Lavers blog, 5th 2008-2009 entry

January 21, 2009, St. Pierre – Fort de France

Singoalla and Maestro at anchor in St. Pierre

Larry wakes up and goes on deck at 05:30, and finds that our neighbor, the catamaran, is gone. No sign of them on the horizon.  We wonder what midnight show we might have missed.  We head into town and at the dinghy dock meet an American couple who have been cruising for 10 years on a 38 foot boat.  They claim that they are tired of cruising and are now on their way home.  We don’t wonder at that.  We go to the Internet café to upload our blog, but the café loses its Internet connection before we can begin.  They explain that there provider’s cable was cut somewhere yesterday and service is sporadic.  We go for a long walk over to the cruise ship dock to look at the Baies des Tourelles as a possible place to fix Singoalla’s throttle.  We don’t like the looks of the harbor at all, but find a duty free store that sells good wine at amazing prices if you have your ship’s papers.  We will return when we have transportation.  We go by way of the market for vegetables on the way back to the Internet café.  The connection is up and we are able to upload the blog, although our PC’s battery dies before we are able to properly format the photos.  We return to Singoalla, have French bread, brie and salad for dinner. The box cabernet that Larry bought at Casino is awful!  We expect to have lots of coq au vin in the near future.  We read ourselves to sleep, not a very difficult task.

January 22, 2009, Fort de France – Grand Anse d”Arlet

Elisabeth decides to start right away to use up the awful cabernet that we have 5 liters of.  She sends an email inviting Sam and Wendy to dinner, then we go into town to find ingredients.  We stumble across a wonderful outdoor market where we are able to buy all kinds of fresh vegetables. We make a short stop at the supermarche and the boulangerie for bread and croissants, then return to Singoalla to prepare for the short six mile sail to Grand Anse d’a\Arlet.  It is a broad reach across the bay, a beam reach around Cap Salomon, and a short beat into the harbor.  We average around 7 knots and are in a very good mood when we arrive and anchor just astern of Maestro.  Wendy has found a laundry, so we take our two weeks worth of soiled clothes in to be renewed, then the four of us take a long hike over Morne Champagne to Petit Anse d’Arlet, a lovely village with only a few anchored boats and a lot of very tanned people just hanging out in the water or on the beach.  Back at the boat, Larry goes for a swim and shower while Elisabeth prepares a delicious dinner.  Wendy and Sam come with wine, which we dispatch with gusto.  “A good time was had by all.” 

January 23, 2009, Grand Anse d’Arlet

Just another lovely sunset in paradise

We spend a lazy morning reading.  Our most frequent activity is ruehing below during the frequent rain showers, then returning topside when the sun is out again.  It is days like these when we envy the boats that have fully shielded cockpits. We are picked up after lunch by the Maestros, and we go for a long hike up the steep and rocky Cap Salomon trail.  We expect to be rewarded by an incredible view point, but no such luck.  After an hour, the treail starts back down towards Anse Noir, and all we hae seen is glimpses through the trees of Schoelcher on the other side Baie de Fort de France.  We return to Grand Anse ‘Arlet soaked by our own sweat and with somewhat rubbery legs.  We pick up the laundry, buy bread and return to our respective boats for much needed swims and showers.  We are disappointed to find that our laundry bags did not make it back with the laundry, so Elisabeth will have to go ashore tomorrow to retrieve them.  We take our wine to the cockpit this evening to see a magnificent sunset.  We see the famous green flash for about the 10^th time this winter.  This appears only when the sun sets in a clear horizon, just as the last bit of sun disappears into the water.  We don’t know what causes it, but it appears to be some kind of refraction, and many people look for it for years without seeing it.  Elisabeth does not feel like cooking this evening, but she finds some left over spaghetti sauce in the refrigerator, so we eat in grand style anyway.  Elisabeth finishes The Worst Hard Time and begins 1421.  Larry makes good progress in Stieg Larson’s second book.

January 24, 2009, Grand Anse d’Arlet – Ste. Anne

Elisabeth rows ashore after breakfast to retrieve the laundry bags and buy bread while Larry prepares the boat for departure.  She is trapped ashore for about 30 minutes by a morning rain shower.  Maestro leaves just as Elisabeth returns to Singoalla.  We finish stowing our gear, raise the anchor and head for Ste. Anne where we plan to join Maestro again.  We have the usual light wind variable wind reach for the short 3 miles down the west side of Martinique, followed by a 10 mile beat around HMS Diamond Rock and along the south end of the island.  We see another boat on the wind well ahead of us and assume that it is Maestro, but they are too far ahead to identify.  We find them at anchor when we arrive at Ste. Anne, and we anchor nearby.  We ae invited for cocktails.  The sun sets just as we are preparing to row over to Maestro.  No green flash tonight.  We enjoy a few glasses of wine, then return to Singoalla for left over coq au vin.  Larry finished the last few pages of Flickan som Lekte med Elden, then lights out at an early hour.

