St. Kitts to St. Eustatius

Easy hop from St. Kitts to St. Eustatius (Statia)

After waiting three weeks for a boat part and good weather, we cruised over to St. Eustatius (Statia), an island that we had not previously visited.  The guidebooks warn that the mooring field can be subject to swells.

 Oranjestad

In the 1700’s Statia was the trading capital of the West Indies.  The water’s edge below the cliff was lined with shops and warehouse where one could buy goods from all over the world.  While other nations struggled to get along, Statia remained a neutral port.  One of Statia’s best customers at that time was the pesky American colonies.  Most of the guns used by the revolutionaries came through Statia.

Fort Oranje built by the Dutch in 1636

All good things must come to an end.  For Statia that happened on November 16, 1776 when they inadvertently became the first country to recognize the upstarts calling themselves the United States of America.  The American ship Andrew Doria under a rebel captain entered the harbor and gave a salute.  Not knowing it was an American ship under a rebel captain, the garrison at Fort Oranje returned the salute thus being the first to officially recognizing the new American nation.  The British were not amused.

Motivator and Sea Cloud  in Oranje Baai

The British, lacking any sense of humor, and because they were further irritated by the fact that Statia was selling arms to the American revolutionaries, declared war on Holland and sent Admiral Rodney to attack Statia. 

 Cemetery on the grounds of the Dutch Reform Church

After impounding the ships and their cargos in the harbor, destroying the harbor’s breakwater, and sacking and burning the town of Oranjestad, Admiral Rodney noticed that for a small population of merchants, they were having a lot of funerals.  Rodney ordered one of the coffins to be stopped and inspected.  It was full of coins and jewelry.  A little more digging in the graveyard revealed much more.  One hundred Jewish men were exiled to St. Kitts.

Ruins of the original shops and warehouse

Today most of the original trading infrastructure has slowly sunk into the sea or has been destroyed by hurricanes.

Mini-resort/restaurant

Among the ruins, some of the old warehouses have been restored and found new uses.  One guidebook author commented that each time he visits Statia he sees more evidence of restoration projects.

Lower and Upper Oranjestad

The small town of Oranjestad is divided between the Lower Town and Upper Town.

The Slave Trail

The walk between the two levels is somewhat arduous, and not clearly marked.

“Crook”

The town, however comes with a guide dog to show tourists the way.  We later found out the dog’s name is Crook, and for some reason he has taken on the duty of guiding tourists without wanting food or water.  The locals seemed to think he is somewhat of a pest.

Water diversion project

Also linking the two levels is this impressive water diversion project that we were told was built in the 50’s.

Brick sidewalks and stone streets

The most striking thing in upper town was the clean stone streets and brick sidewalks.  We noticed several infrastructure projects in progress as we strolled around.

Street maintenance project

Maintenance of the stone streets seemed to be ongoing.  The guy with the backpack’s job was to scrounge around for the correct size stone among the ruins, while the mason fitted the stones then grouted them in.

Many structures remaining from Statia’s merchant and plantation past are quite impressive.  The island seems to be promoting small scale ‘get-away” type vacation resorts rather than the large intrusive resorts found in so much of the Caribbean.

All of Statia coastal waters are part of a marine park.  The diving and snorkeling is reportedly excellent, and strictly controlled by The Statia National Marine Park.

 

More goats then people on Statia

Statia is what I call a two-day island.  Walking one can see almost everything in two days.  You should try and make those two days Thursday and Friday because with the high concentration of Seventh Day Adventist most everything is closed on Saturday.  On Sunday through Wednesday there is not much happening either.  We found that three nights of rolling from the swells was all that we could take – the guidebook was right.

Les Saintes to St. Kitts

First leg: Les Saintes to Deshaies

After waiting for a suitable weather window in Les Saintes, we decided to do a big hop to St. Kitts.  On a previous trip we had spent some time in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe’s yacht haven, but were not inclined to do a repeat.  The island(s) of Guadeloupe is shaped like a butterfly, with Pointe-a-Pitre “at its ass,” according to one guidebook author.  I somewhat agree.  Our first leg was the 32 NM trip mainly in the lee of Guadeloupe to Deshaies where we anchored for the night.

Guadeloupe to St. Kitts

Using the narrow weather window provided, our second leg was to St. Kitts 80 NM away.  Previously we had visited Antigua (see: archived posting, Tots to the Queen, May 28, 2013 ).  While we enjoyed the island, we felt that we had seen most of the sites because on previous visits we found that we were weathered in for extended periods.  Besides, with the prevailing wind and waves out of the east or northeast during the winter, visiting Antigua feels like fighting to go east to eventually go west.  By heading to St. Kitts we had comfortable following seas.

