Green Island

Before and after having guests in Antigua, we spent a good few weeks at Ricketts Harbour on Green Island. Green Island is located on the south eastern side of Antigua. It’s a regular stop for tour boats which bring their passengers for swim/snorkels/beach time and feed them lunch before completing their circumnavigation back to St John’s.

Here’s a shot of Alberio (fellow Salty Dawg boat) on the other mooring at Ricketts Harbour.

Alberio on the other mooring ball
Alberio on the other mooring ball

One day the guide that was taking people out for a snorkel came near by our boat and grabbed hold of one of the turtles. Let me tell you that turtle was not happy and I don’t blame him. I felt for him as all the snorkelers attempted to pet him.

This turtle was not happy
Turtle released back to freedom
Start of RANT: Turtles are not pets. If you ever have the opportunity to be close enough to touch one, let him be. We don’t want to give them any diseases as they are on the endangered species list. Please enjoy them from a distance and respect their environment. End of RANT.

While we enjoy having fun on the island we also take the time to work on some boat projects. This season my boat project consists of recovering the cockpit cushions. We bought the fabric through Sailrite last fall and the time on Green Island seemed like the time to get it going.

The first cushion took me two full days to do. It would have been quicker if I knew what I was doing. I had to do some rework here and there. I proudly got the first 4 finished and have 3 to go. After having the sewing machine on the table in the salon for nearly 2 weeks straight I wanted to see a tidy space and put it away. So the job will be finished when I feel ready to tackle the last 3 cushions at some point in the future.

Paul always has several boat projects on the go. He is constantly keeping our finances in order and updating our computers. His major project while here was the tightening down of the dinghy davits which had all come loose on the recent passages. On these davits are two solar panels. If those bolts had come any more loose, we might have lost those panels into the ocean. I’m always appreciative of his diligence in checking for loose nuts and bolts (ocean motion really takes its toll). He also polished some of the stainless steel in places that I can’t reach and worked on a broken shower pump and the dinghy gas motor which continued to give us problems.

Between the projects we relaxed, snorkeled, took Charlie for walks on the beach. We also entertained ourselves with guests on board and by watching the action around us.

Charlie ready for guests to arrive (or maybe he just wants some hummus)
Alberio crew kayaking at Green Island
Here’s a sample of the entertainment we get to watch while cruising
Boys will be boys

We also watched the start of the Caribbean 600 race from the boat. They were off in the distance, but we could see well enough. This is a race that takes boats around many islands in the Caribbean totalling 600 nautical miles from beginning to end. They start and end just outside of English Harbour with the first leg going past the south eastern end of Antigua and heading north toward Barbuda. We’ve seen bits of this race each year we’ve been down here and enjoy following the boats online as well.

Phaedo 3 and Concise neck and neck from beginning to end
Phaedo 3 and Concise neck and neck from beginning to end

This is the first boat we noticed, there were many more to follow
The race is on
There are a variety of boats in the race

Before leaving Green Island I wanted to give a little something back to the environment and to follow my mum’s words of wisdom, “leave things better than you found them”. So I took a garbage bag to the beach and filled it to the brim and brought it to Falmouth Harbor for disposal on Feb 25th. Our time on Green Island was over for the season.

Collecting garbage
Green Island Beach

Here are a few pictures of the local Green Island Turtles
One of several turtles at Green Island
One of several turtles at Green Island

A turtle coming up for air
A turtle coming up for air

VEGAN FRENCH TOAST

Do you find yourself craving an old childhood favorite breakfast of French Toast, but the vegan in you won’t allow you to make it because of the eggs. Well now you can still have it without the eggs. This French toast recipe is super easy and very yummy. I know it will become a regular breakfast treat in your house, just like it now is in mine. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 banana, mashed
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla extract
6 slices of bread (or 12 slices of a baguette to make mini toasts)
Coconut oil

Directions:
1 – Mash banana in a shallow bowl. Add milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix well. (I used my immulsifier and a deeper bowl to get it really well mixed.)
2 – Dip bread into mixture for 5-10 seconds per side.
3 – Place oil in pan, heat (medium), add dipped bread. Cook 3-4 minutes per side until browned and crispy.
4 – Serve with maple syrup or fruit

So yummy I almost forgot to take the picture.
So yummy I almost forgot to take the picture.

Please feel free to respond to this post with advice on how to take better pictures of food. I need all the help I can get.

Guests visit February 2016

While waiting for our guests to arrive, we were joined at Green Island by Alberio (Steve & Lynne) and Rum Runner (Phil & Judie). Of course with friends around we spent many evenings aboard Blue Sky playing a favorite dice game among cruisers called Farkel. Lots of fun and laughter.

Before Rum Runner arrived to Green Island Judie messaged me on Facebook and asked if I needed anything from the grocery store. She kindly brought me a few items of fresh produce which allowed us to stay at Green Island until our guests arrived.

February 4th, all of us took our dinghies up to Harmony Hall to meet Maureen and George, neighbors of ours from White Rock. They were pleasantly surprised to see not only us to greet them, but a whole group of us to greet them.

