockpit.  But as I reflect, the truth is that I am far removed from politics while on the boat and honestly I'd rather just visit old forts and sail away.

Typical French cruiser - on an Amel and very naked.

Two very different types of Brits - Left, modern Oyster.  Right, wood schooner

Guad-a-les-Saintes

Leaving Montserrat, we headed north around the tip of the island and then turned to the south with a course for Guadeloupe.  We sailed around the east side of the island, so to avoid the falling ash on the west.  After clearing Montserrat, the wind was 15 kts at about 090 degrees and we could roll out sail and turn off the engine.  It was a great sail even though squalls were chasing us almost the entire way.

At about 10 miles north of Guadeloupe, we heard “Terrapin, Terrapin, Terrapin, Rodeo.”  Our friends Gabe and Monika on SV Rodeo who we had met in the Bahamas in 2011 were hailing us.  It was great talking to them.  They were heading north to Sint Maarten and we would all try to catch up in person in a couple weeks. 

About that time, there was a black ominous cloud over Guadeloupe so we furled the sails and held offshore waiting for it to pass.  The rain never really quit but the wall of water passed.  We went into Deshaises, the main anchorage and looked around.  There were tons of boats and the only place to anchor was over 40 feet deep.  With no swing room and swirly winds, that was not our first choice.  We quickly pulled out the chart and found another anchorage at Pigeon Island about 8 miles south.  Even Pigeon was sketchy but less sketchy, so we dropped the hook (in the pouring rain), had a rainy sundowner and went to sleep. 

We quickly left at sunrise and headed for Iles Saintes.  As we moved along the lee of the island, we only had about 3 kts of wind until we passed the southern tip.  We had the Saintes in sight and again, rolled out the sails and turned off the engine. 

The islands that comprise the Saintes have a euro-fishing village charm and we looked forward to spending a few days here and getting a taste of France in the Caribbean.

Squall over Guadeloupe.  We waited offshore until it passed, though the rain never really quit until the next day.

Never tired of Caribbean sunsets.

In the lee of Guadeloupe.

The lower the latitude, the better the attitude.  Excited to be in the 15s!

The Jimmy Buffet Trifecta

Soufriere Hills Volcano 1995, courtesy www.paradise-islands.org

Soufriere Hills Volcano today (on right), still smoldering.

Without intention, we have now completed what we would like to refer to as the "Jimmy Buffet Trifecta."  To be more specific, as we sit and type this in a beautiful secluded anchorage in Rendezvous Bay, Montserrat, we have sailed on small yachts to the inspiration for three of his songs, or so we have been told.  "One Particular Harbor" was written at a bar in Huahine (South Pacific) while he was sailing with CSN in the early 80s. The other was the original "Cheeseburger in Paradise" written at Le Select in St Barth's.

That brings us to "Volcano". We don't hear many cruisers talking about coming to Monserrat but I must admit it has been one of my favorites in the Caribbean. The island has become famous for the volcano that first erupted in 1995, than again in 2008 and 2010.  Almost twenty years later, it's still smoldering and we are in fact going to set a course east of the island so we don't get ash on the boat (traveling on the west side as the winds blow from the east assures you a smoky ride through the haze). 

We had an amazing time and will always think of it when we hear…"I don't know where I'm gonna go when the volcano blows…"

Pulling into the anchorage after a nice sail from Nevis.

Terrapin loves anchorages with beautiful cliffs.

Yeah, she's lovin' it!!

Happiness personified.

Shortly before yet another green flash.

St Kitts and Nevis

We spent the first night out of St Maarten back in Colombier (St Barths) just because it is one of Kala's favorites.

The next morning we double checked the forecast which called for winds at 10-15 kts from the east. Perfect! We were going southeast so we could sail, as opposed to motor.  Turns out we had 20 gusting to 35kts from the south-southeast (i.e. right on the nose) and squall after squall, waves on the beam, etc…  We managed through and dropped the hook in Ballast Bay on St Kitts.

To contrast that, the next day we woke up bright and early and headed for Nevis.  A short 7 miles from St Kitts.  It was an amazing sail.  Terrapin was doing 7.5 knots and she was in her glory.  We arrived, went through the precarious questions to check-in to the country, had Kala examined by the local vet and we settled in for the next couple of days.

