Fixing boats in exotic places

A Salty Dawg once said to me that cruising was just another term for fixing boats in exotic places. I would add ‘eating’ in exotic places! And, it certainly is nice to be in Jolly Harbor Marina with all of the conveniences that a cruiser needs (good chandlery and grocery store, clean bathrooms w/ showers) and some nice amenities (good security, a selection of decent restaurants/bars, fresh food markets and boat services nearby).

Since arriving from Saba, we’ve had some nice meals on shore (pizza & California salad at Melini’s, Mousaka and Fish Platter at Acropolis and we’ve prepared some nice meals on board (Andrew’s wahoo in a buttery peach chutney sauce and Mahi/Grouper served over a bed of cabbage salad) but we’ve also done a lot of cleaning and fixing. We’ve washed the boat inside and out, treated rust stains, replaced the missing screws on the spinnaker pole, re-flaked the main, washed & dried lines, etc.

With Andrew’s back and leg still an issue, we have decided to haul the boat, get some needed work done and extend our visit home over Christmas/New Year’s to schedule doctors appointments etc. So, don’t expect to hear much from me over the next month, however let me know if you’re in the Philadelphia area and want to get together!

We’ll never forget Saba!

The cruising guide says that you must visit Saba for the unforgettable forested cliffs, flora & fauna as well as it’s friendly people. We will never forget Saba, not for those reasons, but the unpredictable localized weather! With Andrew’s leg/back still bothering him, it was a blessing that we had Nicola from a boat named Saorsa, joining us on this passage.

Nicola needed a ride to Antigua by the 15th and was willing to join us on our plan to go via Saba and potentially Nevis. On Tuesday (12/10), we picked her up at customs in our dinghy and loaded two very large bags of gear that she was flying out of Antigua for the boat she was meeting in St. Lucia. It was wonderful to have her company and hear her tales about sailing the Mediterranean, Thailand and elsewhere. She is a very accomplished sailor and incredibly helpful crew, not to mention a God-send on this particular voyage. On the morning of 12/11, we hoisted the dinghy motor onboard and set sail for Saba in 10-15 knots of wind with moderate swells. It was great sailing and left us time for checking weather and navigating by cell phone.

At first site of Saba, we saw the telltale clouds topping the island but they were a little more ominous than we expected As we got closer, we were hit by squalls that gusted to 35 mph and prevented us from seeing the moorings through the driving rain, so we hove to for a bit to ride it out. When it cleared enough to see, we picked up a mooring and proceeded to lower the dinghy motor in 3-4 foot swells, so that we could check-in at Fort Bay. On our way into the customs dock, another rain downpour hit us and we got soaked. We jumped over muddy puddles and flooded docks to splash into the customs office, looking like drowned rats, only to have the officer on duty say he didn’t have time to process us... could we come back tomorrow!!

Cold and wet, we went back to the rolling boat on it’s mooring to take hot showers and make dinner. We had our first Saba Stew made from leftover chicken, shrimp, rice, broccoli and cheese that night and set up 2 hour anchor watches starting at 8pm, with a plan to explore Saba the next day. It was pretty uncomfortable and no one really slept so when I woke up on Nicola’s 2am watch to find that we had twisted the lines, were spinning around the mooring and laying perpendicular to the waves, we decided to try to find a better mooring on the west side of the island. Searching with our high powered flashlight, we found one in much calmer seas and tied up with only one line so that the two lines wouldn’t get twisted again. At around 9am, we were greeted with a 50 knot rain squall that broke our line even as we powered into the mooring, so we decided to leave Saba and head for Antigua or Nevis, depending on which provided the most favorable tack. We deployed a stronger line on the mooring and took a nap to rest up for the longer journey.

