Month: February 2016

St Barth’s & Antigua

After our guests left we spent a few days decompressing and arranging for an export certificate for Charlie. We then made our way to Road Town for the certificate and some provisions. Then we headed to North Sound where we would await a weather window to head to St Barth with another boat sv Alberio.

We spent my birthday with dinner at the Crawl Pub in Bitter End, then a glass of champagne on Blue Sky with Steve and Lynne from Alberio. We determined that we would depart the next day for St Barth.

Prepping for the trip to St Barth
Prepping for the trip to St Barth

This is an overnight sail, so departure was 3pm. We started with good winds, but not quite good enough for a direct shot. We ended up motoring about half the trip in seas that seemed to get steeper by the minute. We arrived to Ile Fourche about 10:30 am. Here we snorkeled and checked out the beach. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Our buddy boat, Alberio, at dusk sailing with us to St Barth from BVI
Different sunset, do you see the person with hands stretching out toward you?
Approaching Ile Fourche
The rocky beach and rugged terrain at Ile Fourche
Getting ready for the hike to the top!
A view to the west, quite desolate
Sad sight. Always check your anchor or mooring line!
Fascinating gold needlefish, rock looks kind of old too

The next day we motored to Gustavia. Anchoring here in high winds and a very crowded anchorage was a bit nerve racking, but all was okay. Paul cleared us in and we took the time to wander the town. Found a restaurant with Dairy Free ice cream (delicious, made with cashews), but can’t recall the name to pass it on. We also located the Patisserie (Bakery) and the la Creperie, where we had galettes and crepes more than once. We walked to Fort Carl and the museum.

A lot of boats and a long dinghy ride in
Going into the harbor, surprise, We all live in a …
Yup, we’re happy to be in St Barth
Narrow sidewalk and scooters to dodge but beautiful
Gotta love that weathered wood and narrow streets
Just a small anchor found nearby
Looking at Fort Oscar (currently houses the Gendarmerie) from Fort Carl
Gustavia inner harbor (crowded!) as seen from Fort Carl. Love the red roofs
Palms were magnificent
Along the palm lined peninsula of Gustavia

The next day we shared the cost on a rental car. Steve drove us around the island on the Sunday (thank goodness, less traffic). The roads are very narrow and passing other vehicles is scary. We enjoyed taking in some site seeing views where stopping was possible. Charlie was not allowed on any beaches so we only stopped at one briefly. It was fun to see the island from land for a change.

Rugged hills around Grande Saline
Grand Saline beach is gorgeous!
Coming back from a beach explore
What’s this? A prirate shop half way around the island?
Interesting stop light along the way in St Barth – 2 seconds and we go
Sounds like an appropriate punishment 🙂
Just a part of Anse de Columbier with Ile Fourche behind and St Martin behind it.
Petite Anse and Anse des Flamands
Climbing to the lighthouse and old Fort Gustave
A cannon’s view of part of the harbor from Fort Gustave
The peninsula with Fort Oscar right and Fort Carl the hill on the left edge
Where’s Waldo? Uh, Blue Sky? In Gustavia harbor
Sometimes you forget the sun is a ball of fire

We planned departure to Antigua as another overnight sail, so we left St Barth on Monday the 25th of January at 11 am. We were able to sail, although not direct, to Antigua. The seas seemed to steepen as we went. Happily we arrived to Jolly Harbour at 10:30 am on the 26th, salted up but happy to be somewhere familiar and out of the wind and waves. This trip was not fun. Paul cleared us in, but we both forgot to send our paperwork to the vet, so we didn’t get Charlie cleared in until just before customs closed.

ON the way to Antigua, you can have the rain St Barth
ON the way to Antigua, you can have the rain St Barth
Hello, our favorite turtles in Ricketts, spotted 5 at one time so far
Hello, our favorite turtles in Ricketts, spotted 5 at one time so far

We spent a day recovering in Jolly Harbour and spent some money at the well stocked grocery store. Then we made our way around to Green Island where we were greeted by turtles in our favorite bay (Ricketts Bay). Here we plan to sit until our next guests arrive on Feb 4th.

The Honeymooners

Excitement abounded as we readied the boat for our first visitors of the season. Lindsay and Katie (our son and new daughter in law) were joining us for a week long honeymoon. They were married in June of last year and we gifted them a trip on Blue Sky in the Caribbean as a wedding gift. They picked the dates January 5-12 and we booked the tickets.