January 25, 2009, Ste. Anne

Sam, Wendy and Larry at the beach

Ste. Anne is as beautiful as we remember it, but there seem to be more boats at anchor this year.  We change the oil in the engine, using a more viscous 25-60W that had been recommended by Festus at Jolly Harbour for use in the tropics.  In the confined quarters it is a 2 person, half hour job, but we accomplish it without a major spill.  We pick up Sam and Wendy in our dinghy at 10:00 and walk along the shore to a quintessential Caribbean beach where we stop for a swim and a picnic.  We put our gear in the shade of some local trees, then have a few anxious moments worrying about whether they are the infamous, toxic manchioneel trees when we see that they bear a small green apple-like fruit.  A local gentleman assures us that they are safe, and shows us some nearby manchioneels.  They are similar, but we can see the difference and are reassured.  Lunch consists of fresh baguettes purchased along the way, hard boiled eggs, cheese, ham, tomatoes and melon.  Even Larry doesn’t object to spending time at this picturesque site.  On the way back we stop for beer at a seaside resort and watch the local youth at play on a fantastic set of inflatable trampolines, an inflatable “iceberg”, and various other water toys.  Sam and Wendy are invited to Singoalla for cocktails at 6:00.  They bring a tinned pate, and Elisabeth serves pina coladas.  Elisabeth decides that the salad she has prepared for dinner will serve four with a little modification, so we four continue our discussions through dinner.  Sam and Wendy have had some fascinating adventures, from rafting and canoeing trips in the arctic north to bicycle and canal boat excursion in the south of France.  We expect that we will see more of them after the sailing in the Caribbean is over.

January 26, 2009, Ste. Anne

Elisabeth goes ashore alone while Larry waits on board for the local sail maker whom we have asked to replace a sun-damaged zipper on our mainsail cover.  Elisabeth stays ashore waiting for a window in the morning’s showers.  She sends a half hour in line at the post office waiting to buy stamps.  This seems to be the norm on the French islands.  Larry tightens the lower shrouds, as the mast is slightly out of column when we are on the wind.  The afternoon is spent reading, mostly down below.  The showers today are light, but frequent.  It seems that we get a new one as soon as the deck has a chance to dry off.  During the afternoon “Incidences”, the local sail maker, show up for their 11:00 appointment (we are still on Island Time).  They collect the sail cover and promise to replace the zipper and patch a few miscellaneous worn spots.  We expect to see it again in a few days.  At 6:00 we head over to Maestro for dinner – grilled chicken, baked potato and mixed vegetables, followed by a true highlight – cookies baked on board.

Lavers blog, 4th 2008-2009 entry

January 13, 2009, Portsmouth, Dominica

Martin returns the repaired outboard.

Martin brings Igna over about 9:30.  We agree that he cannot fix the motor on board, so they take it back to Igna’s shop.  The motor is about 18 years old, so Larry fears the worst and begins to research how much a new motor would cost (too much!).  We are relieved when Martin calls about 11:00 to say that Igna has fixed the motor and replaced the propeller as well.  He promises to come about 1:30 with the repaired motor.  This being Island Time, it is about 2:00 when Martin arrives with the motor, but it works like a top.  Martin is unclear about what the problem was, but among other things, the old propeller casting was broken into several parts in the hub area.  We head immediately into town to buy bread, milk and a few staples, then go to the ATM to get money to pay Martin.  They are working on the ATM, but a seemingly disembodied voice somewhere in or behind the machine tells us that there is another one down the road at the medical school.  We decide to stop for a beer at the Sisters Inn where we met the proprietor with Bengt and Lotta last spring.  We have a long discussion about American and Dominican politics with the German bartender.  She tells us how to get to the ATM at the medical school via the beach without having to talk our way through security at the gate.  On our way down the stony beach, Larry trips and falls flat, crushing our 2 loaves of bread and hitting his hand hard on one of the larger stones.  The hand hurts more and more on the way back to the boat.  Fortunately, the combination of ibuprofen, ice and a good rum punch effect a miraculous cure (except for some severe discoloration). Spaghetti with sauce made from local vegetables for dinner, then Larry reads Stieg Larson until 1:00 a.m.

January 14, 2009, Portsmouth – Roseau, Dominica

Filling the water tank through a hose from shore.

Chris Parker’s forecast is for high winds and heavy seas between the islands for several days, then a very comfortable week next week.  We set 2 reefs in the main before leaving the mooring.  It is blowing 25, gusting to 33 in the harbor when we leave, and a least one of the four boats leaving about the same time turns back to reduce sail.  But as soon as we round Rollo Head, the wind falls to almost nothing.  We quickly tire of the game of trying to match our sails to the gusts and lulls – 3 knots to about 25 knots and back, and varying from NE to NW in the turbulence caused by Dominica’s high mountains.  We roll up the jib and motor sail with the double reefed main – it looks pretty silly – to Roseau.  We tie up at one of Sea Cat’s moorings, and with a combination of extension lines at the bow and stern, pull the stern near enough to his dock to get a water hose on board.  Our tanks are almost completely empty, so it takes a while to fill them.  Tony from Rogue, a pretty Swan 36, rows over to offer to help us pull back to the mooring.  Instead, we invite him and Janey aboard for cocktails at 6:00.  We talk for a couple of hours, then go ashore to the Anchorage Hotel for dinner.  They are a delightful couple from Henley on Thames, and by the time we close the restaurant at about 10:00 we feel that we have made new friends.  We row back in the dark and fall immediately asleep.

January 15, 2009 – Roseau

Larry is having an allergy attack, so we are a little slow getting moving today.  We decide to put up our awning that was modified by A&F Sails in Antigua.  The new zippers intended to accommodate the lines from the Dutchman mainsail furling system work well  -- the awning is now easier to set up and provides protection from both sun  and rain.  We row into Sea Cat’s dock and walk into Roseau to shop for groceries and Whitchurch’s store.  The town is as unappealing as we remember it.  Two cruise ships are in, so there is a lot of activity. We retreat to Singoalla, stopping to buy fruit from a street vendor and bread from a local bakery. Larry still doesn’t feel so good, so he takes a nap while Elisabeth goes for a swim.  Elisabeth prepares a big salad for dinner.  Larry starts the second Stieg Larson book, but only reads a few pages before heading for bed.