2 NM Maritime Exclusion Zone

We had hoped to visit Montserrat on our trip north, but it was not in the cards for us.  In 1995 and again in 1997 eruptions from the Soufriere Hills volcano led to the exodus of nearly two thirds of the population.  In 2003 the dome collapsed and some of the population returned as restrictions were relaxed.  However, today there is a 2 NM maritime exclusion zone around the south side of the island and eruptions spewing steam and ash still occur.

Montserrat, not looking too inviting

The eruptions have destroyed the capital, Plymouth, and filled in the original harbor.  Visiting yachts now must anchor at the northwest end of the island which affords little protection from a north swell.  When I called to inquire about the possibility of a mooring, the harbor master said that due to the sea state it had been several days since he had be able to launch his boat.  We decided to give Montserrat a pass.

Carnival Ribbon Dancers

This makes our third visit to St. Kitts, and we always find it to be fun although the marina is not what one would call world class (see: archived postings Gibraltar of the Caribbean, dated Feb. 25, 2015; Cruisers vs. Cruisers, dated Feb 15, 2013; and Leeward Islands, dated Feb. 11, 2013).  St. Kitts was in the middle of their Carnival when we arrived (see: archived posting, Amplified Music, dated Aug. 4, 2013).  The New Year’s fireworks were quite impressive.

View from Twist, our favorite restaurant

The biggest downside to St. Kitts is Internet access.  The Port Zante Marina provides free WiFi, but when the cruise ships dock at Port Zante their multiple WiFi signals destroys the marina’s weak signal.

This posting completed at Rituals, our morning coffee shop.

Poubelle

View from Motivator

We really enjoy the French islands.  What’s not to enjoy?  The streets are clean.  There are few security concerns.  And the food is great!

La Poste

On Terre-de-Haut, in les Saintes, the weather is so nice, that everyone rides a scooter.  Even the mail is delivered by scooter.

Did I mention the food?  We were ecstatic about finding this place open because we had missed it on our other visits.

While we have been waiting out the Christmas Wind, we have dined here twice.  Pollie tried Colombo de Poulet and Daurade ȃla Coȇrmede, curried chicken and the maui maui.  While I tried the Cȃtelettes d’agneau auv herbes and Cassoulet Maisson, grilled lamb chops and a casserole with white beans, duck, chicken and sausage.

The other English speaker on the island

As you might have guessed, the only downside on French islands is that they speak French.  And, us?  Not so much.

Pollie does better than me, and she can even count to 15 which is sometimes useful.  Yes, we do have the common phrases down: 

                        Bonjour                                   Good morning!

                        Bonsoir                                    Good evening!

                        Merci (beaucoup)                    Thank you (very much)

                        Au revoir                                 Good bye!

                        Oὐ sont les toilettes                  Where is the bathroom?

Unfortunately the one I know best is l’addition s’il vous plaȋt , the bill, please?

The grocery store can be a challenge.  Luckily most products have pictures, but not all.  We were hoping this was sour cream, and this time we were not surprised.

Les Saintes Multi-Services (LSM) services the mooring balls in the harbor and is the place to go for customs check in.  They have a launch that patrols the harbor to collect mooring fees, delivers baguettes, etc.  On a previous visit to Terre-de-Haut, the launch came by Motivator, and the guy was yelling, “poubelle, poubelle.” 

So, I went and grabbed the ship’s papers to show him we had checked in and paid for the mooring.  But, he just kept saying “poubelle,” and then left when all I could do was give him the minimum wage stare.

 Later in Antigua, we learned what poubelle meant.

The Graboid

French island mooring ball

Where mooring balls have been installed in the French islands they do not use pennants from the top of the balls like you see in most other mooring ball installations.  The absence of a pennant probably makes maintenance less expensive, but it can make attaching your boat to the mooring more of a challenge.

The idea for this blog posting originated from watching the couple on this boat attempt to snare their mooring.  It took two passes at the ball and two near misses with our boat.  There was a lot of yelling in French.  Mainly we heard the use of the French word “merde!”

The French couple on the aluminum boat has it easier than the crew of Motivator.  DeFever’s are noted for having a high bow shear that keeps the boat dry, but makes for grabbing a mooring ball a real challenge. 

Motivator’s crew had been struggling with the pennant-less mooring balls throughout the French islands.  The crew of the Izzy R, also on a DeFever 49 CPMY, said their solution was to grab the ball from the swim platform and walk it forward.  We tried that in St. Martin, but discovered with Motivator’s aft deck enclosure that method was also a struggle.

Marco & Rachel

In Grand Anse d’Arlet, our friends Marco and Rachel on Habibi deployed their dinghy and helped us secure a ball.  Latter, over cocktails, Marco presented Motivator’s crew with The Grabber.