They were due to arrive into St Thomas and told to go catch the ferry from Charlotte Amalie to West End Tortola. Unfortunately, that ferry was cancelled, so they were advised that their next option was to get the ferry from Red Hook. Low and behold, there was a traffic accident and although that ferry waited for them an additional 25 minutes, they missed that one as well. Luckily, they had befriended some people from Tortola who had these experiences before and they arranged for a private cigarette boat to ferry them across the water (at a good price of course). They finally arrived about an hour and a half later than planned but feeling pretty good after the trip. We fed them and sat up chatting quite late.

Very excited parents
Very excited parents

The next morning we did a little walk around Soper’s Hole and then headed out to snorkel the caves at Norman Island. It was mainly a motor due to wind direction, but we got there in time for a snorkel before lunch. We next motored through the Bight so they could see Norman Island and Willy T’s famous bar.

The water makes lugging baby around a lot easier!
Just a bit weird swimming in here

Then on to Little Harbor on Peter Island. Here we hiked the ruins of a house and tobacco grower. We also snorkeled, paddle boarded and swam. This is such a beautiful bay, it’s hard to leave, but we had plans to get them to as many places as possible.

Must have been nice in better times
A little artistic touch in the ruins
The honeymoon hosts taking a breather a what must have been a beautiful house
Enjoying the view and exercise on an SUP
Time to relax after a busy day and enjoy honeymoonin

The next day we made a brief stop at Cooper Island so Katie could get pictures of herself on her name sake island (her last name is Cooper). From there we were able to sail on to North Sound.

Taking a look at the sunset while we tried to get to Bitter End before dark - didn't make it
Taking a look at the sunset while we tried to get to Bitter End before dark – didn’t make it

We walked Bitter End for pastries. Then Katie and Lins decided on an afternoon at the beach, so being close, a swim was called for. In the evening, we visited Saba Rock bar where they watched the tarpon feeding and got an introduction to happy hour Painkillers. They taught us to play Dutch Blitz, a fun and fast card game which we became addicted to.

Enjoying happy hour and the vew, not to mention tarpon feeding
Swimming to the beach for a lazy afternoon
Chatting it up on the way to the beach
Sexy Momma rinsing the salt off after the swim

After Virgin Gorda we headed to Anegada. Here we took a taxi to Cow Wreck beach then went to Potters for lobster dinner. Katie, Lindsay and I all tried the limbo dance while Paul waited to pay for our dinner (the only flaw with eating there). The food was delicious and we’d recommend it to anyone.

Honeymooners day at the beach
Love that sand that just keeps going
Goodnight sun, now let’s go eat
Just gotta get every last morsel of the lobster

From Anegada we sailed to Monkey Bay for a snorkel, but there was a bit of a swell causing low visibility. From there we continued on for an evening in Cane Garden Bay. Here we played games late into the evening again. Up early the next day we headed to Sandy Spit, but due to big swells, we would not be able to land the dinghy, so we didn’t stop. We made our way from there over to the bay nearest the Bubbly Pool. We made the hike and enjoyed the pool to ourselves for nearly an hour. It was fun and with the big swell we really got the full bubbly pool experience. Here the swell comes in through a narrow channel of high rocks and smashes down in on the pool sometimes knocking you over. We had a blast. What a way to end the trip.

Happy group photo after an hour frolic
Incoming!
Hiking back from the Bubbly Pool
Soakin up the sun after a busy day
Gotta just the love the wind in your face

And for a video view of the bubbly pool, courtesy of Lindsay and Katie:

Back to Sopers Hole for the evening, more card games, chatting and fun. The next morning the week was up and we dropped them back at the ferry for noon. They had a long gruelling trek home (3 flights including a Red Eye). Sorry Katie, we heard it was rough on you and the babe.

Adieu to the Lins and Katie, time went by so quickly
Adieu to the Lins and Katie, time went by so quickly

I enjoyed cooking up many of my vegan favorites for them as we travelled around. Paul enjoyed the sailing. We all enjoyed the company and agreed it went by like a dream. Happy honeymoon, Lindsay and Katie. Thanks for letting us share our travels with you for such a special occasion.