Adventure begins

Vessel Name: Pisces
Vessel Make/Model: C&C 37+
Hailing Port: Midland, Ontario, Canada
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09 September 2018 | Home

We Listened

Ok, Ok we heard and listened from our family, friends and fellow yachties. the blog is officially back on line. the advanced (?) package should deliver better tracking and allow more photos and longer posts.

24 April 2017

Update

Its been sometime since our last post and although there are some holes which will be filled in later, we just wanted everyone to know that Pisces is now on the hard. We have her store for the summer at Clarks Court Marina on the south coast of Grenada.

St Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis

31 March 2017

Wow, what a ride. Twenty knots on the beam for 30 miles. At times Pisces was cruising at a speed of 8.5 knots SOG. Passed St Eustatius on starboard beam with an spectacular view of The Quill, an extinct volcano, rising 640 meters out of the sea. On the port side, we had St Kitts with Mt Misery (no I am not kidding) rising 1240 meters. Both have a collapsed crater, leaving ragged edges pointing to the heavens. We thought that once we were on the lee of St Kitts that the winds would calm down. What we didn’t know was that we were on the lee. What a surprise once we cleared the dead zone. Lying in irons with a flat sea and yet not 1000 feet ahead there are large white caps. Furl the jib, turn on the motor and head into winds on the nose of 25 knots. This made the last 10 miles to Basseterre a some what bumpy and slow leg.
We drop anchor in Basseterre harbour and proceed to customs. St Kitts needs to discuss clearance for cruisers with France. Two hours and three locations and individuals all requesting the same information and we are legal. Its now dark and we are not willing to explore unknown anchorages in the dark so here we stay. Rolling all night to the point of being tossed out of our berth. At 06:00 we decide enough is enough and we fall into the dingy and proceed to locate a local breakfast establishment. Things are looking up, a local directs us to a coffee shop in the downtown core and we enjoy a large cup of java, make that two.
On our return to the harbour we hunt down the harbour master requesting a slip for the night. No luck, all slips are taken for fishing boats and sailboats catering to the large cruise ships of which there are two tied to the dock. Not wanting to experience another day of four foot rollers we locate a bay some five miles east of Basseterre which appears to provide the necessary protection.
Ballast Bay was flat calm and once anchored we both slept for a couple of hours. Once we recovered from the lack of sleep the previous night it was time to explore our new surroundings. There is a large marina under construction and already there are mega yachts lying at their berths. We discover that this is only the beginning of a massive development call Salt Pond Estates which encompasses some 2000 acres. Essentially the total eastern tip of St. Kitts. I hope the locals know what is coming down the track in later years.
After a good rest its off to Nevis, which is still part of the country of St Christopher but don’t tell them.

Nevis

Once again its into customs and the same three departments of government. At least each office is right next to the other. In and out in less than a half hour. Mooring balls are provided and are mandatory. You can anchor but only if the mooring balls are full. As there is no guarantee that the moorings are maintained its a good thing that we have to anchor. Of course there is an extra fee for anchoring as we are damaging the environment. Where is the incentive to increase the number of mooring balls?
We are anchored in front of Charlestown at the base of Nevis Peak a dormant volcano which Christopher Columbus, remember your history, named “Our Lady of the Snows” as the peak was perpetually covered with cloud. This a wonderful old town which has maintained its historical buildings and life. Their origins were from the slave trade and everywhere you turn there is a plaque describing some component of this nasty business. Alexander Hamilton, the face on the American $10 bill had a strong connection to the island and is honoured everywhere.
We learn that the gas vents from the volcano are still active and the golf course has to use artificial grass in places. The island has a population of 11,000 +/- inhabitants and 20,000+ monkeys. So who is really running the island??
We have a haul out date of April 26 in Grenada so we are moving on to Montserrat.

The photo is of Nevis as we approached from the west. Nevis Peak is still cover in cloud.
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