Where and when we go next will be based on wind.  The forecasts have been off the mark so we'll see what actually happens.  There's lots to explore and beaches to roam.

St Eustatius (Statia) through the squall

Waves on the beam

Anchor down…ready for a drink.

Beautiful sail down to Nevis 

Stark contrast from previous day.  Cup o'Jo - ready to go.

Happy Girl

Island with a lot of history

We felt very welcomed

SXM

We left St Maarten yesterday and we have had such great experiences here, we will certainly miss it.

We didn't snorkel or dive. We didn't play on long white sandy beaches like the BVI or St Barth's, but we made so many friends here, some going north, some going south, some staying in SXM.  We hope to stay in touch with them for years to come.

We had a couple new adventures before we left including two more 5+ hour hikes. Again, led by Mark on S/V Sea Life. These involved a lot more people and a variety of landscapes from rain forests to rocky beaches. 

Since many of the cruisers are heading out, there was a party at the Pink Iguana Monday night. It was a great opportunity to bid fair winds and exchange contact info so we can stay in touch and hopefully meet back up with some of our new friends.

Leaving the Dutch Lagoon kept us busy for a few hours with a stop at Simpson Bay marina in the big boat and then re-anchoring to run by customs in the little boat, then pulling up the anchor to make the 10:30 bridge (or being stuck inside until 4pm.)

We are heading south, going to where ever there is a good wind angle. It has become a normality for us to beat into 25+ knot winds and 7+ ft seas.  Let's hope that starts changing.

Northeast side St Martin

High above the rocky beach.

Where do shells come from?  As we walked along, it sounded like wind chimes playing.

From rocky beaches to rain forests - St Marteen has it all.

Bonus!!  Vegan Cheese & Butter.

The Pink Iguana...

Jen & John on Aeesha (Bermuda), Robin on Heidi (Canada) and Jo and John on Out of Africa (Cape Town)

Mike on Right Turn and Sabrina & Tom on Honey Ryder!!

Caribbean Pirate Survivors

Last week, we joined an impromptu dinner with a bunch of fellow cruisiers at a local Chinese restaurant here in Sint Maarten. I sat next to Bob from S/V Explorer who was the subject of a pirate attack a few months ago here in the Caribbean. The initial report from noonsite.com is below but the first-hand account from Bob was a lot more detailed and scary for those of us who travel on slow vessels in dangerous waters.

From Noonsite.com...

“First person report by Skipper Robert (Bob) Jackson of SY Explorer.

We are a couple Bob (74) the captain, an American, and Hella my mate (71) who is German.  We sail a 44 foot Norseman and are currently based in Trinidad.  We completed a 15 year circumnavigation in 2010.

I sailed to Puerto La Cruz from Trinidad about 20 years ago so I knew the route.   Hella and I had discussed specific responses to an armed attack.

A few days ago the vessel “Joana” and ourselves on the boat “Explorer” cleared out of Trinidad bound for Puerto la Cruz, where I intended to go to get my chain galvanized there being no facility for that service in Trinidad.  Diane and Wade on “Joana” were making the same trip and were looking for one or more boats to “Buddy Boat” with as we are all aware of the danger in the region we would be transiting.

We met the captain Wade of “Joana” at least two times before we departed to discuss the route, the precautions and the details of the buddy boating plan.  The details were as follows: we were to sail beam to beam approximately 100 yards apart and it was the obligation of the faster boat to adjust their speed to match that of the slower boat.   I specifically brought up that subject at the time of our meetings, explaining it in detail to the captain of “Joana” and he agreed.  He added to this discussion the fact that if one boat was being attacked the other could ram the pirogue and deter the attack.  We agreed to monitor channels VHF 16 and 71 continuously.

We spent the night in Scotland Bay in Trinidad and left at 7.30 am the next day.  Wade led the way out of the bay but being a bigger boat and faster, gradually pulled ahead of us by a distance of approximately 2 miles.  Since it was so early in the trip we had not yet communicated with “Joana” by VHF.  We were occupied in getting control of our boats in a very sloppy sea created by strong currents.  Prior to leaving Trinidad we had agreed on a specific route and waypoints, and we hadn’t even reached the first waypoint when we were attacked.  We followed the route as discussed with “Joana” at the meetings.

