06/15/2008, Antigua
Antigua was the place Lucie and John saw both the Caribbean Islands and sailing on boats for the first time. It was great to return to historic English Harbour 17 years later and show the boys.
The first morning we got up early before it was too hot and hiked up a goat trail to Shirley Heights. This lookout was used by Admiral Nelsons soldiers to watch for ships. We lost the hiking trail( not quite up to Parks Canada standard) and ended up just following the goats. The biggest hazard on the route other than the plentiful goat droppings were the sea urchin sized cactus thorns. We had many stops to pick these out of our flip flops. The last part of the ridge to the lookout got very steep and Lucie was very nervous, but the boys loved it. We were rewarded with a great view of English Harbour and Nelson's Shipyard.
|
Comments [0]
06/12/2008
We sailed out of Cruz Bay by mid-afternoon and sailed in 15 knots of wind pass the northern shore of St-Johns.Our first night in the BVI was at Norman Island. We picked up a mooring in the great harbour, being it was deep right to shore.
The next morning, we went to explore the caves located at the entrance of the bay. The snorkeling was not superb but the cave formation made up for it. We had fun swimming in the darkness of the cave, smelling like bat droppings. The kids were imagining some great treasure chest hidden at the end. Stories of fierce pirates came to live. We swam back to the dinghy disappointed in our lack of finding jewels but the sparks in Simi's eyes were good enough for me. We got back to the boat for breakfast and then off to Road Town to check-in with the authorities. Roadtown harbour is the major central for charter boats. Companies like Moorings, Sunsail, Footloose and many others have bases that occupy most of the harbour. i had never seen so many rental boats in my life. As far as the eye can see, thousand of boats lined up. We went to shore,filled up the papers, John found some fuel filters and the boys an Italian gelato Shop. Everyone happy! We had a short lived internet connection and were able to connect with the Suchovs for a few minutes and get some news from home. We picked up the anchor and left the rollie city harbour for a more quiet one. We found it at Peter Island, in Deadmans Bay. A beautiful place. The next morning, we hiked up the hill to get a better view of Sir Francis Drake Channel. Islands are everywhere, no wonder it is considered by many the best place for sailing in the world, great anchorages are only a few miles apart. We then continued our journey to the Baths on Virgin Gorda. The shore was busy, boat and people everywhere. June is considered slow season...how lucky are we? We went and anchored a bit north all of the moorings and to our surprise everybody left for the night. By dinner time, we were the only ones there. We had a good time snorkeling but the best was the next morning bouldering expedition. John had the most fun of all of us, remembering that he was once a climber. A great granite boulder field lined the shore with caves and tunnels. The colours are spectacular, blues, browns, greens;an earthy mix at its best. We paddled the kayaks back before the crowds resurfaced. We made our way to Spanish Town to check out of BVI and also to get some water. After filling up the tanks and doing a few loads of laundry we left for our last port in the virgin islands. We motored up to the North Sound, the wind not existant. We came into the harbour and went to the eastern side to the Bitter End Resort. The last spot before leaving for a longer passage to St-Martin, Saba, St-Kitts or the Med.
|
06/11/2008
It was a bit sad to leave Culebrita on a quiet Monday morning. The week end had been busy with motor boats coming as far as the mainland of Puerto Rico. Latin music blasting away...not quite the paradise, but on a nice morning Culebrita shines. A very nice island!
En route for the Virgin Islands. Bill, Maria and Sofia are still with us and now that the sailing is a bit better, the girls are a bit more lively. The short distance between Culebrita and St-Thomas made for a nice sail. Tacking back and forward as the wind was still on our nose. It had been hard the last few weeks from the DR, pounding into the waves. Finally we could manage to sail. We also try our luck at fishing. After getting everything organized, so we did not have to waste any time pulling our dinner in, we put the lines out. John was just asking how the fishing was when it hit. The excitement was short lived, we did not see the fish. It broke the line as soon as I got to the reel. It must have been too big for us to want to pull it in. We did not get another bite...
Dinner would have to be in town that night!
We sailed into the busy harbour of Charlotte Amelie where we had to check-in with customs and immigration. The harbour is humming with traffic. Boats of all sizes. John went to shore to deal with the paper work while I took advantage of some time to clean up. When he got back we went to the marina for some fuel and water. Under the nose of the great cruise ships we fill up our tanks. We then went back to the anchorage and then out to town. We were very surprised to see that all the shop were closing for the night but the cruise ships left taking away all the duty free shoppers with them. We still manage to find a nice restaurant on the waterfront and enjoyed a meal with our friends.
The next morning Maria, Simi and I went to shore for some shopping while John and Bill went to Frenchtown for some propane. We had fun checking out expensive jewelry and designer clothes. We left the harbour after lunch and continued easterly to the tip of St-Thomas. Christmas bay was a beautiful little cove on Great St-James island. The next morning we dove in for some snorkeling around the cay in the middle of the bay. The coral formations were beautiful and thousands of bait size fish were everywhere. it reminded me of the movie Finding Nemo, when Dora ask a school of fish for directions. We did not stay too long as a boat full of tourists probably directly off the cruise ship came storming in on our turf. We continued over the channel to St-Johns.
Cruz Bay, a quaint place that reminds me of Fulford Harbour on SaltSpring Island. The same laidback feeling with lots of artsy farty people...A great place. The anchorage was not as good. John stayed on the boat while we toured town. We decided to continued north of the island to the National parks. A friend of Bill's had mention not to miss Cinnamon Bay. So we decided to go there. It was totally breathtaking. One of the best places I have been so far on this trip. Beautiful sandy beach with coconut trees and rain forest. We all loved that spot, especially the showers that the campground provided. We played baseball on the beach, snorkelled and kayaked and visited ruins of an old sugar mill.