January 16, 2009, Roseau, Dominica – St. Pierre, Martinique.

St. Pierre waterfront in the afternoon sun.

We listen to Chris Parker’s 8:30 broadcast – we can’t get reception for the 7:00 session.  He is definitely not encouraging.  Rain squalls today, seas about 9 feet, although with a long interval meaning they are more ocean swells than steep waves, and the wind around 20 knots from 80 degrees, gusting to 30 in the frequent squalls.  Rogue and several other boats depart going south.  We decide that with so many boats on the move, and none of them turning back after passing the tip of the island, things can’t be too bad.  Another 3 days in Roseau is not especially inviting, and we can always turn around if conditions are too unpleasant.  By the time we get the awning down and are prepared to leave a big squall comes through that we wait out at the mooring.  We finally leave about 11:00, and dutifully set 2 reefs in the main in preparation for the anticipated rough crossing.  One other boat, Sayonara, is on the same schedule we are, but all the others are long out of sight.  Elisabeth won’t let Larry set the Genoa until after we pass a fierce looking squall ahead. (You can see the squalls from miles away – the rain is gray and totally opaque, and they have well defined borders.) The wind turns out to be very light, and out of the SSE, so we are on a slow beat to nowhere.  It doesn’t take much calculation to realize that we are not going to get to St. Pierre today if we continue to sail – even if we shake out the useless reefs.  So we start the engine, furl the genoa and head more or less in the right direction.  Our track on the GPS indicates that we must be drunk as we try to avoid the worst of the squalls.  We discover an odd phenomenon in the 2 squalls we are unable to avoid – no wind!  Usually squalls bring heavy gusts of wind from random directions.  These have at most 15 knotsof wind, but copious amounts of rain.  Progress is slower under power than we had anticipated under sail, particularly as we near the coast of Martinique.  The ocean swells meet locally generated waves in a most irregular pattern, and at times we waste more energy bouncing up and down than in going forward.  As we near St. Pierre it is clear that we will arrive after sunset, but hopefully before all light has gone.  We decide to douse the main when we are still a couple of miles from town, but it hangs up part way down. We realize that the topping lift has somehow wrapped around the halyard or the shackle,  We lose about 15 minutes going in circles to clear the halyard, which means that it is full dark by the time we arrive.  At St. Pierre there is a very narrow shelf along the shore suitable for anchoring, then the depth falls away to over 1,000 feet very quickly.  The bright lights along the shore make it very difficult to see the boats already at anchor – night vision goes completely to hell, and there are at least 35 boats at anchor along this narrow shelf.  It takes us at least 30 minutes of wandering around and poking into spots that seem likely, but are actually 100 feet deep right up to shore, before we are able to anchor in about 50 feet.  We are surprised to see that we are right next to Rogue.  Dinner is soup, a sandwich and several glasses of wine.  Sleep comes quickly, in Larry’s case before actually making it to the bunk.

January 17, 2009, St. Pierre

Boats at anchor in St. Pierre.

Maestro calls on the VHF, and we agree to meet ashore at 9:30.  The Rogues are already ashore when we arrive.  It is market day, not as colorful as Dominica but nevertheless with a good selection of fruits and vegetables as well as fishermen selling fresh caught marlin.  Larry goes to a small café to clear customs via the internet while Elisabeth and Wendy go in search of an ATM.  Both chores accomplished, Elisabeth goes shopping to replenish Singoalla’s food supply and  Wendy goes to the local Laundromat.  Afterward we go to a small restaurant whose elegant interior is totally out of synch with the shabby entrance on the dingy street. Café au lait all around, then back to the boats to stow our purchases.  We decide to move to shallower water nearer Maestro, as we will be going there for dinner.  We discover that 50 feet of chain plus the weight of the anchor is just more than the windlass can handle, so we need to help it by pulling the chain by hand for a few feet.  It soon begins to perform as it should, but while we are getting the anchor up the throttle handle suddenly comes off in Larry’s hand.  The bolt holding it on has snapped.  Larry does a quick fix with a pair of vise grips, and we move the boat without further incident. Larry’s attempts to drill out the broken bolt fail, so we will have to drive using the vise grips until we can find a mechanic with the proper tools.  Elisabeth begins sending emails on her Blackberry, and suddenly asks, “do you know what day it is?”  Oh my, January 17^th, oour 34^th anniversary, which both of us forgot.  Quick, into the dinghy, in to 8 a Huit, buy a bottle of champagne and back to Singoalla in time to clean ujp and head over to maestro for dinner of grilled marlin, rice, local salad and Wendy’s home baked cookies.  Plus champagne, of course.