The Grabber, renamed by Motivator’s crew the Graboid from the movie Tremors

The Graboid consists of a temporary mooring line attached to a stainless steel hook with a hinged capturing lock.  Originally, the Graboid was equipped with a stainless steel slide attachment that connected to the boat hook via a hose clamp.  Motivator’s line handler quickly lost that part during a fight with a mooring ball.  I fabricated a slide mechanism out of a piece of PVC tubing securely attached by screws to the boathook.

 The Captain’s view of Motivator’s line handler in action

In operation, Motivator’s line handler attaches one end of the temporary mooring line to a boat cleat and slides the Graboid into the PVC pipe.  As Motivator's captain skillfully maneuvers the boat alongside the mooring ball, the line handler clips the Graboid onto the mooring ball’s ring and then slides the boathook free.  This provides the crew with a temporary attachment as mooring lines are fished through the ring to form a bridle.  The Graboid can then be disengaged from the mooring ring via the small loop at the back of the hook.

Thank you Marco and Rachel, the Graboid has become an essential piece of Motivator’s gear.

48 Million Americans

If your day is looking like this, it is time to head for the Caribbean!

The news reported that 48 million Americans are under a winter storm watch!  If you are one of them, Motivator suggest you visit a friend with a boat in the Caribbean.

Rebecca & Mike Sweeney on One Love

If you do not have a friend with a boat, consider a charter.  Our friends Mike and Rebecca provide one week crewed charters in the British Virgin Islands.  You can follow One Love's blog at:  http://www.onelovecat.com/blog/ 

“Oh Christmas Winds, Oh Christmas Winds…”

Route from Martinique to les Saintes

Motivator subscribes to weather guru Chris Parker’s email service for forecast information as do a lot of cruisers in the Bahamas and Caribbean.  Unfortunately, sometimes Chris has bad news for us:

“SYNOPSIS:
Some folks may call them the "Christmas Winds". Whatever you may
choose to call them...strong Trades, driven by a persistently-tight
wind-gradient arrive in E Caribbean as FrontalTROF settles S-ward
along N Parts of E Caribbean about tomorow night...and gradually
shifting S to S Parts of E Caribbean by late Sun8-Mon9.

Although we may see an occasional 24-36 <with> interval of slight
moderation (down to ENE@20-25/8'...for instance about Wed11 as a
ColdFRONT presses S&E in W Atlantic)...except for such brief intervals
of slightly-less-bad conditions, I see no break to strong Trades in
the next few weeks.”

                                                              Chris Parker @:                                                                                                                               http://www.caribwx.com/

He went on to say if you need to get somewhere, go now!

Fort de France, Martinique

I pulled Pollie out of the Fort de France’s dress shops, and we headed north. It was our fourth time in Fort de France enjoying the shopping and the feel of a French island city.  The crossing between Martinique to Dominique was easy, even when we were not in the lee of the islands.

Approaching Dominique

At Portsmouth, Dominique we did a touch-‘n-go.  We put up the Q-flag and did not go ashore.  We had hoped to spend some time there, but given the option of being stuck in Portsmouth or Terre-de-Haut for two weeks, we picked Terre-de-Haute. 

 Indian River, Dominique

Dominique is a very scenic island and the government is promoting ecotourism, but it is a very poor country.  It is hard for us to overlook the rampant poverty and enjoy the scenery.  We did get to visit briefly with our friend Martin and give him a donation of T-shirts he can distribute. 

Terre-de-Haut

Just twenty-one nautical miles away in les Saintes, Terre-de-Haute the situation is just the opposite.  It is a very popular tourist destination with clean streets and restaurants serving great French food. 

 But damn, more dress shops.

Motivator’s route into les Saintes

We managed to tuck in close to Terre-de-Haut in the lee of the island and take a mooring ball.  As I type this posting, the wind is at about 20 knots with gusts much higher.  As long as there is some northerly component to the wind, swells will wrap around the island making for some uncomfortable roll action.  By Wednesday the Christmas winds should be out of the east.

Please sing to the tune of Oh Christmas Tree:

Oh Christmas winds, Oh Christmas winds!

How ever keen your presence

Oh Christmas winds, Oh Christmas winds,

How ever keen your presence

You blow and blow us to and fro,

The white caps froth, palm fronds fly off.

Oh Christmas winds, Oh Christmas winds

How ever keen your presence.

Oh Christmas winds, Oh Christmas winds

How ever keen your presence.

Sea water sprays. Are nerves are frayed.

The dinghies swing.  The halyards ring.

Oh Christmas winds, Oh Christmas winds

How ever keen your presence.

                                    By: Pollie Howland

Med Moor Like a Pro

To see my article on med mooring in the latest issue of Caribbean Compass click here.

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