That afternoon, we got the dinghy out of the water and deflated it before Nicole volunteered to go up the mast to retrieve the quarantine flag that was stuck on it’s halyard. We dropped the mooring and poked around the north end of the island to assess conditions and wind direction and decided to do an overnight voyage to Antigua. It was blowing 20 - 30 with 6-8 ft seas, so we knew it wasn’t going to be comfortable but we saw some sunshine in the direction we were going and it was better than hanging off the mooring. We set out around 5pm and since no one felt much like eating, let alone cooking, we had pretzels and peanut butter for dinner. We tried to steer around the continuing squalls, which got worse over night. I was singing hymns on my 2am watch, when we had thunder and lightening directly overhead. On Andrew’s 4am watch, he discovered the spinnaker pole had broken lose and called all hands on deck. By some miracle, the pole was kept on board by the trip line that releases the jaws. He and Nicola secured it to the boat while I tried to steer in the pitching seas.

After 22 hours, we finally completed the 90 mile trip to Jolly Harbor, Antigua on (guess what day!) Friday the 13th!! I consider it our lucky day, as we were all grateful to be tied up securely to a dock. None of us will ever forget Saba, but for a different set of reasons!!!!

Not according to plan

We weren’t able to leave St. Bart’s until 12/3 because we had to wait for our laundry to come back. We didn’t get to rent a Moke to take a tour of the island but instead motored around the corner to Anse de Colombier in order to get a head start toward St. Martin. We wanted to walk on shore but couldn’t find a place to land the dinghy, so we swam and started cocktail hour early. Basically, I am learning that things don’t always go according to plan when you live on a boat!

A couple we met in St. Bart’s, Brian & Cindy from Galavant, had anchored in the same bay, and came by in their dinghy. Later, the evening entertainment turned out to be two Germans trying to pick up a mooring. They circled it multiple times, tried to pick it up off the bow, then from midships, then off the stern and by the 7 or 8th try, Andrew took the dinghy out to hand the line to them. I prepared chicken & dumplings in the pressure cooker for dinner and think I’m getting pretty proficient with this mode of cooking.

The next day, we left for St. Martin. To use up the bread that was getting stale, we had French toast underway and arrived in Marigot Bay around 1pm. The island is divided by two countries, France and the Netherlands. We were anchored on the French side because it is supposed to be less expensive and less touristy. We ended up right behind our friends on Aladdin and prepared to lower the dinghy motor onto the dinghy. As the theme of this post is ‘not according to plan’, we were delayed by a line that got stuck in the shive of the lift that lowers the 115 lbs motor onto the dinghy. An hour or so later, we went in to check-in at the local Chandlery. The process was relatively quick and easy so we proceeded into the lagoon in the middle of the island that is shared by both countries. We were surprised to see dozens, if not hundreds, of sunken and otherwise wrecked boats from Irma in 2017, still in the middle of the harbors. Again, it was sad to see debris piled up on the shores and ravaged businesses trying to recover. A few restaurants were open so we enjoyed wahoo tartar and a burger for lunch at Le Petite Auberge. Fortunately for St. Martin, there are people working to bring back the island.

Later that day, we discovered that we were out of water again. Something is not working with our water pump so the next day was devoted to troubleshooting that problem. We took the dinghy through the lagoon to Budget Marine on the Dutch side for supplies and met with someone from ElecTec to discuss the water issue, while enjoying the Christmas decorations juxtaposed with the palm trees on shore. That evening, we enjoyed cocktails on board with Aladdin and met two new Salty Dawgs from the rally, Glen & Arlene on Wahoo.

On 12/6 we were planning to head to Anguilla but instead we slept off the prior night’s party and Andrew woke up with some severe back pain. Andrew barely left the boat that day while I picked up some groceries and Xmas presents in the town of Marigot. The following day, he was still hurting so we revised the plan to find a doctor. The bartender at Le Wine Bar called us a cab and Chery drove us over to Galis Bay, where we met with Dr. Gibbs, a kindly, older gentleman, who clearly wanted to help. He gave Andrew a shot in the butt and some muscle relaxants/pain meds for $50. When Andrew woke up still hurting the next day, we headed for the hospital on the Dutch side. Another nice & competent sounding doctor, two more shots in the butt and some better pain meds and for $350, we were out the door. Andrew seemed much better that afternoon.