January 18, 2009, St. Pierre

Sunday.  St. Pierre is for all intents and purposes closed.  The French seem to take their Sunday’s seriously.  We pick up the Maestro’s in our dinghy at 9:30 and go ashore.  There we meet Dave and Jan from Deja Bleu, a very interesting and seaworthy appearing power boat we have now seen in several harbors.  They built it themselves and, unlike most self-built boats, it has all the bells and whistles.  Both Dave and Jan really know what they are about.  Elisabeth sets off in a fruitless search for fresh croissants.  She goes all over town and returns with a baguette and 2 sticky buns (yesterday’s, of course).  We walk with Sam and Wendy up a steep road up the cliff behind town to the statue of the Virgin Mary that sits high on a point overlooking the harbor.  Spectacular view!  Sweaty walk!  We return to town to check out the tourist office for tips.  Closed, of course.  We find an unprepossessing little restaurant on the beach across the road from the Laundromat that surprisingly is actually open.  We have omelettes and pizzas that far surpass our expectations.  We walk back to the town dock – which by the way was recently torn up by Hurricane Omar, and which has “no entry” signs and a big fence that everyone blithely ignores as they climb out on the remaining concrete structure to the only place in town  where you can tie up a dinghy.  We drop Sam and Wendy off at Maestro, agree to meet in a couple of days in the baie de Fort de France, and return to Singoalla for a lazy afternoon.  Yes, even Elisabeth can have one of those occasionally. A swim and shower really feel good.  Dinner is grilled marlin in the cockpit.  We are entertained by the attempts of a couple of late arrivals to find suitable anchoring spots – reminiscent of our night-time arrival a few days ago.  We decide we are too tired to watch a movie and fall blissfully asleep.

January 19, 2009, St. Pierre

Elisabeth performs her magic with stale French bread to make French toast covered with marmalade and sliced bananas.  We wave goodbye to Maestro on their way to Trois Ilets, and take the computer ashore to update the blog.  The Internet café is closed Mondays, so we buy fresh bread and take it and the computer back to Singoalla.  We then walk up to the Volcano Museum to see pictures, newspaper articles and relics from the devastating eruption of Mt. Pelee in 1902 in which 22,000 people died.   St. Pierre was the largest city on the island at the time, and was known as the Paris of the Caribbean.  It is very moving, as is a visit to the ruins of the magnificent theater and the nearby police headquarters where one of the very few survivors had been incarcerated during the eruption.  On a more uplifting note, we walk the 2 kilometers to the Distillerie Depaz, where there is a very interesting self-guided tour.  We sample a few types of rum, buy an obligatory bottle, then eat lunch at the on-site restaurant.  It is very attractive and we have an excellent roast chicken.  On our way back we meet Michael and Jeremy from Splendido, a Beneteau 57 and one of the few US flagged vessels in the harbor.  We walk back to town together, and they very kindly offer to bring over a book of local services available to yachts that they got from the tourist bureau.  They join us on Singoalla for drinks.  We are driven below by rain showers, and spend a pleasant couple of hours before they return to Splendido.  We agree to meet tomorrow in Fort de France.

January 20, 2009, St. Pierre – Fort de France

Inauguration Day!  We depart about 8:45 for Fort de France under full main and genoa.  After an exhilarating departure at about 7 knots, the wind goes fluky in the lee of the island, so we roll in the genoa and motor sail (mostly motor) for about 6 miles.  As the Baie de Fort de France opens before us the wind steadies and we sail the final five miles – a beat in flat water and 20 knots apparent wind.  We are able to time our tack to split the difference between 2 rain showers and stay dry.  We anchor a little behind Maestro who have arrived earlier.  They are on their way into town to find a TV to watch the inauguration.  We lend them our hand held VHF so they can call us when they have found a suitable place and we can join them.  We go in for lunch at les Croisieres, which has a projection TV.  Unfortunately, Obama’s speech is muted in the background and all we can hear is the French translation.  With the noise of the other diners it is hard to follow the French, but we feel like we are a part of history anyway.  It is fascinating to see the rapt attention of all around us – whatever race or nationality.  After lunch we go to Sea Services to look for a replacement bolt for our throttle.  No luck – they have only metric sizes, but we get the name of a mechanic who may be able to help us.  Splendido has arrived in F de F and we run into Michael and Jeremy at Sea Services.  They invite us all to dinner on Splendido.  After Elisabeth finds a travel agency to arrange her trip home via St. Maarten, we return to Singoalla and read for awhile.  A French catamaran anchors next to us, and we are worried that they are too close.  They are not worried and happily get into their dinghy (after a very entertaining effort to get it off the davits and into the water), and head to shore for dinner.  We row over to Splendido.  They serve a very good shrimp and vegetables over orzo, which both Elisabeth and Wendy resolve to try soon.  When we return to Singoalla, the catamaran is still next to us, still uncomfortably close, but at least we haven’t bumped.

les Saintes to Dominica, January 2009

Lavers blog, 3rd 2008-2009 entry

January 10, 2009, Portsmouth

Carib family at the basket shop

"Ladies house" at the Carib village

Basket weavers at the Carib village

After a rainy and windy night the alarm goes off at 0550, and Elisabeth is off to Market. She returns in an hour or so with an enormous bag of fruits and vegetables. She says that the mooring line broke on one of the neighboring boats in the high winds last night. The crew woke up as their boat scrapes against another one anchored downwind from them. Damage was minor and could have been much worse. We take it as a reminder to be extra careful in attaching the boat to the sea bottom – double bridles, perhaps a security line direct to the mooring ball, anchor watch on the GPS, etc. Martin picks us up at 0900 and, after a brief, frantic search for Elisabeth’s camera that had managed to wedge itself behind a bunk cushion, we are off to explore new parts of the island. Dylan takes us up and down bumpy roads that seem totally impassable to all kinds of interesting placesw. Highlights include the Carib cultural village on the Carib Reserve on the Atlantic coast, where we learn about the history, life style and traditions of Dominica’s native people; and lunch with a spectacular view at bruce Castle. At the restaurant there are about 50 local flavored rums, including one called “Obama Special”. Our president elect is extraordinarily popular throughout the Caribbean. We return to the boat after dark. We show pictures from the blog to Martin and Dylan, who ae leased to see themselves on the web. A light sandwich for dinner, then early off to visit the sandman.

