On Tuesday January 31st, my (Jonas's) Mother joined us in St. Kitts. She and my father flew into Sint Maarten on the 29th and she was up for a sailing adventure. Regretfully my father's vertigo issues prevented him from joining us, but he encouraged Mom to come while he visited with (or partied with???) Harvey and Sherry Doerr who left us in Nevis.

Arriving at 8:30 after the quick inter-island flight we met Mom at the airport. Sam 'The Man' was our taxi driver and we arranged for him to take us on an island tour after we collected Mom.

Very knowledgeable, "The Man" gave a good narration of the island. Great views of the other islands from the heights. Very big transition for the island when king sugar ended. Although on a very long decline, when the last sugar mill closed (less than 10 years ago) it threw almost 20% of the island's workforce out of work.

Like Nevis, a friendly island, both Heather and I enjoyed; and Mom was pleased to see another island.

The highlight of the tour, and in fact of St. Kitts, was Brimstone Hill National Park. This would be well worth visiting just for the spectacular views out over the ocean, and up and down the coast. One of the things that you look for in a site to build a major fortress is good sight lines after all. But it was not just the views, the defensive works were very interesting and one could - and did - wander all over it. Needless to say they also have an impressive cannon collection - albeit from a narrow point in time. They were almost all 24 pounders, from the reign of George the third. In fact most were made in the same decade, but there are lots of them. Heather will be posting some pictures. (Eventually)

The tour continued to the South end of the island with the great views from Timothy's hill showing the ocean on both sides of the island where they almost meet.

Back north to Frigate bay we had a tasty bbq lunch at Cathy's Beach Bar. The bbq was good, the view excellent and Cathy fun and reassuring.

Post tour we made ready for departure and got cleared though Customs, Immigration and checked out of the marina. They could make Customs & Immigration easier, but at least they were friendly (although not as friendly as Nevis). Having cleared, you have 24 hours to clear the country.

We sailed south, in increasing wind and swell to Nevis. In the Narrows, where I think there is some wind funneling, the wind hit 32 knots. This was not unexpected, we had warned Mom that she was in for a lively sail and gave her the option of delaying a day to let the wind and wave subside some.

We picked up a mooring in Nevis. The NPA (Nevis Port Authority) has laid a nice large field of mooring balls that yachts are to use. Regretfully not all of them are in good repair, we picked up and rejected 3 before returning to lucky ball #7 that we had used earlier in the trip with Harvey and Sherry and that I had dove to ensure that it was in good repair.

On Febuary 1st we got underway at 6:50 for the long sail to St. Barts. It was a close reach with winds in the high 20s and bigger waves - up to 12' but more typically 8-10'. Reaching with strong winds Sea Otter made excellent time. Mom got her big wind & wave experience. While we did not quite every leave the sight of land, there were very few boats out and it gave her a taste of the open ocean. It was a life jacket and tether day.

Reaching Gustavia (capital of St. Barts) around 2 we anchored, launched the dingy and went in. French customs are so easy. They really do not care. Last year when we were there I asked them about Stormy, as the customs forms do not ask about animals. The customs officer told me that if the animal had the proper shots and (or?) was healthy they did not want to be told about them - you were only supposed to declare sick animals. Also you can clear out 24 hours before you leave, so I cleared us both in and out at the same time.

Continuing on to Anse de Colombier, one of the nicest anchorages in the Leewards, we picked up the best mooring ball in the bay and I immediately jumped overboard into the inviting waters. After a little pasta and wine we were done in after a long day

The next day featured snorkeling, rays, turtles, a beach walk, lunch, and more swimming before setting sail for St. Barts to catch the 5:30 drawbridge. Dad was at the Sint Maarten Yacht Club taking pictures of us coming in, so Heather should be able to post pictures of us coming in with the superyachts. Dinner with Dad at the condo they had rented brought a close to Sailing With Mom.