On Monday (12/9), we ventured into the dock for fresh water. It was uneventful but the kind and generous crew of Aladdin joined us just to make sure we had all the help we needed. Later that day, we had massages with Brian and his associate from A Touch a Handz, whom we found on the internet with a 5 star rating. He is a big, strong, good looking black fellow, who picked us up in a van that didn’t have a back seat so I had to squeeze in the front between Andrew and the emergency brake. Brian drove us to a run down hotel that was under renovation and after touring the nice pool and bar area, took us to a room with two massage tables and a nice & strong looking Spanish girl with beautiful, friendly blues eyes. It all seemed a little awkward but it was just a guy trying to make a go of his business. Turns out he was a professional soccer player before becoming certified in massage and working on a cruise ship.

So, not quite according to plan, we have been in St. Martin for almost a week now. We are hoping to leave tomorrow and may have some Salty Dawg crew to help us since Andrew isn’t quite 100%. Our new plan is to get back to Antigua (via Saba and Nevis) by mid next week, in order to catch our flights home on 12/22 for Christmas! Wish us luck!!

Eating & drinking in St. Bart’s

On 11/29, we pulled anchor in Barbuda and headed for St. Bart’s following our new Salty Dawg friends on Aladdin. It was an uneventful motor sail. We anchored off Ft. Oscar in Gustavia upon arrival and went ashore to check in. They said they were too busy for us and asked us to return the next day but apparently we were permitted to have a drink at Le Select before returning to the boat. The next day was raining, for the first day in a long time besides brief squalls, but we went to clear in anyway. Had a really nice l’oeufs ala Blanche for brunch at Victoria’s and caught up on the blog for the first time in many days.

Got out the stand up paddle board again and took the dingy by myself for the first time, back into town. It’s not too hard ...you just need to know the process; three slow pulls, give it gas, one quick pull, set back on start, and pull like heck till it starts. We’re down to one pull now (from three or four) for the last stage. I just hope no dinghy thieves are reading my blog since they’ll now know the procedure!

Getting good use of the pressure cooker with one of my latest dishes being pork loin w/ apricots and pepper peach preserves for dinner. However, on Dec. 1st, we were surprised to run out of water and left all the dishes from that meal in the small galley sink. We were not permitted in the bay to refill because of 5-6 foot surges on the docks so we took the dingy into town for the Saturday flea market, where we found some delicious pastries, home made fruit juices and a hand-painted t-shirt for me, by Barbara. Joined up with the Aladdin crew at Shell Beach that afternoon, where we collected beautiful shells of all shapes, colors and sizes and enjoyed a fabulous lunch of fruites de mer and gazpacho at Sheldona. That evening, we had the Aladdin crew over for cocktails, despite the unclean galley, and luxuriated in some very tasty foie gras and mushroom Brie on baguettes.

The next day, we went on an expedition for dinghy fuel. Originally, we were told you needed to take your tank by taxi to the airport to fill it up. When we inquired with a taxi driver, he said he would do it for 50 Euro (more than $50). Not believing there wouldn’t be a better way, we inquired with the Port Authority and they said to go around the corner to the commercial dock and ring the bell on the wall next to the pump. Once at the appropriate dock, we found the only place to land the dinghy was on a cement dock that was lifting boats tied alongside, up and down by 4-5 feet with every wave. Once I managed to climb up on the cement dock, I found there was no way to get to the dock with the fuel tanks, other than walking around a fenced in area that appeared to go on for blocks, so we tried another precarious approach to an even more unforgiving cement dock. Finally, finding the intercom button, we were instructed to fill up our tank and wait for the attendant to pay. I still can’t believe there isn’t a better way!

Later that day, we went in to Gustavia to fill up on water despite the still relatively high surges. As Andrew smoothly brought the boat alongside the dock, it was my job to jump off on the catapulting cement dock again and stop all 21 tons of Billy Ruff’n by securing a line with no help from the shore. In case anyone is wondering how I get my exercise, you may be getting the picture! We got 400 liters of water no problem but leaving the dock wasn’t any easier. That evening, we rewarded ourselves with a fabulous dinner at Black Ginger, a Thai restaurant run by a chef that formerly worked at the hotel Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok. I had a wonderful Thai margarita and mahi mussaman curry while Andrew enjoyed a Mai Thai and Wahoo curry.

As someone commented in response to some of my pictures from this area, there’s nothing like eating, drinking and laying on the beach in St. Bart’s!