January 11, 2009, Portsmouth

Portsmouth Harbor from Fort Shirley

Maestro calls us during breakfast on the VHF, and we agree to walk up together to the rebuilt Fort Shirley on West Cabrits. We pick Sam and Wendy up in the dinghy and tie up at the rickety dock at Big Papa’s restaurant. It is one of the few docks that survived Hurricane Omar, and that just barely. We walk around the bay, pay our modest admission, and explore the old fort. We then walk up a long trail through the woods to the top of West Cabrits, where a lone cannon stands watch over the northern entrance to Prince Rupert Bay. We return o the fort where we order a beer in the cool, spacious “tavern” there. A polite inquiry to the waitress if the owner is her father brings an unexpected response – “no, he is my boy friend.” We walk back to Big Papa’s and enjoy a quite good lunch of fresh tuna and the traditional local vegetables. We drop Sam and Wendy off at Maestro, and manage to get back to Singoalla almost before a major rain squall. We put a little vinegar in a bucket of water and Larry goes around Singoalla in the dinghy, wiping down the boat. It is amazing how well this simple solution cleans off the salt stains. For dinner we have left over tuna that we had grilled in Guadeloupe, making this a really big fish day. We watch Pirates of the Caribbean – Part 2 – on the laptop since most of it was filmed here in Dominica. We think it is a perfectly awful movie, but we enjoy picking out places on the island that we can recognize.

January 12, 2009, Portsmouth

Maestro leaves Portsmouth for Roseau

Elisabeth's favorite church in Portsmouth

Maestro and our playmates depart for Roseau this morning. We can’t hear Chris Parker’s weather forecast, but decide to stay one more night and go to Roseau tomorrow. On the way into town our dinghy motor begins to cough then dies completely. We row back to Singoalla and call Martin to find an engine mechanic. He recommends Igna, whom we remember from last spring. Martin describes him as a man with only one hand whom no one, including himself, considers to be handicapped. Igna promises to come around 4:00, and Martin takes us into town for a minor round of shopping. We hurry back to be on the boat when Igna comes, but in vain. We contact Martin on the VHF, who says that Igna couldn’t make it, but will come tomorrow morning. Elisabeth prepares an eggplant and tomato gratinee dish for dinner. It is delicious. She goes to bed about 8:30, but Larry has gotten into Stieg Larson and reads for a few hours before turning out the lights.

Lavers blog, 2nd 2008-2009 entry

January 7, 2009, Basse Terre – les Saintes

Lyra departs for Dominica, passing Maestro on the way

Maltese Falcon passes through les Saintes

After morning coffee we go ashore at the marina for some exercise and shopping. We walk the mile or so into town and are pleased to see that a new foot bridge has been installed over the river, shortening the trip by about ¼ mile. We buy a phone chip that is valid in both Guadeloupe and Martinique. We find some kerosene which we hope will work in the lamps, then shop for vegetables in the very nice, new open air marketplace. There are many vegetables we have never seen before, and they all seem to be prepared “just like potatoes”. We pass on these for the time being. Elisabeth stands in line 30 minutes at the post office to buy 3 stamps. We believe that is carrying Island Time too far. On the way back to the marina we pass some fishermen beside the road selling their catch. We buy some lovely fresh tuna steaks and hope we can get the grill working (another uncompleted chore on our list). On board, we hoist the dinghy to the foredeck and depart for les Saintes. Elisabeth has bad memories about this trip (in her mind there is always a storm here) and berates Larry for putting up too much sail too soon. Nevertheless, we have a quick 7 knot close reach to les Saintes, and anchor off Bourg des Saintes next to Lyra, a Swedish flagged Bavaria 42. We invite them for cocktails, and find that they crossed the Atlantic on the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, an annual event with more than 100 boats participating). They are headed south, so we may run into them again.

January 8, 2009, les Saintes

Beach on the windward side of Terre de Haut

Elisabeth at Fort Napoleon

Singoalla at anchor in les Saintes

Today is a day of frequent, though short, rain showers. Every time we go on deck to start a project we get driven below again. We wave goodbye to our new friends on Lyra, only to find them replaced in a couple of hours by another Swedish boat, Emma af Kungshamn. We wonder if here are any Swedes left in the mother country. Larry is determined to figure out why we can’t get the gas grill to work. Working backwards from the grill, he tests each part, and finally is surprised to discover that if he blows through the main feed line, water sprays out the other end. Apparently, the heavy rains in Antigua over the summer had somehow managed to find their way into the tube. Reassembled, everything works fine. In the afternoon we go ashore for a long walk – to a beach with very high surf on the windward side of the island, then up to Fort Napoleon, which guards the entrance to the harbor. On the way we run into Kjell and Margareta from Emma and invite them for cocktails. They come bringing magazines, and we spend a marvelous few hours getting to know one another. They come from Kungshamn, which is very near Elisabeth’s summer home when she grew up, so there are many interesting references to discuss. After they leave, we grill tuna on our newly functioning grill and enjoy a marvelous dinner below. Elisabeth is captured by Svensk Dam Tidning, and goes to bed later than any other night since we left Bristol.