Salty Dawgs
Harmony Hall
Sugar Mill
View from the Sugar Mill
Sugar Mill at Harmony Hall

We knew Maureen and George would be exhausted from travel so didn’t plan too much for the night of their arrival and stayed put for their first full day on the water so they could get their sea legs established. Here we also had everyone over to Blue Sky for a cruisers happy hour which includes appetizers of all sorts that everyone brings followed by introducing our guests to the game of Farkel.

We left Green Island on the 6th of Feb and began our tour of Antigua and Barbuda with Maureen and George (read to the end of the post for Maureen’s accounts of the week). The highlight of the week had to be the Frigate Bird tour. These birds are so plentiful in the lagoon on Barbuda. They have a huge rookery. The tour boat picked us up at the pier near the house/restaurant on the west side of the island. He took us right up to within feet of these birds. Mating season lasts until late March so we were there in the middle of it. Lucky for us, we saw birds in all stages of mating from the males puffing out their red gular pouches, to birds sitting on their eggs, to birds feeding their young, some young ones with only stubs for wings at this stage.

Hungry Baby
Hungry Baby

We were worried about taking Charlie along, but these birds were so calm that he didn’t seem bothered by them at all. It was fascinating.

The end of the tour took us to Coderington just in time for school to get out. With Charlie being a rather special dog around the islands, he was immediately surrounded by children of all sizes wanting to give him a pet. He is such a good sport with children. We eventually broke away and finished our brief walking tour of the town.

Children interested in Charlie
Children interested in Charlie

That evening a northern swell came in. There was no way to go ashore again to stroll the beach for shells which I normally like to do.
We made our way back to Deep Bay in the hope of snorkeling the wreck, but the swell caused the sand to be stirred up so much that Maureen said she couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face.
The following is an email received from Maureen for the blog that sums up the entire visit nicely.
Once in awhile, if a person is lucky, a golden opportunity presents itself to do something that he or she never ever thinks might happen. Well, that kind of opportunity happened this February to George and me.
Thanks Paul and Gwyn and Charlie, for a week of your incredible hospitality and most capable sailing on sv Blue Sky around the island of Antigua and to Barbuda. We began at Harmony Hall, drinks in hand, meeting some of your Salty Dawg friends in a warm, tropical garden atmosphere. (This, after an overnight airport sleep and flights from cold, rainy Vancouver.)

Needlenose
Stingray
Queen Angelfish
Spotted Eagle Ray

We then spent a delightful day and two nights at Green Island, swimming with the giant turtles and colourful fish, exploring the island, and celebrating the good life with more friends. What was the name of that crazy dice game again? Sailed on to Falmouth Harbour to explore beautifully restored Nelson’s Dockyard with Captain Charlie leading the way.

Waiting at Nelson’s Dockyard
English Harbour
Antigan’s dressed in their finest

Jolly Harbour and Deep Bay were next, each adding some insight into Antiguan life before setting off for the most magnificent sail to Barbuda.

Hiking at Deep Bay
Serenity
Ruins at Deep Bay
Maureen & George at Deep Bay

To heck with windburn and hot sun, standing on the deck watching the scene unfold before us, I had the incredible luck to see a manta ray breach ahead of us. It looked like it was trying to fly, its magnificent fins flapping down a runway of whitecaps and waves.

Easy Downwind Sailing
Easy Downwind Sailing

Barbuda, with its up close and personal small boat tour of a frigate bird colony consisting of thousands of birds in all life’s stages and a walkabout in the small village of Codrington were absolute highlights. So were the size of the waves crashing on the beach that night and being woken by the bang of the waves breaking on Blue Sky’s hull. Timing was everything getting on and off the beach in the zodiac but we were a team!

Sand – Barbuda
Waiting for the tour guide – Barbuda
Tour Boat
Frigate Bird Rookery
Rookery
Frigate Bird with puffed out Red Gular Pouch
Cyclist in Codrington
Archaelogy in Barbuda
Northern swell- Barbuda

Deserted beaches, fine, soft sand and sunny days. This was the stuff of one’s imagination. The last night was spent in Jolly Harbour before saying our goodbyes.

Thanks again to our great hosts for making a dream come true. The 360 degree view and the comfort of Blue Sky added to it all. May you have many happy and safe seasons of sailing in your paradise.

OLIVE TAMPENADE

I’m always looking for different appetizers to share with friends aboard Blue Sky. This recipe is simple enough to make ahead and keep on hand in a jar in the fridge for up to 10 days. It goes well on toasted baguette slices or crackers. Don’t expect it to last long, it is delicious.

Ingredients:
1 (5 ounce) jar pitted black olives
1 (7 ounce) jar green pimento olives
2 ½ TBSP Olive Oil
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
5/8 cup white onion, chopped
1 tsp capers
Ground black pepper (several shakes)

Directions:
1 – Drain liquid from both olive containers
2 – Finely chop garlic and onion
3 – Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse 5-10 times. You want little chunks, not mush.
4 – Refrigerate until ready to serve. Place on toasted baguette slices just before you serve so the bread doesn’t get too wet. Or allow guests to top their cracker of choice.

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.