We were about 10 miles west of the tip of the Paria peninsula and 5 miles offshore at 10.30am in the morning when we were approached by a pirogue with a 75 horse power motor with five men on board.   They were on us in seconds with drawn revolvers, with one man remaining with their boat.  I was below at the time doing navigation work and had no time at all to arrange for the deterrents that we carry for such an event.  We had hardly cleared the safety of Trinidad waters when the incident occurred.  We were not expecting anything to happen so soon.

At the time of the attack “Joana” was completely out of sight.  At no time during the attack did I hear anything on the radio from “Joana”.   Our radio was working well but we could not transmit because the pirates had hacked off the microphones to both the VHF and the SSB.  When they did start calling me on the VHF I heard them loud and clear, but that was 15 minutes after the attack and we were already heading back to Trinidad.  The implication from the report that “Joana” put on Noonsite was that there was something wrong with our radio.  That is not true, our radio was working perfectly before the microphones were hacked off.

I started up the companion way and found myself looking down the barrel of a revolver.  I was dragged the rest of the way up by one of the pirates, roughed up, and had my hands tied with a piece of rope which the pirate had cut off my control lines to my mainsheet traveller.  I was pushed down on the aft deck.  I watched Hella sitting in the cockpit being pistol whipped by one of the pirates which opened up a gash in her forehead and within seconds she was covered with blood.  I attempted to get up to go to her but was pistol whipped myself, opening up a large piece of skin on the back of my head and was covered with blood as well.  At that point the pirate took the tail end of the rope my hands were tied with and lashed me to the cleat on the aft deck so I couldn’t move.

Another pirate was trying to remove the gold wedding rings from Hella’s finger.  Hella is a German widow.  It is a German custom that if your husband dies you wear his ring as well as your own.  As his ring was larger it was worn over Hella’s band.  As Hella has gotten older her fingers have swollen and the removal of the rings was nearly impossible.  The pirate brutally pulled and twisted the rings causing great pain.  He then reached over and removed my dive knife which I keep strapped to the binnacle for emergency cutting of foul lines and was preparing to slice off Hella’s finger to remove the rings.  Fortunately, the rings finally came off and Hella kept her finger.

The rest of the pirates at that time were ransacking the boat, stealing money, cameras, binoculars, power tools, cell phones, laptop computer etc., but were convinced that we had more money hidden somewhere than what they found in our wallets.  I was unlashed from the stern cleat and pushed down below where I sat on the navigation seat.  Sign language (these were Venezuelan nationals who spoke no English) was used to indicate that they wanted more money - the one word of English they knew.  A gun barrel was placed to my head, the gun was cocked and the pirate pointed to Hella in the cockpit and drew a finger across his throat.

At that point one of the pirates stood at the companionway and fired three shots into the interior of the boat.  The bullets lodged in the drawers under the chart table where I was sitting.  Both Hella and I were convinced that they were going to kill us before the left.  However, one of the pirates looked up and saw a coastal freighter heading eastbound that was about to pass about a mile away from us.  Hella stood up and raised her hands to show that she was tied up and was clubbed down for her effort with the butt of a pistol.   I don’t think the coastal freighter saw what was happening, however the presence of the freighter nearby frightened the pirates and they left as fast as they had come.  That ship probably saved our lives.  All told the attack lasted about half an hour.    I don’t know where the pirates went after they left.

We returned to Trinidad and stopped at the Coast Guard station.  We were treated for our wounds and wrote a report about the attack.    We were treated very well by the Coast Guard who were sympathetic and helpful.  They wanted to take us to the hospital but we refused.

I would never do that trip again and would advise anyone else not to do this either.   We are thankful to be alive.  These pirates were ruthless.”

Bob related that as the pirates were boarding his boat his Hella was at the helm and he was down below getting his pump shotgun. As he came up the companion-way with the gun he was met by a pirate with a .38 pistol pointed at him. The pirate took the shotgun, pointed it at Bob and pulled the trigger. Fortunately, (understatement of the year) Bob had not yet chambered a round and the gun did not go off.  It is very sad that beautiful Venezuela is such a dangerous place to travel these days.

We have also met five other cruisers who all had been approached by pirates in the Red Sea near Somalia and Eritrea. Most had the same reflection as Bob and Hella - they were very very lucky and blessed that wasn't  their day to die but none of them have stopped cruising.  However, no one has plans to return to the Red Sea or the Venezuelan coast.