January 9, 2009, les Saintes – Portsmouth, Dominica

Chris Parker’s forecast this morning is not promising for inter-island passages. He predicts increasing sea and wind tomorrow, with heavy wind and seas for at least a week. We decide that we would rather be on a mooring in Dominica than on the hook here. We go ashore to clear out and to buy our daily ration of croissants and French bread. On the way we pass by Emma and are invited for breakfast on our return. In a system that could only be imagined by the French, we go to the police office in town hall to fill out the papers for clearing out. We are advised that they will be faxed to Pointe a Pitre for proper signature, and that we should come back in 30 minutes. We go out to Emma and are served an amazing breakfast of Swedish waffles prepared on a venerable waffle iron that is at least 60 years old. Larry runs in to get the faxed clearance, and we head out to Dominica, just after a much larger Australian ketch with a young family on board that had been anchored near us. Elisabeth steers most of the way, and is determined to pass the Australian boat which has an initial lead of about a mile. We pass her with 5 iles to go. In Portsmouth, Martin meets us and shows us to a mooring. After clearing in (and out, so long as we leave within 14 days, a very simple process in Dominica, we are joined by Sam and Wendy from Maestro, a Valiant 50 with Newport as its hailing port. We have seen them in almost every harbor we have gone to. They are Canadians, but we turn out to have an amazing number of points of tangency in our lives (same college, practicing law in New York, living in Stamford, etc.), and have a very pleasant cocktail hour. They depart after Elisabeth and Wendy agree o meet at 0600 to go to Dominica’s famous market day. Larry cooks steaks on the grill. Dinner on deck is interrupted by a rain shower, so is completed below. Elisabeth falls into bed immediately after dinner, and Larry reads Stieg Larson until his eyelids won’t stay up any more.

Back in Antigua to continue the cruise

Lavers blog, 1st 2008-2009 entry

Elisabeth at Morro Fortress in Old San Juan

We make the best of an 8 hour layover in Puerto Rico on the way to Antigua by exploring Old San Juan.

After having left Singoalla at Jolly Harbor on Antigua for 9 months we returned to find her still up "on the hard" as the keel work had not been done yet. The boat was about a foot above the keel! Due to leaking keel bolts we had asked the yard to drop the keel and re bed it.

Christmas day, December 25, 2008, Jolly Harbour to Falmouth Harbor

We have been in Antigua since December 2, but only restarted the blog today as we have been “otherwise engaged”. We had asked for the keel on Singoalla to be dropped and rebedded, but when we arrived the boat was on stanchions, about a foot above the keel. Carl, the proprietor of A-1 Marine Services had found problems with the original construction that he wanted us to see before fixing them. The holes in the boat and backing plates for the keel bolts were one inch in diameter, but the bolts were only ¾ inch, which caused a lot of flex and stress on the system. In addition, the stringer under the mast step had broken sometime over the years and had become soft and mushy. Thus the mast did not have proper support. Both problems were fixed and the boat finally launched on Saturday, December 13. We had been living on the boat while it was on land so we could stay on top of the work (and in the face of the workers), but we rented a “villa” for 3 nights as our friends, the Bolinders, arrived on launch day and there was a considerable amount of work left to make the boat ready to use.

Getting ready to attach the keel

The repaired stringer

Rowing ashore at Barbuda

Dinner at Hemingway's, St. John's

Catharina joined us on the 11th, and we had the pleasure if her company until the 22nd. The Bolinders were here from the 13th to the 20th. We made stops at Falmouth Harbor, Green Island, Barbuda, and Deep Harbor before returning to Jolly Harbour. Erik arrived on the 20th about the same time Mats and Gunilla left. Both Erik and Catharina were with us for stops at Jumby Bay and Parham. The last one is the only harbor we have seen that we will definitely not return to.

We are taking a rolling approach to all the many maintenance chores that built up under the hot sun and heavy rains over the summer. We accomplish a few tasks every day, but still take time for sailing and exploring ashore. Some tasks are fairly major. Today we loosen all the rigging and, using a 2 x 4 lashed to the mast, we rotate it a few degrees to make it true fore and aft. We also replace the engine fan belt because the old one had stretched and was slipping. Note: this is on Christmas, a day of rest.

Catharina & Mats enjoy fine weather off Antigua

After yesterday’s very boisterous winds that kept us locked in Jolly Harbour, today we have a quick reach down the west side of Antigua, an interesting beat along the bottom of the island through Goat Head Channel in very variable winds, tacking often just before striking the reefs on either side of the channel, then 3 miles of open ocean beat with waves driven by several days of high winds before reveling in the calm of Falmouth Harbor.

Waiting to be served at Seabreeze, Antigua Yacht Club Marina

In the evening we walk over to Nelson’s Dockyard for the end of the day’s celebration and to see the boats tied up to the quay. One of them is a 42 foot boat with only about 20 feet of mast left. We talk to the crew, and hear that they were dismasted when the backstay failed about 525 miles from Antigua. They came in the rest of the way under jury rig. We thought that was quite a feat. They are now waiting for the insurance company to sort out getting a new mast to them in Antigua. Maybe our issues aren’t so significant after all.

Standing by the dismasted boat at Nelson's Dockyard

December 26, Falmouth Harbor

Today we go ashore for a daytime look around Nelson’s Dockyard. We walk out to Fort Berkeley where the British Navy watched for enemy ships and tightened the chains across the harbor entrance to prevent unwanted visitors. We then hike over the rough trail over the headlands to Pigeon Beach and Falmouth Harbor. Back on board just in time to clean up, we are picked up by Don Dery to go to their newly built house for cocktails and to enjoy the spectacular view over Willoughby Bay and the ocean. Dinner at Cap Horn delicious wood fired pizzas.