The next morning, we went to Watermelon Bay, on a recommendation from the clerk at the National park office in Cruz bay. The snorkeling was quite nice but the anchorage was a bit rollie so we went back to Cinnamon Bay for another shower... Friday was the last day with our friends, we took them back to Cruz Bay so they could catch a ferry back to St-Thomas and get on a plane back home to Prescott AZ. We also had to go back to Cruz Bay to check out of the US Virgin islands. After some lunch, Bill, Maria and Sofia jumped on the ferry and we shopped for some fresh produce, and off we were to the British Virgin Islands.
|
06/03/2008
We picked up Bill, Maria and Sofia on Sunday, did a few chores and off we were Tuesday morning, just in time for the wind. It had been calm while we were at anchorage in Salinas, a nice hurricane hole in the mangroves south east Puerto Rico, but the morning we left the winds came up of course right on our nose blowing 20 knots. After venturing out for an hour of pounding with some freshees ( Maria and Sofia were a bit green), we decided to go in Boca de Infierno and hide out for thr remaining of the daylight hours. At anchor, we enjoyed some swimming and playing games hiding out in the shade. At dusk, after a nice dinner, we quickly cleaned up the galley and headed out. Taking advantage of the night lee, though that night it still blew 15 knots, we motored up the coast in the dark. John, Bill and I shared the watches, John doing a better part of it.
We arrive at Vieques, Sun Bay around 6 am, a beautiful beach by the town of Esperanza. We mainly rested and enjoyed the beach on Wednesday.
The next morning, we left to hop a short distance to Puerto Mosquito. A mangrove hole where the bioluminescent is supposed to be the best in the Caribbean. The entrance of the harbour being 5 feet, we tried to venture in but bottomed out. We decided to continue eastward to Puerto Ferro only a mile away where the phosphorescent is apparently just as good. There the harbour was deeper and the narrow entrance was manageable. Maria, Bill, Simi and I went on a little bush walking expedition to the top of the harbour entrance where we could get a good view of the shoreline of Vieques. John took advantage of the calmest of the Puerto to fix the VHF aerial which had gotting loose in all this pounding of the last few runs coming from the DR. We waited for night fall to see if the stories were right. John jumped in first from the back of the boat. Theo wanted to jumped from the front so I joined him. At first, it was quite something until the jelly fish attack! I got it first but did not dare mention it to scare Theo. I just slowly swam back to the ladder calling Theo to follow. It did not take too long and the screams...They got him, it made it back to the ladder with promises of never swimming again. It was lucky that last summer, we met Mike and Jake who told us to use meat tenderizer on stings. We quickly got it out and sprinkle it on Theo's arm and on my leg and chest. The bioluminescent were not worth it...
The next morning we left Vieques for Culebra. We had 10 miles to go to the end of the island and then once we rounded up the tip, the sails came up, the motor was quietened. What a relief! We enjoyed the sail to Culebra even if it was a short one. We put out the fishing lines and got a nice tuna that we had to share with a shark. You have to be quick at pulling in your catch otherwise bigger ones get them.
We arrive at Ensenada Honda and the town of Dewey before lunch time. We went to shore for a bit of exploration and of course some ice cream. We also bought some more fresh produce for the next few days. We lifted anchor and headed for the entrance of the harbour to a small bay (Dikity) protected by the coral reefs. There we picked up a moorings which are set by the DNR (Departement of Natural Ressources???) to protect the reef from the anchors. Sofia had a frist experience at snorkeling and she did great. The reefs are not as good as in the Bahamas but we still enjoyed them. Culebra is a turtle refuge and I was lucky enough to see one while snorkeling.
The next day we made it to Culebrita, a short distance away. There was really pretty. The photo here shows it. Beautiful anchoring beach, nice coral reefs and a surf beach on the other side. Unfortunately we had to share it with the local boats. We got there just in time for the weekend crowd, motor boats coming from Fajardo, Culebra and St-Thomas. Our timing was not so good but just the same, we still had a great time. Our next stop Us Virgin Islands.
|
Best regards,
LYle
Rental car...We went on a tour of the city. It is only one hour drive from Salinas to the capital.
First stop...Marine store! We bought a new halyard, an anchor chain, some binoculars, a courtesy flag and a cruising guide for the US Virgin Islands, and a bunch of other stuff. BOAT (Bring out another thousand).We then continued to the old city for a visit of the Castillo San Cristobal. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983 by UNESCO. The tour of the fortress was very educative and the boys enjoyed it immensely. Theo, being up on all the defences of fortress' studied in St-Augustine after visiting the Castillo San Marcos was the star pupil. The guide was pretty impressed with his knowledge of 16 century defensive techniques.
After we tour by car the old street making sure to stop for an ice cream. It is certainly different to tour in a car. John's will pick up the Newtons at the airport on Sunday morning and we will finish our shopping in the afternoon before bringing the car back on Monday morning.
|
Arriving in Salinas by midday, the harbour is pretty quiet as everybody is hiding from the sun except of course the boat besides where we anchor. Kids!!! We soon find out that there are 7 kids aboard this 40 somewhat monohull. Poor mom! The kids meet up at the marina pool and enjoy some games with them all afternoon. We organize a rental car for the weekend as we need to pick up Bill and family from San Juan Airport on Sunday morning. We will also take advantage of the car to reprovision for the next few months.
|
