We woke at 5am and headed off from Nevis with hopes of making it to Guadeloupe by mid afternoon. We sailed around the southern tip of Nevis heading SW with plans to skirt the north shore of Montserrat and then on to Deshais in Guadeloupe. Since the summer of 1995, volcanic eruptions have plagued the island of Montserrat. The Soufriere Hills volcano destroyed the capital of Plymouth located in the southern part of the island. There followed an exodus of nearly 2/3 of the population and many resetlled in the northern part of the island. An extra kilometer of land was formed by the volcanic activity towards the southeastern end of the island. The cruising guides recommend to avoid the south side of the island due to falling ash. In Janurary of this year there was an awakening of the volcano and some activity was noted. The volacno has been spewing smoke and ash on a semi-regular basis and you can see the clouds of smoke in the distance.

So, having said all of that, we set our course to avoid the continuous falling ash and make our way around the north side of the island .Coming around the island, the winds picked up and the seas became short and choppy, very confused. We were having a difficult time staying on our course for Guadeloupe so we considered going to Antigua instead, thinking it would be a better sail with the squirly winds and cofused seas. Conditions didn't get any better so we decided to continue as planned onto Guadeloupe and we motor-sailed along the east coast of Montserrat. Our progress was very , very slow and we all marvelled at all of the smoke coming out of the Soufriere Hills volcano! We were within 1-2 miles of the land and we could see the damage the volcanic lava river had done to the city of Plymouth. The smoke was not only at the top of the volcano but was running down the entire side of the mountain and was even smoking in the water!! Well, come to find out, the next day......the Soufriere Hills Volcano was ERUPTING as we sailed by it!!! The seas were all confused due to the ERUPTION!! I am not joking! I am adding a section from our weather forecaster, Chris Parker, for all to read:
Wx Update, Eastern Caribbean, Tue23, 8am
SST near VirginIslands based on satellite imagery 82F-83F.
Many of you may already be aware of the recent eruption at Montserrat
volcano on Sat20. Ash cloud reached 55,000', the highest it's been
propelled into the atmosphere in this 10 year eruption history.
Pyroclastic flow (lava) spread into the ocean as far as 3km offshore near
TarRiver valley, with another surge of lava near SpanishPoint.
Observatory scientists estimate about 90 million cubic meters of lava dome
collapsed during the initial 3-hour event.
A 1m high tsunami was reported from Deshaies beach in Guadeloupe and swells
were detected in Little Bay, Montserrat and at Jolly Harbour and English
Harbour, Antigua.
Relatively light ash and steam venting has been continuous since Sat20.
Scientists remain alert to the possibility of further explosive activity
but seismic activity has been low since the event Sat20.
As for weather...not much happening!

As I tell Daniel and John- "Every day is an adventure!"