December 27, Falmouth Harbor

Leisurely breakfast, then a few small chores. Don Dery calls t say that they found Elisabeth’s missing sunglasses on their terrace. We go ashore to meet them, and they very kindly give us a ride to Antigua Slipways, a chandlery just across the harbor from Nelson’s Dockyard, but only accessible by water or by a mile walk. Just after they leave we discover that the chandlery closes at noon on Saturday, and it is now 12:15. We look around for a little bit, then decide to walk to Shirley Heights for lunch. We can’t find the trail, so we walk up the road, probably about 2 miles. We almost make it before the rains come. We arrive as the shower ends, and enjoy the views over the Dockyard and the southern part of Antigua. Lunch at Shirley Heights is very nice; we recommend it over the noise and crowds of the traditional Sunday night barbecue. After lunch we find the ridge trail down to Galleon Beach and find that it does not connect to the Slipways road at all. We have to climb back up another road to reach the road to town. Erik is not sure he is ready to forgive his father for all the forced exercise. Once again, the rains hold off almost until we make it back to the Antigua Yacht Club. Coffee at Seabreeze while waiting for the rain to stop, then back to the boat. Lazy evening – pina colada’s a la Erik, tuna salad dinner, then we read ourselves to sleep.

December 28, Falmouth Harbor-Green Island

Erik on the way to Green Island

Erik and Larry finally tackle the SSB antenna. We have to detach the backstay and pull it forward to reach the connection point above the backstay insulator. This means we have to collapse the bimini. Eventually, with Elisabeth’s help, we get it done. We celebrate with a 9 mile beat to Green Island. After a quick look into Nonsuch Bay, we go back to our old anchorage at Rickett’s Harbor where we are joined by only one other boat. We are very salty, but the sail was exhilarating. Average seas 7-8 feet so no sleeping at the helm. All American dinner – hot dogs and French fries, followed by ice cream. We are still not used to the luxury of ice cream on a boat. Score one for new technology. As usual, early to bed…

December 29, Green Island (Rickett’s Harbor)

Larry and Elisabeth take early morning baths/showers at the stern ladder. After breakfast we confirm that the newly connected SSB is working – at least it receives well. We listen to the Coconut Telegraph and hear boats reporting in from as far away as Bonaire. We spend t motor he whole day at anchor. Elisabeth and Erik enjoy swimming in the warm and quiet cove – until the day trippers arrive in a big cat. They are like white mice coming out of their cages and scurrying all over the beach. The simile breaks down, though, because the average weight seems to be north of 250 pounds, and by the end of the day most of them are no longer white but varying shades of angry pink. What a relief when they leave and return the cove to the 4 sailboats that are now in residence.

Elisabeth serves her signature Caribbean dish – chicken, black beans and tomatoes over rice – delicious. We follow that with ice cream, then watch After Sunset on the laptop. Altogether a very pleasant and relaxing day, marred only by Larry’s continuing cough.

December 30, Green Island – Jolly Harbour

Erik’s last day for sailing. We raise the anchor after breakfast and motor into Nonsuch Bay to look around. It’s a big open bay, about a mile and a half across, well protected by reefs from the ocean swell, and with many varying anchorages. We expect to return on another visit to Antigua. We go out the way we came in, and set sail for Jolly Harbour. We decide not to stop at Falmouth to give Erik more opportunity to sail. Light wind today, so we have a very comfortable run followed by a reach up the west side. We arrive at JH about 2:30 and find Ancient Path with our friends Charles and Elaineat a mooring. After showers and a brief session at the internet, we are joined by Charles and Elaine for dinner at Melini’s. They are a fascinating couple and we enjoyed hearing about their educational work in the Dominican Republic. Larry’s cough continues not to improve, so we decide to find a doctor and get some antibiotics tomorrow.

December 31, Jolly Harbour

Elisabeth is up with the chickens and waves goodbye to Ancient Path, on their way to St. Kitts. After morning coffee we go ashore to find a doctor. The marina recommends Dr. Fuller, whose office is in St. John’s. We take the bus, and Erik gets his first taste of that institution on Antigua. The driver talks to everybody on the street as we go, and occasionally backs into a side street to wait for a passenger. It is a mystery to us how he knows when to do that. In St. John’s we find Long Street, then Dr. Fuller’s office. He does the requisite listening to Larry’s chest then issues the expected prescription for antibiotics. He advises us to insist on the brand-name antibiotic, not the generic. He says there are a lot of East European counterfeits on the market here. Then he and Larry talk for about 20 minutes about him and his life on Antigua. He has a house in Jolly Harbour near where we are moored, owns half a dozen islands in North Sound, including Great Bird Island, renown for great snorkeling, and has a second business – salvage of wrecked boats or boats in distress. Hs radio sits right above his desk in the examination room. He gives Larry tips on current issues in some tricky passages through the reefs – all in all they get along very well. We go to the nearest pharmacy, get the pills, then head for the cruise ship docks in search of a place for breakfast. Instead, Elisabeth buys new sunglasses. We wind up back at Hemingway’s for a very nice breakfast/brunch. We bus back to the marina, where Erik gets his bags and is off for the airport. We pick up the laundry from Burton’s, find the bag of fins and snorkels we inadvertently left in the storage room, spend a little time on the internet, and then head out to the boat. We get into the dock for water and gas for the dinghy only minutes before the fuel dock closes. We are too late for the expected repositioning to Falmouth. Instead, we anchor in the outer harbor and ring in the new year there. We crack open the champagne at 9:30 because it is clear that we are not going to make midnight. Oh, well, it must be tomorrow somewhere. We are awakened at midnight by fireworks from 2 sides. We enjoy the show before going quietly back to sleep.

