We escaped St. Martin on Friday morning via the 9Am bridge and were free! We had a great sail south to the island of Saba. 25+ kt winds and "bouncy" seas.

Saba is the first in the chain of what our guide calls "The Islands That Brush The Clouds." And they do! Saba is just gorgeous! It emerges out of the sea, magnificently reaching for the sky, wearing the clouds like a winter scarf. Before we even left St. Martin we could see it in the distance, some 20 miles away. The highest peak lies somewhere over 3000 feet and going with initial plans, I thought we'd make it there. After 20 minutes hiking a 60 degree slope, I settled on a nice view of the anchorage.

As I mentioned in the title of this entry, the anchorage lacked protection. We were essentially moored on the western side of this island, completely exposed to wrap-around swell. Add to that swell an opposing current and Anastasia just is not sure what to do with herself. The anchorage in Saba is a national park and has nice moorings for boaters to use. Great for boats without a full keel who are not more susceptible to current than wind. The first night we spent with the mooring buoy whacking the hull while we lied in a confused direction. Check out this photo of the dinghy (which is tied off of our stern) and the mooring ball.



The second night we got smart and rigged the mooring line differently; but the line still it did a job on our bottom paint. When we left, the once white line was tainted with our $200/gallon ablative. We told ourselves that this is the price for a more remote anchorage/experience.

Saba offered breathtaking sights. We hiked from the southern end of the island to the western side and had a bird's eye view of Anastasia resting below. There are also wild goats everywhere! Jumping across the roads and traversing the steep crumbling hills. Really cool!

Yesterday morning we chose to press on and sailed SE to St. Kitts. After a long day to windward we arrived in another less than favorable anchorage. Too tired to drop the second anchor to pull us into the swell, we rolled our guts out all night. Today, setting that second anchor was a high priority. We cleared customs and expolored a small bit of Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts. The marina here is just $0.50/ft per night so we may spend a night there before clearing and moving on.

Check out our photos of Saba here.