We left St. Barts and had a brisk 6 hour sail to the volcanic island of St. Eustatia or Statia. St Eustatius (Statia), St Christopher (St Kitts), Nevis and Montserrat are four small volcanic islands that rise steeply from the sea till their peaks touch the clouds. Statia is the lowest and rises nearly 2000 feet and the island is only 5 miles long. St Kitts is the tallest at 4000 feet high. The high mountains trap passing moisture, which keeps them lush and green year round.

Statia is a small island with a large history. It is part of the Dutch Antilles, though it does operate to some degree autonomously. During the late 1700's Statia was the trade capital of th Indies. During these years the European powers were fighting each other and the British were unsuccessfully trying to put down the American rebels! The Dutch remained neutral and opened Statia as a free port. It became possible to buy or sell anything here , goods were available from all over the world: silk, silver, gold, guns, sugar, tobacco, cotton and slaves. In the first 200 years after Colombus discovered it, the island changed hands 22 times!
In 1776 the Andrew Doria, an American Navy vessel came into the harbour and fired a salute. Governor de Graff returned the salute and thus the Dutch were the first nation to salute an American vessel since the United States declared its independence from England. This gesture so enraged the British that they sacked the town and destroyed the harbour's breakwater causing the houses and warehouses to tumble into the sea. The island has never recovered.
Today Statia has a population of 2,000 and it is a very friendly, peaceful island. Fort Oranje has been beautifully restored by the Dutch governement. We spent one day in Oranjestad and Daisy came ashore with us to explore the island. John discovered where almonds grow, in big trees, the island has many almond trees! The anchorage is open to the easterly swells so this made for a miserable night on Eira! We had dinner ashore and came back to the boat in time for bed, knowing it was going to be a uncomfortable night! Daniel and John fell asleep and slept through the night however Paul, Menno and I were kept awake most of the night due to the roll of Eira! We upped anchor at daybreak and continued onto St Kitts.