January 1, Jolly Harbour – Falmouth

After breakfast we raise the anchor and set sail for Falmouth. Elisabeth is at the helm all the way. The winds are moderate and a little farther south than before. We have an absolutely glorious sail down the island, through Goat Head Channel and over to Falmouth. It is the kind of day that reminds us why we are here, although Larry is a little tired from grinding on the tacks. After a short rest, we take the dinghy to the Catamaran Club to look for the Hellstroms on Hell’s Belles. They are not there, so we leave our card and go for a short walk to see what stores/restaurants are on that stretch of the road. We return to Singoalla, where Larry services a couple of winches and discovers how much damage has been done by thesun, rain and dust over the summer. Nothing that can’t be fixed, but the winches are useless until they have been taken apart, cleaned and oiled. Elisabeth prepares coq au von “Caribbean style”, using a sauce flavored with local sorrel – different and very tasty. We read ourselves to sleep, for a change.

January 2, Falmouth Harbor

We go ashore to clear customs in preparation for tomorrow’s departure for Guadeloupe, and for better Internet access. We are pleasantly surprised to see the Derys at the Hot Hot Hot Spot, and join them for coffee. We find a chandlery open and get a new dinghy motor lock to replace our broken one and a new dinghy anchor. We contact the Hellstroms on channel 68, who promptly invite us to lunch. Lunch turns into a 4 hour, very lively discussion and we leave pleased to have established such a nice friendship. Back on Singoalla, we get the dinghy up on deck in preparation for tomorrow’s departure.

January 3, Falmouth – Deshaies, Guadeloupe

We raise the anchor at 0800 and leave on the 42 mile crossing to Guadeloupe. Apparent wind is on the beam, between 20 and 25 knots, seas mostly under 6 feet. We set one reef in the main, roll out enough jib to be fast but comfortable, and average between 7.5 and 8 knots. We are mystified by what feels like sand blasting our faces and other exposed parts in the brisk wind. We find out later that this is not the result of a major sandstorm in the Sahara (Africa is the nearest piece of land upwnd), but volcanic ash from a new eruption at Montserrat. The ash is apparently carried high enough in the atmosphere to go with whatever the southern equivalent of the jetstream is, to later subside and come back at us with the trade winds. Fortunately, this is a really quick passage, very few other boats out, and we have doused the sails and are comfortably at anchor by 2:00 p.m. We anchor near a beautiful 77 foot boat, Aglaia, in 20 feet of water. After a discussion with the very pleasant captain of Aglaia we shorten scope by about 20 feet to keep the boats a little farther apart. That proves to be a very good thing, because in the evening the winds go light and variable, and with the slight swell pushing the boats in unpredictable directions, the boats at a couple of times get within 10 feet of one another. At least one catamaran has to reposition in the dark because they swing too close to a boat on a mooring.

January 4, Deshaies

Larry spends the afternoon servicing 3 winches that have all totally seized up. A combination of WD40, a rubber mallet and wooden blocks finally gets them apart and they are cleaned, greased, oiled and put back in working order. Now only one winch (out of 14) is still out of service, but it is the main halyard winch, an important one. We are temporarily using a spinnaker halyard winch for the main. As usual, Elisabeth is a non-stop cleaning machine, and by the time we decide to go ashore in the afternoon, the boat is spic and span everywhere. We take the dinghy into the fishing port, as the old dinghy dock was totally destroyed, along with several waterfront buildings, by a storm during the fall. We walk up the hill to the customs office for the sake of good order and, as usual in Deshaies, find it closed. We have never found it open on any of our visits here. We wander around town, but as it is Sunday afternoon everything is closed up. Still, it is pleasant to stretch our legs. We return to the boat, and our neighbors from Aglaia bring us a bottle of wine for our “services” in watching the boats last night while they were ashore at dinner. Unnecessary, but appreciated nevertheless! Dinner tonight is pasta with a homemade eggplant and tomato sauce. Delicious!

January 5, Deshaies-Pigeon Island

Sunset at Pigeon Island

We go ashore in search of croissants and good French bread as we haven’t had decent bread since arriving in Antigua. Mirabile dictu, customs is open! Larry clears in while Elisabeth goes shopping. We shop at the grocery store, the charcuterie (butcher), the boulangerie (baker), several vegetable stands (no candle stick maker). It’s nice to be in a country with a real food culture. After breakfast and the long awaited croissants, we head out for Pigeon Island, where there is an underwater park established by Jacques Cousteau. The winds are light and variable in the lee of the big island, so after a brief attempt at sailing under just the jib, we start the iron genoa and spend the rest of the trip charging batteries. We anchor in the cove behind Pte. Malendure, then enjoy swimming in some of the clearest water we have ever seen. We both finish our respective books and start new ones. A very relaxing day.

January 6, Pigeon Island – Basse Terre

Boats at anchor, Basse Terre

This morning we listen to Chris Parker, the Caribbean weather guru, on SSB. The forecast is for squalls all day into the evening in the Leewards. We decide to stay at Pigeon Island. Larry works on updating the log and the blog, and Elisabeth tries to clean the soot from the headliner caused by a malfunctioning kerosene light last night. About 11:00 we realize that the sky to the north is completely clear and the squall clouds are retreating to the south ahead of schedule. The battery needs its daily charge, so we decide to motor sail down to Bassse Terre and then get to les Saintes a day earlier than expected. The wind for some strange reason s coming from the west, but the sea is flat anyway as we get a good closeup look at the coast of Guadeloupe. We anchor at Riviere des Sens together with a small international flotilla: boats from Sweden, Canada, Austria, the U.S., France and the B.V.I. We decide to wait until tomorrow morning to go shopping(island time!), and spend the afternoon reading.